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Relationships
Social and Political Discourses
Discourse
refers to written or spoken
communication or debate.
More simply, the way in which we discuss
something
What is a discourse?
Publicresponses. Can be expressed
through:
Points of View
Conversations or arguments, or through media
eg. Twitter, Facebook.
Expert opinions
Basically, if someone has an opinion
towards a topic, they are expressing their
societal discourse
Social Discourse
Refersto discussions amongst
government agencies:
VicParks
Primary Industry Victoria
Companies with commercial interest in
public land also communicate with
government about management of the
environment.
Political Discourse
We need to address the following discourses
and understand each of them;
Climate Change
Biosecurity
Water Management
Environmental Discourses
Climate change refers to the significant
and lasting change of weather patterns
over periods ranging from decades to
millions of years.
For example, In the last century, global
average temperatures have risen by
0.74C, In Australia, by 0.9C since 1950.
Climate Change
Changes in temperature corresponds with
the rise in Carbon Dioxide levels in Earths
atmosphere.
Known as a Greenhouse gas, as it traps
the heat between earth and its
atmosphere after it has been heated by
the sun.
CO emissions have been rising steadily
since the industrial revolution
Burning of Fossil Fuels produces the CO into
the atmosphere
How do we respond?
Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement created
in Kyoto, Japan in 1996.
Aimed to reduce the collective greenhouse gas
emissions of developed countries by 5% during
2008-2012.
Australia signed in 2008 due to the change in
government and much Political discourses regarding
social and economic effects of meeting targets.
In Victoria, it led to the development of the Climate
Change Act 2010 which was designed to reduce
emissions in Victoria by 20% by 2020.
Political Discourses
Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels:
Renewable energy (solar, wind, biofuels
ethanol extracted from crops added to petrol)
Nuclear energy
Carbon capture and storage
Energy saving techniques:
Switch off and unplug
Improved building techniques (insulation, solar)
Protecting forests that use CO for respiration.
Water Management
In Victoria, we have experienced water
storage shortages that has forced the
government to implement water
restrictions and other water saving
techniques.
Water Management is much more than
providing drinking water for cities.
The Department of Primary Industries (DEPI) has
developed the Victorian Water Management Strategy
to develop strategies to address water management
issues.
The policies and actions taken by this strategy will
influence our relationships with aquatic environments.,
depending on who we are and how we use waterways.
Eg. Farmers and landowners will be targeted by a
framework to improve waterways through their
properties. This is done so to ensure the health of the
waterways and water quality for use in farming and
agriculture.
Desalination Plant
Environmentalists saw this as a wasteful
plundering of water supplies which would
degrade highland catchments.
The Murray River System, tourism
operators and businesses were opposed
as they could see it affecting their long
term viability (the ability for their
businesses to supply without the water).
Biosecurity
There are a wide range of environments in Australia,
as threats arise to these environments, the way to
control them is discussed and sometimes debated and
affect the way in which we relate to the outdoor
environment.
Eg. Releasing Guides for Machinery Hygene to
prevent the spread of weeds by earthmoving
equipment.
Protocols in taking fruit across the boarder from
victoria to NSW to avoid spreading the fruit fly
Having to declare items at the airport before bringing
them into another country
file:///C:/
Users/09097164/Downloads/Marine-Pests.
pdf
Because of biosecurity people become aware of
the potential threats to the environment and
therefore:
Perceive the environment as a museum, an
essential asset that needs to be preserved and
maintained so it can provide for future
generations
Interact differently by taking part in
management practices such as border security
Have less impact on the environment as less
introduced species and harmful diseases are
coming to Australia
Discourse about biosecurity
However there are people who:
Perceive the environment as a resource for
human needs and find some biosecurity
measures time consuming and too expensive.
There interactions may include over fishing,
avoiding bag/container/product inspections.
Impacts include introduced species, diseases
being spread and therefore a loss of biodiversity