Do we feed the consumption behemoth until our planet reaches a point of exhaustion? Or do Australians rediscover the pioneering spirit that forged a nation. The new era that we must now create together is a sustainable one. One in which we have a thriving economy, a thriving society and a thriving environment.
The skills for a sustainable way of life may be our most valuable export to the rest of the world."
By assessing the health of the Earth's life-support systems today, we are able to paint a picture of what to expect in the future. On our current path, our children and grandchildren will be living on a depleted, exhausted, and crowded planet - with a quality of life to match.
In the last 40 years, humanity's ecological footprint has increased two and a half times. We're now exceeding Earth's biological capacity by 20%. We are already living unsustainably - we are already in the red.
However, this future is not inevitable. The tendency toward complacency must be vanquished by this generation - and it is not a sacrifice to our quality of life but an opportunity to improve it.
The new pathway will lead us to have a thriving economy, a thriving society and a thriving environment - a truly sustainable society.
The skills and tools we develop on this journey will be amongst our most valuable national assets.
