Media Release for June 5th Rally
The walk will begin at 1.30 on Sunday, 5 June at Regatta Point, near the bridge.
CRUNCH TIME ON CLIMATE CHANGE
31.5.11
Climate and Environment Groups Join Forces for Climate Action
With the Federal Government’s Multi Party Climate Change Committee moving towards making critical decisions on Australia’s climate change policies, Canberra’s climate and environment organizations are banding together to send a powerful message to our politicians.
According to key organizers Geoff Lazarus and Prof Bob Douglas, “a carbon tax and a few other modest measures aren’t enough in themselves to transform our economy to being based on renewable energy.”
“We are saying to the Federal Parliament, we must have a raft of strong measures including base load solar power stations, expansion of wind power, a feed in tariff and new land management practices as a matter of great urgency.”
“Expanding our fledgling renewable energy industries has the potential to create thousands of new jobs.”
“Australia, along with other major polluters, must play its role in reducing carbon levels, particularly as we have the highest per person pollution levels in the world.”
“With extreme weather getting worse and worse due to global warming impacts on the world’s climate, we can’t afford to put off taking real climate action according to leading climate scientists.”
Come rain or shine on Sunday June 5, a huge crowd will walk across Commonwealth Bridge to Parliament House from Regatta Point, to tell our parliamentarians CANBERRA SAYS YES TO REAL CLIMATE ACTION NOW!
The CANBERRA SAFE CLIMATE ALLIANCE, includes Climate Action Canberra, Greenpeace, SEE-Change ACT, Conservation Council ACT Region, ACT Environment Centre, Canberra Loves 40%, Climate Active Australia, ANU Environment Collective, Canberra Pedestrian Forum, Climate Whistleblowers, AYCC and Healthy Soils Australia,.
The walk will begin at 1.30 on Sunday, 5 June at Regatta Point, near the bridge.
There will be live music, kid’s activities, and informed and inspirational talks to be followed by a march on Parliament. Speakers will include John Hewson(former leader of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party), Richard Denniss(Australia Institute), Bishop Pat Power, Linsey Cole(AYCC), Lin Hatfield Dodds(Uniting Care), Gosta Lynga(former Swedish member of Parliament) and Phoebe Howe from Canberra Loves 40%.
For further information contact Geoff Lazarus, 0419 369 206 or Prof Bob Douglas, 0409 233 138
Write letter to the Editors. Get on talk back radio.
Contact details for letters to the editor & talk back radio are below.
Points you might like to consider in your letter:
– Climate scientists say human activity is the major cause of global warming,
– We face a climate emergency with ever increasing extreme weather events and need a plan to take us to a safe climate,
– A price on carbon will… reduce coal and oil usage and therefore emissions that are causing the planet to heat up,
– Our politicians must support a high price on carbon and other strong measures. This could be a big step forward for Australia and create great opportunities for economic development and thousands of new jobs,
– Ordinary Australians should receive compensation for a price on carbon depending on their financial circumstances,
– Tony Abbott’s confusion on climate change and flip-flops on a price on carbon creates industry and community uncertainty.
Remember keep it short and to the point – if it’s less than 150 words, it’s far more likely to be published! Also make sure you put your contact details into your email – they will not be published but they are vital to allow the paper contact you and confirm your letter.
- Adelaide Advertiser: submit letters at www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/news/opinion/sendletter
- The Age: email letters to letters@theage.com.au
- The Australian: email letters to letters@theaustralian.com.au
- Australian Financial Review: email letters to edletters@afr.com.au
- Canberra Times: email letters to letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au
- The Courier Mail: submit letters at www.news.com.au/couriermail/editorial/letter
- The Daily Telegraph: email letters to letters@dailytelegraph.com.au
- The Herald Sun: submit letters at www.news.com.au/heraldsun/editorial/letter
- Hobart Mercury: submit letters at www.themercury.com.au/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-submit.html
- Sydney Morning Herald: email letters to letters@smh.com.au
- The West Australian: email letters to letters@wanews.com.au
This will be a hot topic in the days and weeks to come.
You might also like to take part in Talkback radio discussion as it happens.
- Australia-wide ABC NewsRadio – 13 9994
- ABC Radio National – (02) 8333 2821
- ACT ABC Canberra (666AM) – 1300 681 666
- NSW ABC Newcastle (1233AM) – 1300 233 222
- ABC Sydney (702AM) – 1300 222 702
- 2GB (873AM) – 131 873
- 2UE (954AM) – (02) 9930 9954
- 2SER (107.3FM) – (02) 9514 9514
- 2SM (1269AM) – 13 12 69
- FBI (94.5FM) – (02) 8332 2999
- vega (95.3FM) – 13 25 10
- 2NUR (103.7FM) – (02) 4921 5000
- SA ABC Adelaide (891AM) – 1300 222 891
- FiveAA (1395AM) – (08) 8223 0000
- Fresh (92.7FM) – 1300 7 FRESH
- Radio Adelaide (101.5FM) – (08) 8303 5000
- TAS ABC Hobart (936AM) – 1300 222 936
- 7HO (101.7FM) – (03) 6216 1017
- NT ABC Alice Springs (783AM) – 1300 019 783
- ABC Darwin (105.7FM) – 1300 057 222
- QLD ABC Brisbane (612AM) – 1300 222 612
- WA 6PR (882AM) – (08) 9221 1882
- ABC Perth (720AM) – 1300 222 720
- RTR (92.1FM) – (08) 9260 9210
- VIC 3AW (693AM) – (03) 9690 0693
- 3CR (855AM) – (03) 9419 0155
- ABC Melbourne (774AM) – 1300 222 774
- JOY (94.9FM) – (03) 9699 2949
- PBS (106.7FM) – (03) 8415 1067
- SYN – (03) 9925 9907
- RRR (102.7FM) – (03) 9388 1027
Join the CLIMATE CALLOUT: Phone the Climate Committee.
The Climate Committee is expected to be making announcements about carbon pricing and other matters soon.
An announcement of a low price on Carbon of around $20 per tonne is anticipated. The big polluters will disingenuously claim it will cost lots of jobs.
Feel free to use this messaging in media statements.
Join the “Climate Callout” – phone Climate Committee members .
1. Put a high price on carbon now -and phase in $40 – $50 per tonne”
3. End all fossil fuel subsidies ($8.6 Billion per annum)
4. Support solar, wind and geo-thermal power industries and new clean energy jobs
5. Support communities impacted by phasing out of coal based industries.
6. Create a new Government authority to steer a transition to a renewable energy based economy
7. No compensation to the big polluters
The phone numbers of politicians to call are listed below. Most likely you will end up talking to a staff member.
PM Julie Gillard Tel: (02) 6277 7700 Fax: (02) 6273 4100 Internet: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact-your-pm
Deputy PM Wayne Swan Tel: (02) 6277 7340 Fax: (02) 6273 3420 E-mail: Wayne.Swan.MP@aph.gov.au
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet Tel: (02) 6277 7920 Fax: (02) 6273 7330 E-mail: Greg.Combet.MP@aph.gov.au
Tony Windsor MP Tel: (02) 6277 4722 Fax: (02) 6277 8545 E-mail: Tony.Windsor.MP@aph.gov.au
Senator Bob Brown Tel:(02) 6277 3170 Fax: (02) 6277 3185 Email: senator.bob.brown@aph.gov.au
Climate Action Canberra, Geoff Lazarus 0419 369 206,
Rebecca Horridge 0406 375 401
Climate Action Canberra Media Release 16.2.2011
Low carbon price means high cost for global warming
Climate Action Canberra (CAC) today called on the Government’s Climate Committee to take immediate action on Friday to define a pathway to a safe climate for Australia.
According CAC spokesperson, Geoff Lazarus, “the key to Australia playing its part in emission reductions and rapid development of renewable energy industries is to set a price on carbon with a schedule of price increases to have coal-based electricity phased out within ten years.”
“Instead of a confusing message about energy choices, the combination of carbon price and regulations needs to provide a compelling reason for transition.”
“We must set a phased in price of at least $40-50 per tonne that will drive investment towards a new clean renewable energy economy.”
“The Government’s low price will lock Australia into continuing fossil fuel usage that the NASA climate science chief James Hansen says is a ‘recipe for disaster’.”
“Having a safe climate for current and future generations requires taking action now commensurate with the scale of the problem.”
“It can’t be a compromise with business groups concerned about protecting their profits.”
“According to the NAB Bank, the total cost of recent floods alone could shave off 1.5% of our GDP in the March quarter.”
“If we don’t act now we will be subjected to even more extreme weather events that will, over time, impose a greater cost than the 2 to 3% of GDP per year required to take us to a clean, renewable energy economy.”
“An appropriate price on carbon and appropriate use of its proceeds could see the creation of many thousands of renewable energy jobs and proper support for communities impacted by change.”
Facing the Climate Emergency
The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences. – Winston Churchill
We face a climate emergency
The climate is changing faster than we thought. What we believed would happen in a hundred years is happening now. It’s getting hotter, the ice caps are melting, the oceans are rising, bushfires are bigger, and crops are failing. A climate crisis threatening hundreds of millions of lives faces us all, and we have to start treating it as an emergency!
For years our cars have run on petrol and our electricity has come from burning coal. Climate-changing gases have been pumped into the air. If we continue to release these gases for much longer it will soon be impossible to stop the climate from changing dramatically.
Climate change can be daunting, but like any emergency we have to deal with it. We need to respond to this emergency the same way we would a bushfire or if someone was having a heart attack – with action.
If we ignore climate change now, we will be unable to ignore the damage it causes in the near future – and the survivors will ask why we didn’t act when we still could.
We need an emergency response
Australians know that climate change is a real problem and many of us are taking personal steps to stop it – such as using less electricity in the home. But this only solves a small part of the problem. We need businesses and government to act – but they aren’t. Money needs to be invested into cleaner energy and transport solutions, not large polluting industries.
We need to quickly change how we generate power, produce food, travel, and organise our economy. Responding to this emergency will bring change and create job opportunities through new industries and different farming practises.
The ‘put jobs before the climate’ argument is completely misleading and hollow. It’s a lot like arguing that a fire-fighter should let a house burn so that builders will have work.
In working together to solve this crisis, we will also strengthen our communities.
Humankind has shown that we can rise to meet urgent challenges when needed. In World War Two car factories became tank factories, millions of civilians were trained to be soldiers, and the world’s largest consumer economy (the USA) became the largest military economy within one year. Today, instead of tanks and soldiers we need clean energy and engineers; are we able to do what we did 65 years ago to save humanity?
The climate movement needs you
An emergency response is possible, but it’s far from certain. Polluting industries pay hundreds of professional lobbyists to spread doubt about climate science – just like tobacco companies did about the medical effects of smoking. And politicians are still able to win votes by talking ‘green’, but acting dirty.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s up to individuals to change this. Thousands of people across Australia, from every walk of life, have realised that they need to do something. But time is short, so we have to face facts about what is the most effective ‘something’ for people to do.
Climate change will not be avoided through individuals living green lifestyles or buying green products, but by individuals uniting to transform their societies. Living in the only climate-friendly house in your street, in a city built around cars, is not the solution.
As long as millions of tonnes of oil and coal are still being burnt, we are simply standing aside while politics-as-usual and business-as-usual destroys our Earth. And unfortunately, it’s the only one we’ve got.
Accepting that climate change is real is no longer enough. To judge between real solutions and the fibs of politicians, we must understand the urgency and size of the problem. We cannot ignore or negotiate with the laws of physics and chemistry, and we need to know when our leaders are trying to do just that.
To survive this emergency we must change the way we do things. To succeed we will need to find the courage hidden within ourselves. We will need to argue with our friends, go to a protest instead of to a movie, and put our reputations on the line. Some of us – in the tradition of Gandhi, Mandela and King – may risk even more.
These are truths that don’t fit easily with the way we’ve always done things – but we should not disregard them, for we now enter an age of consequences. There is hope, and more than hope, in the hundreds of climate action groups that now exist throughout Australia. If you haven’t joined one yet, now is the time.
Climate change is too much of a hot potato for our leaders
by Geoff Lazarus
The floods show us that Gillard and Bligh lack conviction on tackling global warming. With the weather disaster being played out in eastern Australia, it’s pleasing to see our political leaders giving good leadership to the authorities and communities dealing with the tragic loss of life and property impacting on thousands of Australians. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh’s two-hourly press conferences were informative and well conducted. And apart from the rather silly offering to some West Australians of lesser flood relief amounts than for Queenslanders, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has become a strong leadership voice supporting flood-stricken communities in three states.
Less pleasing has been their failure, along with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, to properly explain the atmospheric and oceanic factors influencing our weather which is putting people’s lives and property at risk and will continue to do so with greater intensity over coming decades. Gillard disappointed those of us who understand the dynamics of global warming when asked indirectly and directly on ABC radio about its relationship to current weather events and whether we have to plan for future disasters. She avoided answering the questions.
What she should have said is that our nation has always been periodically beset by floods and droughts but due to global warming these events are even more likely to occur and with greater intensity.
Tying down the connection between eastern Australian flooding and global warming is not a straight forward matter. To what extent it’s caused by natural climate variability on the one hand, and global warming on the other, can’t be clearly established at this point. But while we can’t say with absolute certainty that individual events can be attributed to climate change, the weather extremes are in keeping with the views and predictions of climate scientists.
Melbourne University climate science professor David Karoly said recently the wild extremes being experienced by the continent were consistent with scientists’ forecasts of more flooding associated with increased heavy rain and more droughts as a result of high temperatures and more evaporation. Karoly says the present heavy rainfall is being caused by our experiencing of possibly the strongest La Nina in recorded history as well as record-high ocean temperatures in northern Australia, which means more moisture evaporating into the atmosphere which in turn means lots of heavy rain.
The record high ocean and atmospheric temperatures are, of course, being caused by global warming factors. Back in 2004, the CSIRO predicted that climate change would lead to more intense rainfall globally, and that results from a computer model focusing on regional Australia suggested small areas would receive much more extreme rainfall. Each year extreme rainfall events cause significant damage as a result of flooding in the highly urbanised regions along Australia’s eastern coastline where population is increasing. CSIRO says this will become all too apparent in future decades.
Last year, the scientific advisory group to the Queensland Government’s inland flooding study advised ‘‘an increase in rainfall intensity is likely’’ and ‘‘the available scientific literature indicates this increased rainfall intensity to be in the range of 3 to 10 per cent per degree of global warming.’’And according to the CSIRO, a 26 per cent increase in flooding leads to a 60 per cent increase in damage costs and with projected increases in the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events, the community’s exposure to extreme rainfall events is growing rapidly.
The CSIRO and the advisory group are providing clear warnings on what will happen in future decades and Gillard and Bligh should be articulating a perspective that acknowledges what climate science is telling us. Will Bligh factor this into future planning decisions in the recovery period? Will she ensure that businesses and residents are fully informed of the probability of this type of event repeating itself? Not likely because this could lead to questions about her rapidly expanding and large coal industry.
The irony of global warming impacts on Queensland is the fact that it’s also Australia’s leading contributor to global CO2 emissions. As for Gillard, isn’t this the appropriate time for the Government to properly explain what global warming is and how it’s going to have a greater and greater impact unless the top 22 polluting nations, that include Australia, reduce their emissions by 80 to 100 per cent over the next 10 years?
For all the talk by our leading politicians about the seriousness of climate change, there continues to be little sign of the strong leadership required to have Australia play its role in averting a global catastrophe.
The next test for the Government will be whether it’s prepared to put in place a price on carbon through a carbon tax and regulations substantial enough to drive the transformation to a renewable,energy-based economy. This means scrapping the 12 coal-based power stations proposed for various states. Judging by our politicians’ recent performances, it’s hard to be optimistic about the future wellbeing of the nation.
(this article was published in the Canberra Times on Jan 22nd)
■ Geoff Lazarus is a spokesperson for Climate Action Canberra.
News from September 2010
OPENING OF PARLIAMENT 2010
As all the members of parliament assembled in front of Parliament House for the opening of the new coalition government, they could not fail to notice the 10m banner screaming: CLIMATE EMERGENCY. [350]
Why were we there, straining with the banner, in the wind? This parliament has been elected by the Australian people with the expectation they will work at emergency speed to protect our ecosystems and economies from climate change. Co2 emissions are still rising. Although talk is moving in the right direction we are asking our leaders to roll up their sleeves and come to grips with averting dangerous climate change. We wish them all the best in this mission.
A new event from Climate Action Canberra and the ANU Environment Collective
COAL and CLIMATE CHANGE:
Forum and discussion
Australia as the world’s largest exporter of coal is supplying the world’s coal addiction. Our coal exports are projected to double over the coming decades. Coal mining also conflicts with land uses like conservation and food production, and has large health impacts. Hear from this switched on panel and then join the discussion about the expansion of coal in Australia and what strategies we should take to do something about it.
The Panel
- Jeremy Tager: Greenpeace political advisor
- Paola Cassoni: Co-owner of Bimblebox Nature Refuge in Queensland, threatened by Clive Palmer’s coal development.
- Walter Jehne: from Climate Action Canberra talking on ‘Our imperative and options to safely draw down atmospheric CO2 levels and secure our safe climate’
When: Monday October 11th, 6.30-8.00pm
Where: Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 6, Australian National University.
See the online ANU campus map [grid reference26a] to find Manning Clark Centre
Coin Donation For more details: Rebecca Horridge 0406375401
Climate Action Canberra is launching a poster campaign as part of the Global Work Party event on 10/10/10 . Thousands of people will take action towards reaching 350ppm on the tenth of October. We will be putting up posters at shopping centres and on community notice boards. The posters tell the meaning of the number 350 parts per million….the most important number in the world…the concentration of CO2 that allows for a safe climate. . We will be sending them to you by email but if you would like paper copies from us them contact climateactioncanberra@hushmail.com
Look out for them around Canberra.
Campaigns
Canberra ♥ 40%
News from Phoebe on the Love 40% campaign
The future for Love 40% and climate change action in the ACT
Over the coming weeks, the Canberra Loves 40% campaign will meet to discuss and finaliseour next steps, and we had a big surprise in store. We were joined by a representative from the Legislative Assembly who told us the next big decisions coming up that will influence how we will get to the 40% target. The legislation around the 40% target provides us with a strong guiding ideal for action in the ACT, it now requires strong implementation policies to make sure it can be met. The two big concerns that the community need to keep an eye on are the Energy Policy, and the creation of the Minister’s Advisory Council on Climate Change.
The first concern is that it’s happening fast. In the next month, the Government will be tabling its Energy Policy to the Assembly. Many of us in the ACT will be familiar with this document, having entered submissions. However, the Government is using this document as our guiding framework for the entire strategy for how we will achieve the 40% target. It will outline the key areas that the Government will focus on. These look to be renewable energy generation and some efforts at building energy efficiency. However, the Energy Policy was created before the 40% target was secured- we wonder how this old policy covers the new and transformative direction for the ACT.
The Government is also closing this policy to further consultation; so we will be locked in. The policy that the Government constructs to get us to 40% must be strong. This target is going to mean big debates within our community, about urban infill, public transport, planning. It will mean bringing very hot debates into the arena about what we want for our city, and what is best for residents, communities and small businesses, not just the major industries like building. We need to know that the Government is forming policy that will allow us to properly address these questions, rather than rushing through poor policies that may simply not work at reducing our emissions. Love 40% will be focussing on the Energy Policy over the next three months, creating our own public consultation.
We are planning another large public forum to let our representatives know that we are aware and involved in their policy choices, and we need them to be sufficient. This energy policy has the potential to be a fantastic driver of real change in the ACT, we need to make sure it fulfils that potential.
The Minister’s advisory council will also be set up as soon as the Climate Change Legislation is formally passed; this could be next week. This council also has fantastic potential; community, business and science representatives will advise the Minister directly on policy ideas and the impacts on our community. However, it is also a forum that could favour industry voices. We need to be certain that the interests of the community are being heard, and that all sectors are bringing creative, innovative ideas that will create a modern and beautiful city directly to the Minister.
These decisions and policies will direct heavily the pace and direction of action to combat climate change and transform the ACT over the next ten years. This will affect the work of all of us, especially community groups. This is a great time for all of us to be taking notice, and letting our Government know the best way to get to 40%. Canberra Loves 40% will remain as a partner to all groups working toward sustainability and taking on climate change, and we’d like to work with you.
Best wishes,
Phoebe Howe info at love40percent.org See http://love40percent.org for all background to the Canberra ♥ 40%campaign
Vision 2020
SEE-Change has been successful in receiving ACT Government funding to run a series of competitions in 2011 that will encourage kids of all ages to develop their own vision for Canberra in the next ten years.
We are hopeful that a SEE-Change team of volunteers will help undertake detailed planning for the project during this second half of 2010 including developing three separate “road shows” for presentation by recent school leavers at ACT school assemblies during 2011.
Recent school leavers, parents, grandparents and retired and current school and college teachers particularly welcome to volunteer for this effort. If you would like to be involved in this exciting project and want to learn more please contact Naomi Wynd, Executive Officer See-Change.
Email: office at see-change.org.au
Telephone: 02 6162 2320
News & Events, 15th September
Climate Action Canberra
News & Events, 15th September
Vision statement of Climate Action Canberra
We face a climate emergency.
Our vision is to work together at emergency speed to restore in a just way a safe climate
in time for all people, all species and all generations.
At our next meeting on Monday night Climate Action Canberra will be brain storming strategies for the coming months. Let us know what you think the group should be doing next. Is there something you would like to work on with Climate Action Canberra? Come to the meeting or email: rebeccahorridge at hotmail.com Send your nominations for the CAC convener position and an executive officer to Walter walterjehne at yahoo.com.au . We will vote them in on on Sept 20th.
With new projects in the pipeline this is the time to get involved at the start.
Please read Phoebes letter below about the need for strong voices to keep the ACT government energy policy on track toward its new emissions target of 40% by 2020. I encourage you to think how your skills might help with the continuing Love 40% ACT emissions reductions campaign. [See: http://love40percent.org/contact/]. Contact: info at love40percent.org to get involved.
ACT Environment Minster Simon Corbell said last Monday the Government would legislate for two new categories to its existing solar feed-in tariff scheme, allowing medium-scale generation of between 30 kilowatts and 200kW and large-scale generation of more than 200kW. The Canberra Times article about this is in the NEWS section below along with Ren Webs response. We also have there a Climate Action Canberra opinion piece about the current political scenario from Geoff Lazerous.
Have you checked out the website of the lively local movement SEE-CHANGE? This community group helps us help ourselves by bringing practical climate friendly solutions to our homes and a lot more. Perhaps you would like to join one of the several Canberra area SEE-CHANGE groups. [http://www.see-change.org.au/?q=node].
The ACT government is ever more involved in seeking local solutions to the climate crisis. The government now wants to know what your vision of Canberra’s future at Time to Talk- Canberra 2030 workshops next week. This is an opportunity to tell the government that we want our city to be a world leader in cutting edge climate policy implementation. Now we have to work out what that is! Book to attend a workshop today [see Events below] or join in through the online survey and discussion forums [ http://canberra2030.org.au/contact/ ].
If you want to learn organic gardening at the Environment Centre….book now, some workshops are coming up this weekend [see events].
The next Climate Action Canberra Newsletter deadline is Wednesday, September 29. Please send letters, events, notices, articles, ideas, pics to rebeccahorridge at hotmail.com
Meetings
Climate Climate Action Canberra
Next Climate Action Canberra Action Meeting, Tuesday, 5th October, 2010, 6pm-7.30pm, at the ACT Conservation Council, 17 Childers St Acton. Please send agenda items to leon-arundell at grapevine.net.au
Next Climate Action Canberra General Meeting, Tuesday, 19th October, 2010, 6pm-7.30pm, at the ACT Conservation Council, 17 Childers St Acton. Please send agenda items to leon-arundell at grapevine.net.au
Canberra ♥ 40% Meeting Teusday 28 September at 6.30pm. ANU Moran Building Room G08. at the Australian National University. You can reach this building by walking past the Street Theatre from Childers street along the University Avenue footpath, it is the large quandrangle behind the theatre. The Moran building is in the far north corner of the quandrangle, the Room numbers are obvious as you walk along. People can email Phoebe: info at love40percent.org for details.
Campaigns
Canberra ♥ 40%
News from Phoebe on the Love 40% campaign
The future for Love 40% and climate change action in the ACT
This week, the Canberra Loves 40% campaign met to discuss our next steps, and we had a big surprise in store. We were joined by a representative from the Legislative Assembly who told us the next big decisions coming up that will influence how we will get to the 40% target. The legislation around the 40% target provides us with a strong guiding ideal for action in the ACT, it now requires strong implementation policies to make sure it can be met. The two big concerns that the community need to keep an eye on are the Energy Policy, and the creation of the Minister’s Advisory Council on Climate Change.
The first concern is that it’s happening fast. In the next month, the Government will be tabling its Energy Policy to the Assembly. Many of us in the ACT will be familiar with this document, having entered submissions. However, the Government is using this document as our guiding framework for the entire strategy for how we will achieve the 40% target. It will outline the key areas that the Government will focus on. These look to be renewable energy generation and some efforts at building energy efficiency. However, the Energy Policy was created before the 40% target was secured- we wonder how this old policy covers the new and transformative direction for the ACT.
The Government is also closing this policy to further consultation; so we will be locked in. The policy that the Government constructs to get us to 40% must be strong. This target is going to mean big debates within our community, about urban infill, public transport, planning. It will mean bringing very hot debates into the arena about what we want for our city, and what is best for residents, communities and small businesses, not just the major industries like building. We need to know that the Government is forming policy that will allow us to properly address these questions, rather than rushing through poor policies that may simply not work at reducing our emissions. Love 40% will be focussing on the Energy Policy over the next three months, creating our own public consultation.
We are planning another large public forum to let our representatives know that we are aware and involved in their policy choices, and we need them to be sufficient. This energy policy has the potential to be a fantastic driver of real change in the ACT, we need to make sure it fulfils that potential.
The Minister’s advisory council will also be set up as soon as the Climate Change Legislation is formally passed; this could be next week. This council also has fantastic potential; community, business and science representatives will advise the Minister directly on policy ideas and the impacts on our community. However, it is also a forum that could favour industry voices. We need to be certain that the interests of the community are being heard, and that all sectors are bringing creative, innovative ideas that will create a modern and beautiful city directly to the Minister.
These decisions and policies will direct heavily the pace and direction of action to combat climate change and transform the ACT over the next ten years. This will affect the work of all of us, especially community groups. This is a great time for all of us to be taking notice, and letting our Government know the best way to get to 40%. Canberra Loves 40% will remain as a partner to all groups working toward sustainability and taking on climate change, and we’d like to work with you.
With the win, we’ve started thinking about the future.
Now is the time for you, your organisation, and that interesting guy you met who’s in to solar power to get involved. This campaign can be yours, in lots of possible ways.
We need to get some ideas flowing – it’s not necessary to find the solution just yet – the most important thing in a campaign is the people involved. If you have been thinking about an issue that is central to your concerns, but haven’t found a way to link it in, now’s the time to think about it. If you know your group might benefit from linking into the campaign, now’s the time to think how that could happen. The most that I’ve got out of this campaign is working with fantastic individuals, and now we have a long term goal that can keep bringing new individuals together with new ideas for more change. The biggest lesson of the campaign is don’t underestimate the power of a small focussed group – and you can be a part of it.
We have a successful brand and momentum that can be used by the Canberra community, so get thinking, and be inspired!
To help the process, I’ve attached a rough representation of some ideas that have been floating around. Take a look, see what works for you and what might not. Think about what our focus could be, and what a campaign might look like into the future. Large or small? Long or short? One issue, or a range? Just questions to get you started.
Come along to our next meeting, get discussing on our discussion board, or send me an email to share your ideas. Canberra Loves 40% will continue into the future, shaped and reshaped by those of us who get involved. I hope you can be a part of it.
Best wishes,
Phoebe Howe info at love40percent.org See http://love40percent.org for all background to the Canberra ♥ 40%campaign
Global Work Party
New SEE-CHANGE Project
Vision 2020
SEE-Change has been successful in receiving ACT Government funding to run a series of competitions in 2011 that will encourage kids of all ages to develop their own vision for Canberra in the next ten years.
We are hopeful that a SEE-Change team of volunteers will help undertake detailed planning for the project during this second half of 2010 including developing three separate “road shows” for presentation by recent school leavers at ACT school assemblies during 2011.
Recent school leavers, parents, grandparents and retired and current school and college teachers particularly welcome to volunteer for this effort. If you would like to be involved in this exciting project and want to learn more please contact Naomi Wynd, Executive Officer See-Change
Email: office at see-change.org.au
Telephone: 02 6162 2320
Talk Change with SEE-Change at Floriade
| SEE-Change will be holding 6 presentations at Floriade this year! |
| Along with our SEE-Change stall at Floriade this year, we will also be presenting 6 different seminars throughout the week starting on the 20th of September. Each presentation covers a specific topic and will run for around half an hour. This is a great opportunity to support SEE-Change and learn about some interesting ways to reduce your environmental impact. The presentations are as follows: Monday 20th September 11:30am – 12:00pm: Lish Fejer from ABC TV’s Carbon Cops and Green it Yourself (GIY) will present “Global Worming”. Imagine a pet that you don’t have to take for walks, doesn’t annoy the neighbours, eats almost all your food scraps and organic rubbish, and whose poo you actually want all through the garden. Enter, slowly, the worm. Join Lish Fejer (ABC TV’s Carbon Cops, GIY Green It Yourself) for a workshop on how to set up your own worm farm (or salvage a smelly slimy one) and microbe-munching unit that will turn your kitchen scraps into delicious nutritious garden fertilizer. Worms and microbes can be a lean, green, small-space-occupying, green-waste devouring machines …you just gotta treat them right. Find out how at the GIY Green It Yourself workshop. 12:00pm – 12:30pm: Shirley Pipitone from Designing Bush will be presenting “Good Morning Sunshine – My Retrofitting Experience”. Shirley Pipitone is an old greenie who is actually doing what most people are just talking about. She has almost completed retrofitted her house for sustainability. Ticked off the list are solar panels, rainwater tank and southern reflectors for morning sun on the south. Soon to be done are shade panels and roof ventilation to reduce summer heat. Shirley’s southern reflectors, the biggest in the world, were designed by Derek Wrigley OAM, solar architect. Shirley will speak about her retrofitting experience. Wednesday 22nd September 11:30am – 12:00pm: Jane Cottee, Education Manager, Building and Environment Centre, CIT will be presenting “Drought Tolerant Gardens”. Jane will be speaking about how to create drought tolerant gardens in Canberra’s climate inlcuding plant selection and water saving strategies. 12:00pm – 12:30pm: Leigh Duxson from the Home Energy Advice Team will be presenting “My World in 2030“. Leigh will be speaking about how we can envisage Canberra in the year 2030. Thursday 23rd September |
Sustainability Challenge: a competition from the Canberra Environment and Sustainability Centre
Get a team together and join the 30 day sustainability challenge! You can do it with your housemates, your gym buddies, your classroom or your self.
Have a quick think about your everyday life. Would you prefer not to drive to work every day? Like locally grown and produced food but never get around to buying it? Think you could put on a jumper and turn down the heating? Can’t remember to turn off appliances at the wall and save on stand-by power? Always wanted to make friends in your course and think car-pooling would be a good way to do it?
There are hundreds of ways we can lessen our impact on the environment. The Sustainability Challenge helps you to choose 5 things you can do for 30 days.
Put the poster up on your fridge, write in the 5 things you’ve chosen for a more sustainable life, and track how you’re going over the 30 days of the Challenge.
There’s a spot for you to write in how you’re going, what’s worked really well, and what hasn’t worked at all. At the end of the 30 days, send it back to us and we can find out the best ways for people to reduce their impact on the environment and help more people do the same!
See the website http://www.ecoaction.com.au/category.php?id=101
Sign me up! Ecsustainabilitychallenge at gmail.com
Knit Against Climate Change Calling all woollen artists. We need your help to make a giant woollen banner for an upcoming event we have planned. If lots of people make a few small squares then we can sew it all together into something huge and wonderful. Email info at love40percent.org please drop off knitted squares at the conservation council at 17 Childers St, Acton and/or mail them to “Love 40% c-/ ACT Conservation Council, GPO Box 544, Canberra ACT 2601″. If you are particularly keen you could try knitting some patterns or messages Go to .http://love40percent.org/2010/05/knit-against-climate-change/ for a heart shaped pattern to get you started and a discussion forum.
Working Groups
Climate Climate Action Canberra
- 100% Renewables by 2020: See these wonderful websites for more info: http://www.100percent.org.au and http://www.beyondzeroemissions.org
Contact: Valerie: 048 899 1074, swheatst at cyberone.com.au
Beyond Zero emissions has released their plan for 100 per cent renewables in 10 years. The Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan, showing the feasibility and affordability of 100% renewable energy for Australia is now out and popping up all over the place. Help it go viral by getting yourself an electronic (free) or hard-copy ($30) and sending it to family, friends and colleagues. We can only shift the debate on energy and climate in this country by breaking the many myths that the public holds true about renewable energy and fossil fuels.
- .ACT campaign for 40%+ Emissions Reductions by 2020.
Canberra ♥ 40% is the group of community organisations and concerned Canberra residents who have encouraged the ACT government in its new policy to cut 40% in our greenhouse gas emissions in the ACT by %40 by 2020. http://love40percent.org . - Price on Carbon Working Group: contact rebeccahorridge at hotmail.com
- Forests for Climate: rebeccahorridge at hotmail.com
EVENTS
These events are also listed on climateXchange http://canberra.climatexchange.org.au
Every Friday: 9.30-11.00, 2XXfm 98.3, BEHIND THE LINES: Activist news and views.
| Wednesday, September 22, World Car-free Day We don’t have to accept our car-dominated society. World Carfree Day is the perfect time to act, and send a message to Big Oil that it is time to give priority to cycling, walking and public transport, instead of to the automobile. Get out of your car on Wednesday. Join or start a local world Carfree Day event near you: |
20th -22nd September, Time to Talk- Canberra 2030
Time to talk is an opportunity for all Canberrans to have a conversation on the future look and operation of our city. It is about planning together for how we want the city to function. Its overall aim is to encourage as many people as possible to tell us what they love about Canberra now, and what they would like Canberra to be in 20 years time.
The ACT Government is seeking the early involvement of the community in shaping the future of the city. Your suggestions, ideas and comments will be used to inform more detailed work in a range of policy areas in the future. In other words YOU the COMMUNTY are helping plan for the future of Canberra!
The topics that will be the focus for discussion are: Population; Environmental Sustainability; Water; Housing; Getting Around; Land Use and Planning; Liveability and Wellbeing; City Form; Living in the Nation’s Capital; and ‘Who Pays’?.
You can become involved through the website, in the community and by attending forums. For more information about how to get involved check the website. www.canberra2030.org.au
If you require more information on Canberra 2030 call Canberra Connect on 13 22 81. You can also contact the Time to talk Team directly on 6205 8618 or 6207 6457
For information about venues and to RSVP please contact Colette Torrance on 6205 8618.
Time to Talk : Workshop one
When: Monday 20 September 2010 (5.30pm for 6.00pm start)
Where: Central Canberra
Please RSVP by Wednesday 15 September 2010.
OR
Workshop two
When: Wednesday 22 September 2010 (10.00am for 10.30am start)
Where: Woden
Please RSVP by Friday 17 September 2010.
OR
Workshop three
When: Wednesday 22 September 2010 (5.30pm for 6.00pm start)
Where: Belconnen
Please RSVP by Friday 17 September 2010.
Saturday, 25 September, Greenhouse Emporium Fyshwick Sustainable Lifestyle Solutions Grand Opening!!
277 Canberra Avenue Fyshwick
Greenhouse Emporium is the new and exciting “one stop shop” for all of your environmentally friendly living needs. Our vision is to assist in making Canberra “Australia’s Greenest City”.
We stock everything from enviro-friendly laundry supplies through to building material, lighting and lawn products. We are also working with the latest in cutting edge, pesticide free pest control for your garden. Just in time for Spring!!!! You will be amazed.
We will be offering some fantastic specials on purchases made during the day ranging from:
· An extra 20% off already discounted Composite decking (comes with 15 year warranty)
· 50% off synthetic grass (12year warranty)
· 20% off LED lights
· A free pump with any Perma Plas water tank
· Sign up for a FREE Home Energy Audit
· Kids colouring in competition with great prizes.
· All the Reps from all our suppliers will be here.
· Black Thunder will be here handing our freebies
· AFL Grand Final Shown on the big screen
· And Lots More!
Sunday, October 10 at 12:00 am until Monday, October 11 at 12:00 am
Global Work Party: A global action organised by 350.org
Watch this space to see what Climate Action Canberra will do on 10/10/10. |
18-Sep-2010 and 25-Sep-2010 : Grow Your Own Organic Backyard Food
| Learn how to grow your own organic food, just in time for spring! |
|
Spring is here, it’s time join the increasing number of people who are ‘growing their own’ organic fruit and vegetables. This short Course will teach you how to get started without having to spend lots of time and money! Topics covered are based on permaculture principles and include: planning , soil, composting, water, ‘where and when to grow what’ and finally ….harvesting ! Time: 10.00-2.30pm Teacher: Barbara Schreiner Where: Canberra Environment and Sustainability Resource Centre, Cnr Lawson Circuit and Lennox Crossing, Acton Payment: In advance by Direct Fund Transfer, cheque or cash |
29 September, Wednesday: Politics in the Pub and book launch
The Australia Institute and UnionsACT are delighted to invite you to a post-election Politics in the Pub and book launch: Where now for people power after the election?
Speakers are Simon Sheikh, National Director GetUp.org.au and Amanda Tattersall author of Power in Coalition: strategies for strong unions and social change (and union and community organiser). The MC is Charles Firth from The Chaser.
“The ball is now in our court as to whether we can turn the opportunity of a hung parliament into social change.” Amanda Tattersall
See this link for background article. http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/a-shot-at-real-people-power-20100831-14dl5.html
TIME: Drinks from 5:30pm, starts at 6pm
WHERE: The Lounge Bar, Level 3, Uni Pub, 17 London Circuit, Canberra
October 7th, 2010 7:00 PM through 9:30 PM: Clothes Swap: Glamorama Fashion Swap Meet
| Get those neglected garments out of the corner of your wardrobe, and bring them along for a swap-meet with other SEE-Change members.
Entry fee is $5.00, which includes a drink and delicious home-made snack. |
|
| Location | Main Hall, St James Church, 40 Gillies St, Curtin |
| Phone: 0403 243 156 Email: woden.seechange at gmail.com | |
7 and 8 October Community Gardening Conference
“The Canberra Organic Growers Society in conjunction with the University of Canberra will be holding a community gardening conference on 7 and 8 October at the University of Canberra. The theme of the conference will be Promoting Sustainability, Health and Inclusion in the city. The conference will bring together representatives of different forms of community gardening practices, academics, policy makers and urban planners to share knowledge, promote dialogue and assess best practice to promote more productive and sustainable engagement with local food systems. There will be contributions from participants involved in community gardening from a wide geographical area – from the UK, from around Australia and from ACT community gardens. For more information on the program and registration see www.canberra.edu.au/communitygardens or contact Keith Colls on 62545038
| 27 October, Wednesday, 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Seminar: Asia climate change policy forum. What are India, China, Korea, Japan and Indonesia doing to reduce emissions? Leading researchers, analysts and advisers from across Asia will be joined by prominent Australian participants in the climate change debate to discuss domestic policy initiatives and international issues in this unique event. Crawford School of Economics and Government, Molonglo Theatre, Lvl 2, JG Crawford Building (Bildg #132), Lennox Crossing, Australian National University |
You are invited to the ‘Camp for Climate Action Australia 2010’
Put it in your diaries, register on-line Less than three months to go!
When: 1st – 5th December 2010, with the mass action at Bayswater power station on Sunday 5th.
What: A five day program of climate change issues and solutions, planning, networking and one huge day of peaceful direct action targeting Australia’s equal largest source of C02 emissions – Bayswater power station.
Where: Lake Liddell Recreation Area, The Hunter Valley, NSW: 16km East of Muswellbrook, 1 ½ hrs. West of Newcastle, 3 hrs. North-West of Sydney
Who: You, your friends and family!
Contact rebeccahorridge at hotmail.com if you want to join people from Climate Action Canberra arranging transport and camping together at Climate Camp.
If you’re concerned about the future and want to do something about it Climate Camp is for you! Come for a workshop, the mass action or the whole five days!
Go to http://www.climatecamp.org.au/ for all the information you need to come along or to get involved.
News
Corbell powers ahead on solar
BY NOEL TOWELL, CHIEF ASSEMBLY REPORTER, The Canberra Times
14 Sep, 2010 08:48 AM
The ACT Government has unveiled its scheme to turn Canberra into the nation’s solar power leader in a radical departure from its previous renewable energy plan.
If the new feed-in tariff proposals announced yesterday are successful, up to 25 per cent of the city’s power would be generated within a few years by solar farms dotted around the territory and by vast photovoltaic panels on shopping centre and warehouse roofs.
Solar power lobbyists have hailed the plan as a game-changer for Australia, but not everyone is convinced the territory Opposition called it a recipe for higher household power bills.
Environment Minster Simon Corbell said yesterday that the Government would legislate for two new categories to its existing solar feed-in tariff scheme, allowing medium-scale generation of between 30 kilowatts and 200kW and large-scale generation of more than 200kW.
The medium category will allow businesses to produce their own power using panels on their roof spaces and to feed surplus electricity back into the grid, while the large-scale category paves the way for private players to build solar farms for the territory’s first effort at large-scale renewable electricity generation.
The firm to run the first solar farm, generating about 40kW, will be chosen by auction. The company offering the lowest-priced power will win the contract and further schemes will be announced after the effectiveness of the auction model has been assessed.
This announcement differs from the previous model, in which the ACT Government was to fund a single solar farm with a $30 million grant.
You can leave comments at: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/corbell-powers-ahead-on-solar/1940670.aspx.
Here is the response of Renn Web from Love 40% campaign group.:
It is fantastic to see the ACT is not mucking around in getting on with implementing projects to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions after recently committing to the ambitious and nation leading 40% target. Expanding the solar feed–in tariff is a great step towards increasing our use of renewable energy and reducing our emissions from electricity. These solar projects will create many green jobs and will be great for the burgeoning solar industry.
Unfortunately as part of the plan to extend the feed in tariff to large scale projects the Government is considering abandoning the tariff for the household scale scheme (for new installations). The ongoing chopping and changing of policies both at the Federal and State and Territory level with no consultation is terrible for a vital new industry that is trying to grow. If supporting large scale solar projects is a cheaper and more equitable way to reduce our emissions than supporting household scales schemes then this may be good policy, but there should be proper consultation and perhaps a transition period with a reduced feed in tariff.
To really make solar power work in the ACT the Government should introduce an energy efficiency target similar to those operating in other states as soon as possible. Reducing energy use through energy efficiency and smarter behaviour is crucial as it can offset the cost of increasing electricity prices. This means we can use clean electricity produced without polluting our environment such as solar power, and not have increased electricity bills.
Ren Webb
Canberra ♥ 40%
A BRAVE NEW WORLD OF CLIMATE POLICY?
Geoff Lazarus
One of the keys to success of our new minority Government will be its ability to deliver a range of policies required to reduce our very high carbon emissions. If the election showed anything, it was the desire of voters for real action on climate change, and our political leaders must be mindful that failure to deliver on this crucial policy front contributed to the down fall of Howard, Turnbull and Rudd.
It also nearly cost Gillard her job and may well do so if she fails to work with most of the Independents and Greens who hold the balance of power in both Houses of Parliament. They have considerable understanding of climate change science and therefore the scope of policy measures needed to significently reduce emissions.
Gillard and new Minister Combet rather than giving into the coal industry, the Australian Industry Group, and pressure from News Limited papers as they did last year, need to recognize that the new political context as well as climate science requires immediate and resolute action. Labor will no longer be able to get away with spin doctored nonsense climate policy as it nearly did with the CPRS- a scheme would have locked in major Co2 increases till 2035 and made consumers, rather than the big polluters pay.
The Labor/Greens agreement to set up a special climate change committee, hopefully it will include Ross Garnet, as well independents such as Rob Oakeshott, and Greens Senator Christine Milne. They will press to ensure its proposals are more science rather than politically based, and therefore provide some real and badly overdue leadership on the ‘great moral challenge of our time.’ The Government needs to ignore all the political posturing of the Coalition about the implausibility of Greens/Independents capacity to co-operate. The good relationship of the Independents and Greens and similarity of views around the climate change issue and with their centrality to the survival of the Government will hopefully ensure that Labor changes its ways on climate change.
It is interesting to note that Rob Oakeshott approached the Greens in 2008 to discuss renewable energy policy and very soon introduced mirror legislation to Christine Milne’s feed-in tariff bill into the House. This existing relationship and demonstrated commitment to ambitious renewable energy policy bodes very well indeed. In addition, he has made numerous comments since the election to the effect that renewable energy is central to what he wants for his electorate.
Tony Windsor in his press conference last week announcing his support for Labor said that climate change and renewable energy policy were his second top priority after the national broadband network. Most importantly, Windsor said that done appropriately, climate and renewables policies are beneficial to the economy. Tony Windsor introduced as a Private Member’s Bill the Climate Action Bill developed by a number of Climate Action Groups which, amongst other things, called for 30% cuts below 1990 levels by 2020.
Andrew Wilkie, the ex-Green independent member for Denison in central Hobart, has a policy platform largely in line with the Greens. He will also need to follow through with this to show to his voters he supports sound climate change policies in order to ensure holding his seat next election.
The Greens, as well as having a crucial House of Representatives vote in Adam Bandt, will also hold the Senate balance of power, probably for the next six years, and will be as influential as the Independents in the outcomes of the climate change committee. They will push hard for a carbon tax, an explicit commitment to 100% renewable energy, a comprehensive feed-in tariff for all forms of renewable energy, loan guarantees for industrial-scale baseload renewable energy power plants, an increased renewable energy target, pre-planning processes to create renewable energy parks, a national roll-out of the smart grid and much more.
It’s quite possible that Parliament could deliver the most exciting and ambitious renewable energy policies Australia has ever seen. But even with the best will of key parliamentary participants in climate change decision making, it will be a very challenging task to match what climate science is telling us to do.
Co2 levels have risen from 250 parts per million in the 1750s to the current level of 390ppm. Even if we had achieved the best of all possible outcomes from Copenhagen the planet is likely to reach 500ppm or around a three degrees rise in temperatures. At 450ppm its estimated we have a 50% chance of runaway and ultimately catastrophic global warming- a situation whereby carbon continues to thicken the atmosphere and thereby contain rather than release the sun’s heat which then pushes temperatures higher, thus releasing more carbon that further intensifies heating of the planet.
While making times based predictions with certainty is nearly impossible, it’s at least conceivable, according to former NASA scientist James Lovelock, that we may reach a tipping point of runaway warming within twenty years.
According to Dr Clive Hamilton, even based on optimistic assumptions about global emissions, the world could warm by around 4°C by the 2070s. The planet would be hotter than at any time for the last 15 million years. Temperatures will continue to rise because feedback effects will have taken control of the Earth’s climate out of our hands.
The conditions of life will be wholly transformed with massive damage to biodiversity through the remaking of ecosystems and humanity will be retreating to the poles. All this may occur within the life-times of most children born this century.
We must therefore immediately move to the goal of a 100% reduction of Co2 emissions within ten years- a massive but not impossible task. We must create and expand renewable energy industries that will create thousands of new jobs. Coal based electricity must be phased out as soon as practically possible.
Whether Labor lifts its game on climate change may come down to the performance of Greg Combet. He represents a coal producing seat and played a very negative role last year in defending and promoting the CPRS. His recent statement saying he’ll fight for coal jobs is hardly ‘common sense’ and bodes badly for the critical need to reduce carbon emissions. Is he set to repeat Labor’s mistakes of failing to grasp just how critical the situation is for the planet’s future?
He must devote his considerable political skills to taking Labor in a new direction based on what climate science is telling us, rather than continuing with the practice of playing politics with our children’s future.
Whether he and Labor are able to grasp the historic opportunity to lead desperately needed change remains to be seen. The opportunity to do so however, has never been better.
Geoff Lazarus,
THE LATEST CLIMATE/ENERGY NEWS LINKS
Ambre coal plan still under consideration
Ambre Energy says increasing government regulation is affecting its coal project on Queensland’s
A bumper season for crops
Melting sea ice forces walruses ashore in Alaska
Tens of thousands of walruses have come ashore in north-west Alaska because the sea ice they normally rest on has melted.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/melting-sea-ice-forces-walruses-ashore-in-alaska-20100914-15aml.html
Garnaut calls for deferral of mining tax
THE author of the Rudd government’s climate change report, Ross Garnaut, has called for the mining tax to be deferred.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/ross-garnaut-calls-for-deferral-of-mining-tax/story-fn59niix-1225922988037
Our robust stance on Greens defended
SENIOR media professionals have defended as free speech and opinion The Australian’s stance on the Greens.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/our-robust-stance-on-greens-defended/story-fn59niix-1225922999721
Walruses beached as Arctic ice melts
TENS of thousands of walruses have come ashore in northwest Alaska because the sea ice they normally rest on has melted. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/stampede-fears-for-young-as-walruses-pack-alaska-beach-because-ice-has-melted/story-e6frg6so-1225922693878
Warming Arctic pushes wildlife to the edge
The Arctic is warming at a rate almost twice the global average, triggering mass starvation of wildlife and a doubling of coastal erosion in some areas, a new report says.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/warming-arctic-pushes-wildlife-to-the-edge/1940663.aspx
Taking stock of climate change — what now?
Greg Combet’s arrival as Climate Change Minister provides the opportunity to rethink where we go from here, given Labor has so badly botched the issue in its first term.
http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/09/14/taking-stock-of-climate-change-what-now/
Fourth Hottest Summer on Record for the United States in 2010
As September begins to bring cooler temperatures, Americans can look back objectively at the past summer (June-August). The above average temperatures in the contiguous states combined to make it the fourth warmest ever. Only seven of the lower 48 states had normal temperatures, and 29 were much above normal. This news is detailed in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) State of the Climate report issued on September 8, 2010.
Why Tidal Power is Europes Best Near-Term Ocean Energy Technology
Primitive tidal mills operated in the England date back to the 11th century. During the 18th century, several tidal mills popped up in Western Europe. The news that the world’s largest tidal turbine 1 MW in size will be installed off the coast of Scotland near Orkney should come as no surprise.
China says rich-poor divide still dogs climate pact talks
The prospects of a new global climate change pact still hinge on resolving the divisions between rich nations and the developing world, a top Chinese climate negotiator said in remarks published on Monday. “Right now there are still huge differences between developed and developing countries in the negotiations on climate change problems,” said Su Wei, the head of the climate change office at the National Development and Reform Commission.
Computer in wrapping-paper form
Investigators in New York are giving factory production of solar energy cells a modern makeover. Their new approach, described in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, includes the use of “continuous electronic sheets,” something like a computer flattened into wrapping paper.
Women More Likely Than Men to Accept Scientific Consensus on Global Warming
Women tend to believe the scientific consensus on global warming more than men, according to a new …
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100914115238htm
Why ‘Scientific Consensus’ Fails to Persuade
A recent study sought to understand why members of the public are sharply and persistently divided on matters on which expert scientists largely agree. How would you determine whether or not a …
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100914102114htm
Why BP’s failure to mention safety culture is problem
BP’s investigation into the causes of the Gulf blowout focuses on technical problems. It may have missed a key factor
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19446-why-bps-failure-to-mention-safety-culture-is-problem.html
Gulf Oil Spill Energizes Foes Of NY Shale Drilling
Critics of natural gas drilling in New York on Monday urged U.S. regulators to enact tougher regulations, saying the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico proves the industry cannot be trusted.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59512
TEPCO To Boost Renewable Energy, Expand Overseas
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), Asia’s biggest utility, plans to bolster its renewable and nuclear energy operations and to expand its business in Asia, as it faces rising pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions and shrinking demand at home.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59511
Greece Unblocks 2 Billion Euro Renewable Energy Projects
Greece unblocked renewable energy projects worth 2.1 billion euros ($2.7 billion) as the cash-strapped country struggles to attract new investments to boost its ailing economy, the energy regulator said on Monday.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59510
Norway Says Green Taxes Can Help Jobs And Economic Growth
Green taxes are among ways to spur jobs and economic revival despite less focus on environmental solutions since the U.N.’s Copenhagen summit in 2009, Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59509
China Says Rich-Poor Divide Still Dogs Climate Pact Talks
The prospects of a new global climate change pact still hinge on resolving the divisions between rich nations and the developing world, a top Chinese climate negotiator said in remarks published on Monday.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59506
Palau Adopts National Energy Policy
Targets conservation to reduce consumption
http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2010/September/09-14-17.htm
PNG Labor Force Unprepared For Huge Gas Project
http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2010/September/09-14-ed1.htm
Notes
You could receive this newsletter in your in-tray if you subscribe to the Google Groups “CAC-Announce” group.
Email rebeccahorridge at hotmail.com to join the group.
News & Events, 29th, August 2010
Climate Action Canberra
News & Events, 29th, August 2010
Hello to Climate Action supporters.
For those who haven’t heard Our Convenor Ann O’Brien has resigned to take up a position in Sydney. We all would like to congratulate Ann and thank her for her hard work over the last few years and wish her all the best in her new job.
Walter as returning officer for the election to replace Anne as Convenor has put out ‘call for nominations’ from members wishing to stand for the position of convenor on 20 September 2010 as well as nominations for another executive member should one of the current executive be elected on the 20th. Please send your nominations to Walter walterjehne at yahoo.com.au
The next Climate Action Canberra Newsletter deadline is 12th September midnight. Please send anything relevant to climate and Canberra to rebeccahorridge at hotmail.com
Next Climate Action Canberra Action Meeting, Friday 10th September 2010, 6pm-7.30pm, at the ACT Conservation Council, 17 Childers St Acton. Please send agenda items to leon-arundell at grapevine.net.au
Next Climate Action Canberra General Meeting, Monday 20 September 2010, 6pm-7.30pm, at the ACT Conservation Council, 17 Childers St Acton. Please send agenda items to leon-arundell at grapevine.net.au
Climate Action Canberra
Next Climate Action Canberra Action Meeting, Friday 10th September 2010, 6pm-7.30pm, at the ACT Conservation Council, 17 Childers St Acton. Please send agenda items to leon-arundell at grapevine.net.au
Next Climate Action Canberra General Meeting, Monday 20 September 2010, 6pm-7.30pm, at the ACT Conservation Council, 17 Childers St Acton. Please send agenda items to leon-arundell at grapevine.net.au
See-Change
Saturday 11th September, Inner North committee meeting
11:00am Charisma Café, North Lyneham
Along with the SEE-Change stall at Floriade this year, they will also be presenting 6 different seminars throughout the week starting on the 20th of September. Each presentation covers a specific topic and will run for around half an hour. This is a great opportunity to support SEE-Change and learn about some interesting ways to reduce your environmental impact. The presentations are listed below in Events section.
Canberra ♥ 40%
Canberra ♥ 40% Meeting Monday 30th August at 6.30pm.
CRISP G015.
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The Australia Institute – has released a new paper:
Once more with feeling: Principles for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the well-being of most Australians. -(attached to this newsletter).
Despite much of the election being allegedly fought on ‘economic management’ neither the ALP nor the Coalition were asked to explain how it was that they simultaneously claimed to be ‘good economic managers’ yet were determined to ignore all economic evidence about the best way to tackle climate change.
This election has shown just how much of a challenge new issues such as climate change are for old political structures.
This paper spells out the economic principles that should underpin an effective, efficient and equitable approach to reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest possible cost. In addition, it also provides evidence to support the claim that the introduction of a carbon price would benefit most Australian families. Put simply, the collection of a carbon tax should not be seen as a cost to the economy but a redistribution within the economy.
If the proceeds of a $25 carbon tax were provided directly to Australian households rather than returned directly to the polluters a family of four could be paid a ‘carbon dividend’ of $2,100 per year. Other options for how the revenue from a carbon tax could be spent include lowering the Goods and Services Tax (GST), lowering the company tax rate, investing in renewable energy and other low carbon infrastructure.
Sustainability Challenge [from the Canberra Environment Centre]
Always wanted to do your bit for sustainability but can’t get motivated? Not sure what you can actually do?
Get a team together and join the 30 day sustainability challenge! You can do it with your housemates, your gym buddies, your classroom or your self.
Five Steps Forward…
It’s easy!
Have a quick think about your everyday life. Would you prefer not to drive to work every day? Like locally grown and produced food but never get around to buying it? Think you could put on a jumper and turn down the heating? Can’t remember to turn off appliances at the wall and save on stand-by power? Always wanted to make friends in your course and think car-pooling would be a good way to do it?
There are hundreds of ways we can lessen our impact on the environment. The Sustainability Challenge helps you to choose 5 things you can do for 30 days.
Put the poster up on your fridge, write in the 5 things you’ve chosen for a more sustainable life, and track how you’re going over the 30 days of the Challenge.
There’s a spot for you to write in how you’re going, what’s worked really well, and what hasn’t worked at all. At the end of the 30 days, send it back to us and we can find out the best ways for people to reduce their impact on the environment and help more people do the same!
See the website http://www.ecoaction.com.au/category.php?id=101
Sign me up! ecsustainabilitychallenge(@)gmail.com
Campaigns
Canberra ♥ 40%
Contact Details: www.love40percent.org
See http://love40percent.org for all background to the Love 40% campaign
You can now join Love 40% on Facebook
Letter-writing as a political tool
Why write a letter?
Writing a letter a politician is a way that you can make your representative/s aware of the existence of an issue or to promote your view on an existing issue.
This document (http://love40percent.org/how-to-write-a-letter-to-an-mla/) focuses on letter-writing as part of a broader strategy to build community and political support in the ACT for a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of at least 40 per cent.
Download the attached letter-writing tool kit and start writing.
Calling all woollen artists. We need your help to make a giant woollen banner for an upcoming event we have planned. If lots of people make a few small squares then we can sew it all together into something huge and wonderful. Email info@love40percent.org please drop off knitted squares at the conservation council at 17 Childers St, Acton and/or mail them to “Love 40% c-/ ACT Conservation Council, GPO Box 544, Canberra ACT 2601″. If you are particularly keen you could try knitting some patterns or messages Go to .http://love40percent.org/2010/05/knit-against-climate-change/ for a heart shaped pattern to get you started and a discussion forum.
Working Groups
Climate Action Canberra
- 100% Renewables by 2020: See these wonderful websites for more info: http://www.100percent.org.au and http://www.beyondzeroemissions.org
Contact: Valerie: 048 899 1074, swheatst at cyberone.com.auBeyond Zero emissions has released their plan for 100 per cent renewables in 10 years. The Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan, showing the feasibility and affordability of 100% renewable energy for Australia is now out and popping up all over the place. Help it go viral by getting yourself an electronic (free) or hard-copy ($30) and sending it to family, friends and colleagues. We can only shift the debate on energy and climate in this country by breaking the many myths that the public holds true about renewable energy and fossil fuels.Click here to download or purchase the plan. - .ACT campaign for 40%+ Emissions Reductions by 2020.
Canberra ♥ 40% is a group of community organisations and concerned Canberra residents who believe that the ACT should lead Australia and commit to a cut of at least 40% in our greenhouse gas emissions. http://love40percent.org
Contact: Anne 0422 913 165, anneobr at gmail.com - Public Transport in the ACT
Lets improve it!: Contact: Anne 0422 913 165, anneobr at gmail.com - Molonglo Valley Development – these new Canberra suburbs currently being planned. We need to act fast to get strong environmental standards on public & bike transport, passive solar homes and management of the river to ensure there is no dam,but a chain of ponds.
Contact: Lance Chapman 6254 3874 lanceandglenda at grapevine.net.au - Arts Action for Climate. Calling all types of artists.
Contact: artclimate at gmail.com - Climate Tax Working Group, contact: rebeccahorridge at hotmail.com
EVENTS .
29th August, Sustainable House Guided Tours
Be quick to get a place on the last of this years winter season tours of Canberra’s Sustainable House.
This inner Canberra home showcases the very best in sustainable housing, appliances and lifestyle. A fabulous way to gain ideas to make your own home sustainable. Canberra’s Sustainable House also offers an advisory service for householders who need assistance or coaching to reduce their energy, food and water expenses. A tour is a great way to begin this journey.
Bookings are essential, 10 am 29 August, www.canberrassustainablehouse.com.au
30th August to 1st September, Conference on “Biodiversity and World Food Security: Nourishing the Planet and its People”
“Biodiversity and World Food Security: Nourishing the Planet and its People” will be held in Parliament House, Canberra over the period 30 August to 1 September.
This will be the key event in the Australasian region and one of very few international events focusing on food security imperatives in relation to biodiversity conservation.
The conference will highlight the value and vulnerability of biodiversity in agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods, especially for developing nations and Australia; address the additional pressures that climate change impacts will bring to bear on both the conservation and use of biodiversity, and offer some policy directions for Australia and the developing world.
Confirmed key speakers include:
- Dr Cristián Samper, Director, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution;
- Professor Steve Hopper, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew;
- Dr Emile Frison, Director General, Bioversity International;
- Dr Megan Clark, Chief Executive, CSIRO;
- Dr Meryl Williams, Chair of Commission, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research;
- Professor Hugh Possingham FAA, Director of The Ecology Centre at the University of Queensland
Where is it On?: Parliament House, Canberra
RSVP?: Yes Contact Details: http://www.crawfordfund.org/conference/conf2010.html
30th August to 1st September, 3rd International Urban Design Conference
“Designs On Our Future”
What impact will the debate over sustainable population for Australia have on our existing cities? The conference will examine how our new cities are conceived and our existing ones are adapted, re-designed and managed.
The conference will focus on a variety of themes and topics:
- Growth
- Demographic change
- Housing diversity and affordability
- Settlement patterns
- Preparedness
- Resilience
- Infrastructure and sustainability in the “New” Australia
- Transport system requirements
- Energy efficient building design
- Effective governance and leadership
- Sustainable higher density development
- Renewable development
- Managing the carbon footprint of new and existing cities
- The future of public spaces
- Food and resource vulnerability
Where is it On?: National Convention Centre- Canberra.
RSVP?: Yes Contact Details: http://www.urbandesignaustralia.com.au/
31st August 2010, Evolutionary biogeography and conservation on a rapidly changing planet
| Speaker/Host: | Professor Craig Moritz |
| Venue: | The Robertson Lecture Theatre, R.N. Robertson Building (no. 46) |
| Date: | Tuesday, 31 August 2010 |
| Time: | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM |
| Website: | http://biology.anu.edu.au…zSeminarWeb.pdf |
| Enquiries: | Audra Johnstone on 6125 2866 |
2nd September, How do we manage terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity on private land?
Panelists:
Professor Stephen Dovers- Director, Fenner School of Environment and Society, ANU College of Medicine Biology and Environment
Ms Deb Kerr- Manager of Natural Resource Management, National Farmers Federation
Professor Stewart Lockie- Head, School of Sociology, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
| Speaker/Host: | Facilitated by Penelope Marshall |
| Venue: | Weston Theatre, J G Crawford Building, Lennox crossing, ANU |
| Date: | Thursday, 2 September 2010 |
| Time: | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM |
| Enquiries: | Penelope Marshall on 6125 2256, ANU Events on 6125 4144 |
Visit a Sustainable House in your neighbourhood
Go to this site to find out how.
http://www.sustainablehouseday.com/australian-capital-territory.php
18 th September, Canberra Electric Vehicle Festival
The second annual Canberra EV Festival will be held on Saturday, 18 September, 2010, and the Canberra branch of the Australian Electrical Vehicle Association hopes to make it bigger and better than last year’s!
In partnership with The ACT Electric Vehicle Council, they are planning an exciting event: they will have representation from both commercial organisations and private individuals as well as talks explaining what electrical vehicles are and how you can make one!
Where is it On?:
Near Old Parliament House (in front of it), Canberra, 10 am 18th September
Contact: www.canberraev.org SEE-Change Education Seminars at Flor
| SEE-Change will be holding 6 presentations at Floriade this year! |
| Along with the SEE-Change stall at Floriade this year, they will also be presenting 6 different seminars throughout the week starting on the 20th of September. Each presentation covers a specific topic and will run for around half an hour. This is a great opportunity to support SEE-Change and learn about some interesting ways to reduce your environmental impact. The presentations are as follows: Monday 20th September11:30am – 12:00pm: Lish Fejer from ABC TV’s Carbon Cops and Green it Yourself (GIY) will present “Global Worming”. Lish will show you how to set up your own worm farm (or salvage a smelly slimy one) and microbe-munching unit that will turn your kitchen scraps into delicious nutritious garden fertilizer.
12:00pm – 12:30pm: Shirley Pipitone will be presenting “Good Morning Sunshine – My Retrofitting Experience”. Shirley will be speaking about her experiences retrofitting her home to make it more sustainable. Wednesday 22nd September 11:30am – 12:00pm: Jane Cottee, Education Manager from Building and Environment Centre at CIT will be presenting “Drought Tolerant Gardens”. Jane will be speaking about how to create drought tolerant gardens in Canberra’s current climate inlcuding plant selection and water saving strategies. 12:00pm – 12:30pm: Leigh Duxson – “Envisaging 2030“. Leigh will be speaking about how we can envisage Canberra in the year 2030. Thursday 23rd September 10:30am – 11:00am: Simon Gemmell from Capital Aquaponics will be presenting “Aquaponics – growing vegetables and fish!”. He will teach you how to grow your own fish and vegetables for consumption in your own backyard! 11:30 – 12:00pm: Jeff Knowles will be presenting “Sustainable Homes”. Jeff will be speaking about how to build sustainable homes within the ACT. |
News
Australia’s Capital Sets 40 Percent Carbon Cut Law
The government of an Australian territory said on Thursday it will enact tough carbon cutting laws, a step that comes after a national election that punished the ruling Labor party over lack of action on climate change.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59312
Fate of biofuel depends on oil price stability
Future oil prices will determine whether a biofuels industry can succeed in Australia, experts say.
Mayor wants wave-energy consultation
Grant District Council Mayor Richard Sage says there has been no consultation about a proposed wave-energy plant at Port MacDonnell.
Court upholds wind farm appeal
The Land and Environment Court has upheld an appeal against a $150 million wind farm at Glen Innes.
Appeal against wind farm upheld
The Land and Environment Court has upheld an appeal against a $150 million wind farm at Glen Innes, in northern New South Wales.
Colton mine should survive zoning proposal
Northern Energy Corporation says the Queensland Government’s proposed changes to agricultural land zoning would not impact on its planned Colton mine, near Maryborough.
Cougar Energy ‘not clear’ what information Government wants
Cougar Energy says it is at a loss to explain why the State Government has rejected its environmental evaluation of the Kingaroy UCG plant.
NZ seabed samples clue to global warming
The fossil record from oceans around New Zealand shows a sudden discharge of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at the end of the last ice age.
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/nz-seabed-samples-clue-to-global-warming-20100828-13wbp.html
Cheap fuel ahead but only for chosen cars
Motorists at the bowser will start seeing a new type of fuel that is 20¢ a litre cheaper than petrol, but bargain hunters be warned: it could ruin your engine.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cheap-fuel-ahead-but-only-for-chosen-cars-20100827-13w28.html
Richard Eckersley: Fiddling while Earth burns
No more ‘politics as usual’ should mean having enough courage to tackle the sickness of mindless consumption.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/fiddling-while-the-earth-burns-20100826-13u4m.html
Paddy Manning: Climate change forecast with Greens power shift
Hopes surged this week that a swing to the Greens will result in meaningful action on climate change in the new Parliament.
http://www.theagecom.au/business/climate-change-forecast-with-greens-power-shift-20100827-13w41.html
Solar bonus generates a mega-load of energy
THE NSW Government’s solar bonus scheme, which pays householders for the electricity they generate from their rooftop panels, has proved so popular it has reached a 50-megawatt milestone 18 months before expected.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/solar-bonus-generates-a-megaload-of-energy-20100827-13vzm.html
Review delay freezes solar projects
ROOFTOP solar cell projects are on hold because a State Government review of how people are paid for the electricity they create has never been released.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/review-delay-freezes-solar-projects/story-e6frea83-1225911070881
Solar Storm
A geomagnetic storm (or solar storm) is a temporary disturbance of the Earth’s magnetosphere caused by a massive solar flares or related sun output. A geomagnetic storm is caused by a solar wind shock wave which typically strikes the Earth’s magnetic field 3 days after the event on the sun. The effect on the earth can be small or it can be large. Astronomers are predicting that a massive solar storm, much bigger in potential than the one that caused spectacular light shows on Earth earlier this month, will strike our planet in 2012 with a force of 100 million hydrogen bombs. This is far larger than average.
Policy reform to stop discrimination against farm trees could help poor farmers out of poverty
Millions of dollars worth of income could be unlocked for poor farmers in developing countries by changing existing policies that reduce investment in agroforestry. An Agroforestry Policy Initiative, involving a wide range of partners, would make agroforestry a key contributor to ensuring food security, reducing poverty and combating climate change.
Renewable power on a grand scale
An exhibition of photographs of the sustainable energy industry includes this shot of a huge hydroelectric turbine shaft
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/08/big-green-power-tech.html
Sunrise boulevards could bring clean power
Could roads surfaced with solar panels bring renewable energy to our doors?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19374-innovation-sunrise-boulevards-could-bring-clean-power.html
Analysis: Climate Aid Reaches $30 Billion Goal, But Is It New?
Aid promises from rich nations to help poor countries slow global warming are reaching the $30 billion goal agreed in Copenhagen but analysts say much of that is old funding dressed up as new pledges.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59317
EU Sees Limit On Industrial Projects In CO2 Scheme
The European Union’s top climate official proposed on Wednesday new limits on the use of carbon offsets from industrial gas projects, under fire by green groups, in the EU’s emissions trading scheme after 2012.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59316
Shell Tests Method To Reclaim Oil Sands Waste
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Thursday it was starting up a demonstration project to test a new method of speeding up reclamation of toxic waste ponds at oil sands operations, a source of tension between oil companies, environmentalists and regulators.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59315
Chile, Suez Agree To Relocate $1.1 Bln Plant
Chile and France’s GDF Suez have agreed to relocate a planned $1.1 billion thermal power plant, following a public outcry over fears the project would harm a reserve that is home to endangered penguins.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/59313
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Climate Action Canberra 
