Emigrate to New Zealand to escape Climate Change?
Hubby sent me an article from The Times Online, about Eco Migrants moving from the UK to NZ, to escape the ravages of Climate Change. Apparently, James Lovelock, in The Vanishing Face Of Gaia, has said that New Zealand is one of the few places that should escape the effects of climate change.
Only he didn’t quite say that.
The Sunday Star Times quotes Lovelock form the same book saying: “The British Isles and New Zealand will be the least affected by global heating,” he predicts. “They will be among the lifeboats for humanity.”
Hmmm.
One of the migrants interviewed is reported as saying: “Britain’s recent climate of summer droughts and warm, wet winters was becoming alarming”. Funny how my parents have just lived through a very long and not at all warm winter in the UK, and we have had our second summer of drought here in New Zealand!
The article also says that these “Eco Migrants” are “ however, part of a rising tide of Britons heading for New Zealand. Statistics NZ, which collects data for the country’s government, said more than 18,000 British residents moved there last year alone.”
Except – If you actually look at migration figures from Stats NZ – it actually shows you that 18,000 means less people are leaving the UK to come to New Zealand, down from 22,000 in 2006. That’s an 18% drop in UK to NZ migration – so it’s not exactly a Rising Tide as reported.
[Edited 22/12/2009, new link to Stats NZ report page; and the report itself]
So while I still think coming to New Zealand is a bloody great idea – please don’t think that we are safe from any possible effects of Climate Change. Our Hydro Electric lakes were running out of water this summer, and we have also had some traumatic flooding. You will hear just as many horror stories about the possible effects of rising sea levels here – if not more, given that we do have such an extensive coastline with our major cities being pretty damn close to the sea. And you only have to look at a few houses sliding down the hillsides to understand that heavy rains can cause a huge amount of grief for many people in New Zealand.
Related posts:
- Do you need to move to New Zealand to get a new life?
- New Zealand Immigration – are we coming or going?
- When are you too old to emigrate?
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