Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Downstream or upstream?

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Downstream or upstream?

Downstream: adverb - in the direction in which the water flows in a stream or river.

Upstream: adverb - contrary to the direction of flow of a river or stream, further up or along a moving body of water.

If you have trouble remembering these two, just use the analogy of stairs. Water always flows down, never up. So: as you climb up the stairs, so you go 'upstream', toward the source of the river in the hills.

'It's much easier to swim or paddle a boat downstream, as you follow the flow toward the sea.'

'If you intend to drink from a stream, it's probably best to make sure there isn't a dead sheep lying in the current upstream.'

Writing: 100 Words Today. What?

How can it be that I have done only 100 words? Well, it was a token effort, following a difficult day at the office and the need to thoroughly water the garden, as we have had no rain for three weeks and none forecast until after the weekend. plants are dying. But I was determined to move the story on, even if only a little. And, actually, those few words brought up a new idea, which I'm now ready to expand the next time I take up the thread: probably Thursday, since Wednesday is my writing group night.
So, a very short entry tonight.

The picture is a local vale we walked a few days ago. Walked 4 miles and never met another soul; heaven!

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Quack

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Quack: noun – someone who pretends medical skill or knowledge; anyone who claims knowledge or skill they do not have; a charlatan; slang for a doctor, physician or surgeon; couch grass; the sound made by a duck; verb – to make a sound like a duck; to practice a pretended skill.

‘That so-called holistic therapist is nothing but a quack, pedalling his hair-brained ideas and robbing the credulous of their hard-earned money.’

‘In the idyllic silence surrounding Robert and Jennifer, making love alfresco, the sudden quack from the pond sent their heightened senses into overdrive so that they burst out laughing and shook so violently that they came simultaneously; a quack, from that day forward, always made them horny.’

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Dabble

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Dabble: verb - moisten or soil by sprinkling, splashing, or dipping into water or other liquid; move, splash

Hands or feet in water, move the feet, hands, etc., in shallow water, paddle; work at something in a desultory manner; meddle, interfere.

'Under the burning sun, Georgina and Cindy dabbled their feet in the fountain to bring some relief from the heat wave that all but consumed the city.'

'David dabbled his handkerchief in the river to wash away the blood after murdering his wife's lover.'

Is Population a Primary Cause of Global Climate Change?

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Does anyone else feel, as I do, that the rising human population is probably the greatest threat to our security on the planet? Currently, according to the World Population Clock as I write, there are 6,855,542,801 (click the link and frighten yourself to death as you watch it increase before your eyes). The same counter estimates a world population of 8,730,121,285 by November 2050.

These numbers are too large to properly comprehend, of course. But the overall upward trend terrifies me. We have already reached a stage where millions are starving, millions if not billions have no access to safe water supplies, energy reserves are too scarce to go round, and many mineral resources are rapidly declining.

As the underdeveloped nations climb the ladder toward a Western level of consumerism, the calls on almost every resource will become unsustainable. If we can’t avoid starvation in the world now, how are we going to do so with a 20% increase in mouths to feed? Many experts predict that the next wars will be over drinking water; that seems to me like stating the bleeding obvious.

The increased consumption of materials and fuel and the resultant output of pollutants and carbon dioxide will inevitably accelerate the rate of climate change, which in turn, will add damaging stress to the ecosystems producing crops.

It is likely that war is inevitable under such circumstances. As a species, and as separate social groups, we have always shown a remarkably blinkered attitude to inevitable changes. Many of the civilisations that preceded ours vanished or declined rapidly as a result of ecological disasters. Are we to go the same way?

We do have a choice. We can do something to prevent catastrophe. It won’t affect me, other than at the very end of my likely lifespan. But it will affect my child and any individual currently under the age of about 40.

A fundamental change has to be the way we view our reproduction as a species. We have long had the means to limit our growth, to reduce the many children born to some couples. Of course, there are authorities in the world who see such intervention as sinful and against the will of their God. Perhaps these authorities should look at the poverty, misery and distress that their insistence on such dogma cause. The perceived need to continually increase the membership of any club (for which, read religious grouping) is hardly a reason to threaten the stability of life on Earth, is it?

They will no doubt use the defence that we must not behave as if we were God. But we do that daily by our intervention in the health and welfare of the population at large. If we can intervene to save life, why can’t we intervene to prevent its development?

I’ve had my say – or some of it – and now invite you to say your piece. Please, let me and the world know what you think about this.

Gardening for a rest

Having exhausted the search for the perfect synopsis, yesterday morning I spent gardening; refreshing the spirit by manual labour. The hawthorn, berberis and pyrocantha are all now relatively tamed. At least they won't snag the clothes of unwary visitors or neighbours using their own paths to their houses. And the pond is now almost free of blanket weed. So, the afternoon found me knackered but spiritually revived enough to start again. But, first things first; I thought I should acquaint myself with the needs and requirements of the agents I intend to approach. That left me knowing I needed to produce a single page, double-spaced synopsis for most. That's around 450 words for a novel exceeding 270,000 words. But my writing friends sent advice and  samples and I've had another go. It seems to be goind well, but I'll let you know the general feeling of my writing group after next Wednesday's meeting.