cheryl, I'm not anti-population, far from it, you have made that up.

I don't agree with the anti population or anti migrant stance, why would I, being 2nd generation Australia?

I did think Leigh's comment was funny, you called him and he pwned you.

Brian

In the carpark of a supermarket, down in the valley from my home, a young eucalyptus was planted in a thin median strip bordering the parking bays. The median strip is bright green - astro-turf glued to within a couple of centimetres of the sapling's trunk.

The tree is dying.

It is a spirit free zone.

There's always some benefit to be had from looking closely at what the process that we call "civilization" has created.

And whether viewed through Brian's rose-tinted bi-focals or not, it is also a fundamental truth that for millennia, humankind lived in some form of balance with the planet on which they lived.

The problem is, we no longer have a choice as to how we live. The price of "progress" - the process that has brought us all to the point where we communicate our views by tapping on a keyboard and letting technology do the rest - is that it is irreversible.

Yup, there are definitely no spirits in the new wilderness. That we have created for ourselves.

And cannot un-create.

But what I cannot see is any real value in pretending that we could, if only we tried.

It seems to me, that you are presenting an either-or scenario here
Brian. We can choose to have the best of both worlds, if we wish.

When I occasionally visit the big smoke, those endless
houses of suburbia, remind me of sardines in a sardine can, neatly
lined up one next to the other. That is simply not for me.
But for many that is all they know and all they want to know.
Fair enough, that is our choice.

I look out the windows here and enjoy the wonders of nature, the
butterflies, the wild parrots, the change of seasons, etc. I much
prefer those things to the concrete jungle, which many city people
need.

But that does not mean that I disagree with market, or hate
capitalism. After all, they have given me the internet, online
shopping if I need it and other benefits.

So we really can have the best of both worlds, if we wish.

Throw away your PC and go hug your tree-friend, Brian. I am sick of hearing about it. If Greenberg "warns" of a new brain that's unlike those of the narcissistic, hypocritical boomers we hear so much crap from, I welcome it.

Leigh
"We do not ‘have to’ import another 20 million people to a country which is mostly uninhabitable because of its harsh climate."

But it's okay now Leigh, because politicians can adjust the climate. They just tax you however much they want and control anything and everything, and - bingo - they just adjust the climate to what they think would be best for the greater good.