While ‘environmentalism’ focused mostly on the natural environment of our planet, being ‘green’ places equal importance on people. So as an Australian I was pleased to read today’s news that our newly elected government offered a formal apology to to indigenous people for past treatment:
AP: CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Aborigines organized breakfast barbecues in the Outback, schools held assemblies and giant TV screens went up in state capitals as Australians watched a live broadcast of their government Wednesday apologizing for policies that degraded its indigenous people.
In a historic parliamentary vote that supporters said would open a new chapter in race relations, lawmakers unanimously adopted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s motion on behalf of all Australians.
“We apologize for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians,” Rudd said in Parliament, reading from the motion.
WSJ: The apology places Australia among a handful of nations that have offered official apologies to oppressed minorities — including Canada’s 1998 apology to its native people, South Africa’s 1992 expression of regret for apartheid and the U.S. Congress’ 1988 law apologizing to Japanese-Americans for their internment during World War II.
A bright green future requires massive cultural shifts. Here’s to the rate of change accelerating!
More via Google News.