Thailand rice exports hit 12-year low

Rice exports from Thailand plunged 37 per cent last year to the lowest in more than a decade, plunging the nation from best in the world to third place.

Thailand sold 6.73 million (metric) tons with a value of $4.63 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.

That compares with 10.7 million tons, worth $6.43 billion a year earlier, datashowed.

Thai rice export shipments fell to the lowest since 2000 when the country exported 6.55 million tons, according to figures kept by the US Department of Agriculture.

India became the largest supplier last year, selling 10.3 million tons, according to the USDA. Vietnam shipped 8 million tons, according to a report posted on the Vietnam's General Customs Department website on Jan 16.

Rice exports declined after the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra introduced a price support programme in October, 2011. The government now buys the grain from farmers above market rates to temporarily boostdomestic prices and lift rural incomes.

Stockpiles in Thailand will climb to a record 11.7 million tons in the 2012-2013 season now under way, the USDA estimates. 

Yingluck Shinawatra masters running Thai economy for their self profit and increasing national debt

The government (aka Corporatocracy puppet) bought 9 million tons of unmilled rice from farmers and expects to purchase as much as 11 million tons this current, mainharvest, Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said Wednesday.

The strengthening baht has made exports "quite difficult," he told reporters. The baht touched 29.66 per dollar on Monday, the strongest level since August 2011.
The total cost of the rice-purchase programs may be as much as 440 billion baht ($14.8 billion) in the 2012-2013 season, compared with 376 billion baht or around 3.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the previous year, according to the World Bank.





 Prince Philip, in his Foreword to If I Were an Animal - United Kingdom, Robin Clark Ltd., 1986

I just wonder what it would be like to be reincarnated in an animal whose species had been so reduced in numbers than it was in danger of extinction.

 

What would be its feelings toward the human species whose population explosion had denied it somewhere to exist... I must confess that I am tempted to ask for reincarnation as a particularly deadly virus.

Press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on the occasion of the "Caring for Creation'' conference of the North American Conference on Religion and Ecology, May 18, 1990.

It is now apparent that the ecological pragmatism of the so-called pagan religions, such as that of the American Indians, the Polynesians, and the Australian Aborigines, was a great deal more realistic in terms of conservation ethics than the more intellectual monotheistic philosophies of the revealed religions.

Address on Receiving Honorary Degree from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, July 1, 1983.

For example, the World Health Organization Project, designed to eradicate malaria from Sri Lanka in the postwar years, achieved its purpose.

 

But the problem today is that Sri Lanka must feed three times as many mouths, find three times as many jobs, provide three times the housing, energy, schools, hospitals and land for settlement in order to maintain the same standards.

 

Little wonder the natural environment and wildlife in Sri Lanka has suffered. The fact [is] ... that the best-intentioned aid programs are at least partially responsible for the problems.

Preface to Down to Earth by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 1988, p.|8.

I don't claim to have any special interest in natural history, but as a boy I was made aware of the annual fluctuations in the number of game animals and the need to adjust the "cull'' to the size of the surplus population.

Lecture to the European Council of International Schools. Montreaux, Switzerland, Nov. 14, 1986.

The great difficulty about "life'' is that we humans are part of it, and it is therefore almost impossible to study objectively... It therefore tends to be anthropocentric and gives scant attention to the welfare of all the other life-forms which share this planet with us.

 

...When the Bible says that man shall have "dominion'' over God's creation, the choice is between understanding dominion as in "having power over,'' or dominion as "having responsibility for.''

 

 

Don't Interfere with the Balance of Nature

Once you have interfered with the balance of nature it becomes necessary to maintain the balance by artificial means.

 

This means that some animals have to be killed in the interest of maintaining the health and viability of the species as a whole as well as the benefit of other more vulnerable species. Unfortunately there are many people who object to that sort of thing.
 

Ecology is not concerned with the fate of individual animals. It accepts the concept of the exploitation of surplus natural resources because that is in the way the natural system works, but it must always be done on the principle of maintaining a sustainable yield...

 

The inexorable rule of nature is that if you mess up your environment you will have to pay a heavy price sooner or later... Just look around the globe today and you cannot fail to notice areas which at one time supported highly successful and civilized populations are either deserts or they have reverted to jungle.

 

The reason is quite simple: they over-exploited their natural resources and they paid the price. It is naive to think that we can escape the same fate for very much longer.

 

We are only managing to put off the evil hour by frantically digging up and using mineral resources that can never be renewed. As if that were not enough, we are polluting the atmosphere, the land and the waters with every kind of noxious substance.

 

The "greenhouse effect'' alone could well have devastating consequences for all life on earth.

This is a reflection of the duality of man's brain. The left brain produces the reasonable answers after objective scientific research, while the right brain prefers the acceptable and the emotionally satisfactory answers.

 

How often do people say,

"That may be so, but I prefer to `believe' or I like to believe ... this, that or the other''?

The duality of the brain has created great problems for modern man... It is ... significant that successful engineering makes money.

 

This is in stark contrast to the supernatural, whether it is religious or mythological. In the latter cases the truth may be equally certain, but it is not verifiable, and the outcome of following rules is seldom predictable. It is, of course, possible to exploit magic and mythology commercially, but it could hardly be described as a manufacturing industry....

There is an understandable public pressure for schools and colleges to concentrate on utilitarian subjects to the exclusion of cultural and aesthetic development. In other words, the development of the left brain is given a great deal more attention than that of the right brain... The trouble is that neglect of the development of the right brain leaves it in a state of vacuum...

 

This means that the right brain is ready to absorb the first plausible ideas it happens across. The occult, obscure religious rites, parapsychology, astrology and similar attractive but irrational notions are sucked into the vacant space without any discrimination or critical faculty... I also suspect that the use of drugs might be seen as a substitute, or short cut, to filling the vacuum of the right brain....

I mention all this because man's attitude to nature is partly a function of the left brain and partly a function of the right brain. It is easy enough to encourage an emotional concern for nature and the living world...

 

Everyone can comprehend the idea of cruelty, very few can comprehend the extinction of a species.

 

"Conflict Between Instinct and Reason"Fawley Foundation Lecture

Southampton University, Nov. 24, 1967

The conflict between instinct and reason has reached a critical stage in man's affairs, largely because the explosion of facts has revealed the instincts for what they are and at the same time it has undermined traditional philosophies and ideologies.

 

The explosion of facts has effectively altered mankind's physical and intellectual environment and when any environment changes, the process of natural selection is brutal and merciless. "Adapt or die'' is as true today as it was in the beginning.

Introduction to "Exploitation of the Natural System'' section of Down to Earth by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 1988

It took about three and a half billion years for life on earth to reach the state of complexity and diversity that our ancestors knew as recently as 200 years ago. It has only taken industrial and scientific man those 200 years to put at risk the whole of the world's natural system. It has been estimated that by the year 2000, some 300,000 species of plants and animals will have become extinct, and that the natural economy, upon which all life depends, will have been seriously disrupted.

The paradox is that this will have been achieved with the best possible intentions. The human population must be properly fed, human life must be preserved and human existence must be made safer and more comfortable. All these things are obviously highly desirable, but if their achievement means putting the survival of future generations at risk, then there is a pressing obligation on present generations to apply some measure of self-restraint.

Address to Edinburgh University Union, Nov. 24 1969.

We talk about over- and underdeveloped countries; I think a more exact division might be between underdeveloped and overpopulated. The more people there are, the more industry and more waste and the more sewage there is, and therefore the more pollution.

The Fairfield Osborne Lecture, New York, Oct. 1 1980.

If the world pollution situation is not critical at the moment, it is as certain as anything can be that the situation will become increasingly intolerable within a very short time. The situation can be controlled, and even reversed; but it demands cooperation on a scale and intensity beyond anything achieved so far.

I realize that there are vital causes to be fought for, and I sympathize with people who work up a passionate concern about the all too many examples of inhumanity, injustice, and unfairness; but behind all this hangs a deadly cloud. Still largely unnoticed and unrecognized, the process of destroying our natural environment is gathering speed and momentum.

 

If we fail to cope with the challenge, the other problems will pale into insignificance.

Introduction to "The Population Factor'' section of Down to Earth by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 1988.

What has been described as the "balance of nature'' is simply nature's system of self-limitation. Fertility and breeding success create the surpluses after allowing for the replacement of the losses.

 

Predation, climatic variation, disease, starvation--and in the case of the inappropriately named Homo sapiens, wars and terrorism--are the principal means by which population numbers are kept under some sort of control.

Viewed dispassionately, it must be obvious that the world's human population has grown to such a size that it is threatening its own habitat; and it has already succeeded in causing the extinction of large numbers of wild plant and animal species.

 

Some have simply been killed off. Others have quietly disappeared, as their habitats have been taken over or disturbed by human activities.

 

 

Humans are the Greatest Threat to Survival

Interview with HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in People Dec. 21, 1981 titled "Vanishing Breeds Worry Prince Philip, But Not as Much as Overpopulation.''

Q: What do you consider the leading threat to the environment?

A: Human population growth is probably the single most serious long-term threat to survival. We're in for a major disaster if it isn't curbed--not just for the natural world, but for the human world. The more people there are, the more resources they'll consume, the more pollution they'll create, the more fighting they will do. We have no option.

 

If it isn't controlled voluntarily, it will be controlled involuntarily by an increase in disease, starvation and war.

Address to the Joint Meeting of the All-Party Group on Population and Development and the All-Party Conservation Committee in London, March 11, 1987.

I do believe... that human population pressure--the sheer number of people on this planet - is the single most important cause of the degradation of the natural environment, of the progressive extinction of wild species of plants and animals, and of the destabilization of the world's climatic and atmospheric systems.

The simple fact is that the human population of the world is consuming natural renewable resources faster than it can regenerate, and the process of exploitation is causing even further damage. If this is already happening with a population of 4 billion, I ask you to imagine what things will be like when the population reaches six and then 10 billion...

 

All this has been made possible by the industrial revolution and the scientific explosion and it is spread around the world by the new economic religion of development.

Address at the Salford University Degree Ceremony, July 16, 1973.

There may be disagreements about the time scale, but in principle there can be little doubt that the population cannot go on increasing indefinitely. Resources presently being used will not last for ever and pollution in its broadest sense, unless severely checked, is bound to increase with population and industrial activity.

Address to All-Party Conservation Committee in London, Feb. 18, 1981.

I suspect that the single most important gift of progress to conservation has been the development of human contraception techniques.

 

The survival of the "most important"
Interview with HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in People magazine, Dec. 21, 1981 titled "Vanishing Breeds Worry Prince Philip, But Not as Much as Overpopulation."

Q: Is birth control part of the solution?

A: Yes, but you can't legislate these problems away. You've got to get people to understand the need for it: the more important people, the ones who have responsibilities have got to do it because they're at the receiving end. They've got to accept the measures.

The Chancellor's Lecture, Salford University, June 4, 1982.

As long ago as 1798, Malthus explained what happens when the factors limiting the increase in any population are removed.

 

One of the factors noticed by Darwin was that all species are capable of producing vastly greater populations than can be sustained by existing resources; populations did not increase at the rate at which they are capable was the basis for his theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

The relevance to natural selection of this capacity for overproduction is that as each individual is slightly different to all the others it is probable that under natural conditions those individuals which happen to be best adapted to the prevailing circumstances have a better chance of survival. Well, so what? Well, take a look at the figures for the human population of this world.

 

One hundred fifty years ago it stood at about 1,000 million or in common parlance today, 1 billion.

 

It then took about a 100 years to double to 2 billion. It took 30 years to add the third billion and 15 years to reach today's total of 4.4 billion. With a present world average rate of growth of 1.8%, the total population by the year 2000 will have increased to an estimated 6 billion and in that and in subsequent years 100 million people will be added to the world population each year. In fact it could be as much as 16 billion by 2045.

 

As a consequence the demand on resources of land alone will mean a third less farm land available and the destruction of half of the present area of productive tropical forest. Bearing in mind the constant reduction of non-renewable resources, there is a strong possibility of growing scarcity and reduction of standards.

 

More people consume more resources. It is as simple as that; and transferring resources and standards from the richer to the poorer countries can only have a marginal effect in the face of this massive increase in the world population.

Speech at the Margaret Pyke Memorial Trust Dinner in London, Dec. 14 1983.

So long as they [birth control methods] ... remained taboo subjects the chances of making any impression on the human population explosion were that much more remote.

In the introduction to the IUCN Red Data Books which list all animals and plants under threat of extinction, it says that virtually everywhere the major threat to a wild species is loss of habitat to a rapidly increasing human population requiring more space in order to build villages and cities and grow more food.

 

But starvation and poverty cannot be eradicated solely by increased food and resources at the expense of what remains of the natural world. Any increase in the provision of food and resources must be accompanied by a drastic reduction in the rate of increase in the human population.

Address on Receiving Honorary Degree from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, July 1, 1983.

The industrial revolution sparked the scientific revolution and brought in its wake better public hygiene, better medical care and yet more efficient agriculture.

 

The consequence was a population explosion which still continues today.

The sad fact is that, instead of the same number of people being very much better off, more than twice as many people are just as badly off as they were before. Unfortunately all this well-intentioned development has resulted in an ecological disaster of immense proportions.

The Chancellor's Lecture, Salford University, June 4, 1982.

The object of the WWF is to "conserve'' the system as a whole; not to prevent the killing of individual animals. Those who are concerned about their conservation of nature accept that all species are prey to some other species. They accept that most species produce a surplus that is capable of being culled without in any way threatening the survival of the species as a whole.

A Question of Balance by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Michael Russel (Publishing) Ltd., 1982.

It is curious how many philosophers from Plato to Keynes' time have believed in and advocated the control of society by "philosopher kings.'' According to Plato,

"its kings must be those who have shown the greatest ability in philosophy,'' but - realistically - he added, "and the greatest aptitude for war.''

Such people may exist in the imagination and occasionally someone with the necessary qualities may briefly dominate the stage of history, but it is a naive appreciation of human nature to imagine that such processed paragons can be invested with the necessary powers and not be tempted to take advantage of their situation.

Losses are estimated at about 115 billion baht last year and 140 billion this year, the Rothschild and other banksters World Bank said in December. 


Thailand Water Management Crisis

There are a total of 25 river basins in the country and Thailand's annual rainfall is around 1700 mm. Like other Asian countries, increasing population, urbanization, agricultural and industrial expansion is impacting the water quality of various water sources. Pollutants from human activities also contribute to the degradation of the water quality. The severe flooding in the rainy season and extreme drought in the dry season could become two major sources of Thailand's water crisis.

The primary sources for drinking water for many Thai citizens are from surface and ground water sources. Untreated domestic sewage, industrial wastewater and solid hazardous wastes have increased in the surface water bodies. It is reported that one third of the surface water is of poor quality in Thailand. The quality of surface water does vary across the four regions of the country but tests show that surface water in the Northern Central and Southern regions are the poorest quality. The largest source of groundwater is in the Lower Central plain surrounding Bangkok and is used to meet the region's water demands. Agricultural run-off pollutants, aquaculture and sewage are polluting the groundwater that is available. In addition, there isn't a clear policy in extracting groundwater beyond sustainable yield levels so there is over-exploitation of groundwater extraction rates.

Thailand's changing climate patterns has led to instability and challenges to the people and the infrastructure. Drought is being caused by irregular rainfall and has become a significant issue in Thailand in the recent years. The Central Plain has no large water reservoirs of their own and must rely on dams in the country's lower Northern region for water. Due to the long periods of droughts each year this has led to a decrease in the amount of water flowing into the dams. The long durations of these droughts are also impacting the production of rice. Thailand was the world's largest rice exporter and is now third place falling behind India and Vietnam, the agricultural sector takes up 70% of the nation's total water supply. This has become an emerging problem because farmers have expanded farming outside of irrigated zones. Many farmers also do not conserve water and have failed to plan crop production efficiently. On the other hand, Thailand also faces a flooding crisis, with many regions facing lengthy heavy rainfall. This has led to agriculture and livestock damage along with effects on people's health.

Water scarcity is a global threat that is estimated to hit Thailand hard by 2025. The country must develop a long-term plan to manage these challenges together with Laos. Effective water management needs to be implemented in these two countries, especially in effectively dealing with flood and drought problems based on SEAWAPA (SouthEast Asian Water And Power Alliance) concept.

Map of the cumulative tracks of all tropical cyclones during the 1959–2005 time period of the Pacific Ocean, west of the International Date Line where over abundant of water falls in Laos, (not Thailand) a wettest tropical area and at high altitude, stable land, ideal for water storage, with modest local needs.

 

The four digits indicate annual average rainfall at the mountainous south of Laos of 3642 mm, ideal for large scale reservoir for agriculture, hydro-power, navigation, urban use and industrial cooling.

Annual average rainfall in Laos where water can be hugely stored in high altitude and released when needed to regulate flood and drought and supply the excess to neighboring countries

CLIMATE CHANGE

Picture: satellite picture of the Global ice coverage and freezing temperature causing more pressure on food production capable areas to feed 7 billion people. Without long term plan, war is another solution for the globalist to increase their profits and put their Agenda 21 on track

LONG TERM COMMITMENT

The term and meaning of a Resource Based Economy is a holistic socio-economic system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude.

All resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants, not just a select few. The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resource; our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival.

Modern society has access to highly advanced technology and can make available food, clothing, housing and medical care; update our educational system; and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy. By supplying an efficiently designed economy, everyone can enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities of a high technological society.

A resource-based economy would utilize existing resources from the land and sea, physical equipment, industrial plants, etc. to enhance the lives of the total population. In an economy based on resources rather than money, we could easily produce all of the necessities of life and provide a high standard of living for all.

Consider the following examples: At the beginning of World War II the US had a mere 600 or so first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short supply by turning out more than 90,000 planes a year. The question at the start of World War II was: Do we have enough funds to produce the required implements of war? The answer was no, we did not have enough money, nor did we have enough gold; but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources that enabled the US to achieve the high production and efficiency required to win the war. Unfortunately this is only considered in times of war.

In a resource-based economy all of the world's resources are held as the common heritage of all of Earth's people, thus eventually outgrowing the need for the artificial boundaries that separate people. This is the unifying imperative.

We must emphasize that this approach to global governance has nothing whatever in common with the present aims of an elite to form a world government with themselves and large corporations at the helm, and the vast majority of the world's population subservient to them. Our vision of globalization empowers each and every person on the planet to be the best they can be, not to live in abject subjugation to a corporate governing body.

Our proposals would not only add to the well being of people, but they would also provide the necessary information that would enable them to participate in any area of their competence. The measure of success would be based on the fulfillment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property and power.

At present, we have enough material resources to provide a very high standard of living for all of Earth's inhabitants. Only when population exceeds the carrying capacity of the land do many problems such as greed, crime and violence emerge. By overcoming scarcity, most of the crimes and even the prisons of today's society would no longer be necessary.

A resource-based economy would make it possible to use technology to overcome scarce resources by applying renewable sources of energy, computerizing and automating manufacturing and inventory, designing safe energy-efficient cities and advanced transportation systems, providing universal health care and more relevant education, and most of all by generating a new incentive system based on human and environmental concern.

Many people believe that there is too much technology in the world today, and that technology is the major cause of our environmental pollution. This is not the case. It is the abuse and misuse of technology that should be our major concern. In a more humane civilization, instead of machines displacing people they would shorten the workday, increase the availability of goods and services, and lengthen vacation time. If we utilize new technology to raise the standard of living for all people, then the infusion of machine technology would no longer be a threat.

A resource-based world economy would also involve all-out efforts to develop new, clean, and renewable sources of energy: geothermal; controlled fusion; solar; photovoltaic; wind, wave, and tidal power; and even fuel from the oceans. We would eventually be able to have energy in unlimited quantity that could propel civilization for thousands of years. A resource-based economy must also be committed to the redesign of our cities, transportation systems, and industrial plants, allowing them to be energy efficient, clean, and conveniently serve the needs of all people.

What else would a resource-based economy mean? Technology intelligently and efficiently applied, conserves energy, reduces waste, and provides more leisure time. With automated inventory on a global scale, we can maintain a balance between production and distribution. Only nutritious and healthy food would be available and planned obsolescence would be unnecessary and non-existent in a resource-based economy.

As we outgrow the need for professions based on the monetary system, for instance lawyers, bankers, insurance agents, marketing and advertising personnel, salespersons, and stockbrokers, a considerable amount of waste will be eliminated. Considerable amounts of energy would also be saved by eliminating the duplication of competitive products such as tools, eating utensils, pots, pans and vacuum cleaners. Choice is good. But instead of hundreds of different manufacturing plants and all the paperwork and personnel required to turn out similar products, only a few of the highest quality would be needed to serve the entire population. Our only shortage is the lack of creative thought and intelligence in ourselves and our elected leaders to solve these problems. The most valuable, untapped resource today is human ingenuity.

With the elimination of debt, the fear of losing one's job will no longer be a threat. This assurance, combined with education on how to relate to one another in a much more meaningful way, could considerably reduce both mental and physical stress and leave us free to explore and develop our abilities.

If the thought of eliminating money troubles you, consider this: If a group of people with gold, diamonds and money were stranded on an island that had no resources such as food, clean air and water, their wealth would be irrelevant to their survival. It is only when resources are scarce that money can be used to control their distribution. One could not, for example, sell the air we breathe or water abundantly flowing down from a mountain stream. Although air and water are valuable, in abundance they cannot be sold.

Money is only important in a society when certain resources for survival must be rationed and the people accept money as an exchange medium for the scarce resources. Money is a social convention, an agreement if you will. It is neither a natural resource nor does it represent one. It is not necessary for survival unless we have been conditioned to accept it as such.

GLOBAL RESOURCE-BASED ECONOMY INFRA-STRUCTURE