Since the first Kyoto meeting and throughout all of the subsequent meetings right up to the current ,taking place in Bali, the mindset of all involved is based upon understandings about this planet and life in general that have not changed for thousands of years.

Business interests have to take precedence for fear of falling stock prices and profits. The political will to adopt strong policies to reduce carbon emissions is lacking as evidenced by air travel  across the world gathering momentum and the need for economic growth to continue unabated.

The move to bio fuels and carbon trading markets are affected by outmoded beliefs which have shown an increase in basic food prices for the former, because of the belief in "supply and demand", and abuses in trading in the latter because of the belief that maximising profits is in the interest of all.

As we struggle to feed ourselves because of increasing prices and reducing food availability, we will eventually resort to armed conflict on a global scale and follow a cycle that our beliefs have carried us through many times over many centuries.

Surely in this 21st century when we are embarking on increasing levels of space exploration, we need to find new beliefs that will enable us to interact in a more humane fashion and therefore allow us to see the common problems that we are currently facing and effectively deal with them.

The issues in front of us are not about cutting this, developing that or maximising something else, but how we view our relationship with this planet and how we can recognise the commonality of  our species, not perceived gender, race religious and other spurious differences that cause war and continual conflicts.

The planet in particular is a living organism, even science would now concur with this and so it is beholden upon us to recognise this change to previously perceived wisdom and adapt accordingly. Nature is by far the most powerful force in our lives and compared to this political, corporate and any other human power base pales into insignificance.

This is the reality of what we are now facing and it is beholden upon those in positions of power to recognise this and lead us accordingly.

After all life is about living and if we continue to blindly follow outmoded beliefs of a bygone era they will eventually lead to our destruction as a species - the direction they are now taking us in!

Our current beliefs were developed at a time when there were no such things as atom bombs or a global village and we need to recognise this, grasp the nettle, and bring our own personal development in line with the phenomenal accomplishments we have achieved in the technological and other areas of life.

If ever there was a need to adopt the medical idiom "treat the cause and not the symptom", it is now and it is becoming more urgent with the passing of every day.