It fuels our desire for ever greater mobility. But fuel prices are going up. A decade ago, the environment was a key election issue and surveys today show it's still a major public concern. But Australia's green lobby says we're falling behind.
Business though says it is working towards ecological sustainability.
But in reality is the traffic is getting slower, the air is getting dirtier and the cities noisier all thanks to the automobile. But consumer groups fear that meddling with nature for commercial interests is folly. Gary Donovan from the NSW Irrigators Council and Tim Fisher from the Australian Conservation Foundation about the management of our most precious resource - water.