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The Forum > Article Comments > Pulping reality > Comments

Pulping reality : Comments

By Alan Moran, published 30/1/2009

Developing a pulp mill in Tasmania has been a 25-year saga that remains unfinished.

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This appears be written by the inhabitant of peer created economic fantasy land.

Economists pretending to manage our society!!

Adam Smith one of the founders of market theory said in the 18 century the market would only work if operated "on enlightened self interest". Sadly few economists are very much enlightend. As Candadian John Ralston Saul, said in his book the Unconscious Civilisation", words to the effect. "we live largely(in the modern world) fields of narrow specialistion outside of which we are as naieve as children"

A high school understanding of ecology would have helped the author understand that every ecosystem has has its limits to support a species and the earth may well be past that at current levels of consumption. Any trip through settled rural Australia will see rural ecosystems in crisis, even the best Agricultural soils are declining in productivity, masked by ever increasing inputs of energetic inputs. (drought aside)

The author suggested in earlier discussion of this topic that facts should rule. How extraordinarily naieve for a public commentator. It is on the pubic record that the main proponents of this obscene plantation forestry have at every opportunity, with systematic zeal which the community can never match, rigged every forum and agenda on the issue possible, starting with the Forests and Forests Industries Accord in the 1980's. More than that they have attempted to buy opinion, professional loyalties and even politicians, all with too much success. They have effectively silenced most professionals from within side the forest industry with threats of blacklisting. What hope has truth to emerge?

The tragedy is, if the mill succeeds, due to the inertia of incumbency it will delay any more enlightened reform of the forest industry, at least for the life of the mill. Without the mill, reform is possible paticularly if realistic carbon pricing is applied to forest ecosystems. Priced at a level to encourage necessary carbon emissions, forest owners might even choose not to log forests at all.

Who's reality is being pulped, that of armchair fantasists, the white shoe brigade or that of ordinary Tasmanians?
Posted by duncan mills, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 11:21:05 PM
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