Peter's Project will fix it!

 

Just as well I don't believe the letters to the editor in our local newspaper are truly representative, because if I did I'd think that the majority of the people in South West Victoria are climate change denying, refugee hating bigots, who are only interested in gambling, horse racing and jumping, football, sport, bringing back the death penalty, hunting, fishing, shooting (did I mention 'sport'?) and of course the issue embraced by everyone as virtuous and 'safe' by all sides of politics, Peter's Project.

Peter's Project is the campaign to build a cancer clinic and treatment centre in Warrnambool and its popularity is demonstrated by the number of photos in the paper of  the project's leader Vicky Jellie and also the many heart wrenching, feel good pictures supporting the campaign.  

I'm all for the cancer clinic. It has raised a lot of money and much awareness even though after 5 years, it hasn't yet reached its goal. The success of this campaign, at least as a media worthy topic, is of course due to the fact that cancer directly effects so many local people. No matter your colour, creed or political persuasion, everyone  is effected by this disease either personally or by association.

It is therefore a socially acceptable cause and consequently free of controversy. (I have met the odd naysayer but they are generally those who nay say about everything.) All politicians are quick to jump on board the 'Peter's Project' bandwagon (...despite the fact that neither side of politics have actually managed  to to make it happen. Get of yer soap box and actually do something I say!) with the most enthusiastic wagon jumper being the local newspaper.

The bottom line is, the non-threatening issue of Peter's Project... buys votes and sells newspapers. I know, I know...it's the way of the world but I do so wish we could extend the same awarenesses to the many other important issues, that are actually causing cancer and  threatening our existence and the existence of life on Earth itself.

People are not as immediately aware of the effect that the environment is having on their lives and their health. They are not aware of the staggering increase in the rate of cancer over the passed 50 years from 1 in 50 to 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men, nor the link between the increased usage of insecticides, herbicides and all chemicals and the increased incidence of cancer in this agricultural region.

http://hope.cancercouncil.com.au/?gclid=CL3Mlvec8bYCFYggpQodvTcA0g#the-facts

I digress. Back to the letters in the paper. If I believed that these letters truly represented the people of Warrnambool and environs, I would think the people of this region were actually contributing to, rather than helping to fix all the problems we face with the pollution of the Earth and resulting injustices to humanity. The letters reflect a degree of prejudice and selfishness that is shocking in the extreme. They actually demonstrate an attitude that I believe is...well...evil.

Last year, Matt Neal, a Standard journalist, posted a sensible opinion piece on the scientifically accepted issue of human induced climate change and said that for our common survival, we should have taken strong action on climate change years ago but have been stopped by corporate greed and its promotion of climate change denial, influencing many who really should know better. This article spawned a number of climate denial letters, some saying that human activity has had no effect on the climate whatsoever and that we should continue to pollute and exploit the earth; business as usual.

Sadly, many are beginning to believe the deniers. I think that this is partly due to laziness and the fact that if we could get away with it, we'd rather do nothing and carry on regardless. Hell, if I could, I'd rather do nothing and carry on regardless!

But, because of what I know and because I believe in risk management and because of the obvious increases in extreme weather events including bush fires, droughts, floods, hurricanes, fish kills and species extinction... I cannot ignore it.

I have life insurance and private health insurance not because I am sick but because I know that the likelihood is at some stage in my life, I will get sick and will need some financial help. I wear a seat belt because I know it will help me if I have an accident and I expect everyone else to do the same. That's why we legislated to make seat belts compulsory and I believe that's exactly what we need to do to deal with pollution and human induced climate change. If seat belts weren't compulsory with consequent fines, would people still use seat belts at all? The answer is, seat belts would probably only be used by the careful people among us and this is true too of climate change. Only the careful among us are actually trying to do something about it and most of them are also trying to have our legislation changed so that we can all try to do something about it.

The brutal fact is that if we don't go through the difficult process of changing our lives and legislation in order to fix climate change and stop polluting our world, our only home, it will kill us, our children and much of life on earth.

The more people who believe the deniers, the less action is taken to try to prevent the greatest threat to life on Earth: human induced climate change.

Where is the logic in taking no action when 98% of scientists tell us that if we don't, it will be very difficult for us to survive? Well? Anyone?

Why continue to pollute the Earth until the rate of cancer in humans is 100%? Anyone? No no...I understand. We must have horse jumping and better roads and no wind farms because wind farms are evil and we must be able to shoot every duck and kill every fish. Our fun is far more important than the survival of life on Earth. Absolutely...not!

Anyway, if the issue doesn't sell newspapers or win votes, especially in this country, then forget about it!