Big Australia

In other words, those who frame the issue most convincingly will win the global warming debate. So to successfully tackle global warming we need strong leadership, personal sacrifice, the teaming up of artists and the social and climate scientists, an examination of the fear circuitry within the human brain and its response to short term and long term risks, and most of all a lot of hard work.

How is the Rudd Government performing on that score? Work it out for yourself by asking to what extent its CPRS has satisfied these communication tests.

Businessman, author and climate change expert Chris Goodall said recently that the human brain is made for environmental complacency. He examined factors like optimism bias, central estimate bias, problems dealing with a high noise-to-signal ratio, assumption of exaggeration in those trying to persuade us, an underlying faith in smoothly adjusting and self-correcting processes, the lack of an observable enemy, valuing the future and so on.

Has the Prime Minister or his lackeys actually examined the effectiveness of his government's climate change message? Have journalists taken the time to fully understand the science and the human psychology before putting questions to politicians or providing public commentary?

Sadly, the proof is in the pudding in that individuals and industry really haven't even started to behave differently. And they certainly haven't encouraged, let alone allowed, politicians to introduce policies that will reduce our carbon emissions.

All ideas seem to do is generate criticism, and it never seems to be constructive criticism. People are polarised by self interest, by selective information or by ignorance, instead of being properly informed and encouraged to work together to face and deal with our common enemy.

If Rudd's "Big Australia" is just a lot more people over the next 40 years doing the same things as we are doing now, then we are in very serious trouble. What he said last week sounds more like economic escapism, relief in the naïve prospect of never ending growth, than any rational vision for the future.

Unless Mr Rudd and his government get down to tin tacks by starting with accurate information, honest analysis and truthful and effective communication we are all going to drown in useless information and gluttonous consumption while our nation descends into environmental oblivion.