I’ve recently finished a book called “Going Native – living in the Australian Environment” by Michael Archer and Bob Beale. I was impressed enough to decide to jot down a few items in my blog about it…
The title says it all really – its primarily about how Australia, as a society, doesn’t seem to “think Australian”. We still have a very English way of looking at things – you only have to look around at the huge lawns and cottage gardens in one of the driest continents in the world to see that. 
The book has some further case studies of how we are often the last to realise some of the assets and benefits our continent provides. It was news to me, for instance, that we are a net importer of Eucalyptus oil – Portugal is now the world’s biggest exporter of the stuff! Bit depressing, really!
But the book isn’t a guilt trip, “woe-is-me”, type book. You leave it feeling kind of inspired. There’s great case studies of farmers who are thriving by trialling crops of various Australian natives for niche markets. Theres interesting coverage of reasearch projects. And there’s a “big picture” by the end of it all about the kind of things we could be doing as a nation to better, more effectively and more sustainably use our resources.
I can see a lot of it won’t sit neatly with many. There’s a strong case put in there for the harvesting of kangaroos, for instance, which is anathema to some. And the crux of their sustainability suggestions is based on getting native resources to turn a profit so its in peoples interest to sustain it – its best described as “hard” rational environmentalism.
But all in all, I liked it. Eye-opening in places, inspiring in others. And definitely thought-provoking, no matter where you sit on the environmental issues. Certainly worth a read.
