Private Members Motion - National Climate Change Stategy 2000 - 21st March 2007

Private Members Motion - National Climate Change Strategy 2000 – 21st March 2007

Mr. Norris: I welcome this motion. The original Labour Party motion was one in Irish about the education system and I thought to myself "What fools". They have missed the obvious issue which is climate change. I had decided to table a motion and I got my colleague, Senator O'Toole, to second it. However, the issue is what is important rather than the personalities involved.

I congratulate the Labour Party on tabling this important motion.
I note at the outset that the evidence for climate change is now both overwhelming and incontrovertible. It is not simply confined to the apparently short historical records of scientific accuracy in our possession, because we also possess tools such as core samples and geological evidence. We can go back hundreds of thousands of years to ascertain the prevailing conditions. We know a highly significant change is taking place and that we are responsible for it. Even those who have no altruistic concern for the planet or for future generations have been jolted by the report of Sir Nicholas Stern, of which mention has been made. Effectively, he rattled the money box in the face of international capitalism. Demonstrating that the unchecked emission of carbon gases would lead to a 20% drop in global production has at last caught the attention of erstwhile blasé political leaders. This was followed by the report of the findings of a committee of more than 2,000 internationally reputable scientists, which pointed in the same direction.
However, there are still those who would deny it. A few voices, either eccentric or representing vested interests, have attempted to challenge the facts. Channel 4 broadcast a disreputable film along these lines that purported to represent a reasonable scientific viewpoint. However it is clear that the quotations from the few scientists whose views could be manipulated to these ends were selectively employed and even these scientists have, in large part, protested against the abuse of their names. One would not expect anything else from Channel 4, which has sunk from being a reputable station of strong investigative and progressive bent to being a mere vehicle for the recycling of the American situation comedies, vulgar so-called reality shows and similar rubbish. Just as in the past one had the disgraceful example of Holocaust deniers, one now has the unappetising spectacle, even among some Irish shock-jock journalists, of climate change deniers. Such people remind me of Mrs. Noah in the medieval miracle play "Noye's Fludde" who, drunk and irresponsible, had to be hauled on board the Ark by her unfortunate husband at the very last moment before the waters covered the earth, even as she continued to pretend that nothing was happening.
How is it possible for even the meanest intelligence to deny the clear evidence of climate change and human involvement in such change? All available evidence points in this direction. I saw it myself last year when I travelled to Svalbard in Spitsbergen because I heard an invitation over the airwaves from the Norwegian foreign minister. He stated that everyone who was interested in the subject should go there to see what is happening. This was not a sponsored trip and I was obliged to fork out myself for hotels in Norway.

Mr. Roche: I hope the Senator cycled.

Mr. Norris: I could not cycle. I flew, thus adding to my carbon footprint. However, the Norwegian ambassador was extremely helpful in making the arrangements and I saw the impact of climate change on the glaciers. All Members are aware that lumps have been falling off the Matterhorn and villages are threatened by the collapse, not simply of the ice formations, but also of the rock formations behind them. Significant rises in temperature have been recorded and have become so noticeable that even ordinary citizens, let alone scientists, across the planet are aware of this fact.
Animal, bird and insect species are disappearing at an ever-increasing rate and there have been changes in fruit and flower growing patterns. Last week, I heard people from County Wexford discuss the matter. It has affected the industry there and people in County Wexford have been obliged to change their economic patterns. At least one Pacific island has already disappeared under the ocean. Perhaps the doubting Thomas's will be convinced only when the planet explodes. By that time it will be too late and self-indulgence and stupidity will have triumphed. Members should remember the words of Chief Seattle, who said that if one spits upon the earth one is spitting on oneself. One cannot damage the environment without damaging oneself.
At the root of this problem lies the untrammelled capitalism of the world in which we live. This is predicated upon the unsustainable principle of an infinitely expanding market. However, this is an impossible and self-defeating idea because we live in a world of finite resources, as has been seen clearly in respect of fossil fuels. Nevertheless, in the past 40 years business has implemented the notion of planned obsolescence. In other words, decay is built into merchandise.
I recently came across a good example of this phenomenon. My washing machine flooded the kitchen and I summoned a plumber. When he asked me how long I had it, I replied that I had it for only 20 years. He nearly fainted and had to be given active resuscitation.

Mr. Roche: Poor man.

Mr. Norris: He told me that washing machines last for only five years, after which they are expected to conk out. I saw a programme recently in which it was stated that television sets provide good value for only approximately two years. I have sets going back to the 1960s, including a black and white 12-inch set in the kitchen, which still adequately receives the RTE television news while I am washing the dishes.
I am a prudent old Protestant and am old enough to remember when, on fashionable Nassau Street, there was a very good umbrella shop called Johnsons. It also re-covered them and replaced their spokes. However, that has gone, as have all similar enterprises. While I am lucky enough to have found a decent cobbler in my neighbourhood, most cobblers have vanished. Many of them have gone out of business because of increasing rents. I managed to get my old Roberts radio repaired last week in a shop in Aungier Street or Camden Street. It was almost the last radio repair shop in Dublin and it closed down last Friday. This disposable culture is a mistake.
I had a slight difficulty with the mobile telephone that the taxpayer kindly gave to me. It is a beautiful Nokia telephone about which I know nothing and I took it to a major retailer on Grafton Street. The assistant informed me that it could not be repaired and that even if it could, it would cost €450. The retailer gave me an upgrade at the cheap rate of €150. When I asked what would happen to my old telephone he replied that he would shove it in the bin. Luckily, I told my friend Tevfik and he was outraged. He pointed out that the telephone I had was the best on the market and told me to return immediately to the shop and retrieve it from the wastepaper basket, which I did. He told me it was the best telephone available and that it was being withdrawn because it was so good. Such telephones did not get damaged, enjoyed roaming facilities and so on. After fishing it out we found a Congolese shop. While such people may be poor and live on the margins, they knew what to do and managed to repair it for €20, which was fantastic. This issue of wastefulness lies behind the damage being done to the environment.
The Kyoto limits on carbon emissions have already been considerably exceeded by Ireland, which has been described as a delinquent. The European Environment Agency has stated that our transport emissions, excluding marine and aviation, grew by a staggering 140%. This is nothing to boast about and Ireland is among the worst polluters. However, like a drunk driver who breaks a red light, totals his car and perhaps fatally injures a pedestrian, we seem to be taking the view that as we have paid the fine, it is all right. However, this is not the case and we have made a mess. In terms of climate change, it is not simply the polluter who will pay as the entire planet will be forced to pay the price for the irresponsibility of world industry and world leaders.
Behind this issue there is not just an elephant in the room, but a tyrannosaurus rex in the middle of the floor. I refer to the population explosion.

Acting Chairman (Mr. Moylan): The Senator's time has concluded.

Mr. Norris: Since I sat the leaving certificate examination, the population of this planet has doubled and this cannot go on. However, I look in vain for a single political or religious leader who relates to this obvious fact. I have no patience for those who bemoan the decline in population in countries such as Italy and France. As we live in a global environment, I am delighted to hear of such declines.

Acting Chairman: I call Senator Brady.

Mr. Norris: Our ecological footprint is far worse than that of those living in the deprived parts of the world. I do not say this for myself as I am growing old, have no offspring and am unlikely to ever have. However, despite the depredations of mankind, there is a strong likelihood that this old planet will last my time. However, unless we change our attitudes, there is every chance that other Members' children will inherit a world that has been very significantly damaged and in which the struggle for survival will lead to ever more internecine conflicts and a situation where life itself will be barely worth the effort. As the Minister noted, we are still in time to amend our ways but only just. If we do not heed the warnings, there are stormy waters ahead.

Mr. Roche: Was it mouth to mouth resuscitation?

.