Why A Sustainability PROGRAM
There are many indications that our modern Australian lifestyle
is simply unsustainable. These include:
The good news is that we don't need to give up any of the things
that matter the most in order to become more sustainable. In fact
many of the simple things we can do to become more sustainable will
make us happier, improve our health and wellbeing and save us
money.
And the even better news is that 93% of West Australians have
said that they are willing to take personal action to be more
sustainable. They're just looking for some help on how to make that
happen - and that's where Days of Change comes in!
Our Ecological
Footprint
If every person on the planet consumed resources at
the same rate that we do here in Australia, we would need another 2
to 3 planets for this to be sustainable!
The last time we checked, Earth is the only habitable planet we
know about, so our rate of consumption is clearly
unsustainable.
The Ecological Footprint map shown to the right
shows the average per capita consumption of resources for the
different countries of the world. Australia is second only the the
USA in its footprint.
The problem is many of the developing countries look at
countries like Australia and aspire to live the sort of lifestyle
that many Australians enjoy.
So pretty soon they will be consuming resources at the same rate
as we do - and who are we to say no?
Fortunately, it is possible to enjoy a modern, fun, fulfilling
lifestyle without consuming the resources at anywhere near the rate
that we currently do. There are many people who have massively
reduced their footprint who have banked thousands of dollars in the
process!
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Depletion of Natural
Resources
Thanks to an increasing global population and an increasing rate
of per capita consumption, the world's natural resources are being
depleted at an alarming rate. The following table shows the number
of years it will take to deplete the world's mineral resources
based on the predicted consumption rates of 2050:
Source: The Garnaut Climate Change Review: Final
Report
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Increasing Prices
Many households are now struggling to meet the
costs of even their most basic needs thanks to across the board
price increases.
Here in Western Australia electricity prices rose by 26% last
year, are rising by another 18% this year, and are expected to
continue rising thanks to the increasing costs of electricity
production and transmission. A record 77,000 households applied for
emergency relief for their electricity bills.
Similarly, a record 17,000 households in Western Australia
were disconnected from their gas service due to non-payment of
bills.
The Motor Trades Association has warned motorists to expect to be paying $2 per
litre within the next few months as the world recovers from the
Global Financial Crisis.
And a return to strong economic growth is resulting in
increasing interest rates, increasing house prices and increasing
rents which is putting further strain on household budgets.
The good news is that the vast majority of actions that
households can take on our Household Pledge Card will save
households money within the first year. And doing all of the
actions on the pledge card will save some households thousands of
dollars every year.
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Disconnected
Communities
With rising prices and people being forced to work
longer hours in order to make ends meet, we are seeing a breakdown
in our communities, with many people saying that they feel less
safe on the streets and many volunteer organisations struggling to
find people to volunteer their time to help them provide their
services at the same time as there is an increasing demand for
support services.
The good news is that there are an increasing number of
communities that are bucking this trend, with neighbourhood support
groups and a range of other community initiatives starting up.
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Species
Extinction
Human activities are now pushing many species to the brink of
extinction, with a United Nations report claiming that we are now
on the verge of the sixth global extinction event, the last of
which saw the end to the reign of the dinosaurs on this planet.
Activities that are impacting on our natural environment include
deforestation, destruction of natural habitats, pollution of the
air and our oceans and waterways, overfishing and acidification of
the oceans and climate change resulting from human emissions of
greenhouse gases.
The rate of species extinction is now 1,000 times the historical
extinction rate.
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Degradation of our
Agricultural Lands
Reducing rainfall and increasing salinity thanks to over-clearing
are seeing a progressive degradation in the agricultural lands of
Australia.
Here in Western Australia, there are many areas of the wheatbelt
that are becoming increasingly marginal for wheat farming.
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