Age of insecurity
We’re all going to Build Back Better. There’s nothing like a bit of alliteration when you are coining a slogan. I don’t blame them in the age of the soundbite. Attention span has been cut to the bone. Wonder how that happened?
We’re all environmentalists now in word if not in deed. My environmental footprint is somewhat limited, but ev
en folk like me could cut down on consumption. The conference on global climate change has my blessing. I believe we’re the
beneficiaries, of about 1% of the worlds’ economy. I’ll be interested to see how much clout we have on the global scene.
With apologies for the lack of originality, electric vehicles and their infrastructure, finance, maintenance and use will feature largely. The affordability of energy in all its forms will be called into question. So many people have so little that they’ll need a lot of support as we move into the digital age.
Should we offset our emissions right now or in the future? Everyone who can afford it will have an electric car; th
at brings more problems, financial and technical. The probability of Wall Street, the city of London, the EU and other financial hubs finding agreement is improbable.
The clear recognition that the world is in a mess and getting messier must give us all pause for thought. Binding targets for decarbonisation will involve all the Big Players. Whether we like it or not, everybody aims to improve the life we have now. In a country where there are 13 million rented homes we need legislation on affordability.
My unenlightened self-interest will always clash with the self-interest of others. We really need answers to so many questions.
My view is that we’ll all have to give and take. Tax hikes are loathed by so many people, even at a time when the rich get richer, the poor fall, often literally, by the wayside. Communication, technology, science, agriculture, medicine. So many incredible people working together, as in our Time of Covid.
I often think back to the 1950’s, a time of hope, and great leaps in living standards. My 20 year old self couldn’t imagine my present life, with its affluence and security.
But that was a time when most of the world’s population struggled to survive, and life expectancy was so much lower than it is today. Perhaps we just can’t have it all. Let’s try to answer it, each in our own way.
On a personal front, I’ve noticed odd lapses of memory, of names, recent events and even where I’ve put my bloody keys. I wonder if I am losing it, or if it’s just a facet of our Covid-enforced modern life.
Once again answers on a postcard please.
Harry McQuillen
Well Harry hit the nail on the head. Woke just got Wokier. “Build back better” ;here we go down the rabbit hole, or has the ether set in; Remember Great Britain now you are even Greater. Who was it that went across to Normandy in tiny boats to rescue so many during the war ;it wasn’t Amazon and Mr Bezos. Who built the Rocket ;early steam locomotion Robert Stephenson; not Elon Musk. Who had the early hydro eletricity it was at Cragside Rothbury. Who built Australia; the early British settlers. Who organised for my ancestors to leave Prussia in the 1830’s(The early Germany ;as the Lutheran Christians were being persecuted)and assisted with the resettlement in South Australia of thousands of greatful people; Sir George Fife Angas who was born in Newcastle. William Shakespeare; was a genius way ahead of his time. I fly the Australian flag at our office I couldn’t be prouder; there in the corner is The Union Jack. We all need to stand up and say enough is enough. Amble is an amazing town. M. Carter (South Australia)