MARINE DISCOVERY SERIES

It is time for another Marine Discovery Series. This time we have Stephan Soule, Manager of the National Marine Science Centre (NMSC) outreach and education program. He will be following on from a Marine Discovery Series lecture held earlier this year on land based climate change. Understanding the principles of Climate Change due to human influences can often be confusing and complicated, Stephan will explain anthropogenic influences on Earth's Oceans through thought provoking information and practical demonstrations. 

Stephan Soule is a science communicator with degrees in Aquatic Science and Education. The joining of these two disciplines has seen him involved with local and national projects to bring the world of science to a wide audience. He currently manages NMSC's Schools Program as well as the Solitary Islands Aquarium and is based at Southern Cross University's National Marine Science Centre.

When: Thursday the 20th of July at 6:30pm.

Where: National Marine Science Centre, Charlesworth Bay (entry via main foyer, ground floor), Coffs Harbour.

No booking is required.  Refreshments will be provided.  For more information please call 02 6691 0606 or 02 6648 3900.

AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Earth Charter, Principle 2:  “Care for the Community of Life with understanding, compassion and love.”

Early January 2017 was for many people a joyous holiday period with family reunions and New Year resolutions but for all of us it was a time of temperatures of 40 degrees or more.  Most of NSW experienced an oppressive heat wave and the people of the Clarence Valley sweltered. 

Even night temperatures became difficult to bear and people needed to be careful to avoid dehydration.   

Some newspaper reports suggested the heat wave posed a threat to human health, especially to older people and the very young.

But in the midst of our discomfort did we consider the impact that the heatwave was having on our biodiversity?

This photograph taken mid-afternoon on January 14 shows a female king parrot suffering from the extreme temperature. She sought some relief in a shady porch behind our house.  Even here the temperature was close to 40 degrees celsius.

Her beak is repeatedly opening and closing and her wings are drooping.  We are careful not to disturb her and she stays in this position for at least two hours.

At the front of the house two more king parrots are perched in similar shady positions, again with beak and wings conveying distress.

Do such images have an important communique for our human community?

If we fail to limit our greenhouse gases urgently, if we go ahead with the massive Adani coal project, if the Donald Trump presidency ignores climate change, if …… the list goes on.

Will this image of the king parrot suffering from heat wave conditions become a symbol for all life on our planet?

Big questions are looming and the future of our Earth Community – our biodiversity and our grandchildren – will be greatly influenced by our answers.

            - Stan Mussared

This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on February 6, 2017.     

FIFTY YEARS AGO

Last month marked the anniversary of the day a President of the United States first warned Congress of the with the words: “This generation has altered the composition of the atmosphere on a global scale through radioactive materials and a steady increase in carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels”.

No it wasn't Bill Clinton, it certainly was not President Obama; it was in fact Lyndon B. Johnson, and last month marks the 50^th anniversary of the day the US Congress was warned about the environmental dangers of atmospheric pollution, which followed advice from pioneering climate scientist, Roger Revelle, who warned of global warming and sea-level rise.

A year later Revelle chaired a subcommittee of the President's Science Advisory Committee, which produced a report claiming that: “Man is unwittingly conducting a vast geophysical experiment”, estimating that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels would rise by between 14 and 30 percent by the year 2000. In fact CO2 levels rose by 15.5%.

It would be great to think that the US took note of that warning, and those of climate scientists of the day, but it did not. In fact there has been 50 years of virtual inaction on Climate Change in the US, despite its being one of the countries worst hit by it.

The current President has tried to act, but has been thwarted by his right-wing opponents, and he too has issued an emphatic warning pointing out that: “We are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change, and we are the last generation that can do anything about it”.

The Australian situation is even worse, with a Prime Minister who is on the record as claiming climate change science is “crap”, and has done everything in his power to close down government climate change initiatives. As a result, growth in the renewable energy sector has stalled, and vast coal mines, and coal seam gas projects are being brought on line by like-minded conservative State governments across the country.

Remember, we are the last generation that can do anything about climate change. We owe it to future generations to act decisively NOW.

- John Edwards

A MESSAGE FROM 2014

Yes, it is certainly a very hot day.  The temperature is hovering around 40°C.

Yesterday and the day before were very much the same, so I guess we are experiencing a heat wave.

People, especially the older ones, will be feeling very uncomfortable in these conditions.  If they are wise, they will be taking steps to keep as cool as possible.  Heat-related deaths can occur.

But someone else is experiencing discomfort in this heat.  Two magpies have found a shady spot and now stand almost motionless.  Their beaks are held in an open position, conveying very clearly how distressed they feel. 

At other, cooler times from those beaks a beautiful carolling melody could be emanating.  But not now.

Is there a message here for us?  Is this a taste of what many more days will be like in the future?

Respected voices are suggesting that it is.

According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency 2014 has been the hottest year recorded since reliable measurements began in 1890.

This view is supported by climate scientists in the USA.

Our own Bureau of Meteorology has pointed to higher temperatures and drier soils leading to heatwaves now starting earlier across southern Australia and effectively expanding the bushfire season.

Concern for the planet's climate is deepening and 2015 is likely to be a crucial year for our future.

Encyclicals are the most authorative  documents a pope can issue and it is thought that Pope Francis will soon issue such a document focussing on the impact of climate change.

And the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited the Pope to address the General Assembly in September on the climate issue.

This will be an important forerunner to November's UN Climate Change Conference in Paris where a global and binding agreement on limiting greenhouse gas emissions will hopefully be built.

Success at this conference will give hope for future generations – and magpies in the future may not have a greatly increased need to hold their beaks in an open position.

            - Stan Mussared

This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on February 2, 2015.

CLIMATE CHANGE: AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DROPS EVEN FURTHER BEHIND

The joint announcement by China and the United States on November 12 that they plan to cut carbon emissions substantially has been welcomed as a "game changer".  Many see this as giving real hope that an effective international scheme can be developed at the Paris Climate Summit in December 2015.

The agreement is significant as both China and the US are the world's two largest economies as well as the world's major carbon polluters.  Together they account for around 40% of emissions.

The US has promised to cut its emissions by 26%-28% from 2005 levels by 2025. China expects that its emissions will peak by then - but this may happen earlier than 2030. By 2030 20% of China's energy production will be from renewables. 

Where does this leave the Australian Government?  While various Government Ministers have welcomed the announcement, it is likely that there is considerable embarrassment because Australia is clearly being left even further behind. 

Since it came to office, the current Government has been intent on dismantling all it could of the previous government's measures on climate change – this action extending way beyond abolishing the carbon tax.  The fact that some of the climate initiatives remain in place is primarily because the Senate has blocked their abolition.

Australia's Post-2020 Emission Challenge, a report from the independent Climate Commission  claims Australia needs to commit to much stronger emissions reduction.  The report states:  "Australia's decarbonisation goal should be to achieve a net zero-emissions economy between 2040 and 2050."

This would mean commiting to a marked ramping up of our national goal from 2020.  Will the current government be prepared to make such a commitment at the Paris Summit in 2015?  Their current actions would suggest that is extremely unlikely.

The Australian Government sought to avoid having climate change discussed during the Brisbane G20 talks  because it claimed climate change was not an economic issue. Australia was certainly in a minority with this view.  Some discussion of climate change was inevitable because of the concerns of many of the major countries.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes the dinosaurs leading Australia's government to acknowledge that climate change is a major economic issue. 

It will also be interesting to see how long Prime Minister Abbott will delay taking stronger climate action given that the major polluters are now showing their commitment to strong and effective action. The slowness of many major polluters to act has been used as an excuse by the Abbott Government for its piecemeal and ineffective climate policies. Now Mr Abbott does not have that excuse.