Tag: Ross Gittins

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Australia

November 17, 1994 – “When consumption is no longer sustainable”…

Thirty years ago, on this day, November 17th, 1994,

“The fly in the ointment is the increasing insistence of our scientists that it can’t go on much longer. Just the latest unwelcome reminder of this came last week at a seminar on “Consumption and the Environment”, organised by the Australian National University’s Centre for Continuing Education on behalf of the Department of Environment, Sport and Territories.”

Gittins, R. 1994. When more is no longer sustainable. Sydney Morning Herald, 23 November, p.21.

[ALMOST CERTAINLY 17 November, in Sydney….

http://www.uow.edu.au/~sharonb/STS300/market/green/probarticle1.html

https://www.vgls.vic.gov.au/client/en_AU/vgls/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ILS$002f0$002fSD_ILS:63151/ada?qu=Consumption+%28Economics%29&d=ent%3A%2F%2FSD_ILS%2F0%2FSD_ILS%3A63151%7EILS%7E2&ps=300&h=8

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 359ppm. As of 2024 it is 423ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was that by now we’ve had all of this nonsense about green consumerism and the “Green Consumer Guide” and all the rest of it. But populations are growing, wants and “needs” are growing. Advertising was continuing at a very great pace. And therefore, obviously comes the question of when does consumption en masse start to be unsustainable? And if you’ve heard of a guy called William Jevons, you will know that efficiency is not the be all and end all. And so it’s unsurprising, albeit depressing, that people were having these conversations all those years ago.

For the avoidance of doubt: the best consumption for most of us is less consumption. Obviously, when I say most of us, I mean most of us wealthy people in Europe. There are other places in the world where they desperately need to consume more, more health care, more protein, and more contraceptives, etc. That won’t happen. We are going to be the bacteria that eats everything in the petri dish. But that metaphor hides culpability. 

What we learn: We knew. We did not act. We are doomed.

What happened next? We kept hyper-consuming. 

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Also on this day: 

November 17, 1968 – UK national newspaper flags carbon dioxide danger…

November 17, 1980 – International meeting about carbon dioxide build up.

November 17, 2018 – XR occupy five bridges in London

Categories
Australia

October 9, 1991 – Greens get labeled religious fanatics, don’t like it.

Thirty two years ago, on this day, October 9, 1991, an Australian politics and economics commentator Ross Gittins is, well, Ross Gittins…

MY suspicion was right: the column I wrote a few weeks back about the greenhouse effect drew a sheaf of letters from readers. I write on lots of controversial subjects, but none sends the readers scurrying to their word-processors like a mention of the environment.

I argued that, since the greenhouse problem is global and Australia’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is tiny, there isn’t much we can do about it in the absence of an international agreement.

The letters were almost universally disapproving; some weren’t too polite about it. So are my views quite out of step with the Herald’s readers’? I doubt it. People who violently disagree with something they read in the paper are more inclined to put pen to paper than those who don’t.

Gittins, R. 1991. Thou shalt not stuff up the environment. Sydney Morning Herald, 9 October, p. 15. 

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 355ppm. As of 2023 it is 423ppm, but check here for daily measures. 

The context was that the green moment that hit the headlines in 1988 was fading, and fading fast – even though the problems were real and getting realer. Meanwhile, Gittins needing to fill a newspaper column and get a rise out of his readers, was on display here 

What I think we can learn from this is that the conversation was never very sophisticated morally or intellectually and we’ve probably gone backwards thanks to dementia, reaction formations, organised denial, you name it.

What happened next

 Gittins kept scribbling, people got to read him. The emissions kept climbing. Here we are.

What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.

Categories
Australia

“Greenhouse Effect worries?” That’s sooo 1989… Sept 14, 1991. #auspol

On this day, September 14, 1991 according to a later article by Ross Gittins (Australian economics journalist) published in the Australian “Good Weekend” supplement.

“Deirdre Macken produced much evidence from market research that public concern about the environment, and the public’s willingness to buy eco-friendly products, had subsided markedly since their surge in 1989.”

Turns out it was all a fad.

And the fad came and went, until finally, in about 2021, reality came a knocking so loud she could no longer be ignored, and the issue attention cycle was – sort of – overcome…

On this day the PPM was

Now it is 420ish- but see here for the latest.

Why this matters. 

People care, but unless that care is harnessed, protected, nurtured, then the buying of stuff (and giving of speeches) decays quickly. And it is very very rare for care to be harnessed, protected, nurtured.

What happened next?

We kept on buying stuff, including the fine words of politicians, and never trying to see the truth.