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The walkers want to challenge our leaders by challenging themselves.
They will travel through some of Australia's land most vulnerable to
climate change, bearing witness to the landscape's fragility. South
Australia is the country's driest state. The Murray Darling basin will
be one of three Australian regions hardest hit by climate change.
Greenpeace energy campaigner, Ben Pearson, says, "Tackling climate change and protecting the Murray are inextricably linked. If climate change continues unchecked, the Murray River, the lifeblood of the Australian continent, will die."Death of the Murray?
If the Murray River falls victim to climate change, many South Australians will lose their most valuable resource. The Murray Basin provides drinking water for a million people in Adelaide and many other towns. It sustains 30,000 magnificent wetlands, floodplains and unique red gum forests.
Climate change will worsen the Murray's existing water quality and quantity difficulties. A recent federal government report identifies the Murray Darling Basin as one of three Australian regions "highly vulnerable" to climate change. The report states that higher temperatures, reduced rainfall and more frequent and intense droughts could slash run-off in the basin by up to 20 per cent by 2030.
With the March 18 South Australian election around the corner, these walkers challenge politicians to deliver policies which reduce greenhouse pollution by quitting coal and shifting to clean, renewable energy.
If you live in South Australia, check the candidates' clean energy policies and make your vote count on March 18!
The Murray to Mike walkers, supported by Greenpeace and the Conservation Council of South Australia, ask Mike Rann's government to make a binding renewable energy target law. Otherwise, the clean energy industry may take its jobs and investment across the border to Victoria, where the Bracks government is introducing a legislated target.
Greenpeace, the Conservation Council of SA and Murray to Mike walkers call on all candidates in the South Australian March 18 election to develop policies to:
* reduce greenhouse pollution by 20 per cent by 2020 and 60 per cent by 2050
* legislate for a state renewable energy target of 25 per cent clean energy by 2020
* establish an energy efficiency and demand management fund to stabilise and reduce electricity consumption, backed by supporting legislation.
