My eMail to the UN (sent today)

Just a Suggestion

I sent this email to the UN though I am not quite sure who might be reading it.

Gentlemen,

I have a suggestion that may help the UN to solve some of the critical issues we are faced with in today’s world. I have called the idea “Committees” but it would be more like a series of blogs where the UN would invite qualified people to make comments and provide possible solutions to global problems we face today. I envision multiple blog pages, each dedicated to a single situation, issue or problem. Experts in the field for each page would be invited to join the conversation by writing and posting their analysis, research and suggested solutions for the subject at issue on that page. There would also be a space provided on each posting for any individual, world wide, to submit comments.

From the point of view of the setup, there are a number of free blog sites out there that have the technology in place to get this done. It would mean that the UN would have to establish and host the site but I don’t see that as a problem for your IT people.

To get a little more specific, let me suggest what the blog for Global Warming might look like, and I would call this one “The UN Project on Global Warming”. The posts coming from the scientific invitees would be concerning what is causing the problem and what are the likely consequences of doing nothing. I would add specific and detailed recommendations from those experts to outline what needs to be done both using technology available now and new technologies that must be developed. The posts from the political invitees would concern the national and international laws that need to be developed or modified and adopted to allow and encourage progress on the solutions put forward, and ideas and suggestions for funding the efforts including how much and who.

To find the experts to be the contributors to these blogs let me suggest that the UN put out an invitation to join the discussion to known groups and associations across the globe. The Nobel Prize mailing list might not be a bad place to start.

The one issue that might be somewhat challenging to overcome is the question of jurisdiction. I say that because I see this system being put to good use for local and national as well as international issues. If all concerned can understand that the purpose of the system is to find and help implement solutions to problems and situations that are hurting people, it just might take off. Perhaps it would be prudent to get the system up and running first on international issues. That will give the system a track record that could be used to expand it into local and national situations later.

I will be copying this message onto my own blog today with a posting designed to get some support from others.

Thank you,

Lex Leighton

As I promised in the last line above, this is what I sent at about 2:00 PM EST today. If you on reading this think that it is a good idea, please raise your voice. And please feel free to add your own comments and suggestions. For those of you connected to scientific, educational or other associations of the knowledgable, please get the word out and direct your friends and associates to this blog.

Just to give all of you something to think about, lets say we took half of the money presently being spent on weapons around the globe and put it in a Sahara Desert bank account. Then we added half the money being spent finding and drilling and refining and transporting petrolium based products. Then we took that money, ripped up half of the petrolium pipe lines and pumping stations in the world and got all that equipment cleaned up to carry water. Then we got half of the equipment shipped to the Sahara and half to the Gobi desert and began drilling for water and building treatment plants and pipelines. How long would it take to begin turning those spaces green, with the equipment gathered how many square miles could be converted to grow food and what would that do to global climate patterns?

I don't know the answer but, given the environmental crisis we are now in, I sure would like to know.

In thinking about this I am reminded of the line out of that baseball movie a few years ago. I can't remember the title but the line was "build it and they will come". If only five percent of the Sahara and Gobi Deserts was turned into productive farm land, how many farmers would be clambering for plots of land? How many shop keepers would arrive looking to build the old style general store? How many major corporations involved in wholesaling and shipping farm produce or manufacturing bio-fuels would be pounding at the door, money in their pockets, ready to invest and create jobs.

At almost seventy years of age I doubt that I would see the end result of such a project, but I would love to see it started.