Growing Problems

If you've been reading your New Internationalist (and if you haven't, go out and get one now) you'll now be pretty well primed on the wonderful world of plastic. We at Throbgoblins International were unaware of the scale of Bio -plastic expansion (that's Genetically Modified foodstuffs grown for cellusose and starch to replace oil as a staple of the plastics industry) and are now suitably depressed by the implications of a doubling of capacity during a food shortage. We would cheer ourselves up with a flagon of ginger beer if we didn't now have a working overview of plastic bottle production. It's a pickle.

Throbgoblin's place of residence was long ago overwhelmed by a great, looming Gargantumart, which has finally chased the last living shopkeeper out of town as a proposed rejuvenation plan collapsed when developers pulled out prematurely (leaving the council embarrassed and unsatisfied.) This has been compounded by the collapse of the local (hugely inflated) housing market, which has left many residents reeling at the awful realisation that they may have to stay here. Our neighbours are consoling themselves with strong lager and scuffles, but there's no hiding the hurt.

And, of course, climate change advances apace, with ice shelves collapsing left right and centre and only the US Republican party - and Sarah Palin in particular - left in any doubt.