The November editorial in The Ecologist Magazine by Editor Pat Thomas sums up my concerns about a possible and near future. He says “The stark choices we will face will be as black and white as: Who lives, who dies? Who will be allowed to be born and who will not? Who eats, who starves? Who swims, who sinks? Who drinks, who is thirsty? Who sits in the shade, who burns in the sun? Who has heat in the winter and who must be left to freeze to death?”
Of course I assume he is talking about humans. I also ask these questions about all species on the planet, animal, plant and insect. After all, I speak up for those who don’t have a human voice in this debate!
But why would I be concerned about their fate when we humans need to be “saved”?Because we are all inextricably linked through nature. They go, we go.
So with the above in mind, I feel into hysterical laughter today when I heard and then read the latest report from the New Zealand Institute Chief Executive David Skilling who says New Zealand’s economy is too fragile to be tampered with by forcing Labour’s emissions trading scheme on businesses. He is reported as saying that New Zealand should be a “fast follower” of other comparable countries in taking action to cut emissions, as it will not gain anything by positioning as a leader in the fight against climate change. It recommends that the government delay meeting its carbon emissions target under the Kyoto Protocol by about eight years, to 2020.
If our economy now is “too fragile” to handle cutting emissions, then when the inevitable need to dramatically transform the way we do business locally and in the world happens, we won’t make it. By “comparable countries” I assume he means USA, Australia and China – hardly demonstrating the “lets do the decent thing and throttle back on our lifestyles so the rest of the world makes it” track record so far! What research are these people reading? Or perhaps a more important question is what are they recommending NZ businesses do to withstand the immediate and long term disintegration of “business as usual”?
Thank goodness I know a lot of NZ businesses are already way ahead of Labour, National and the New Zealand Institute in future proofing themselves. Other businesses (like some people) still have their head in the sand. May I respectfully suggest that they buy a shovel … NOW!
Professor Tim Flannery, Australian scientist and author of The Weather Makers tells us that “(regarding CO2) by mid 2005 we had reached the 455 parts per million – a level we had not expected to reach for a decade.” Prof Flannery said his figures were “beyond the worst case scenario as we thought of it in 2001.” In other words, global warming is going faster than we realise.
Link that with oil depletion and eventual demise of oil supply and I say, lets get a move on and be a world leader – there is a gap waiting to be filled on this. We have done it before – changed how humans see themselves – Womens Suffrage and Nuclear Free NZ are two examples.
The November Ecologist Magazine also says that 74% of UK people polled thought that one person can make a difference with these issues. YAY! Exactly what I believe. Are you ready to prove it?
Go to my website www.mecology.com over the next few weeks as I develop resources to share with you. If you live in Auckland, you may be interested in my workshops coming up in November.
