In this 1973 video, the Club of Rome envision a world with far less need to work long hours and with a benign system of international cooperation. I think that they would be horrified if they could see what has actually happened, and the role that the IMF has taken. I think the Club of Rome got the material settings right, though.
Almost half of Australia's terrestrial ecosystems are threatened, 85 per cent of its rivers have been modified and twice as many Australians die from air pollution annually than road accidents, according to a report on the state of the country's environment.
42 environmental growth have cooperated to bring us this damning report, and hopefully will be a wake-up call that we are living beyond our means, and must change.
Expansion at Abbot Point coal terminal can proceed following the Environment Minister's approval of the dredging project. There are some "strict" conditions on when and how much can be dredged. There is "protection" for flora and fauna.
On the ABC News radio this morning (9 Sept 2012) we heard that private coal companies are demanding compensation for carbon trading costs from the Victorian Government and apparently this is being taken seriously!
Whereas most recycling (apart from composting and metals) is pretty energy-costly and pollution-generating and not worth doing, recycling of drink containers that can actually be reused - notably glass containers - would substantially reduce litter and plastic pollution. Complementary to such a scheme should be discouragement of throw-away plastic containers.
Unless there's economic growth, we're not making progress
Unless the trucks rumble along the roads, we're not making progress
Unless the engines of industry are turning, we're not making progress
Unless the factories and mills belch out smoke, we're not making progress
Unless our armies are on the move, we're not making progress
Huge floating patches of unrecycled pelagic plastic in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are yet more damning evidence of the damage that is being done to our planet by the rapid expansion of industrialisation across the globe. This is being done to suit the greed of humankind's elites.
Few are prepared to admit when they are wrong, so then why has this expression become a cliché?
Humans as animals have a survival instinct and so by extension are naturally defensive of criticism. They will defend their actions to the hilt, despite the surrounding damage they knowingly cause. Modern 'progressive' Man (humans) even more arrogantly proclaims that the world without human endeavour would be a wasteland.
The offshore rig Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20 in an oil leak that has surpassed the Exxon Valdez as the worst in U.S. history. Scientists estimate up to 20-40 million gallons have been flowing over the last five weeks but estimates vary wildly. Exxon Valdez spilled nearly 11 million gallons in 1989. A U.S.
Article originally published as "Resistance Growing to Ecologically Devastating Chinese Mining Invasion of Madang, Papua New Guinea" on rainforestportal.org o 1 Apr 10.
One of the most important principles internationally when referring to greenhouse gas reduction schemes it that the polluter pays. This means that national targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions should be based on the historical contribution of each nation to global emissions.
(photo Wikipedia Commons)
The spill measured 70 by 20 nautical miles, with sheen visible in 25 per cent of that area, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said.
Language is powerful. ‘In the beginning was the word’. Everything in the universe vibrates. The words we speak vibrate from our vocal chords and pass through every cell of our bodies. Infants in the womb feel the vibration of their mother’s words all around them, pervading their environment and their bodies. Somewhat like being in a surround sound Imax theatre only more so.
Populations have been living around Lake Titicaca for 10,000 years, dating back to the Archaic period. The first communities appeared around Titicaca in 1,200 BC and since then have increased in population and have become more dependent on its water for their livelihood for agriculture and navigation.
Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, which straddles the border between Bolivia and Peru, is a place venerated by the ancient Incas who ruled throughout South America from the 13th to the mid-16th centuries.
Living beside such a large body of water, people sometimes take for granted the effects pollution can have.
Lake Titicaca region experiences a high variability in terms of its weather patterns. There is a high level of uncertainty, and risk, living under such conditions.
The lack of sewage treatment plants around the lake causes most waste to be put directly into Titicaca and, as a result, pollution levels have been rising over the decades, thereby contaminating water.
In June 2006, a health ministry-appointed committee of experts sent to the area of Cohana, (Bolivia - a breathtaking 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) above sea level) found "the potential presence of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses or parasites" in the bay, making it the most polluted sector in Titicaca.
"Biological activity is directly affected by the water's lack of oxygen: fish that generally were everywhere now are dead," one study said.
Other sources of degradation come from the cattle industry that surrounds the lake and the loss of soil due to their impact and, with regards to the fishing industry, the introduction of exotic species and the overfishing of both those and indigenous species has left the lake with smaller and smaller fish.
In the rainy seasons of 1982-3 and 1989-90, extreme droughts caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the agricultural industry, both crop and animal.
The years in between experienced a higher than average rainfall and culminated in the severe floods of 1986-7 causing, again, over a hundred million dollars of damage to not only the agricultural industry, but to infrastructure as well.
The stress under which the people live does not create an environment conducive to awareness regarding pollution and sustainability. The two nations, Bolivia and Peru, have had negative economic growth rates over the last 10 years.
More than 30 thousand informal unregistered small scale mining operations near the world’s highest navigable lake are causing terrible pollution to both it and surrounding rivers.
Lake Titicaca possesses the continent’s largest source of fresh water, and its preservation and protection are likely to be vital for the future of the region. The increases in the lake’s levels of pollution are alarming.
Among the many towns living off Lake Titicaca, Pajchiri Bay is the most polluted with contaminated water, fish and plants.
Officials in both Peru and Bolivia have agreed to work together to clean up the contamination of the bay after a recent investigation of the waters.
For the second straight week (6th April, 2009) Lake Titicaca (Puno Peru) took the No. 1 spot in Group F of the New Seven Wonders of Nature campaign, according to the latest ranking of contest organizer, the New 7 Wonders Foundation.
With this world rating, let’s hope it gives the Lake’s two custodians, Peru and Bolivia, the incentive to continue to work together and restore one of Natures natural wonders.
See also: Peru, Bolivia to clean Lake Titicaca of 22 Nov 08, 30,000 illegal mines pollute Lake Titicaca of 22 Sep 08, Case Study Transboundary Dispute Resolution: Lake Titicaca (pdf, 102K), Peru: Lake Titicaca leads new seven wonders contest of 6 Apr 09, Bolivia's Lake Titicaca strangled" of 3 Aug 07.
Why is Australia helping to plunder Peru? The indigenous people in Peru are being dispossessed of their land by a corrupt government, and the mining companies with their "free trade" agreements are being supported by President Garcia! Mining is polluting the river water at Reque and there are no hospitals or doctors.
Victoria, like the rest of Australia, is becoming a concrete desert, reflecting, producing and absorbing heat. Melbourne 2030 and all population growth and development intensification, intensive or sprawl, is a recipe for cooking our planet. We are turning our environment into a frying pan. Please send to smnaesp|AT|alphalink.com.au your short observations on what is happening around you as our leaders allow democracy and ammenity to be over-ridden by development for the enrichment of a very few.
Later, as the (helicopter) pilot angled northward, Joey heard her brother gag in revulsion at the sight of the Western Broward County, where new subdivisions were erupting like cankers in all directions: thousands upon thousands of cookie-cutter houses, jammed together so tightly that it looked like like you could jump from roof to roof for miles on end. Where there were no homes stood office parks, shopping plazas and enormous auto malls--acres and acres of Toyotas and Chryslers, cooking in the sun. Only a slender dirt levee separated the clamorous tide of humanity from the Everglades.
From "Skinny Dip" (2004) p337 by Carl Hiaasen
This what I have noted in the past few days:
Was in Camberwell last night. Modest Californian bungalow demolished and humungous Neo Georgian edifice with 5 bathrooms replacing it . All garden areas will be concreted except for the swimming pool which will be tiled.
At Burke Rd end of same street on the corner - Normal sized house demolished replaced by deep excavation I believe to accommodate 7 cars. Concrete retaining wall being constructed on the boundary at present at least 3 metres high but going higher. The neighbour on the side with retaining wall sold up before this happened but in anticipation of it.
That's what I saw yesterday, and I wasn't even looking for it.
Nothing is being considered in this terrible process except the accommodation and totally introspective comfort of more and more people.
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