Dashing pilots can’t save us

Dan McGuire, Nelson, February 10 There was some great talent on display fighting the Nelson fires, and kudos to the pilots and ground crews for their skills.

It is important to hear, however, that this is not the long term solution to fighting climate change. We could never be vigilant enough or wealthy enough to adjust to the problems that climate change may hand us with airdrops, rescues and the like. The problems with extreme weather events are a billion times larger and a hundred times more difficult than fighting it after the fact.

The farther down the rabbit hole of greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere, the more intractable the problems get and at some point we won’t be able to respond. The only solution is to start now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect forest cover. This is challenge that takes the kind of total dedication that our people showed fighting fascism in WWII. We need to transform our domestic economy along with a worldwide effort to respond to this challenge. We New Zealanders are up to the challenge.

To all of those who say this is too difficult, look to what we are going through to just respond to our local emergency. How much danger and disruption are we willing to accept to keep playing chemistry roulette with the atmosphere. We really don’t have a viable choice; just like protecting our world from fascism, this is an existential threat with complex demands on us. We can do this, we must do this, for the love of our children and their children. We can hand them the same beautiful biosphere that has benefited us. We need to be a great heroic generation. Anything less is really unthinkable.