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Reflections on the nature of a climate emergency

31/8/2019

5 Comments

 
PictureUncle Rob Bundle and Tucker Hayes on the Cowes jetty. Photo: Nicki Johnson
If we’re not to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge, we must come together as a community, to listen to the environment and to one another.
​
Dr Laura Brearley

ACCORDING to the Climate Emergency website, 800 local councils around the globe have declared climate emergencies, 43 of them in Australia. Last week, Bass Coast Shire Council became one of them.

I was one of many community members who attended last week’s council meeting when this decision was made. The room was overflowing with people who were aware of the significance of the vote. We witnessed the courage and foresight of our councillors, led by Cr Michael Whelan, who proposed the motion for Bass Coast to declare a climate emergency.
He spoke compellingly of the risks of not taking action, both environmentally and economically.

​In his closing remarks, Cr Whelan named his three grandchildren, one of whom was present in a pram, and identified them as key motivators for his proposed motion.
It was a moment of humanity and clarity at the heart of a formal, political process. In supporting the motion, Cr Pamela Rothfield said “This is one of the most important decisions we can make in this term as councillors.” 
“The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.”
          ​
Terry Tempest Williams
I am proud to be a member of a community that is awake to what is at stake. We have joined 212 million citizens around the world (as of August 25 2019) whose jurisdictions have also voted to declare a climate emergency.  We now have the opportunity to be part of conversations and projects about our individual and collective responsibilities and to plan how to most effectively reach identified targets for renewable energy use and zero net emissions.
 
At last week’s meeting, Bass Coast Mayor Brett Tessari acknowledged the power of the word emergency, saying it signalled the need to go “far beyond business as usual”. Since the meeting, I’ve been thinking about the word “emergency” and the layers of meaning it contains. The origin of the word is the Latin Emergere meaning “arise, bring to light” according to the Oxford Dictionary, and “to rise out or up" according to the Online Etymology Dictionary. The word combines the Latin prefix Ex meaning “out” and Mergere “to dip or sink”.
 
In the late 14th Century, the word emergent had the meaning “rising from what surrounds it, coming into view”. These ideas gave rise to the 17th Century meaning of “unforeseen occurrence” and, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the contemporary definition of emergency as “an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action”.
 
This call for immediate action is central to the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement and the Climate Emergency Declaration mobilisation and petition which was launched in Australia in May 2016.
 
In reflecting on the nature of “emergency”, I am aware that it can lead to a sense of being overwhelmed and even paralysed by the crisis. If we are to respond to the local and global imperatives of climate change, how can we avoid being overcome by the enormity of the issues? And what needs to underpin our actions?
 
I’m conscious that scientific knowledge, ancient wisdom, community engagement, thoughtful consideration and creative expression all have something important to contribute in this space. In my view, to work together effectively on this, we need to take time to come together as a community, to listen to the environment, to each other and to knowledge holders from many different disciplines.  
 
We had three days of this kind of experience at the intercultural arts program at last month’s Whale Festival on Phillip Island. Here is a link to a short film about it made by Terry Melvin. The film includes wise messages from scientists, artists and First Nation Elders about our interconnectedness to each other and to the living Earth.  Learning to listen to what the natural world is telling us and recognising the strengths we have as a community to collectively respond to what is needed, seems to me a wise course of action.
 
Terry Tempest Williams, a biologist and writer, sees climate change as the great ethical challenge of the 21st century. In her book Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, she writes, “The eyes of the future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time. They are kneeling with hands clasped that we might act with restraint, that we might leave room for the life that is destined to come.”’
 
As a result of the leadership shown by our council, we are now more equipped to respond collectively to this great ethical challenge. We are a strong community and have chosen to live in a beautiful part of the world. We love our children and grandchildren. It’s an amazing time to be alive and to be part of what will emerge from this emergency. 

Picture
The wisdom of the collective ... a moment of deep listening at the Whale Festival. Photo: Terry Malvin
5 Comments
Lorrie Read
31/8/2019 06:16:44 pm

Congratulations to the Shire for declaring this an emergency, and so it is. The next problem is having this emergency acknowledged by the Morrison Governemnt. Until we have a National, then International plan, we have limited ability to halt the devastation. But for the future generations we must keep trying. People power has made an impact before, let's work together to change the opinions of the powerful elite.

Reply
Janice Orchard
1/9/2019 11:41:22 am

I have to wonder if we are looking forward enough. While the declaration of a climate emergency is the right step for now, what about what comes next?
The geological history of our planet shows that there has been a natural cycle of Ice Ages followed by global warming followed by another Ice Age and so on over millennia as our planet follows its historical orbit path moving further away from the heat radiated by the Milky Way and into deep space. . Shouldn't we be preparing our grandchildren and all future generations for the next big freeze that is coming? Will mankind be able to evolve with the changing condition that will surely come?

Reply
John Coldebella
2/9/2019 08:58:53 pm

Janice, I share your concern for the wellbeing of future generations, however while the polar caps are melting rather than expanding, I'm inclined to prioritise problem solving with regard to warming rather than a big freeze. It will be a long time before the cycle reverses and if it follows past patterns, today's grandchildren will be long gone when that occurs. Fortunately for us, as the expanding universe moves us further from the centre of the Milky Way, the sun comes with us.

Reply
Kay
2/9/2019 11:05:25 am

Congratulations to Bass Coast Council for having the maturity to undertake this action. Some will say "what will this achieve?" but i say we have to do what we can in the avenues available to us. This is a powerful action. THank you Laura for explaining so much more about Councils decision.

Reply
Grace McCaughey
8/9/2019 05:43:35 am

Thank you Bass Coast. Now join the Students Strike on Friday 20th Sept 2019. Or start one. SS4C. Or Extinction Rebellion.

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