Professor Bob Hill calls for focus on ailing planet to reduce future illness

Environment Institute Director, and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Adelaide Professor Bob Hill, calls for a shift in focus from curing people once they are ill to instead supporting the healthiest society that we can, to help prevent much of the illness that will be endemic on an increasingly ailing planet.

Professor Hill was featured on the Science Show with Robyn Williams on Saturday,

"Our fascination with sophisticated cures for all forms of illness is a high-risk strategy. If we don't address the obvious signs of an ailing planet, then inevitably many more people will need treatment for all forms of sickness. We are treating the symptoms not the disease.

This is where science takes over from medicine.

If we want reliable sources of healthy food and clean air and water in the future, we need to do more to secure these resources. If we want reliable alternative power sources so we can eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels then we need more support for new technologies. As extreme weather events become more intense and common, we need robust approaches to emergency services, as mega fires, floods, droughts and extreme gales become more common."

Professor Hill explains that politicians and university science faculties must do more to promote the diverse and important careers that exist in science.

Listen to the whole program.