Call for sustainable approach to rebuilding after disasters

Most of us would agree that the recent devastating events in Australia and New Zealand have caused us to realise just how powerless we are against the environment we live in.

Is mankind is truly the preeminent species we think we are?  How much control do we have over our lives?

Following a decade long drought much of Australia has experienced massive floods.  The largest cyclone to ever touch our shores brought devastation to the North Queensland coastal areas and could have been so much worse if it had hit the land just a small distance north or south.  Bushfires created havoc and loss of property in Perth, and finally Christchurch, the South Island of New Zealand’s largest city, has been brought to ruin by earthquakes.

Apart from the tragic loss of lives, for which we all grieve, there will be years of rebuilding to recover the loss of property and infrastructure.  The cost is beyond belief.  Of course in a broader context we have seen disasters of this magnitude hit every continent on the planet.  Our planet, our home, the only place that we have found that is habitable is a powerful and unpredictable environment.

Earthquakes, eruptions, fires, floods, and storms (be they cyclones, hurricanes, tornados or typhoons) randomly attack the planet leaving behind death, poverty, and despair.  We join together to rebuild and keep on going. 

Working towards making our environment safer and more liveable we plunder the ground and pollute the atmosphere. 

Climate change is inevitable, but we desperately need to make changes to the way we are abusing our home.   Planet Earth will not be destroyed by climate change, but it may be that, as has happened previously in Earth’s history, the planet may become uninhabitable by the dominant species.  Mankind may disappear and another more adaptable species will survive.  This has been the history of the planet, but never before has the dominant species been capable of changing its environment as we can.  Never before has a species had the intellectual capability to adapt our lifestyles and therefore our impact on the planet.

We may never be able to control the disasters that bring such devastation as the recent floods, fires, cyclones, and earthquakes, but we can make a difference to our habitat being more sustainable.  Each person is responsible for taking a long look at their life and making the necessary changes to lower their impact on the environment. 

This will begin to make a difference but it is the big corporations and the governments of this planet who really need to review their practices in order for any dramatic impact to be made on our environmental footprint. 

Governments need to place a much higher emphasis on clean energy.  It is out there; we just need to harness it.  Businesses need to realise that they owe a responsibility to the environment in which they function to act in sustainable manner to protect and not plunder the planet.  The capitalist market which lives and dies by the so called “invisible hand” will not be able to bring about the necessary changes to business practice.

My heart goes out to all those who have suffered loss in the recent disasters.  I hope that you are able to rebuild and recover.

Importantly though I hope that this rebuilding is done with sustainability in mind and that the governments and businesses funding the rebuilding across the planet look at how we are living and using the resources of our home and act responsibly.

John Kirk recently graduated with a MBA from The University of New England and is currently studying for an MBA (advanced) in Corporate Sustainability with Southern Cross University. John has more than 30 years experience in the print industry, having acted as a representative at both state and national levels as a Director of ACFIPS Industry Training Advisory Board and as a member of the Sector Advisory Committee for Innovation Business Skills Australia. John is interested in  sustainability, corporate social responsibility, futurism, and developing people. For the last 7 years he has sat on the corporate social responsibility committee for a major corporation.