Part B – Final news story
The record for the biggest protest in New Zealand was broken on 27th September, as 170,000 people marched down Queen Street to fight for the effects of climate change.
Edward White, one of the strategy developers for the School Strike for Climate organisation stated that their goal was “urging political parties to back a strong zero carbon bill that would set New Zealand on the track to being carbon neutral by 2040”.
The protestors made their mark by linking arms to form a human chain from Aotea Square which ended in Quay street with a powerful rendition of Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi (Stuff, 2019).
Photographed are protestors marching in motion with their flags
New Zealanders have been wanting to get the government’s attention for a while, as this is the third climate strike this year. The effects are getting harder to ignore. Gen Timperly, an Applied conservation student at has learnt about its effects in university. She lists the consequences including really hot weather that is causing droughts, wildfires, and storms in America.
Desertification is spreading into urban areas and agricultural land which affects workers who need it to make a living. In New Zealand, it is messing up the breeding routine of our native lizards the Tuataras, causing an abundant amount of males compared to females.
Photographed is a sign of one of the protestors
Gen thinks one of the biggest steps to battle climate change is to raise awareness by educating the younger generation on it’s effects, as they are the ones who are going to have to live with the consequences.
One of the biggest solutions to cut out carbon emission would be to cut out red meat and dairy as the dairy industry is unsustainable. “Cows are also very polluting animals and land is constantly being cleared to make space for them.” Another solution is the zero waste concept. This includes making use of reusable bags, thrift shopping, and buying products with the least amount of packaging such as bulk shopping. The concept is about voting with your dollar so company’s know we don’t want plastic.”There are people who buy , they have big containers full of stuff and you bring your own packaging and scoop your stuff in there.”
Charlotte, another university student states “a lot of people don’t think as individuals you can make a difference but I think that’s a very harmful mindset to have. If all of us as individuals made a change then it would make an impact. At the very least people should have hope that they are doing something that would benefit the world.”
Edward white
Contact number 0211898702
Gen Timperly
+64 21 259 9309
References
Franks, J. (2019, September 27). Climate change strike: Up to 80,000 protesters form human chain in Auckland. Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/116143489/climate-change-strike-up-to-80000-protesters-form-human-chain-in-auckland
The arbitary life of a uni student 