Keisha responds to Key

Congratulations on sticking to the message positively and not engaging in any petty tit-for-tat. If John Key fails to show leadership in determining Aotearoa's response to climate change, we'll no doubt soon be wishing he'd stuck to trading stocks.

My advice to John Key would be to stick to his day job, which is (or should be): representing New Zealanders. And actually I think Keisha is doing a better job of that than Mr Key is right now, judging by the support for a 40% cut by 2020 that was expressed by so may kiwis in Nick Smith's consultation meetings. All this talk of how prohibitively expensive it would be to cut our emissions by the amount that scientists say we need to to prevent dangerous climate change. What nonsense, we can't afford *not* to have a habitable planet. Has the PM asked his officials to cost out a couple of Pacific Islands becoming uninhabitable and how much of our own coastline and low lying land we'd lose with the sea level rise expected if we keep on pumping out CO2 at the rate we are? The impacts of inaction are pretty quickly going to outweigh and dwarf the cost to stand with the rest of the region and the world and tackle climate change.

I'm sorry. Even though I don't know if Key should have used the exact language he did, it's really hard for me to believe in human caused climate change. If it REALLY is happening, then I'd be the first to jump and and lend support to the cause, but I don't believe it is happening.

Keisha, you said last night that you wouldn't lend your name to just anything without looking into it - have you looked at the other side as well? The science definitely is not settled on this. The Earth has actually cooled in the last 10 years which is why Greenpeace and others refer to "Climate Change" now and not the term "Global Warming". May I ask what makes you think it is human-caused? Because Al Gore says so?

ps, as for Pacific Sea Levels - a new paper out today by an Australian scientist, shows them to be stable -

SEA LEVEL IN THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC IS STABLE
Posted 4 August 2009

“Graphs of sea level for twelve locations in the southwest Pacific show stable sea level for about ten years over the region. The data … suggest that any rise of global sea level is negligible….. Sea level studies have not been carried out for very long, but they can indicate major tectonic components such as isostatic rebound in Scandinavia. ..Modelling to show alarming rates of sea level rise (associated with alleged global warming) are not supported by primary regional or global data. Even those places frequently said to be in grave danger of drowning, such as the Maldives, Tuvalu and Holland, appear to be safe”. – New paper by Cliff Ollier, University of Western Australia.
LINK to download pdf here http://nzclimatescience.net/images/PDFs/paperncgtsealevl.pdf

I think she really need stick to her acting careers, i do not know how good actrees she is. But until she really studied subject which she tried speak about, she better stays on place where she is belong.
Does she know anything about solar activity?
Does she know anything about volkanoes?

Keisha for Prime Minister!!

It's pretty rattling to be personally attacked by someone so high up, but you handled it gracefully and with dignity. Good on you! Kia Kaha!
All school children study environmental concerns, so while we may not be scientists most of us have had a pretty good education about it.
John Key's has to realise the public isn't stupid.
His children will know what's going on, and I wonder how he faces them.

Good job on keeping the issue in the media, John Key is a joke and it's slowley coming out that his capitalist government wants nothing to do with environmental issues. Good job

Go Kiesha

You have the brains to listen to the scientists and the sense to worry about our kids. Something John Key has not.

Kerry

I totally agree with everything you have said. Very wise words! Go Girl!

Be strong Keisha!
With the amount of people who have joined the sign-on campaign, John Key must start to listen! Science has proven that climate change is human-induced. If we do not take the chance to act now, there will be serious consequences. Not acting is an action in itself. Even without our PM's support we can all make a difference daily, by reducing our own carbon footprint and that of our families. Everyone who is working at this, keep on going!

Nationals implausible marginal response (the 15% PM. Key is 'targeting' for 2020) is business as usual.

Any functional profit motivated business would have to drop its emissions by 15% purely due to energy saving efficiencies that would be normal business practice anyway. It represents a do nothing goal state pretending to be fiscally responsible.

When betting against the planet, the planet always wins.

The Stern report made it clear that what ever solution is chosen, it had to be equitable and enduring. To do so NOW was the least cost option and the price of carbon had to have a specific measurable target. But Stern's estimate of 70-90 pounds per tonne range to see the changes required is unlikely to pass any National caucus muster. That according to Stern's percentage of GDP 'in now' [about 1%] to drive a low carbon, less energy economy would place carbon at arround NZ$250 per tonne.

And for carbon consumers, the ones that save, there could be a windfall selling the unused portion. If my 40% saving off my 9 tonnes per annum between now and 2020 is amortised to net present value based on collective perceived risk and corporate desire to risk manage carbon intensity my savings today are 3.6t x11yr x $250 = $9000 or about half a starbucks coffee/day. In eleven years time, I could expect $2 wont even buy the sugar!

Such a system would be a equitable property rights 'contraction and convergence' whereas Key's Brownlee's, Smith's et al represents the haves; all expansion and divergence. It engages no one other than accountants whose propensity for cost plus is legendary.

Social capital is intergenerational equity, if 40% reduction by 2020 is 'to big', a bridge to far, it will only be so because we waited to long to do what is required to fix it. It is population based stakeholder buy in that is required. Leaving it up to corporate greenwashing is a risk to great to bear.

Smith is a stool pidgeon. The responsibility lies on Key's caucus's shoulders, not the chosen emissary to Copenhagen.

Kia Ora Keisha, it's good to see you are specking out about climate change and also standing up for your right to speak about real issues that concerns you, family and the world.

Climate change here in Aoteroa will be devastating, how we go about it is one thing, but preparing for the enivitable is where we should be looking. Making plans to combat rising tides,increase water storage facilities, look at evacution plans, Hospital and emergency strategies, Law and order, Food and shelter to feed the homeless and hungry thousand expected. Medicine's for the ill and injuried.

Auckland will not survive Volcanic eruption, if one did happen to start, nor a massive sunami that rock indonesia back in 2005. or a massive Earthquake that will hit New Zealand, Climate change is just adding to the other expected challenges we're all going to face.

Where do we place the facilities to handle the above if they all happen at once, while at work, kidz at shool, each... what would you do if you where away from your daughter and hell's breaks lose, and you are separated. this is one of the things I think about concerning my family.

Things you do now to prepare for the likely scenario, what if... and climate change is part of the problem, what would you do...

Ka kite

Im 16 and i think that everyone has a say . But aswell i think we should all have faith in God . Hes the way . Life is not life with out Jesus . Jesus is life .

I say John Key is a NUMPTY! Bring back Helen! She would sooooooo back this cause up! 100%