We’ve been listening to locals and asking the question for some time now “What do the people of this community want in regard to climate change?” and our sense is:
[ul]
[li]Locals are generally aware of climate change.[/li]
[li]They don’t want to talk about it and don’t want to be part of discussions about it and don’t want to listen to experts talk about it and don’t want to find out more about it.[/li]
[li]Many have fixed ideas about climate change mostly at great variance with what the mainstream scientists are saying.[/li]
[li]They want to focus on their personal wealth generation their family entertainment and enjoyment travel their social status sport their health (as expressed in what operations they’re having in what hospital and what the gap fee was) their hobbies their pets their gardens their boats or vehicles their homebrew and gossiping about people around and about.[/li]
[li]Some locals who are fundamentalist Christians see climate change happening and see it as foreseen in Biblical end-times (‘the Rapture’) but trust they personally will be saved by Jesus.[/li]
[li]Some locals in more of the tough-guy category think that guns and strongest thug-take-all will happen and you’re a fool if you think otherwise.[/li]
[li]Almost no-one is even slightly prepared or interested in anything that might mean reducing their standard of living in any way no matter what the risk to “the world” or “the future” or “their grandchildren”.[/li]
[li]There is almost zero focus on ‘the future’ or contingency planning for reasonably predictable risk and change (except planning the next trip or purchase of a major consumer item).[/li]
[li]Our state LNP leader says that climate change is not ‘anthropogenically caused’ and immediately dismantled the Office of Climate Change on taking office. [/li]
[/ul]