Australia’s smug drift into anti science
the authority of science has come under challenge……In no Western country, again with the exception of the US, is the political force of climate change denialism as potent as it is in Australia….This is an inherently unstable political situation…. Unless the mood of national complacency is successfully challenged, the victor in this battle seems certain to be Tony Abbott.
Threat of the new Australian smugness, Sydney Morning Herald, Robert Manne, May 2, 2011, Our leaders encourage a mood of self-satisfaction in which the nation’s goodness and wisdom are beyond question. Continue reading
ERA uranium company delays improvements to Ranger water management
Ranger uranium miner accused of delays, ABC News, 2 May 11, By Anna Henderson, An environmental scientist is calling on a uranium miner in Kakadu National Park to urgently improve its water management or it risks serious harm to the environment. Continue reading
Radiation: time we listened to doctors, not nuclear physicists
There’s no group better prepared than doctors to stand up to the physicists of the nuclear industry….Physicists had the knowledge to begin the nuclear age. Physicians have the knowledge, credibility and legitimacy to end it.
Unsafe at Any Dose, New York Times, By HELEN CALDICOTT, April 30, 2011 “………There’s great debate about the number of fatalities following Chernobyl; theInternational Atomic Energy Agency has predicted that there will be only about 4,000 deaths from cancer, but a 2009 report published by the New York Academy of Sciences says that almost one million people have already perished from cancer and other diseases. Continue reading
Indecent haste about poorly conceived LNG project
…… A 2010 tourism study conducted by the Curtin University Sustainable Tourism Centre found that:
• Plans for an LNG industrial site near Broome pose a serious threat to the Kimberley’s unique and globally-recognised tourism ‘brand’;……
• Tourism is more valuable to the regional economy than resource projects which return less to the local economy, employ fewer local people and have relatively short lifespans;
Kimberley gas hub Strategic Assessment citizens guide “…….Having slammed the previous Labor government for its handling of the Browse LNG siting issue and the decision by Inpex to process its Browse gas (from the ‘Ichthys’ field) in Darwin, WA Premier Barnett is desperate to have a Kimberley LNG project underway before the next State election (due March 2013). Continue reading
Western Australia’s gas hub discussed by Aboriginal group
Rural Report for Northern WA: May 2nd 2011, ABC Rural By Matt Brann, Kununurra, Kimberley traditional owners prepare for final vote on gas hub Continue reading
Complex, but very feasible, transition to renewable energy
a plausible Australian scenario for the next decade is the phase-out of several coal-fired power stations simultaneously with a rapid growth in efficient energy use, solar hot water, wind power and bio-electricity. These clean technologies would buy us time to commercialise solar thermal and possibly geothermal power and then integrate them on a large scale in the 2020s as the remaining coal stations are shut down. Thus Australia could achieve a sustainable electricity system……
A mix of sources with appropriate transmission links and ‘smart grids’ could provide a reliable system of 100% renewable electricity.
The base-load myth Online Opinion, By Mark Diesendorf – , 2 May 2011“…….Several countries, including Australia with its huge renewable energy resources, could make the necessary transition to an electricity generation system comprising 100 per cent renewable energy over a few decades. Continue reading
1.This month.
Zoom webinar – “Nuclear Winter: The Environmental Consequences of a Nuclear Exchange.”
April 7th at 11:30 am PST / 2:30 pm EST
Nuclear Winter: The Environmental Consequences of a Nuclear Exchange”
Join us for an informative webinar with renowned atmospheric scientist, Professor Brian Toon, as he discusses the environmental risks and global impacts of a nuclear war. Despite the potential damage caused by the blast from even small nuclear weapons, many countries continue to invest in and expand nuclear arsenals. Professor Toon will provide a scientific assessment of civilian fatalities, agricultural failures, climate concerns, and complications with food supply that would follow any international nuclear conflict. We need to plan how to prevent nuclear conflict and avoid catastrophe. Politicians and military planners must be made aware of global climate and agricultural complications that would ensue. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from, and engage in, this vital conversation
The Road to War brings a sharp focus to why it is not in Australia’s best interest to be dragged into a war with China which will almost inevitably go nuclear very quickly. The filmmaker has interviewed some of Australia’s senior foreign policy analysts who have vast experience behind them in analysing what really is going on here as the United States rattles its sabres with China. And sets us up to be its proxy, like the poor Ukranians have been fed into the Meatgrinder. So America can remain the Top Dog. The Road to War reveals how the United States through its spy base at Pine Gap and by stationing six nuclear capable B52 bombers in the Top End (without permission from the traditional owners) is making Australia a prime nuclear target if the current war of words suddenly melts down into full scale war.
The Road to War shows the implicit connection between Carbon emissions (the US military uses a whopping 70% of America’s annual petroleum to move its armies and vast War Machine around the globe to its 800+ military bases..but under a loophole wangled at Kyoto, the US military does not have to report its C02 annual emissions). The Road to War starts screening at selected cities and regional centres in March. See the trailer end for details.
Antinuclear 