What kind of world do you want to live in?
Many people hope for their own home with a secure fence around it and a car in the driveway. Their occupation might be in an office and, on the weekends, they might tend their garden or take the dogs for a run or take a drive with the family. Others might prefer a flat in a block of units that doesn't need any house or yard maintenance. At night, they might meet friends in the pub and, during their working hours, they might be a waiter in a hotel restaurant or someone who travels a lot for their job.
Whatever kind of 'world' you want to make for yourself - if you live in Far North Queensland, you live in a very special part of Australia - a very special part of the world, in fact. Many settlers to Cairns claim that they moved here for the natural environment and the climate. However, the environment gets less and less noticed as the struggles of daily life become top priority - the time it takes many to find work, permanent casuals, fluctuating/seasonal unemployment rate, rising food, rent and vehicle running costs, worsening economy, etc. Depending on your exact circumstances, Cairns can be a difficult place to live even though we are rewarded daily by the richness of the spectacular local environment.
While everyone is busy trying to make a living, the environment has been changing. Locally, the wildlife that used to share our yards has been thinning out and pushed out (or run over!). Diseases are killing our frogs AND cane toads. Mass deaths of wildlife are in the news almost every single day now and droughts are getting stronger and stronger. While it is not yet a household word, geo-engineering (stratospheric injection) is taking its tool on biodiversity.
All these events are not flukes and they aren't going to fix themselves. Serious actions are going to be needed to repair what we've trashed. On a local scale, Cairns has some real problems to fix and we can all do something to help. Get your whole family involved. This will be educational for your children and it will teach them better ways to live for their future.
