When Australian business man Dr Andrew Forrest AO spoke at the Boao Forum Asia in Perth, Australia, on 30 August 2023, he was making a powerful and outstanding call for #TheCode. Only he was not aware that this was what he was doing, because he hasn’t heard about it yet. (It’s time to get the word out there!)
“It’s business which will kill your children. It’s business which is responsible for lethal humidity. But it’s policies which guide business. Business guided by government will either destroy or save this planet. Announce laws to render illegal any action which would prevent [mitigation of] global warming. Simple! Make us change.”
Dr Andrew Forrest AO
Below is our transcript of what Dr Forrest – also known as Twiggy – said at the business forum in his unusual speech. Here’s Fortescue Media version.
“So ladies and gentlemen, if I could take you to the theme of this clean energy. The presentation you’re about to see may explain a lot, particularly to my Fortescue family. If there’s been changes and there’s been a steely discipline about our future when our galloping herd of 20,000, and amongst Minderoo Tatterang another several thousand decide on the future, we stick to that future; individual ambitions become second because what I’m talking about is the course of humanity.
I’d like to take you to something you haven’t heard of. Most of you know that I share a fraternity of scientists around the world who are very concerned that for a long while industry and politics were not listening. They’re now listening, and if it’s too late then there’s nothing we can do.
However I don’t believe that it is. I believe actions now must rule so I want to take you to: What’s the chance of 1.5°C degrees holding?
Secretary General, Vice chairman, I really want to thank you sir for allowing me that wonderful opportunity to address China with the Boao forum for Asia — the first since the pandemic in real life.
I’ve explained 1.5 degrees isn’t out in the distance, it will be this decade; and if El Nino goes bad next year. El Nino went bad. It’s right now. It’s not going to hold – you’re actually living in it.
If you think it’s going to hold, you’ve got a much better shot at sea – one shot in 36.
[Picture of roulette wheel showing]
But this misses the point. What I want to explain to you is an immediate threat — not a future threat. It’s much more lethal than Covid.
I want you to know that I presented this as social media friendly, but don’t think for a second that there hasn’t been scientists all over the world we have consulted with. Scientists from China, Germany, Europe, Asia, United States – everywhere. [Shows slide]
These are just some of the references which have gone into what will seem as more click bait but is in fact deep science, so I’m talking about something which most members of the fossil fuel industry know about this; scientists know about; and they never talk about simply.
(And I’d like the translators if you could just translate the words on the screen if it’s difficult to follow me don’t miss the words on the screen.)
Something else is rising much faster than temperature.
For every one to one [degree] rise in Celsius temperature, we’re getting a seven plus percent rise in this, rising much faster 700 percent. It’s already killing people. Covid stopped killing people so much. This is increasing. We’re all here…. right? We’re healthy. We’re healthy. We’re fine. Right?
No. Mask sanitisation is not going to help you at all. It’s humanity at risk. It’s absolutely at risk – and it’s brought about because we’re now seeing record temperatures all over the world.
As a marine ecologist, I called for heat maps of the oceans.
[Note: Forrest earned his PhD at the School of Biological SciencesUniversity of Western Australia 2019. Thesis: Pelagic Ecology and Solutions for a Troubled Ocean he is also the Founder in 2001, Chairman, and chief benefactor of Minderoo Research Foundation and its Exmouth (marine biology) Research Lab. In its 2022 Annual Financial Report Minderoo’s Net Assets were more than $2.5 billion].
Blue green: nowhere near record, Orange: getting near record, red: record [heat].
The leading indicator of what’s happening on our lands is what’s happening on our oceans. It’s 98% of the world’s livable space. It’s going to lead what’s happening on land.
Those heat maps of the oceans are orange to red. The Antarctic [ice] is collapsing as a result.
It’s coming. Are you safe in the city? Hell no! [If] the air conditioning fails, you’re toast!
If you’re young [and] you work outdoors, are you right? Yeah, cool and covered?
No you’re not right — in fact you’re at extreme risk! So [are] children, grandparents, or the already ill.
Why?
It’s called lethal humidity. Known for the organism of the human translated into a thermometer. Just put a [wet] cloth around the bulb of a thermometer and you watch the temperature drop. Take the cloth away [and the temperature] rises.
However, keep the cloth on and raise the humidity through water vapor, it rises as well — calling stops! That’s [what happens to] your body!
Translate that across a very urbanized environment. Air conditioning failing.
Millions of people will die in an unurbanised environment. Where there is no air conditioning millions of people will die. That’s because the temperature has risen to a point that humidity — which is what’s going to kill you — is now going through the roof.
IPCC experts in from China, North America, Australia, Germany – we all recognise this.
Normally your sweat will cool you down but if it’s too humid. Your sweat can’t evaporate [from] your body. Heat can’t escape as you sit here. Your body is churning through energy creating heat right now, [and] if you can’t exhaust that heat… you’re going to cook pretty quickly!
You’re a thermoregulated organism. It’s a survival advantage until global warming…. Now your thermal regulation is not a survival advantage. It’s a survival disadvantage if you can’t get rid of that heat. Because of humidity you cook yourself. Your core temperature starts to rise.
I’m not kidding about any of this! This is proper referenced sites.
At just 35° degrees Celsius with high humidity, death within six hours, that’s been recorded within 15 minutes.
I’m just [speaking] as a scientist [and] we’ve got to be as safe [i.e., conservative] as possible, so I’m saying within six hours – but even temperatures as low as 31 degrees can kill.
Leathal humidity is already here! Please look at the screen [a world map showing locations susceptible to high humidity].
It’s already here from Australia to India to China to North America…. It’s rising for every degree our our planet’s [temperature has] risen 1.5 degrees [this allows the amount of water vapor to rise by 10 percent]. You get a cross between 89 percent [vapor saturation]. There’s scientists much greater than me in this audience [to tell you] that’s enough to go lethal.
It will be the next level pandemic. Ladies and gentlemen we just can’t avoid it unless we can put the handbrake on it. Over the next 10 years it’s going to live with us forever. We do not have the human evolution to survive it.
If you’re not near an air conditioner which is now your only way of surviving, your evolutionary advantage has stopped.
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