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Climate Change General

rant – on

<Rant – on>

For those of you who follow my posts on twitter or facebook, some might say that a few of my recent posts have been anti-LNP…

Well, as a parent, my kids are important to me and the policies (or lack thereof) to address global warming of this governement threaten my kids’ futures, even to the extent of threatening their very lives. If anyone does that, then I will fight back with whatever tools are at my disposal.

They have no right whatsoever to ignore scientific advice, to the detriment of every citizen in Australia (and indeed the world) for ideological reasons and they must expect push-back when they do. This will become the defining characteristic, and quite possibly the downfall, of this government. To my mind, the sooner the better, before their wrecking ball creates a mess so great that we are not in a position to repair it.

Some have said that Abbott is the PM we had to have in order to get the populace angry enough to demand the hard measures that will be needed to address global warming. Some parts of the economy will suffer – fossil fuel companies will be at the forefront of this but these are companies that will end up suffering anyway when their assets become stranded – yet other parts will flourish as we move our economy from one based upon fossil fuels to one that relies upon clean, green, renewable energies. (Have I said that Australia has renewable energy resources that are the envy of almost every country on earth?)

When will we as a country rise up and say “enough is enough”? I believe that time is coming. While Abbott is tripping around the world embarassing himself and every one of us back here in Australia, the tide is rising (just as the seas are doing). He will find out in no uncertain terms that there is just so far you can go in ignoring the defining issue of our times, there is just so much fuel you can put on a fire, before you find things getting out of control.

You can only push the populace so far, just as you can only push the climate system so far, before the feedbacks start kicking in. These feedbacks will create a firestorm so strong that the COALition will be relegated to the political wilderness. Expect this firestorm to last not 45 days like the fire at the Morwell open cut mine but be more likely like an open wound that will fester far beyond the next decade. Instead of working to damage the wilderness, they will find themselves in the political wilderness, without a map, or a compass (moral or otherwise). [Aside: as a ‘good’ <sic> catholic, will Abbott heed the advice of the Pope on addressing global warming – after all, one would think that a Pope would trump an Abbott every time.]

Actions, direct or otherwise, have their consequences and it is time the Abbott government discovered the consequences of ignoring science, physics and the will of the people. Science cares not a jot that he thinks climate change to be ‘crap’, physics can’t be tamed by an act of parliament and treating the people as idiots won’t save this government from oblivion.

My kids are as important to me as yours are to you, if you are a parent. It is for this reason that I got on my bike in 2010 to ride around the country talking to communities about energy efficiency – yet another program cut by Abbott and his cronies even though it provided benefits many times its costs to both householders and businesses. I put my life on the line to do this and I would do it again …and more, to give my kids the chance of a safe, low carbon future.

I’ve ranted enough – let the games begin and may the odds be ever in our favour, for they sure as hell are turning against this government…

<Rant – off>

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