Uncle 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.
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.
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.” |
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.
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.
The wisdom of the collective ... a moment of deep listening at the Whale Festival. Photo: Terry Malvin