BECKIE WILSON
In a society that seems resistant to change, climate scientist Dr Alex Pezza hopes to make the point that change is not necessarily a bad thing, during a presentation in Masterton this week.
Wairarapa is expected to be hit with extreme climatic changes over the next 20 to 70 years, according to NIWA predictions.
Prolonged droughts and hotter temperatures will put stress on urban and rural water supplies.
Dr Pezza will be speaking to Wairarapa business owners on how water supplies in Wairarapa will be affected, based on his research.
His job was to make people aware of the future consequences and to get them thinking about it.
While climate change is being talked about widely, Dr Pezza said many people were resistant to change.
“As you can imagine in a community there might be different views, and views that people don’t think it is important or that we shouldn’t be talking about it,” he said.
Dr Pezza will be speaking to the business owners at the combined Wairarapa Chamber of Commerce and Water Wairarapa meeting tomorrow.
“It’s for me to give them a run down about what the predicting impacts are for Wairarapa with focus on water resources to try to increase awareness,” he said.
“I will try to emphasise key points that are important to Wairarapa, about how much more warming we are expecting. Obviously, drought is a very important issue.”
People relied on water, so it was something that should be talked about, he said.
His job could be difficult with many people not comfortable with change.
“We are not trying to change the world, but it is the beginning of the process that we want people to think about it and talk about it.”
Dr Pezza is originally from Brazil where he earned his PhD in atmospheric sciences from the University of Sao Paulo.
He now works as the senior scientist at the Environmental Science department of the Greater Wellington Regional council.
Representatives from Water Wairarapa will discuss the project in terms of NIWA’s predictions following Dr Pezza’s presentation.
The Wairarapa Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast begins at 7.30am tomorrow at the Copthorne Hotel & Resort Solway Park.
As climate change leads to dramatic changes in the day to day weather patterns, with hurricanes and floods frequently headlining the news around the world, it makes you wonder why people are still turning a blind eye to this ginormous issue. Is it so difficult for people to take an active role in the preservation of our mother earth?
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