Australian Greens the only party to stand up and speak out for climate action
Greens say climate change being ignored http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/greens-say-climate-change-being-ignored/story-fni0xqi4-1226708983674 AAP SEPTEMBER 02, 2013
THE Australian Greens say the issue of climate change has been sidelined in the federal election campaign.
The Greens’ Sydney candidate Dianne Hiles says it’s shameful how little exposure climate has had during the campaign. “It’s the elephant in the room,” Ms Hiles told AAP. “It’s so big and it’s getting so little air time.
“My concern is that we’ve just had the hottest year on record – these sort of extreme events aren’t going to go away.”The Greens are the only party prepared to stand up to Big Coal and Big Gas and stop them undermining the future viability of this country.”
Greens NSW Senate candidate Cate Faehrmann urged voters to think about the world they would be leaving their children and grandchildren.
Tony Abbott’s reputation in question, over his climate policy that won’t work
Emissions shortfall a risk to reputation : http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/emissions-shortfall-a-risk-to-reputation-20130902-2t165.html#ixzz2dsy1XQ51 September 3, 2013 Tom Arup Environment editor, The Age Amid its bitter campaign against the carbon price the Coalition has maintained one significant foundation – ”we may hate the method, but we will achieve the same outcome”.
That outcome is at least a 5 per cent cut to emissions by decade’s end on 2000 levels, and more ambitious reductions if the world takes actions to curb climate change. These targets have enjoyed bipartisan support for about five years.
Abbott told the audience the Coalition would not increase its spending on cutting carbon dioxide under direct action, even if its efforts were going to fall short of what is needed to meet the 2020 target. ”The bottom line is we will spend as much as we have budgeted, no more and no less. We will get as much environmental improvement, as much emissions reduction as we can for the spending that we’ve budgeted,” he said.
That budget is $3.2 billion over the next four years. Out of that, $2.55 billion will be spent paying industry and farmers to carry out projects to reduce emissions, the rest on planting trees and installing more rooftop solar. Abbott said he was confident the Coalition would meet the 5 per cent cut with the money on offer. But several independent economic modelling studies dispute this.
One, commissioned by the Climate Institute, found the Coalition was $4 billion short and direct action could instead see emissions rise 9 per cent above 2000 levels instead of 5 below. The assumptions made in Climate Institute modelling were kind to the Coalition.
Other work has found larger holes. Voters have to take Abbott on faith that what is on the table is enough to meet our emissions commitments. And at this stage there is little to support his claim. Australia’s emissions per person are some of the highest in the developed world. And we have pledged to the international community we will make inroads on our contribution to the pollution problem warming our planet. If we do not – and fall short of our promises – we discredit ourselves as a global citizen.
Tony Abbott’s subservience to climate denialists might be his undoing
The conversation on global warming has been stalled because a shrinking group of denialists fly into a rage when it’s mentioned. It’s like a family with an alcoholic father who flies into a rage every time a subject is mentioned and so everybody avoids the elephant in the room to keep the peace.For any political leader unwilling to exercise leadership on the issue, trying to respond to climate change leaves them uncertain which way to turn. Continue reading
High radiation levels are spreading at Fukushima
High radiation spreads at ruined Fukushima plant, Japan vows aid SMH, September 3, 2013 – Tokyo: High radiation levels are spreading at the ruined Fukushima nuclear plant, its operator said on Monday, and the Japanese government prepared to offer more funding and oversight to try to contain the crisis. Japanese authorities were seeking to address criticism that Tokyo Electric Power Co has bungled the response to the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Japanese officials fear the Fukushima crisis could threaten Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics
“Tokyo Electric has been playing a game of whack-a-mole with problems at the site,” Trade and Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said in a televised interview.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to “step forward and implement all necessary policies” to deal with the flood of radioactive waste building up at Fukushima since the March 2011 reactor meltdown at Fukushima……….
Olympic Bid At Stake Continue reading
Fukushima crisis casts a shadow over Japan’s Olympic games hopes
Tokyo hopes concerns over nuclear leaks won’t hurt image as safe choice to host 2020 Olympics National Post, Jim Armstrong, Associated Press | 13/09/02 TOKYO — Heading into the final days of the contest to host the 2020 Olympics, Tokyo is hoping concern over leaks of highly radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant won’t damage its image as the safest choice among the bids.
With anti-government demonstrations plaguing Istanbul’s bid and a recession and high unemployment hanging over Madrid’s candidacy, Tokyo is pushing its bid as the safe choice in uncertain times.
The IOC will select the 2020 host on Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A 300-ton leak of radioactive water was discovered at the Fukushima plant on Aug. 19, the fifth and worst leak since the plant had triple meltdowns after the massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Fukushima is 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Tokyo and bid officials say the leak won’t affect the city’s plans to host the Olympics, but the incident is an untimely reminder of Tokyo’s vulnerability to natural disasters…..
Tokyo has an existing $4.5 billion fund for Olympic construction and enjoys the support of the national government…… http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013/09/02/tokyo-hopes-concerns-over-nuclear-leaks-wont-hurt-image-as-safe-choice-to-host-2020-olympics/
Glut of uranium to continue – market forecast is dire, especially for Paladin
Japan’s nuclear energy intentions are the swing factor at present. … if Japan does not start turning back on more reactors, Japanese uranium stockpiles will continue to hit the market to pay for increased fossil fuel imports. Nor is it helping at present that the US is also talking about turning off reactors.
Meanwhile, traders and speculators stuck with material and producers suffering cash flow problems are ever more desperate to offload material.
No rush to buy uranium, 9 News Finance by FN Arena 2 Sept 13, The spot market for uranium was never of much interest until the big surge took prices up well over US$100/lb in 2006. In that era, legacy contract obligations at much lower prices impacted on the earnings potential of the large and long-established players, such as Energy Resources of Australia in Australian terms, while new kids on the block, such as Paladin Energy relished the opportunity to secure contracts at more spot-aligned pricing.
Fast forward to the post-Fukushima era of 2013 and the tables have turned. Those noughties contract obligations have largely run off and the uranium price is wallowing in the depths. Lower cost, long-established producers such as BHP Billiton can at least bungle along (ERA has had its own specific production issues) while the high-cost later entrants are struggling to stay afloat. Paladin is the classic example. Continue reading
Aborignal elders’ knowledge – the key to a sustainable Australia?
While we cannot go back to pre-European cultures because the society and the land has changed forever, we can now learn to respectfully take some of the knowledge our ‘elders’ have acquired over generations, and combine this with our modern methods of farming and land care.
This way, we may be able to forge new ways of caring for our precious land in more sustainable ways.
Respecting the elders of our land can help rehabilitate the environment Press Service International for Christian Today Australia – Mark Tronson Press Service International for Christian Today Australia – Mark Tronson Monday, 2 September 2013,The Bible exhorts us to respect our elders. It starts right near the beginning with fifth (sometimes regarded as the fourth) of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 verses 1-17 and re-told in Deuteronomy 5 verses 4-21): “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”
Who are our Australian ‘elders’?
I was thinking about this when watching some of the episodes of the TV series ‘First Footprints’. A summary of this program can be found at: www.kimberleyfoundation.org.au
Aborigines, over time, developed land-management strategies that worked for them. They did not leave the land in its original pristine state, no human society has ever done that, but they learnt to manage the land and climate in the 200 or more different areas of Australia to maintain their food sources over many, many generations. Is our modern European land management strategy achieving this same result?
South Australia’s drop in electricity consumption partly due to solar panels
Solar Panels Reducing South Australia’s Electricity Consumption by Energy Matters, 2 Sept 13, Expected growth in energy consumption in South Australia over the next decade has been lowered; thanks in part to solar PV.
The 2013 South Australian Electricity Report (SAER), prepared by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), says the state’s annual energy consumption was 13,330 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2012-13; down by 42 GWh compared to 2011-12.
Looking ahead, electricity consumption is forecast to decrease by 0.1% per year over the 10-year outlook period……. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3919
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 