WESTERN governments are trying to have it both ways: they want to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and they want to stimulate economic growth by us spending more money including on stuff. But this is not realistic.
Either the government impresses on the population that it must be content with less including smaller families, smaller houses and fewer pairs of shoes etcetera or there will be more emissions.
I’m happy to go along with less – I’ve never aspired to a luxurious lifestyle or a big family. But most of the rest of the population doesn’t seem to get it?
Viv Forbes does – see below, but Malcolm Turnbull doesn’t. [Read more…] about Reducing Emissions Must Ultimately Mean Less Stuff
BEFORE Jane Goodall’s pioneering study of wild chimpanzees, most of us believed that tool-use and especially tool-making were exclusively human activities. Goodall was intrigued when she first observed a chimp poking a stick into a termite mound, waiting a minute, pulling out the stick, and then licking off the termites.
I am convinced that a competently run and managed party, overtly running on a pro-science platform, could win enough Senate seats in the Australian Parliament at the next election to take control from the independents and the Greens. This post briefly explores the potential for success of such a party, and invites responses from readers.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.