 Living in rural Victoria, our choice of Christmas tree used to depend on which smallish pine tree growing randomly on the edge of a nearby pine plantation would be chosen to bring home and decorate.
But, ten years ago, after relocating to Queensland, there was no nearby pine plantation to plunder. In the hassle of packing and moving, we bought a small artificial Christmas tree in a discount shop for the grand sum of $9.99. That will have to do for now, we said. Later, we will buy a grander one. Ten years have gone by and we have yet to but a ‘grander’ one. Each December, we fetch the battered box from the roof space and unfold the $9.99 tree. I used to say, ‘this is the last time’, and on several occasions we have gone Christmas tree shopping, each time returning with nothing, after being confused by the array of boxed apparitions. The silver shimmering light-adorned offerings seemed ostentatious and ‘not us’. So, little cheap tree, I have hung the old ornaments upon you and stood back to see that you are our tree and we congratulate you on your staying power. HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
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  TWO NEWS ITEMS:
This world of ours has been supporting life for hundreds, and hundreds, of millions of years and, guess what? WE – the most recent generations - are the ones who are likely going to finish it off. We are killing our world. The other recent News item:
Here are the comments on her arrest, made by State politicians: (Premier): “everyone has the right to protest, but do so in a way that doesn’t inconvenience people.” (opposition leader):.. “you [might] inconvenience literally hundreds of thousands of people. . . . in consecutive days . . .” NOW, Let’s hear what some REAL “inconvenience” might look like: In 2021, Will Steffen*, climate scientist, stated, “Massive floods, fires and heatwaves are sending us a clear message. On our present trajectory, we risk heading into a collapse of our globalised civilisation and a precipitous drop in human population — put simply, hell on earth. But we can avoid this disastrous future if we change the way we think, live our lives and interact with the rest of the living world.” *Emeritus Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society ANU After the so called ‘deal’ reached at the Cop27 UN Climate summit climate, experts and campaigners warned that the biggest economies must make fresh commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. They said “The world still stands on the brink of climate catastrophe” And that’s putting it mildly! The story of a fossil find and the arrest of a young woman climate protester, might seem two different stories. So, let’s re-cap: This world we inhabit has evolved over many MILLIONS of years. In these millions of years changes of all kinds have happened; some very slowly, others quickly. But now the rapid decline of the planet through global warming is likely leading to our planet’s end. While many of us, in our own small way attempt to act wisely to cease further destruction, HUGE changes are necessary before the global catastrophe can be halted. (If possible). I am appalled by the continuation of promoting coal production in Australia. Of course I see the benefits, especially in dollar terms, but the consequences of ignoring fossil fuel damage are outrageously negative. All we have left is protest, it seems. Little voices, such as Sydney traffic stoppers might seem useless in such a catastrophe, but when the HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of years of “our” planet’s life are being wrecked by our generations, we must use whatever we can. The message sent by ‘our’ leaders, shown by their obsession with the possibility of people being “inconvenienced” by a protester, shows a lack of big picture acknowledgement and an extremely small-minded view. Look at the picture of the gigantic fossil and remind yourselves what a magnificent and super-long-lived planet we are demolishing. |
