Fattening cattle in feed lots is not restricted to the US we do it as well although not to the same extent.
It’s an interesting practice as it produces a different product which I guess is down to conditioning the consumer. I’m not a fan basically it takes about 2 kilos of grain often fit for human consumption and a lot of water to produce 1 extra kilo of beef. I’m assuming those figures are true as I worked in the admin side for the responsible commonwealth department for 15 years. A vet who was against the practice quoted me those figures and I had an uncle who was an executive with one of their bigger companies in the US confirm it.
Gringo great stuff and about time people realised what’s going on with the land. I don’t want to start WW3 but this is inconsistent with the original occupants behind great custodians of the land so it seems to be largely ignored.
I can’t understand what the beef is with the church, fill in the denomination yourselves. Yes they own a lot of property, property that was often paid for by the congregation when suburbs were first being settled. My parish has two churches, a primary school and the st Kilda city mission. They do imo a great job and are entitled to the tax free status, just try and replace the services they provide and then check the costs. What are people proposing that churches, hospitals, schools etc should be taxed or sold off to fund what?. Interestingly a recent study found that loneliness was a greater risk factor to peoples health than obesity etc yet here we are advocating to punish organisations that do a power of work to combat that sense of isolation.
Climate change whatever the cause has been noticeable to most people for decades, anything individuals can do they should but until it’s one in all in for every country on the globe then it’s largely just a gesture. Stupid UN sponsored deals where two ancient civilisations with huge standing armies, nuclear weapons and space programs being able to continue to increase their emissions and get a massive handout off the likes of us is no deal at all imo. I have great faith in our ability to innovate under pressure, we’ve done it in the past from the civil war to WW11. I read something recently that said we were locked in a race with the Chinese to produce the first geo stationary solar farms in space that would be capable of providing us with unlimited cheap clean power.
To me a lot of it is about overall efficiency and consumerism. Ii think Australia can facilitate it and benefit.
Do we need to make steel? Lets say yes.
Where is the most efficient place to make the steel from an emissions point of view? Near to the iron mine.
Do we need to burn a lot of Coal to make it? No New technology has methods of using electric power to make Steele.
Are area's near the Iron mine feasible for solar electricity? Yes.
As the material is further refined, it makes more sense to ship the material elsewhere for processing and manufacturing.
But then what are we doing with it?
We buy a washing machine. It might have LED's and crap and a direct drive inverter motor, but it doesn't actually wash clothes better than the old
Look at the washing machines in launderettes. They are built to be flogged and most of the components can be quickly and easily replaced.
We are suckers for wanting something new and Shinier. American companies like Hoover really thrived on it. ( Hoover were offered the purchase of the Dyson design, they later expressed regret that they didn't buy it and put it on ice, it ruined their business model of selling the same old crap in a new style and convincing people they were better, and selling lots of paper bags ).
Cars are now cheaper than ever before. They are good too, but we throw them away more than ever. Less jobs for mechanics. Repair/cost vs replacement cost ration is not favourable. Anyone remember when Engine reconditioning used to be a thing when you hit 300 000k's?
The typical 2 car family that used to have a Commodore and a 1.6L Corolla now has a 3 Tonne Monster truck ( for those days when the supermarket carpark is boggy ) and a 2 Litre Corolla that weighs as much as a VC Commodore. Engine efficiency, electric, or whatever is one thing, but the actual energy needed is a function of the mass of the vehicle. It takes twice as much energy to accelerate a vehicle that weighs twice as much.
Apple, every card carrying green's choice of mobile device, got busted programming in planned obsolescence . Lots of people believed their BS excuse because they wanted to.
Building items , such as double glazed windows, ( triple is becoming the norm in the colder parts of europe ). come at a heavy premium in Australia, discouraging its use.
But once again, it has to be part of a global solution.
If we found a way of stopping all of Australia's emissions, it would not noticeably slow down global warming.
I don't believe that anyone will follow our lead. Like it or not ,we are not significant.
Look at workplace health and safety and welfare. It was not "ooh look how good they are in Australia , we can do that " that put pressure on.
It was " NIKE , your shoes are made in sweatshops, what are you going to do about it? If you don't fix it AMERICAN consumers will stop buying them".
Here's a pen stroke decision hardly anyone has made.
Most countries allow concessions, regarding drivers licences , registration etc, for people buying a motorbike with less than 50cc.
Because 50cc is bugger all , they make them with 2 strokes, which have more power than a 50cc 4 stroke. BUT these scooters put out something like 6 times the amount of CO2 as a 4 stroke, and a hell of a lot more of the other pollutants.
Something like a 90cc posty bike engine, is more powerful, more economical and far better for the environment. The difference in costs nowdays, is negligible.
So you simply change your concessional law from 50cc to 100cc, BUT you ban the registration of new 2 strokes on the road.
EVERYONE is happy. No-one loses, but they haven't done it because they are too stupid. ( Except California ).
It wouldn't make much difference in Australia , but go and try breathing the city air in some places in Asia.