Change starts with the individual

During the next few weeks, The News will run a series of interviews with community leaders about their views on climate change. 

We asked four questions:

1: What is your position on global warming and climate change?

Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project
 executive officer Lisa McKenzie

2: Are we doing enough to mitigate the impact of climate change in the region?

3: Do community and business leaders have a role in advocating for more action, and positioning our region to take advantage of emerging opportunities?

4: What is your Number One priority to help mitigate the impacts of climate change?

Today we feature the responses of Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project executive officer Lisa McKenzie.

What is your position?

There was outrage during the first days of the NSW bushfires crisis when some suggested climate change may have contributed to the carnage.

Politicians were up in arms suggesting talk of climate change detracted from the crisis at hand and the suffering of the victims.

I couldn’t help but wonder when we would be allowed to talk about climate change.

If not now, when?

Climate change was something over the horizon.

Something that might impact on future generations.

Something that could be glossed over, set aside and put in the too hard basket.

Not anymore.

It’s here now and we are seeing firsthand the rapidly growing implications of record temperatures, changing rainfalls, water scarcity and competition and native species under threat.

Around the world cyclones and hurricanes are on the increase and sea levels are rising rapidly, triggering plans to move vast cities in parts of Asia and elsewhere.

Once-certain crops are failing, with poor rural people, women and children often the first to suffer.

While there are many pressing issues at a personal, local and wider level, it is impossible to imagine anything that warrants our attention more than climate change.

Concerted collective action is imperative and starts first with the individual.

Are we doing enough?

My grandmother lived through the Depression and learnt to save every piece of tinfoil, string and wrapping paper.

She reused water on the garden, turned off lights when not in use and heated just one room.

While she only had a small cupboard of clothes, she was always beautifully turned out whatever the occasion.

We could all take a leaf out of Nan’s book.

If billions of people changed their personal habits the repercussions would be profound.

At a neighbourhood and community level we can all re-use, recycle and swap household goods; buy local and grow and share our own food; plant trees and provide habitat for local species; minimise travel, ride-share and walk.

The upside of much of the above is also a simpler, less cluttered, more connected lifestyle that could also go some way to addressing social isolation and loneliness, the scourges of modern Western society.

Tree-lined streets, connected walking paths, and communal gardens are all conducive to overall wellbeing.

While making a tangible difference to street-level temperatures, well-used treed streets and bike paths can address over-reliance on fuels and therefore global warming.

At a broader level, activism and advocacy are needed to drive our elected leaders to put the future of humankind over pretty well everything else, especially short-term political gain.

Australia has become a laggard — instead of embracing and being at the forefront of clean green technology we are overly reliant on mining and coal when we could be using our smarts and value-adding.

Our lacklustre commitment to the Paris climate agreement and recent Madrid talks is arrogant and contemptuous of the rest of the world.

Only our treatment of refugees has done us more harm on the world stage.

It has been heartening to see business and professional people, grandparents and community leaders join children around the world leading climate marches.

We need to act, and act now, if we want to minimise what is already inexorable change.

This is no longer someone else’s problem.

Action needs to be at every level — personal, local, regional, national and international.

Every single person has a part to play, big and small.

Human and ecological wellbeing and imperatives need to take precedence over economic drivers and greed, and for this a major reset is required at every level of society.

Do community and business leaders have a role?

Political will is lacking, particularly in Australia, and so ordinary Australians need to step up and show the leadership that politicians can’t or won’t.

I lead Lighthouse and it’s a good example of what can be done when the community takes action and prioritises an issue.

This sort of place-based action flips power and decision making.

The community demands action, leads by example and tracks the outcomes, holding all accountable.

In light of the current leadership vacuum in this space it appears to be the only and best options for rapid change.

Community Boards can prioritise climate action within their organisations and suppliers, they can lobby and advocate for change and they can come together collectively to demand unified action.

What is your number one priority?

I want to see Prime Minister Scott Morrison, his cabinet and all of government fully acknowledge the situation we find ourselves in, to prioritise genuine action as a matter of the highest priority, throw themselves into leading genuine climate action and show the world what is possible.

Stroy from the Shepparton News by John Lewis.