“It’s no small thing to unlearn a way of thinking”

So says Tim Winton, in an excellent article in the latest issue of Australian Geographic, where he reflects on his own life and the diminishing resources of the seas. He grew up expecting – and receiving – an endless bounty of seafood, and yet as he got older, he saw that “people were traveling further and further to catch less and less.” This is analogous of the human situation across the globe, and certainly not just on the coast.
Yet we have all we need to feed ourselves, and to have clean energy, and clean water for all – except the will to actually make it happen. Can we do that in 2011? Or will the New Year be Same Old Same Old, just like all the years gone before?
Actually, each new year does bring change – just more slowly than we need. Society is so very different from 10 years ago, 30 years ago, 100 years ago – let’s not devalue the progress that is being made, but let’s also recognise that the rate of change – for human equity of opportunity, for access to basic resources for life, and for sustainability – must accelerate further. The decisions you and I make today – what we eat, wear and how we travel – are the basic drivers of the economic machine that brings about change for the whole of humanity. Do not underestimate the power you hold…
I love the way Tim Winton writes – he should consider a career in literature. And if you haven’t already seen it – get hold of this issue of Aus Geo – it’s one of their best ever!