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Greenpeace enlist NZ celebrities to push action on climate change

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New Zealand comedian Rhys Darby is supporting Greenpeace in their climate change campaign

New Zealand comedian Rhys Darby is supporting Greenpeace in their climate change campaign

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Tue, 26 May 2009 12:00a.m.

Greenpeace has enlisted the help of New Zealand celebrities such as Rhys Darby and eco warrior princess Lucy Lawless to help encourage kiwis to act on climate change this year.

The campaign was launched last weekend and has had more than 46,000 people sign on.

The new campaign has however received opposition from the New Zealand Climate Science Coalition, who say climate change is about science, not celebrities.

The coalition believes the current rise in global temperatures is a natural phenomenon and say there is no evidence that human greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change.  

Bryan Leyland of the NZCSC says Greenpeace is using celebrities in their ‘sign on’ campaign because they don't have scientists to keep it afloat.

“If they want to use celebrities they can, but don't pretend it makes the slightest bit of difference to the evidence,” he says.

A recent gathering of 2500 scientists from 80 countries at a United Nations conference in Copenhagen disagree and say inaction is inexcusable.
 
Bunny McDiarmid from Greenpeace says decisions made this year will have a profound impact on the planet.

“Every single country on this planet needs to act and every country needs to act this year,” he says.

Decisions that governments make on this issue will determine their legacy and will probably determine the future of all of us.”

Mr McDiarmid refused to respond to Mr Leyland's comments saying:

“Greenpeace chooses not to debate people who don't accept the scientific reality of anthropogenic climate change.”

Greenpeace’s overall goal is for John Key to sign on with world leaders when they gather in Denmark in December and implement a 40 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.

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Comments [7]

Jim
29 May 2009 2:27p.m.

"I believe we are dreaming and there is no one some Sheik and Shell/BP are going to jump if John Key were to put his foot down."
The passage reading "there is no one" should read "there in no way"
Sorry!!!

Jim
29 May 2009 1:49p.m.

Btw Nick
Since the beginning of time on this planet things have been changing. 98% of all earth species are extinct. Continents, climate, air have all changed drastically since the earth’s beginnings.
I hope you understand that the way we see the continents today, the way our atmosphere is today and the size our planet is today is only a SNAP SHOT in time (I must stress a very small moment in time). If I were to express the last ten thousand years as a fraction of the earth’s life the fraction would be as follows: 1 /450,000, a blink of an eye.
Most of the North Island of NZ rose out of the sea less than one million years ago and just imagine the colossal build up of carbon with those explosions.
In the past the earth had been in complete darkness for 600 odd years due to average sized comets hitting it and other large volcanos. These actions alone caused mass extinctions due the sudden (and not so sudden) climate changes resulting from these events.
Continents are going to continually change as they rise-over and dip-under each other the planet is going to continually re-size.
Unfortunately, humans will not make that significant change before technology (at the will of the oil co’s etc...) will take us down the track that allots of us want.
We will see!!!

Jim
29 May 2009 1:30p.m.

I maybe confused Nick
But to be honest there is alot of talk out there for my way of thinking and, of course, your way.
Ideally, it would be great to say "lets stop the oil industry now".
But we do not have anything in place to get 6 billion people mobile and working in industry at moments notice. Who is going to stop the single largest business on the planet from operating as it does now or shelving good cheaper alternatives. I believe we are dreaming and there is no one some Sheik and Shell/BP are going to jump if John Key were to put his foot down.
I believe that the advances will come in time, but it will mainly at the whim of the oil co's and all those (including several Govts) in their giant sized pockets!!

Nick
28 May 2009 6:19p.m.

Jim I think you're a little confused.

Greehnouse gas emissions, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, causes global warming. The atmosphere now contains 32 per cent more carbon dioxide than it did in the mid 1800s. The northern hemisphere is now warmer than any point in the last one thousand years.

This warming is causing the climate to change hence the term 'climate change'.

The symptoms of climate change are increased extreme weather events, desertification, species extinctions and sea level rise.

Scientists tell us that we need to reduce our emissions by 40% by 2020 if we're going to avoid really catastrophic climate change impacts. That's why Greenpeace is pushing for John Key to sign NZ on to 40% reductions at Copenhagen later this year. Sign On http://www.signon.org.nz will show him that he has the people's support to do so.

cherie
27 May 2009 1:03p.m.

Thats great
So what celeb's from NZ
Oh I know those fantastic actors from Shortland St or perhaps Paul Holmes and maybe even Mark Sainsbury yeah that would get everyone thinking?

Jim
27 May 2009 8:27a.m.

To the celebrities. Stick to acting!!!

Jim
27 May 2009 8:26a.m.

Why are you no longer calling it Global Warming, Greenpeace? Maybe because you realise that the planet has been cooling for the last 10 years.
Just give it another name so that (hopefully to your minds) us ignorant peasants will “now” go along with this subtle change of wording and not expose you people for the political scaremongerers you are!!!

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