‘Carbon Emissions and climate change’
It’s only been in recent times that we have come to understand the effects of our changed lifestyle especially for the baby boomers like myself being born in the late 1940’s. Now we endeavour to reverse or at to least minimise the damage caused to the environment and our own health so that the next and subsequent generations can enjoy a sustainable, fulfilling and satisfying existence.
So what has changed? When I think back to my childhood years when I spent so much time on my uncle’s farm, it’s very evident that a monumental shift has occurred in just one generation. Typically our daily routine on the farm began by awakening before sunrise to the sound of a wind up alarm clock. We threw the mountain of blankets aside which had kept us warm during the night and then proceeded to the kitchen where we lit the wood fire in the caste iron fire place. Very soon the warmth spread out as we got breakfast ready. Usually the kitchen was the only room in the house to be heated during the day, subsequently this is where our visitors were also entertained. The lounge room had an open fire place but was only used on very special occasions.
There was no electricity on our farm in the early days when I was growing up. My first job was to go outside to the water tank and to fill up the two large, heavy black kettles with water which were then placed on to the stove to boil. We prepared our toast by punching a slice of locally baked bread with a long pronged fork which was then held in front of the stove and once cooked we spread home made butter and locally made apricot or blackberry jam over the top. After breakfast we washed the dishes in the sink using hot water from the stove and we got the lather from a large cake of velvet soap as liquid washing detergent was unknown. Later when we did use it, my uncle declared that the run off into the garden killed three cats who had come for a drink.
Soon we left the warmth of the kitchen rugging up with layers of jumpers and then walked up to the dairy to milk the cows. This was done manually and was quite an art. It was poetry in motion to see the cow giving up its milk with the rhythmic squirting of the teats. It was something which I tried once but a sudden kick from the cow and utter look of annoyance on its face was enough to put me off persisting again. I was left to crank up the separator which removed the cream from the milk. It was a beautiful piece of stainless steel machinery. By winding the wooden handle a triangular cone rotated in a cylinder in which the milk was placed. You were able to tell if you had the right speed because a bell would make a ‘dinging’ sound on each revolution and as you cranked it up to full speed the ‘dings’ became almost continuous. No wonder all the dogs were so healthy because they used to share in this rich supply of full cream milk as well.
I can remember my grandpa using horses to do the farm work. They were large, good natured Clydesdales and when there was ploughing to be done you were never worried that they would get bogged in wet weather. Except for animal noises on the farm it was a tranquil, peaceful environment. By that stage there were no diesel generators or tractors used.
We looked forward to morning tea because by then my grandma had knocked up some scones in the oven. The smell was most inviting and of course they rose up beautifully with a recipe using full cream milk and home made butter. We used her delicious jam which contained no artificial colours, sweeteners or preservatives.
If we wanted to make a phone call, a handle had to be wound up on a box contraption attached to the wall. By picking up the receiver a connection was made to the local telephone exchange where the operator requested which number you wished to be connected. It was extremely expensive to call long distance down to Melbourne over 200 kilometres away, so to keep the cost down it was wise to write down your information on a piece of paper first and then talk very quickly on the phone.
Lunch was the main meal of the day and we usually ate food which came directly from the farm. Vegetables from the garden included potatoes, beans, peas, pumpkin, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and beetroot. Back then rabbits were in plague proportions all around Australia so there was a ready made free supply of meat both for us and the dogs. I remember nothing better than eating a half grown rabbit which had been rolled in breadcrumbs and cooked in the frying pan. Looking back I never noticed any fat on the meat and of course we also ate mutton and beef which also came directly off the farm.
For entertainment Grandma had a windup Gramophone which played old, scratchy vynal 78 records. These thin, black records shaped like a large dinner plate played one song on each side and revolved around with the needle relaying the sound to horn speakers. There were only two radio stations within range and we listened to them in the early days with a transistor radio which operated on batteries.
As soon as evening came, we lit a kerosene lamp which had a delicate white mantle. With a few gentle pumps of a plunger to put the air under pressure in the kerosene cylinder, it came to life and provided excellent light together with a continuous low ‘shhhhhhhhhh’ sound in the background. After tea because we entertained ourselves by listening to the radio, telling stories or playing music with instruments like the piano, button accordion or the mouthorgan.
I remember on one occasion in Broome when the power went out during a cyclone and was not restored for two weeks. People had to adapt to camping in their own homes and many commented about how peaceful it was and that the family started to really communicate again.
On Saturday we did our washing and my job was to get dried pine cones to provide heat for the copper which was in the shape of a large cylindrical drum with a rounded base. This was fantastic in winter time when the cones gave almost instantaneous heat and burnt with an enormous glow. Once the water was boiling we added velvet soap and washed all our clothes and linen from the previous week. It was a delicate operation to pull each item out from the copper with a long wooded rod without getting scolded. Next we carefully threaded each washed article through a hand wound wringer which expelled enough water so the items could be pegged out on the clothes line. Often the wringer would get jammed necessitating the two rollers to be released and in this way you could repeat the procedure.
On Saturday night we transferred boiling water from the copper to the bath and by adding the correct amount of cold water you could get the temperature just right. The same bath water did everybody and we only washed fully once a week like most people at that time.
And as for the toilet, it was located some distance away from the house. There was no flushing water and Sorbent tissues with all the different fragrances were unknown. It was not something you looked forward to being caught short in the middle of a cold, rainy, moonless night and then to try and negotiate your way to the outhouse. Once there, you were forever nervous about exposing yourself to the creepy crawlies which lived inside.
Usually we only used the car twice a week. On Saturday morning we went shopping and the groceries were packaged in large brown paper bags but this would soon change as it was about this time in 1950 that plastic bags made from polyethylene were invented by a Canadian - Harry Wasylyk. Occasionally on Saturday afternoon we would watch the local football game and then on Sunday morning we would attend Church. Sometimes, when the weather was suitable, we would enjoy a Sunday afternoon trip through the local countryside or visit the neighbouring town.
When I first used to go to my uncle’s farm there was no refrigeration. Either you purchased a large block of ice from the ice factory which lasted about two days or you used a Coolgardie safe. This was no more than a wooden rectangle on four legs with perforated metal faces. A wet towel hung over it and chance breezes through the passage way of the house provided cooling due to evaporation.
Eventually we got a kerosene refrigerator which at first was an exciting prospect but proved to be one of our first experiences of pollution. In no time at all the walls turned black with carbon and inhaling those fumes in the small confines of the closed kitchen must have been extremely unhealthy.
So what does all this mean? In one generation we have progressed to a society that demands more and more energy to feed more and more industrialisation. Today’s society has made rapid advances in communication, transportation, entertainment devices, sanitary and washing facilities etc. but we are facing an uncertain future from climate change and global warming due to carbon emissions and a host of other factors. More and more we are a throw away society; if it doesn’t work just get a new one.
In 1946 Coleraine in Western Victoria where mum and dad were brought up experienced one of the greatest floods in the town’s history and for the next twenty years rainfall was unusually high and on the average temperatures were cooler than we know today. I can remember going to school on cold mornings wearing gloves and picking up large ice puddles because the temperature was below freezing. These days when comparing the weather records we know that the planet has never been warmer.
Can individuals make a difference? Already millions of Australians are much more conscious of their use of water because of the worst drought we have experienced in our history and there are lots of ways we can reduce our energy consumption and so bring our ecological footprint to a sustainable level.