When the Heinz Food company set up a turtle soup factory 0n Heron Island in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef early in the 20th century they rejoiced in the fact that the supply of turtles was limitless

MANKIND SANITY DOUBTS: EXPERTS WORRIED

When the Heinz food company set up a turtle soup factory on Heron Island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef early in the 20^th century they rejoiced in the fact that the supply of turtles was limitless. Only little more than one human lifetime (85-90 years) ago, the idea that one day the continuing exploitation of nesting turtles (slaughtered before they could lay their eggs) could cause their extinction, was simply not conceivable.

Unfortunately it remains similarly inconceivable to many in the developed world today, that we are increasingly overloading the ecosphere (the part of our Earth which sustains life) and thus jeopardising the future health and wellbeing of populations everywhere. It’s important that we understand that the part of human organisation we refer to these days as the "economy" is a cultural device used by humans to "add value to nature." The true producer is the natural world, the source of food, fibre, metals, fossil fuels and fresh water. We modify, process and consume, we cause chemical reactions, we create waste and a big part of that waste is alien to nature. The natural world is increasingly being choked by man made by-products, effluent and leftovers, which we burn or bury in landfill, dump nearby or faraway.

We mine, refine and condense such natural substances such as Arsenic, Uranium, Zinc, Cadmium, Copper and Gold, all of which are found in varying degrees in such "mundane" things such as TV sets, word processors and mobile phones. Made obsolescent by new models on an almost yearly basis these products are dumped in landfill and pose threats to drinking water supplies. Water purification requires energy. Energy comes from the consumption of oil and coal which results in greenhouse gases and ozone destroying emissions. Those who say we can produce potable water by desalinating sea or river water or by filtering so called "waste water" need to be aware that this requires large quantities of electricity.

Potable water is an issue in Perth where they have had below average rainfall for the last 37 years. The vast artesian basin, on which Perth sits, has been overused and is becoming brackish. It is believed that Indian Ocean water is seeping into the aquifers as the basin extends under the ocean and the ¾ million year old rainwater is being replaced by seawater. Some people refer to Perth as Australia’s greenest city. This is not because of the environmentalists but because a large proportion of its ¼ acre blocks have their own artesian bores to water lawns and gardens.

On the Great Plains of the U.S.A the sinking of vast areas is a result of the overuse of underground water. Scientists have measured this by satellite. When will we learn and start to use that "Wonder Head Filler- the brain" as Spike Milligan said more than fifty years ago?

-Jim