Back in the old days ... a reflection on growth vs. existence

Back in the late 1970s, when I was studying engineering at Uni, I started arguing that (urban and industrial) developments should only be allowed to proceed if they retained - or later returned - the agricultural potential of that land. 

I wasn’t actually wanting to protect agriculture: I wanted to protect and respect the natural world - our environment, and the only way I  could come even close to “selling” the idea was to frame it in terms of the “thinking” of the dominant worldview at that time, which was develop-develop-develop - a world view in which, appallingly, an untouched wilderness was viewed as a waste waiting to be “developed”. 

A lot more people now understand that such views are inherently wrong (some purely out of concerns about the climate crisis - which, valid though those are, FAIL to understand that wilderness has an inherent right to exist in and of itself), but too many of those who hold power do not.

Back then, in the late 70s and early 80s, I was contending over the environment with one Shire Clerk in a small regional Queensland town in particular who insisted that any consideration of environment be reduced to a very, very, VERY cut-down assessment of economic costs (and many of my assessments were deemed ridiculous by that IPOC and cut down to something that was both farcical and insufficient to restrict growth). 

I was also fighting against architects over houses without verandahs or even eaves, as the architects said “oh, just use air conditioning”. My arguments against unnecessary use of power lacked the impact of warnings based on GHG emissions (although I started using that in the late 80s, when I became aware of it), and arguments based on the costs of power were trivialised along the lines of “oh power's not expensive and never will be!”

Well, nearly half a century later, power is prohibitively expensive, the world is waking up to the inherent  importance of the natural world and - belatedly - the importance of Indigenous  knowledge and practice, and development at all costs is being challenged - sometimes successfully.  

But we still tend towards being dismissive - or resist even properly acknowledging of problems vehemently or even violently. The threat of nuclear weapons never went away, despite many assuming the end of the Cold War meant that; not only has the COVID-19 pandemic not  gone away, we have warnings of where future pandemics could come from; and too many people in power are still being reactionary or ensuring their agents look after their interests (although not all). 

We cannot afford to be dismissive of any of our existential threats - nuclear, pandemic, climate  crisis, or others known (including human rights) or, as yet, unknown. 

It is hard (mentally and emotionally) to give up dreams and reframe one’s life - effectively, and to deal  constructively with living under ongoing threats, fears, and uncertainties, but people - such as those in war zones or living with poverty or discrimination - do it, and we all should share that burden and work together, as we have done before and can do now, and as young people are showing us can be done now. 

But now, unlike half a century ago when I started on this, we have no time to lose.

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

• the natural world is valuable in and of itself;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider: 

• we do also need to consider the valid needs of humans, who are also a natural part of the natural world, but big flashy houses and an addiction to economic growth are NOT valid needs;
  
• there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”.
  

 

Some human rights and other news links and thoughts

Black Lives Matter! Be Anti-Racist, Anti-Sexist, and Actively Inclusive in ALL Areas.
The Climate Crisis is real, urgent and existential!
The Pandemic is Real, and Vaccinations save lives. Stay safe - wash your hands, wear a face mask in public if prudent to do so, and follow informed medical advice.

Some mostly human rights (including significant, relevant links in other fields - such as geopolitics, democracy, or authoritarianism) links (note: the source of news items [but not reference links] is in brackets after each item - normal rules around abbreviations will apply, and abbreviations are listed at the end of this post; links behind hard paywalls have a [$]; also, comments by me are in purple). 

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Content shown in green (which may be only part of a news story) is about what is generally considered “good news”, but personal history may still make such events triggering. Reader caution is recommended.

• on the CLIMATE CRISIS (noting the UNFCCC) and ENVIRONMENT (noting multiple  international agreements): 
• current pledges are inadequate (UN) - see also this (TG);   “the Bureau of Meteorology has been accused of “cowering in the corner” on the climate crisis, with current and former staff describing a conservative culture that left the Australian public poorly informed” (this is such an egregious breach of duty and public money that I nearly put this in the corruption section of this post) (TG) - see also this (TG);   “exposure to environmental toxins may be root of rise in neurological disorders” (TG);   Australia has agreed (ABC) to the methane pledge (TC);   an opinion that excessive use, rather than the climate crisis, is causing one river to dry up (that may be true for that river, but not necessarily others - both factors need to be considered) (TC);   future heatwaves will affect all children (UN);   a school science roadshow will stop using a fossil fuels company as a sponsor (TG);   flood prone housing in NSW will be bought back (TG);   “strict anti-protest laws may have encouraged mining conference to move from Melbourne to Sydney ... legal observers also say police in the eastern states have been ... pre-emptively visiting the homes of climate activists in an effort to intimidate protesters” (TG);   global health is the mercy of addiction to fossil fuels (TG);  
  
  
• on the COVID-19 PANDEMIC (noting WHO advice, Article 12 of the ICESCR, and public emergency provisions of the ICCPR and the ICESCR) and other health matters: 
• an argument that rich nations should donate nearly expired PPE to developing nations (TG);   the impact of COVID and other diseases on epigenetics (TC);   an explainer on brain fog (TC);   resistance to antibiotics has worsened in India (DW);   floating Petrie dishes are on again ()TND);   the pandemic led to more TB (UN);  
  
  
• on NATURAL and OTHER DISASTERS (noting Article 1(3) of the UN Charter): 
  
• cholera in Syria (DW) and Haiti (UN);   a bus accident in India (ABC);   tropical storms in Mexico (ABC) and Bangladesh (TG);   floods and landslide in the Philippines (TND) and west and central Africa (UN), and Australia (TND) - and a boy was rescued after being swept in to a stormwater drain in my home city (as an engineer, how was that possible??!!!) (TG);  
  
  
• on Rashist  Putin and his cronies’ ILLEGAL (it is contrary to Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter  and international law [and the 1928 Pact of Paris which was successfully used in post-WW2 trials], and possibly includes conduct contrary to the "laws" of war and international humanitarian law (IHL)) INVASION of UKRAINE: 
• on military matters:   Russian troops are lacking food, weapons, uniforms and training (TND) - see also this (TND) and this (TG);   
• on the nuclear (weapons and power) situations:   “Russia warned against using ‘dirty bomb’ provocation to launch false flag attack in Ukraine” (TND) - and Russia has been conducting nuclear drills for troops (TND);  
• on human rights in the region and globally:   an examination of the cost and funding of rebuilding Ukraine (DW);  Russia is using facial recognition technology to hunt down evaders and draft protestors (HRW);   a Russian TV presenter has called for Ukrainian CHILDREN to be drowned or burned alive (ABC);   
   
• on INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (noting the UN Charter [particularly Chapters VI and VII] and numerous  international  treaties): 
• under Mao (TG) the Second (ABC) (my phrase) - and despite using influencers (SBS) - China’s standing has fallen as the USA’s, under President Biden, rises (TG);   “the Dutch government has said it is investigating reports that Chinese police forces have illegally opened at least two stations in the Netherlands since 2018, using them in part to keep tabs and put pressure on overseas dissidents” (TG);   the USA has cut China off from advanced chips (TC);   tiny pro-democracy protests are happening in CHina (F24);   two alleged Chinese spies have been charged by the USA (CNN), and one alleged Russian spy by Norway (TG);   rule of law is under threat (DW);   the USA will defend its allies against North Korea (AP);   “Security Council counter-terrorism body to review growing threat posed by new technologies” (UN);  
  
  
• noting particularly Chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter, the 1928 Pact of Paris used in post-WW2 trials, the "laws" of war and IHL and Article 20 of the ICCPR on WAR / CONFLICT:   a reminder of the devastating war in Ethiopia (TG), where the government and rebels have met for talks for the first time (F24);   a political solution is still the only solution in Syria (UN);   a call for action for calm by both sides in the occupied West Bank (UN);  
   
• on CORRUPTION (noting international  agreements and monitoring), MISGOVERNANCE, MAL-/MIS-/NON-FEASANCE, MISCONDUCT and THREATS TO DEMOCRACY/FREEDOM: 
• the husband of the US Speaker has been violently and viciously bashed (TG) by someone who appears to be a conspiracy fantasist and possible trumpite (TG) - which is exactly the sort of action that the rhetoric of hate (including political, transphobic/anti-LGBTIQA+, misogynistic, AND RACIST [as demonstrated this week in my nation]) leads to!;    a judge who sentenced one of the insurrectionists to several years of jail warned of “the dark shadow of tyranny in sentencing remarks” (TG);   
• “the intersection of transphobia and fascism” (M) - and the intersection of hate in other areas (TG);   “an open letter to a publisher warns that harm is done not only by censorships but also by hate - “it is imperative that publishers uphold their dedication to freedom of speech with a duty of care. ... we recognise that harm is done to a democracy not only in the form of censorship, but also in the form of assault on inalienable human rights””  (TG);  
  
• on the latest cyber hacks:   none of the promised reimbursements as yet for passport replacements (TG);   the latest hack is wider than first thought (TND);    
• the problem of sports greenwashing (TC);   my home state’s anti-corruption body says the “police team involved in violent arrests will put public at risk if not overhauled” (TG);   a terrible idea for each person to direct where their tax is spent - imagine if this person could have done that (TC);   a US company which has been accused of security and human rights failures has begun operating our offshore asylum seeker prison (TG);   “the United Nations has suspended its tour of Australian detention facilities and accused the country of a “clear breach” of its obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture” (TG);   “parents of slain girl beg French politicians not to exploit their daughter's death” (F24);   the USA has imposed sanctions targetted against corruption and Russian influence in Moldova (R);   the human cost of financial hardship - aka poverty (TC);   a powerful article on how society makes orphans (M);   “false claims” by an anti-abortion politician in the USA (TG);  
  
  
• on DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE (noting Article 25 of the ICCPR and monitoring  projects): 
• globally:   the need to consider “human flourishing” when considering what makes a “good” society (TG);   an opinion ()which I agree with) that the USA “is built on a racist social contract. It’s time to tear it up and start anew” (TG);   the political deadlock is continuing in Libya (UN);   an article on the informal military resistance to the junta in Burma (DW);   “Über whistleblower calls on Europe to tackle ‘undemocratic’ power of tech companies” (TG);   “UN independent human rights experts ... demanded real accountability for the year-long brutal crackdown on peaceful protests against the October 2021 military coup in Sudan” (UN);   Brexit has pushed the UK from being rich to being poor (M);   a call for better congressional oversight of US military actions (ICG);   repeat warnings that Brazil’s current President may try to do a POTUS45 and not accept the results of the election (TG);   another, USA-focused debunking of the myth that conservatives are better at economics (M);  
  
  
• in Australia:   the conservative party in my home state has, unlike that in NSW, chosen to determinedly dive down the divisiveness dead-end (TG);   “patients dying daily due to poor ‘soft skills’ among Australian surgeons, experts warn” (which requires better training - and perhaps requirements set by people who understand and genuinely appreciate human beings, rather than those inclined towards technocratic ideology) (TG);    the tide is turning against the failed ideology of private ownership of public assets (TC);   an opinion that “research in Australia’s universities should be driven by curiosity, not commerce” (TG);   the rise in alcohol-related diseases is, IMO, related to increased survival stresses (TG);   how to ensure Parliament is in charge of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament rather than courts (TC);  
  
• commentary on the budget: here (responsible, but no repair, no relief) (TND), here (TG), here (TG), here (better climate crisis spending) (TG), here (Indigenous voice referendum, truth telling commission) (TG), here (inadequate climate provisions, but previous government set this problem up) (TG) - similarly, here (TG), here (step towards a wellness budget) (TC), here (failure to raise welfare) (TG), and this (“rosy views mugged by reality”) (TG);  
  
  
• democracy is also at risk in   Senegal (Barrons); 
  
  
• on HUMAN RIGHTS (noting the various rights and treaties summarised here, IHL, Article 5 of the Rome Statute founding the ICC): 
• on the protests in Iran:   “protest strikes in Iran reported as solidarity rallies held around world” (TG);    a call for international pressure (DW);   women in Afghanistan have shown solidarity with women in Iran (F24);   more gunfire against protestors by the violent misogynistic security forces in Iran (TG) - see also this (TG);   protestors have vowed a long fight for their rights (F24);   protests at Universities (TG);  
  
• in the 1930s, the world allowed a genocide to happen: the option that came about after World War (part) Two to attempt to prevent that ever happening again was the creation of Israel (see also pp. 205 - 246 of I.F. Stone’s collected works [free online] ). That has resulted in a now decades long history of conflict, with Israel now in a stronger position militarily, but widespread concerns about human rights abuses in the last coupe decades (after a brief  flowering of hope which an assassin and an illness and death killed) have become more focused on Israeli abuses, although not forgetting those by Palestinians - and one of the authors of a notable 2009 report subsequently indicated (the other authors disagreed with him) that lack of information at the time led to an unfair focus on Israel. Against that background, this week has seen the release of an Amnesty International report on evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza in August of this year, another military raid by Israel with Palestinian fatalities, (TG), and last week saw the publication of a photo (TG; Abed Al Hashlamoun/EPA) of an Israeli soldier who is aggressively threatening both a Palestinian and Israel’s tattered and dwindling reputation. Quite apart from the human rights aspects of this, I note that the US military in Iraq eventually learned that everything they did would be captured by a mobile phone camera, and they changed how they reacted to provocation: Israel either hasn’t or refuses to learn that - which lesson would also open the door to addressing human rights violations;
• a violent extremist group’s “victims [have been] found in mass grave in historic town of Palmyra, Syria” (ABC) - see also this, on an Al Assad soldier’s crimes (TG);   “business racing to use facial recognition technology, raising concerns the law is too slow to catch up” (TG);   a legal case in the US Supreme Court may shift the balance between so-called “free speech” (much of which is what was intended by Article 6 (1) of the ICCPR) and responsibility (TG);   fat phobic trolls have responded to an appeal for a social media platform to protect users against fatphobia by taking advantage of the lack of protection to make a vicious fat phobic attack (TND);   sports players have called out the host nation of a world sporting event for its outrageous human abuses (TND);   conflict gold (DW);   “Kenyan police charged with crimes against humanity over 2017 crackdown” (TG);   “about 96,000 Haitians flee homes to escape gangs and kidnapping, UN says” (TG);   another mass school shooter in the USA had hundreds of bullets (TG);  
  
  
• violence in:   Iran (F24),   Mozambique (GW),   DRC ([US] ABC News),   Chad (AN);
  
  
• noting the GENOCIDE  Convention:   Burma has killed dozens of people at a concert (TG);   an atrocity alert for Burma, Sudan and the DRC (GCR2P);  
  
  
• noting the conventions and the Global Compact on REFUGEES:   thousands of asylum seekers/migrants have died on Europe’s borders (International Organisation for Migration);   Türkiye is refouling thousands of Syrian refugees (HRW);  
  more refugee issues:   Malaysia (UN);
  
  
• noting the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBTIQ+ PEOPLE:   a detailed critique and criticism of the ABC’s latest transphobia (M) - see also this (Star), this defence of TGD people on US media (Star), and a transwoman on biology (M);   transphobes are being emboldened (M);   yet more school bullying (star);   “Labor and Liberals sink LGBTIQA+ Commissioner, but advocates vow to fight on” (Just Equal);   a new acronym has been adopted to replace the grossly inaccurate acronym TERF for transphobes is F.A.R.T. - see here (Urban Dictionary);   police in my home state “apparently” breached internal guidelines on handling complaints with two complaints of transphobia (TG);  
  more LGBTIQA+ issues:   Qatar (DW),   Slovak Republic ([US] ABC News),   Chechnya (HRW);
  
  
• noting ICERD and DRIP on RACISM:   “the killings and disappearances of Indigenous women across Australia is a crisis hidden in plain sight” (ABC);   after a recently signed up sponsor left a sport after players protested the association of the company with a now dead vile, rabid racist (whose comments the company failed (TND) to distance themself from), other sponsors have stayed with the sport (TG) - and see this, on the broader context of societal change (TC), and this, on one company welcoming athlete activism (SMH);   an Indigenous teenager has been assaulted and killed on a street during daylight in WA, with one person charged (and to avoid risking an unfair trial, with the sorts of outcomes we have seen this week, we need to be careful about what is written - no matter how clearly egregious the violence was) (SBS) - see also this (ABC), this questioning of the lack of outrage (TND), this on why the family is fighting through pain to maintain public awareness of this (NIT), this questioning on why police didn't take a proper statement (TG), and this, on a similar event in the USA (TG);   “Aboriginal cultural heritage protected as NSW rejects Glendell coal mine expansion” (TG);   “Indigenous legal experts are calling for an overhaul of anti-consorting laws across the nation which have disproportionately targeted young First Nations people for committing minor offences while hanging out with family” (NIT);  
  
  
• noting CEDAW on SEXISM:    against a background of outrage in response to the dropping of gang rape charges in South Africa (TG) and a judge revealing some details of the breaches by a juror that led to the abandonment of one trial of an alleged rapist (TG), criticism (C) and an explainer (TC) on aspects of our (Australia’s) legal system and its approach to rape trials;   “Australia’s women are no longer seeing their calls for change dismissed as lacking ‘credibility’” (TG);  
  
  
• noting the laws listed here, the conventions listed here, and principles discussed here, here, here, here, and here, on the RIGHTS OF ANIMALS:   the toll on humans of working in abattoirs (YT);   a shipping company has been found responsible for the death of over a dozen ponies it was shipping (TG);   
  
  
• noting the CRPD on PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:   a struggle to include children with disabilities in Qld schools (still! in this day and age) (TG);   ways that society abuses autistic people (Neuroclastic);   an advocate has recalled past terrifying public abuse for the Royal Commission (NIT);   
  
  
• noting Articles 6 (1), 7, and 8 (see here) of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (i) (ii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 11 (1) (a - c) of the CEDAW,   and   Article 27 (1) of the CRPD on WORK and FAVOURABLE WORK CONDITIONS:   “the five stages of DEI maturity” (Harvard Business Review);  
  
  
• noting Article 6 (1) of the ICCPR,   Article 11 of the ICESCR,   Article 5 (e) (iii) (see here and here) of the ICERD,   Article 14 (2) (h) of the CEDAW,   Article 27 (3) of the CRC,   Article 28 of the CRPD,   and   Article 20 of the DRIP on FOOD, CLOTHING, and HOUSING:    home insurance is no longer affordable for many people (ABC);   “NT government’s years-long public housing wait list [is] putting a strain on remote health system” (ABC);   an opinion on why homelessness is not being solved (M);   the inadequacy of Australian housing (TND);   
   
• “the danger of advanced artificial intelligence controlling its own feedback” (TC); 
• a doctor living with Crohn's Disease in Ethiopia has exercised her superpower of sharing her story (TG);
  

(Should you elect to write to your elected representatives or others on these matters, it may be useful to familiarise yourself with the links shown in blue - or to at least refer to them. Don't forget to CHECK whether your nation has RATIFIED the treaty concerned.)

Abbreviations:   Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project - ACLED;   Aeon Magazine - Aeon;   Africa Centre for Strategic Studies - ACSS;   Africa News - AN;   Al Jazeera - AJ;   Amnesty International - AI;   Associated Press - AP;   Australian Associated Press - AAP;   Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC;   Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility - ACCR;   Australian Independent Media Network - AIMN;   Australian Unions - AU;   Barrons;   Bellingcat (B);   Bloomberg - BB;   Brisbane Times - BT;   British Broadcasting Commission - BBC;   Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - BAS;   Cable News Network - CNN;   Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC;   Centre for Strategic and International Studies - CSIS;   Committee to Protect Journalists - CPJ;   the (US) Council on Foreign Relations (CFR);   Crikey - C [$];   Dabanga Sudan - DS;   Deutsche Welle - DW;   European Union - EU;   Forbes - F;   Foreign Policy - FP;   France 24 - F24;   Freedom House - FH;   Genocide Watch - GW;   Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - GCR2P;   HumAngle - HmA;   Human Rights Law Centre - HRLC;   Human Rights Watch - HRW;   Independent Australia - IA;   International Crisis Group - ICG;   Lawfare Blog - LFB;   Lowy Institute - The Interpreter - Lowy;   mainstream media - MSM;   Medium - M;   Michael West (news media platform) - MW;   Mirage News - MN;   Nation Africa - NA;   National Indigenous Times - NIT;   New York Times - NYT [$];   News24;   North Africa Post - NAP;   Out in Perth - OiP;   Pearls and Irritations - PnI;   Political Violence at a Glance - PVG;   Politico - P;   Premium Times Nigeria - PT;   Q News - QN;   Quartz - Q;   Radio France International - rfi;   Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE);   Reuters - R;   Robert Reich - RR;   (Bruce) Schneier - Sch;   Special Broadcasting Service - SBS;   Star Observer - Star;   Sudan Tribune - ST;   Sydney Morning Herald - SMH;   The Age - TA;   The Big Smoke (TBS);   The East African - TEA;   The Guardian - TG;   The Monthly - TM;   The National Tribune - tNT;   The New Daily - TND;   The Saturday Paper - TSP;   The Sentry - TS;   The Shot - TS;   Thomson Reuters Foundation Context - CT;   United Nations - UN;   Voice of America - VoA;   Wall Street Journal - WSJ [$];   War on the Rocks - WotR;   Washington Post - WP [$];   Yahoo News - Yahoo; YouTube - YT;