Uncategorized: climate change emissions trading global warming greenhour
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WHO CARES?
HOW MUCH SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE?
Callers to the Green Hour have recently expressed concern about the emissions trading scheme proposed by the government to apply real environmental costs to commercial activities. One of the most common views expressed is that we (the average citizen) cannot afford this impost of what most claim is just another tax. This raises the question - is global climate change a challenge we actually need to rise to, as we have done in the past to the challenge of war - or is it simply something we should ignore in the interests of maintaining our standard of living.
A hard call, really, because we can ignore it all we like but the consequences will keep costing us whether we have emissions trading schemes or not. The price of food is due to rise because there are more people and less food production, and that is already impacting on our standard of living. As is the rising price of oil. As is the rising price of minerals such as copper and zinc etc, which directly impacts on the manufactured items that are essential to our perceived standard of living.
Quite simply the cost of humans taking more and more from the resources of the planet is unavoidable. Moan all you like about emissions trading schemes, but in the end we pay. One sceptic of our feeble attempts to manage our way out of the present crisis predicts the cost will be 90% of the Earth’s human population over the next century. That’s right, only one in every ten of us will survive because there is simply not enough resource to keep us going.
Which makes the whingeing about emissions controls seem rather pathetic.
But this is not going to happen tomorrow, and for those of us already past 50, why should we worry? Personally, I worry because of the world I leave behind for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren needs to be as safe, secure and sustainable as possible, whatever it costs. I worry because we do not seem to be able to ascertain the difference between commerce and the value of life, even when faced with climate change that is already shattering the lives of thousands of our Australian neighbours.
Is this really the country that valued universal adult suffrage, social justice and aroha throughout most of its history. Or are we just another sad case of material addiction?
PUKEKO AND PAUA SOUP
1 pukeko hung. Pukeko need to be hung for up to a week or a minimum of 2 days. (An older bird is good for this, one that is a little too tough to roast or braise.)
1200 – 1500 ml water
1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stick, diced
2 bay and 2 kawakawa (optional) leaves
1 piece kombu (seaweed) (optional).
1 walnut sizes piece ginger
300 – 400 gm Paua (not bloody optional)
PREP 1> Hang the damn bird
PREP 2 > Can be done the day before.
Joint the cleaned bird. Gut the paua. Trim off the frills and all the black parts and mince finely. Reserve and chill black and white separately.
Place all the ingredients except the paua and kombu in a heavy pot and simmer slowly for 2 hours or more, (until the meat comes of the bone easily), add more water as required.
Lift out bird bits, rinse and remove meat from bone, shred and reserve
Pass (strain) stock and reserve, (the liquid idiot).
Garnish 2 :- extra dry vermouth or very dry sherry (optional), Garnish 4 :- coriander leaf.
METHOD >
Bring shredded meat up to kitchen temperature
Bring stock to boil, add minced paua, kombu and simmer 15 minutes.
Add 2 drops of sesame oil and pass, through double cloth to clear, keep warm.
Bash Paua ‘once’ with the side of a cleaver or similar and slice across the grain into 1cm steaks
ASSEMBLY>
Sear Paua steaks 20 seconds each side and slice diagonally
Place equal amounts of puke on ½ kawakawa leaf on the base of 8 soup plates, Fan white paua over.
Add a little garnish 2 and pour broth around meats.
SERVICE>
SERVE>