Unbalancing act
It could be the start of a science fiction story; record floods in Europe, massive forest fires in America and Australia, unheard of drought in the North American prairies (over now), prolonged drought in Australia. Measurable atmospheric alteration — predictions of climate change. (Even the odd frog protesting by going extinct, or at least making themselves scarce.) One could go on.
Is the earth changing?
Picture "mother nature" as a high wire act with a long balancing stick; as each of the earth's biological systems is diminished the stick becomes shorter. With each shortening balance becomes more difficult and consequently the tight rope artist becomes more unstable; teetering from one extreme to the other, for example; severe drought to record breaking flood?
The human race now preempts about 40% of the earth's total photosynthetic product (the renewable fuel that runs nature) — this, according to a senior economist with the World Bank. (Funny thing for an economist to say!) What happens when we take 50, 75, 100%? We take more energy from non-renewable fossil reserves too; what happens when this runs out? Will we be able to survive in the greenhouse atmosphere thus created? Learned journals seriously discuss the possibility of wars occurring over scarce resources (as if this hasn't happened already).
Is the world teetering on the edge of Armageddon?
The scientists (and economists) are still not sure; as with most environmental questions, they are waiting for conclusive evidence.
(The politicians, course, are still counting votes)
Ian Sutton
Dingo Beach Qld
AESP
The adjective "hysterical" is thrown at others (unfortunately, often by men at women) in an attempt to make their arguments appear illogical, emotive and feeble; like the much misused term "racism", it contributes little to any debate.
Richard Ingram, in applying the "hysterical" adjective to my letter (GLW 132) requests that some (other) member of Australians for an Ecologically Sustainable Population clearly explain AESP's aims and objectives.(GLW 133)
How many more does he want? Apart from the most recent one (GLW 133), there has been an absolute plethora of letters and articles over the last 18 months on the population/sustainability issue — many from AESP members, all trying to calmly and rationally explain what AESP and many other dedicated environmentalists around the world believe.
I could not count the number of times the I=PAT equation has appeared in the pages of GLW. (100?) This equation seeks to demonstrate the premise that environmental degradation is caused by people combined with their per capita level of consumption and the extent of their polluting technologies.
While disagreement on such a difficult subject is to be expected, the continuous and persistent misrepresentation of AESP by GLW, not only through letters, but also in articles and editorial, often accompanied by the implied hint of "racism", sadly serves only to alienate many dedicated environmentalists, as well as undermining the veracity of the entire GLW publication.
Diana Evans
Balwyn Vic
East Gippsland
The battle of East Gippsland is now at a point where forest protesters' lives have been endangered. The fact that this is occurring because state and federal governments have broken their promise on forest protection is particularly outrageous.
The National Forest Policy (NFP) was signed in 1992 by Jeff Kennett and Paul Keating. It stated that it would place a moratorium on the logging of old growth and wilderness forests until their values were assessed. The moratorium clause was confirmed by federal cabinet in December last year.
The state government has not honoured the moratorium clause of the NFP. Old growth and wilderness forests continue to be logged. Mismanagement and lack of accountability in forestry operations place East Gippsland under the threat of being almost totally destroyed.
The already inadequate conservation reserve system currently set in place in east Gippsland offers no protection against the woodchipping onslaught.
The Kennett government is currently withholding its old growth survey which identified 48% of old growth was unprotected. This survey was funded by the federal government.
The Kennett government has inherited a major problem. In 1987 the then state Labor government entered into 15 year contracts with the sawmill owners under which the government committed itself to supplying an average of 174,000 cubic metres of sawlogs from East Gippsland forests each year. This figure, the alleged "sustainable yield", has been proven to be grossly overestimated. Research in 1989 by the Department of Conservation calculated that the region can only sustain 50,000 cubic metres. After 5 more years of logging even this figure is now highly questionable.
In May 1993 the auditor general's report confirmed conservation groups' claims that our native forest operations were being severely mismanaged: rainforest has yet to be defined; downgrading of logs so they could be woodchipped was occurring; the Code of Forest Practice has yet to be assessed. The report also confirmed that the industry was heavily subsidised by taxpayers.
The spectacular forests of East Gippsland are in desperate need of protection. Weak government and profit driven companies continue to allow the wholesale woodchipping and mismanagement of our native forests while solutions in the form of plantations remain underutilised.
Fenella Barry
Victorian campaign coordinator
Wilderness Society
[Edited for length.]
Land of the imprisoned
Your readers will know that Brandon Astor Jones, whose column Looking Out appears in your newspaper each week, is a death-row prisoner in Georgia, USA.
As a result of the recent article in Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, entitled "Keepers and the Kept" (detailing malpractice by the prison administration authorities) he has now also become a political prisoner as well. He is currently being punished for writing this article and is being illegally held incommunicado.
He is not allowed to receive mail sent to him, and his outgoing mail is not being mailed out by the prison. So to the many readers who have been writing to Brandon, this will explain why they are not receiving his return letters.
This type of treatment, and worse, is commonplace in USA prisons. So much for democracy and free speech in the Land of the Free!Stephanie Wilkinson
Co-ordinator, Australians Against Executions
Seven Hills NSW
On lurid letters
Diana Evans' barbed tirade (vocal hit parade) against GLW (23rd Feb) was savage, unfriendly, myopic, and I could not help but agree with Richard Ingram's comment "level of hysterical abuse", as well as being representative of the do-gooder well-meaning mentality that has no real sensibility to all the other issues involved — in anything.
But when (I wish!) are left people going to converge in understanding of the composite picture? And I use "left people" to describe all people who oppose deforestation and earth desiccation, social injustice, poverty, perversions of human rights, political mismanagement and corruption, warfare and violence — because all these people are basically on the same side, even if they're not politically left anyway.
That's only a quick-identify label. Even the neo-nazi movement kit has "how to spot a leftie" instructions. A humanist and humanitarian would automatically qualify as "a leftie" merely because he or she may oppose warfare. Militarists don't like lefties, humanists, civil-rights activists, hippies. And right politicians hate all these people too — or anyone who stands in the way of economic progress, exploitation and hatred.
So there is a very big common struggle going on, even if apparently rival factions don't want to admit it. Anyone who is for human rights, peace, equality, justice, and earth survival, amongst many other things — is walking one of parallel lines on the side of humanity. If we could start talking the same language, we would not be as fragmented and divergent as the profit-makers like us to be. United stand, divided fall. Or as Julius Caesar (ace imperialist) said, "Divide and conquer".
One last point, in the review done by Dave Riley on Absolutely Fabulous, he said of the show "a bitter satire" which it is not. Rather than send anything up, it suggests encouragement for being a spoilt brat, tantrumy, self-centred, rich bitch, mindless drug taking alcoholic. Just what the capitalist doctor ordered — the perfect consumer. Rather than criticise anything, the show sells affluence with a capital A — in this case yes Anarchic Affluence. As weird as that might sound, it's what contributed to the downfall of the Roman Empire. Perfect power escapist affluence.
Jack Lance
Kippenduff NSW
Vietnam
The mainstream media has been proclaiming the exciting news that the United States has lifted its two decade trade embargo against Vietnam. This, we are told, heralds the possibility of Vietnam entering the global market and rapidly industrialising.
It was of great interest to note then, that reports in Far East Economic Review (Feb 17) indicated that the Vietnamese were less than enthusiastic about the issue. Firstly, it should be noted that it has been pressure from US corporate interests that has forced the Clinton administration to lift the embargo, and they will clearly be the main beneficiaries in the short term.
One aspect of this lifting of the "trading with the enemy" act is that it only allows American companies to sell within Vietnam rather than developing two-way trading relations. It does allow Vietnam to establish a diplomatic office in the US, which contrasts with the reality that the US have maintained a presence in Vietnam since the end of the war on the grounds of pursuing "MIAs".
Melanie Sjoberg
Christie Downs SA