Climate change action rolling through Hamilton

November 28 2007 – A new national campaign that’s inspiring thousands of New Zealanders to help tackle climate change is picking up speed.

The Be The Change Climate Rescue Tour arrives in Hamilton this Saturday asking that people in Hamilton join the rest of the country in taking an active and solution orientated role in combating climate change.

The Be The Change campaign, launched in Auckland by television personalities Robyn Malcolm and Francesca Price, is spearheaded by Greenpeace, Oxfam and Forest & Bird and is growing with new members all the time. Be The Change has joined with community groups and individuals to inspire all New Zealand into lessening their personal impact on the climate.

Via its website – www.bethechange.org.nz - the campaign has already encouraged thousands of New Zealanders to make changes in their lives and share their experiences with others.

Also part of the campaign is a biodiesel bus tour of the country, showcasing off-the-shelf solutions to climate change and inspiring groups and individuals to share their experiences in tackling this problem. The tour kicked off in Bluff at the beginning of the month and ends in Whangarei on December 15th.

The Bus will hold two open days in Civic Plaza and pay a visit to Hamilton Girls High School.

“Be The Change is about mobilising people and organisations to take action and persuade the government to live up to our responsibilities on climate change,” says Be The Change spokesperson Jo McVeagh. “We have the knowledge and we have solutions - we just have to start using them,” adds Ms McVeagh.

“There are already many people around New Zealand doing great things,” says Ms McVeagh. “Be The Change aims to capture and showcase these initiatives and show there's a growing movement of people who care about climate change, in order to inspire others to take action.

“The risk is people think the climate change problem is too big. It’s not. Every little bit helps and once you get a whole lot of people making small changes, it really makes a difference. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. We're all in this together so we all need to be involved in the solutions.”

The Be The Change campaign is gathering momentum towards the Global Day of Action on Climate on the 8th December, which will send a message from all corners of the globe to the leaders gathered in Bali to negotiate the next round of the Kyoto Protocol. The Be The Change campaign is also hosting a 'Climate Rescue Carnival' in Auckland on the same day.

The Be The Change Bus runs on biodiesel sourced from tallow (a byproduct of meat production) and the onboard office runs on solar power. The Hamilton open day includes an exhibition of impacts and causes of climate change, an opportunity to learn about everyday solutions, and a web centre where people can sign up on the spot to Be The Change.

According to the Ministry for the Environment, some of the predicted impacts of a moderate rate of climate change for Auckland include changes in average temperature, sea level rise and rainfall patterns. In general, much of the north of New Zealand is likely to become warmer.

Climate scientists estimate that Auckland's temperature could be up to 3°C warmer over the next 70-100 years. This compares to a temperature increase in New Zealand during last century of about 0.7°C. To put this in perspective, the 1997/98 summer, which many New Zealanders remember as particularly long, hot and dry, was only about 0.9°C above New Zealand's average for the 1990s.

Flooding could become up to four times as frequent by 2070. At the same time, long drier summer spells will put pressure on the water supply system.

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EDITORS NOTES

Local Open Days: Civic Plaza 1st & 2nd December, 10am- 5pm.

School Visit: Hamilton Girls High School Wednesday 3rd
December 9.00 am, Media welcome.

For the full Ministry for the Environment report on the effects of climate change in the Hamilton and Auckland area: http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/climate/about/climate-change-affect-regions/auckland.html