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  Are economic increase and environmental sustainability incompatible?

  andrewgaines     |      July 8, 2008

  Our answer to this question will shape many other considerations.

  Australia has strong ties with the global economy.  At the moment neither Australia nor the global economy are ecologically sustainable.  Global warming is a key indicator; there are others.

  To a significant extent economic increase drives environmental deterioration – at least in the affluent parts of the world.  This is because economic increase is based on increasing the production and consumption of material goods, which currently involves increasing CO2 emissions and industrial toxins.

  Thus it would appear that in our present industrial civilisation economic increase and environmental sustainability are incompatible.  This might be called The Great Contradiction.

  Below I will show some graphs from Prof Will Steffen (ANU) showing the correlation between economic increase, population growth and increase in global economic activity…
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  A New Approach to Capitalism in the 21st Century

  microsoft     |      July 7, 2008

  By Bill Gates

  We have to find a way to make the aspects of capitalism that serve wealthier people serve poorer people as well.

  Thirty years, twenty years, ten years ago, my focus was totally on how the magic of software could change the world. I believed that breakthroughs in technology could solve key problems. And they do, increasingly, for billions of people. But breakthroughs change lives primarily where people can afford to buy them, only where there is economic demand, and economic demand is not the same as economic need.

  There are billions of people who need the great inventions of the computer age, and many more basic needs as well, but they have no way of expressing their needs in ways that matter to the market, so they go without.

  If we are going to have a chance of changing their lives, we will need another level of innovation. Not just technology innovation, we need system innovation.
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  Tiny feet treading lightly

  Sinead Roberts     |      July 3, 2008

  Each baby leaves their own ecological footprint before they’ve even learnt how to walk.

  Approximately 260,000 babies are born in Australia each year and most of these use some form of nappy for the first 2-4 years of their lives. All nappies have an environmental impact so each baby leaves their own ecological footprint before they’ve even learnt how to walk. The good news is that parents no longer have to choose between just terry cloth nappies and synthetic disposables.  There are so many options available today that it’s now much easier for parents to make a greener choice.   
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  What do you really know?

  Angeline Penrith     |      July 3, 2008

  

  A bit more knowledge of Aboriginal history would go a long way in taking down the assumptions and stereotypes against which Aboriginal kids struggle every day.  

  I don't play sport, I just don't enjoy it. I don't know the rules to footy, and wouldn't know what to do with a cricket bat, and don't want to spend hours running in circles around a field. But that's not what people assume when they meet me.

  I come from a really successful family. We've had sporting stars, school captains, school duxes, readers, thinkers, leaders in all kinds of fields. But that's not what people assume when they pass me on the street.

  I come from a proud people, an ancient nation, and a strong community that's survived genocide, and forced removal, and grand theft, but that's not what people think about when they shake my hand.

  That's not what they think about, because they are ignorant. 
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  By the People for the People

  Bronwyn Penrith     |      July 3, 2008

  If the current government really wants to make a difference, it should be going into the community and building on existing success.

  It’s hard to explain in words how the policies of removal and dispersion are still being felt amongst by Aboriginal people. It’s hard to explain to people who weren’t part of the stolen generation the intergenerational effects it’s had and is still having amongst Aboriginal people today.
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  Indigenous renaissance

  Kevin Fong     |      July 2, 2008

  

  We need Government to understand that Aboriginal stories aren’t all of crisis and despair, but also of growth and renewal.  

  In February this year the Western Australian Coroner Mr Alistair Hope, handed down his findings into tragedy caused by the abuse of drugs and alcohol in the Kimberly region, and again the focus of mainstream media and many of our politicians was narrowed.

  The problem being, when their vision narrows they lose sight of all the other stories that are going on, stories of hope and rebirth and opportunity.
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  Requiem for my Mazda

  Douglascomms     |      July 2, 2008

  The car is dead, long live the car!

  I gave up my car about a week ago. It’s still there, and still runs but I parked it in the garage and closed the door. It will still come out on the weekends, to run up to the shops for a big fortnightly cupboard filler, and the odd family outing, but when it comes to the nine to five Monday to Friday run, it’s been permanently decommissioned.  

  And my decision is entirely based on economics. The price of petrol, and the shear volume of traffic snaking its way down Parramatta Road in the mornings have both become overwhelming. And after years working from home, there’s nothing I hate more than wasting time in traffic.  This week’s petrol budget was spent on pannier bags, and tune up for my once mighty push bike, which is now regaining it’s former glory as my principal mode of transport during the week.  
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  Closing the Gap Between Rudd’s rhetoric on Indigenous Australians and budget commitments

  Rachel Siewert     |      July 1, 2008

  

  Simply throwing money at an issue doesn't get you anywhere if you don't have a plan. 

  The level of spending committed to Indigenous disadvantage in the budget barely sets the Government on the right road to delivering on the Government's election promise to actually ‘close the gap'. Despite the rhetoric from the Government on closing the gap and their signing on to the pledge to deliver equality of access to services within a decade, the commitment of resources in the 2008 budget does not boost funding nearly enough to achieve this target.

  The Government commitment amounts to additional expenditure of around $250 million per year across the entire Indigenous budget (that is, $1.2 Billion in new money over 5 years). But the biggest chunk of that ($666 Million) will be eaten up feeding the NT intervention juggernaut. This is a small percentage of the $450 million needed each year to simply catch up on Indigenous health alone, and a far cry from what is really needed to fix the problem.
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  Online Question Time for Patrick Secker MP, Federal Member for Barker

  editor     |      June 29, 2008

  Here's where e-Democracy hits the ground running! As part of our exciting new Online Question Time initiative, we're inviting kids from all over Australia to put their elected representatives on the spot, and ask them about the issues that matter to the young people of  Australia.

  Our next guest is Patrick Secker MP, Member for Barker (South Australia), Liberal Party of Australia.
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  Creating Spatial Opportunities

  Gary Nairn     |      June 24, 2008

  Spatial information and the industry associated with it is something I have been passionate about for a long time. And even today that makes me a little unusual. When I was first elected to Parliament, very few of my colleagues had any real understanding of what spatial information was, let alone any notion that it had the potential to grow into the $12.6 billion dollar industry it is today.

  To the majority of parliamentarians and senior government officials a map was something you either had in your atlas at home or in the glove box of the car.

  And that is where the spatial information industry was stuck for a while, at least amongst the decision makers in parliament.
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  If parents are the key to the future, what do they need?

  editor     |      June 23, 2008

  By Divonne Holmes à Court  

  We're not doing enough to equip parents with the best information to make parenting a little easier and a little less stressful.

  One of the most significant events of Kevin Rudd's term in office so far has been the recent 2020 Summit in Canberra. Over a busy two days, hundreds of people spent time together to discuss the best ideas and solutions for our country's future. Some ideas were smarter than others, but one of the most interesting themes to emerge was around prevention. We're all aware that acting now helps avoiding problems later – the 2020 summit discussed that investing in prevention today has a much better long term payoff than waiting for the problem to occur down the line and then trying to cure it.

  But looking ahead to the future is hard and planning for it can be even harder. I only started thinking about the future when I became a parent for the first time.
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  • Business
  • Defence and Security

  Collaboration is Key to Keeping Australians Safe Online

  Craig Scroggie     |      June 18, 2008

  As Web 2.0 technologies and the threat landscape continue to evolve, it’s now more important than ever that both private and public sectors join forces.