Keep calm and save the Earth

The political squabbles, leading up to the election, were minor targets in comparison to climate change. The electioneering marathon has been a bickering fest. Both major parties have avoided the real threat. Discussions of health funding have ignored the staggering cost to health of climate change.

The catch cries of jobs and economic plans, have excluded renewable energy and adaptation to a warming world.

So what power do any of us have? The good news is that we are social creatures who imitate behaviours, such as the installation of solar panels. Setting a good example is not a vain enterprise. Neighbours will copy neighbours. Australia leads the world in household installation of solar panels. Fifteen per cent of households have installed solar

roof panels. South Australia is leading with 25 per cent of all households.

Enabling schemes and cost sharing also work. The states with the highest uptake of solar have the better assistance programs.

Does arousing fear work?

Not very well.

There is a tension between the need to be warned and the importance of not being immobilized by terror or despair.

The media needs to change its predominantly negative approach. It must communicate the facts; but tell stories of solutions and inspiring possibilities. Stoknes says that people respond constructively to stories of hope.

Leadership comes from the ground up. Politicians need to hear that we the voters and taxpayers as they call us, want real action to stem dangerous climate change. Australia is lagging in renewable energy investment projects. The policies currently in place are a sham. The threat to a safe climate is dire; but the solutions are myriad and offer a cleaner more just world. Our lives are enriched, by being in touch with the restorative powers of the natural world. Being in nature, sometimes called eco or green therapy, is an effective way to reduce depression.

Hope lies not in Pollyanna false positivity; but in realistic appraisal and action. Many are grieving the environmental chaos that is now bringing disaster and loss for Australians. Grief is appropriate and healthy. Stoknes contends that the process of mourning can lead to deep recognition of the value of life and of nature.

We have seen houses and farm animals swept away and devastating coastal erosion. Extreme floods droughts and fires are bringing loss of habitat and threatening unique Australian species. These are the warning calls from planet earth. Nature and the human spirit are resilient; but healing and renewal need nurturance.