Carbon Tax

All this furor about the new Carbon Tax- how it will add to the cost of living, etc.

Well, I'm sorry but it doesn't go far enough, or maybe not just this tax, but the whole environment thing?

What ever -or whoever is in government needs to take the hard line, we need to take action now -not tomorrow, or next year. Now.
We need to stop encouraging people having children.
Take away child care for those with more than 2 children.
Stop encouraging single young mothers.
Put a tax on couples who have more than 2 children.
Stop advertising - we don't need it.
Make recycling compulsorily, every thing from old mobile phones, TVs, computers, bottles,  -everything. None of this stuff should be trashed.

We are the lucky one's here in Australia, but I worry that this will soon change.
We need to stop or lessen immigration to a low level.
Help the refugees - but only the true refugees.

We need to accept the fact that we can live with less - less of everything.
We don't need the great new house, with 2 hand basins in the same bathroom.
I grew-up in a simple 3 bedroom home, like I'm sure so many other people did - so why do we need all this stuff -? I had a happy childhood.

We are consuming more that this planet can sustain.
20% of the world consumes 80% of the worlds energy. And we are part of  that 20 %
Australia is the highest energy user per capita.

So much rubbish

In my trade I have reason to call on numerous residential households and I can't help but notice how so many people acquire so much stuff.
In a lot of cases the house is awash with junk - you cannot walk a straight line without stepping over stuff. Often the stuff is trash or dirty washing, food and other stuff..?
How or why do people live like this? Animals would live in a cleaner environment.
And often there are children in the house - what hope have they?
Is it drugs?

The latest and greatest

It seems the norm these days that more and more people are buying an iPod type phones....
At one time, the trend was for smaller and smaller phones - to the point that they were becoming too small - someone like me with big hands and fingers it was almost impossible to use the key pad.
But now the trend is for small tables - this flat thing with a loverly flat screen - so inviting to scratch or crack.
It makes me wonder - we have weekends and holidays to switch off - get away, take a break, wind down.. and yet I see people holding on to their small tables, like its some sort of good luck charm, or a security thing.
"Don't go any where without that phone".... like you could be walking through a really interesting store on your holidays, finding something really interesting ...and all of a sudden the phone (table) rings... Oh beaut.. and everyone else in the store really enjoys hearing you hold a conversation with Frank..."Oh Really ...did he"!

Expressions like - Fuck off - comes to mind.

Fireworks

Before last new years eve I was already to yell "Ban the massive 5 million dollar fireworks display in Sydney"
Now, as the country takes stock of the massive devastation and destruction that has occurred from the many floods across our country, any money now previously directed to such frivious pastimes should now be cancelled.
Five million dollars, up in smoke, in less than an hour.
Makes a lot of sense - not!

Why is it so?

My country, Australia is being ravaged by floods, lives are being lost.
First it was New South Wales, then Western Australia, Victoria & now Queensland, with Tasmania bracing for more of the same.
Whats going on?
They say it is largely due  to La Nina weather effects, the sea temperature is at an all time high.
Yet if you listen to the media there is no mention of Global warming?
Why?
Are we meant to just bury our heads in the wet sands?
Do we just continue breeding like there is no tomorrow?
What does it take before people sit up and take notice?
We cannot continue in this way.
We can't all live in a brand new home, or drive a brand new car.
I remember watching some show a few years ago that predicted weather just like we are experiencing now.
We can remember someones birthday, but we can't remember to turn that light off, or walk instead.
How devastating it is - our coal mines are closed because of the weather - no more coal to China for them to burn in their 100's of power stations - each one belching out tonnes of CO2. What a shame.

Rivers

The Store Rivers should be re-named the Chinese Emporium.
Everything in the store comes from China - and yet they call themselves an Australian company.
Ha
Importers more like it.

Obesity

An Article by Ross Gittins highlights what I have suspected for a long time.
The average person is getting fat.
While I lived in England I was constantly amazed at just how many over-weight people there were. I thought it was a English thing - and then I came home to Oz.


Read the article here:http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/politics/obesity-problem-is-bigger-than-we-think-despite-gdp-benefits-20101005-16630.html
Interesting how the over -weight population will provide a break to our economy, as their early demise will relieve any strain on health-care and associated services.


And what the two authors, Egger and Swinburn say about the "sweet-spot" which we have passed.
Bear that in mind with Peak Oil which we have passed also and things could be grim.
But hey - lets just go buy another house, or a car, or some shoes. Put it on debt.


It would seem that the discovery of oil could be seen as the demise of man as it was about this time that the human population started to increase and development of producing food took on a serious side.
Prior to the discovery of oil, food was produced more like a cottage industry instead of todays mass, high tech, pest free production.