Why can’t we learn to build sensible houses?
Canberra Times, featured letter 14 April 2004

The Editor
Congratulations to Environment Commissioner Joe Baker on being awarded a Queensland Great Award and for speaking his mind in his retiring 2003 ACT State of the Environment Report. (Roslyn Beeby’s article CT 3 April 2004)

It is perplexing to read that the Chief Minister could not accept Baker’s warning that ‘ ignorance of the environmental costs of wasteful use of natural resources like water and energy was jeopardising the sustainability of the ACT and reducing opportunities for future generations’ and that “people are confusing wants with needs’.

Baker is right to draw attention to these fundamental issues..

We have been seduced by cheap fossil fuelled energy and have not heeded Schumacher’s message of the 1960s to” know when enough is enough”.

Why are developers building ever larger houses when family sizes are falling ? Why are they not applying solar energy conservation techniques which could make air conditioners unnecessary? Is our government waiting for the resultant power blackouts to curb excessive energy use? Surely we can learn from recent events in the US?

Why is it that when shown a way to build an energy conserving, bushfire
resistant house after January 18 (stimulating a new ACT industry) the ACT Government showed no interest? Rebuilding seems to be”the mixture as before”

Why do we not learn? Where are the realistic incentives for homeowners to install self sufficient water tanks?

Joe Baker’s message is obvious to most thinking people and our government should listen and act rather than chastise the truth.

Derek F. Wrigley OAM
Mawson