Suzuki: Howard an International Outlaw

Don't leave it to the politicians

Stephanie Peatling
October 19, 2006
Sydney Morning Herald

The Prime Minister, John Howard, has been branded an international outlaw whose decision not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on climate change will be seen as a "crime against future generations".

David Suzuki, the Canadian environmentalist, criticised the Federal Government and said the whole country should be engaged in the debate, not just politicians. "Folks are going to have to start biting the bullet and saying, 'Maybe that land would be better left for other purposes, like letting other species flourish'," he said.

"But it should be done in a much greater forum, to have the whole country engaged in this process, not just a bunch of politicians knee-jerking around and trying to appease this group and deal with that group and trying to put bandages here and there."

Dr Suzuki, speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday, questioned the human race's determination to ignore things such as climate change, increasing rates of extinction and genetically modified crops.

"We have become afflicted with an incredible appetite for stuff, for consumption." he said. "We like stuff. We love stuff, and all that stuff comes from the planet."

Children did not know where their food came from or that polluting a river or lake could affect their drinking water, he said. "We no longer think about the consequences of an interconnected world," Dr Suzuki said. The recent attention on the drought was an example.

It seemed mad, he said, that Australia was growing crops such as rice and cotton when it could focus on native species, such as macadamia nuts, that could better handle the climate...

"I believe that future generations will look back on the inactivity, the unwillingness to do anything, as a crime against future generations. It's outrageous that we are not taking advantage of foresight, our predictive capacity to see where the dangers lie, seize the opportunities and make our way into a more liveable future," he said.