The beginning of survival

I was recently recycling some papers when I noticed a warning statement from Chief Seattle.

I decided the statement needed publicity along with a suitable supporting comment.

David Suzuki presented a similar point of view in his co-authored book Wisdom of the Elders.

The following is a quotation from Chief Seattle's speech to the then American President in 1885:

"Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.

"When the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses all tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills blotted with talking wires, where is the thicket?

"Gone.

"Where is the eagle?

"Gone.

"And what is it to say goodbye to the swift and the hunt?

"The end of living and the beginning of survival."

Are we in survival mode?

Gosford Council's sustainability report monitors governance and leadership, environment, economy, society and culture.

Regulation, modelling, control plans, management plans, monitoring, auditing, reviews and trade-offs are common practice now.

Evaluation of the quantity of monitoring and gaps in monitoring will lead to the answer.

Norman Harris, Umina