Shell World Article: Young hesitant to act on climate change

By 2050 people will travel in flying cars, get much of their power from renewable energy and live a life of luxury in a world without borders.

That optimistic image of the future emerged from a survey of young adults in 27 countries worldwide. And while survey respondents believe their generation will have to adapt to rising sea levels and other effects of global warming, they are reluctant to make personal sacrifices that could help address the problem. More...

This is a fascinating article visiting the opinions of climate change from world young adults. I presume that young New Zealanders have differing opinions as well. Here in NZ, especially Wellington and Auckland, we have a hedonistic lifestyle, but we are still thoughtful about how we affect others around us. We still have a good outlook for the future, but that is affected by living in Godzone. Climate change is affecting NZ, but it looks like it affects mostly horticulture (e.g wine) and our power generation sectors since we're mainly powered by hydroelectricity which is dependant on rainfall levels. Tourism and other industries dependent on weather don't seem so much affected yet.

As a small nation, I wonder if we have actually made a difference to those not so materially rich too. What has history told us whether we've been effective with Fiji or Tonga, or East Timor? Has our environmentalism or conspicous-consumption affect those Pacific Islanders that are living in low-lying atolls?