Let’s shun the Selfish Society

In 2008, the New Economics Foundation (1) drew together psychological data from many sources to help define the human actions that promote well-being. They declared the most significant of these to be; connecting to the people around us, being active in our bodies, taking notice of the world, learning new skills and giving to others.

It’s a mad, mad world.

“The world we live in should not be treated as normal, and it should not be a sign of good health to become ‘well adjusted’ to a society that is casually practising ecocide, celebrating narcissism, institutionalising racism and assessing the value of all things according to the cold logic of profit maximisation.”

We are all busy people doing our part to make a positive difference to our community and the environment. As the challenges grow, our knowledge of where to go to get help or find resources, how to reach out to get support for projects or how to develop strategies for a campaign can be a struggle. Maybe the Guardians of the Wet Tropics project could help you.

The future’s uncertain and the end is always near
So where do you sit on the doom to hope scale. Do you find it easier to imagine the end of the world than to see humans change our behaviour, turn the ship around, save our civilization and all that sails within her. Or do you think that human ingenuity, optimism and technology will save the day.

Mareeba Shire council has just released a new Environmental Protection and Sustainability Policy, stating "this policy has been developed in recognition of the many natural assets of the Shire and the value that its residents and visitors place upon them."

Friends of the Earth FNQ supports Queensland Conservation's National Parks for Life campaign for better funding and a doubling of Queensland's protected areas.

'Well-managed national parks and private land reserves are our best chance to protect endangered wildlife, conserve nature for future generations and protect cultural values.

Could Kuranda become a “Ciudad Dulce”?

A recently published report, “Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic”(1), prepared by thirty-eight scientists from Australian universities and agencies describes nineteen Australian ecosystems that are collapsing due to the prolonged and ongoing impacts of human activity.

It was uplifting to see so many women and men in the March 4 Justice demonstrations throughout the country recently, including the one in Cairns. The courage of the survivors who spoke out was both moving and inspiring. 

Living in the Barron River catchment is a great lifestyle for many – but come the first rains of the wet season the water turns different shades of muddy brown, and often resembles chocolate milk.  Over the wet it stays a constant brown, sometimes dark, clay or tan.  The reason is sediment – soil and debris washed off the land and into the river during rain.  Big storms will often see the water go brown very quickly, full of sediment washing out of the river mouth and into the sea.  It then drifts onto coral reefs and destroys them.

In early October, yet another science report was released by the World’s leading climate body, the IPCC, confirming that climate change is well underway, and that under current estimates warming will reach 1.5 degrees in the next few decades.

An increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius will make the climate much more unstable; bigger storms and cyclones, harsher droughts and heat waves.

However, 2.0 degrees hotter is much, much worse and would cause very serious social, economic, and environmental problems. Destruction of coral reefs, rising sea levels, collapsing food supplies are all real and happening now.

Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees would require a complete reduction of greenhouse gasses to zero by 2050 or sooner.

This requires fundamental change to energy, agriculture, transport systems and pretty much everything that humans do – and on a global scale. A few solar panels and wind farms is only a start.

But we all know this – scientists have been telling us with increasing alarm for decades that the planet is getting cooked – and we, its inhabitants, are facing a very uncertain and unstable future. The IPCC report is optimistic that governments across the world will see the light and quickly move to phase out fossil fuels and start planning to adapt to the uncertain future.

Unfortunately, this optimism seems misguided. The Paris Climate Agreement signed in 2016 will not limit global warming to 1.5 degrees – actually it will do very little because the commitments are too weak and the United States has run away.

Most governments and industry either don’t care or far worse are staging a huge deception campaign to undermine climate science, and any real efforts to limit greenhouse emissions.

The public has been duped by the likes of the coal and oil industry, by their slick marketing companies, and by dodgy scientists and lobby groups funded by these interests. For example, Tony Abbott and his colleagues have happily pushed the coal industry’s agenda, undermining energy reform and dumping real climate action.

These people and the industries they support are a minority, holding humanity to ransom for their own political or financial gain. Let’s stop being hoodwinked by big industry and demand immediate and far reaching action to reduce greenhouse emissions to zero.

ACTION:To move Australia beyond fossil fuels, the climate movement must grow to an unprecedented scale and size. Join FoE Australia's Tipping Point team of national volunteers: email [email protected] to find out more.