Dr Russel Norman, Executive Director of Greenpeace Aoteaora/NZ and former Co-Leader of the Greens, completes Ika’s “Cooler Together” lunch & lecture series next Wednesday 8 June, with a policy and action focused challenge to avoid catastrophic climate change. Following Dr Mary Sewell’s ocean going talk last week, this is where science will meet politics. Enjoy a lovely meal, a drink, the talk and good company (places are $30 – book online and pay on the day).
It’s been an event-filled autumn at Ika – and now the cold weather is kicking in we’d love to host your mid-winter do. Just call Laila on 021839661 or drop us an email.
And speaking of winter, Auckland’s homeless have been very much in the news this month. Ika is sending Laila off to sleep rough for Lifewise’s annual fundraising night on the pavement. if you’d like to chip in to assist Lifewise – a leading service and advocate for homeless Aucklanders, you can find Laila’s page here. All support is much appreciated!
Sorry to be a party pooper or to rain on Russel’s parade but catastrophic climate change is already here! 🙁 ” Dr Russel Norman, Executive Director of Greenpeace Aoteaora/NZ and former Co-Leader of the Greens, completes Ika’s “Cooler Together” lunch & lecture series next Wednesday 8 June, with a policy and action focused challenge to avoid catastrophic climate change.”
Examples of catastrophic climate change being already here:
1. Cyclone Winston that devastated Fiji is the first cat 5 cyclone ever in the Southern hemisphere.
2. Siberian Heatwave Wrecks Sea Ice as Greenland High Settles In
We’ve never seen Arctic sea ice extents that are as low as they are now in early June. And with Arctic heatwaves, warm winds, warm storms, and a Greenland High all settling in, something had better change soon or otherwise the ice cap over the northern Polar Ocean is basically screwed.
*****
On the shores of the Arctic Ocean’s East Siberian Sea (ESS), near the town of Logashinko, temperatures today are expected to rise to near 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Readings that are about 40 to 50 degrees (F) above normal for this near-polar region during this time of year.
https://robertscribbler.com/
3. Kevin Trenberth on the 2015 Temperature Record
We have experienced 20% of all anthropogenic global warming in the last year.
That by definition is runaway Global Warming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEjM5yytgg0
Russell is attempting to fill a gaping hole in our political discourse.
Climate change is a consequence of what we are doing and NZ is highly culpable.
But climate change is but a symptom of what’s wrong in our way of life.
What other politician do we have who is prepared to speak out directly on the climate catastrophe, albeit softly.
Shift your ears to the politically independent Scientist researchers and the perspective is alarmingly different.
The messages has been ignored for over 40 years but still Banker Key and his intellectually diminutive colleagues find stuffing their pockets and the planet comes first.
Russell is a courageous man, one of the few politicians / ex politicians who sees compromise in postponing necessary action as wrong.
He is right!
More catastrophic climate change:
France sees worst flooding since records began
Scenes in parts of France looked like something straight out of a Jules Verne novel, with cars and houses under water after a deluge of rain.
Parts of Central and Northern France have been drenched by the downpour with water levels rising to over one and a half metres in some areas, in what is reported as the most rainfall for this time of year since records began.
A total of seven departments across the country had issued severe weather warnings, with the Loiret,a tributary of the Loire, one of the worst affected areas, being placed under red alert, an extremely rare event.
Firefighters and rescue services were only able to make patrols by boat, looking out for those stranded by the muddy water.
http://www.euronews.com/2016/05/31/france-sees-worst-flooding-since-records-began/
Arctic could become ice-free for first time in more than 100,000 years, claims leading scientist
Professor Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University predicts we could see ‘an area of less than one million square kilometres for September of this year’
The Arctic is on track to be free of sea ice this year or next for the first time in more than 100,000 years, a leading scientist has claimed.
Provisional satellite data produced by the US National Snow & Ice Data Centre shows there were just over 11.1 million square kilometres of sea ice on 1 June this year, compared to the average for the last 30 years of nearly 12.7 million square kilometres.
This difference – more than 1.5 million square kilometres – is about the same size as about six United Kingdoms.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/arctic-could-become-ice-free-for-first-time-in-more-than-100000-years-claims-leading-scientist-a7065781.html
I agree with other commenters. Catastrophic climate change has already arrived……and it’s going to get a lot worse a lot faster as the burden of excess CO2 in the atmosphere and oceans increases.
Some recent numbers have been very scary:
Daily CO2
June 3, 2016: 408.25 ppm
June 3, 2015: 402.90 ppm
Up 5.35 ppm (versus 2005-2014 average of 2.11 ppm)
i mean… was there even a hint of self-awareness/irony as the ‘spoils of the sea’ were being eaten by the handwringers..?
.f.f.s!!
Is self preservation starting to kick in… Will ‘more money’ help when things start to get rough? ….
i mean… was there even a hint of self-awareness/irony as the ‘spoils of the sea’ were being eaten by the handwringers..?
Russell was timorous enough to suggest the state issue some money to meet its social program.
That single act was followed by trenchant condemnation and pressure across the spectrum of Russell’s life and including his young family.
The man was of course correct in his suggestion as an alternative to increasing taxation of the financialised wealth stripping transnationals who pay little.
But if you suggest that money can be created just like the private banks create money by issuing credit, then you become the enemy. Bankers abhor competition out of their control and they are more powerful than Govts only because the public let that be.
Russell had, and still has ongoing consequences of a vendetta against him but he is forging ahead with his important mission regardless of the business forces stacked against any effective action to restore our environment and any future hopes.
Show me another NZ based politician who has the conviction and courage to respond to the call with intelligent action.
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