For the Greens it must be climate change, climate change, climate change

By
Martyn Bradbury
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66
0

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The dangers that climate change are now presenting us with demands a Party that will front foot the issue above all else.

It can do that without losing any of its social conscience because from environmental justice flows social justice.

Which frees the Greens up to talk non-stop about Climate Change. Every issue must be tied back to climate change. We need to change transport options to public transport – because of climate change. We need to build sustainable state housing – because of climate change. We need to feed the kids because climate change hits the poorest hardest. We need tough environmental regulation – because of climate change. We can’t drill for oil or mine for coal – because of climate change. We can’t allow dairy intensification – because of climate change.

Be.

Cause.

Of.

Climate.

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Change.

The science is coming in thick and fast now that global warming from human pollution has dangerously increased the global temperature in a speed made impossible in the natural world with far reaching and possibly cataclysmic outcomes.

Run away events from Arctic permafrost methane release or frozen methane releasing gas due to warming oceans or ocean currents being switched off due to fresh water disruption from melting Greenland and Antarctica are all real possibilities now.

A Political Party needs to demand and champion climate change with a passion and determination. That is the means to create massive social movement because the people do understand the issues and the Greens need to show real spine and remind the electorate just how dangerous climate change is.

Get Al Gore here for a speaking tour. Bring in more and more international speakers to discuss the dangers of climate change. Hold debates with climate deniers, plan to hold the largest ever Climate Change march NZ has ever seen.

Allow the people of NZ to step up for their environment and show we are prepared to defend it by taking climate change leadership.

The Greens need to go back to their green roots to grow their future.

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66 COMMENTS

  1. I agree climate change is important but I think that that is ‘too esoteric’ a message alone for many Kiwis who are facing major social problems with work, cronyism, high cost of living etc.

    I think the Greens need to have an ’emotional’ message and also try to engage with farming forestry and agriculture industry in a positive way as the economy and cost of living is on many struggling Kiwis minds.

    The right winger have tried to make the Greens being against farming but I personally don’t see them as incompatible.

    Campaign to see NZ leading by leading animal rights – it is already being used now for NZ marketing, with more people wanting to know where there food is coming from and the conditions it has been kept in. Silver farms ran a campaign along those lines. Look to end battery farming for chickens and pigs. Actually engage with organic and free range suppliers and have cost benefit analysis of how it can be achieved and the benefits for it.

    The vision “Make NZ a PREMIUM food brand’ and also start selling back to NZ. Kiwis are astonished how much food costs, look to bring it down, not by extra taxes but by better supply chain.

    Get the timber mills back. Don’t let NZ continue to be a banana republic, lets get higher cost items here with added value, houses cost a lot because our raw materials are often exported and then we import them back. More JOBS for kiwis, lower costs to build houses.

    Stop processing our fish offshore, do it here, more jobs, better product.

    Stop corporate welfare!

    Controls on immigration and housing!

    Make government jobs safer and take the cronies out!

    Get rail back.

    Also get the poor polar bears dying of hunger too with climate change but AVOID the punishment game. Don’t be saying ‘you need to pay more and give up luxuries’ to save the environment, it should be Save the environment and Save our economy and Save our county from Neoliberal Ideology!

    Also go to Labour and NZ First and Maori and try to get a working relationship. The Nats are picking everyone off individually so maintain power. There mission is to divide and conquer their rivals.

    The UK Green message was excellent as it said their message but also highlighter how similar the other members policies were.

    The Greens need to shine and to do that means a lot of hard work and with the public not in parliament.

    Being active before the elections, helping people, getting out there in protests and campaigns against the terrible things happening to this country.

    That is what is missing. Active Campaigning.

    The winning items to sway Kiwis are

    1/ We are losing our identity and way of life and we need to take that back.

    2/ NZ is not a fair country anymore.

    3/Cost of living is too high, like power and water and food

    4/There is not enough rail and public transport

    5/We need to create NZ as a premium food exporter (and for Kiwis too)

    6/ We need to keep jobs in NZ

    7/ We need to stop corporate welfare

    8/ We need to keep politicians and public servants more accountable

    9/We need to grow our economy while reducing climate change

    10/ We need the Nats out and fairness back in NZ

    11/ State broadcasting coming back

    12/ Immigration and property investment as a criteria must be stopped

    Avoid

    More taxes
    Complicated policy

    Have

    More transparency
    More active engagement with community not just in parliament or (Wellington).
    More emotional message

    The neoliberal have not broken down Kiwis feeling for ‘fairness’ yet…

    The Greens need to step up and shine.

    • Yes, you more or less summarised it rather well!

      Climate change is one of the greatest challenges to humankind, and it needs to be raised and addressed, but that alone will not get the Greens the votes and support they need.

      Sustainability must be equally important, and it must be explained and clarified to the public in simple but convincing terms.

      What we have now is the media, even social media and the wider public in general, losing interest in “climate change” as a topic, because it has been re-emphasized to degrees that tire people, due ti incessant repeating. Sending out the same message again and again may work if it makes people feel good about something, or justified about something. But the issue of climate change is too serious, to complex to explain, too long term, for our dinosaur type brains to fully comprehend and logically act upon.

      Humans are beings of habit, and old habits die hard. As addressing climate change comes with sacrifices, many may logically agree, that something needs to be done, but when asked to lead by example, you will find very few willing to forgo their cars, their wasteful habits and hobbies, as it means major, difficult change.

      What the Greens must do, like Greenpeace and others also, is to change the messages, to show in simple ways, how each of us individuals will be affected if nothing is done soon.

      Solutions must also be individually demonstrated, so people can relate to it. The endless repeat of extinction of Maui dolphins, about trees being felled, about abstract numbers few have studied, showing the looming disaster, and the overly emotive appeals, trying to show what for most is not directly visible in consequences of our unsustainable living, do not bring the results.

      So pro-active ideas, leading by example by Green leaders and members and supporters, practical application, simple demonstrations of a better, sustainable life for all of us, that must be taken up, and things may improve.

      And besides of all the above, we must have a more socially and collectively minded, a more dedicated society, a new nationhood must be shaped, so that people can see and feel how they can become part of it. A real smart, committed, convincing and appealing, but also hands on and pragmatic movement is the way, to be clearly different to all other parties.

      At present the Greens are losing support, Russel Norman at least had the ability to talk to media, to send out good press releases and give answers, and so the Greens were in the spotlight. Him resigning has sent the MSM the message, it is not worth going to him anymore, so a new leader must be good at communicating and being present and accessible. Metiria has some abilities, but cannot cover what Russel represented. A new good, cooperating leadership team is needed.

      Big challenges lie ahead for the Greens, I hope they can master them and come out on top, with more support.

  3. Also Greens need to better highlight their messages like

    Bring back out troops

    Don’t fight worthless occupations in the middle east

    Stop mass surveillance and spying and tighten up semantic and legalisation

    Get digital – make the internet an important part of our economy, we suffer from geographical isolation so it is more important that we are able to be online and campaigning those businesses.
    Support Freedom on the Internet

    Don’t sign TPP and trade deals that are short sighted, make no sense and make our environment and Kiwi’s lives worse

    Don’t open us up to being sued or reliant on trade so much that farmers lose their livelihood every time there is a spat with China or the US or OZ or anyone else.

  4. While I agree wholeheartedly, we can’t just keep stamping our feet and chanting “climate change” we need to talk about what we do about it. I believe this is now becoming so frightening that people are actually actively ignoring it, a bit like the way we kept monsters away when we were kids in our beds, by pulling the covers over our heads. I do really think the human race, on the whole, is afraid to confront it as that will be admitting it is for real and it would mean we have to look the fear in the face.
    My part of the solution is that we absolutely must address the issue of human over-population of a finite planet and how we go about making our lives successful as our population diminishes via birth control. For that, I am adamant that the education of women and the right to control their own fertility is vital. This will mean that we need to get through to those, who for religious/cultural reasons refuse to accept this.
    I also believe that the answer to prospering without growth definitely does not involve more and more corporatisation of every aspect of our lives. I believe we need to get back to small.

    • +100 to educating women and womens’ equality…and gross over population is the elephant in the room

  5. Why Al Gore hes made a fortune out of talking about climate change.?
    When he didn’t challenge Bush for leadership which was said to be rigged by Bush,the word on the ground Gore was offered the option to push worldwide climate change as a business .
    Many think the change is not due to human interference but by interference by weather manipulation.
    TPPA is the main threat to everyone right now,and Key is all for it,probably got shares in the outcome.
    Monsanto and their awful pesticides kills off the bees, killing off the pollination of fruit, also killing off worms who aerate the soil, soon we wont be able to produce food.no matter how good the climate.

    Tin and package stuff will be the only option ,we are getting a lot of imported fruit from USA expensive and tasteless and who knows if it GE grown or not,if we must stop the TPPA
    Monsanto has plans to control world food supply.
    Climate change cant be stopped just by NZ efforts we don’t pollute as the big countries do,why waste efforts on something we wont be able to effect. If Greens concentrate only on climate change,they wont last long. Greens Labour and NZ first should combine to get rid of National
    that’s where good change will come from, National has no hopers Peter Dunne and that act bloke (cant remember his name) just for their vote,wehave three good parties who basically think the same or rather not out to ruin NZ,why dont they stop the individual egos.
    David Cunliffe did what Key wanted,maybe because he was blackmailed about his personal life, who knows.
    Concentrate on the real issues not climate change,National would just love everyone to concentrate on that ,it takes eyes off him and his vile actions. I usually agree with you Martyn but not on Gore and climate change,I like the Greens as a party but not on this issue.

    • Gore did challenge Bush, in the 2000 Presidential elections, which Bush won. Gore is little more than a charlatan, who peddles his own lies and propaganda as a form of self grandisement.

      • Gore was deemed to be the winner in 2000 election,then all of a sudden Bush was proclaimed the winner after a vote count run by a member of Bushes staff.
        Soon after Gore was running a global warming speaker tour.
        The Bushes were and are the Shieff German family ,the very ones who are one of the leading families of the One World Order,they changed their name on entering USA.

  6. In the spirit of kicking off the discussion:

    1. CC now irreversible and accelerating
    2. Antarctica is joining the party more and more the east Antarctic is also destabilising. Namely the Totten Glacier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDB_C-jwkU

    3. Big sea level rises coming this century.
    4. Increased air temps baked in the cake plus more ocean acidification.
    5. Increasing release of methane in the Arctic.
    6. Arctic sea ice continues to thin and reduce area maybe this Summer end in September an Arctic blue sea event will happen with increasing heat trapment in the atmosphere.

    etc. etc. etc.
    Point is no matter what we do now won’t make any difference, the climate is now destabilised and going its own way. Our shooting pea shooters at the climate monster, well that’s about it really.

    • It’s about how we deal with this gracefully. The patient is terminal. What palliative care can we bring? That’s the conversation we need to be having.
      Should we accept CC refugees? If so, whom? The rich – who we could get some short-term benefit from or from our poorer neighbours?
      When should we move the capital to Taupo? In plenty of time or when enough infrastructure’s broken that it’s a complete shambles.

      One thing’s for certain – as the impacts of CC become more severe the voices of those in denial will become ever more strident.

      • wasnt Lake Taupo the site of the biggest volcanic explosion in the history of the planet?….Lake Taupo is a crater lake isnt it?

        • If the Taupo caldera blows, most of the North Island is a goner. However, the likelihood of that happening within the timeframes that CC will have a definite impact is, I suspect, low. Having said that, there are theories that significant ice melts could destabilise the tectonic plates increasing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
          Taupo seems to be immune from sea-level rise, has plenty of water and central for the North Island if not the whole country.

  7. The “hold debates with climate change deniers” part – that’s a bad idea. It gives the deniers a platform that they don’t deserve. In the popular imagination there is an ongoing controversy about climate change; in reality the issue is settled, and the deniers have no more credibility in the scientific community than young earth creationists.

  8. The Green Party has made climate change one of its three main focuses for this year. I’m not sure what the other ones are. That is why Russel Norman has been bringing it up in Parliament so much.

    Julie Anne Genter attended one of Al Gore’s climate change conferences and has been travelling the country giving talks on the subject as part of being accepted for the conference. I went to one and she was extremely good. This was over and above her work as a Green MP. Anyone can attend these for free provided they make the same commitment.

    As Gareth Hughes said at a candidate meeting the other day, climate change is freaking the heck out of him.

    • is freaking the heck out of him.

      If he has his brain truly turned on, then knowing his children face a short bloody future, should freak him out.
      It would if I had them.
      I wonder if he is a Kiwi Saver?
      That’s the end of your children’s environment you are investing in Gareth.

    • When I became ‘aware’ it was first about peak oil, and back then I badgered the greeds, to do something, even talk about it.
      I thought that Climate Change was a 2040 ish thing, and like most peak oil people thought PO would get us first, for many reasons ‘we’ are still getting by, as far as oil etc goes. But there are plenty of people dying because of energy ‘problems’
      But as far as the latest info on Climate Change (some of it mentioned above), if the greeds or any political party started telling the truth, and offering possible ways of ‘surviving’ at the moment they would just be laughed out of the country. They have to maintain the hope bullshit merry-go-round, they can’t tell the truth, (if they know it that is?).
      Trying to prepare this society for the inevitable is near impossible, the greeds have to give a spoon full of sugar with every warning. And they will only be quoting the IPCC, who are at best 7 years behind the current situation, and are under massive political pressure not to rock the boat, and all the trough feeding scientists are staying mum as to the joke that is the IPCC. Most of them are just in it for the money/career/excitement, (who wouldn’t want to do some of that cool shit?)
      The reality is I guess there is nothing political that can be done to mitigate CC or future human suffering.
      The Greeds on Climate change will be window dressing bullshit.
      Bad luck being alive today.

  9. Agree with all of that, except don’t get Al Gore. Get climate scientists who really know their stuff, not a rich American who owns multiple houses and flies around a lot.

    • re Climate Change — Sophie Shevardnadze talks to Lester Brown, environmental analyst, founder and president of Earth Policy Institute:

      ‘‘Crop yields can’t be increased anymore: world hunger imminent’ – eco-analyst’

      http://rt.com/shows/sophieco/248501-resources-earth-policy-warn/

      “With the population of 7 billion people living on planet Earth – and that number could increase tenfold in the coming decades – the dwindling resources of our world become a major concern, for the poor as well as the rich nations. Scientists warn of incoming famine of unprecedented proportions; water is the next gold and resource to be fighting for. Humanity demands more and more, but will mankind be able to survive at time when resources we grew used to come to an end? We discuss these perils with prominent environmental analyst, founder and president of Earth Policy Institute. “…

  12. Climate change is but a symptom we have all learned to regard as the problem.

    The problem is much wider than that. But traction has to be got where ever it can be effective in dealing with the problem.

    Basics.
    http://elmhcx9.elmhurst.edu/~chm/onlcourse/chm110/labs/limits.html

    The knowledge is not new but has been carefully reviewed by CSIRO in 2008 and by Melbourne Universality in 2014 with the conclusion that:-.

    We are right on track with the worst scenario predicted only more recent evidence reveals that more destructive consequences are certain.

    Peak food is upon us and that requires much more than just dealing with emissions.

    Local preparedness and organic based food supply is recognised as the best answer available.

    Existing industry is an obstruction to progress in working a sustainable model.

  13. Look, I may be well off beam here, but NZ puts out .2 of 1% of all greenhouse emissions. Even if we were the best in the world at reducing our output, and that would be commendable, it wont in the overall scheme of things make a blind bit of difference.

    Wouldnt the greens be better to pick say 20 or even 50 things they could get a win on ( something like zero hour contracts for example) and get some wins for those at the bottom and actually make a difference, rather than putting energy into fighting a fight they will never win?

  14. “From environment justice flows social justice”

    Not necessarily. Many ‘Green’ taxes are regressive in nature. Imposing higher costs for energy impacts the less well off disproportionately.

    • Thats actually a bloody good point Gosman. The tradey filling up his Falcon ute will not be impressed by a green tax on petrol, no will he care much about global warming.

      • If extra money goes into public transport, that Tradie will get to his next job quicker than wasting money in gridlocked traffic. Your climate denial is dull and desperate

          • No, I come from a working class family, I am well aware of their problems, especially how the Government have demanded local regions only use large companies to save on invoicing costs. That money is being taken off local contractors and it’s hurting them. That money should be spread as far and as local as possible. If extra money goes into public transport, those areas he lives in will get it sooner, traffic gridlock kills off trade, moving private users onto public transport cuts out travelling time, that alone is lifting productivity and growth. In respect to our gas emissions, BECAUSE our amount is small, we have an obligation to show that it can be done. We need to lead the world on sustainable technology – it can’t get better if we don’t come up with better ideas.

          • Why bother. My comments were not offensive. You are critical of the Nats editing Campbell live and so on yet I cannot post a comment here, for goodness sake.

            [The substance of the comment was perfectly fine. The personal abuse was not. Try again. – ScarletMod]

        • Actually, Dan, filling up a tradie’s ute is a work-related expense. It is tax deductible (like the ute itself). And the gst is clawed back as well.

          So when the tradie and his family head off to Rainbow’s End, I’m fairly sure the fuel usage is tacked on to Mrs Brown’s bathroom-extension jobbie. (Unless that’s a “cashie” – no tax involved. Then it’ll go on Mr Jones’ new car-port jobbie…)

          • It might be a work related expense, but it still comes off the tradies bottom line. Suggesting the tradie commits fraud by claiming private running as work expenses is simply an insult to all those hard working and honest trades people.

        • Interesting you seem to be advocating a return to a time when private motor vehicles were the preserve of the well to do and the poorer sections of society were forced by economic necessity to use public transport.

          • … and a time when there was less pollution; less traffic congestion; less spent of roading; less spent on fuel imports. Sorry, what was the down-side to your point?

            • What you seem to be advocating, Frank, is a socialist form of elitism, where the state gets to decide who has privilege and who doesn’t. No thanks.

              • Sometimes Frank does not know his arse from his elbow…..yet other times he talks perfect sense. I cant work him out

    • Many green taxes have been an abject failure, which is no doubt a reason the Greens will advocate for them.

  15. Greens also need to LINK climate change to disasters both climatic or environmental and drought and floods.

    Earthquakes,
    Floods,
    Cyclones,
    Drought

    These are natural events that are increased with climate change.

    The greens need to research the links and make the link and then SOLVE the problems as much as we can – and then not solve it by punishing people but by helping people.

    A lot of lifestyle farmers might vote Green, if they can provide a credible way forward and actually try to help drought and flood stricken industries like farming and horticulture.

    Also house insurance is sky high! Green need to link climate change with increased disasters and back to something joe blogs can understand as an increased cost to them WITH the bigger picture of global change like ice melting.

    Not every Kiwi is smart, but I believe the average Kiwi is A LOT smarter than the Nats and Julie Christie types think and it is all a way to engage them and offer them an alternative.

    • Earthquakes??? I think if the Greens did that they would be laughed out of Parliament. I am well aware of the theory behind the concept. It is currently extremely fringe thinking.

    • “These are natural events that are increased with climate change. ”

      Do you have scientific support for that?

  16. When I became ‘aware’ it was first about peak oil, and back then I badgered the greeds, to do something, even talk about it.
    !! I thought that Climate Change was a 2040 ish thing, and like most peak oil people thought PO would get us first, for many reasons ‘we’ are still getting by, as far as oil etc goes. But there are plenty of people dying because of energy ‘problems’ But as far as the latest info on Climate Change (some of it mentioned above), if the greeds or any political party started telling the truth, and offering possible ways of ‘surviving’ at the moment they would just be laughed out of the country. They have to maintain the hope bullshit merry-go-round, they can’t tell the truth, (if they know it that is?). Trying to prepare this society for the inevitable is near impossible, the greeds have to give a spoon full of sugar with every warning. And they will only be quoting the IPCC, who are at best 7 years behind the current situation, and are under massive political pressure not to rock the boat, and all the trough feeding scientists are staying mum as to the joke that is the IPCC. Most of them are just in it for the money/career/excitement, (who wouldn’t want to do some of that cool shit?) The reality is I guess there is nothing political that can be done to mitigate CC or future human suffering. The Greeds on Climate change will be window dressing bullshit. Bad luck being alive today. –

    • If you swallowed the ‘Peak Oil’ bs then it’s hardly surprising you are convinced that mankind is causing the bulk of climate change the planet is experiencing. On present data, global oil supply exceeds demand by around 1.6m barrels per day, and new energy reserves are being discovered all the time. The current challenge facing oil is peak demand, not peak supply.

      • Man cannot contain let alone harvest gravity, the tides, the pull of the moon, the weather and so on,, yet we are responsible for global warming…..yea right (I am not saying that bad gasses are good for mankind, but lets tell it as it is)

        • Not at all, Dan. Living organisms have twice (at least) influenced the planetary atmosphere. First time, 2.3 billion years ago when cyanobacteria transformed the atmosphere from Nitrogen/methane to nitrogen/oxygen.

          Second time was when humans very nearly destroyed the ozone later through the use of chloroflourocarbons (CFCs).

          So yes, the fact that humans have pumped so much CO2, nitrous oxide, and methane into the atmosphere through agriculture and industry is not as implausible as you think. You just need to stop listening to the fossil-fuel sector (and their paid mouthpieces) and look at the science.

  18. The evidence from scientists, NASA, geologic data, satellite readings, etc, is fairly well known,.

    This is something pointed out to you in the past, “Nehemia”, when you demanded proof under your “Intrinsicvalue” persona. That evidence was provided. You obviously weren’t interested in reading.

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