Stalked – a poem

Posted on by Opher

Yesterday I wrote a few poems to cheer up your weekend.

Stalked

 

Stalked by our own virility

The cthonic monster of fertility

Will drown us in our own flesh.

 

The Malthusian oceans of humanity

Riding swells of pleasure and vanity

Have snared us in its mesh.

 

Like a flood

Inundating

The Earth

Sweeping all before it.

 

Like a fire

Consuming

The land

Turning it to ash

 

Like a plague

Infecting

The body

Dissolving the breath

 

Swamping everything

Reducing everything

Killing everything

In the pangs of pleasure.

 

Opher 13.4.2018

You are more likely to come to a sticky end rather than a bloody one!

Posted on by Opher

 

Around the world in 2012 620,000 people died from violence.

120,000 died from war.

500,000 died from crime.

 

But in the same year 1,500,000 died from diabetes.

 

Human beings have a liking for sugar. It is because we still have the palate of hunter gatherers. Natural occurring sugar was to be found in fresh ripe fruit and honey. We rarely had enough of it to satisfy. Now we have it refined and added to most of our food, we gorge on sweets and chocolate bars, ice-cream and sweet puddings. Even our savoury food has added sugar. The huge intake of sugar is creating an epidemic of diabetes and obesity.

 

Death is such a sweet thing.

Vertebrate Wildlife Species Have Declined By Half Over Last 40 Years

Posted on by Opher

I find this incredibly distressing.

Vertebrate Wildlife Species Have Declined By Half Over Last 40 Years

Plants and Animals

Vertebrate Wildlife Species Have Declined By Half Over Last 40 Years
Wayne Dilger CC BY ND 2.0

The 2014 Living Planet Report from the World Wildlife Fund has described the loss of wildlife as much worse than predicted two years ago. In 2012, they predicted that wildlife had declined by about 30 percent between 1970 and 2010, though new numbers suggest that wildlife populations have actually been cut by about 52 percent. The difference in reported loss is due to a new method for collecting the numbers.
The recent report analyzed 10,000 representative populations of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, discovering how they’ve been faring over the last 40 years. Sadly, they do not appear to be doing very well. The report attributes human activity, including poaching, over-hunting, and habitat destruction as the largest burden upon wildlife.
Humans, like all animals, utilize food and water from the environment in order to survive. The problem is in how these resources are acquired, as they are being exhausted much faster than they can bounce back. Deforestation is occurring more quickly than trees can return to full growth. Not only does this contribute to a warming climate by reducing the planet’s capability to fix atmospheric carbon, but it also destroys the habitats of many species.
The decline is not affecting all species equally. According to the report, tropical regions have been hit the hardest. Species that live in freshwater have been reduced by an astonishing 76 percent, while about 94 percent of the historic range of elephants has been eliminated. Tigers that were once 100,000 strong at the turn of the 20th century, have been reduced to only 3,000 worldwide; most of which are in captivity. Species have been declining even within protected areas due to poaching and illegal deforestation.
The report claims that humans would need 1.5 Earths in order to keep up with the amount of resources being utilized. Though astronomers have been making some great progress with studying exoplanets, they haven’t found any replacements for us. Even if they had, there would be no way to access those resources. There is no backup plan for wasting resources in the manner we are. We humans need to change our rate of consumption, as our current actions are simply not sustainable.
In addition to over-hunting and habitat destruction, climate change is particularly threatening. Changing temperatures alter migration times, routes, and destinations. When animals have to migrate to a new location, they have to compete with existing species for resources. Ocean acidification and increasing temperatures threaten fish populations that can only tolerate a specific spectrum of temperatures and water chemistry.
Though the numbers and outlook within the report are fairly dismal, it does not have to be that way. There is still enough time to change consumption habits and develop a more concerted effort in protecting existing wildlife. Not only would this preserve a desirable level of biodiversity on Earth, but it would also guarantee that the natural resources on which humanity depends will be there in the future.

The Death Diaries – Chapter 10 – Dying inside

Posted on by Opher

P1030198

10.

Dying inside? Yes!

Outwardly I am going through that process of ageing. It’s a bloody nuisance. You know what it’s all about. As a man I am doing all the usual. My hair is thinning (who wants fat hair anyway?), I’ve put on weight, my skin has lost its elasticity, I’ve lost a few teeth and I’ve got a case of pattern greying. I’ve also lost strength and agility.

There’s not much about it that is pleasant.

On a biochemical basis all the chemistry in my cells is running less efficiently. The pathways are getting clogged up with waste metabolytes and protein placques. It’s like someone’s poured sugar in my petrol.

On a genetic basis a number of deleterious genes are kicking in. They only start up once past the age of thirty. They cause a bit of mayhem. Some of them are fatal. I have to hope I don’t have one of those. It’s the luck of the draw.

On a cellular basis my cells are replacing themselves as they wear out. The replacements – due to the damage – are not likely to function as well. The main problem cellular problem is with the brain. The brain cells do not regenerate. Once you hit twenty five you have all that you’re ever going to have. After that they begin to die off. Every glass of wine, bump on the head, or toxin wipes out a goodly number. A glass of beer does away with 60,000 or so. So I’m a good few million down. Fortunately we have surplus and they take up the strain. It’s only when you get old that the numbers tell.

My brain is less efficient. My short term memory is crap.

On a tissue level it’s all about sagging and atrophy. My muscle strength is down – I’m losing fibres daily. My collagen and elastin fibres are much fewer. My skin sags. The places where there is articulation are eroding. My back, hips, knees and finger joints ache. The cartilage is wearing thin. In terms of my back, hips and knees that is only to be expected. We have not evolved to walk upright. Our bipedal nature is recent. It puts immense strain on the lumbar region and lower joints. We should shuffle about like other chimps. It would be better for us.

On an organ level my essential organs – kidneys, liver, heart and brain are all becoming less efficient. I can’t process alcohol as well. I am not so resilient. I can’t run or bend very well.

To sum it up – I’m a sad case. I’m dying by degrees.

It probably means I’m not going to play rugby for England now, attract Haile Berry to run off with me, write the greatest book in the world, solve the greatest astrophysical conundrum or take up gymnastics.

I’m busy dying day by day.

Here are a few of my books. They are available on Amazon in both paperback and on kindle.

Anecdotes – paperback just £6.95  Kindle – just £1.99 or free on Kindle Unlimited

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings/dp/1519675631/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459501044&sr=1-7&keywords=opher+goodwin

More Anecdotes – paperback just £7.29  Kindle – just £2.12 or free on Kindle Unlimited

http://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Anecdotes-Essays-Beliefs-flotsam/dp/1530770262/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459501044&sr=1-1&keywords=opher+goodwin

My other books are also available. There is some unique to suit most tastes if you like something thought provoking and alternative.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1459501044&sr=1-2-ent