'Climate depression' is worsened by the behaviour of the 'adults'

Nicole Thorton talked today in the Melbourne Age about when her “climate depression” first became understandable and real.

Thorton, an environmental scientist, who is a trained biologist and ecologist, discussed, in a story headed: “A climate of despair” in today’s Age, something that began about five years ago.

Those first signs of her climate induced depression emerged when she was writing a rather dry PhD on responsible household water use.

Thornton, according to reporter Konrad Marshall, had always been easily upset by apathy towards, and denial of, environmental issues. Apparently what she discovered in writing the PhD worsened her feelings.

Although directly unrelated, it is stories such this published the same day that severely test the intellectual resilience of climate change advocates: “Climate change measures like 'primitive civilisations offering up sacrifices to appease the gods', says Maurice Newman”.

Mr Newman, who has a serious and influential role in the Australian Government, and obviously the undivided attention of our PM, Tony Abbott, argues Australians are ill-prepared to deal with global cooling.

Obviously unable to understand his role and influence, Mr Newman noted in the story that the ideas about Australia’s unpreparedness to deal with global cooling where his own.

That’s wonderful – Tony Abbott’s ideas are his own too, but he has orchestrated a situation in which our government has taken to Australians climate change mitigation infrastructure with a wrecking ball.

Maurice Newman, with his bizarre ideas about global cooling and his equally bizarre beliefs about “sacrifices to appease the gods”, is just another of our PM’s henchmen.

Having won last year’s federal election, Mr Abbott argued we could all relax now as the “adults” were in charge. We urgently need the “kids” back at the tiller.