The countries that accumulate the most wealth are also the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Tackling overconsumption would make it possible to reach the desired goal of zero emissions sooner.
If the tourism minister is worried about the wider social, economic and environmental impacts of visitors, he’d be better off banning cruise ships, not backpackers.
It is easy for people in the industrialised world to blame population growth elsewhere for environmental damage. But increased consumption is just as important – if more confronting.
The cost of land and, in turn, housing forces people to buy into the rules of market capitalism, making it very hard to ‘downshift’ from consumer lifestyles. But what if we rethink public housing?
Beloved film director Agnès Varda died at age 90, on March 29th. She was a pioneer of French New Wave cinema and admired for her ability to understand time and see beauty outside of mechanical norms.
Peter Newton, Swinburne University of Technology; Christina Ting, Swinburne University of Technology, and Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology
Australian cities are world-leading – in the worst sense – for resource use and greenhouse emissions. China-born residents have embraced these consumption patterns, which is bad news for the planet.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University