It’s The Environment, Stupid!

By Pearl Bullivant on September 18, 2014 in Other

The climate change and global warming debate has a lot in common with the debate over the causes and prevention of obesity. Both debates are backed up by scientific evidence with negative outcomes denied by those inclined to inaction, and both debates are also hijacked by anyone who has a financial interest in taking the path of least resistance. But, despite the scientific controversy that surrounds climate change and obesity, one doesn’t actually need scientific qualifications to state the bleeding obvious – destroying the earth and feeding one’s face with junk food will result in dire economic and physical consequences, and there’s no point in denying it, unless of course you are too lazy to do anything about it or you have a financial interest in inaction.

No one needs a scientific qualification to know that living on a diet of junk food and neglecting to exercise is going to make one fat. If you are overweight, stop eating rubbish and start exercising – an easy, cheap solution from ‘Health Guru’ Pearl. Forget the vegan diet, say no to coconut water and gluten free, forget colonic irrigation and sweating out the toxins at Bikram yoga while swilling ‘super’ juices – if you scoff more food than your body needs you will get fat!

Unfortunately, a myriad of people with vested interests in one’s obesity – fast food outlets, junk food manufacturers, lifestyle coaches and big pharmaceutical companies – will have you thinking differently, because there’s no money in Pearl’s healthy way of life, which combines good food and exercise.

Still, people continue to swallow the same tired spiels – “go paleo and lactose free; eat McDonald’s ‘healthy choices’; Coke is a part of a good diet; take a pill; pop a vitamin” – all ploys by advertisers to make us forget the obvious hand-mouth-fat connection, leading us instead to question the scientific evidence provided by nutritionists and doctors.

And so it goes with climate change. You don’t need to be a scientist (or a Rhodes Scholar) to understand cause and effect. Six year-olds learn in Grade 1 (I’m waiting for the Federal Government to intervene in the curriculum) about the causes of erosion and the effects of pollution and meddling with the environment, so it’s pretty dumb for an adult to choose to believe that ridding Earth of trees, dredging coral reefs, overfishing, digging huge holes in the ground and pumping the extract into the atmosphere, and tapping ground water for gas won’t have detrimental effects on Earth and its population.

Like those who deny evolution, logic is ignored when real action is required or the financial fortunes of the incredibly wealthy are at stake. Is it any wonder Australians are amongst the fattest in the world, our CO2 emissions amongst the highest and we are leading the way in terms of species extinction? How can we seriously believe the propaganda that emanates from the mouths of mining and forestry executives, energy producers and property developers when they stand to financially benefit from climate change denial, just like Big Pharma and Coca Cola will ultimately benefit from our love affair with fatty foods?

We are constantly fed (and believe) the tired argument that environmental measures hurt the economy, but the real economic consequences of inaction are even worse – drought, food and water shortages, unemployment, rising costs, health risks – all hitting normal people and not the likes of Our Gina.

So deniers, it’s the environment, stupid! Keep tainting it and it will bite you back just as your body bites back when you fill it with nicotine, booze and junk food.

Pearl xxx