THE POTENTIAL mining of Julimar forest and clearing of roadside vegetation for road improvements are just two environmental issues facing the Toodyay district.
It is important to understand the underlying causes of these challenges.
Between 1990 and 2015 the population of Perth grew from 1.19 million to 2.04 million people, an increase of nearly one million – effectively doubling in size.
During that time the spatial extent of the city increased by 45 per cent or 320sq/km.
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This expansion destroyed much natural habitat for native species including the threatened Carnaby’s black cockatoo.
It also meant more domestic and industrial waste being disposed of at more distant landfill sites.
Hence an increase in heavy vehicle traffic for waste disposal and more traffic generally.
In relation to mining for rare earths and other minerals, this increasing demand is being driven by the urgent need to transition to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels that cause climate change.
The magnitude of this transition is not always appreciated.
A BBC News report recently stated that in order to build the technology to power this transition, the next three decades will require mining the same quantity of minerals that humans have mined in the previous 70,000 years.
World population is due to tick over to eight billion on November 15, with a prospect of reaching 11 billion by the end of the century.
Australia’s population also continues to grow apace.
As the saying goes, ‘there is something wrong with this picture’.
We need to reduce levels of wasteful consumption in the affluent parts of the world and end population growth in Australia and globally.
Existing forests and roadside vegetation not only offer pleasing landscapes, they provide homes for numerous wild creatures and are a vital store of carbon.
The global and local ecological situation is getting more desperate and we can no longer afford the ‘price of progress’.
Peter Cook
(former Toodyay resident) Queensland
