The First Victims of Climate Change Hysteria
Would you be prepared to sacrifice a little bit of convenience to save future generations from the catastrophe of Global
Warming? Of course you would.
Would you be happy to lose your own job in the same cause? Hmm, steady on, who is talking about job losses? All that we
need to do is change to ugly light bulbs and drive smaller cars, right? Actually, no. If we really want to achieve Prime
Minister Helen Clark's lofty goal of 'carbon neutrality', an awful lot of jobs will have to be lost in the process of
curbing agricultural and industrial activity. Unless the Prime Minister is just blowing hot air, that is.
The undeniable fact is that we cannot substantially reduce our globally minuscule carbon emissions without impoverishing
New Zealanders. The only practical way to even begin to move towards Miss Clark's goal is to forget all about economic
growth - as the Green Party understands only too well. Miss Clark once had the goal of boosting economic growth to match
that of the world's wealthiest countries. To forget all about that goal is precisely what her government seems to be
doing.
Reducing economic growth doesn't just mean enjoying fewer luxuries. It means people losing their jobs in droves -
impoverishment works like that. What we need to find out is, who will be the first to go? We think that two groups are
good candidates for being the first victims of climate change hysteria: greenies and rugby supporters.
Greenies because, as New Zealand becomes impoverished for the sake of saving the planet, we will discover that poor
countries do not have money to fly environmental activists around the world to attend conferences of concerned people
held in exotic destinations. The professional environmental activist is a species found only in affluent countries. Poor
countries do not breed them. So, they will be the first to go.
Next, rugby supporters. These days, it is almost impossible to get a seat on a direct flight to or from South Africa.
The reason is that the planes are full of rugby players and their hangers-on, flying to or from New Zealand and
Australia to South Africa. You can expect newly unemployed greenies to protest vociferously against such a waste of
precious carbon and you can also expect a government committed to carbon neutrality to take them seriously.
So, there you have it. A future with no greenies and no footy. How dismal.
ends