A brief speech was made at the opening the 4 DEGREES Art exhibition at the Butter Factory Art Space in Bairnsdale on Friday 1st April, by artist and manager Peter Neill.
“Wouldn’t it be lovely if there wasn’t any Climate Change? But the hard scientific evidence shows that it is happening and hoping that it will go away just won’t work. Understanding the science about the enhanced Greenhouse Effect is straight forward. By burning so much fossil fuel we are overloading the atmosphere with greenhouse gases making our planet ever increasingly warmer. However putting in place solutions to halt Global Warming is a ‘wicked problem’…Wouldn’t it be lovely if someone fixed it up! Yes it would but there are no heroes or saviours. We are all in this together.
…Wouldn’t it be lovely if somehow we could turn this climate trend around and not get to 4 degrees! Yes it would and yes we can! We have the technology to do it. But despite the seriousness of our situation many people find climate change a difficult subject to engage with. As artists we hope that our artwork will be a catalyst for community conversation and action.
Here’s a few ideas for individual action…1. Be informed…google it, read about it – there is a great deal of information available. 2. Don’t look away! If we continue with business as usual we are on track for a 4 degree world. Think and reflect about what that means… imagine the future catastrophe. 3. ‘Challenge the Silence’. The solutions to climate change have to belong to all of us and the first step in finding solutions is to talk about it. We all belong to many different groups and tribes… family, friends, work place, sport, clubs committees etc. Speak up about it in all of these groups. 4. Do Stuff. We all make choices every day both big and small which affect the impact we have on the planet. 5. Join a group of like-minded people. 6. Write an email or 3…. Make climate change a big issue at our forthcoming election. 7. Never give up!”
(Note the 4 degrees Art Exhibition is on at the Bairnsdale Butter Factory until the 29 April Daily 10.30-3.0pm. About 40 people attended the opening on 1 April and a number of works have been sold.)