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The Forum > Article Comments > Good reasons for not wanting to be sustainable > Comments

Good reasons for not wanting to be sustainable : Comments

By Eric Claus, published 9/6/2009

Sooner or later we have to live sustainably but to do so we may have to fight our basic instincts.

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All too true Eric….unfortunately.

Jeez, there goes my happy day full of enthusiasm. I think I’ll just go back to bed and contemplate slashing my wrists ( :>|
Posted by Ludwig, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 9:05:33 AM
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its hard to argue with what you say[because your not sayuing a lotin the 3 pages[maybe say more in part two]

<<Economic activity requires natural resources inputs.>>as we are turning into a service economy[and usa is shuuting down all but its arms industry[and the financing industry is the main capitaliser,im not sure i can agree

<<We are currently using those natural resources inputs faster>> yeah but reducing waste as well,and ore once made metal remainsmetal[iron/copper/gold/dsliver/nickle,aliminium..all are well recycled

<<We are also cutting up and wearing out the natural ecosystems that provide clean air,clean water and other irreplaceable services,..yes loggers[and woodchippers are doing almost as much damage as the soy growers..in the amazon[palmoil-growers in indonesia[or rice growers in the deserts

<<We are getting less and less sustainable every year.>>sustainable is a buzzword for stop tearing up forrest/ecosystems[and let forests regrow..return to the stone age

<<we say that new technologies will save us.>>im saying the real teqwnologies that will save us[only need be applied,not invented why not advise how the shouls best be implimented

<<Sooner or later we have to live sustainably...If it is sooner,we can have a smooth transition>>ahhh transition...lol..into the green economy...<<..[by rebuilding buisness..>>>..lol here is the point

[but were bankrupted[so need the new tax..user paid..businbess acredited and buisness speculated as to its price[that cin-sumers must pay to be..'green'..[carbon tax to fund this buisness REBUILD?

see rebuilding buisness involves destroying..that we nearly destroyed the planet to build..instead of the allready built coal/fired stations[we get to rebuild industry to rebuild using windmills/solar cells..[ie much more industriali-sation..[ie more polution..more mines...more green house gasses..more transport ..more industry

<<and civilisation can continue to progress.>>.continue[ie more of the same[but under a green cloak od suss-taint-ability

<<If it is later,we will have a bumpy(and probably violent)road to learning that the earth’s resources are finite.>>so is industry..the tax is to give business CERTAINTY..of more carbon credits to begin the next round of industrialisation...build it all over again..

[its time to realise big business industrial polution has peaked]dont destroy that which cost the earth to build..[make it work[as it is]...no rebuilding in-dust-real solution=more polution
Posted by one under god, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 10:07:20 AM
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Interesting article but perhaps more complicated than it needs to be. 1. People discount future preferences because they may never arise - hence all the people who do not have insurance. Immediate preferences always appear more urgent (and often but not always are).
2. People as individuals frequently feel that what they do doesn't matter - they are simply too small to have any impact. Hence the worse place to have a heart attack is in the midst of a crowd of people. Everyone will wait for someone else to act.
3. The current economic system encourages the worst sort of 'free riding' - who cares if the world goes to hell in a handbasket just so long as I profit.

Not really difficult and not justifiable.
Posted by matilda, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 10:19:16 AM
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I am scared that people have been too stupified by advertising, the media and consumption that there is no hope and easter island here we come. We are in the end only animals and boom and then collapse is quite common in the natural world. It would be a pity. I would like to think us humans were smarter than your average insect but sadly on current evidence it doesnt look too good.
Posted by mikk, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 1:11:58 PM
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I think Eric has provided as succinct a summary as could be given.

My take is that over time a gulf between government and what people want has grown. It was evident that at the last election there was a desire for change. We heard all the usual rhetoric but there was hope that the new man might change things. Obama is different - he might actually achieve things.

Dealing with one aspect of sustainability - solar power. Both the outgoing and the incoming said "let there be solar panels on roofs". It was so. Many thousands have been installed and we are supplying several TENS of megawatts to the electricity grids around the country. Yet this is in an sea of supply and demand that is three orders of magnitude bigger (in WA, 7MW of solar roof capacity is sitting in 5000MW+ of mainly coal and gas supplied electricity - it cannot come anywhere near having any significance as a substantive "clean" energy source). Nationally we are living with sloppy policy that is not destined to pave the way for utility scale clean energy ("clean" coal may work one day but it is still a resource depletion).

So to offer some answers.

Bring forth adequate legislative mechanisms to ensure that the renewable energy industry can get properly established for once and for all.

Encourage those who understand what I will call "lateral thinking in innovation" to have more say. Teach adaptiveness at all levels. Make it an art form.

Dumbing down will never do us any good. Raise standards, aim higher.

And not finally but today's end from me:

Attack Greenwashing with vigour - enforce The Trade Practices Act and force business to tell the truth in claims about (at least product) sustainability.

Where do we start? Government and our public service.
Posted by renew, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 1:42:18 PM
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When people reply to an article like this perhaps it would be a good idea to say what they are doing to make a contribution to improving the world they live in.
Every long journey begins with the first step, so I believe that as an individual we can each make a contribution to changing our world for the better. I write a blog where one of my subjects is self-sufficiency. I have gained years of knowledge which I'm happily sharing with readers from around the world. See http://fayhelwig.com
Posted by Country girl, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 7:42:04 PM
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Good point Country Girl. I am a writer and editor and produce a magazine for the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society www.anzses.org
I have contributed articles on Australia's outback and renewable energy to international magazines.

As well as that, I have built and lived in a low energy house with both a solar hot water system and a PV system.

Whilst I agree with you about the steps we take, I also know from experience that there is nearly always another agenda underneath the politics that does not get talked about. The experience in Australia of setting the policy for renewable energy development right is nothing short of sloppy. The real expertise in this area has been sidelined for decades. But against that, consider one of the drivers for Germany to adopt a feed in tariff. Reliance on Russian gas.
Posted by renew, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 9:05:13 PM
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mikk: Don't worry, humans have always relied on a very small fraction of people throughout history. The majority ride of the efforts of a few.
I liked the article, but the ones who need to learn from it will probably reject it. The religious position is that God made the world for us and the only thing we have to worry about is Judgement Day. This sort of attitude is akin to "Flight" from reality but it also involves "fight"ing any contrary world view regardless of evidence.
The answer is proper governance, but politicians are clearly corrupted by lobby groups and "special interests". The two major parties clearly need some competition. They are more alike than different.
Just as Howard made racism acceptable, so we now need leadership to make environmental sustainability acceptable to the ignorant, who seem to hold the powerful in high esteem whatever their ethics or intelligence.
First city to mandate all houses be solar/wind equipped and setup a modern grid and local micro-farming: I'm there.
Posted by Ozandy, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 10:56:55 AM
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Let me live on my hundred acres in peace, tell the councils, the government and the developers to f... off out of my life and I'll happily live 100% self sustainable, even my carbon footprint will be zero. But Until such time as I'm allowed to do so, I'll rape the planet like everyone else does!

It's all a pipe dream anyway, they'll stack us like pancakes till we rot and then tax us for the stench!
Posted by RawMustard, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 4:23:53 PM
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RawMustard, where do you think people are going to head when the going gets really tough? When they don’t have jobs, when money becomes valueless, when the supermarkets are empty, a lot of people will head straight for the nearest regions or properties that are growing food. They’ll kill, expel or just overwhelm the owners.

Those who are withdrawing and trying to live a self-sufficient lifestyle aren’t going to escape when our unsustainable lifestyle catches up with us.

So what is the best thing to do? Be reasonably frugal but not to the extent that you become disadvantaged within the society that you live….and put a whole lot of energy into trying to gear our government and society towards a sustainable existence.

Don’t drop out. Become politically active!
Posted by Ludwig, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 10:35:50 PM
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I agree with most of your thoughts Ludwig, but unfortunately, no amount of trying is going to change the ingrown greed present in this society. People will not change their way of life and the PTB won't change because it's of no benefit to them. People that think we can save the human race from near collapse are living in a pipe dream, the cancer is too far gone. The next war will sort everyone out, it's not too far off and if we're lucky, there might just be enough survivors with a good enough head to get us going again in the right direction, only just though!

So while you still can, have fun and enjoy life. You only get one chance at it. If you stuff it up, you can't just ask for a new one, the taxes 'll kill you :)
Posted by RawMustard, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 11:57:41 PM
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