All should join John's Walk Against Warming

Everyone in the Goulburn Valley should turn out on August 8 to support John Pettigrew on his ”Walk Against Warming”.

Such a mass exhibition by citizens of their concern about climate change and its impacts may encourage decision makers to actually make choices that might help address the certain coming dilemmas brought on by global heating.
The Bunbartha orchardist has poked his head above the parapets boldly providing a target for climate change skeptics; a skepticism that questions the smartest scientific minds in the world and ignores the ecological realities that trouble the world every day.
John has found a broad awareness of climate change, but distinct apathy toward doing anything in countering this world-wide difficulty, other than maybe changing light globes or using green shopping bags.
Light globes and shopping bags will not deliver us from this evil we have wrought and nor will our joining of John’s “Walk Against Warming”.
However all of us need to do what we can and for some joining the August 8 walk is maybe all they can do, but that would be wonderful for beyond sending a message to our decision makers it would also illustrate to people like John, and others campaigning to encourage the adoption of processes to counter global heating, that they are not alone.
Underlining the importance of the August 8 walk is the 2007 observation of former United Kingdom chief scientist, David King, who said: “Avoiding dangerous climate change is impossible – dangerous climate change is already here. The question is, can we avoid catastrophic climate change?”
Among the legions who warn us about the perils of climate change is Griffiths University professor and author, Brendan Gleeson (above), who discussed the coming difficulties in his latest book, “Lifeboat Cities”, in which he argued that we must commit ourselves to restraint, sacrifice and solidarity.
That restraint may not be voluntary as Gleeson suggests climate induced crises may only be softened by State implemented rationing of fossil resources and harmful technologies, such as air conditioning and unnecessary air travel.
We have a chance to illustrate the solidarity Prof Gleeson suggests by joining John Pettigrew’s “Walk Against Warming” on August 8.

Demonstrated need for decisive, authentic, courageous and far-seeing leaders

Sunday night’s debate between Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott clearly demonstrated Australia’s urgent need for decisive, authentic, courageous and far-seeing leaders able to escape from populism.

Just three days ago I listened as a former CSIRO scientist said that neither the Government nor the Opposition had the policies or the courage to implement changes to our society that would enable us to play our part in doing what we can to address climate change.
Ms Gillard’s idea that to 150 “ordinary people” take on what is actually parliament’s responsibility to decide how we should approach climate change is blatant procrastination on a matter than should have been considered and answered, as best we could, years ago.
I’m unsure what the Opposition’s plan is as it has not been clearly articulated, although earlier this year Mr Abbott said the Coalition would fight climate change with a $3.2 billion plan to plant 20 million trees, give solar panel rebates to a million homes and put ugly high voltage electricity cables underground.

Nice rhetoric Mr Abbott, but within that I’m sure it will be business as usual, when what we need is deep and meaningful changes to how we live and that demands decisive, courageous and visionary leaders who can imagine an Australia well beyond their lifetime.

Author and the Director of The Urban Research Program at Griffith University, Brendan Gleeson, only recently said that over consumption was not at critical as over production. Subsequently, that need for production and within that the valorization of products results in fossil fuels and resources disappearing at an alarming rate and so the worsening of climate change.
Mr Gleeson said we need a leader who is prepared to institute policies that restrain consumption, but not civil liberties.
The changes needed to enable our society to survive will either be instituted by a courageous and visionary leader and if we don’t act then the world will use its casting vote to shock us into reality.
Gillard and Abbott epitomised what “was” needed, but what we “will” need was not to be seen on Sunday night.