Russian Inn

I worry about those who worry

2009-05-27T17:44:00.001-07:00

Reporters are supposed to exude an air of calm.
Jon Faine, as often happens, is worried about something This time it's water. This is a worry.

"May has had its lowest rainfall for oh oh so long ' Brumby is coming in after 9 to help solve this problem "
Next month, when it rains, it will be "landslides in the catchments" --one presumes . For your information, the only time to review water restrictions in Victoria( seeing Faine doesn't seem to know) is in November (earlier review is worthwhile but dry than normal months don't warrant much concern until the end of September in Melbourne) .
Worrying about it at this time of year will lead some russies to think we need desalination plants.

Oh for a good slow conservative conservationist who thinks about the future and is not just constantly talking and panicing about it !

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We'll all be ruined

2007-12-05T17:51:00.000-08:00

FEARMONGERS ARE HAVING A FIELD DAY - Who would have thought in the 60's that the role of fearmonger would move from dear old Hanrahan in the bush to dear young preacher from the green society.
And if young people are worried, why aren't so many of the ageing middle class leaders ? Maybe they have other things on their minds - like how to shore up their own world view - that progress is still happening and evil is only in a lockable cupboard called ignorance ?

Fear does strange things to people - they react badly and quickly to threats percieved or real . They do things that are not rational - not economic)

Mr Rudds first big splash in matters of major importance is a form of cultural cringe that denies his economic conservative credentials . In one big sweep of excessive largess he has the whole country uncritically commit themselves to sign up to an easily torpedoed international agreements that is a lawyers picnic .
Rudd is moving from safe to unsafe- Moving where even angels fear to tread. He has now signed something he clearly does not know the practical implications of ( eg carbon trading implications)it is not something he should have done ,Haste makes waste man and economic conservative leaders do not not waste .They wait till the carbon trading issues are weighed up and they o not lisetn too closely to the wannabes who in their face screaming for action .

We need less fearmongers --not more

The day they give each other a bucketing

2007-02-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

Fridays meeting in Canberra is more about theology than ecology . More about who should be in charge, than what we will be in charge of . Ecology is too difficult to get a proper airing there .Theology though, is their favourite topic
Pity !
If canberra was seriuos about arguing its ecologiacl right to rule it should have given some thought to filling up the buckets with the same stuff before they came . now they are all going to bring their own buckets and share them - nicely we hope .Post modern parties are no fun though - they would have been better to have a closed shop stop so we , the public, know we are getting eco----logical agreement first .

Sound consensus and ecology is when the sum of the parts actually turns out to be more - not just buckets but the same contents and some magical power when sharing the contents .
Maybe canberra can do some good sorting out the catchment issues- it' s hard to say

The way its been presented, a lot of dirty and different water from suspect sources will be brought to the table because the main bucket is empty of the stuff that matters . refreshment, bounty and beauty - nature's own .Its tax bracket bucketing .
The participants though are pleased though to bring their buckets . Maybe it doesn't matter than they get filled with gold rather than the stuff they were supposedly there to talk about . But will they get away with the substitution ? Copyright

Water consternation

2006-10-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Nothing is more obvious to those of us whose training and role is to help people plan for droughts, is the city centrics desperate mood over the current drought. Desperate enough to do silly things with our money. Desperate enough to act without thinking or consulting water conservationists .

Individually we should be very seriuos about saving water in dry periods . But what's a sound way to respond collectiveley when the drought is happening ---promises of grand infrastructure for 100 yr events; ? How do you pay for something that only happens once in 100 ( ofr now 1000) yrs ?
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We are experiencing a very dry year in Victoria .- probably a 1:100 but unlikely to much worse that that. (Both global warming effects- if they exist and periglacial or other cycles are best planned for on a probabaility basis for the moment - otherwise panic, rather than what we do know, will determines our responses )

Investing in expensive infrastructure for a 1:100 drought is no sound use of our collective resources for such a time as this .

This drought is sending us an important message. Many city centrics are living as if there is no limit to the resources available .This is wrong . But let's not panic - we don't recycle much water at all yet - in the driest continent on earth . Let's not seek to add to supply (more dams etc myth) when management of a genuinely limited supply is the issue .
And if we calm down and set recycling in train for the first time in our history we will probably have more than another 100 yrs before 'we need to panic again" .
I'd vote for a recycling commitment,, not some wet dream that goes dry before christmas. more here

Where do you take the boat?

2006-08-13T04:28:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah we forgot ? - to an island somewhere.

Get a boat and take the problem away

2006-08-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

They want us to believe THEY know what THEY are doing . Its not quick fix - it just looks like it ?

Learning from others Industrial Relations disasters

2005-10-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

Good ideas often don't work because polys rush in. Or don't recognise the temptation of the simple . Sure we could do with a few better attitudes to flexibility in workplaces .BUT The ads are an insult to any intellegence on the subject - so why would the public believe you . You appear to wasting our taxes -if convincing is your aim - you would cut abit deeper than mere prejudidice and problem description !If Do you Know what you are doing its not obvoius HOW you know better than that reckless Mr kennett - you may end up as credible as he is on these issues !

Fanatics - not in our house surely ?

2005-08-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

THE ABC's of motivation in our young people .
Both the Vic premier and the minister for education are rushin in to provide some guidance in territory where only teachers used to tread . rushin in is a form of fanaticism not unlike that which drives any half baked worldview to create its own fanatics- when its not working . The myth of progress is being challenged and rightly so . Is value resetting as simple as creating AB or C levels , or a return to the past? Of course not .
whatever the merits of industrail or classroom relations they won't be helped by Russin Into fixin it .
If this imperative is superficial quickfix stuff, young people will continue to be more motivated by worldviews other than our quickfixers that again now tried and failed and failed again .
"everybody's doing there own thing and thinking thats great "was a tolerance dominated post modern worldview that was shared by both sides of poitics until recently - its failure as a worldview is now the real driver for fanatiscm on both sides of Australian politics . the russin in effect : obviuos now on both sides

Lessons in disaster prevention

2005-01-03T18:48:00.000-08:00

The left's commitment to reactionary politics doesn't make sense.There is a lot of good in our culture- the challenge is to find it amongst the barrage of cynical reactionary stuff that has been so much part of the 60's generation idea of news since then . After all its broadly "the West"that anticipates plans and prevents. There would have lots less casualties from a tsunami if it happened in the Pacific.

Quick fix the majority of our irrigation areas?

2004-06-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

What's the rush? If the States sign up on "Water" tommorrow, they will show themseleves superficial. Salt and sustainability are important issues to be addressed by competence and consensus . But there is no concensus. We have more than 1 year to reverse the damage of thousands.
Act in haste - repent at leisure.