Editorial: Climate needs to be a priority

The climate changed in Whanganui on Saturday - heavy rain gave way to bright sunshine and that will have pleased the 300 people who took part in the Climate Change march calling for action from governments at the Paris summit to stop the Earth over-heating.

There is a lot of argument and counter-argument over climate ... there are alarmists and deniers, those who blame carbon dioxide emissions and those who blame the sun.

I am no scientist, but even I can seen the increasing extremes of weather affecting all parts of the globe. More pertinently, I can see the impacts of humankind on the environment.

Even if we are not causing the polar ice caps to melt, our march of "progress" has devastated the natural habitats of many of the creatures with whom we share this planet; environmentally-valuable forests have been sacrificed for crop-growing land or for human habitation; waterways have been polluted and vital ecosystems have been pushed out of kilter.

Species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate of knots but then, when it comes to mass murder, history tells us that Homo sapiens has no peer.

One issue raised at the Majestic Square rally was the idea of the Whanganui District Council appointing a Climate Change Officer with the scientific know-how to guide council policy.

It's a challenging idea and worthy of consideration. Four councillors - mayor Annette Main, Hamish McDouall, Helen Craig and Martin Visser - were present, and it will be interesting to see if it reaches the council chamber.

On a brighter note, compromises to the Resource Management Act reforms late last week have resulted in the dubious notion of economic development carrying the same status as environmental protection being jettisoned.

One commentator wrote that the reformed bill "represents a landmark victory for the environment over the economy". They added: "It must be the public's view that the environment is the 'bottom line' consideration."

On Saturday, around the world, the public's view on climate change was also very evident.