Walk Against Warming

Tomorrow is the international day of action against climate change and I'd encourage you to attend the activities planned for your neck of the woods.

In Australian cities and many towns, there will be a Walk Against Warming, kicking off at 11 am.

I believe we should be getting the message to our national leaders, in particular the current federal government, that we need better responses to the threat of climate change than this:

Federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey says using "shade cloth" over parts of the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland could protect it from the harmful effects of global warming.

Earlier this week, Britain's Stern report said climate change could cause a global economic downturn and bleach the reef.

Ms Bailey says the shade cloth idea came from a scientist who found that coral in natural shade was healthier than that in direct sunlight…

One of the suggestions is to attach the shade cloth to pontoons, which is an idea Ms Bailey says is worth considering if it will help protect the reef.

"We're very concerned because this is a $5.8 billion tourist industry on the reef, employing 33,000 people," she said.

For some context, the Great Barrier Reef stretches over 2,300 km along Australia's north-east coast. Covering 344,000 square km, it's almost one and a half times the size of New Zealand. That's a lot of shade cloth.