Monday, June 21, 2010

What is the world's biggest environmental problem ?

I'm afraid you won't learn the answer to this question from any politician/ or therefore media wannabes ) in our country because they are ALL using the most complex profession and conservation challenge as a political football. Its Quite pathetic how much hot air , and our money , is wasted simply on hot air. emotional not rational . we must act rationally if we are going to do more than air our hot air .
But you can get somewhere near the truth, if you are an Australian, by looking at what's actually happened in your own country - one of the driest and most sensitive environments on earth.Each year by planning supporting and educating and exercising caution in risk the resiliance and sustainability of our ecosystems is increased - no reason why it can't be true the world over.
Here is one of my postings on ANSWERS - to the question
What is the biggest environmental (agricultural) problem TODAY
"Some will say resiliance but deeper than that is capability , Soil erosion and salinity . Failure of governments to minimize their rural peoples exposure to the instability and risk that come from "unrestricted attempts" to farm what scientists can identify as marginally capable land .Notice the problem is not the farmers, as much as it is the governments to solve.
In Australia, we ask governments to give rural people a fairgomate ( blogspot of the same name) .
A balance between being told what to do and supported to do . So, its not so much the type of use ( eg sheep grazing )((The "what" ) but the How ( the sheep footprint" ) Government support to resist overuse of land types and locations can direct citizens to develop uses better suited to some other use than the use proposed .( the "how")
Government can prevent much of the exploitation of land by using a range of planning. taxation and education methods - but all methods must be done sensitively because land managers can make up a large % of the population and are often are at great stress themselves .Relieving their stress is not really costly , but is poorly practiced even in the West, partly because exploitative political elements confuse the "what" issue with the "where" issues ( "Where" changes are harder to quickfix)
While this exposure to risk for soil and soil managers occurs most evidently in subsistence agricultural areas, this pressure can occur in developed countries.

Yours is a great question for a great country and region because its a problem that can and has been largely solved in the West. Resiliance planning just needs more practical political focus by conservationists worldwide . Young people like yourself?

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Bleeding hearts and budgets

It was true when i started this blog and its still true today .
Unless Governments stop playing football with my profession, it may well be a profession of little note in ten years time. Australians in 2020 certainly won't be leading in it as there were in 1980's.
The art and science of sound practice should not be something that is the subject of constsnt change and experimentation - and yet this is what expenditure on environment has become - just another drip feed that feeds tokenism and softedged and misdirected crap.
The greens talk about the problems but do not work out real solutions - but the major parties now do the same . - its not there job------ why would they ?
Rudd may live to regret his trust in his conservation advisors in particular because they are so heavenly minded they are often of no earthly use.

If only one party would have the courage to say were going to end the marginalisation of a discussion that should be mainstream and professional our kids could keep building and extending the great work started in conservation in Australia and beyond .