Learning to be citizens of ‘engaged democracy’
AS one of the student organisers of Friday’s School Strike 4 Climate, I would like to clear up some public misconceptions about the strike and why it matters.
First of all, climate change is happening. The jury is no longer out on this, the jury is in, and we must act to prevent an unprecedented catastrophe.
Climate change directly affects us, and the decisions we make now will determine the degree to which this happens. Even the difference between one and ahalf degrees of warming and two degrees of warming is the difference between a 1.5 million tonne decline in marine fisheries and a three million tonne decline.
The purpose of the strike is to pressure the Government to honour the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to limit the increase in global temperature to below an average of 1.5degC.
Some people might wonder why we choose to go on strike. After all, aren’t we missing out on valuable learning time? Well, no. Instead, we are learning how to be citizens of an engaged democracy and that is something that cannot be learned in the classroom.
Youth are often criticised for being selfinterested and yet when we want to stand up for the environment and our communities, we are told to keep quiet and leave it to the adults.
Action on climate change is slower than our melting glaciers.
We would appreciate your support. Christopher Hawkins
Dunedin
IT appears various pseudoclimate change experts, sceptics and deniers have featured in the ODT opinion pages.
It must be open to speculation who is influencing these characters. The fossil fuel cartels or mining oligarchs?
Use of selective stats seems to be the norm, propagated by the above outfits.
One has to ask if they are supporting continual use of finite, polluting coal and oil products.
Are renewable, cleanerenergy resources out of the question?
I think we need some straight answers from this lot.
Jim Childerstone
Hampden
Wanaka park
IN Mike Horder’s article (ODT, 6.3.19), he expresses an interest in Wanaka having a public garden and suggests a number of possible sites, including some part of the Wanaka Golf Course, Pembroke Park and Lismore Park.
In wishing that we had something similar to the Queenstown gardens, he either overlooks the existence of, or is unaware of, Wanaka Station Park.
A wonderful sheltered park, this includes some good examples of mature specimen trees, an ash avenue, some areas of garden and some historical sites, and is situated beside Lake Wanaka.
Perhaps it is Wanaka’s best kept secret.
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BIBLE READING: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. — Hebrews 11:1.