Urban pressure on food production

Following on from my last post regarding the waste generated by urban populations, I've found a discussion paper by Professor Julian Cribb (Julian Cribb & Associates and well known science communicator), titled The Coming Famine (published in January 2008). My reason for investigating Julian Cribb's position on water use and the impact our water-hungry ways will have on future generations was prompted by an ABC Radio rural report interview this morning (30/6/09).

Professor Cribb was speaking at the launch of the Water4Food initiative in Canberra. He maintains that the world is headed for major famine and wars if we don't urgently address our attitude towards water. A podcast of the interview with Professor Cribb is available from the ABC Western Plains Rural Report page.

In the discussion paper, Professor Cribb outlines the downward trend of key indicators affecting global food security. He also makes the comment that the thing that stands out is that the scale of impact of climate change is somewhat uncertain, but the other trends are "real, well-documented and predictable."

He says the challenge over the next two generations is to raise food production by 110% from a more degraded natural resource and reduce world populations from 9 billion to 2-3 billion by 2100. Food for thought...or action?

Throw away society's legacy

In the Sydney Morning Herald on 17 June, Ainslie MacGibbon wrote about the waste disposal systems of a consumer hungry society. For those who missed the Animal in Art Lecture at Western Plains Cultural Centre on 18 June and my reference to her line about "birds are near the end of a long list of victims of over-consumption", then here is the link to the article.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/here-lie-remnants-of-throwaway-lives-20090616-cghh.html

If birds are an indicator of the health of our environment, then drunken parrots and overfed, disheveled cockatoos are a sad reminder that all is not right. Given that it is estimated that 60% of the world's population will be living in urban environments by 2030 we have to find a more sustainable, earth-friendly way of dealing with high tech, material cast offs. The coming broadscale introduction of digital television (and radio) and rapid developments in computer and mobile technologies are making the race to find solutions to our waste problems critical.

Observe or engage

It's easy to observe. It is much more challenging to engage.

Welcome to Perspectives. Art. Ecology.

Welcome to Perspectives. Art. Ecology., the exhibition, and the Coming of Age Project. I'd like to invite you to participate in this forum to discuss issues about the future of our environment - particularly those elements that are important to you.

What would you fight to preserve for future generations?

Take the time to read the posts and the comments others have left. Watch the blog videos on this site and feel free to respond to anything you see. Read the "how to comment" information in the right hand column.

Thank you for giving us your time today.

Counting down the days

As the days count down to the opening of Perspectives. Art. Ecology., I'm starting to wonder whether or not discussion about the future of our environment has any resonance in the current climate.

My readings of the weekend papers, particularly the lifestyle sections are particularly telling...much space dedicated to the latest fashions, household items and latest architectural/renovation trends...more and more ways to use spend money on resource-hungry items that supposedly "enrich"our lives. The whole recessionista idea of recycling, reusing and buying better quality less often seems to have been short-lived.

How do we seriously reduce our impact on the planet and our local environment when the mass media and society's influencers are still encouraging us to upgrade, upsize and overhaul our lives with the latest must-have items?

Rugby league commentator, Phil Gould made a comment in the Sun-Herald on 17 May which said: "We just need one generation to break the mould." He went on to write, "...it's peer group pressure that gets the best results."

Apply this sentiment to issues surrounding the future of our environment, and I think we're in trouble.

Empower the people of the river

On ABC Radio's Western Plains Rural Report on Thursday, 14 May the CEO of RiverSmart Australia, Dr Bill Phillips made the comment that when you walk into the pub and ask anyone in a riverside town how they feel about what's happening with our rivers, they simply feel disempowered.

This report can be heard by following the links for the 14 May Rural Report at http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nsw/westernplains/

How are you feeling about the state and future of the rivers in the Central West? Do you feel empowered enough to make a difference?

For more information about RiverSmart Australia go to http://www.riversmart.org.au/

Parrots or jobs - can't we have both?

A story that hit the headlines in the media today (11/5/09) leaves me wondering about how blinkered decision-makers and stakeholders (which includes rural communities) are when it comes to options for a sustainable future. At the moment the arguments seem to be either/or...black or white. The 161 comments on the ABC News page makes interesting reading (yes, there's some rubbish in there as well)...particularly those that wonder about whose responsiblity it is to invest in green jobs. Do rural communities take this initiative, or do we wait for a legislative response and a higher power to determine when and how it happens?

Parrot 'putting hundreds of jobs at risk' - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/11/2566058.htm