This article was contributed to Celsias by Jeanne Roberts
While conspiracy theorists worldwide are having a field day over the February 24 failure of a NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) climate-monitoring satellite that failed to reach its orbit during launch - and European theorists point the finger at another climate change satellite that went belly-up on March 16 - NASA and Cisco, Inc., a leading supplier of networking equipment, are trumpeting an online global environmental monitoring platform, called Planetary Skin, which will collect and analyze data from all over the planet to measure the ongoing impact of climate change.
According to the project's website, climate change has become a major priority not only for global leaders but for the heads of large corporations. This statement of purpose is supported by the fact that, out of $2.8 trillion (U.S.) dollars set aside for economic stimulus, $450 billion is targeted toward climate-change mitigation and adaptation.
Threats from climate change include not only environmental degradation, rising oceans, an increase in non-farmable land and less potable water, but the effects of these changes, which range from temporary to permanent population displacement, territorial conflicts, resource wars and epidemics.
Planetary Skin, as deployed around the world, intends to create a globally trustworthy MRV (measurement, reporting and verification) platform that would enable governments and corporations to manage their capital expenditures for mitigation. These are estimated to be about $350 billion from 2010 through 2020.
The first component of the project is a "Rural" skin. This focuses on tropical rainforests vis-à-vis forest destruction and carbon emissions reduction through forest preservation and reforestation. Various technologically sophisticated devices will also measure carbon dioxide ebbs and flows.
The next component, a "Rural to Urban" skin, will measure water resources in rural areas and its utilization by nearby urban areas. The Skin will also measure potable water in terms of public health, since poor water quality and a lack of sanitation facilities contribute to 88 percent of all deaths from diarrheal diseases in third world countries.
The Urban skin will focus on intelligent transportation, smart water and electrical systems, recycling, energy efficiency and citizen collaboration in urban centers, since cities are the primary consumers of resources. According to Planetary Skin, the world's 20 largest cities are responsible for 75 percent of the planet's energy use.
The organization describes its program as a ‘Call for Action' to address climate change, and it is clearly that. However, further hints that it will be used globally to set appropriate governance, regulatory, business and funding models suggest much more, and the suggestion is disturbing. At the very least, all the talk of high finance should ring alarm bells.
The globalists are clearly in a war to shape the planet to their aims, desires, and needs, and global warming is shaping up to be the ideal platform for such an undertaking. Where this will leave the rest of us is questionable.
I'm all in favor of global action on climate change to protect the poorest of nations, but suspect this empathy may not be shared by the aforementioned globalists, who seem intent on extracting the last dollar of profit from every venue - said dollars doing little for those at the bottom of the economic ladder, if the current U.S. bailout situation is any example. If you doubt me, read Evan Thomas's Newsweek article, which clearly states: "By definition, establishments believe in propping up the existing order. Members of the ruling class have a vested interest in keeping things pretty much the way they are."
On a final note, Japan launched its climate monitoring Ibuki satellite on February 9. Unfortunately, there is no indication the Japanese government plans to collaborate with Planetary Skin.
Perhaps I'm just being contrarian, but I would have preferred the failed satellites' monitoring capacities. Their information would inevitably have been leaked to the populace somewhere along the line, instilling the fear of God in all of us. Planetary Skin's spider web of watchdogs is too much like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World for my taste. If you want to pinpoint my concern more precisely, read David Owen's Economy vs. Environment op ed in the New York Times.
Bottom line: when the people in power tell you they are doing something for your own good, duck and cover. It is perhaps no coincidence that Planetary Skin and the G20 are arriving at approximately the same time.
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