A penguin farm in the Australian desert: a thought experiment that reveals the flaws our in environment laws

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 23:32:59 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/a-penguin-farm-in-the-australian-desert-a-thought-experiment-that-reveals-the-flaws-our-in-environment-laws-187142>

"Imagine this fictitious scenario. The federal environment minister announces
government approval for a large-scale penguin farm near Alice Springs. It will
produce 300,000 penguins each year for the high-end feather market in Europe.

Penguin feathers are also, in this make-believe world, proven superconductors
that could provide an alternative to lithium for renewable energy batteries.
The $40 million farming project promises to create jobs and growth in regional
Australia.

To any informed reader, the idea of farming cold-ocean seabirds in the
Australian desert is mind-numbingly silly. But this hypothetical idea helps us
better understand how environmental governance in Australia has gone badly
wrong.

The real-world problems were laid bare on Tuesday when the State of the
Environment report was released. It showed a devastating loss of plants,
animals and habitat on land and in oceans. And without dramatic action, the
problem will only get worse.

So let’s look at the policies the federal government should fix to tackle this
sorry state of affairs."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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