We are calling on residents of the Armidale Regional Council to join with other communities around the world and call the dire climate changes that we are experiencing ‘A Climate Emergency’.
As Armidale is in the grip of level 4 water restrictions, the first of any restrictions since the construction of Malpas dam in the early seventies, it is time to reflect on what is happening to our climate, and, as a result, many aspects of our daily lives. We are becoming more reliant on artificial cooling, as well as the traditional heating. Food is becoming more expensive as it becomes harder to grow. We are forced to spend more time indoors during summer, due to the intense heat. More globally, our rivers are drying, our snowcaps, glaciers and poles are retreating, our waters are warming, our own Great Barrier Reef is dying, our remaining vegetation is being destroyed, our flora and fauna are heading for extinction at an enormous rate. Already in our short time in Australia, we have removed 80% of our forests and stood by as vast numbers of plants and animals have become extinct. Right now, more than 1,800 plant and animal species and ecological communities are at risk of extinction in Australia.
According to recent scientific reports, we now have only 11 years to act before the climate changes become irreversible.
We believe that each local government area can/should do more to help combat climate change. The first step is recognising that we are facing an emergency.
Will you please sign our petition to get the Armidale Regional Council to declare a climate emergency, as the first step in working out what we, as a region, can do to make things better?
Not one of us can hide behind any government and wait for action. It’s up to us to fight for the changes we need, to let our various stages of government know what we are seeking.
Globally, 605 council regions have heeded the call to take things more seriously. These councils represent 76 million people. In Australia, 22 councils, with populations ranging from 12,000 to 422,000 people, encompassing over 2 million people all up, have seen the light and declared their areas as facing an emergency. Now it’s our turn to step up.
