Another small observation about Australia. There’s considerable environmental consciousness here, certainly compared to Britain. Each day’s newspapers have articles about water use, about encroachment on green space outside urban areas, about protection of the Great Barrier Reef.
But this consciousness strikes me as highly selective. A friend at dinner last night agreed, saying, “It’s about environment as magnificent pictures.”
What sparked this off for me was seeing the number of old bangers driving about on the roads in Melbourne. In London, you just don’t see anyone driving cars that are falling apart. It turns out that some places are instituting roadworthiness tests, but these will be just to check the brakes, lights and steering. No one cares about checking emissions.
Similarly, there are apparently few or no regulations about disposing of dangerous waste (like the stuff in your car when you finally come to scrap it). No awareness on this issue at all.