Scrapping the Carbon Tax suicidal – David Suziki > Q&A monday

David Suzuki warns on Australia’s fate if we ditch         carbon pricing

mining magnates are manipulating the debate in             Australia just like they are doing elsewhere. Like the             tobacco industry before them, they have known for years that             climate change is happening and that burning fossil fuels is             at the heart of it. But to maximise their profits they have             continued to sow misunderstanding and confusion, funding the             sceptics to perpetrate the myth that global warming is junk             science.

     

They should be ignored because there is no confusion             in the scientific community about what’s happening to our             planet and what the future holds unless we change the way we             live.

     

climate-AustTony Abbott will doom             future generations if he ditches carbon tax   September               18, 2013 SMH, David Suzuki  ”………..Half the           coral on the Great Barrier Reef has disappeared in the past 27           years and its size could halve again in the next decade with           degradation of the environment and the increasing frequency of           cyclones.

     

Bushfires in Australia are getting more severe and more           frequent. I see in Sydney you have already had your first           fires barely a week into spring. And what has your new           government done in response? As soon as Mr Abbott won power,           he promised to wind back Australia’s recent efforts to combat           global warming.

     

His promise to scrap the carbon tax, a tax which had been           a timid step in the right direction, to close down your green           energy bank and to reduce the rebates for buying solar panels,           all send a terrible signal to your entrepreneurs and to the           community.

     

And all of it is being done in the name of saving the           economy.

     

But for more than 20 years the insurance industry has           been telling us we have all been paying more for changes in           the climate. Why aren’t we listening to the insurers, the           hardest business heads of all?

     

I would have thought Australia would be leading the world           in developing a new economy because climate change is going to           devastate Australia.

     

Instead, mining magnates are manipulating the debate in           Australia just like they are doing elsewhere. Like the tobacco           industry before them, they have known for years that climate           change is happening and that burning fossil fuels is at the           heart of it. But to maximise their profits they have continued           to sow misunderstanding and confusion, funding the sceptics to           perpetrate the myth that global warming is junk science.

     

They should be ignored because there is no confusion in           the scientific community about what’s happening to our planet           and what the future holds unless we change the way we live.

     

A carbon tax is just one small step to encourage           companies and individuals to reduce dumping rubbish into the           atmosphere.

     

Don’t Australians pay to put their junk into landfill?

     

The consequences of dumping our junk in the atmosphere           are far greater than leaving garbage in the streets so why           don’t we limit it by making people pay to dump it? It’s the           most basic lesson of economics. Anyone who understands and           cares about the environment and economics will know ditching           the carbon tax is not only crazy, it is absolutely suicidal.

     

David             Suzuki is an award winning scientist, environmentalist           and broadcaster. He will speak at a City of Sydney City Talk           on Tuesday, September 24, at City Recital Hall, Angel Place.             http://www.smh.com.au/comment/tony-abbott-will-doom-future-generations-if-he-ditches-carbon-tax-20130917-2tx0j.html#ixzz2fHLpA7ov