John's agonizing and painfull climate change-induced decision

(Bunbartha’s John Pettigrew was among the first group to be trained by former U.S. vice-president, Al Gore, the man who truly brought climate change to the forefront of peoples’ minds. John has since pretty much dedicated his life to helping people throughout Australia, particularly in the Goulburn Valley, understand the implications and complications of this human-induced change to the global climate system and in 2014 he wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald about how he agonized over the bulldozing of his farm’s fruit trees.

John’s work as a climate change activist has taken him to many parts of Australia, including Canberra on a number of occasions, along with countless discussions with service clubs, industry groups, and schools. He is presently president of Slap tomorrow, a Shepparton-based group that aims to inform people about climate change, and help them understand mitigation  and adaptation: this what he said in 2014 – Robert McLean.)

 

John Pettigrew.

For 50 years I have grown fruit at Bunbartha, north of Shepparton. A couple of years ago, though, after years of drought, and after spending the better part of my life farming, I had to bulldoze my 10,000 peach trees.

As painful as that decision was for me and the family, it's not an uncommon story as global warming has hit plenty more growers like me. But because of the farm, I was on the board of SPC and a handful of others. As such, I'm all too aware of the brand damage Australia's doing to its signal "clean, green" reputation by winding back action on climate change. I'm deeply concerned about the financial impacts that's having in some of our key markets.

Read John Pettigrew’s 2014 story in The Sydney Morning Herald - “Climate change: Why I had to bulldoze 10,000 peach trees."