The Generator at EcoForum
The Generator is at EcoForum in Sydney this week. Watch this space for a series of interviews with the exhibitors and speakers at that conference.
Category: Columns
Geoff has written for publications as diverse as PC User and The Northern Star His weekly columns have been a source of humour and inspiration for tens of thousands of readers and his mailbox is always full.
Here you can find his more recent contributions.
Bangers and cash on the menu but a few greens needed
Bangers and cash on the menu but a few greens needed The Guardian, Friday 24 April 2009 Article history Chancellor Darling’s budget announcements of new investment in the environmental economy and green housing are welcome, but fall far short of a Green New Deal. A bolder approach to investment in the UK’s housing fabric Continue Reading →
NFF bets the farm on fossil lobby
Discredited Geologist, Ian Plimer, has received undue publicity for his latest regurgitation of the fossil fuel industry’s favourite arguments denying global warming. Despite the lack of any new evidence, the paid up lobbyist has received support from a range of vested interests including the current executive of the National Farmers Federation (NFF). That organisation is engaged in a high risk bid to sell membership to agribusiness companies, despite widespread opposition from small farmers. Backing Plimer would appear to be a way to indicate support for the multinational corporations and polarise the membership before the crucial vote at the national conference in Brisbane. It is a ploy that could backfire.
Historians hot about Somali Pirates
On the same day that a Conspiracy Theory of the Week segment apeared on The Generator, Common Dreams ran an article about the nature of Geopolitical chess games and the Somali Pirates. The Generator Conspiracy Theory of the Week and the Common Dreams piece, both concentrated on the role of international politics in forcing Somali Continue Reading →
Watson discusses piracy
Activists from Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in an inflatable boat after throwing smoke bombs at Japanese whaling ship the Kaiko Maru February 12, 2007 at sea off Antarctica. (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society via Getty Images)
In 1975, Paul Watson served as First officer under Captain John Cormack on the voyage to confront the Soviet Whaling fleet. In June that year, Robert Hunter and Paul Watson were the first people to put their lives on the line to protect whales when Paul placed his inflatable Zodiac between a Russian harpoon vessel and a pod of defenseless Sperm whales.
During this confrontation with the Russian whaler, a harpooned and dying sperm whale loomed over Paul’s small boat. Paul recognized a flicker of understanding in the dying whale’s eye. He felt that the whale knew what they were trying to do. He watched as the magnificent leviathan heaved its body away from his boat, slipped beneath the waves and died. A few seconds of looking into this dying whale’s eye changed his life forever. He vowed to become a lifelong defender of the whales and all creatures of the seas.
Is the cure worse than the disease?
Ballina Council voted last week to flouridate the Shire’s water supply while a vocal gallery shouted “Zieg Heil”. Flouridation opponents fear it may poison the population simply to profit chemical companies in the name of strong teeth.
Two fundamental philosophical divides charge this issue: government compulsion versus individual choice and chemical versus holistic approaches to healing. As always, good governance requires practical wisdom, rather than philosophical purity.
Consider the compulsory delivery of medical services. Whether it be vaccination, flouridation, putting iodine in salt or pasteurising milk, there is rising objection to governments enforcing a particular practice on the entire population.