The pollution conundrum

I'm sitting in my office in Melbourne, looking out the window. The office is in the central part of the city, giving me a great view of the city as a whole. The M1 highway, which runs along the coast around all of Australia, is just outside my building. The road is, from the time I get here until the time I leave, filled with Australians driving cars or trucks. Looking at it from the outside, I can't help but feel slightly annoyed.

My distaste for commuting in general and doing so in a car in particular runs deep. I worked at Volvo for a couple of years, and even though the office was not far from where I lived, it still took an hour each way to get there due to the heavy traffic. My parents have always accepted that this commute is a part of their life, but I couldn't do that. Despite my annoyance with the commute itself, what's annoying me as I overlook the heavily trafficked road is something else. Each and every person driving by in their car is being part in destroying our environment.

Driving and owning a car is seen as some sort of right in Australia. I have heard countless of people telling their tale of their distaste for the public transport system. It's too crowded, there's weird people, it smells funny or I just want to be alone, everyone has their own reasoning. So Australians keep driving their cars, and no one seems to care about the damage they're doing.

By using petrol powered cars, we're allowing the big oil corporations to stall development. As long as they make money, there are no incentives for change. The only way that we are able to influence big businesses is by refusing to buy their products. We as a collective need to push towards renewable energy. We need to show the big corporations that the demand is for renewable energy that's not going to produce dangerous gas and pollute the air. Only when we start thinking of the consequences of our own laziness and comfort will we be able to change things.

Sadly, I think Australia is a long way away from such a realization. If the people continue to refuse to see the problem and do something about it themselves, then the government needs to step in. We need heavier taxes on petrol and other dangerous energy sources. The price of oil in Australia is roughly half of the price in Sweden, while the average wage is higher. For me, I feel that if you're doing something to damage the planet, it should hurt your wallet.

This is only one of the huge challenges Australia faces in regards to the environment. As you've probably read before, their famous Great Barrier Reef is dying from pollution. Let's hope Australia wakes up before it's too late. I hope this changes, within 1-5 years.