Thinking about climate change

Our house is in the fruit fly zone – and if next winter is another warm one, they reckon the blighters could survive to devastate our hort industry. For my orchardist in-laws, this is destroy-your-livelihood stuff… hardly a time to ponder climate change.

Back home I slump in a chair and flick on the news. The Middle East is aflame; Vanuatu’s a mess; and at home a milk price slump is hurting farmers. Poor sods – that’s the last thing they need on the back of two years of drought. Time to think about climate change? As if.

The next morning at work we vote to theme the next mag around saving money. Because, hey… the stuff is in short supply, right? And the idea of shaving a few hundred (or thousand) off our cost of living seems appealing.

I love this idea, and set to work – and it’s almost home-time before I lift my head again. The evening is beautiful and balmy. Weren’t we also writing something on climate change?

Ah, there’s the story. Written by Nicky Shepheard. Good old Nicky… I pick it up and flick through a few pages. It looks like she’s spoken to just about every scientist in the country – and written twice as much as we can use. Sigh. I look outside again and think about getting home in time for a wine in the sun –then flick my eyes back to the print-out.

What’s this about ISIS? Weird. How is that relevant? I’m so tempted to call it a night…

But if I don’t do this now, when will I?

And I hate leaving complex stuff ‘til the last minute.

So climate change – I guess it’s time to think about it.

Greg Roughan
Editor, Green Ideas magazine

Like what you see? Subscribe for a year for only $23.50.