In the wake of World Environmental Day, Professor Ian Lowe will talk about his timely and topical book, Australia on the Brink: Avoiding Environmental Ruin, at Annie’s Books on Peregian on Saturday 17 June.
Ian is well-known to locals and all Australians who are concerned for our future, and he is happy to chat with interested people.
In 1996, the first independent national report on the state of Australia’s environment found that we faced serious problems. With increasing urgency, five subsequent reports declared those problems were all getting worse, each calling for immediate action to protect our future. The 2021 report determined that, ‘Overall, the state and trend of the environment of Australia are poor and deteriorating as a result of increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and resource extraction,’ and warned of the dramatic impact on our health and living standards. It is now clearer than ever that the consequences of long-term inaction are upon us.
“Accelerating climate change and the loss of our unique biodiversity are the most obvious signs of the grim outlook for future generations of Australians. But the international trends are equally worrying, with quixotic economic systems casting doubt on the wisdom of running down our domestic production of essential goods and services in favour of a dependence on trade. It is no exaggeration to conclude that Australian society itself is at risk,” Professor Lowe said.
In Australia on the Brink, Ian Lowe argues that the essential first steps in addressing these threats are stabilising the global climate and protecting our local biota. “We must also change the emphasis of resource extraction from a damaging reliance on trade to improving our capacity to meet our own needs. This is our best – perhaps our only – chance of restoring a sense of social stability, and the equality of opportunity that was once a hallmark of this country,” he said.
Professor Ian Lowe is uniquely qualified to tell this story, following a long career in universities, research councils and advisory groups. Lowe is the author of several books, including Living in the Hothouse (Scribe, 2005), A Big Fix (Black Inc., 2005), A Voice of Reason (UQP, 2010), Bigger or Better? (UQP, 2012) and The Lucky Country? (UQP, 2016). He is also the author of a 2006 Quarterly Essay on the prospects for nuclear power in Australia, and a ‘flip book’ with Professor Barry Brook, giving the two sides of the argument.
Come down to Annies Book on Peregian at Peregian Village from 10am-noon on Saturday 17 June for the talk.
