DON’T LET THIS BE THE AGE OF STUPID

Stafford’s MP David Kidney is urging his constituents to take action now to cut carbon emissions and prevent damaging climate change:

“As a Minister for Energy and Climate Change I think a lot about the Copenhagen Summit that takes place this December. We will seek international agreement on controlling global carbon emissions.

“As an MP I know many constituents who care deeply about tackling climate change and last week I was able to tell some of them at the Sustainability Matters AGM in Stafford about the kinds of action I am able to take as a Minister.
 
“Inevitably, some will urge the Government to go further and faster. After all, climate change is probably the most serious threat facing our world. But Government does not have all the answers and cannot do all the work alone. We need help to be successful – help from every household and business in the UK to reduce our country’s carbon emissions, help from all other governments around the world to get on top of the global challenge.

“The work being done in Stafford now by different groups, such as showing a season of Climate Change films and bringing together a public rally on 24th October, is really  valuable in helping more people to see the problem and motivating them to act.
 
“Climate change is a unique problem. It involves an invisible enemy, a long time lag, and the need to think globally. The CO2 we are emitting now will only reach its full effect on our climate in thirty years time. Already reports are bringing to our living rooms news of melting ice caps, islands becoming uninhabitable as sea levels rise and more and more unpredictable severe weather incidents. We cannot predict all the effects of climate change, but we can expect rising sea levels, droughts, and floods, we expect parts of the world to become uninhabitable, leading to mass migration.
 
“Perhaps the most challenging statistic is this: only 1% of environmental scientists now believe that there is any doubt that climate change is the result of human activities and that we need to take urgent action. But around 60% of the general public either doubt that climate change is real or think it will not affect them.

“This matters because the Government can do a lot in terms of rules and regulations, but we all have to take individual responsibility to change our ways. Most people will care enough to change if they understand this will affect them and their children.

“The new Government advert on climate change, with a bed time story to a small child, has proved to be controversial:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w62gsctP2gc&feature=player_embedded

“Some people have seen this as too hard hitting, but it reflects the growing seriousness of the situation we are in.

“Constituents have been telling me about their re-action to “the Age of Stupid” a film shown by Transition Town Stafford on 12th October. Peter Postlethwaite plays the last man alive, looking back at why we did not act to prevent climate change that wipes out our civilisation.  He shows us a series of film clips of our time now, powerful stories like the Alpine Guide describing the slow disappearance of a glacier, lorries transporting food hundreds of miles one way to be processed and hundreds of miles back to be sold, a farmer trying to put up wind turbines but being defeated by objectors, shrinking lakes and pastures in Africa and people migrating to cities.
 
“The point of the film is that plenty of people understand the problems but the global community does not make the required changes in time.

“Seeing “The Age of Stupid” could be a depressing experience, but one constituent tells me she came away with some optimism. This is because she is aware of the work being done internationally and by our Government to get a global deal, the development of new green technologies, the growing public awareness, and the eruptions of grass roots responses to the challenge like the Transition Town movement and the 10:10 campaign.

“As someone who has responsibility to make sure our age does everything in its power to tackle climate change before it is too late, I want you to help me.  Come to the public rally in Stafford Town Square on Saturday 24th, where I have been invited to speak at 11am, along with many other speakers from other parties and from the public. And please also come along to hear me talk about the Road to Copenhagen at Church Lane Church Hall at 12.30 pm the same day. You will be able to pick up information on the action you can take to cut harmful emissions. By doing this you will help to show that the people who care about climate change are the majority, and show me that you want us to continue fighting to keep our planet safe.”