More On The Environment

Greetings Oh Rambling Masses,

It gets my blood boiling every time that I hear Beige Howard's stock standard answer about any policy that will address the sorry state of the environment - "I will not do anything that harms the economy or risks jobs".

This is such an inane response. Now I know that Beige Howard is not a stupid man, but he is sure acting like one. At a time when renewable energy research and manufacturing companies are leaving our fair shores to go to countries where the political will for green solutions is strong (such as Germany), we should be embracing the alternative energy sector with open arms, not pushing them away with tired political platitudes.

It's very simple, really. If the federal government of Australia invested serious money into renewable energy, a whole new industry would blossom, leading to significant business involvement, tens of thousands of jobs, and a chance for Australia to reclaim the technical edge that they used to have over many countries in the world, back when the concept of the "knowledge nation" was more than just a glib bit of political spin.

The logging and coal industries are very powerful in Australia, hence the political foot-dragging over environmental issues. Heaven forbid that the nuclear industry gets a toehold as well.

Instead of the comparatively tiny amounts of money being bandied about in this election for the environment, we should put the $34 billion tax cuts on hold and invest the lot in building up a whole new industry. Heck, the loggers and coal miners can be reskilled, giving Australia a real and positive future in what will become one of the most important world industries in the years to come.

Burying our heads in the sand as so many of our politicians are doing is not an option. Even just looking at it from an economic point of view (as all the pollies seem to do these days, instead of looking at the human face of policies) now is the time to make the investment, and reap the rewards not just in 10 or 20 years, but for all of our future generations.

Solar, wind, geothermal, tidal - these are just a few of the energy sources that should be developed further. As a nation, Australians pride themselves on being innovative. Let's put this talent to good use in solving a world problem that affects all of us.

Politicians of Australia, it is time to stand up and make some real policy decisions, instead of the negative smear campaigning and irresponsible money-throwing that has turned this election into a joke. I, for one, am not laughing...