DISCUSSION STARTER 5Greening Australia with many coloursThis Discussion Starter on Greening Australia with many colours is part of a broad, inclusive, nation-wide discussion about a better way for Australia than today's market-driven degrading of citizens' rights and the public good. This discussion process will culminate in a major national conference in Sydney on July 14-15, 2001. This and other Discussion Starters aim to develop ideas for and interest in the conference, to ensure the most informed and productive level of discussion possible within our resources. USING THE DISCUSSION STARTER The project sponsors encourage you to use the Discussion Starter in a group discussion in your locality, community organisation or trade union. If that's not possible, work through the points and questions yourself. In either case, your feedback on this topic into the discussion process is vital to develop the agenda for the July 2001 conference. GUIDELINES FOR GROUP DISCUSSION
Introduction The natural environment is crucial to the survival of all species, including the human species. Today our environment faces ecological damage on a scale that has never been felt before. The environment movement is a strong international movement, but it still faces many challenges. Our economic, political and social priorities of our consumer society result in excessive use of scarce and often non-renewable resources. Depletion of natural resources, pollution and environmental degradation are exacerbated by corporate globalisation. J K Galbraith, one of the 20th century's most renowned economists drew attention in his book The Good Society (1996) to the conflict between "environmental concerns" and "the motivating force of the market economy". The advice of one of Australia's most celebrated citizens, the late Nugget Coombs, is even more timely than when it was written in 1990 in The Return of Scarcity: "But we are not inescapably dependent on this flood of commodities which our economic system is designed to produce. There are conceivable lifestyles more modest in their material demands, less destructive of the physical environment - lifestyles which are simpler, whose excitements are found primarily in the human relationships they provide scope for. The search for those lifestyles is the essential task of the rising generation. Upon their success in that search will depend the future of human kind". This paper does not suggest that the issues addressed are the only, or most important environmental problems experienced today. Information in this paper comes from Ecological Sustainability in Australia - Achievements and Challenges, Vanessa Jackson (1997), produced by the Search Foundation. Global Casino - An Introduction to Environmental Issues 2nd edition, Nick Middleton (1999) Arnold, London. References: Friends of the Earth, Sydney; The Wilderness Society. Brief Background Over the last few decades there has been concern over environmental problems has escalated. Grassroots level campaigns have increased awareness around environmental problems, gained widespread public support and achieved some important victories. As public concern became harder to ignore, governments and the international community have acted on some issues. The scale and intensity of environmental problems means that they are no longer simply local concerns. As the interconnectedness of environmental systems becomes apparent, the need for radical review of economic and social priorities to meet environmental imperatives becomes more urgent. However, governments and those who make the major economic decisions, continue to ignore the conflict between market pressures - for short term profits - and environmental sustainability. Important victories have won by environmental activists on particular issues. However, forest destruction, global warming, resource depletion and global pollution remain as critical issues. On the other hand, grassroots activism has put environmental problems on the international agenda, and some international protocols are under discussion. · 1972 - Stockholm Conference on Environment and Development, leads to the formation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) · 1976 - 'Habitat 1'United Nations conference on Human Settlements in Vancouver.. Habitat 1 grew out of the initiative taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. · 1983 - UN General Assembly resolved to establish a World Commission on Environment and Development. The Secretary-General appointed Mrs Gro Harlem Bruntland as the chairperson. · 1987 - Publication of the Bruntland report. · 1992 - United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
in Rio de Janeiro (also called Earth Summit). This conference produced
a number of conventions:
· 1997 - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - Kyoto Protocol · 2000 - Hague Summit on Climate Change Convention fails. But in global meetings since Rio, big business, especially the energy corporations, have slowed down or stopped progress. Australia'' delegates have voted with the energy bloc at Rio, Kyoto, and The Hague to block binding targets and commitments on Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Australia has so far failed to meet any of its international objectives. A Global Debate As corporate globalisation sweeps over the planet it brings with it a range of environmental problems. Corporations have an increasing power to pursue economic rationalist objectives without considering the effects this has on the natural environment. Corporate globalisation has encouraged mass consumption of the earth's finite resources with little or no consideration for the earth's carrying capacity, or its ability to absorb the waste from such processes. Many environment problems have no national boundaries, such as, acid rain, ozone layer depletion, global warming, nuclear and toxic waste, land clearing and water management. For example French nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean, attempts by the USA to dump nuclear waste in the Australian outback, corporations importing and exporting woodchips internationally, and national tensions over the damming of the river Nile, which runs through four different countries. A global response to this situation has emerged in a number of ways. Improved global communication has allowed grassroots movements across the world to join in campaigns to halt environmental degradation. The combined efforts of local movements have been largely responsible for the shift toward international environmental policies, such as the UN conference in Rio in 1992. Australia's role internationally On the international level Australia has made many commitments but the national record of acting upon these commitments remains weak. All of the following strategies remain at policy level rather than in
law and active programs. The short term profit interests of powerful corporations unduly influence governments in their failure to implement environmental policies. This was most notable with the government's refusal to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions in 1997, in line with the recommendations made at the Kyoto Climate Change Summit by the international community. It argued that the targets had unfair impacts on economic growth and jobs. Australia's government also revealed its weak sense of environmental commitment with its participation in the international transport of hazardous nuclear waste. Australia's retreat on these issues could be explained by its advance towards 'free market environmentalism'. Discussion Questions · What are the strengths and weaknesses of international environmental
policies? · How can national governments ensure that international agreements are policed/ enforced? · How else could global environmental issues be addressed? · How can Australia overcome the political hurdles in implementing environmental policy?
Ecological Sustainability and Economic Rationalism Economic Growth can be loosely defined as a measure of an economy's performance based on Gross Domestic Produce (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP). Such measures do not incorporate social aspects such as standards of living, not ecological sustainability. The Rio Declaration outlines the following principles as of ecological
sustainability: Advances in international environmental laws mean that national governments are responsible for enforcing these principles of ecological sustainability. However, as we see in the case of Australia, these principles often conflict with the agenda of corporations which influence governments. The objectives of ecological sustainability and economic rationalism appear to be mutually exclusive. Given the level of dissent towards ecologically destructive practices and the current state of the environment, social and environmental costs are working their way into the economic mainstream. There is a growing trend towards 'environmental economics' and the internalising of environmental costs. Environmental economics calls for the use of market instruments to achieve environmental goals. This involves concepts such as financial incentives to reward environmentally positive behavior, government loans / grants to encourage environmentally sensitive behavior, tradable pollution rights and polluter pays principles (a 'price' that is paid for polluting the environment). Many environmentalists criticise the failure of environmental economics to recognise the intrinsic value of the environment, or to fundamentally challenge economic rationalism. So despite this trend toward incorporating ecological principles into economic rationalism, the basic problem remains. Existing alternative ideas, concepts and partial plans for ecological sustainability need to be developed further. An ecologically sustainable industry policy could be a centre-piece in a new economic, social and cultural approach to our relationships to fellow humans, other species, and to sustaining natural ecological systems. Discussion Questions: · What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of economic instruments, such as tradable pollution rights, in solving environmental problems? · What kind of government intervention and policy would you recommend? · Can you think of an example where the objectives of ecological sustainability have been met through market means? · Has the market approach in the electricity industry led to any positive economic or social affect? · Can changes to the taxation system, that are aimed at achieving sustainability, be compatible with social justice and equity? · How important is it to help develop people's understanding of the need for radical change in our approach to the natural environment?
Workers and the Environment Corporate capitalism thrives on the exploitation of both people and the earth. Its very survival rests on its ability to extract surplus labour from workers and natural resources from the earth. In our increasingly globalised capitalist society human impact on the earth has been dramatic and we now face environmental problems of a global dimension. At the same time workers all over the world have suffered at the hands of the same system. In Australia, workers face increased job insecurity, casualisation of the workforce, job loss as corporations shift their activities offshore, deteriorating working conditions and an increase in environmental hazards at the workplace. This exploitation of earth and workers has been driven by corporate capitalism's relentless push to increase profits and to expand its system of rapacious capital accumulation and growth. And yet despite workers being drained of their labour, denied their rights and the earth's ecosystem being faced with destruction, a gap between the two movements remains. Bridging this gap is seen by many as a key political challenge in uniting the many movements against corporate globalisation. The divide between the two has not only come from misconceptions about who the 'enemy' is or from internal conflicts, but also because governments, corporations and the mainstream media insidiously reinforce the notion of 'jobs vs environment'. This division is clear in Australia's native timber industry, with tensions in recent years resulting in outbreaks of violence in the forests. There have been attempts in the past to unite workers and environmentalists, the most famous being the 1970s 'green bans' movement of the Builders Labourers Federation, other unions and residential action groups. More recently there has been the launch of 'Earthworker', a Melbourne based group recognising the global need to challenge the divisive 'jobs vs environment' debate and build an effective alliance of unions and greens. Discussion Questions · What examples have you seen in your workplace or organisation of workers and environmentalists coming together? · How can the political obstacles that stand between workers and environmentalists be reconciled and overcome? · How can both full employment and natural resource conservation be guaranteed? · What kind of 'trade offs' and compromises would be acceptable to allow for co-operation to occur further down the track?
Indigenous Peoples and the Environment Indigenous rights are integral to environmental, social and cultural processes. Traditional cultures have set a positive example by incorporating the protection and respect of the earth and species as part of their daily practice. Indigenous struggles are linked to the struggles of the environment and workers movements, in the sense that all three sectors have been persecuted under that same destructive system of corporate globalisation. In the case of indigenous peoples however, oppression has been the most intense. In Australia, examples of the environment movement and the workers' movement working with indigenous peoples occurred in the late 1960s with union and middle class support for the Gurundji peoples strike for land rights at Wave Hill Station (NT); broad support for Aboriginal land rights during the opposition to uranium mining at Ranger in 1977-79; to drilling at Nookanbah (WA) in the 1980s; the opposition to the Coronation Hill gold mine in 1991; and the opposition to the Jubiluka uranium mine in 1998 - 2000. Discussion Questions: · How can we incorporate 'lessons' from indigenous peoples into our ways of managing and protecting the environment? · What other examples do you know of where the indigenous movement and the environment movement have worked together? What did you learn from this? Some Major Environmental Problems The Green House Effect The earth's atmosphere has always contained carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases create a natural greenhouse effect. They trap some of the sun's energy and keep the earth warm enough to sustain life. However by increasing the volume of some of these heat-trapping gases, and adding new ones, we intensify the natural greenhouse effect and further warm the atmosphere, hence global warming. Human activities have contributed greatly to the increase in levels of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide (created by the burning of coal, oil and gas) accounts for three fourths of the predicted increase in the greenhouse effect. In 1990 Australia's contribution to the production of green house gas emissions came from a range of sources: Sectors and Percentage of total emissions Energy sector (electricity and transport) Industrial processes Agriculture Land use change and forestry Waste (National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Committee, 1994) Clearly Australia's energy sector is the major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The unsustainable nature of this sector is becoming more recognised due to its extremely negative impact on global climate change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is predicting an increase in global temperatures of 1.7 to 5.7 degrees Celcius together with other serious and potentially disastrous changes to natural ecosystems and human societies. Discussion Questions: · Can Australia reach targets of decreased emissions by transferring loads form traditional energy sectors to renewable ones? · Can targets to reduce emissions be reached without negative economic outcomes? How could job security be guaranteed? · How does the precautionary principle in this situation affect workers in these industries?
OceansThe world's oceans and seas cover 71% of the surface of the earth. Oceans have very diverse habitats and are, in some respects, richer in biodiversity than life on land. They are very important for human existence, not only because they supply us with fish and other coastal resources, but also because they regulate the atmosphere and control natural systems. Marine ecosystems are under continuously increasing pressure from human
activities. The problems include: The precautionary approach requires measures to prevent environmental damage by human activities, rather than attempting to react to problems after they have been detected. The failure of governments to seize the opportunity and act decisively will result in continued degradation of the world's oceans at the expense of present and future generations of humankind and the health and abundance of all life dependent on the seas. Discussion Questions: · In which areas in Australia has this issue been prominent'? How can we assist communities here to make fundamental changes to their practices while maintaining job security? · What affect are international fishing activities having on local fishing communities? How could we support these communities? · How can we ensure that national governments act decisively and respond to the deteriorating state of our oceans?
Urban Environment In recognition of the growing development challenges of rapid urbanisation the United Nations convened the first global conference on human settlements in 1976. This conference focussed, in particular, on the deterioration of the natural environment and the effect this would have on human survival. The need to address the built environment - the social, economic and environmental aspects - became apparent. In 1800 only 50 million people lived in towns and cities worldwide. During 1975 there was 1.5 billion and in 2000 there was an estimated 3 billion - more than the entire population of the world in 1960. Today's megacities are Mexico City, Calcutta, Beijing, New York, London, Manila, Jakarta, Cairo, Moscow and Mumbai, Karachi and Los Angeles. The environmental and social problems of the world's 'megacities' are enormous - energy use, air and noise pollution, water supply, sanitation and waste treatment. In cities where populations are in the millions there is high demand for resource use and waste disposal. There are environmental problems generated by huge cities that have consequences worldwide, such as massive air pollution and high energy use. Many of the problems that need addressing involve urban health issues and these have a class dimension. Environmental problems generated by rapid urbanisation are associated
with social problems such as poverty, unemployment and lack of access
to, or provision of, basic services. In poor cities and poor neighborhoods
the most threatening environmental problems include: These problems are more pertinent to people living in developing countries. But the class dimension of these urban environmental problems extends into more developed countries. In Sydney for example little attention is given to the health risks imposed upon residents in less affluent Bexley, the proposed site of smokestacks from the M5 East expressway. Or to the people of the western suburbs where the proposed 'Western Sydney Orbital' will run through 46 separate areas of native bushland. These areas are home to endangered ecological communities and to vegetation that is listed under the threatened species conservation act. Sydney residents as a whole suffer from air and noise pollution, from motor vehicles, and this is worse in Western Sydney. Transport is a also major problem, especially in the world's megacities. The major environmental issues arising from transport include air and noise pollution, resource abuse, adverse impacts on human health (such as death and injuries from road accidents, or lead contamination, which can lead to reduced mental development in children). Yet millions of people have only inadequate and costly access to transport services. The largest polluting source in the transport industry comes from road transport. Automotive fuels - petrol and diesel - power more than 98% of the global motor vehicle fleet. There has been attempts to introduce lead free petrol, but only a handful of countries have managed to completely phase out leaded petrol. Lead content of petrol in some megacities (g/l): · Bangkok 0.15 Global facts regarding road transport: Pakistan - number of registered vehicles has more than doubled between 1980 and 1989 this was at an annual growth rate of 12.5%, 2.5 times higher than the population growth rate . Africa - has the highest levels of lead in petrol, childhood lead poisoning is widespread. Los Angeles - has almost no public transport and the worst air quality
in the USA. There are 10 million vehicles in the urban area of 14 million
people. While the wealthy maybe able to avoid some of these urban environmental problems by buying bottled water, using tollways, or having safer housing, they cannot avoid some of the more pervasive problems such as air pollution and lead contamination. Discussion Questions: · What do you think are the major environmental issues to be addressed in the city where you live or are closest to? · What are the major obstacles to solving these problems? · Are there any successful campaigns addressing these problems in your urban area? Why are the campaigns successful? · What would be the priorities for a national program to improve Australia's urban environment?
Nuclear Australia has been heavily involved in the nuclear industry since the 1940s and 50s to assist with the US and British efforts to develop nuclear weapons. In the 1950's nuclear mines were mainly government owned, but privately run, such as, Rum Jungle, South Alligator and Radium Hill. British nuclear weapons testing occurred at Monte Bello Island, Maralinga and Emu Fields, on traditional Aboriginal land. In 1957 the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor was built to keep Australia in the nuclear club and keep open the option of Australian nuclear weapons. In the 1970s approval was given for the development of mines at Ranger, Jabiluka and Nabarlek, despite the fact that Ranger and Jabiluka were within areas being considered for World Heritage listing and Nabarlek being situated within an Aboriginal Reserve. By this time Australia had become a major player in the global uranium market and the environmental impacts of nuclear operations were coming to public attention. The nuclear industry poses many social, environmental and cultural problems for Australia such as: · Mining uranium - has environmental implications as well as often being
carried out on Aboriginal land, which Aboriginal people across Australia
are opposed to. · Disposing of nuclear waste - Pangea are proposing that an international
waste dumping site be established in the outback of WA or SA. High level
nuclear waste has a half-life of 250000 years, and cannot be securely
stored. · Transport of hazardous materials in Australia by road. · New nuclear reactor - proposal to upgrade the facility at Lucas Heights
(a residential area) despite intense community opposition and a lack of
public plans to deal with an accident. · Nuclear powered and armed warships entering Australian ports with no
emergency plans. · Pine Gap intelligence base - operated jointly by Australian defence
agencies and the US National Security Agency and Central Intelligence
Agency, it is a part of the US nuclear war fighting capacity and therefore
a nuclear target. · Nuclear weapons tests in Maralinga (SA) and in Northwest Australia
caused severe local nuclear contamination and nuclear fallout over urban
areas. · The nuclear industry requires security measures and secrecy that reduce basic civil rights. Discussion Questions: · Can Australia adopt a nuclear free status? · What are the major obstacles? How could they be overcome? · How would the Australia and US alliance affect this?
Biodiversity Biological diversity is the variety of all life forms on Earth. Its complexity is measured in terms of variations at genetic, species and ecosystem levels. By responding to natural forces and human activities the Earth's biodiversity is in a constant state of flux. Although biodiversity is vital to human survival, our heedless actions
are threatening living resources around the globe. Some of the most direct
threats to biodiversity include: · Habitat destruction - burning and felling of old growth forests · Overexploitation of lands, rivers and seas · Pollution - industrial emissions causing acid rain, radiation and toxic build up in ecosystems · Global climate change - greenhouse effect and ozone depletion · Genetic engineering - unpredictable consequences for associated species Today the Earth's resilience is taken for granted, there are limits to the level of disruption that the Earth can take. Discussion Questions: · What is the most important aspect of the biodiversity issue in Australia? · Are you aware of any government programs to deal with these issues?
Deforestation The view under global trade that forests are renewable resources open to economic exploitation has had disastrous results on the global environment. The logging of our native forest is now a major environmental concern.
Millions of acres of forest are falling every year for the production
of timber and pulp. Around the world wood consumption has increased two
and half times since 1950, and only 20% of the world's old growth forest
remain intact (Rainforest Action Network, 1999). Discussion Questions: · Have you, family or friends participated in a native forest blockade? · Do you know people in the timber industry affected by this debate? · If so, what do you think has been the best approach developed for the forest conflict so far? · In NSW there is a program for conversion of timber mills to plantation timber, and the re-training of workers with guaranteed income support. Are you aware of such programs? Could they be applied effectively in other native forest areas? Genetically Modified Food Genetically Modified (GM) food is a new way of producing food by taking DNA from one species and inserting it into another. There are many health and environmental concerns around GM food. The health effects of eating GM foods are, as yet, unknown. Also unknown in Australia is which foods contain GM ingredients, as genuine labeling is not required.Health risks remain unknown because there is no adequate testing of the products being produced and no monitoring of the effects GM food is having on humans. Quite often testing is done by companies that benefit financially from the products. The majority of crops being designed are herbicide resistant, thus maintaining farmer's dependence on chemicals. The processes of producing GM foods and producing the herbicides they are resistant to, is a processes dominated by the huge multinationals - Monsanto, Aventis. Monsanto manufactures the herbicide 'Round Up' that GM seeds ('Round Up Ready') are resistant to. This herbicide could not have previously been used on now GM crops, as it would have killed off the crop as well as the weeds. By developing a crop resistant to the herbicide, Monsanto's profitability for the chemical is enhanced. There are environmental concerns about the transfer of pollen from genetically engineered crop plants to wild relatives to create 'superweeds' which could disrupt the natural biodiversity of the area. The precautionary principle requires that GM techniques not be used until the impact is more clearly understood. Another major issue is that GM seeds are a weapon used by multinationals to take greater control of farm production on a global scale, deepening the exploitation of farmers and their lands, especially in developing countries. In the USA and Canada, where GM crops are now widespread, farmers are losing access to export markets in Europe where the people refuse to buy foods with GM ingredients. The World Trade Organisation is being used by GM companies to impose their products in the countries where people reject them. Discussion Questions: · Should Australia take the market risk of fully introducing GM crops and eventually making it impossible to have GM free crops? · Should the government support or oppose the WTO rejection of GM labeling as a barrier to trade? · Could we declare Australia a GM free country?
Waste Dictionary definition - 'useless or worthless material; stuff to be thrown
away'. In 1990 Australians disposed of 14 million tonnes of waste - around
one tonne per person. The breakdown: In the commercial and industrial waste stream, the sectors creating the
most waste were: The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes that much of the problem with waste levels comes from this above definition. Viewing all waste as useless and worthless contributes greatly to excessive levels of waste. To solve the waste crisis they call for a re-examination of the act of waste. Alongside this there has been the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Strategy of 1992, setting waste reduction and recycling targets. In Australia recycling is heavily subsidised by government. This shifts the cost and the responsibility away from industry and towards the public. Further problems with recycling are the lack of focus on decreased production of waste or on mass consumption. Managing waste is not the only problem, we must also focus on reducing consumption and product reuse. The environmental benefits of waste reduction include: conservation of finite resources, reduction in energy consumption, the reduction of pollution emitted in production processes and reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. A sustainable waste strategy must be placed in the context of a global ecological crisis. At the moment waste is 'thrown away', but where is away? Discussion Questions: · What has been your experience of recycling at your workplace and home? Is it adequate? · How effective do you think recycling is? · Should we develop compulsory deposit schemes for company packaging, or levy fast food places to pay for the cleaning up of containers? · Do such approaches encourage a waste mentality? · What opportunites are there to reduce or eliminate buliding and industrial waste through technological innovation, ecodesign and industry restructuring? How effective would this be?
Land and Water Management Land degradation is responsible for a large extent of the damage inflicted
on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Land degradation is defined as 'alterations
to all aspects of the natural environment by human actions, to the detriment
of vegetation, soils, landforms and water and ecosystems'. In Australia
alone the impact of land degradation is widespread. The agricultural industry is responsible for most of the land degradation in Australia. It is the largest polluter of our waterways, with runoff from properties releasing nutrients, insecticides and herbicides. This has serious social and environmental consequences, as well as threatening future incomes for the agricultural sector. An increasing awareness of the extent and costs of land degradation in Australia has led to new resource management techniques such as integrated resource management (IRM). This approach claims to be based on the understanding that the environment is a complex set of interrelated ecosystems. However the conflict over natural resource use has not yet been resolved in Australia. The debate over allocation of resources continues because of the difficulty in harmonising industry needs with social and environmental needs. Farmers are heavily involved in the landcare movement, but are affected by severe market pressure such as huge import prices, high debt levels and variable world market prices. Agribusiness corporations have increasing control over land use, but are removed from the environmental and social impacts. Discussion Questions: · Do you have any connection to people in farming? What has been happening over the last 10 years? · Are you aware of Landcare programs and recent changes to irrigation systems to better control water use? Are they really addressing land and water problems? · How can the urban population assist with programs for addressing land and water problems in rural areas? |