In 2009, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott published his political autobiography ‘Battlelines' where he infamously stated “of course these climatic changes had little or nothing to do with human activity.” Whilst this statement is of course laughable, it is simultaneously disturbing. Politics has failed to evolve from theocratic times of the 17th centuary. Many Australians still live in clueless opposition to the veracity of climate change.
What startles me the most is that just a mere few months ago our nation was ruled by a man who was fuelling this skepticism which even despite the evidence, people sycophantically and foolishly believed. For decades western civilisation have been kept ignorant; whether it be from climate change facts
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Scientists advocating for Climate Change were scoffed and laughed at (some still are today). I like to think in some ways as Galileo being a reflection of us; the 4/5 who are informed and believe climate change is real.
Galileo, however, was not just an ordinary individual; he was ‘the greatest physicist’ of the age who believed that the truth should be forced through by people ‘who are prepared to reason’. Yet the Church’s response to Giordano Bruno (a man of ‘reason’ who was burned at the stake for heresy) showed how easily the ‘truth’ can be manipulated by those in power.
Galileo was suppressed by the Catholic Church, placed in a position to either recant or face “torture instruments”. The most disappointing aspect about the story of Galileo is that he died believing that had he stood firm he and other scientists “could have developed something like the doctors' Hippocratic oath, a vow to use their knowledge exclusively for mankind's benefit.” I believe we owe the great Galileo to at least to uphold this vow. It is imperative we stand firm and prevent skepticism infiltrating and subsequently sabotaging political policies and global action against climate