Video: Diplomatic clash over Assange. Protest in Melbourne
VIDEO http://media.canberratimes.com.au/selections/assange-asylum-leads-to-diplomatic-clash-3561665.html?&exc_from=strap Assange asylum leads to diplomatic clash
Assange protest hits UK consulate The Age August 17, 2012 Nathan Partenza A small group of Assange supporters assembled outside the building holding placards, one of which read “Let him go you lying bastards” and another “respect Assange’s asylum”. Continue reading
Weight of evidence is influencing climate ‘sceptics’ towards understanding climate change
Climate sceptics shifting their views, SARA PHILLIPS ABC 15 AUG 2012 “……..among those who deny that climate change is real, there appears to have been a palpable shift away from a refusal to accept the climate is warming and towards those who doubt the severity of the damage.
It’s a subtle but important shift, and suggests that holding the view that climate change is not occurring is intellectually untenable in the long-term.
American physicist Richard Muller is one climate sceptic who has recently changed his mind after reviewing the evidence.
Muller crunched a bunch of numbers to do with global temperatures and announced in the New York Times that he is a “converted sceptic”. It was this opinion piece in arguably the world’s most influential paper that set tongues wagging about climate change all over again……
Over time, it seems that the weight of evidence is pushing those who disbelieve climate science further and further towards the view of the majority of researchers working in the area. Few so-called climate sceptics now doubt that humans play a role; fewer still doubt that temperatures are rising.
The roadblocks that have slowed or prevented action to reduce the effects of climate change are being smoothed.
While there will always be hold-outs who cling to their own beliefs despite the evidence, the trend away from complete denial can only be positive news for those on the road to addressing climate change.
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/08/15/3568554.htm
Tonga joins Tokelau in switching on solar power
Tonga joins Pacific solar drive to cheaper, safer, cleaner power REneweconomy By Sophie Vorrath 17 August 2012 Last week, New Zealand-based Powersmart Solar officially switched on the first of three solar power systems being installed on the South Pacific archipelago of Tokelau. As reported on RenewEconomy earlier this month, Tokelau is replacing the diesel electricity systems that have powered its three atolls with solar power systems and battery storage.
But Tokelau is not the the only South Pacific nation currently undergoing a solar transformation. The Kingdom of Tonga switched on its own maiden solar plant at the end of last month – another New Zealand-funded project that, along with the plant at Tokelau’s Fakaofo atoll, are set to be the first of many to come in the region, according to NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully.
As is the case in Tokelau, the Tongan solar plant – Ma’ama Mai, which means “Let there be Light” – is part of a scheme to reduce the island nation’s dependence on fossil fuels and, in particular, diesel. According to reports, Tonga was consuming about 30 million litres of diesel a year; an average of about one litre every two seconds.
A collaborative effort between Tonga Power and NSW-based Meridian Energy, Ma’ama Mai’s nearly 6,000 solar panels will generate around 1MW a year, which equates to 4 per cent of electricity used on the main island of Tongatapu. For such a seemingly small amount, this will help Tonga save an estimated 470,000 litres of diesel – $NZ15 million-worth – over the 25-year-life of the plant.
According to an ABC News report, the plant was originally going to be funded by Tonga Power and the Tongan Government, but the World Bank would not loan Tonga any more funds, so New Zealand stepped in to cover the $7.9 million cost.
Already it is paying off, with the government announcing a reduction in the price Tongans pay for electricity from August 1. And this could just be the beginning – Tonga’s Minister for Public Enterprises, William Clive Edwards, says the aim is to have 50 per cent of the country’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2018; including solar, wind and biomass….. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/tonga-joins-pacific-solar-drive-to-cheaper-safer-cleaner-power-60042
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 