A speech held at the opening of India Flint's "Watermarks" exhibition at the "Artspace" of the Adelaide Festival Centre.
Recent natural events such as the extended drought and record heat wave of March 2008, have helped to emphasise the effect on our lives and environment of the weather, and as time progresses, the accumulated experience it leaves us with which we know as the climate.
When it comes to persuading politicians and their public of the wisdom of applying scientific truths, I believe it to be essential to be both honest and forceful as well as to be aware of people’s reactions while not forgetting the lessons of history. Adelaide’s founding planning father, Colonel William Light discovered the need to be resolute soon after his arrival on our coast just over 171 years ago. If he had not been so firmly insistent, then the experiment of establishing Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s model colony of S.A. would have either failed quickly, or needed a second attempt, as in the case of the first settlements in both Victoria and W.A. Thanks to Light’s observational powers and climatic acumen, Adelaide’s gravity powered water resources proved to be adequate for more than the city’s first century.
Problems initially began to manifest themselves not from over-population, but from short-term economic greed, a malaise whose enthusiasts can always find a way to overcome less aggressive obstacles, including passive communities and the natural sciences. Logically, it might have been silently assumed that the natural water resources of the Mount Lofty Ranges would have been protected for ever. But following an article in “The Bulletin” in the 1960s describing the MLR as an under-developed golden opportunity, an orgy of mindless sub-division commenced which continues unabatedly. While the value of the MLR water was underrated because the supply from the Murray could apparently so easily be drawn upon, the story has now changed with incredible speed. The pleas of people like Peter Dormer, who since the 1960s begged planning authorities to be more cautious in their callous carving up of Col. Light’s natural water supply, were simply trampled on in the greedy rush. No one stopped to think that even 30 years ago, each hectare of unspoilt land on the slopes of Mt Lofty yielded water under-valued at $1,000 per annum.
It is less than 35 years since not only the late Professor Denis Jordan of the University of Adelaide who chaired the State Government’s Committee on the Environment but also I, as Chairman of the Aust. Academy of Science Committee on Iceberg Utilisation, independently warned that SA would run short of water by the turn of the last century. As it turned out our estimates were out by only 2 years. Whether or not the concept of iceberg utilisation deserved official derision from some who should have been more thoughtful is still debateable. In the case of WA my suggestion was that this method would have given that State time to get some serious defects in its hydrological policies in order. While our western neighbour has now done something to alleviate its water supply problems, SA Govt. bodies have not yet created anything. In marked contrast, the Salisbury Council, through managing one of the driest areas on the urban Adelaide Plain, has encouraged its Engineer Colin Pitman to harness the region’s stormwater for the benefit of the District. I am pleased that Colin is present this evening, so that if necessary, he may be able to offer reassurance as to the safety and value of such water, which elsewhere in Adelaide is casually cast off to the detriment of the nearby sea. This technique of purification and storage is as close to the way nature used to operate as is possible in an urban setting. Furthermore, the wetlands and ponds that have been contrived in Salisbury offer a wonderful public amenity as well as refuges for bird-life. The actual storage area is deep underground where it is shielded from the ravages of not only casual human vandalism but of evaporation, a process which not only removes water from our reservoirs at a rate of more than 10 mm/day during summer, but simultaneously increases the residual’s salinity.
Water salinity, one of Australia’s legacies from the ocean which once covered it, is the bane of those who value natural plants, fibres, fabrics and dyeing techniques, all matters of concern to India Flint, the exhibitor who made this function possible. Ironically, the network of pipelines which sustains most parts of SA will ultimately spell doom in those areas where the ever increasing dissolved salt-load is allowed to accumulate. For 1000s of years, history on several continents warns us that all irrigation schemes based on a too frugally rationed water supply, unequal to the essential task of flushing accumulated salt from plant root zones, lead to horticultural distress and ultimate failure.By now I hope to have persuaded you that the availability and distribution of life-giving water is not only dependent on good science and technology, but also on political decisions sensitive to the needs of real people, not just corporations. When economists are left to their own devices, the shaping of their solutions may need considerable guidance from others who are sufficiently informed about nature as well as compassionate. While heed needs to be paid to economists, planning based on a response to institutional greed alone is unconscionable. An economy substantially dependent on greed dooms its citizens to the pillage of their natural environment, including soil and water, and consequently to an unsustainable future. History warns us that not only capitalist but also communist states fall into this trap. In Eastern Europe, the demise of communism two decades ago was greatly hastened by the collapse of many key environments including major river systems. By encouraging our Nation’s population to increase to levels beyond those which can survive on its naturally available bounties, especially pure air, vegetation and water, we condemn ourselves to become dependent on ever higher levels of technology, the uncertain reliability of which creates yet another undesirable stress factor in our lives. Perhaps it is the realisation of this that motivates so many to seek life-style changes that remove their daily lives from dependence on incomprehensively complex schemes.
Recent natural events such as the extended drought and record heat wave of March 2008, have helped to emphasise the effect on our lives and environment of the weather, and as time progresses, the accumulated experience it leaves us with which we know as the climate.
When it comes to persuading politicians and their public of the wisdom of applying scientific truths, I believe it to be essential to be both honest and forceful as well as to be aware of people’s reactions while not forgetting the lessons of history. Adelaide’s founding planning father, Colonel William Light discovered the need to be resolute soon after his arrival on our coast just over 171 years ago. If he had not been so firmly insistent, then the experiment of establishing Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s model colony of S.A. would have either failed quickly, or needed a second attempt, as in the case of the first settlements in both Victoria and W.A. Thanks to Light’s observational powers and climatic acumen, Adelaide’s gravity powered water resources proved to be adequate for more than the city’s first century.
Problems initially began to manifest themselves not from over-population, but from short-term economic greed, a malaise whose enthusiasts can always find a way to overcome less aggressive obstacles, including passive communities and the natural sciences. Logically, it might have been silently assumed that the natural water resources of the Mount Lofty Ranges would have been protected for ever. But following an article in “The Bulletin” in the 1960s describing the MLR as an under-developed golden opportunity, an orgy of mindless sub-division commenced which continues unabatedly. While the value of the MLR water was underrated because the supply from the Murray could apparently so easily be drawn upon, the story has now changed with incredible speed. The pleas of people like Peter Dormer, who since the 1960s begged planning authorities to be more cautious in their callous carving up of Col. Light’s natural water supply, were simply trampled on in the greedy rush. No one stopped to think that even 30 years ago, each hectare of unspoilt land on the slopes of Mt Lofty yielded water under-valued at $1,000 per annum.
It is less than 35 years since not only the late Professor Denis Jordan of the University of Adelaide who chaired the State Government’s Committee on the Environment but also I, as Chairman of the Aust. Academy of Science Committee on Iceberg Utilisation, independently warned that SA would run short of water by the turn of the last century. As it turned out our estimates were out by only 2 years. Whether or not the concept of iceberg utilisation deserved official derision from some who should have been more thoughtful is still debateable. In the case of WA my suggestion was that this method would have given that State time to get some serious defects in its hydrological policies in order. While our western neighbour has now done something to alleviate its water supply problems, SA Govt. bodies have not yet created anything. In marked contrast, the Salisbury Council, through managing one of the driest areas on the urban Adelaide Plain, has encouraged its Engineer Colin Pitman to harness the region’s stormwater for the benefit of the District. I am pleased that Colin is present this evening, so that if necessary, he may be able to offer reassurance as to the safety and value of such water, which elsewhere in Adelaide is casually cast off to the detriment of the nearby sea. This technique of purification and storage is as close to the way nature used to operate as is possible in an urban setting. Furthermore, the wetlands and ponds that have been contrived in Salisbury offer a wonderful public amenity as well as refuges for bird-life. The actual storage area is deep underground where it is shielded from the ravages of not only casual human vandalism but of evaporation, a process which not only removes water from our reservoirs at a rate of more than 10 mm/day during summer, but simultaneously increases the residual’s salinity.
Water salinity, one of Australia’s legacies from the ocean which once covered it, is the bane of those who value natural plants, fibres, fabrics and dyeing techniques, all matters of concern to India Flint, the exhibitor who made this function possible. Ironically, the network of pipelines which sustains most parts of SA will ultimately spell doom in those areas where the ever increasing dissolved salt-load is allowed to accumulate. For 1000s of years, history on several continents warns us that all irrigation schemes based on a too frugally rationed water supply, unequal to the essential task of flushing accumulated salt from plant root zones, lead to horticultural distress and ultimate failure.By now I hope to have persuaded you that the availability and distribution of life-giving water is not only dependent on good science and technology, but also on political decisions sensitive to the needs of real people, not just corporations. When economists are left to their own devices, the shaping of their solutions may need considerable guidance from others who are sufficiently informed about nature as well as compassionate. While heed needs to be paid to economists, planning based on a response to institutional greed alone is unconscionable. An economy substantially dependent on greed dooms its citizens to the pillage of their natural environment, including soil and water, and consequently to an unsustainable future. History warns us that not only capitalist but also communist states fall into this trap. In Eastern Europe, the demise of communism two decades ago was greatly hastened by the collapse of many key environments including major river systems. By encouraging our Nation’s population to increase to levels beyond those which can survive on its naturally available bounties, especially pure air, vegetation and water, we condemn ourselves to become dependent on ever higher levels of technology, the uncertain reliability of which creates yet another undesirable stress factor in our lives. Perhaps it is the realisation of this that motivates so many to seek life-style changes that remove their daily lives from dependence on incomprehensively complex schemes.
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