Penny Hulse respects & supports kids wagging for nationwide school strike

A bunch of kids decide to wag school but Auckland Councillor Penny Hulse reckons it’s all good.

On the same day as the nationwide schools strike for climate change action, councillor Penny Hulse has announced the council’s Environment and Community Committee will have the declaration put in front of them for a vote. Ms Hulse, who is chair of the committee, expects it to pass. She said a declaration would put climate considerations front and centre of council decisions.

Which would be great if it meant the council not being able to do anything except maintain infrastructure and day to day business.

“This isn’t just an empty gesture; we can back it with the actions. At that same meeting we will hopefully be signing off consultation for our Climate Change Action Plan,” Ms Hulse said. […]At this stage it would not trigger any legal actions, she said.

Yes, at this stage…

[…]“This is about making a statement, but it’s also about directing all our policies, and all our thoughts into this absolute emergency that our world is facing.

Virtue signalling in other words.

[…]Ms Hulse said she supported the widespread School Strikes for Climate around the country on Friday. “Against the wishes of their schools, they’re participating, and respect to them for that.

So it’s ok to wag school.

[…]It would be the third city in the country, following Nelson and Christchurch, as well as the regional council Environment Canterbury.

Idiocy is contagious.

Several more have declared an emergency internationally, including London and Vancouver.

rnz.co.nz

I don’t know if AGW is real and I don’t know if there’s a climate emergency. But I do know that extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof. My bet is that most of these kids wouldn’t be able to name a single report supporting the claim that there’s a climate emergency. I bet most of them wouldn’t be able to name anything.

But, you say, what if there’s a climate emergency? Wouldn’t it be best to act as if it was true? Okay, fine. There is a climate emergency except it’s not that the world is overheating, it’s that the world is dangerously cooling and we have to pump as much carbon into the atmosphere as we can (assuming carbon actually does warm the earth). Get driving, people!

If Penny and these kids really did believe that there is a climate emergency you’d think that they’d be acting like there is by, you know, only using public transport and being vegan or at least ordering their meat online. I can’t see Penny giving up her council vehicle. If any of these kids got a brand-new car for their birthday I can’t see any of them refusing it in the name of a climate emergency.

Let’s say there was an emergency; we could see such as an economic emergency. Let’s say Auckland was on the brink of bankruptcy. And let’s say, and I know it’s a stretch, kids from all over Auckland got together to demand that the government and the council do something. Would Penny be out there meeting them and praising them? Would she be trying to get her face in the papers? Nope, she would be in her office thinking of ways to save money.

Yep, virtue signalling is all well and good until it means making actual sacrifices.