Today's Independent
Below is a picture of the front page of The Independent today. The quality is not great, because I could not find a picture of it on the web, and so had to scan it in myself. It is not clear from the picture, but the blue corner of the flag is comprised of $ signs and I've included the text which comprises the stripes below the photo. To those who are reading this back home, while it clearly lacks the subtlety of the BBC or the style of The Guardian, this is precisely the type of anti-American propaganda that regularly infests the media here in the UK.
From The Independent, in the stripes:
"THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTES 4 ER CENT OF THE WORLD POPULATION – IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A QUARTER OF ALL CARBON DIOXIDE EMISIONS – AMERICAN CITIZENS RELEASE MORE CARBON DIOXIDE EVERY YEAR THAN ANY OTHER NATIONALITY – THE HIGHEST OF ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, AND MORE THAN CHINA, INDIA AND JAPAN COMBINED – AMERICANS USE 50 MILLION TONS OF PAPER ANNUALLY – CONSUMING MORE THAN 850 MILLION TREES – THERE ARE MORE THAN 200 MILLION CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS ON AMERICAN ROADS – ACCPRDING TO THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THEY USE OVER 200 MILLION GALLONS OF PETROL A DAY – MOTOR VEHICLES ACCOUNT FOR 56 PER CENT OF ALL AIR POLLUTION IN THE UNITED STATES – A STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION IN 2002 CONCLUDED THAT PEOPLE LIVING IN THE MOST HEAVILY POLLUTED METROPOLITAN AREAS HAVE A 12 PER CENT INCREASED RISK OF DYING OF LUNG CANCER THAN PEOPLE IN THE LEAST POLLUTED AREAS – 32 OF THE BUSIES US AIRPORTS CURRENTLY HAVE PLANS TO EXPAND OPERATIONS – EVERY YEAR US INDUSTRIES RELEASE AT LEAST 2.4 BILLION POUNDS OF CHEMICALS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE – DESPITE HAVING JUST 2 PER CENT OF KNOWN OIL RESERVES, THE US CONSUMES 25 PER CENT OF THE WORLDS OIL PRODUCTION – 16 PER CENT OF THE WORLD OIL PRODUCTION GOES INTO AMERICAN CARS ALONE – APPROXIMATELY 160 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING IN 32 US STATES LIVE IN REGIONS WITH SMOG AND SOOT LEVELS CONSIDERED DANGEROUS TO HEALTH – THE NEW CLEAR AIR INTERSTATE RULE AIMS TO CUT SULPHUR DIOXIDE BY 73 PER CENT AND NITROGEN OXIDE BY 61 PERCENT IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS – AROUND 50 MILLION NEW CARS ROLL OFF US ASSEMBLY LINES EACH YEAR – THERE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 20 MILLION FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES ON US ROADS – MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION GALLONS OF OIL WERE SPILT INTO US WATERS IN 2000 ALONE – ONLY 1 PER CENT OF AMERICAN TRAVEL IS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT, AN EIGHTH OF THAT IN THE UK AND AN EIGHTEENTH OF THAT IN JAPAN – AS MUCH AS 5.99 TONNES OF CARBOND DIOXIDE IS EMITTED PER AMERICAN PER YEAR, COMPARED WITH .31 TONNES PER INDIAN OR .05 TONNES PER BANGLADESHI – THE US HAD 16 MAJOR OIL SPILLS BETWEEN 1976 AND 1989, WHEREAS FRANCE SUFFERED SIX AND THE UK FIVE – THE AVERAGE AMERICAN PRODUCES 864KG OF MUNICIPAL WASTE PER YEAR, ALMOST THREE TIMES THE QUANTITY OF RUBBISH PRODUCED ANNUALLY BY AND ITALIAN."
From The Independent, in the stripes:
"THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTES 4 ER CENT OF THE WORLD POPULATION – IT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A QUARTER OF ALL CARBON DIOXIDE EMISIONS – AMERICAN CITIZENS RELEASE MORE CARBON DIOXIDE EVERY YEAR THAN ANY OTHER NATIONALITY – THE HIGHEST OF ANY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, AND MORE THAN CHINA, INDIA AND JAPAN COMBINED – AMERICANS USE 50 MILLION TONS OF PAPER ANNUALLY – CONSUMING MORE THAN 850 MILLION TREES – THERE ARE MORE THAN 200 MILLION CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS ON AMERICAN ROADS – ACCPRDING TO THE FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THEY USE OVER 200 MILLION GALLONS OF PETROL A DAY – MOTOR VEHICLES ACCOUNT FOR 56 PER CENT OF ALL AIR POLLUTION IN THE UNITED STATES – A STUDY PUBLISHED IN THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION IN 2002 CONCLUDED THAT PEOPLE LIVING IN THE MOST HEAVILY POLLUTED METROPOLITAN AREAS HAVE A 12 PER CENT INCREASED RISK OF DYING OF LUNG CANCER THAN PEOPLE IN THE LEAST POLLUTED AREAS – 32 OF THE BUSIES US AIRPORTS CURRENTLY HAVE PLANS TO EXPAND OPERATIONS – EVERY YEAR US INDUSTRIES RELEASE AT LEAST 2.4 BILLION POUNDS OF CHEMICALS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE – DESPITE HAVING JUST 2 PER CENT OF KNOWN OIL RESERVES, THE US CONSUMES 25 PER CENT OF THE WORLDS OIL PRODUCTION – 16 PER CENT OF THE WORLD OIL PRODUCTION GOES INTO AMERICAN CARS ALONE – APPROXIMATELY 160 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING IN 32 US STATES LIVE IN REGIONS WITH SMOG AND SOOT LEVELS CONSIDERED DANGEROUS TO HEALTH – THE NEW CLEAR AIR INTERSTATE RULE AIMS TO CUT SULPHUR DIOXIDE BY 73 PER CENT AND NITROGEN OXIDE BY 61 PERCENT IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS – AROUND 50 MILLION NEW CARS ROLL OFF US ASSEMBLY LINES EACH YEAR – THERE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 20 MILLION FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES ON US ROADS – MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION GALLONS OF OIL WERE SPILT INTO US WATERS IN 2000 ALONE – ONLY 1 PER CENT OF AMERICAN TRAVEL IS ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT, AN EIGHTH OF THAT IN THE UK AND AN EIGHTEENTH OF THAT IN JAPAN – AS MUCH AS 5.99 TONNES OF CARBOND DIOXIDE IS EMITTED PER AMERICAN PER YEAR, COMPARED WITH .31 TONNES PER INDIAN OR .05 TONNES PER BANGLADESHI – THE US HAD 16 MAJOR OIL SPILLS BETWEEN 1976 AND 1989, WHEREAS FRANCE SUFFERED SIX AND THE UK FIVE – THE AVERAGE AMERICAN PRODUCES 864KG OF MUNICIPAL WASTE PER YEAR, ALMOST THREE TIMES THE QUANTITY OF RUBBISH PRODUCED ANNUALLY BY AND ITALIAN."
9 Comments:
Well, i think the question is not wether it is propaganda, but if it the truth. But of course, truth does not seem to be your worry. Keep the good job moron.
"AMERICAN CITIZENS RELEASE MORE CARBON DIOXIDE EVERY YEAR THAN ANY OTHER NATIONALITY"
The reason it can be interpreted as propaganda is that it doesn't present a clear argument. It's just meant to hit you, one brick after the next. Notice the line above does not say "American citizens release more pollution into the air every year than any other nationality". In fact it doesn't say this anywhere. It says "carbon dioxide". I understand why that's a concern, however, we've been reducing our pollution levels over the last couple decades. It would be reasonable to argue that China has surpassed our level of pollution, in fact. We get reports from time to time of "pollution clouds" that literally waft over from China across the Pacific. We can detect them on our west coast! Maybe the same happens with U.S. pollution. I haven't heard of it though.
The other part of it is it's clearly meant to give the impression that the U.S. is responsible for all that's wrong with the environment. It doesn't have to say it explicitly. We get it. However if it were giving a true measure of what needs to be done to make the world environment cleaner, it would not only need to list the environmental sins of the U.S., but of other countries as well, because surely we are not alone in environmental degredation. Russia would be a great subject. In terms of environmental responsibility in their past, they have the worst record of just about any country.
"AS MUCH AS 5.99 TONNES OF CARBOND DIOXIDE IS EMITTED PER AMERICAN PER YEAR, COMPARED WITH .31 TONNES PER INDIAN OR .05 TONNES PER BANGLADESHI"
So the folk at The Independent would be happy to live the life of a Bangladeshi? I guess none of them have cars or take foreign holidays.
Yes, I think the fact that America's large posterier is an inviting target is one of the reasons why Global Warming has got such legs as an "issue". Such topics usually exhibit the following characteristics:
(a)There is usually some form of doom or gloom.
(b) Capitalism is at fault. Or Globalisation.
(c) American is always the worst offender
(d) It is simple to explain in emotional and there is a clear "right" vs. "wrong"
We do have a couple of long runners on the go at the moment.
Candidate #1 - Global Warming.
A runner with form and a good pedigree. Ran past its predecessor - "the coming ice age" with aplomb in the 1990's. Most noticeable outcome is large grants for scientists and finally something in Britain that can be blamed for the weather.
http://thebarn-esher.blogspot.com/2005/05/why-i-just-dont-yet-buy-global-warming.html
Candidate #2 - Poverty in Africa
Now here you have a tailor made case. It has to be said that it is inconvenient that those well governed East Asian states have done very well over the past 30 years (before which time they were as poor as Africa) and I don't believe we are pouring aid into Singapore as we speak.
RJ
It's saying that the 25% of world pollution produced in the US is somehow worse than the far larger amount (75%, three times as much!) Pollution that is produced by the rest of the world simply because only 4% of the world's population produces it. It's also saying that this is a particularly selfish, money hungry, destructive 4% of the world population, making the pollution somehow worse. It's saying look at them (not yourself), blame them (feel good about yourself), hate them (It's all their fault!)... It's propaganda because of the message.
It's interesting they compare the US 6 tons of co2 to bangladesh but not to britain.. The brits do 3 tons per year...No slackers there
MOTOR VEHICLES ACCOUNT FOR 56 PER CENT OF ALL AIR POLLUTION IN THE UNITED STATES
What? Because the Brits don't drive right?
'The principal source of carbon monoxide in the UK is road transport, which currently accounts for 75% of the emissions of some 4.1 million tonnes per year.'
From here: http://www.sefton.gov.uk/content-3775
To Richard John-
Thanks so much for your link! Through it, I got to another blog, which led me to a speech by Michael Crichton I've been looking for for a few months. Crichton is a great speaker on this subject!
Actually I'd like to quote from one of speeches Crichton gave to the Commonwealth Club on Sept. 15, 2003. It sums up my feelings about the problem with environmentalism today:
"Today, one of the most powerful religions in the Western World is environmentalism. Environmentalism seems to be the religion of choice for urban atheists. Why do I say it's a religion? Well, just look at the beliefs. If you look carefully, you see that environmentalism is in fact a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths.
There's an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there's a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe. . . .Increasingly it seems facts aren't necessary, because the tenets of environmentalism are all about belief. It's about whether you are going to be a sinner, or saved. Whether you are going to be one of the people on the side of salvation, or on the side of doom. Whether you are going to be one of us, or one of them."
Crichton likes environmentalism fine, so long as it's scientifically based, using the scientific method, not speculation dressed up like science.
Post a Comment
<< Home