Recently watching NTIV on SBS I was fortunate to see the film Fractured Land, which is about a young
indigenous leader and lawyer in British Columbia confronting the fractures within his community and himself as he struggles to reconcile traditional teachings with the law and protect the land from fracking.
Fractured Land is still available On Demand on SBS:
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/ video/668019267941/fractured-land.
In the film Caleb visits the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. An association representative
comments that it is our choice as humans, a very difficult choice of how we are going to use the
resource gifts we have been given, for good or potentially for evil. The answer she believes is balance. She thinks that to some degree we are all fractured within ourselves trying to balance the choices we make with our concerns for the environment.
Caleb’s response to the observation that deep down we are all fractured is to question how we deal with
two different world views in value systems and ideas existing in our behaviour. This troubles Caleb a great deal and he has a profound difficulty in remaining true to himself knowing his education in law is in part funded from the petroleum industry as he hopes to use this education to curtail the activities of this industry.
As someone concerned about climate change along with many other pressing environmental issues, largely related to our overuse of resources I am also somewhat fractured in the consumption choices I
make each day. The fractures run deep, and despite my concerns I am unable to make all the logical
consumption choices which reflect my concerns about the environmental impact of my activities.
Our environmental impacts seem far off in daily life.The Australian Conservation Foundation some time ago showed that only about 25 to 30% of our emissions are direct or generated at home. The balance of our emissions arise from our consumption expenditure. For most of us everything we consume relies on oil and coal to mine harvest and make, and then to get it inside our homes. Modern agriculture uses 10 calories of oil to produce one calorie of food.
But then again, listening to Tom Switzer interview Johan Nordberg on Radio National perhaps I have no
need to feel fractured in trying to reduce my environmental impact.
The segment was titled A Prosperous World? Johan says we are living in a golden age.
Peter Maddock
indigenous leader and lawyer in British Columbia confronting the fractures within his community and himself as he struggles to reconcile traditional teachings with the law and protect the land from fracking.
Fractured Land is still available On Demand on SBS:
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/ video/668019267941/fractured-land.
In the film Caleb visits the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. An association representative
comments that it is our choice as humans, a very difficult choice of how we are going to use the
resource gifts we have been given, for good or potentially for evil. The answer she believes is balance. She thinks that to some degree we are all fractured within ourselves trying to balance the choices we make with our concerns for the environment.
Caleb’s response to the observation that deep down we are all fractured is to question how we deal with
two different world views in value systems and ideas existing in our behaviour. This troubles Caleb a great deal and he has a profound difficulty in remaining true to himself knowing his education in law is in part funded from the petroleum industry as he hopes to use this education to curtail the activities of this industry.
As someone concerned about climate change along with many other pressing environmental issues, largely related to our overuse of resources I am also somewhat fractured in the consumption choices I
make each day. The fractures run deep, and despite my concerns I am unable to make all the logical
consumption choices which reflect my concerns about the environmental impact of my activities.
Our environmental impacts seem far off in daily life.The Australian Conservation Foundation some time ago showed that only about 25 to 30% of our emissions are direct or generated at home. The balance of our emissions arise from our consumption expenditure. For most of us everything we consume relies on oil and coal to mine harvest and make, and then to get it inside our homes. Modern agriculture uses 10 calories of oil to produce one calorie of food.
But then again, listening to Tom Switzer interview Johan Nordberg on Radio National perhaps I have no
need to feel fractured in trying to reduce my environmental impact.
The segment was titled A Prosperous World? Johan says we are living in a golden age.
Peter Maddock
