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Responses to climate disasters
Waste Nothing
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Responses to climate disasters
Waste Nothing
The fastest way to cut carbon emissions and pollution is to cut waste. Half of everything produced is wasted at some stage or another.
Still relevant in 2008, this article was written on March 3 2000, as current news reported floods worse than usual in Mozambique, Europe, South-East Asia and Northern Australia, cyclones in North America, and record freezes in Russia.
All-time records are being set for a global scenario of climatic disasters, with record floods, droughts, heat, cold and cyclones in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and America.
Immense and increasing costs of emergency aid, relief and rebuilding are overtaking costs of wars.
We need to set benchmarks now. At what stage will each Australian - or anyone - decide that world-wide catastrophes require personal response? Possibilities are: -
1. They are a freak combination that will not recur.
a) Do nothing.
b) Cut down on our waste so that we can rehabilitate the victims and their lands.2. It is a global change like past Ice Ages that cannot be prevented.
a) Do nothing.
b) Start preparing to live in a world of environmental catastrophe.3. Many scientists predicted climate change resulting from human changes to the atmosphere through massive pollution and environmental degradation.
a) Do nothing until too late; then have Very Sorry Days. b) Do something - e.g. what Australia will do about the exponentially increasing millions of economic refugees overseas - and here.
c) Do everything. Individuals, nations and corporations can make massive changes to our life-styles to stem climate change. In Australia this would make a million jobs; it would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in waste-making.
The solidarity, enthusiasm and self-sacrifice that is poured into destructive wars
against common enemies
can be aroused for a constructive war
against a common global enemy -
the ravage of climate changes
that are the looming World War III.
Jobs that are needed
Jobs for the future
Inventions that are neededAnd see also the website of Sustainable Population Australia, www.population.org.au/