Steve’s passion is water but our draining of Australia, our unsustainable water practices, are a long way second to the big issue we all must confront. 

A majority of Australians want deep emission cuts to be the outcome of the Paris Climate Talks. They do not want to be world pariahs, and are very embarrassed with the stance taken by the current government.

Steve’s mission is to convey that to the world.

The science is unequivocal. It’s time to end fossil fuel extraction for export.  It’s time to wean ourselves off this climate changing energy source. Deep emission cuts must be made now. The longer we wait, the costlier it will be. Costly in monetary terms and costly in human lives.

A conservative person insures their house, their car. They take out health and life insurance. They try to ensure that their life savings cannot be wiped out by events outside their control. Politicians who risk everything, who discount what almost all (at least 97%) of the experts are saying, are reckless – book burners, radicals, fanatics.

It is about risk. Maybe the deniers are right and we will waste our time making the world a safer, cleaner place by reducing pollution and destruction. Oh dear. What a shame.

But if the world experts, including every National  Academy  of Science  are right, the deniers would make the earth uninhabitable for humans. In other words we will be gone, kaput, no more, and the process will not be pretty.

Australia to coal exports is bigger than Saudi Arabia is to oil exports. If you made a line all around the world with Australia’s annual coal exports it would be higher than you and 4.5m wide. Australia is intent on doubling this in the next ten years. This is morally wrong, dangerous and pretty stupid. No other country in the world emits more CO2 per capita than Australia and on top of that Australia is the largest exporter of coal – not per capita, absolutely the largest. To do this we destroy our own country including the iconic Great Barrier Reef

What would be the cost to us to convert to renewable energy? Nothing. Nil. Zero. Zilch.  There would be a net benefit to the country. The cost would be to the corporations trying to preserve the status quo and fighting an inevitable future if mankind is to survive. It is time for truth. The time for lies is over.

Arduous journeys draw media.  At least that is what I thought. However, if you advise most of them, especially city media, that the journey is about climate change forget it, they won’t be interested. The greatest ever threat to our existence, far greater than the fears of nuclear war, apparently is not newsworthy. For the sake of my kids and their kids I will continue to do whatever I can.