Environment
The Good Earth Shall Abide Forever
We were part of an infinite world.
The climate has always changed. There have been countless warm (and cold) periods in the past. Even dinosaurs flourished for millions of years in a world devoid of frost or snow or ice.
Despite what the climate do–gooders and activists said, habitats were practically indestructible. Atmospheric cycles forever cleansed our air; Fresh water was limitlessly abundant; Our forests and coral reefs always grew back. Ocean algae bloomed and sank into the abyss in an endlessly repeating cycle to limitlessly replenish our natural fuels. It was perfectly possible to farm alongside nature, to make a profit, and produce healthy sustenance. CO2 was, and forever will be, harmless plant food.
So there was nothing to worry about. No really. Generations came and generations went. We humans were infinite spirits trapped inside bodies which were merely vehicles. What we did or didn't do to the Earth during our custodianship really didn't matter, for the only question that truly mattered was: Where Would We Spend Eternity?…
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There are currently 117 photographs in this section.
Hikikomori archipelago
An intricate matrix of ideology to increase the rate of self–incarceration
“Sirius” public housing at The Rocks, which was sold to developers in 2022 and turned into multimillion dollar condos for savvy flippers (SMH, 2024) [Sep-2016 200KB]
This tun of treasure
We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives
(Criswell, 1959)
Green Square Waste garbage facility (since demolished) at O'Riordan Street (Daily Telegraph, 2014) [Aug-2014 415KB]
A machine to make the land pay
Flinders Road Industry lookout, Port Kembla BlueScope steelworks [Sep-2013 222KB]
Winter wonderland
Weather presenters grinned and chuckled while reporting yet more unseasonably warm weather
Opera House Plaza in February, Zürich CH [Feb-2024 347KB]
Snafu City
Liberal democracies are today confronted with a wave of popular distrust in their ability to serve the majority of their citizens and solve the multiple crises that threaten our future […] This distrust is not only, but to a large extent, driven by the widely shared experience of a real or perceived loss of control over one's own livelihood and the trajectory of societal changes […] Decades of poorly managed globalization, overconfidence in the self–regulation of markets and austerity have hollowed out the ability of governments to respond to such crises effectively
(Berlin Summit, 2024)
Apartment towers surrounding Chatswood railway station [Feb-2016 305KB]
Situation normal
Everything was fine, until it wasn't
Lawsons Auctions car–park, Moore Street Annandale [Sep-2015 312KB]
Remarks
Channelling Sierra Leone
Follow PolAir through Chippendale, run the lights on Enmore road, swerve left at the servo and pull–up across the road from the burned–out BMW
Enmore smash repairs [May-2023 377KB]
Remarks
111 false dawns
Waiting for the pandemic to recede for long enough to celebrate another birthday
Sunrise over the Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne [Apr-2019 125KB]
Known unknowns
It was almost as if there wasn't any anthropogenic climate change
Hornby Lighthouse gun emplacement, South Head Sydney [Dec-2014 216KB]
Remarks
Rising above
Endless views to match our ambitions
Eureka sky–deck café patrons, Melbourne [Apr-2019 300KB]
From lives to livelihoods
Consumption for symbolic, signalling and cultural reasons
New apartments from old flour mills, Lewisham [Sep-2015 199KB]
Less is more
A rectangular lattice to corral our inoffensive and risk–adverse lives
Housing demolition on Gray Street, at Kogarah [Apr-2011 226KB]
Ready to enjoy your renovating touches
Deceased Estate — First Time Offered in 37 Years. Lifestyle studio apartments with iconic Oprah House, Bridge and Harbour views
Misspelled blurb on a real–estate hoarding, Waruda Street Kirribilli [Nov-2020 301KB]
Crosswalk puzzle
Waiting for the white man with the upraised orange palm
Pedestrian crossing at 37th and 5th, NYC [Oct-2017 301KB]
Stack trace
International trade agreements led to enormous economic benefits
The concrete base of the demolished Port Kembla copper stack [Sep-2014 371KB]
Remarks
Sunset industry
The party had to end sometime
Construction cranes at Barangaroo, Sydney [Jan-2020 120KB]
Charting success
A million schemes for the world we were going to make
Parramatta Square construction site [Jan-2018 164KB]
Markers of social progress
Signposts to reinforce things we already knew
Abandoned used–car dealership sign, Church Str Parramatta [Jul-2017 144KB]
Troglodyte world
Going underground to evade the consequences
Underground escalators at Macquarie University railway station, Sydney [Feb-2016 343KB]
Reinforced bulwark
Oceans were an ideal place to dump all our unwanted stuff
Concrete erosion blocks, South Wollongong beach [Sep-2014 444KB]
Bright shining billions
The Great Architect stood with his hands on his hips and proclaimed: You too shall have a bone–yard
Oculus Transportation Hub atrium, NYC [Oct-2017 240KB]
Potential harbour views
Uninterrupted vistas for our tax–shelter investments
Harbourside Apartments, McMahons Point. In 2021 the building ceased operation as a hotel and the individual apartments were snapped up by mum & dad investors, many of whom now advertise as short–stay accommodation [Sep-2018 294KB]
A two–speed world
Our landscape was rebuilt to more accurately reflect our social order
The remains of Lawrence Hargrave Drive beside the Sea Cliff bridge, near Coalcliff [Dec-2016 616KB]
Remarks
Re–imagining urban life
Our prosperity was measured in traffic and cranes
Construction cranes at Australian Technology Park [Mar-2018 337KB]
World without winter
May 2023 was a climate turning point as global temperatures for every month thereafter were the hottest on record. Furthermore, analysis of Penrith Lakes AWS temperature data for the period Sep 2017 — Sep 2024, found there were 65 days when the maximum temperature exceeded 10°C above the long term average, with only 8 days when it was 10°C below
Darling Harbour demolition, Sydney [May-2023 190KB]
Siri versus wild
Here's one of me tweeting that I uploaded a TikTok™ of myself taking a selfie while on holidays somewhere
Viewing platform of the Scenic Railway at Katoomba [Nov-2011 590KB]
Day–tripping
The greater our impact on nature, the more we wanted to see what little remained
Waterrun, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2019 411KB]
Remarks
Fine structure constant
What to most was a frenetic and incomprehensible mess, was to others a universe filled with intricate patterns and symmetries
Southbank lighting store, Melbourne [Apr-2019 614KB]
Right by conquest
Our rules–based social order continued to function with utmost efficiency
Poisoned trees at Larkin Street, Waverton [Jul-2017 281KB]
Late for the sky
The air was eaten, promise crammed
The final blast–furnace at BlueScope Steel, in Port Kembla [Sep-2014 123KB]
Remarks
Men in the high castle
The benefits of fifty years of neoliberalism were there for all to see
BP Site bund wall, Waverton [Jul-2017 455KB]
Finding somewhere to hide
It must be beautiful, if you cannot read
(GBS)
Asbestos contaminated mulch beneath trees at Victoria Park, Sydney [Apr-2024 683KB]
Shoulder season
Work commenced to identify and implement the next wave of positive reforms
Backyard firewood at Blackheath NSW [Aug-2019 518KB]
PETM reloaded
Nine–month summers, super El Niños, category–six hurricanes, continental bushfires, methane fumaroles, acidified oceans, cubic–kilometres of eutrophication and rivers awash with millions of dead fish. Years of drought followed by months of flooding rain. Millennium events every five years. Every month since May 2023 among the hottest on record. The sixth mass extinction… Aim low for +1.5°C and congratulate ourselves for only overshooting by 80%
Truck exhaust pipes at Woolloomooloo, in Sydney's east [Oct-2012 132KB]
Remarks
Inside the tiger
Every rabbit was chased down every hole
Coal Loader tunnel, Waverton [Jul-2017 483KB]
Captive audience
Cruise ships, nursing homes, schools and daycare centres provided an ideal way to disseminate contagious disease (Sepkowitz, 2014)
Green Thunder waterslide on the “Carnival Spirit” cruise–ship, berthed at Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal [Dec-2014 247KB]
Hedge city
O beautiful for spacious skies, to park our excess wealth
Central Park apartments, Broadway [Jul-2018 392KB]
The signs were all there
The pressure kept building, but everything was still within safe limits
Steam relief chimney, Dey Street NYC [Oct-2017 207KB]
Home! Sweat Home!
An exile from home splendour dazzles in vain
Oh give me my lowly thatched cottage again
The birds singing gaily that came at my call
And gave me the peace of mind dearer than all
(J.H. Payne, 1823)
Egan Street red–brick flats, Newtown [Nov-2022 684KB]
Urban ornithology
It was impressive to see how well some feathered organisms could adapt to living on the sixteenth floor
Rainbow lorikeets at the kitchen window at dinnertime, Harbourside Apartments [Jan-2019 187KB]
Albatross beneath our feet
Rows of apartment blocks where agent-orange once brewed
The decontaminated site of the Union Carbide plant (1949-86), at Rhodes [Jul-2013 309KB]
Black bird
… singing in the dead of night
Freshly harvested pine logs awaiting export, Dunedin NZ [Dec-2017 377KB]
Made by We
The four seasons of positive climate reform
Blue mountains seasons [Dec-2019 513KB]
Permissive Occupancy
We, the legatees of adverse possession, hereupon swear to lobby and plead and flatter and appeal and threaten and randomly proclaim “significant heritage, cultural & architectural values” in order to enjoy our rightful seaside retreats deep inside a public national park
RNP shack at Little Garie, NSW [Jul-2019 441KB]
Outlier Nation
Founded on penal servitude, maintained by the dispossessed, for the benefit of the super-rich
Sugar cane digester spheres in Waterfront Park, at Jacksons Landing [Jan-2013 543KB]
Moral precedence of humanity
We peered through the bay–windows of our lavishly renovated homes, yet couldn't see the yachts for the trees
Vandalised Moreton Bay fig tree roots on Wunulla Road, Point Piper [Sep-2012 599KB]
Needles everywhere
The surge in opioid & synthetic drug–use killed an increasing number of people aged 35–44 (NIDA, 2024)
Kent Street pyramid and A4 overpass, Millers Point [Jan-2014 151KB]
Non curamus
I direct council to amend its draft planning–scheme to remove any assumption about a theoretical projected sea level rise due to climate change
(Seeney, 2014)
Rock ledge at The Waterrun, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2019 543KB]
What mean these stones?
We were at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all we could talk about was money and fairytales of eternal economic growth
(Thundberg, 2019)
Iron slag at the Blast Furnace Park in Lithgow [Aug-2012 389KB]
Remarks
The secret to perfectly fluffy pancakes
Our Privateers Developers were given a blank cheque to do whatever they wanted
Sandbridge pedestrian crossing, Melbourne [Apr-2019 259KB]
Cars with grunt
Politicians fought tirelessly to ensure tradies could keep upgrading their dual–cab utes (SMH, 2019)
Penrith Station car park [Oct-2019 380KB]
Force majeure
Politicians kept getting elected on a platform of climate change denial, until they weren't
Post–election garbage bins at Copeland Ave, Macdonaldtown [May-2022 495KB]
Tranquillity Bantustan
The charred tree–trunks, the ferns and weeds, the rutted track which never seemed to end
Forest Trail, Illawarra Escarpment near Wollongong [Oct-2020 749KB]
Black poles
Our world was filled with traces of people we lost
Old Canterbury road, Lewisham [Sep-2015 532KB]
Epic ruin porn
Jack & Jackie & Henry Luce died a long time ago; Camelot became an abandoned used–car yard
Leo Cushieri Quality Used Cars in Blacktown [Dec-2012 253KB]
Volunteer sacrifice
According to former fire chiefs, relying on large numbers of volunteers to fight bushfires was not necessarily a sign of inadequate funding, but possibly the best way to do it
(SBS, 2019)
Waterfall Bushfire Volunteers Memorial, commemorating the death of five volunteers in Nov 1980 [Sep-2020 713KB]
Where even the windows wept
Our villages were filled with safety, community and a collective sense of belonging
Factory windows at Chester Lane, Zetland [Sep-2014 436KB]
Create your own future
Swans enjoyed paddling around on a lake filled with pleasantly warm water
A swan grazing in February, Lake Lucerne CH [Feb-2024 340KB]
Neptune's Navy
Decades of recreational activism drew attention away from accelerating environmental decline
Sea Shepherd cruiser, Australian National Maritime Museum [Apr-2014 212KB]
Structure and psyche
As aficionados of space and creativity, architects don't merely design – they create environments, inside and out, and spaces that function well; to mediate the dialogue between the boundaries of architecture and design, exterior and interior realms, and bring forth works of singular vision to express joy and form
Remains of the Jonley Australia plastics factory in Meadowbank [Jan-2014 559KB]
Untapped potential
It was a time when sustainable development opportunities could be found in every direction
Florabella Pass walking track, Blue Mountains [May-2019 661KB]
Neo–Monogorod
To encourage immediate relaxation, new apartments promoted a sense of calm and well–being
Melbourne Docklands [Apr-2019 420KB]
The big smoke
[In December 2019…] Bushfire smoke pushed Sydney's air quality index rating to 2,552. That's 11 times higher than the level considered hazardous. And it's well below air quality index readings in cities in China, India, and other places known as hotbeds of air pollution.
(Gizmodo, 2019)
Weeks of bushfire smoke in Sydney. Four years later it was New York's turn [Jan-2020 197KB]
Camouflaged externalities
A vivid matrix of inclusive spaces to facilitate social cohesion
Centre Place lane, Melbourne [Apr-2019 509KB]
From the shore to the plateau
All the time we spent together didn't bring us any closer
Garie North Head, Royal National Park [Jul-2019 494KB]
Disregarding our descendants
The town did get a bit salty after dark
Hickson Road, Dawes Point Sydney Cove [Jan-2020 704KB]
In a fugue world
There were constant reminders about how neurodivergent/ dependent/ fragile/ isolated/ confused/ befuddled/ bewildered/ undiagnosed/ powerless/ hapless/ helpless/ humiliated/ invalidated/ dysphoric/ defeated/ depressed/ oppressed/ anxious/ anguished/ harassed/ stalked/ victimised/ violated/ dehumanised/ traumatised/ wild–eyed panic–stricken everyone was
Domain car parking station [Jul-2018 277KB]
Build a better fish
So I went down to the Ganges to rinse my denture, and haven't been the same since
Storm–water grating at McCauley Lane in Alexandria [Mar-2018 432KB]
Smoke on the water
When the sun came out, you could almost forget it was the middle of winter
Day trippers at Lake Geneva, Montreux CH [Feb-2024 234KB]
Travel in stylllleeee
And what I hate about traditional carbon offset programmes is so many companies are using them, and they are a fig leaf for a CEO to write a cheque, tick a box, or pretend that they've done the right thing for sustainability when they haven't made one wit of difference in the real world
(Kirby, 2021)
Primary school mosaic on the “Giant Sofa”, Sydenham Green [Sep-2012 365KB]
Glacial retreat
Since 1850, [Swiss] glaciers have lost 60% of their volume. As they continue to melt, the country risks losing an important reservoir, affecting farming, hydro–power production and transport on Europe's main waterways.
(Swissinfo, 2021)
Glaciers surrounding Goregrat, near Zermatt CH [Feb-2024 222KB]
It was fun while it lasted
82M barrels a day (YCharts, 2023) — the greatest achievement of our generation was to make the deserts bloom
Nike Savvas installation at the Art Gallery of NSW [Apr-2014 401KB]
Dam the Franklin
Environmental activism to prevent the construction of dams in one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of the planet
Franklin Dam protesters in Tasmania [Feb-1983 371KB]
After Nature
A brand new Pliocene, with polybutadiene gastropods in a concrete sea
Front yard of an abandoned spare–parts dealer at Tempe in Sydney [Sep-2012 257KB]
How green was my valley
The greatest accomplishment of my generation was the systematic destruction everyone's childhood
Winter valley below Mürren CH [Feb-2024 525KB]
Remarks
Foundations of a globalist millennium
Ceaseless construction underpinned our faith in productivity and internationalism
Parammatta Square construction site [Jul-2018 150KB]
Damnatio futuri
A study has shown that our children were on course to become the richest generation in history
Olympian Rock walkway after a deliberately lit bushfire, Leura [Oct-2011 478KB]
Multilevel regression
Cityscapes were continually redesigned to uplift our spirits
Liberty Place, Castlereagh Street Sydney [Jan-2019 297KB]
Game the system
Those with the best view won
Friday night on Sydney Harbour [Jan-2019 301KB]
Scenes from Planet 3
More than fifty years later, we were still a small warm dot in the cold dark void
Burning Palms beach before a storm, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2020 465KB]
Isolated opportunity
Many embraced the lockdowns because it freed them to do the things they always wanted
Waruda Street apartment stairwell, Kirribilli [Nov-2020 56KB]
Jobs not trees
Planning proposals went out of their way to respect or enhance the existing local character of the area
Bowden Street construction site, Alexandria [Jul-2023 319KB]
Appeasing demand
Sawtooth factories rapidly made way for empty apartments
Zetland redevelopment [Nov-2018 299KB]
The curated home
Redesign your nest with hygge cosiness
Sutherland Crescent, Darling point [Jan-2017 221KB]
Wealth of future generations
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance
(Declaration of Independence, 1766)
6th Avenue office buildings, NYC [Oct-2017 439KB]
Golden sunlit uplands
Import alien species to remind you of home, then watch helplessly as they overrun the countryside
Invasive plant species Common Gorse spreads along the Taieri Gorge, NZ [Dec-2017 689KB]
Remarks
Out in the open
Growing pains were a small price to pay to ensure our city remained truly global
Brocks lane construction appraisal, Macdonaldtown [Dec-2022 261KB]
Peak skiing
With lower resorts closed due to the lack of snow, skiers all rushed to the mountain tops
The start of the ski run at Gornegrat (3100m elevation), near Zermatt CH [Feb-2024 352KB]
Infinity pool
Unlimited growth was questioned many times, but it never let us down
Figure 8 Pool, Royal National Park [Oct-2019 391KB]
Under a waning gibbous moon
The goal was to squeeze as much from the status quo as possible
Re-enacting Quatermass and the Pit at Parramatta [Nov-2017 710KB]
This brown and angry land
Urbanites had a lot of trouble adjusting to the chaos of the bush
Scribbly gum moth trails, Illawarra Escarpment track [Oct-2020 397KB]
Through an augmented sky
A superabundance of atmospheric particulates ensured a golden hour for everyone
Sunrise over Bourke Street, Melbourne [Apr-2019 71KB]
Remarks
Buckley's chance
Going nowhere was better than going backwards
Coastal track upgrading works at the Royal National Park, NSW [Jul-2019 534KB]
Flygskam
One cheap long–haul flight produced more CO2 per passenger than driving an SUV for months
Runway approach lights, Sydney International Airport [May-2019 91KB]
Across the roaring forties
Just one summer in western Sydney: 43.5°C (2017–12–14), 44.1°C (2017–12–19), 43.6°C (2017–12–20), 42.1°C (2017–12–24), 40.4°C (2017–12–29), 42.3°C (2018–01–06), 47.3°C (2018–01–07), 42.5°C (2018–01–08), 40.5°C (2018–01–19), 40.2°C (2018–01–20), 40.3°C (2018–01–21), 43.2°C (2018–01–22), 40.0°C (2018–02–14), 40.0°C (2018–02–24) (Aust BOM, 2018)
117°F in the shade, the hottest Sydney temperature since 1939 (ABC News, 2018). The following summer there was a new record of 48.9°C on 2019–01–04. In July 2023 it was the northern hemisphere's turn [Jan-2018 91KB]
Isle of the dread
Sandy beaches became problematic in a world of rising oceans
Fairy Bower rocks, Manly [Jan-2021 669KB]
Boom without end
Sprawl was right, sprawl worked. Sprawl clarified, cut through, and captured the essence of the evolutionary spirit
Diamond Bay cliffs at Dover Heights, in Sydney [Feb-2014 474KB]
On track for Soylent Green
2019–20 → months of raging bushfires
2020–21 → pandemic lockdowns
2020–23 → torrential rain & flooding from three consecutive La Niñas
2023–24 → stagflation, interest rate hikes and global heatwaves from a super El Niño
SOH Tour group during the 2019–20 summer bushfires [Jan-2020 321KB]
Remarks
Wish the sun to stand still
For a while it was still possible to spend all day in the sunshine
Sunbathing on the sea–wall steps at Nielsen Park's Shark Beach, Vaucluse (subsequently demolished in 2022) [Dec-1990 474KB]
Peeling an onion without tears
Everyone believed in the infallibility of market forces
Collaroy beach–house for sale, in an area almost destroyed by ocean storms in 2016 & 2020 (SMH, 2022) [Mar-2024 230KB]
Wildfulness everywhere
At times the bush was so intense that even the signposts flinched
Illawarra Escarpment Track, above Coalcliff NSW [Oct-2020 541KB]
From the liens den
The potential for redevelopment was endless
View from beneath the Western Distributor, at Darling Harbour [Jul-2017 69KB]
My variegated village
Machines of extraction between funds and their intended recipients
UTS construction site, Broadway [Jul-2018 367KB]
Memories we created
We knew exactly how the future would remember us
Tree growing in the old Fosters brewery wall (since demolished), at Chippendale in Sydney [Apr-2014 525KB]
Remarks
Wound that would not heal
O2 + (UV) → 2 O•
O2 + O• → O3
O3 + (UV) → O2 + O•
CCl2F2 + (UV) → CClF2• + Cl•
Cl• + O3 → ClO• + O2
ClO• + O• → O2 + Cl•
2 ClO• + (UV) → O2 + 2 Cl•
Sunburst above the Wollongong Sewage Works [Feb-2011 142KB]
More days at the beach
Sunbathe to your heart's content and wear your black havis all year round
Miniature snowman at Blackheath Oval [Aug-2019 472KB]
This fatal shore
A remote and hostile land where the unwanted were sent to be forgotten
The boulder–strewn shoreline on the way to Figure 8 Pool, Royal National Park [Oct-2019 365KB]
Controlled flight into terrain
There was never quite enough time for the Eagle to land
Looking south from Garie Head North, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2020 430KB]
Down from the trees and into the meat
It was almost as if we knew the plague was coming
82nd street apartment entrance, NYC [Oct-2017 385KB]
Memories of what's to come
The last thing we wanted to do was extirpate all the large vertebrates (WWF, 2018)
Deceased sulfur-crested cockatoo, Warrimoo [Dec-2017 180KB]
Remarks
Angophora sunset
In some places the weird scribbles of the bush stretched all the way to the harbour
Angophora Costatas along the Bradleys Head trail [Aug-2023 764KB]
User funnelling
To paraphrase Lewis Mumford: the apotheosis of cities was to channel people from one checkout to the next
M4 Western Distributor at Darling Harbour in Sydney [Jul-2012 144KB]
Here we were
Passing paths that climb halfway into the void
(Yes, 1972)
Royal Coastal Track, near Wattamolla [Aug-2020 732KB]
Remarks
A domain of wreaths
Ideally, we should live as free people. Sensibly, we must live under guard
(Daily Telegraph, 2018)
Papered–over window display in Henry Str Lewisham [Sep-2015 163KB]
Outwardness within
Solitude was regarded as being an anathema
Sightseeing at The Balconies, Royal National Park NSW [Aug-2019 572KB]
Remarks
For the rest of our lives
Make retirement a success by rescheduling everything
Brisbane Str vehicle tarpaulin covers, Bondi Junction [Dec-2018 351KB]
Frame your reference
An existence punctuated by crosses & cranes
Elm tree memorial at Lewisham building site [Sep-2015 113KB]