PUBLIC TALK: Implications of the way we live

By way of introduction I will review the legacy of the last 100 years of "progress. Anthropogenic emissions have triggering new carbon emission loops. destruction of habitats is leading to species instabilities with potential impacts on food production, globalization & increasing wealth inequality is leading to economic instabilities, changing food to a commodity is leading to mental and physical health issues and the massive increase in our capacity to destroy has shrunk the time scales of destruction to much less that the time scales required for healing. So what are we to do? I shall explore 10 simple suggestions: 1. Re-establish continuity between generations 2. Seek harmony rather than conflict 3. Learn to how live on a finite planet 4. Re-establish food as part of life 5. Introduce carbon/water neutral living 6. Curb wealth inequity 7. Foster mental and physical well being; curb advertising 8. Subdue technology, re-introduce "Creative Loafing" 9. Foster local diversity of job opportunity 10. Preserve the sources of cultural diversity

Jorg Imberger is the Chairman of the Centre for Water Research and The University’s Professor of Environmental Engineering. Jorg is a winner of two prestigious international awards; the Onassis Prize in the category “Man and the Environment” and the Stockholm Water Prize. Jorg’s expertise has also been recognised in a considerable range of Australian research awards. Jorg established the Centre for Water Research in 1982. Prior to the Centre’s foundation Jorg held a Gledden Fellowship and a Science Fellowship at the University of California. Jorg’s initial objective in establishing the Centre for Water Research was to assess the impact of pollution in the world’s water bodies. The Centre has achieved this major objective through the development of a world leading range of specialised instrumentation. The Centre’s operations now combine three major research objectives: understanding and managing the environment; the development, evaluation and commercialisation of scientific instruments; and support for the water and coastal engineering industries. The combination of these spheres of activity has enabled the Centre to have a worldwide impact.