A musing on the "guilty"

There was a book written by three journalists in 1940 under the pseudonym "Cato" which accused fifteen prominent men of the appeasement of Adolf Hitler and the failure of British government to rearm in between wars.

The "guilty men" identified as drawing Britain into the Second World War were: Neville Chamberlain, Sir John Simon, Sir Samuel Hoare, Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin, Lord Halifax, Sir Kingsley Wood, Ernest Brown, David Margesson, Sir Horace Wilson, Sir Thomas Inskip, Leslie Burgin, James Earl Stanhope, W. S. Morrison, and Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith.

If one were to lay the blame for where the world stands right now who would we decide to blame for the retreat of democracy, increased social & economic inequality, widespread environmental degradation, global pandemics, endless small wars, a rogue banking & finance industry, an untrustworthy fourth estate, world-wide climate change and a plethora of crazy conspiracy theories on any subject imaginable?

There is a cast of thousands to chose from across these categories.

My own list of "guilty" individuals would be much longer than Cato's and from a personal perspective begin but not end with: Queen Elizabeth II, Sir John Kerr, John Malcolm Fraser, John Winston Howard, Richard Milhous Nixon, François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand, William Jefferson 'Bill' Clinton, George Herbert Walker Bush, George Walker Bush, Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, Anthony Charles Lynton 'Tony' Blair, Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Keith Rupert Murdoch, Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, Johannes Bejlke Petersen, Anthony John 'Tony' Abbott, George Pell, David & Charles Koch, Mark Zuckerberg, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Donald John Trump, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Scott John Morrison, Liberal Party of Australia, U.S. Republican Party and the U.K. Conservative Party.

Scientists around the world are losing trust in national governments' responses to global climate change and are calling for a peaceful rising up against governments which are failing to act proportionarely to the scale of the crisis

Scientists’ Declaration of Support for Non-Violent Direct Action Against Government Inaction Over the Climate and Ecological Emergency, October 2019:

THIS DECLARATION SETS OUT THE CURRENT SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS CONCERNING THE CLIMATE AND ECOLOGICAL EMERGENCY, AND HIGHLIGHTS THE NECESSITY FOR URGENT ACTION TO PREVENT FURTHER AND IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE TO THE HABITABILITY OF OUR PLANET. 

As scientists, we have dedicated our lives to the study and understanding of the world and our place in it. We declare that scientific evidence shows beyond any reasonable doubt that human-caused changes to the Earth’s land, sea and air are severely threatening the habitability of our planet. We further declare that overwhelming evidence shows that if global greenhouse gas emissions are not brought rapidly down to net zero and biodiversity loss is not halted, we risk catastrophic and irreversible damage to our planetary life-support systems, causing incalculable human suffering and many deaths. 

We note that despite the scientific community first sounding the alarm on human-caused global warming more than four decades ago, no action taken by governments thus far has been sufficient to halt the steep rise in greenhouse gas emissions, nor address the ever-worsening loss of biodiversity. Therefore, we call for immediate and decisive action by governments worldwide to rapidly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to net zero, to prevent further biodiversity loss and to restore, to the fullest extent possible, the damage that has already been done. We further call upon governments to provide particular support to those who will be most affected by climate change and by the required transition to a sustainable economy. 

As scientists we have an obligation that extends beyond merely describing and understanding the natural world to taking an active part in helping to protect it. We note that the scientific community has already tried all conventional methods to draw attention to the crisis. We believe that the continued governmental inaction over the climate and ecological crisis now justifies peaceful and non-violent protest and direct action, even if this goes beyond the bounds of the current law. We therefore support those who are rising up peacefully against governments around the world that are failing to act proportionately to the scale of the crisis. We believe it is our moral duty to act now, and we urge other scientists to join us in helping to protect humanity’s only home. [my yellow highlighting]

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To show your support, please add your name to the list below and share with your colleagues. If you’d like to join us at the International Rebellion in London from October 7th (full list of global October Rebellions here), or to find out more, please join our Scientists for Extinction Rebellion Facebook group or email scientistsforxr@protonmail.com. 

Signatories: Signatures are invited from individuals holding a Master's Degree or more, in a field directly related to the sciences, or who work in a scientific field. 

Please note: the views of individuals signing this document do not necessarily represent those of the university or organisation they work for. 

Dr Emily Grossman, Science broadcaster and author, Ph.D. (Molecular Biology) University of Manchester, MA (Natural Sciences) University of Cambridge. Angela Saini, Science journalist and author, M.Eng Oxford University Professor William Steffen, Emeritus Professor at The Australian National University, Canberra and former executive director of the Australian National University (ANU) Climate Change Institute and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Professor Rich Pancost, Ph.D. Geosciences, Head of the School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol Professor Julia Steinberger, Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth & Environment, University of Leeds Professor Valerie Nelson, Department of Sustainable Development, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich Paul N. Pearson, Honorary Professor, School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University Professor Penny D. Sackett, Honorary Professor, Climate Change Institute, Australian National University Professor Simon Lewis, Dept Geography, University College London. Professor Ken Rice, Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh Professor Corey Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Fellow in Global Ecology, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia Professor Ian Foster, Environmental Science, University of Northampton, UK Professor Heidy M Mader, PhD Geophysics, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol Professor Danny Dorling, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK Dr John Marsham, Associate Professor, University of Leeds and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, UK Professor Andy Challinor, Chair of Climate Impacts, University of Leeds Peter Belton, Professor Emeritus, School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia Marilyn Strathern, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology, Cambridge University, UK Uta Frith, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development, University College London, UK Dr John N. Griffin, Associate Professor, Biosciences, Swansea University Dr Alberto de la Fuente, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Universidad de Chile, Chile Dr Christelle Rochefort, Associate Professor, Sorbonne University, Paris Professor Diane Reay, University of Cambridge, UK Professor Ellen Euler, University of Applied Science Potsdam, Germany Professor Seralynne Vann, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK Professor Mark Humphries, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, UK Emeritus Professor Michael Bassey, Nottingham Trent University Professor Randy McIntosh, Rotman Research Institute - Baycrest & Dept of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada Professor Carole Parkes University of Winchester Emeritus Professor Peter Reason, University of Bath Emeritus Professor Ian Parker, University of Leicester, UK Professor Kate Jeffery, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London Professor Hugo Spiers, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London Professor Erica Burman, Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester, UK Professor Stephen J Ball, Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology of Education, University College London Dr. Elisa Thome Sena, Professor at the Multidisciplinary Department, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil Dr Annabel Smith PhD. Lecturer in Wildlife Management, University of Queensland Dr Elizabeth Boakes, PhD Conservation Biology, Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research, University College London Dr Andrea Snelling PhD Palaeoclimate change researcher, University of Nottingham Dr Catalina Pimiento PhD, Postdoctoral fellow, Biosciences, Swansea University & Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Dr. Salvador Pueyo, researcher in complexity and socio-ecological futures, University of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Dr Michael Taylor, Department of Meteorology, University of Reading Dr Peter Spooner, Teaching Fellow, Department of Earth Sciences, UCL Dr. Rocio Perez Barrales, Senior Lecturer, University of Portsmouth, UK Dr Miklós Antal, Research Fellow in Ecological Economics, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary Dr Keith Baker, Researcher in Energy Policy, Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland Dr James G Dyke, Assistant Director, Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, UK Dr. Julien Lecourt, Senior Researcher, National Institute of Agriculture and Botany, EMR U Dr Wolfgang Knorr, Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University, Sweden Dr Scott Archer-Nicholls, Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge Dr Aaron Thierry, Ph.D. Ecology, The University of Sheffield Dr Charlie Gardner, Ph.D. Biodiversity Management, University of Kent Dr Emily Griffiths, Ph.D. Ecology, University of Sheffield Sven M Schulte, Research Consultant, MA Environmental Security (UN-mandated University for Peace), MA Peace, Development, Security and Int. Conflict Transformation (UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies) Dr. Samuel Hawkins, Senior Researcher, Ph.D. Renewable Energy, Edinburgh University Dr Anass Barrahmoune, MSc Environmental Geomatics, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Morocco, PhD East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield Dr. Ruth H. Leeney, Natural History Museum, London and Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, Inhambane province, Mozambique. Dr. Christopher D. Coath, Senior Research Fellow, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol. Dr. Julia Sero, Lecturer in Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, UK Dr. Rebecca Summerfield, Ph.D. Coral Reef Health, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, UK Dr. Traci Birge, DSc. Agriculture & Forestry, University of Helsinki, Finland Dr Roland Wilhelm, Ph.D. Microbiology, Cornell University, USA Dr Helen Bates, Horticultural Research Scientist, NIAB EMR, East Malling, Kent Dr Freya Mitchison, Ph.D. Earth & Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University Dr Steffie Broer, EngD in Urban Sustainability and Resilience, Dept. of Environmental Engineering, UCL, UK. Dr. Seann McKibbin, PhD (Earth Science) Australian National University and Alexander von Humboldt (postdoctoral fellowship) Georg-August-Universität, Germany Dr Rachel Marshall, Lancaster University, PhD Soil Science at Aberdeen University Dr James Cole, School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton Dr Joe Stewart, PhD Paleoceanography and Geochemistry, Senior Research Associate, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, UK Dr Beth Penrose, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Australia. PhD Environmental Science, University of Nottingham, UK Dr. Charlotte F. Nellist, Plant Pathologist (Junior Group Leader), NIAB EMR, East Malling, Kent. Dr Claire Wordley, writer and activist, PhD. ecology from the University of Leeds. Dr Jessica Fisher, MRes Biodiversity Evolution Conservation UCL, PhD Biodiversity Management, University of Kent Dr. Nathan G. Phillips, Ph.D. Department of Earth & Environment, Boston University, USA Dr Andrew Fraass, Ph.D. Geosciences, Research Associate in Micropalaeontology, University of Bristol Dr Natalie Swan, PhD in Environmental Science, Lancaster University Dr Jennifer Rudd, Carbon Chemistry and Engineering, Swansea University, MChem, PhD, Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry Dr. Javier Juste, PhD. Bats’ Ecology and Evolution Group, Dpt of Evolutionary Ecology, Doñana Biological Station, CSIC; Seville, Spain Dr Mariana Carvalho, PhD Biology and Natural Resource Management, Birdlife International, UK Dr Victoria Herridge, PhD Evolutionary Biology, Broadcaster. Dr Emeliana Palk, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol Dr Charline Lormand, P.h.D. in Volcanology, Volcanic Risk Solutions, Massey University, New Zealand Dr Mikko Ijäs, Doctor of Arts. Associate Researcher of Human Evolutionary Biology. Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Finland. Dr Nicolas Kosoy. Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal Dr Duane L. Bindschadler, PhD, Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA Dr. Malika Virah-Sawmy, Geography Department, Humboldt Universitat zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany Dr Estefania Milla-Moreno, PhD, MSc, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Canada Dr. Marie-Josée Garand. Ph.D. Natural Resources. Environmental Technology. Collège Communautaire du Nouveau Brunswick. Canada. Dr Phil Platts, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, UK Dr. Maria Caffrey, PhD Geography, Denver, Colorado Dr Laura Kehoe, PhD in Geography, University of Oxford, The Nature Conservancy, UK Dr Antti Alexander Kestilä, PhD Space Technology, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland. Dr Rupesh Paudyal, MSc University of London, PhD Plant Sciences, University of Leeds Dr David Costalago, PhD Marine Ecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada Dr. Ji-Hyun Lee, PhD., Postdoctoral researcher, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA), Austria Dr Robert Alcock, PhD in Marine Ecology, University of Southampton. XR Edinburgh activist. Dr Christopher Butler, PhD. Former Oil Industry Geoscientist. Dr Thomas Martin, PhD Atmospheric Science, University of São Paulo, Brazil. Dr João Augusto Hackerott, PhD Atmospheric Science, University of São Paulo, Brazil Dr Daniel Turner, PhD (ecology), University of Southampton B.S. Victória Peli, Master's Student, Department of Atmospheric Science, University of São Paulo, Brazil Rachel Hasler, PhD Student, Soil microbiology - Environment and Agrifood Dept. Cranfield University, UK. Geraint Northwood, PhD student, Planetary Science, Imperial College London, UK Claudia Wyer, PhD Student, Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK Galina Jönsson, PhD Student, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London I Gabriel Perez, PhD student, Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, MPhil University of São Paulo Maria Luiza de Carvalho Ferreira, MSc Physical, Chemical and Geological Oceanography, currently PhD student in Geology, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, UK Paul Ogbuigwe, PhD student in Animal Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand Stacey Hendriks, PhD Student in Animal Science, Massey University, New Zealand, MSc in Animal Science Matteo Luberti, PhD student, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, UK Chris Andrews, PhD Candidate in Animal Science, Massey University, New Zealand, MSc(Hons) in Zoology Florentine Dominique van Noppen, MSc Ecology, PhD Student Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, New Zealand Hilary Webb, PhD Student in Animal Science, Massey University, New Zealand, Hons degree in Natural Resource Management Jefim Vogel, PhD student, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, UK Sarah Tapscott, Ph.D Student in Volcanology, Massey University, New Zealand, MSc in Earth Science (Volcanology), University of Iceland Ailsa Naismith, PhD student in Earth Sciences, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol Jacques Krticka Carvalho, PhD student in Animal Science, Massey University, New Zealand, MSc in Soil Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Emma Bird, PhD Student Palaeoanthropology, University of Kent, UK Joe Ravetz, Collaboratory for Urban Resilience, University of Manchester Susanne Repanelis, MSc Conservation Medicine (Veterinary Medicine) , currently Master student in Risk Prevention and Disaster Management, University of Vienna, AT Thomas Mackay-Smith, MSc Conservation Biology, PhD Student in Agroforestry, Massey University, New Zealand Larissa E. Gleason, MSc Conservation and Rural Development, University of Kent, UK Adam Roberts, MSc Conservation Biology, University of Kent, U.K Will Barker, PhD Student, Ecology and Global Change, School of Geography, University of Leeds. Paula García, MA, Sustainable International Development, Brandeis University Maureen W, Kinyanjui, Msc Conservation and Rural Development, University of Kent, U.K Tessa I. Ullmann, MSc Conservation and International Wildlife Trade, University of Kent, U.K. Fernando Avendano Veas, MSc Soil and Water Management, PhD Student Soil Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand. Catherine Pennington, Engineering Geologist, Landslide Specialist, MSc Engineering Geology Stuart Spray, MSc in Wildlife & Conservation Biology, Napier University, Edinburgh Thomas A. Worsdell, MSc Ethnobotany, University of Kent, U.K. Alberto Danese, Double MSc Energy Engineering, Universitat Politecnica de la Catalunya, Barcelona & KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm Floriane Millet, MSc Conservation and Tourism, Kent University, UK Andrea Vadillo Dieguez. MSc Environmental Agrobiology, University of the Basque Country. Technician in NIAB EMR, UK Penelope Chaney, MA, MSc, VetMB, Ecologist Mike Hynes, MSc Palaeobiology, School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol Ariel Chiang, MSc Sustainable Building Technology, School of the Built Environment, The University of Nottingham, UK Guy Burger, BSc in Freshwater Fisheries Management, MSc in Conservation Biology. Director and Company Secretary at Greengap Ltd George Barda MA. Environment, Politics & Globalisation, King's College London Tatiana Suarez, M.Sc. Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Management, King’s College London. B.Sc. Environmental Engineer. Gwili Gibbon, MSc in Conservation Biology, PhD Student in Biodiversity Management, University of Kent, UK Louise Masters, MSc Conservation Biology, University of Kent Brittney Vezina, MSc Conservation Biology, University of Kent Marcus Petz, MSc Mountain Forestry, University of Jyväskylä Sonja Willemse, MSc Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Monsuru Adebowale, School of Earth Sciences University of Bristol Dr Alexandra de Sousa, Ph.D. Bath Spa University Dr Robert Mok, Ph.D. University College London Dr Tobias Navarro Schröder, Ph.D., Norwegian University of Science and Technology Dr. Larch Maxey, LLB, MSc, Ph.D., Plymouth University Dr Lucky Tran, Ph.D. Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge Dr. Terry L. Rankin, Retired, Saint Cloud, FL USA Dr Kevin Allen, Ph.D. Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Heidelberg University Dr Darragh Duffy, Ph.D. Immunology, Department of Immunology, Institut Pasteur, Paris Dr Nikaïa Smith, Ph.D. Immunology, Department of Immunology, Institut Pasteur, Paris Alex Jelly, MSc Holistic Science, Schumacher College, Devon Dr. James Uther, Ph.D. Computer Science, The University of Sydney Dr Miles Thompson, Clinical Psychologist (DClinPsy) and Senior Lecturer in Psychology (PhD), Health and Applied Sciences, UWE Bristol. Dr Alba Llibre, PhD Immunology, Department of Immunology, Institut Pasteur, Paris Dr Susanne Hakenbeck, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge Dr Lukasz Pospieszny, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol Dr. Karen Cangialosi, Department of Biology, Keene State College, New Hampshire, USA Hope Bretscher, MSc in Science and Technology Studies, University of Edinburgh, and currently, a PhD student in Physics, University of Cambridge James Murray-White, Filmmaker, Cambridge, UK - MSc Centre for Human Ecology, Edinburgh Justine Courty, MSc Computing and Machine Learning, Imperial College London Matthew Shribman, MChem (Hons), University of Oxford. Science Communicator & Environmental Campaigner. Jennifer Worroll, Bioinformatics Scientist, MA Natural Sciences University of Cambridge, MSc University of Manchester Dr Aga Iwasiewicz-Wabnig, PhD in Physics. University of Cambridge, UK Bronagh McCoy, University of Cambridge. MSc. in Cognitive Neuroscience at Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Dr Hazel Newton, Ph.D. Electrochemistry, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Dr Claire Murphy Ph.D in Genetics and Immunology University College London, United Kingdom Dr Till Sawala, PhD Physics, Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland Sarah Greenfield Clark, MSc Sustainability, Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University. Louisse Paola Mirabueno, PhD student, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, UK Katja E. Isaksen MSc Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law, University of Glasgow. PhD student in Animal Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand Celine Posseme, PhD student, Department of Immunology, Institut Pasteur, Paris Dr Oscar Marcelo Lazo, PhD. UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, UK. Dr Robert Schmidt, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK Xue Qi Soon, PhD student, School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, New Zealand Jessica Liliana Campo Giraldo, PhD student in Molecular Biosciences, Universidad AndresBello, Chile. Dr. Annett Finger, Adjunct Research Fellow, Victoria University, Australia Emma Garnett, PhD Researcher, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom Alfredo Romero-Muñoz, Doctoral researcher, Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany Dr Lukas Daniel Klausner, Researcher, St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, Austria Dr Kilian Evang, Researcher, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany Dr Cristián Monaco, Researcher, University of Adelaide, Australia Joshua F. Robinson, PhD Candidate and Research Fellow, Soft Matter Physics, University of Bristol, United Kingdom Dr Grace Lindsay, Postdoctoral Fellow, University College London, United Kingdom Francesco Iannuzzelli, MSc Computer Science, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Dr. J. Kasmire, Research Fellow, University of Manchester, UK Sam Van Stroud, PhD Student in Physics, Data Science, University College London, UK Dr Alexander Vincent Penson, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York Dr Rebecca Rees, Associate Professor, Department of Social Science, University College London Mr Carl Thomas, PhD Student, Department of Physics, Imperial College London Pietro Salvi, PhD Student, Department of Physics, Imperial College Dr Julien Carponcy, PhD, MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit, University of Oxford Dr Elizabeth Rowe, PhD Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol Dr Stuart Capstick, Research Fellow, Cardiff University, UK Dr Daniel Mietchen, Senior Scientist, School of Data Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States Dr Nicholas Beuret, lecturer, University of Essex Dr Francesco Turci, Research Associate in Theoretical Physics, University of Bristol Prof. John Russo, Associate Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of Bristol Dr Nariaki Sakai, Research Associate in Materials Physics, University of Bristol Irene Faiman, PhD Researcher, Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London Jonathan David Finn, PhD Student, School of Computing, University of Leeds Dr Fabio Leoni, Research Associate in Applied Mathematics, University of Bristol Dr Daniel Morse, Research Associate, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol Dr Teresa Belton, Visiting Fellow, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia Rachael Ward, MScR Physical Geography, School of Geography/Earth Sciences, University of Bristol Dr Oana Kubinyecz, PhD Epigenetics, Cambridge University Dominic Habgood-Coote, PhD student, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London Dr Chris Wymant, Senior Researcher, Big Data Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK Mary Langsdale, PhD student, School of Geography, King’s College London Thomas Nicholas, PhD student, York Plasma Institute, University of York, MPhys University of Oxford Dr Rachel Doherty, Senior Researcher, Physical Chemistry, Leiden University, Netherlands Dr Chris Langmead, Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Scientist William Dawson, MSc Psychology OU Dr William Stiles, Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University Sarah Kelly, MSc Medical Entomology, research assistant, Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK Dr Nico Kist (DPhil in HIV evolution, University of Oxford) Isabella Aberle, MSc Biodiversity and Conservation, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany Bernard McCarty: recovering Astrophysicist, practising Quantum Mechanic and Engineer (The University of Birmingham, UK). Alexandra Williams, MSc Global Health and Development, University College London Dr. Daniel Maskit (Ph.D., Computer Science, Caltech) Dr Adam Bozson, PhD Physics, University of London Dimitar Kostadinov, PhD, Research Associate, University College London, UK Dr Nils Y. Hammerla, PhD (Computer Science) Newcastle Uni Dr Rosie A Fisher. Global Climate Dynamics, Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique, Toulouse, France. Leo Green, Consultant Mechanical Engineer, MEng Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol, UK Dr Sergio Gutierrez-Santos PhD, Visiting Research Fellow, Computer Science, Birbeck, University of London Alexander Morley DPhil, Neuroscience, University of Oxford Prof. Ian Masters, College of Engineering, Swansea University Dr. Marcos Francisco Perez, PhD (Biomedicine), Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain Dr. Jacopo Boni, PhD (Biomedicine), Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain Dr. Olga Dolgova, PhD (Genetics), Centro Nacional del Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG). Andrew Brown, DPhil student in Computer Vision, University of Oxford Ariadna Montero Blay, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain Dr. Rocco Mazzolini (Biomedicine), Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain Dr Ionas Erb (Mathematics), Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain Dr. Thomas Wilhelm, PhD (Biomedicine), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Dr. Xianghua Li, PhD (Biomedicine), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Cristina hidalgo, PhD (Biomedicine), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Dr. Cinta Pegueroles, PhD (Genetics), Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Barcelona, Spain . Chloe Hall, PhD Student, Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, UK . Violeta Beltran Sastre, Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain Dr David Clubb, PhD (Physics), Afallen, Wales Dr Milena Hasan, PhD, Immunology, Institut Pasteur, France Carme Arnan Ros (phD), Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona, Spain Dr. Jake D. Turner, PhD (Astronomy), Department of Astronomy, Cornell University Cesar Sierra, PhD Student, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Thea Kozakis, Masters of Astrophysics, Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA Jorge Herrero Vicente, PhD student, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Julien Lagarde, Technician, M.Sc., Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Vincent Needham, Scientist, JRM Lab, Physics Dept, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA Dana Nuccitelli, M.Sc. Physics, University of California at Davis, USA Dr Ryan MacDonald, PhD, Astronomy, University of Cambridge, MPhys, Physics, University of Oxford Dr Leo Swadling, Ph.D. Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, UK. Adam Williams, MSc Town Planning, University of Plymouth, UK. Dr Laura Dowsett, Ph.D. (Physiology) University of Glasgow, UK Dr. Sarah Offenburger, PhD (Biomedicine), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Peter Griffin, MEng, MRes, PhD candidate, Materials Sciences and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge Dr Karine Crozat, PhD in immunology, CIML, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France Pete Alway, PhD Student, Loughborough University & England and Wales Cricket Board Dan Whitaker Msci, University of Cambridge, Department of Chemistry PhD Candidate Michael Jock MS Optics - private industry Will Mountford, MSc Science Communication, UWE UK Professor Judith E Smith, past Dean of Science at Salford and University of Technology Sydney Maruf Sarkar, MPhys, PhD Candidate, Materials Sciences and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge Livia Lacerda Mariano, Phd student, Institut Pasteur, France Dr Benjamin Vial, Postdoctoral fellow. Antennas and Electromagnetics, Queen Mary University of London, UK. Mike Madden, Ph.D. Candidate, Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina Barthelemy Caron, Ph.D .candidate, Imagine Institute, Paris, France Holly M. English, PhD student in Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin. MRes Bioscience, Swansea University. Dr Andrew L. Fanning, Marie Curie Research Fellow, Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds Professor Rich Pancost, Head of the School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol Dr Barbara Brayshay, Ph.D in Environmental Change, University of Sheffield, Living Maps Network, London Tony Warne, Senior Investigator Scientist, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK Larkin Sayre, MPhil in Energy Technologies, PhD candidate in Materials Science, University of Cambridge UK Dr Harriet Downey, Research Associate, University of Cambridge, PhD in Zoology University of Oxford Dr Judith Lock, School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, UK Eleonore Poli, Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge Dr Philip Webber, formerly University of London (Imperial College) & Leeds (School of Earth & Environment) Thomas Bedford MPhys, PhD Student, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge Katie Christoffers, MSc Neuroscience, University of Oxford, UK Dr. Mike Bennison, PhD (Chemistry), Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge Patrick Taylor, PhD student, department of physics, University of Cambridge Dr. Benjamin Lang, PhD (Molecular Systems Biology), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Dr Pauline Audergon, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for genomic Regulation(CRG) Bacelona, Spain Helen Bedford, Professor of Children’s Health, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health Mihaela Nemes, MRes Brain Science, UCL, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience Dr Anna-Lena Schaupp, Postdoctoral researcher, Immunology, University of Oxford Dr Jonathan Mackenzie, Research Fellow, University of the Arts London and University of Cambridge Maximilian Bloomfield MSci MEng, PhD student, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge Dr Claire Asher, PhD (Genetics, Ecology & Evolution, University of Leeds), Freelance Science Journalist, London, UK Emeline Rougeaux, PhD Student, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London UK Dr Alistair Jennings, freelance science filmmaker, london, uk. Dr Matias Acosta, Fellow at the Center for Science and Policy, University of Cambridge, UK Prof Rachel Oliver, Professor of Materials Science, University of Cambridge Dr. Lorena Moscovich, Professor of Political Science, Universidad de San Andrés Dr Jim Rafferty, Research assistant and data scientist, Swansea University Medical School. Joonatan Laulainen, PhD Student, Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge Dr Jenny Baker, EPSRC Fellow, College of Engineering, Swansea University. George Lewis, PhD Student, Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge Pam DiBona, M.S. environmental scientist, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Neil Grant, PhD Student, Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, Imperial College London Charlotte Phillips MSc., Research Assistant, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Dr Beth Breeze, Director, Centre for Philanthropy, University of Kent, UK Louise Johnson F.RGS MSc (Environmental Management, University of Surrey, 2002) Dr. Gareth Dale, Politics, Brunel University Michael Fielding, Emeritus Professor of Education UCL Institute of Education, London, UK Raquel Garcia Olivas, PhD (Biomedicine), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Dr Stuart Hodkinson, Associate Professor, School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK Dr Andrea Dimitracopoulos, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, UK Dr Lina Brand Correa, Research Fellow, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, UK Professor Neil Marriott, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Winchester Silvia Benito, PhD student in molecular biology, University of Cambridge, UK Bill McGuire, Professor Emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards, UCL, UK Dr Miguel A Maestro, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain Professor Simon Jobson, Dean of the Faculty of Health & Wellbeing, University of Winchester, UK Professor Douglas Parker, Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, University of Leeds Helen Spander, Professor of Mental Health Studies, University of Central Lancashire Dr Mia Gray, Dept of Geography, University of Cambridge Dr Mary Phillips, Reader in Organization Studies, University of Bristol Prof Wendy Hollway, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Open University, UK Dr Andreas Vossler, Senior Lecturer, The Open University, UK Prof Lisa Isherwood, Eco- theologian, University of Wales Trinity St David Dr Simona Giordano, Reader in Bioethics, The University of Manchester Law School Professor Andrew Watterson, Public Health and Population Health Research Group, University of Stirling James Mckay, Centre Manager, EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Bioenergy at University of Leeds Rebecca Budgett, PhD Student in Molecular Pharmacology, University of Glasgow, MSc in Neuroscience and BSc in Human Sciences from UCL Professor Adrian Kendry, Economics, Security and Peacebuilding, University of Winchester Professor Andrew Samuels, University of Essex, UK Nicole Morgan, M.Sc. Biological Oceanography, Ph.D. Candidate Oceanography, Florida State University Dr Duncan McCollin, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, University of Northampton Dr Matt Watson, Senior Lecturer in Geography, University of Sheffield Andrew Simms, Research Associate, University of Sussex, Coordinator, Rapid Transition Alliance. Dr Haiko Ballieux, Senior Lecturer in Developmental Cognitive Science, University of Westminster Dr Rebekah Fraser, PhD Chemistry, Durham University Chris van Hoorn, PhD candidate, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Cambridge university. Jacqui Keenan, MSc Conservation & Biodiversity, University of Exeter Richard Clarke, Honorary Research Fellow, University of London Birkbeck College and Visiting Scholar, University of Westminster Sandra Cortijo, postdoc, SLCU, University of Cambridge Jorge E. Vinuales, Harold Samuel Professor of Law and Environmental Policy, University of Cambridge Dr Rasha Rezk, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge Bianca De Sanctis, MPhil computational biology, PhD student, Departments of Zoology and Genetics, University of Cambridge Lisa Heinke, PhD Candidate, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge Prof. Buzz Baum, Professor of Cell Biology, UCL, London Dr Suman Fernando, Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences in the School of Social Sciences, London Metropolitan University, London UK Paul Hoggett, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, UWE, Bristol. Helen Spandler, Professor of Mental Health Studies, University of Central Lancashire Joshua M. Lawrence, PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge Professor Colin Davis, School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, UK Professor Jeremy J Baumberg, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK Dr Simon Sneddon, PhD Nuclear Power, University of Northampton Dave Hudson, MSc Conservation and Biodiversity, University of Exeter Joanne M. Santini, Professor of Microbiology, UCL Dr. Luzie U. Wingen, Dept. of Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK Dr Seamus A. Ward, MA, PhD, UCL Mick Cooper, D. Phil. Dr Alice Reid, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, UK Prof. Del Loewenthal, Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, UK Andrew Simms, Research Associate, Centre for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex Prof Paul Routledge university of Leeds Nina Richardson PGCE Science, MA Society, Science and Nature, BSc Hons. Combined Sciences Brittany Trew, PhD Candidate, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter Raichael Lock, PhD, Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester. Duncan Scholtes CEng, MEng University of Cambridge. Electrified Powertrain Engineer. Dr Ian Willis, Reader in Glaciology, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge Dr Michael Littledyke, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia Dr Rupert Read, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom. Daniel K Swan, MEng Renewable Energy Systems Technology, C.R.E.S.T (Centre For Renewable Energy Systems Technology), Loughborough University Dr Philip Mousley (PhD Condensed matter physics), Post Doctoral Research Associate, Diamond Light Source Synchrotron, UK Dr Judith Thornton, Low Carbon Manager, IBERS, Aberystwyth University, UK. Dr Teresa Del Bianco, Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre of Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck University of London, UK Elli Rivers, Research Associate in avian ecology, MSc Biodiversity Conservation, Bournemouth University. Giulia Calignano, PhD candidate, University of Trento. Professor Rick Stafford, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, UK Bruce Greetham, MMath, Cambridge University Dr Gregory Carslaw, PhD Psychology, University of Birmingham Dr Jere Koskela, Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics, University of Warwick Dr Carys Bennett, School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, UK Alex Bradley, PhD Candidate, Mathematics Institute, University of Oxford Prof David Leys, Professor in Structural Biology, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, UK Susannah McLaren, MPhil, PhD candidate, University of Cambridge Oliver Pocknell BSc Natural Sciences, University of Bath, Teacher of Physics and Chemistry (Secondary) Matthew Charles, MSc Meteorology and Climatology, PGR student at the University of East Anglia Dr Anna-Lena Schaupp, Postdoctoral researcher in immunology, University of Oxford, UK Dr Marco Spartera, Cardiologist and Clinical Research Fellow, University of Oxford, UK Professor James Bullock, Ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Professor Seralynne Vann, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK Professor Luca Borger, Chair in Ecology and Biodiversity & Co-Director Centre for Biomathematics, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, UK Jonas Van der Slycken, PhD Candidate in Ecological Economics, Ghent University, Belgium Jonny Saunders, MS Psychology, PhD student Systems Neuroscience, University of Oregon, USA Professor Simon Schultz, Director, Centre for Neurotechnology, Imperial College London. Dr Carmel Howe, Research Associate, Imperial College London, UK Dr Tim Chen, Senior Lecturer, Centre of AI, University of Technology Sydney. Paul Dumble MSc CWRM CEnv, Independent specialist waste & environment, Melrose Scotland Professor Steven Dakin, Head, School of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of Auckland Dr. Tyler J. Kohler, Postdoctoral Research Associate, EPFL, Switzerland Matthew Henry, PhD Candidate in Climate Science, McGill University, Canada Dr. Heather Short, Professor of Geosciences, John Abbott College, Canada Kenneth Miller, Professor of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Dr Pia Benaud, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Geography, University of Exeter, UK Dr. Abid Hussaini, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA Dr. Jenny Smith-Wymant, Health Engagement Officer, Peterborough, UK Dr. Chethan Pandarinath, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Neurosurgery, Emory University and Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, USA Dr. Torkel Hafting, Professor in Physiology, University of Oslo, Norway Dr. Henry H. Adam, retired professional physical chemist, Bedfordshire, England. Hector Pollitt, Cambridge Econometrics, UK. David Barns, PhD student, School of Chemical & Process Engineering, University of Leeds, UK Sarah Warren, MSc in Conservation, UCL Dr. Janne M. Korhonen, Researcher, climate mitigation, Turku School of Economics, Finland Dr. Kirsikka Kaipainen, Postdoctoral Researcher, Tampere University, Finland Dr Sophie Haslett, Postdoctoral Researcher in Atmospheric Science, Stockholm University, Sweden Dr Aet Annist, Senior Researcher in Social Anthropology, University of Tartu, Estonia Professor Andy Dobson, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 Dr Eeva Houtbeckers, Postdoctoral researcher, postgrowth working life studies, Aalto University, Finland Professor Adam Aron, PhD, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California San Diego. Dr. Robert Kraus Jr., Ph.D., Los Alamos National Laboratory (retired) Franco La Zia, Ph.D candidate, Physics, Royal Holloway University of London Annabel Hindmarsh, BSc Zoology, University of East Anglia. MSc Oceanography, University of Southampton Thomas E. Smith, B.S. Astronomy. Studied solar system planetary atmos. et.al. With Hubble. STScI. USA. Sarah E. Moore, BSc Biology, MS student in Biology, Indiana State University, USA Dr Christian Engelbrekt, PhD, Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark Dr. Paula T. Kuokkanen, Postdoctoral researcher, Neuroscience, Institute for theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany Dr. Patti Frazer Lock, Ph.D. mathematics and statistics, St. Lawrence University Dr David B. Reiss, Ph.D. Theoretical Physics Ryan McCabe, PhD Candidate Planetary Science, Hampton University, Hampton, VA, USA Dr. Jason E. Ybarra, Ph.D. Astronomy, Assistant Professor of Physics, Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, VA, USA Mihkel Kangur, PhD, Ecology, Senior researcher of Ecology, Associated Professor of Sustainable Development, TallinnUniversity, Estonia Dr Sander van der Linden, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, UK and Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Environmental Psychology Lowell Andrew R. Iporac, Ph.D Candidate, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA Laura Sirot, Ph.D., Department of Biology, The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio Mark Dobday, P.G. MA Geology Adam Francis Smith, MSc (Wildlife Ecology and Management), Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. Jessie Joachim B.S. (Biology), MPH (Master of Public Health) candidate 2020, Vallejo, CA USA Alice Vislova B.S. (Ecology, Evolution and Behavior), Ph.D (Oceanography) candidate 2020, Honolulu, HI USA Dr. Leah Gottlieb, Ph.D. (Chemistry) University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Marine Krzisch, Ph.D. (neurobiology), Cambridge, MA Bineh Ndefru, Ph.D Student, Materials Science and Engineering, University of California-Los Angeles, USA Dr. Benjamin Neimark, Ph.D. (Human Geography) Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, UK Sophia Chan, PhD Candidate, Chemical Engineering, Columbia University Dr. Janne Hirvonen, (Energy technology), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aalto University, Finland Kevin Shi, PhD Candidate, Computer Science, Columbia University Tomo Saric, M.D., Ph.D., Group Leader, Center for Physiology and Pathophysiology, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany Clair Brown, PhD, Prof of Economics, University of California, Berkeley Leticia Avilés, PhD, Dept of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Keith Pezzoli, PhD, Bioregional Center for Sustainability Science, Planning and Design. University of California, San Diego, USA. Dion Amago Whitehead, PhD Bielefeld University, Germany Professor Gail Whiteman, PhD (Management), Rubin Chair in Sustainability, Lancaster University, UK

By mid-morning on 14 October 2019 there were at least 459 signatories to this open letter.

Murray-Darling Basin Commission Report Précis: hard right ideology, ignorance, politics and greed have all but killed the largest river system in Australia

The Guardian, 29 January 2019: The fish kill near Menindee in NSW on Monday left the Darling River carpeted in dead fish. A South Australian royal commission is likely to find the Murray Darling Basin Plan to be in breach of the federal Water Act. Photograph: Graeme McCrabb

ABC News, 30 January 2019:

The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission has found Commonwealth officials committed gross maladministration, negligence and unlawful actions in drawing up the multi-billion-dollar deal to save Australia's largest river system.

Commissioner Bret Walker SC recommended a complete overhaul of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, including reallocating more water from irrigation to the environment.

The report found the original plan ignored potentially "catastrophic" risks of climate change….

Commissioner Walker accused the original architects of the multi-billion-dollar plan of being influenced by politics, with the report finding "politics rather than science" drove the setting of the "Sustainable Diversion Limit (SDL) and the recovery figure of 2,750 GL".

"The [water] recovery amount had to start with a 'two'," he said.

"This was not a scientific determination, but one made by senior management and the board of the MDBA……

Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission Report, 29 January 2019, excerpts:

Triple bottom line myth

The most pernicious of the polemical uses to which the slogan of the triple bottom line has been turned is to argue, in various forums and with varying approaches to frankness, that the triple bottom line requires the volume of reduction in consumptive take (sometimes called the water to be ‘recovered’, ie for the environment) somehow to be less than it would be on solely the environmental grounds stipulated in the Water Act, whenever it can be seen that recovering less would benefit farming, therefore the economy and therefore society. It is, admittedly, hard not to travesty the argument, so bereft as it is of a serious purposive reading of the actual enacted text.

No-one, in or out of this Commission, has explained how this triple bottom line is meant to work, directed as it must be to a numerically designated ‘limit’ of take. If all three dimensions are operating equally and simultaneously, as the slogan and the statutory term ‘optimises’ might at first sight suggest, how does a statutory decision-maker adjust — up or down — the recovery target by reference to each of the three dimensions? They are, at least partially, incommensurables. And what is the real difference, when it comes to irrigated agriculture, between economic and social outcomes? How far does one project in order to assess the best available outcomes?

None of these imponderable puzzles exists on the plain reading of the Water Act, by which the environmental threshold level (no ‘compromise’ of key environmental values) is set — and then as much irrigation water as can sensibly be made available is made available, in order to optimise the economic and social outcomes generated by the continuation of modern and efficient irrigated agriculture. Of course, from time to time, not least because of the inter-generational ecologically sustainable development principles, social outcomes — and even economic outcomes — may well come to be seen as mandating less rather than more (or the same) volume of consumptive take. But the true, single, bottom line is that no more water may be taken than at the level beyond which the key environmental values would be compromised.

The late Professor John Briscoe, whose distinguished career culminated at Harvard, was a doyen of international water resources management studies. His insights and eminence were acknowledged by, among many other weighty assignments around the world, his selection to play a leading role in the 2010 High-Level External Review Panel convened by the MDBA to scrutinize and critique the beleaguered draft Guide to the proposed Basin Plan (Guide) (see Chapter 4). In 2011, he corresponded with the Senate’s Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, which has published his notable letter dated 24 February 2011, by way of a submission by him to the Committee’s inquiry into provisions of the Water Act. The whole letter is instructive, as might be expected. The following extracts pungently address the triple bottom line myth, expressing conclusions which command agreement. (As opposed to some other conclusions expressed in his letter, where Professor Briscoe is arguably too pessimistic, concerning in particular the aptness of the Water Act itself. 

The letter, to repeat, deserves re-reading.)

The substance of the Act 2: Balance between the environment and human uses

There are claims that the Water Act of 2007 was not an environmental act but one that mandated balance between the environment and human uses. Digging deep into the turgid 236 pages of the Water Act for confirmatory phrases, the Honorable Malcolm Turnbull claims, now, that the Act was all about balance.

To a disinterested reader this is poppycock. The National Productivity Commission’s interpretation of the Water Act (2007) is that “it requires the Murray-Darling basin Authority to determine environmental water needs based on scientific information, but precludes consideration of economic and social costs in deciding the extent to which these needs should be met”. Similarly, the High-Level Review Panel for the Murray Darling Basin Plan (of which I was a member) stated that “The driving value of the Act is that a triple-bottom-line approach (environment, economic, social) is replaced by one in which environment becomes the overriding objective, with the social and economic spheres required to “do the best they can” with whatever is left once environmental needs are addressed.”

This interpretation was also very clearly (and reasonably, in my view) the interpretation taken by the Board and Management of the MDBA in developing the Guide to the Basin Plan. This was transmitted unambiguously to the members of the High-Level Review Panel for the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

(As an aside, I have wondered whether this logic is derived from (a) a belief that this is the right thing to do or (b) an understanding that this was the only constitutionally-defensible approach given that state powers were being abrogated in the name of meeting the Commonwealth’s Ramsar obligations.)

The substance of the Act 3: The roles of science and politics

The Act is based on an extraordinary logic, namely that science will determine what the environment needs and that the task for government (including the MDBA) is then just to “do what science tells it to do”. 

In the deliberations of the High Level Review Panel, we pointed out that, taken literally, this would mean that 100% of the flows of the Basin would have to go to the environment, because the native environment had arisen before man started developing the basin. The absurdity of this point was to drive home the reality — that the Murray is one of the most heavily plumbed river basins in the world, and that the real choice was to decide which set of managed (not natural) environmental (and other) outcomes were most desirable.

The job of science in such an instance is to map out options, indicating clearly the enormous uncertainties that underlie any scenario linking water and environmental outcomes. In its final report, the High-Level Review Panel stated: 

Far from being “value neutral”, a set of value judgements are fundamental to the aspirations of all Acts, including the Water Act. … It is a fundamental tenet of good governance that the scientists produce facts and the government decides on values and makes choices. We are concerned that scientists in the MDBA, who are working to develop “the facts”, may feel that they are expected to trim those so that “the sustainable diversion limit” will be one that is politically acceptable. We strongly believe that this is not only inconsistent with the basic tenets of good governance, but that it is not consistent with the letter of the Act. We equally strongly believe that government needs to make the necessary tradeoffs and value judgements, and needs to be explicit about these, assume responsibility and make the rationale behind these judgements transparent to the public.

A basis in science The crucial steps of setting a SDL, which governs its localized component parts, and observing its mandatory reflection of the ESLT, are among the most important decisions called for by the Water Act. They are forbidden to be politically dictated, say, by Ministerial directions (eg para 48(5)(b)). Their nature is ‘factual or scientific’, and so they are to be addressed as the Water Act requires for such matters.

That is, both the MDBA and the Minister, who between them are statutorily responsible for making the Basin Plan, ‘must … act on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge’ (para 21(4)(b)). As appears throughout this report, this is a serious and fundamental requirement that it appears has most regrettably not been consistently obeyed (see Chapters 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10). It is most certainly not some obscure technical point that could excite only administrative lawyers.

To the contrary, the invocation of science, with the strong epithet ‘best’ to qualify it, brings in its train the demanding and self-critical traditions of empirical enquiry. It definitionally recognizes the provisional and improvable quality of the state of art. It proceeds by testing, and thus needs exposure and debate. Above all, it shuns the ipse dixit of unexplained, unattributed, blank assertions, such as too often emanate at crucial junctures from the MDBA.6 Perhaps the MDBA was not entirely responsible for this ‘aberration’, as Professor Briscoe described it in his letter to the Senate Committee. He suggested it resulted from the ‘institutional power concentration’ created by the Water Act.

Leaving blame aside, it can be readily accepted that Professor Briscoe described in 2011 what he had experienced, and what has continued far too much and for far too long. That is, the highly secretive ‘we will run the numbers and the science behind closed doors and then tell you the result’ MDBA Basin Plan process that Professor Briscoe scorned as ‘the Commonwealth-bureaucrats-and-scientists-know-better-than-states-andcommunities-and-farmers-do model’. He deplored the excessive MDBA ‘confidentiality’ process, which meant ‘there was very little recourse in the process to the immense worldleading knowledge of water management that had developed in Australia during the last 20 years’. He wrote, ‘time and again I heard from professionals, community leaders, farmers and State politicians who had made Australia the widely acknowledged world leaders in arid zone water management that they were excluded from the process’……. [my yellow highlighting]

Recommendations

1. New determinations of the ESLTs, and SDLs for both surface water and groundwater that reflect those ESLTs, should be carried out promptly. Those determinations must be made lawfully — that is, according to the proper construction of the Water Act as outlined in Chapter 3. Those determinations must:

a. be made on the basis of a proper construction of the Water Act, rather than using a triple bottom line approach

b. ensure that each water resource area’s ESLT is correctly determined based on the best available science, including for floodplains, and accordingly is reflected in the Basin-wide ESLT

c. result in an ESLT that ensures Australia fulfils its obligations under the treaties referred to in the Water Act

d. ensure there is no ‘compromise’ to the key environmental assets and ecosystem functions of the Basin — it must restore and protect those that are degraded

e. be made on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge, and by taking into account ESD, including climate change projections

f. be made in such a manner that all of the processes, decision-making and modelling that underpin the determinations are fully disclosed and subject to scientific peer-review and consultation with the broader public.

2. Those determinations will require a greater recovery amount than that which has already been recovered. In order to achieve a higher recovery amount, additional water will need to be purchased by the government and held by the CEWH. That water should be purchased through buybacks.

 3. The MDBA — or some other appropriately funded body — should be required to urgently conduct a review of climate change risks to the whole of the Basin, based on the best available scientific knowledge. This should be incorporated into the determination of the ESLT. 4. A Commonwealth Climate Change Research and Adaptation Authority should be established. This Authority must be independent of government. It should be appropriately funded so that it can properly conduct research into climate change, and formulate plans and give guidance on how the Basin (and other) communities can best adapt to climate change.

There are 44 recommendations in the Commissioner’s report in total and the full report cane be read here.

BACKGROUND

Hard right ideology, ignorance, politics and the greed of irrigators on display over the years.

The Courier, 15 December 2011:

Opposition Leader [and Liberal MP for Warringah] Tony Abbott has given his strongest indication yet he will block the Labor government's Murray Darling Basin plan, telling a rowdy meeting of irrigators near Griffith the Coalition would "not support a bad plan"…...

The meeting, for which most businesses in Griffith shut down for the morning so workers could attend, was the fourth public consultation meeting for the Murray Darling plan, which aims to return water from irrigation back to the ailing river system to boost its environmental health….

The scale of irrigators' anger was made clear by a string of speakers who said towns such as Griffith would be battered by the basin authority's plan to return 2750 gigalitres of water to the river system from irrigators.

 Farm Online, 2 November 2012:

NATIONALS Riverina MP Michael McCormack [now Deputy Prime Minister of Australia] says he's prepared to cross the floor and vote against the Murray-Darling Basin Plan if it takes away 2750 gigalitres from primary production for environmental purposes.

Rural communities and farming stakeholder groups have demanded a final Basin Plan that balances economic and social outcomes in equal consideration with environmental concerns….

"I won't be voting in favour of 2750GL coming out of the (Murray-Darling Basin) system, given the amount of water that's already been bought out of the system.

"I won't be abstaining - I'll be voting against it."

The Guardian, 27 July 2017:

Barnaby Joyce [Nationals MP for New England and then Deputy Prime Minister] has told a pub in a Victorian irrigation district that the Four Corners program which raised allegations of water theft was about taking more water from irrigators and shutting down towns.

The deputy prime minister, agriculture and water minister told a gathering at a Hotel Australia in Shepparton that he had given water back to agriculture through the Murray Darling Basin plan so the “greenies were not running the show”. 

“We have taken water, put it back into agriculture, so we could look after you and make sure we don’t have the greenies running the show basically sending you out the back door, and that was a hard ask,” he said in comments reported by the ABC.

 “A couple of nights ago on Four Corners, you know what that’s all about? It’s about them trying to take more water off you, trying to create a calamity. A calamity for which the solution is to take more water off you, shut more of your towns down.”

Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, November 2017:

Winter rainfall and streamflow in the southern Basin have declined since the mid-1990s and the Basin has warmed by around a degree since 1910. The Basin is likely to experience significant changes in water availability due to human-caused climate change, particularly in the southern Basin where annual rainfall is projected to change by -11 to +5% by 2030. Any reduction in precipitation is likely to have significant impacts on water flows in rivers, in some cases driving a threefold reduction in runoff, with implications for water recovery under the Basin Plan.

Farm Online, 27 November 2017:

PRIME Minister [and then Liberal MP for Wentworth] Malcolm Turnbull says the SA government’s Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan is picking an “expensive fight” with the federal government and upstream Basin States while examining ground that’s already been “very well tilled”.

Mr Turnbull - the acting Agriculture and Water Resources Minister in Barnaby Joyce’s absence - spoke to media yesterday after SA Premier Jay Weatherill and the state’s Water Minister Ian Hunter revealed they would forge ahead with the Commission inquiry into water monitoring and compliance issues in the $13 billion Basin Plan.

News.com.au, 8 March 2018:

A MAJOR cotton grower is among five people charged for allegedly stealing water from the Murray-Darling Basin.

Prominent irrigator Peter Harris and his wife Jane Harris, who farm cotton in NSW’s north-west have been accused of taking water when the flow did not permit it and breaching licence conditions.

WaterNSW on Thursday said it had begun prosecutions after investigating water management rule breaches.

Three other members of a prominent family have also been accused of theft.

WaterNSW alleges Anthony Barlow, Frederick Barlow and Margaret Barlow were pumping during an embargo and pumping while metering equipment was not working.

The maximum penalty for each of the offences is $247,500.

The prosecutions were announced only moments before the NSW Ombudsman released a damning report saying the WaterNSW had provided the government with incorrect figures on enforcement actions.

In a special report, the NSW Ombudsman said WaterNSW had wrongly claimed to have issued 105 penalty infringements notices and to have initiated 12 prosecutions between July 2017 and November 2017. In fact, no prosecutions had begun nor penalty notices issued during the period.

The Weekly Times, 19 December 2018:

Cohuna irrigator Max Fehring said a push to recover another 450GL would simply mean having to shut down some irrigation areas.

“The environment push is out of control, with no connection to the community impacts,” Mr Fehring said. “You just can’t keep taking water.”

Finley irrigator Waander van Beek said draining water from the Riverina had reduced the reliability of supply from about 85 per cent down to 55 per cent.

Mr van Beek’s wife, Pam, said the district’s irrigators were also angered to see their South Australian colleagues gaining 100 per cent of their allocations, while they got nothing in NSW.

Others were angered by what they see as a waste of water flowing down the Murray to fill South Australia’s Lower Lakes.

ABC News, 29 January 2019:

Recent fish kills in western New South Wales have put Australia's Murray-Darling Basin Planback in the headlines.

However, it has been at the forefront of some of Australia's top legal minds for the past 12 months, with the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission putting it under the microscope.......

What is the Murray-Darling Basin Plan?

Management of Australia's biggest water resource has been contentious since before federation.

History was made in 2012, when Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and South Australia signed up to the national plan, but it remains controversial.

Some believe it does not provide enough flows to protect the environment, while communities dependent on irrigation say it threatens their economic future.

Why did SA decide to hold a royal commission?

In 2017, an ABC Four Corners investigation uncovered irrigators in New South Wales were taking billions of litres of water earmarked for the environment.

A subsequent report found poor levels of enforcement and a lack of transparency surrounding water management in New South Wales and Queensland.

That sparked outcry in South Australia, at the very end of the system and often the first place to feel the impact of low water flows.

Then premier Jay Weatherill said the report did not go far enough, and needed more detailed findings about individuals who had committed water theft.

He announced the Labor government would launch a royal commission.

Key players didn't give evidence

The SA Government came out swinging with its royal commission, but it didn't take long for it to beencumbered.

The Federal Government launched injunction proceedings in the High Court to prevent any Commonwealth public servants from giving evidence.

That included Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) staff, who are responsible for implementing the plan.

The Federal Government argued it was a longstanding legal precedent that state-based royal commissions did not have the power to compel federal witnesses.

Evidence of mismanagement and fraud revealed

While the royal commission could not hear evidence from current MDBA staff, it did hear from some former senior employees.

They included David Bell, who at one stage was responsible for setting an environmentally-sustainable level of water extraction.

He told the inquiry the amount of water set aside for the environment became a political decision, rather than a scientific one.

The 2010 'Guide to the proposed Basin Plan' recommended 6,900 gigalitres of water would need to be returned to the system for there to be a 'low uncertainty' of achieving environmental outcomes.

In the final 2012 plan, 2,750 gigalitres were allocated.

It also heard from Dr Matt Colloff, a now retired CSIRO scientist who was part of a team that worked on a report into the plan.

He told the commission his report was altered by CSIRO management, under pressure from MDBA staff.

In his closing submission to the royal commission, counsel assisting Richard Beasley SC said that by taking social and economic factors into consideration when setting environmental flows, the MDBA had erred.

"The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has misinterpreted the Water Act, not in a minor way, not in an unimportant way, in a crucial way," he said.

"That's not only error, or worse than error, it's a massive one with regrettable consequences for the lawfulness of that part of the Basin Plan."

>

Read the full article here.