10-days-fire-climate-01.pdf

7/27/2019 10-days-fire-climate-01.pdf

1/20

10daysthatchanged

theclimatedebate

inAustraliabyconnec6ngthedots

DavidSpra*

October2013

Version.03


2/20

Tuesday15October:GreensDeputyleaderAdamBandtonSkyTV

900moreAustralianswilldiefromheateveryyearunlesswegetglobal

warmingundercontrol.Unlesswetackleclimate

change,wearegoingtoseeaBlackSaturday

bushfireuptoeverytwoyearsinVictoriaandadoublingofthekindoffiredaysNSWisseeingat

themoment.

FacedwiththebiggesteverthreattoAustralias

wayoflife,TonyAbbo*isfailinginthefirstduty

ofaprimeministerwhich istoprotecttheAustralianpeople.Infact,TonyAbbo*isaclimate

criminal.IhopethattheLaborfacQonalhenchmanwon'taidandabethim

byvoQngtorepealthiscountry'scleanenergylaws.

Thisisaboutprotec6ngtheAustralianwayoflife,makingsurethatwhen

yougocampingattheendoftheyearovertheChristmasholidaysyou

don'thavetoworryaboutbushfireswhereveryougo.

PowerpricesquesQon:Whatwouldyourather:thatbigpolluterspayfor

theirpolluQon,itgoesali*lebitontheenergybillandyougetsome

compensaQonforit,andperhapsyouhavetopayabitmoreeachyear,or

BlackSaturdaybushfireseverytwoyears?ThisisaboutprotecQngthe

Australianwayoflife.

Connec6ng

thedots


3/20

Failingto

protecthis

people

ProtecQngthe

Australianwayof

life

TakingAustralia

backwards(not

forwards)

Wednesday

1October2013


4/20

AdamBandt,Guardian,Wednesday16October2013:

Abbo*isfailinginwhatRonaldReaganreportedlydescribedasa

governmentsfirstduty:toprotectitspeople.Globalwarmingposesthe

biggesteverthreattoAustraliansandtheAustralianwayoflife,butheissidingwiththeenemy

Globalwarmingisalreadydamagingthehealthandthewayoflifeof

ordinaryAustraliansandunlessweactthosethreatswillbecome

catastrophic.CSIROpredictsthatunderextremeclimatechange,thekindof

bushfireswesawinVictoriaonBlackSaturdaymayhappenonaverageonce

everytwoyearsclimatechangeisdryingthe(SWWA)region,threatening

WAsagricultureandbiodiversity.TheClimateCommissionalsowarnsof

impactsonourfishstocksastheoceanabsorbsCO2andacidifies.

TheIPCCsuggest(s)9,000moreAustralianswilldieeveryyearfromextreme

heatunlesswegetglobalwarmingundercontrolSadly,thecoaliQonshows

nointerestinensuringthatAustraliansonsummerholidaywillhavelessfrequentbushfires,healthyoceanstofishinorthousandsfewerdeaths.

Donningavolunteerfirefighteruniformforthemediaisaconifyourealso

helpingstartfiresthatputpeopleslivesindanger.Ifourprimeministertruly

wantstoprotecttheAustralianpeople,hemusthelpfendoffdangerous

globalwarming,thecountrysbiggesteverthreat.

Connec6ng

thedots


5/20

Thursday17October2013:Thetweetthatbecamethestory

Connec6ngthedots


6/20

Friday18October2013:Conserva6vemediadrivethestoryforanotherday


7/20

Chris6neMilne@senatormilne

IPCCsaysmorefires,ho*estwinterleadstohorrificearly

NSWfires,Abbo*boastsdumpingclimateacQon,Qmeto

facenaQon.#auspol

Friday18October2013:Bandtrepeatshismessageonna6onalTV,Twiertakesoff


8/20

AdamBandt,ABCNews24,Friday18October

TonyAbbo*andhisministers(are)goingto

takeAustraliabackwardswhenitcomesto

combaQngglobalwarming.

Globalwarmingisthebiggestthreatto

AustralianlifeIdon'twanteverysummer,

letaloneeveryspring,forustobeworrying

aboutwhetherwearegoingtoseethesekindofbushfiresagain,tohavetoworryabout

threatstopeople'spropertyandthreatsto

people'ssafety.

"Iknowit'suncomfortabletohaveadiscussion

aboutit,butIthinkit'sourjobaspoliQcians.

"IthinkgiventhatParliament'saboutto

resumeshortlyandglobalwarmingisonthe

agendafordebate,weshouldbetalkingabout

howweaspoli6cianscandoeverythingwe

cantoprotecttheAustralianwayoflife."

Friday18October2013:andthetabooisbroken


9/20Friday18October2013


10/20

Saturday19October2013:Thedamwallbreaks


11/20

Saturday19October2013:Thedamwallbreaks


12/20

VictorianFireServicesCommissionerCraigLapsleysaidthedryaircomingoutofCentral

Australiawouldbeanissuethissummer."Somemaysayit'spartofclimatechange,itprobably

is,thefactwe'reseeingadifferentclimaQccondiQoncomingacrosstoaffectthesouth-eastern

sideofAustralia,(is)reallyimportantforustounderstandthissummer,''hetoldABCradio.h*p://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/barry-o8217farrell-and-rfs-boss-say-possibly-worse-to-come-in-bushfire-

catastrophe-as-crews-conQnue-to-ba*le-on-numerous-fronts/story-fni0cx12-1226742089017

Sunday20October2013


13/20

Ma*GoldingsFairfaxcartoon


14/20

NSWRuralFireServiceCommissioner

ShaneFitzsimmons

FiresnowawholenewballgameandinaleagueoftheirownsaysRFScommissioner.

Hesaysfirecrewsaredealingwith"unparalleled

condiQons".

NSWPremierBarryOFarrell

WhenaskedonMondayifclimatechangemade

disastrouseventsliketheNSWfiresmorelikely,

NSWPremierBarryO'Farrellreplied:''Well,clearly,Ithinkthat'sthescience.

h*p://www.smh.com.au/federal-poliQcs/poliQcal-news/clear-link-between-

climate-change-and-bushfires-un-adviser-warns-tony-

abbo*-20131022-2vxs5.html

Monday21October2013

FormerNSWRuralFire

ServicesCommissioner,

PhilKoperberg

"Thisisafeatureofslowly

evolvingclimate.Wehave

alwayshadfires,butnotof

thisnature,andnotatthis

Qmeofyear,andnotaccompaniedbytherecord-

breakingheatwe'vehad.

Guardian

21October2013

Connec6ng

thedots


15/20

Monday21October2013

AdamBandtwasrebukedfor

menQoningtheelephantintheroombut

policymakerscannolongercredibly

lookaway

ifthereiscrediblereasontobelieve

thathuman-inducedclimatechangeis

increasingthelikelihoodorfrequencyof

thesefiredisasters,thosesame

poli6cianshaveadutytounderstand

thatriskandexplainhowtheyaredoing

everythingpossibletocontributeto

globaleffortstoaddressit.

Withclaimsthatcurrentclimate

policieswouldleadtomorebushfires,

DeputyGreensLeaderAdamBandt

wasaccusedofpoliQcisingthea

naturaldisaster,butscien6stssaythe

linkbetweenglobalwarmingandfiresisestablishedanddemands

ac6on.


16/20

Ageeditorial:MrBandthasavalidpoint.Ratherthan

poliQcisingonhisownbehalf,

hiscriQcismsdrawnecessary

a*enQontotheAbbo*

government'sownpoliQcising:

theswifulfilmentofitselecQonpromisestodowngrade

theprominenceofsciencein

generalandtheeffectsof

climatechangeinparQcular.

Tuesday22October2013

Whatisabsolutelyclearisthescienceistelling

usthatthereareincreasingheatwavesinAsia,Europe,andAustralia;thatthesewillconQnue;

thattheywillconQnueintheirintensityandin

theirfrequency.

''Climatechangeisknowntoalterthelikelihood

ofincreasedwildfiresizesandfrequencies.

Combinedwithmorestressontrees''this

suggestsanincreasinglikelihoodofmore

prevalentfiredisturbances,ashasrecentlybeen

observed.


17/20

Wednesday23October2013

AlGoreonABC7.30Report

ItremindsmeofpoliQcianshereintheUnited

Stateswhogotalotofsupportfromthetobacco

companiesandwhoarguedtothepublicthat

therewasabsolutelynoconnecQonbetweensmokingcigare*esandlungcancerthescience

showsclearlythatwhenthetemperaturegoes

upandwhenthevegetaQonandsoilsdryout,

thenwildfiresbecomemorepervasiveandmore

dangerous.That'snotmesayingit,that'swhat

thescienQficcommunitysays.

PrimeMinisterTonyAbbo

breakshissilencea_ersix

days

PrimeMinisterTonyAbbo*

hasdismissedthecommentsof

aseniorUNofficialwhosaid

therewasaclearlinkbetween

bushfiresandclimatechange,arguing''fireisapartofthe

Australianexperience''.

HerejectedMsFigueres'

assessmentthataclearlink

existedbetweenbushfiresandclimatechange,sayingshewas

Talkingthroughherhat.


18/20

Thursday24October2013

MrHuntsaidhe''lookedupwhatWikipedia''

saidaboutbushfires.

EnvironmentMinisterrepliedthatshe(BBC

interviewer)wastakingaprivate

conversaQonoutofcontext.Helateradded

thattheCoali6onhadtaken''scienceoffthe

table''whenitcametoclimatechange.

''We'renotdeba6ngit,''hesaid.

Governmentdoesnotwantto

debateclimatescienceand

impacts,because:

EveryQmetheyopentheir

mouths,theysoundlike

denialists.

TheirposiQonisnot

credible. Ithelpsconnectthedots.

Climateadvocacystrategy:

Presspublicdiscussionon

climatescienceandimpacts

ateveryopportunity. Connectthedots.

Callthegovernmentoutfor

climatedenialismandfailing

toprotecttheAustralian

wayoflife.


19/20

JohnHowardonhowextremeevents,

connec6ngthedotsandleadershipchanged

theclimatedebate

AsHowardwroteinhisautobiographyLazarusRising,inthe

spaceofseveralweeks,commencinginOctober2006,four

separateeventscametogethertopushtheclimatechange

concernsoftheAustraliancommunitytohigherlevelsthanever

before.InVictoriathebushfireseasonstartedearly;the

droughtaffecQnglargeareasofeasternAustralialingeredonfromoutsideAustraliacamethecontribuQonsofAlGoreand

SirNicholasStern.

Thesefoureventscoincidedanddrama6callyincreasedthe

focusonglobalwarminginAustraliaIconcludedthatthe

governmentwouldneedtoshi_itsposi6ononclimate

change.

Governmentis

desperateto

keepbushfires

andclimate

changeapart

because

theycant

winifpeople

connectthedots!

Thursday

24October2013


20/20

Summingup

Climatechangeisachoicebetweenincreasingharm,or

acQngtorestoresafety.

Governmentisdesperateforpeoplenottoconnectthe

dots,tonottalkaboutclimatechangeimpactsandscience.

ThestoryshouldbeaboutpeopleinAustraliaandnot

distantplaces,aboutnowandnotjustthedistantfuture,

aboutconnecQngthedotsbetweenextremeeventsandglobalwarming.

Itisastoryaboutrecordheatandbushfires,abouthow

familyandfriendswillliveinaho*erandmoreextreme

world,abouthowaretreaQngcoastlinewillaffectwhere

weliveandwork,astoryabouthealthandwell-being,

aboutincreasingfoodandwaterinsecurity,andthemore

difficultlifethatchildrenandgrandchildrenwillface.

Informeddiscussiononclimatechangeimpactscanturnthe

tableondenialistprimeminister

Atsomepointin

thefuture,every

(climate)recordwill

bebroken,butthat

doesn'tprove

anythingabout

climatechange

PrimeMinister

TonyAbbo,

HeraldSun,

25October2013

10-days-fire-climate-01.pdf

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