Those moments when patriotism is really just nationalism of another colour

Distressing international attitudes sometimes find expression in the behaviour of some Goulburn Valley people.

Such insular views are described, mostly, as patriotism, but they are really just nationalism of another colour and contribute nothing, or little, to the wellbeing of a community.

Just recently an emerging star of American conservatism, Marco Rubio (right), won a Senate seat for Republicans in the American midterm elections and said the US as "simply the greatest nation in all of human history".

A sweeping statement that cannot be proved or disproved because of its subjectivity, but at its core is the cancerous-like germ of nationalism, a fanatical belief that your way of living is supreme and so evident that others should, must, embrace it.

There seems to be an assumed sense of rightness about the embedded values and in some discussion about what is presently happening in the Murray Darling Basin a similar insularity emerges.
Many arguments are supposedly for the greater good, but when disassembled they really are about the preservation of a local scenario and in their small way evoke similar nationalism.
What is envisaged for our basin demands that people consider life beyond the farm gate, beyond their business boundaries and beyond the extent of their immediate communities.
Success for the basin plan has no room for Marco Rubio-like sentiments, rather it is an international resource, troubled by international human behaviour and we are simply the caretakers.
History illustrates that man’s attempts at controlling, or managing, nature to his advantage lead, almost with fail, to decided difficulties, especially when water is involved.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that we do nothing, rather we should explore the idea of a steady state economy, one in which human prosperity is not linked to growth and profit.
The Goulburn Valley, and by implication Shepparton, is linked to national difficulties as it sits at the foot of the rich Murray-Darling Basin and because of bountiful water has become Australia’s food bowl.
Instead of searching for monetary growth, we should attend to enriching the human experience and not be so concerned about Gross National Product, rather ensure we contribute to Australia’s Gross National Happiness.

Climate change complexities better understood following Prof Karoly lecture

More than 60 people now have a clearer understanding of the complexities of climate change after listening to a lecture in Shepparton on Tuesday night.

The University of Melbourne’s Professor David Karoly (right) explained a little about the science of climatology to those in the lecture theatre at the Graham St School of Medical Health.
Prof Karoly, from the university’s School of Earth Sciences, discussed different perspectives on climate change, talked about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), explored regional changes to the weather and discussed international agreements and the stabilization of climate change.
He emphasized the fact that some 97 per cent of the world’s climate scientists agreed with IPCC findings that among many other things suggest that it is very likely that hot extremes, heat waves, and heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent.
The prospects for Australia and in particular the east coast, south east corner (that includes Victoria) and the south-western corner of Western Australia under climate change scenarios are not good, but Prof Karoly was, however, enthusiastic about Australia’s potential to use sustainable energy.
He was positive about solar energy in the Goulburn Valley, a position that no doubt would have pleased the co-convenors of Solar Valley Goes Solar, Yvonne Forrest and Geoff Lodge, who were both at the lecture.
Although Prof Karoly’s predictions about changes to our climate were dire, he was enthusiastic about our potential to create jobs and a life built around sustainable energy, something, he said, in which Australia abounds.
Prof Karoly explained the differences in weather and climate noting that weather was largely localized, coming and going quickly, while climate was global and changes occurred over a long time scale.
Using graphs to illustrate his point, Prof Karoly illustrated the impact humans were having on global weather explaining that the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere, and which have already significantly altered earth’s weather, will remain there for another 1000 years.
“Twenty first century anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions will contribute to warming and sea level rise for more than a millennium, due to the long timescales required for removal of this gas”, Prof Karoly told those at the lecture.
Lecture organizers were with Prof Karoly’s presentation and community response.