The Mayor's Column
Mosman people, you were magnificent on Saturday 29 March.
Many of us turned off lights for one hour to mark Earth Hour, joining more than 30 million people across the globe, to show a commitment to our planet. I joined the Mosman Climate Challenge Group and others to picnic by candlelight at the Balmoral Rotunda. A number of local restaurants hosted candlelight dinners.
Last week we saw graphic evidence of global warming in the Antarctic, where the 1000 year old Wilkins ice shelf, about the size of the greater Sydney area, is splitting off from the ice cap, illustrating the alarming effect of temperature increase on this sensitive place.
As Sydney turned off lights, a bonus was the beauty of the night sky, inspiring the National Trust to decide to declare the sky over NSW a heritage item. So many lights are needlessly left on all night in our cities. It is time to change these wasteful habits and make a huge reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Mosman Climate Challenge, coordinated by the state’s peak environmental group the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, was launched on Saturday afternoon at Mosman Civic Square. Many people gathered information from the eco stalls, green living talks and demonstrations and signed up to take part in the Challenge. They picked up a pack to help them on their way and a native plant for the garden.
Over 300 residents so far have pledged to take part and to take the steps necessary to reduce their ecological footprint in their own homes. There will be prizes and incentives along the way, but the biggest prize is knowing that we have taken personal responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate global warming.
Mosman Council was brave in measuring our ecological footprint. Many other areas in Australia would match us if they dared. As the first metropolitan council to host the Climate Challenge, Mosman can show leadership and inspiration.
Our target is 1,000 homes and businesses in Mosman. If you have not taken the Challenge, you can find the forms at Mosman Council, on the Climate Challenge website and at Mosman Markets next Saturday 5 April.
Cr Denise Wilton, Mayor of Mosman
