How best to use this book to achieve its purpose
The book answers the questions:
I treat the various landuses as drivers of landcover change. The landuses
I discuss are urbanisation; agriculture; pastoralism; forestry; conservation;
mining; traditional aboriginal use; and no use. They are illustrated with
examples from each Australian state wherever possible. In addition, comparable
international examples are included.
The style of this book is informal and intentionally provocative. I strove
to hold the reader's attention while communicating ideas and information
about Australia that have never before been so readily available. I have
used the style of science: to couch the ideas as questions; questions that
are important and which therefore are worth the effort to answer.
All the above outlines the background and scope of this book and the ISY
Australian Case Study. The last detail I want to explain is my motivation;
why did I devote so much of my personal energy and time to the difficult
task of writing this book? I did it because I believe the message of this
book is important. I believed that if I wrote this book well enough, it
would influence its readers to pursue the consequences of its message.
The message of this book is important to all our futures and to the futures
of our descendants. Our future is a common future. The future of Australian
society is linked to that of the land. Land resources, the soils and
landcover, are the fundamental components of our environment. Soil and landcover
are the essential elements of our life support system. They can be neither
traded nor discounted. If our society cannot use them without degrading
them, then it has no future. There is no economy without environment. This
book has a message about the future well-being of the Australian landscape.
My desire to make the future secure is not just an expression of my selfish
genes. My actions are not just to improve the prospects of my children and
their offspring, although that is of great concern to me. The force that
drives me is my love of the Australian landscape; the clear blue skies of
this continent and its stark and unique beauty. It is my love of this beauty
that motivates me to see it conserved so that it is there for all Australians,
forever.
My personal goal is to change the way Australians appreciate and value the
land that materially and spiritually supports them. I will try to achieve
that goal for all Australians, no matter where they live, and for all the
lands of this continent, no matter where they lie.
