State of the Union or State of Despair?
Here in Australia, we – and indeed, many other citizens of Western nations, follow the antics of Trump and the US Senate with bewilderment. It has nothing to do with left or right leanings. It is about the extraordinary abuses of power we are witnessing. Abuses that are fueled by the massive divide – dare […]
Oh Crap… Or Not! That Constipated Feeling…
Look around you. Can you see three other people? Chances are, one of you is constipated. Constipation! We don’t talk about it. We suffer in silence hoping nature (or that laxative) will come to the fore and save us. It’s hardly a mealtime topic but hiding it won’t help regularity. In the long distant past […]
What I learnt about the Australian bushfires living on the edge of the Sahara Desert
From 1981 to 1999 my family and I lived in Niger Republic, a borderland of the Sahara Desert. I was in charge of a small reforestation project. The hard-earned lessons acquired during that period serve me to this day. What Life Near the Sahara Taught Me About Australian Bushfires When I arrived in 1981, I […]
How the Humble Light-Bulb Launched Planned Obsolescence!
If manufacturers made products with truly extended usable lives, they’d be out of business. Imagine a washing machine or a fridge that lasted 25 years.
Fat and Getting Fatter! America 2030…
Three years back I wrote an article that caused enormous controversy. I was accused of body-shaming and even of being a misogynist (the article highlighted obesity, not gender specific obesity). The bottom line was – and continues to be – that no-one wants to be called out as being FAT. It’s a three letter word, […]
Climate, Energy and the Will to Change!
Only a fool – or those politicians sitting on the religious right or in the pocket of big business – can continue to deny the link between our carbon emissions and global warming. We are the problem. We have to be the solution. Your children and their children are counting on our success. As I […]
It’s Not About You… It’s About Those You Leave Behind!
It kind of keeps me human. You see, I’m about to change their lives; your mum and dad, that is. In about five minutes, they will never be the same, they will never be happy again. Right now, to be honest, you’re just a nameless dead body that feels like a wet bag of newspapers that […]
Insectageddon – Why Cleaning Your Windshield Has Become Optional!
I do a lot of driving in rural and isolated areas. I always have. Certainly not as much as a truckie but a lot more than the average driver. Here in Australia, I constantly mourn the roadkill that I drive past on the roadside. Roos, wallabies, possums, wombats, snakes, goannas and anything else foolish enough […]
Lower Back Pain: The Myths vs The Facts
If you’ve ever slept in an awkward position or lifted something the wrong way, then you are familiar with that roaring pain in the lower back. Around two-thirds of all Americans will experience significant lower back pain at least once during their lives. The Australian Bureau of Statistics meanwhile, estimates that about four million Australians […]
Climate Change, Money, and the Politics of Denial
In the mode of public disclosure that governs the Trump administration these days, few official statements contain anything resembling the simple truth. That is, unless you consider the ungovernable warp of President Donald Trump’s ego and ambition as a genuine statement in itself. If that is the case, then truth becomes utterly subjective, and there […]