Worthy or unworthy?

What are we? Just an accident of nature (but then what is nature?) or is there some design and purpose behind the creation of life? Nobody knows!

And further to this conundrum I add that we human beings, generally, seem to be hell-bent on destroying the very environment that allowed all life to propagate.

I know I have written about this before but when it comes to understanding the “Tragedy of the Commons” it is well worth reiterating the facts. These “commons” are those resources which benefit all and that we all rely on, water (including those species that live in and on the water), the soil and the air. Free access and unrestricted demand for finite resources (minerals) ultimately reduces those resources through over exploitation. This exploitation occurs because of the financial benefits that accrue to individuals or groups, hence a desire to maximise the use of the finite resource without regard to the deleterious effects borne by all – even those unaware that such voracious exploitation is taking place.  

The fact that money appears to take precedent over what is best for all is pure greed. I am thinking particularly of the current, apparently intractable, divide between the political Left and Right and the socially unacceptable imbalance between the very wealthy and the vast numbers living in poverty, together with the deniers, generally those whose affiliated to Right-wing politics, who oppose political reform and who have an apparent inability or unwillingness to accept the we, humans, are destroying the very environment essential for survival.  

It would be well for all to reflect on the fact that all wealth – the economy that politicians love to invoke – is totally dependent on the air; the soil and water, both fresh and salt. Without these there would be nothing.  

“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity––then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.” (David Suzuki)

I will now quote extracts from a speech attributed to Chief Seattle of the Suquamish and Duwamish people in what is now the State of Washington DC (though there is some dispute as to whether or not this was “ghost written” for him):- 

“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected ….. 

….This we know; the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected ….. 

….You may think now that you own Him as you wish to own our land; but you cannot. He is the God of man, and His compassion is equal for the red man and the white. The earth is precious to Him, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. 

The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. ….

….Where is the thicket? Gone. Where is the eagle? Gone. The end of living and the beginning of survival.”

And so it seems to be. The sea ice is retreating; the permafrost is melting; much of the World’s ground water is contaminated. Many millions of square kilometres of the land is now so degraded that huge quantities of chemical fertilizers are required to get anything to grow. Many square kilometres of cropped land is sprayed with insecticide and weed killer. Many millions of square kilometres of forested areas are burning in drought-ravaged areas. Many millions of tonnes of waste, of all types, now pollute the oceans. Many millions of tonnes of chemical and noxious gasses are polluting the very air we breathe. 

But all this is accepted because of money; because of the “need” to grow the economy; that same “economy” which only exists because of people whose very lives depend on clean air, unpolluted, productive land and unpolluted water.  

 Makes me wonder!

Tragedy of the Commons

The term “Commonwealth of Australia” should mean something – it is not just a title – the wealth (in this case derived from its inherent resources) is – or should be – a common wealth for all. 

The metaphor, “tragedy of the commons,” lends emphasis to the argument that free access and uncontrolled demand for any particular finite resource (the “commons”), will diminish that resource, either temporarily or permanently, through over-exploitation. More pertinently it refers to situations in which individuals (or a groups of like minded people), acting to meet their own short term interests make choices that are detrimental to society as a whole.  This occurs because the benefits of exploitation always accrue to individuals or groups, each of whom is motivated to maximize use of the resource to the point in which they become reliant on it, while the costs of the exploitation are borne by all those to whom the resource is available – in this case the citizens of Australia.

(Adapted from the original article “Tragedy of the Commons”, by Garrett Hardin, Science, 1968).

When money is considered pre-eminent and more important than people, we have a real problem. It must be remembered, at all times, that money and commercial enterprise are tools for the benefit of Man (as in human beings) and not Man as pieces on some economic game board to be moved at will for the benefit of money and commercial enterprise.

It is time that “big” miners and the other players in the resources industry were reminded that what they are exploiting is the “commons” of all Australians (including resident shareholders) that does not “belong” to any one company. When the resources are exhausted, as they will be, what will the “commons” consist of – a pock marked Luna landscape no use to anyone? Who will pay the rectification costs? We, the citizens of Australia, will be called upon – once again – to bear that burden and we will all be doubly impoverished with a degraded environment and higher taxes to pay for it (Adani’s proposed coal mine? All opencast mining?).

This is the “tragedy of the commons” and why I, personally, support and always have supported, some form of payment by the “resources industry” to redress the environmental degradation they cause. I know that a “mining tax” is way off the radar of all politicians at present but I firmly believe that the chickens will come home to roost – somewhere. It is essential, as I understand it, for the long-term benefit and the “common wealth” of the citizens of this country that this “tragedy of the commons”, this untenable situation, be addressed, and soon. 

Because I live here I have chosen to use Australia as an example - but this would apply to any country.