Māori Climate Commissioner: West Coast Regional Council climate change ignorance is shameful

20
6

Māori Climate Commissioner, Donna Awatere Huata, says the ultimatum by West Coast Regional Council to see evidence human pollution is causing climate change before they reduce emissions is a shameful ignorance.

“The science is clear. As trapped heat from our emissions continues to build, westerly airflow across NZ will rapidly increase. That will bring more water to the West Coast and with the Southern Alps acting as a natural barrier, that water will fall as rain.”

“The West Coast will face severe rain events that will increasingly wash away infrastructure and flood anything near rivers. That the West Coast Regional Council refuses to reduce emissions until they see evidence is shameful ignorance at best and anti-science book burning superstition at worst.”

“The good people of the West Coast need leadership, not medieval stupidity.”

Donna Awatere Huata
Māori Climate Commissioner

20 COMMENTS

  1. “The good people of the West Coast need leadership, not medieval stupidity.”

    I damn near chocked when I read this…

  2. The worst thing about the idiocy of the West Coast Regional Council’s demand to “see the evidence” is that it perpetuates the image of West Coasters as uneducated hicks and hillbillies (which, of course, is largely untrue).

    Any of those seven Old White Men could have accessed the internet to inform themselves of rising CO2, methane, and temperatures. (Though that raises the question whether they are familiar with the concept of “The Internet”?)

    To cast doubt of climate change amidst the hottest summer on record, when the country is sweltering under preternatural temperatures, is head-shaking, eye-rolling, and incomprehensible.

    West Coast voters should think carefully next time they’re ticking their ballot papers.

  3. Facing crisis is something humans do poorly.

    Sea level rise will wipe out downtown Greymouth and the rise in level of the Grey river floods will also affect the Grey Valley flood plains with many houses and farmland becoming nonviable.

    Every river mouth will be affected and those are the places the larger coastal settlements are.

    A disaster for the West Coast looms with no viable solution but ignore for now and move on to the next local topic.

    The Coasters have ticked their ballot papers for regional and local elections.

    The future looks grim on many fronts.

    A big mindset shift is not likely on the Coast and in most other places around NZ when few options are open.

    • Well put, John W. All I see are seven King Canute wannabes, standing ankle deep in sea water in their beach front property’s kitchens, commanding the sea, “GO BACK! I COMMAND THEE , GO BACK!!!!”

      good luck with that.

      Plonkers.

      I despair for the human race, really I do.

  4. Well the west coast got looked after by aunty Helen when they stopped chopping down the native trees what happened to those millions ?

  5. The one thing scientists have yet to understand about human induced climate change is why so many of the deniers are older white males

  6. Is the WCRC any different to any other cabal of “little kings” in power throughout NZ? I am not proud of their views, but at least their position is is clearly stated without platitudes and lipservice.

  7. These gentlemen have laid down the challenge…let’s see if they get the proof or just hot air blown back at them.

Comments are closed.