Border and north east people join Melbourne climate march

A petition with more than 500 signatures will be presented to Indi MP Cathy McGowan on Friday to send a message that climate change is not just a metro-based issue.

Wangaratta’s Climate Action Group was established just two months ago, but members have been busy collecting signatures as they work on a vision to create a more sustainable city.

About 20 people from the Border and North East will take on a bus trip to Melbourne next week for the People's Climate March on November 27.

Read The Border Mail story - “Rural groups travel to People's Climate March to work on climate change solution.”

Thousands in Melbourne's record climate march

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ens of thousands of people have gathered in Melbourne's CBD to demand world leaders take strong action to protect the planet at the Paris climate change conference.

One of many fascinating signs at yesterday's
record-making climate march in Melbourne.

The so-called People's Climate March was one of hundreds of rallies being held around the world in the lead up to the crucial meeting.

Members of The Cat Empire performed for the crowd, which included Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Greens Senator Richard Di Natale.

Organiser Victoria McKenzie-McHarg estimated the crowd was at least 60,000 strong.

"This absolutely is the largest climate change rally we have ever seen in Australian history," she said to cheers from the crowd.

Read today’s story in the Melbourne Age - “Thousands gather at Melbourne CBD rally ahead of Paris climate summit.”

Marching in Melbourne to illustrate concerns about climate change

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eople eager to illustrate their concerns for the world’s climate will be able to demonstrate those worries by joining a march next month.

World leaders meet in Paris late November, early December for the United Nations climate summit and people around the world, including here in Melbourne, will gather to demonstrate their concerns.

Organizers of the Melbourne walk say, “By coming together we can show that our government is out of step with the Australian community and the rest of the world.”

Australians will gather in cities through the country and walk alongside millions of people in hundreds of major cities around the world.

“Climate change,” according to organizers ofThe People’s Climate March, ”Hurts people. It hurts our health, our economy, our jobs, our food, water, environment and communities. And those who did the least to cause the problem feel the impacts first and hardest, like our brothers and sisters in the Pacific.

“The good news? The momentum for clean energy is unstoppable. We have the technology. We have the solutions.

“And the Australian people are leading the way. We are already taking action in our communities to protect the things we love. Over 5 million people power their homes with solar, farmers and Traditional Owners are saying no to mining on their land, and millions of Australians are calling for leadership from their politicians to support a planned transition away from coal and gas.”

Learn more about the march - “People's Climate March Australia - November 27-29”.

Collaboration,communication and cohesion will enable a proper response

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ollaboration, communication and the resulting cohesion will enable ordinary people to respond effectively to climate change.

That collaboration; collaboration we can all learn from is happening in New York City.

Writing on Grist, Ben Alder tells us “The folks who brought you the massive People’s Climate March in September are now turbocharging New York City’s efforts to combat climate change.”

His story - “NYC climate campaigners follow up blockbuster march with push for city action” – note that “Activists are now pressing the city council to pass key bills, as well as resolutions calling on state leaders to take action. The People’s Climate Movement NY is focused on three main bills, each of which has already been passed by the relevant committee.”

What’s happening in New York City is an exciting illustration of collaboration, communication and the resulting cohesion.

John talks about half a century of growing fruit and how it has changed

John Pettigrew.

Beneath the Wisteria supporter and Slap Tomorrow president, John Pettigrew, was one of eight speakers at the conclusion of the “People’s Climate March” in Melbourne’s Treasury Gardens.

He told of how 50 years of fruit growing at Bunbartha near Shepparton in Victoria had been made increasingly difficult by the differences he had experienced because of climate change.

His story was repeated in today’s Melbourne Age under the heading: “Climate change:Why I had to bulldoze 10,000 peach trees.”

“Everything from hot spells that the irrigation just can't handle, with huge evaporation rates, to relentless frosts and floods,” he wrote.

“We're running into more summer rains that are systematically destroying the growth and production cycle. Even aside from the weather conditions, it's the added cost of sun shades on orchards, the workforce not coping with the heat, along with just maintaining the quality of the fruit.

“Fact is, we no longer have the right patterns for growth,” he said.

'We can fix this, we can stop this madness" - Yeb Sano

“We can fix this, we can stop this madness,” so said Philippines’ climate negotiator, Yeb Sano.

The tearful negotiator appears in the movie “Climate Change Disruption” speaking at the 2013 Warsaw UN Climate Change conference that followed the most powerful storm this planet had ever seen.

Typhoon Haiyan affected almost 15 million people in the Philippines, including five million children.

The movie is many things, among them powerfully emotional as it points to the dilemmas arising out of earth’s disrupted climate, but more importantly it is encouraging all of us to do something and that something is to join the Sunday, September 21 People’s Climate March.

For those of us in Victoria, the Melbourne March starts at 11:00am at the State Library in Swanston St. and end at the Treasury Gardens. Similar marches can be found in all Australian capital cities.