Flawed system
THE “paleo love affair” that politicians are having with coal is maintaining Australia’s addiction to a fuel that is essentially undermining our life support system.
As a scientist, I can tell you there is incontrovertible evidence that humans are now changing the chemical, physical and biological properties of the planet.
Our economic system is fundamentally flawed and places humanity at odds with the nature of our biosphere (the zone of air, water and soil that keeps us alive). Earth is a closed, finite system, with finite resources and limits. The economy is a man-made construct predicated on endless growth and expansion.
Politicians have elevated the economy above this life support system. Even our federal environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, believes the economy must come before anything else. He recently said that the Adani mine “is 300km inland in a dry, dusty part of Queensland and if Australia doesn’t help India’s energy needs, another country will”.
The argument against Acland stage 3 is based on the preservation of our life support system over short-term corporate financial gain. Politicians are now driven by corporate agendas, the fixation with economic growth and power.
We need to ask ourselves: is endless economic growth and pursuit of material possessions at the expense of our environment the only measure of success? Are we going to continue to accept myopic political leadership by those focussed on short-term electoral cycles and decision making based on popularity and re-election that ignore scientific warnings?
Our politicians are guilty of “wilful blindness” by maintaining our dependence on heavy carbon fuels such as coal and the cost of this poor leadership will be borne by the very society that elected them. Tony Abbott scrapped the Climate Commission, sacked Tim Flannery, rescinded the carbon tax and declared “coal is good for humanity”.
Barnaby Joyce wants to build new coal-fired power stations, Scott Morrison promotes a lump of coal into the House of Representatives, Matt Canavan is happy to give a billion dollars of taxpayer money to Adani.
The Orwelian term “newspeak” from the novel 1984 tells us that when you can convince people black is white, war is peace, you can tell them anything.
Politicians are now telling us coal is clean. Shutting down the scientific research and commissions makes it easier to convince the public what you want them to believe. How on Earth did we ever create such a flawed system? — GEOFF CASTLE, M.Sc, Toowoomba