Thursday 5 June 2008

Kiribati climate change rent-seeker seeks rent

Here is a classic example of the type of rent-seeking that the world will see more of in the not too distant future - small nations trying to pick the pockets of rich nations using the guilt of climate change as the reason.

This story contains one of the great lines ever showing what a crock the whole Climate Scam really is.
WELLINGTON: The President of the low-lying Pacific atoll nation of Kiribati says his country may already be doomed because of climate change.
Doomed! Doomed! We're all doomed, I say! Lost In Space's Dr Smith would have loved global warming.
Anote Tong says communities have already been resettled and crops destroyed by seawater in some parts of the country, made up of 33 coral atolls straddling the equator.
I'm sure that Anote Tong is well aware that Kiribati is a coral atoll located in an active seismic region. The water isn't rising, the island is collapsing as are many similar islands in the pacific in that region. Check out the Wikipedia entry on what an atoll is; it has an animation that shows what's happening to Kiribati and other places like it.
Although scientists are still debating the extent of rising sea levels and their cause, Mr Tong told a news conference marking World Environment Day that changes were obvious in his country of 92,000 people.
I suppose they would be obvious. The place is sinking.
“I am not a scientist but what I know is that things are happening we did not experience in the past,” the President said.
That's right. It's sinking.
“We may be beyond redemption, we may be at the point of no return where the emissions in the atmosphere will carry on to contribute to climate change to produce a sea-level change that in time our small low-lying islands will be submerged.

“Villages that have been there over the decades, maybe a century, and now they have to be relocated.

“Where they have been living over the past few decades is no longer there, it is being eroded.”
The Climate Faithful know that Kiribati is a sinking atoll but they're still happy to use it and Tuvalu and other places as 'proof' of the already apparent effects of climate change aka living in an advanced society.
At international meetings others had argued that measures to combat climate change would hurt their countries' economic development.

“In frustration, I said, 'No, it's not an issue of economic growth, it's an issue of human survival'.”
Human survival! The place is sinking! Break out the life jackets! Prepare the life boats! Get the local band to crank out Nearer My God To Thee! Women and children first!

Here it comes. One of the great lines ever delivered by a Climate Rent Seeker.

A classic.

One for the ages.

One that will take some topping.

Ready?

Under the worst-case scenario, Kiribati would be submerged by the end of this century and its people would have to be resettled in other countries, Mr Tong said.
Excuse me?

"...worst-case scenario...end of this century...?"

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

That is hilarious.

Quick, write that man a cheque to save his great-great-grandchildren from sinking without trace.

Do these people have no shame?

Oh, wait, they are the Climate Faithful after all. Truth is not an important value for them.

(Nothing Follows)

3 comments:

Myrddin Seren said...

Hi Jack,

With no disrespect to your obvious frustration on this, as the old saying goes "You can't blame the guy for trying" ! ;-)

They are certainly a country that would welcome steady cash injections from the rest of the world - for any reason.

And at the very least they do appear to have an issue that due to plate shift, tectonics or whatever - Kiribati may be on a one way ticket to Davy Jones Locker.

So Mr President and his advisors to a bit of a risk analysis on raising an international concensus to find a home and relocate the entire populace, possibly while trying to retain their cultural and national identity ?

And they probably figure out that if they wait for the 'international community' to come to the party on that one, their grandkids will be treading water.

But go to an international hot air forum in, say Bali with thousands of obviously wealthy junketeers, and lo-and-behold, all these media types and NGOs are falling over themselves to get the President to have his picture taken together with the Bundy Polar Bear as bellwether examples of climate catastrophe.

Blink - light goes on:

'These people have money - look at this mardi gras here in Bali !:
What's Mr Google tell us - holy moley, these western NGOs are awash with cash

http://www.climate-resistance.org/2008/05/well-funded-world-wide-fund-for-fear.html

These people in the Industrialised Nations obviously have too much money that they don't know what to do with if they are giving so much dosh to the crazy hairshirt types ?

And the crazy hairshirts are all making speech after speech that their obviously bulging national treasuries need to give us PILES of money to atone for the unhappy sea gods !!!

It is truely a miracle in our hour of need !!" End quote with tongue only partly in cheek.

And when you think about it from their perspective, it must look like the ultimate cargo cult - a miracle of the modern age.

May I presume to suggest that the real tragedy is that calm heads in major Pacific economies are not sitting down, quantifying the real problem that the islands are sinking, and trying to map out a concensus approach ?

I mean for goodness sakes - if they didn't want to squeeze into state capitals and major centres that are already grossly neglected and under-resourced by the Labor states but would agree to be part of a steady and measured relocation to regional Australia - I'ld welcome at least a part of an eventual Kiribati Exodus here.

So - let's not blame Mr President for not turning down the generous offers of other people's tax dollars being thrust his way by NGOs and other unaccountable bodies. Let's perhaps ask whether we haven't surrendered too much governance to unelected and unaccountable bodies on our own patches !

Thought for a long weekend.

Cheers

Jack Lacton said...

Hi Kevo,

I have no problem at all with the bloke trying to get on the Climate Gravy Train and get a piece of the action.

The fact that the drivel he is coming out with is taken seriously by the media shows just how insane the whole thing has become.

Cheers
Jack

Anonymous said...

I can't believe how fucking ignorant you are.