Miscellaneous

This report was published in July by the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand

More endosulfan in tomatoes - this time Australian ones are worse!

Independent residue testing commissioned by Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa NZ and the Soil & Health Association has found endosulfan residues in both New Zealand and Australian tomatoes - but this time the residues are much worse in the imported tomatoes.

Endosulfan residues were found in cherry tomatoes, but not loose tomatoes, from both countries, with those from Australia having 4 and a half times more endosulfan than the NZ cherry tomatoes.

by Stuart Jeffery
This is a fascinating article and I recommend all DEA members to read it-Editor. This article is reproduced under Creative Commons conditions
We acknowledge the author Stuart Jeffery and Journal the International Journal of Cuban Studies, volume 1 issue 1 2008 under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative 3.0 Licence;  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
(http://www.cubastudiesjournal.org/issue-1/viewpoint/how-peak-oil-will-affect-health-care.cfm)

Summary
This paper explores the concept of peak oil, its relationship to health care in the UK and suggests that the Cuban model of health care may provide a framework for future UK health care provision. The rate of extraction of oil is reaching a plateau, yet demand for oil continues to rise. Simple economic theory dictates that the price of oil will rise rapidly as demand outstrips supply, and this is demonstrated by the recent price of oil exceeding $100 per barrel. Oil underpins the UK National Health System, as well as the functioning of wider society, and in order to prevent a collapse of the NHS, radical change is suggested. The key to societal survival of peak oil is a drastic reduction in reliance on oil, and Cuba provides a model of how this had to be achieved in health care when the 1990s 'Special Period' saw a dramatic fall in the supply of oil, and yet Cuba managed to maintain health indicators on par with and in some cases exceeding those of the UK. The paper suggests that the UK public, clinicians and media are not ready for the challenge of change required, which would effectively move health care away from cure and from increasing profits through privatisation, to prevention and to state provision, and there are lessons that can be learnt from the Cuban experience.

This article was published in  the  J O U R N A L  O F   T H E   R O Y A L  S O C I E T Y   O F   M E D I C I N E ,
  V o l u m e  1 0 0 ,  A u g u s t,   2 0 0 7, page 355.
We acknowledge permission to publish this letter.
The letter should be read in conjunction with the article below. We are proud of the work that DEA members have done on this important issue. The authors are from Doctors for the Environment Australia, Medical Association for the Prevention of  War, and the Presidents of their two parent bodies International Physicians for the Prevention of  War, and International Society of Doctors for the Environment.

Cleaning up a dirty business: the successful campaign (2005-2007) to force the publisher of the Lancet to divest itself from the arms trade
 by Colin Butler, colin.butler@anu.edu.au

Introduction by David Shearman
"This article should be read in conjunction with the the letter  posted above
It is an inspiring story of decisions  forced upon the recalcitrants by  the activism of NGOs and  professional organisations. DEA is proud that its Committee members have been involved"

Reed Elsevier and its role in promoting sales of arms and torture equipment

In July 2005 two DEA members Michelle Allen and Nick Towle left Brisbane on an epic cycle journey down the east Coast of Australia, taking education for sustainability to schools and community members between Brisbane and Hobart, where the journey finished in mid December. The early part of this journey was reported on this page below. The report is from Nick Towle, member of the Management Committee, DEA.

Our aim was to promote sustainable ways of living to as many people as possible. Throughout our journey we carried Gandhi's philosophy of 'be the change you wish to see in the world' and drew much inspiration from The Otesha Project, a Canadian team undertaking similar projects (Otesha - Swahili for 'reason to dream'). In total we rode approximately 4800km, presenting and performing our comical theatre to over 3000 school students. It was most inspiring to spend time with young people after our presentations to hear about their own endeavors, small meaningful actions such as creating a recycling campaign in their school or making compost in their back yard.

The Climate Action Network Australia (CANA) recently held their annual conference in Melbourne, “Dangerous Climate Change: Together We Can Stop It”.

A number of presentations were made on the first day of the conference which was open to the public. Among other presentations there was a thought provoking discussion from Dr. Jon Barnett on the human insecurity impacts of climate change and “Impacts of climate change: water and drought in Australia” from Dr. Roger Jones of CSIRO.

» read more

Sir David King, the Chief Scientific Advisor to the British Government, who last year said that climate change is a far greater threat to the world than international terrorism, is in Australia reportedly on a diplomatic mission to Canberra to convince the Government to reconsider signing of the Kyoto protocol. He appeared on the ABC’s Lateline program refuting a number of myths about climate change, including that the veracity of the science behind it is still debatable, and that following a Kyoto pathway is detrimental to economic growth.

» read more

Manning Clark House organized a unique multidisciplinary conference entitled "Science and Ethics: Can Homo sapiens Survive?" at the Academy of Science in Canberra on 17-18 May, 2005. Drawing upon the expertise of speakers in a variety of fields including law, economics, medicine, politics, journalism, aboriginal affairs, earth sciences, religion, education, nuclear armaments, defence studies and ecology, the conference reached the conclusion that, while at risk from natural global disasters (supervolcanos or asteroid impact) and human-induced global impacts, Homo sapiens is likely to survive for the foreseeable future.

by David King, Member of the Management Committee, DEA

I was heartened to read the article on Eco Spirituality in the November 04 Australian Friend. It concluded with a challenge
“We have heard the call to put the health of the planet front-and-centre among Quaker concerns. Once again the Religious Society of Friends has the opportunity to play a leading role in one of the most crucial issues of our time.”
I sense that this process is still at a gestational stage in Australian Quakerism. How should we as a religious society engage with the issues of environmentalism, and give birth and nurture to this concern?

By Rowan Williams, The Archbisop of Canterbury
The Independent UK Sunday 17 April 2005

Too often in recent decades, the two big "e" words - ecology and economy - have been used as though they represented opposing concerns. Yes, we should be glad to do more about the environment, if only this didn't interfere with economic development and with the liberty of people and nations to create wealth in whatever ways they can.

Or, we should be glad to address environmental issues if we could be sure that we had first resolved the challenge of economic injustice within and between societies. So from both left and right there has often been a persistent sense that it isn't proper or possible to tackle both together, let alone to give a different sort of priority to ecological matters.