Terry writes about the need for 'collective action'

Beneath the Wisteria support, Terry Court, has engaged with the minds of Shepparton News readers through the “Letters to the Editor” column.
Terry pointed to the “gigantic” challenge of climate change, arguing that addressing the certain consequences demanded “collective action”.

What follows is what Terry wrote in what is a daily newspaper:

The latest IPCC report and the UN have again stressed that no one will be untouched by climate change. They have observed impacts of climate change have already affected agriculture, human health, ecosystems on land and in the oceans, water supplies, and people’s livelihoods. The striking feature of observed impacts is that they are occurring from the tropics to the poles, from small islands to large continents, and from the wealthiest countries to the poorest.

The challenge is gigantic, but judging by the reaction from our local media and the community in general you would think the threat to humanity doesn't exist.

If we think we can sit on our hands, continue business as usual, then we are in for a rude awakening and an uncertain future. The rest of the world won't wait for us to wake up and embrace a changing climate - they will run all over us as we lose the financial ability to make the changes required.

If we continue to think that 'She'll be all write Jack' then we are condemning ourselves to a dramatic reduction in living standards and services while increasing the probability of community unrest.

The last thing we should do in a situation like this is to hunker down and just pretend it doesn't exist.

To combat this challenge we must all work collectively, break out of our silos, be prepared to listen to others and combine our collective wisdom and knowledge like never before to ensure a prosperous future. Now is not the time to reduce spending on science and education. Now is the time to ramp up our efforts in these areas and be inclusive and creative as minds will allow us.

We must work together for the public good not for personal gain.

We have to be smart not smug and pool our intelligence, skills and innovative minds to ensure we have a prosperous future in world with a changed climate.