USA Green Party joins with Australian, Canadian, New Zealand Greens to oppose Trans-Pacific Partnership
US Green Party signs international Green statement against “secret” Trans-Pacific Partnership pact October 1, 2012 WASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party of the United States has joined Green Parties of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand in a “Joint Statement on Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement” that strongly criticizes the proposed international trade pact.
The text of the Joint Statement, which the Green Party of the United States has endorsed, is appended below.
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was negotiated in secret by the Obama Administration, is meant to privilege corporate profits and enhance corporate power in the nations that rim the Pacific, including the U.S. This pact is a threat to jobs in the U.S. It contradicts claims by both President Obama and Gov. Romney that they want to put Americans back to work,” said Cheri Honkala, the Green Party’s vice-presidential nominee (http://www.jillstein.org).
“Every voter should know about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Unfortunately, both Obama and Romney support it, which means it won’t be discussed in the presidential debates. Only Green candidates, including my running mate, Jill Stein, are talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership publicly. This is why it’s so crucial that Dr. Stein participate in the debates,” added Ms. Honkala. Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Joint Statement on Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
http://www.greenparty.ca/statement/2012-08-21/joint-statement-trans-pacific-partnership-agreement
Youtube : Australian Youth Climate Coalition and the Walk for Solar Port Augusta
AYCC’s Walk for Solar on ABC TV News Breakfast http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=V5gArQEL1dQ&feature=youtu.be Oct 1, 2012
On Sep 30th, 2012, AYCC National Director Ellen Sandell was interviewed on ABC News Breakfast about the Walk for Solar and repowering Port Augusta with solar thermal technology.
Donna Mulhearn to talk in Mullumbimby on depleted uranium, peace, non nuclear
Frontline Film Foundation Donna Mulhearn will be speaking in Mullum and Byron 12th & 15th October
Friday 12 Oct Mullumbimby RSL talk and slideshow, Q and A preview of David Bradbury’s new anti-nuclear film, music donation $15/$20
Australians taking to energy efficiency and solar power
45 per cent said energy efficiency was now their biggest priority.
Frugal Aussies ‘are embracing renewable energy’ Mozo, 01 October 2012 It may seem frightfully obvious, but limiting the amount of energy we use in our houses can have a hugely positive impact on our finances. Unfortunately, some people are so stretched that they have little choice but to raid their savings accounts in order to cover their latest electricity or gas bill.
That said, it is encouraging to see so many Aussies starting to take control of their power consumption.
Basic measures such as going steady on the air conditioning gauge and switching TVs off when they are not being watched can go a long way towards saving Aussies significant sums of money.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 74 per cent of adults across the country are worried about the effects of climate change. In addition to this, a recent study conducted by Choice showed
that 55 per cent of the population are “very concerned” about their electricity bills, while 30 per cent said they were “quite concerned”.
With this in mind, it is no shock to see a greater number of people turn towards more sustainable energy sources like solar power. Continue reading
Australia’s top solar suburbs are low to medium income areas, not rich
Australia’s Top 6 Solar Suburbs http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3403 by Energy Matters, 2 Oct 12 The mortgage belt suburbs and the bush are where solar power truly shines. REC Agents Association (RAA) has expanded on an earlier submission prepared for the Climate Change Authority in relation to Australia’s Renewable Energy Target review that conclusively busted the myth ofsolar being the realm of rich city dwellers.
In its geographical analysis of solar energy systems under the Renewable Energy Target, RAA states suburbs with the highest penetration were typically in the outer metropolitan mortgage belt.
The RAA lists the 6 top solar suburbs as being:
Coodanup, Western Australia – 30% (9,463 systems)
Abbotsford, Queensland – 26% of houses (9,029 systems)
Booral Queensland – 34% of houses (8,823 systems)
Cocoroc Queensland – 29% of houses (8,426 systems)
Hoppers Crossing, Victoria – 34% of houses (8,138 systems)
Bentley, New South Wales – 39% of (7,763 systems)
The organisation notes some houses may have solar panels and solar hot water systems installed, meaning the penetration rate could be slightly lower
The average annual gross income of solar households across Australia is estimated to be $60,216 a year.
The full report includes a table of the top 20 solar PV and solar hot water suburbs by state. In a related research note, RAA says the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) has resulted in 1.5 million solar systems being installed by Australian families up until June 30 this year. Of this number, 753,844 were solar panels systems and 743,842 were solar hot water systems.
It says the cost impact of the SRES will drop to less than 1% of residential electricity prices when the Solar Credits multiplier is totally phased out in 10 months from now
The REC Agents Association (RAA) was established in late 2011 and acts on behalf of agents registered with the Clean Energy Regulator (CER).
Solar Trivia: Only 118 households had installed solar panel systems 2001.
Federal government commissions scenarios for 100% renewables SBS World News, 1 OCT 2012 The federal government has given the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) the job of coming up with a 100 percent renewable energy scenario for 2030 and 2050, By Roger Dargaville , University of MelbourneThe Federal Government has given the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO ) the job of coming up with a 100% renewable energy scenario for 2030 and 2050.
The market operator is working with a consulting company and CSIRO to provide information and data on renewable resources, storage technologies and demand-side response. It will combine the input data with its transmission modelling capability to find the least-cost combination of technologies to achieve a 100% renewable energy system for the National Electricity Market.
On Friday, the government hosted a meeting to discuss the data and modelling assumptions with various stakeholders and interested parties.
The data have all been made freely available on the Department of Climate Change & Energy Efficiency’s website . The government and the market operator are to be commended on this open and transparent approach to their modelling work. They have committed to also making the models available at the completion of the study in May next year…… http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1697647/Federal-government-commissions-scenarios-for-100-r
Promoting nuclear wastes as fuel for space travel!
Nuclear waste to fuel Neptune mission THE AUSTRALIAN BY: JONATHAN LEAKE The Times September 30, 2012 BRITAIN’S burgeoning stockpile of nuclear waste may finally be put to good use – as fuel for Europe’s future missions to the solar system’s most distant and exotic planets such as Uranus and Neptune.
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Britain’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) want to use radioactive isotopes harvested from the waste to make the nuclear batteries essential to power such space probes. Continue reading
California legislates to promote small scale renewable energy
Governor signs bill to ease small-scale renewable energy generation http://westernfarmpress.com/government/governor-signs-bill-ease-small-scale-renewable-energy-generation
Oct. 1, 2012 California farmers, school districts and commercial energy users got a boost with the Gov. Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 594, which removes barriers to on-site renewable energy production. The California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN), a coalition of sustainable agriculture organizations, supported the bill. Senate Bill 594, authored by Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis), will allow Net Energy Metering (NEM) customers to aggregate the electrical load of their meters.
The new law will ease the production of small-scale distributed renewable energy production in the state. “California farmers produce more renewable energy on their farms and ranches than their counterparts in other states, but obstacles still exist,” said Jeanne Merrill, policy director with CalCAN. “The governor’s action today moves us closer to developing more on-farm renewable energy production throughout California.”
Farmers and ranchers typically have multiple meters on their property. Current California law prohibits the power generated from an on-site renewable facility to be counted against other meters. Consequently, farmers would have to install a separate facility for each meter, which is extremely inefficient and cost prohibitive; thus limiting their ability to cost-effectively generate renewable energy. Senate Bill 594 addresses this issue and eliminates the need for multiple facilities.
“The governor just made it easier and more affordable for growers like me to produce renewable energy,” said Russ Lester, owner of Dixon Ridge Farms in Winters, Calif. “California agriculture can help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce clean energy. Senate Bill 594 is an important step forward.”
Senate Bill 594 will move California closer to meeting the governor’s goal of 12,000 megawatts of distributed renewable energy generation in the state. For more information on Senate Bill 594, please see: http://bit.ly/oNr9fT .
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 