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Sunday, June 25, 2023

Clive Bibby: Once were Warriors


Kiwis of all shapes and sizes will no doubt identify with this message from the provinces.

I say that because our region is not the only one that has felt the full force of the climate change induced destructive power and no doubt it won’t be the last.

But because of our position at the most exposed NE part of the North Island, we do appear to be more vulnerable on a more regular basis.

Therefore the whole nation will be interested in our progress towards rehabilitation.

So, here is an update of how the good people of Tairawhiti are copping under extreme pressure. Unfortunately not all our citizens are receptive to the lessons that are obvious but hopefully, over time that will change.

As those of us trying to cope with this repeated weather onslaught wonder how many times we can come back with the energy and spirit required to operate effectively, the people who are in a position to make a real difference to our future prospects are sending mixed messages - few of which are what we need to hear.

On the one hand there are the same old racially and ideologically driven pressure groups demanding they have a dominant role in redesigning how the community survives in the future.
 
On the other there are those who want to harness what remains of the essential working parts - including the most important ingredient, the people - in order to restructure our economy in a form that protects the environment while allowing the essential industries that are still viable to continue trading.

It must be obvious to anybody looking at the battered bodies of those “who once were warriors” that we have only one realistic option - and it isn’t one that involves capitulation to those whose agenda reeks of self entitlement and/or involves a mortgage on ideas for a better future.
 
In case you weren’t watching - which is understandable when the destruction of property and matters of the soul occupies every minute of ones waking hours - those who have the power to make it happen appear somewhat disingenuous with their promises of help. What does the record show?
 
It would be an interesting exercise to add up the total number of government promises offered to this region in the wake of the two cyclones this year alone and compare what has been promised with what has been delivered.
 
I say that as an admittedly cynical response to what is needed and what is still somewhere on the way. It is a bit like waiting for the cavalry to come over the hill.
 
We’ve sort of given up waiting for it to arrive. We need to do better.
 
But what is needed now is not the never ending tour parties of cabinet ministers shedding crocodile tears about our plight - we need HOPE and confidence that our local leaders really do have our back and have a workable plan that will involve all the diverse contributions from those who have something to offer. Because what we need is here already. At least, last time l looked it was.
 
Alas, the Council’s LTP cupboard is bear and it appears will remain so until someone of vision takes charge.
 
I know that readers are no doubt becoming sick and tired of hearing this cracked record about the regions future prospects but the truth is we do have many which could halt the downward spiral and put us on a path to prosperity.
 
However, we need leadership that is inspirational although that will only come when we stop stating the obvious and adopt policies that will provide the rebirth that is essential.
 
Let’s do it.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.

7 comments:

oneblokesview said...

Clive, I know its fashionable to blame the recent cyclones on man made climate change.

Unfortunately IPCC reports don't support this.
I am not a climate change denier, rather I like to apply rational thinking when accosted by Climate Change hysteria,


An extract for information.
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/chapter/chapter-11/

11.7.1.1 Mechanisms and Drivers
The genesis, development, and tracks of TCs depend on conditions of the larger-scale circulations of the atmosphere and ocean (Christensen et al., 2013). Large-scale atmospheric circulations, such as the Hadley and Walker circulations and the monsoon circulations can significantly affect TCs, as can internal variability acting on various time scales (Annex IV), from intra-seasonal (e.g., the Madden–Julian and Boreal Summer Intraseasonal oscillations and equatorial waves) and interannual (e.g., the El NiƱo–Southern Oscillation and Pacific and Atlantic Meridional Modes), to inter-decadal (e.g., Atlantic Multidecadal Variability and Pacific Decadal Variability). This broad range of natural variability makes detection of anthropogenic effects difficult, and uncertainties in the projected changes of these modes of variability increase uncertainty in the projected changes in TC activity. Aerosol forcing also affects sea surface temperature (SST) patterns and cloud microphysics, and it is likely that observed changes in TC activity are partly caused by changes in aerosol forcing (Evan et al., 2011; Ting et al., 2015; Sobel et al., 2016, 2019; Takahashi et al., 2017; Zhao et al., 2018; Reed et al., 2019). Among possible changes from these drivers, there is medium confidence that the Hadley cell has widened and will continue to widen in the future (Sections 2.3, 3.3 and 4.5). This likely causes latitudinal shifts of TC tracks (Sharmila and Walsh, 2018). Regional TC activity changes are also strongly affected by projected changes in SST warming patterns (Yoshida et al., 2017), which are highly uncertain (Chapters 4 and 9).

oneblokesview said...

My response was to your assertion.

........t has felt the full force of the climate change induced destructive power .........

Clive Bibby said...

Greetings onebloke’sview
It was never my intention to promote either side of the debate about the origin of climate change. I prefer to deal with the changes to the environment l observe working at the coalface and then make an assessment of what is happening based on what l know to be true.. If the evidence suggests that our current almost unprecedented sequences of atmospheric storms was not somehow associated with climate change, l would have said so. Frankly there is enough conflicting evidence for both of us to be right.
But that isn’t the point of my piece.
I am satisfied that climate change is happening and we need to learn to live with it - period.
My beef with our leaders is that they focus on policies that will have little effect on how climate change effects New Zealand’s ability to peacefully coexist with this phenomenon.
I am equally satisfied that there are ways we can restructure our economies that will actually benefit us and protect the environment at the same time without cutting the throats of a single cow or planting a single tree on land that is more suitably used for livestock farming.
It is a no brainer but our leaders are so consumed by idealogical purity that they continue to pursue their crazy objectives while we the people
become collateral damage in the process.

CXH said...

Meng Foon is back in the job market.

Anonymous said...

What if 'climate change' was man made?? Geoengineering, weather modification and solar radiation management techniques have been going on since the 1940's and are being ramped up by the NWO to serve a purpose, namely attack the food source/supply, drive farmers off of the land, drive people out of remote areas and into 15 minute cities with the assets (private property) transferring from us to them (transfer of wealth) They also have directed energy systems hidden down in the Antarctica capable of causing earthquakes and tsunami.
Do you think this 'agenda' might explain the hysteria around climate (weather)

Ken S said...

Climate change or the Tongan volcano eruption?

Lesley Stephenson said...

Ah but the Govt are 'working very hard' on it. If only you all had a dollar for every time that phrase has been used by this Govt.