Beechworth Sustainability

by Charlie Robinson
Most high rise office blocks are equipped with speakers that transmit a form of subliminal static termed “white noise”.  This enables office workers to conduct conversations at reasonable volumes without distracting everyone on their particular floor.

Unfortunately, the media creates its own white noise in the form of newspaper articles and programs that distract people from the really important issues, such as the survival of the planet.  The Global Financial Crisis, Paris Hilton’s newest car, and the latest blockbuster movie, are all examples of this white noise.

Consider this. A recent Met Office report to the British Government predicts that the planet will heat up by 4 degrees C within the next 50 years.  This analysis is supported by the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) who stated on the ABC’s 7:30 Report that the planet is warming at the upper end of predictions and, at current trends, will reach 6.4 degrees C by 2100.

At the same time, Dr. Megan Clark (CSIRO Chief Executive) has warned that the world must produce as much food in the next 50 years as it has since the dawn of humanity to feed our growing population. Does anyone see the contradictions in these two paragraphs?

Thawing permafrost in Siberia is liberating mammoth remains that is exciting some scientists as they seek clues that may warn of human extinction. Unfortunately, thawing permafrost is also evidence that catastrophic amounts of helium could be released into the atmosphere, and soon.  Helium is far more effective as a greenhouse gas than CO2 and its release will seriously exacerbate an already precarious scenario.  As Greens senator Christine Milne has stated in her June 17, 2009 speech to the National Press Club, once this release occurs “all bets are off as far as global warming is concerned”.

I mentioned in a previous article that New Scientist magazine expects that a 4 degree rise in global temperatures will wipe out 6 billion people and leave remnant populations on northern Siberia, Scandinavia and Antarctica.

So where’s the outrage?  Where’s the sensational headlines? Where’s the concerned politicians outlining their tactics to overcome this crisis?  On page 16 after the report on the latest pain free diet!

It’s blindingly obvious that you and I can no longer sit back and hope that “someone else” will fix the problem.  I predict that the Copenhagen climate summit will not produce the necessary strategies to ensure the survival of humanity beyond the next half century.  Therefore, everyone will need to bear the burden of producing food and ensuring , wherever practicable, their own water security.  We need to prioritise our time and spend a lot more of it developing coping and adaptive strategies for the extremely harsh conditions that we will face in the near future.  If Beechworth is already experiencing 46 degree summer days with less than one degree of warming, how will we fare with two degrees, then three?

One of the aims of Beechworth Sustainability is to provide people with the necessary tools to adapt to a rapidly-changing environment. These tools include the ability to grow your own food, conserve water, improve energy efficiency around the home, and to adopt alternative power sources.  Please refer to the calendar on this website for some exciting events in October and November and we can be sure of a dynamic program in 2010.

Is it an impossible dream to have a water tank, a vegetable garden, and a solar power system in every residence in Beechworth?  This should be an achievable aim but, in the end, the choice is yours.  Just don’t be beguiled by the white noise.