Heat em up, build em up

Move 'em out, head 'em up, get 'em up. So goes the 1958 song Rawhide, originally sung by Frankie Laine, but contemporary made popular by the mad Blues Brothers.

This song talks about a rancher on a cattle drive, but it could be re-written to show how we are building everything up without connecting the dots.

Cairns Regional Councillor Robert Pyne is always one to engage his public and spark debate, what every elected representative should be doing about issues. Robert wants our city fathers (and mothers) to wake up and smell the roses, while we still have them.

• Greetings!
  
  Perhaps the most amusing cartoon in Australian history involved two builders’ labourers.
  
  It shows one worker hanging from a beam many storeys above street level. One of his co-workers is hanging from his trousers, which are down around his ankles.
  
  As he struggles to keep his grip he looks down at his mate and says “stop laughing, this is serious”. This is a typically Australian approach to adversity, and is something that comes to mind as I consider our response to climate change.
  
  I know some members of our community of your refuse to accept the science of global warming, but that is no longer an acceptable position.
  
  Last weekend Melbourne recorded 47 degrees - its highest recorded temperature … ever! This was accompanied by bush fires of frightening intensity and tragically a number of people lost their lives.
  
  At the same point in history we can witness the melting of glaciers and polar ice. As a result of this ice melting, sea levels will continue to rise. Locally we will face more cyclones and flooding.
  
  It concerns me that many in government and in business are not prepared to make hard long term decisions based on science that is freely available. This may involve stepping outside past procedures and exposure to potential legal liability. However, if we continue to approve development in areas that will be adversely affected by climate change, we will be exposing future generations to costs that are unimaginable.
  
  So I challenge our leaders to show long term vision in their response to this matter. And to those who continue to ridicule the prospect of climate change, I extend the friendly challenge to “please stop laughing, this is serious!”
  
  Warm Regards,
  Rob Pyne

~ you can email Rob or visit his website.

NB: Rob originally sent this to the Cairns Post for publication, but they threw it in the rubbish bin.