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Letter from Dr Gerard Joyce that appeared in the Eumundi Green

I say this for two reasons; one to get your attention and two because it is true. You may choose not to read this or if you read it you may choose to forget it. Unfortunately, that will not make it go away. The doom and gloom of rampant climate change that many have subconsciously wanted to defer to the next generation is here and will result in death and misery for many of those we love.

“Go Solar” on Swanbank B smoke stack (with thanks Greenpeace/Shakespeare)

“Current global trends in energy supply and use are patently unsustainable – environmentally, economically, socially What is needed is nothing short of an energy revolution.” by the International Energy Agency

The latest science is beyond alarming. “Until recently, methane levels in the air had been stable for a decade, but there has been a surge. Unpublished research shows the methane is coming from the Arctic. This is the sign climate scientists have been warnmg about, a possible tipping point.

Temperatures have increased more at the poles than in the tropics. Warming IS releasing methane from tundra, increasing warming and causmg further methane releases, possibly setting in train an unstoppable surge in temperature. We need an urgent and concerted approach to cut greenhouse pollution.” Professor Ian Lowe

Just a year ago the Intergovernmental Panel warned that the Arctic’s “late-summer sea ice is projected to disappear almost completely towards the end of the 21 st century. in some models.” But, as the new report by the Public Interest Research Centre (PIRC) shows, climate scientists are now predicting the end of late summer sea ice within three to seven years.

I became more interested in these issues when I learned powerlines would be constructed 200 m from my home. I now realise the new line is just a symptom of a systemic failure to come to terms with what is required for the survival of our current civilisation. While the lines will be ugly and they will reduce the value of our home, ultimately it won’t matter. Climate change will soon have changed our lives to the point of being unrecognisable. I still think lines should be stopped but now it is an issue of survival. We need an energy revolution and we need it yesterday. Powerlink doesn’t get it; the government doesn’t get it; when they do it will be too late.

Dr Gerard Joyce, Ceylon Rd

Source:  Eumundi Green, 12 February 2009