January 1, 1970
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No such thing as a free lunch.
TREES PLANTED
No such thing as a free lunch. (Tuesday May 14th 2013)
Imagine a gigantic banquet.
“Hundreds of millions of people come to eat. They eat and drink to their hearts’ content – eating food that is better and more abundant than at the finest tables in ancient Athens or Rome, or even in the palaces of medieval Europe.
Then, one day, a man arrives, wearing a white dinner jacket. He says he is holding the bill. Not surprisingly, the diners are in shock. Some begin to deny that this is their bill. Others deny that there even is a bill. Still others deny that they partook of the meal. One diner suggests that the man is not really a waiter, but is only trying to get attention for himself or to raise money for his own project.
Finally, the group concludes that if they simply ignore the waiter, he will go away”.
This exert is from a book called The Merchants of Doubt (Bloomsbury). When I read it, I highlighted the passage because I think it is a great analogy to what is happening today in our world in regards to climate change.
For the past 150 years we have been feeding on fossil fuels with no thought as to who is going to pay for our consumption. No thought as to the possibility that one day someone might have to actually pay the bill.
Instead of taking responsibility and maybe splitting the bill or or doing the washing up to help pay, we are denying it is our bill, or we are questioning the waiter (as to his/her motives).
We didn’t know it was a banquet, we didn’t know there was going to be a bill. It’s not fair. We weren’t even there for the first course.
Well, we know now.
Question is … what are we going to do?
Slainte – Colleen
“Hundreds of millions of people come to eat. They eat and drink to their hearts’ content – eating food that is better and more abundant than at the finest tables in ancient Athens or Rome, or even in the palaces of medieval Europe.
Then, one day, a man arrives, wearing a white dinner jacket. He says he is holding the bill. Not surprisingly, the diners are in shock. Some begin to deny that this is their bill. Others deny that there even is a bill. Still others deny that they partook of the meal. One diner suggests that the man is not really a waiter, but is only trying to get attention for himself or to raise money for his own project.
Finally, the group concludes that if they simply ignore the waiter, he will go away”.
This exert is from a book called The Merchants of Doubt (Bloomsbury). When I read it, I highlighted the passage because I think it is a great analogy to what is happening today in our world in regards to climate change.
For the past 150 years we have been feeding on fossil fuels with no thought as to who is going to pay for our consumption. No thought as to the possibility that one day someone might have to actually pay the bill.
Instead of taking responsibility and maybe splitting the bill or or doing the washing up to help pay, we are denying it is our bill, or we are questioning the waiter (as to his/her motives).
We didn’t know it was a banquet, we didn’t know there was going to be a bill. It’s not fair. We weren’t even there for the first course.
Well, we know now.
Question is … what are we going to do?
Slainte – Colleen
RECENT TREE PLANTINGS
New South Wales, Western Australia
2,580 TREES PLANTED
March 10, 2025
Quality People and Training Solutions (QPTS) are always looking for ways in which they can care for people. As well as ways to care for the planet.
2100 TREES PLANTED
March 3, 2025
According to Sustainability Victoria, the average Australian lifestyle produces 15,000kg of carbon per year. If that sounds like a lot, it is! Over its lifetime, a tree can collect and store 268kg. This means, we each need to plant 58 trees per year to bring our individual carbon production down to zero. A little tricky for most of us to do in our own backyards, and this is where ‘A Subscription for the Planet’ comes in. (Feature image from Mt Worth Landcare).
145 TREES PLANTED
March 3, 2025
Individual actions really do matter! Individually we can really only make small differences to the world around us, but collectively our numbers add up. And if enough individuals are involved then forests can be grown!
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Restoring Australian ecosystems. Supporting communities with their revegetation projects for a greener and healthier planet.
Fifteen Trees acknowledges Indigenous Australians as the traditional custodians of the lands on which we work, live and play.
We recognise that Indigenous Australians have cared for and lived in harmony with this land for millennia, and their knowledge and wisdom of the land endures.
We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and stand in solidarity as Indigenous Australians seek a fairer and more sustainable future for the land and its people.