Australia Phoenix: 2053: How a nation survived climate change

The year is 2053. The world is transformed by climate change – not global warming but by the sudden onset of a new ice age. A scattering of states survive around the world, Australia among them. This short history looks back on the last forty years and the folly which led to this catastrophe. What happened when the climate changed? Who survived? How did they prevail? How have societies changed? This book asks urgent questions, not just for Australia but for the world. Australia Phoenix: 2053 presents a series of six radio lectures broadcast in 2053, looking back on the preceding forty years and the effects of climate change. The world has been transformed by the sudden onset of a new glaciation. A scattering of states survive around the world, Australia among them. Globalism has given way to localism. Growth has been replaced by sustainability. Written by an eye witness, who once warned of the urgent need to prepare a lifeboat for humanity, this book reflects on the folly which led to this catastrophe. It is a story of loss, survival and rebirth. Many have written of impending climate change, but few have considered what the outcome may hold for mankind. Key phrases - Ice age, the cycle of glacial and interglacial periods - Australian aborigine society endured for 60,000 years – what can be learnt from these people? - The tragedy of the commons – rules for management - Enclosure of the commons, the industrial revolution and the convict settlement of Australia - Excessive consumption, debt becomes unsustainable - Collapse of the Euro currency in 2014 - Global crash and beginning of depression in 2016 - Effect of crash on city dwellers - Migration to the countryside - Transition from centralism to localism - Environmental disasters in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan and USA - Melting glaciers, sea level rise and increase in activity of volcanos - Volcanic dust cloud and global cooling - Unsustainable and uncontrolled population growth, surviving people and states - Limits of growth - Human happiness - Behaviour of banks and big business - Ethics of the lifeboat - Devolution of government, constitutional change - Co-operatives and small businesses - An economy without growth, national self-sufficiency - Local currency and banking - Nuclear and sustainable energy production - Defence against pirates and warlord gangs - Transformation of society - Moral failure of organised religions - Survival by chance of the lucky country