Its official…

Interesting item in the Courier Mail today, with a dire warning for the world’s population
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22780446-952,00.html
Action on Global Warming is no longer an academic request or an option.

The UN report on global warming mentioned impacts to Queensland's Great Barrier Reef and wet tropics. Scientist feel just 13 short years will see significant biodiversity losses in these regions. That means unless we do something today our children will not as Adults be able to see the things that we saw. And the heritage of hundreds of thousands of years that they entrusted us with has been destroyed in our lifetime, by our generation.

Australia’s production of crops has already peaked, and the drying up of our rivers, salinity increase and lack rainfall will increase the price of basic vegetables and fruit. Wheat costs and therefore bread has already risen. So the argument that it cost money to abate greenhouse gas is basically flawed. It is costing us money now to sit on our hands and be inactive as a nation. The lack of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol is a national disgrace, and I believe that a government with the information we have now is not only negligent but culpable.

The loss of productivity in my wife’s home town of Mypolonga is catastrophic. As a farming (orchardist) community that lives off irrigation the drought and overuse of water upstream has decreased their allowance to 10% of what they had been able to use 5 years ago. What will be the financial impact to their community? Huge to say the least. This is one town of many, and is a graphic demonstration of the IPCC report of the cost of Global Warming on the world. They recommend that action now will reduce that overall financial impact. They further warn that lack of action will destroy whole economies. Well we see the evidence before us now……

Australia must act. We have the highest carbon imprint per person than any other country in the world. We must:
1. Sign the Kyoto Protocol and start a national carbon trading system
2. Reduce our carbon imprint through an energy reduction drive (already well supported by the community)
3. Improve the efficiency of land transportation and its consumption of fossil fuels
4. Increase the green energy production within our country and reduce the use of coal fired power stations
5. Demand more from our governments whilst doing more at a personal level.