You are what you live

"Yesterday is but today's memory; tomorrow is today's dream." (Kahlil Gibran)

Two of the most common words we can utter when we regret something we have or have not done, as the case may be, are 'if only...'. There is no time in life to live with regret, for life is too short and fast paced. It is helpful, however, in making decisions in the present to learn from the past and consider the impact of our actions on future generations. In the words of the Native American saying: "We do not inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children."

Each year, June 5 is set aside as World Environment Day. The theme for this year is Deserts and Desertification, to coincide with the UN International Year of Deserts and Desertification and the slogan is Don't Desert Drylands! World Environment Day is a reminder of our interconnectedness to the earth and the importance of caring for our earth.

Don't Desert Drylands!

Drylands are characterised by low rainfall and high rates of evaporation. Drylands cover more than 40% of the planet's surface and are home to one-third of the world's people. The United Nations states that "people living in drylands, 90 per cent of whom live in majority (developing) countries, lag far behind the rest of the world in human well-being and development indicators." For example, in majority countries, infant mortality in drylands averages about 54 children per 1,000 live births, twice as high as in non-dryland areas, and 10 times the infant mortality rate in minority (previously called 'developed') countries.

Why is this so? There are many reasons why people living in the drylands, particularly those living in majority countries, remain poor:

• Lack of tools, fertilizers, water and seeds

• Land is often overcultivated and overgrazed, leading to a decline in productivity

• Inadequate access to markets to sell their crops

• Lack of adequate access to water and water rights

• The drylands are vulnerable to drought and the people mostly live a subsistence existence which means they only grow enough to feed their family with little left over for emergencies.

• Lack of social support - for example the people cannot afford insurance and their governments often cannot afford to offer adequate support in the case of an emergency, such as the Australian government was able to offer the farmers in Innisfail affected by Cyclone Larry earlier this year

• Challenges with land ownership regulations - for example women are often discriminated against under land ownership regulations

• Lack of essential health care and education

In order to fight poverty in drylands all these problems must be addressed simultaneously.

Source: www.unep.org/wed/2006/english/
Information_Material/FactSheet.asp

United Nations Millennium Development Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

MDG 7 looks at our interconnectedness with the environment and ways that we can try and maintain and preserve it. All United Nations member states, including the Australian government committed themselves in 2000 to achieving MDG 7 by:

• Reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water

• Achieving significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020

Chernobyl 20 years on

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. On April 26, 1986 the World's worst nuclear power accident occurred at Chernobyl in the former USSR (now Ukraine). The disaster killed 30 people instantly and even today, two decades on, children are still being born with horrific birth defects as a result of the high levels of radiation that people were exposed to in 1986. People estimate the death count to be in the tens of thousands.

You cannot see or smell radiation, but that does not mean that it is not there. Radiation has the potential to harm not only the environment, but humans as well. Its effects are long lasting and devastating. Effects on the environment have been closely monitored since the disaster.

The World Health Organisation states that residents of nearby areas were evacuated reducing their exposure to radiation, waterways were contaminated but the damage was minimised as dangerous toxic levels were diluted, soil was contaminated which resulted in loss of plants and live stock, and although the immediate environment may never recover, the surrounding land has regenerated, waterways are now considered safe and the environment is slowly recovering.

If we are to truly adopt Kahlil Gibran's words: "Yesterday is but today's memory; tomorrow is today's dream", then it is important to learn from the mistakes that have occurred in the past. We are encouraged to try and change the things that we do that may be detrimental to the environment, so that future generations may also enjoy the gifts of our earth.

Journey of Healing

May 26 is National Sorry Day. It is the anniversary of the presentation of the Bringing Them Home Report, which contains many stories of the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families. This day offers the entire Australian community the opportunity to be involved in activities that acknowledge the impact of such government policies on Australia's Indigenous peoples.

For further information about National Sorry Day events in your state or territory visit: www.alphalink.com.au/~rez/Journey/

Take the next step

May 27 to June 3 is National Reconciliation Week and the theme for the week is Reconciliation: Take the next step. It offers people across Australia the opportunity to focus on reconciliation, to become better informed about the culture and history of Australia's Indigenous people, and to explore new and better ways of meeting challenges in our communities.