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As noted in our mission statement, the views of Sir Macfarlane Burnet were the inspiration for the founding of our organisation. Burnet outlined his concerns in his Dominant Mammal published in 1970.
Guided by Burnet's scholarship, a book, entitled Stop Thieving from Our Children was published in 1996, written by a retired radiologist, Peter Tod. When the latter book was circulated among doctors, they formed a group, now called Doctors for Sustainable Population.
This group believes that Burnet's deep concern was fully justified, in that Australia's natural resources of fossil fuels, topsoil, fresh water, forests, fisheries, diversity of species and easily mined minerals are being depleted unsustainably. As the result of this over-consumption, we are endangering the stability, even the very survival of human civilisation.
As well, “too many people are pouring too much waste into our atmosphere, our water and soil; if continued, this waste could cause great harm to human welfare, perhaps most notably, global warming.” In recent months, DSP has become aware of the work of prominent oil geologists, notably in the organisation ASPO, the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas, and some of the following web pages will deal with this vital and alarming information.
In 1992, a world group of 1600 scientists, the Union of Concerned Scientists, including a majority of living Nobel laureates in the sciences expressed similar concerns to those of Burnet.
DSP believes that doctors, a relatively large group trained in science, are the most likely to realise the danger to the future to us and our descendants, and to be effective in explaining this to society.
Thus, DSP believes that the best hope for the future of our children lies in doctors approaching our Government to take action as Burnet and a majority of Noble laureates in the world, have indicated.
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