Ecology lessons from traditional cultures

While the term “racist” is a little too loosely thrown about, Ariel Salleh, a sociologist from the University of Sydney, makes the case for a far more radical sustainability discussion to the one that dominates the mass media right now.  Click the link to stream the audio from Radio National.

Is our sustainability science racist?

Heroes @ Westminster

more about “Heroes @ Westminster“, posted with vodpod

Coalition cosies up to big business

The opposition seems to think that we need an emissions trading scheme that keeps big business happy. Funny, I thought the idea of an emissions trading scheme was to SAVE THE PLANET.

MALCOLM Turnbull is likely to get business backing for his emissions trading amendments, which the Coalition is drafting in close consultation with industry groups and major companies.

The Coalition’s strategy to gain business endorsement is likely to shatter the green-industry alliance that had supported the Rudd government scheme, with key conservation organisations vowing to abandon their support for the ETS if the government accepts the business-backed amendments.

continued….

Climate Change & the Torres Strait

Economist  Ross Garnaut discusses the “unmeasurables” of climate change; like the cultural heritage and homes of thousands of Torres Strait Islanders.  If Tuvalu is beyond our horizon, surely we can help our fellow Australians in the Torres Strait.

Eddie Mabo occupies a large place in the history of relations between indigenous and other Australians. He played that role because he was a man of exceptional capacity and tenacity and also because he was part of the minority of indigenous Australians whose original home was in the islands of the Torres Strait.

The Torres Strait and the adjacent lands of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and the people who live there, share many things, including exceptional vulnerability to climate change.

continued here.

The West Atlas oil spill continues

Flyover of West Atlas oil spill

Ups and downs

The good:

• World leaders agree that we should attempt to keep global warming limited to 2 degrees
  Celsius or less (even if their actions don’t fit their stated goals).  It’s a little odd though that the Australian govt. enthuses about a goal of 80% carbon reduction (for developed nations) by 2050 yet only plans to reduce by 60% itself.
• The Powershift youth conference is a huge success and harnesses the vitality and energy of young Australians.

The bad:

• Australian leaders push ahead with expanding uranium exports.
• The Queensland premier Anna Bligh shows her true colours and comes out fighting for coal.
• India and China, the world’s two most populous nations, appear disinterested in setting limits on carbon emissions.
• Our smug PM Rudd basks in the sun thanks to his decision to invest in a science fiction project (Carbon Capture & Storage), to create a perception that he’s doing something serious on climate change.  This was predicted and satirised by the political satire program “the Hollowmen” on the ABC as follows:

Powershift 2009