Australia is now a divided society. The Adani coal mine dispute is symbolic of this division. The majority see climate change as an urgent issue. But others see coal mining as a lifeline for rural communities.
It is now the job of the environmental movement to explain to those communities, how clean energy is economic – provides jobs, can revitalise rural areas, can play a role in conserving water, and bring this society together, in positive action.
We also need to revive Australia’s role as a good global citizen. It takes a comedian to work this out. Charlie Pickering of the ABC’s “The Weekly” pointed out that Australia emits less than 2% of global greenhouse gases. The big emitters, like China and USA emit far more. (graph – not perfectly accurate, adjusted from https://www.facebook.com/officialcharliepickering/videos/295306311406255/?v=295306311406255 )
However, the countries like Australia, that emit 2% or less of the total, together make up 41% of the global total, the largest contributor. If these countries together took action on climate change, they would make a major difference. But if each decides that they’re too small to matter, – the world is in trouble,
Australia used to be a leader in so many humanitarian and environmental areas. What Australia does IS WATCHED by the world. Australia has the opportunity to act on global warming, and show itself once again to be a good global citizen. We also might want help from other countries when we have an environmental crisis, e.g bushfires.
The Greens get it. Labor might get it. The COALition have shown that their loyalty is to the fossil fuel industries, not to the Australian public.
In working to deal with the climate crisis, we must not fall prey to the blandishments of the nuclear industry. Their shills will be coming out from under their rocks, touting nuclear power as the cure. It’s like how the tobacco lobby might recommend smoking as a cure for obesity.
May 25, 2019
Posted by Christina MacPherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Christina themes, climate change - global warming |
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Assange faces up to 170 additional years in prison under the new charges—10 years for each count of violating the Espionage Act.
via Democracy Now! Assange: Ellsberg, Scahill, Assange Lawyer weigh in on “grave threat to press freedom” — Rise Up Times
May 25, 2019
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Labor divided on climate policy after ‘absolute carnage’ at the election, Brisbane Times , 
By Nicole Hasham, Eryk Bagshaw and Dana McCauley, May 25, 2019
Shadow climate change minister Mark Butler says Labor’s calamitous election loss is no reason to walk away from tough emissions cuts, as a senior party figure described the result of its climate strategy in Queensland as “absolute carnage”.
Labor failed to win office in what was billed as the climate change election, despite having a much bolder policy than the Coalition on cutting greenhouse gas pollution.
May 25, 2019
Posted by Christina MacPherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics |
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Climate change protesters flood Melbourne’s CBD, block traffic in call to action, More than a thousand people have marched through Melbourne’s CBD and staged a mock “die-in” for climate change. ABC
Key points:
- Activists marched through the city and staged a “die-in” at Bourke and Swanston streets
- Organiser Extinction Rebellion called for a Citizens’ Assembly on “climate and ecological justice”
- The protest disrupted tram schedules in the city during the march
The protest started with speeches at the Victorian Parliament, then marchers moved through the city to the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets where they staged a “die-in”.
A number of protesters dropped to the ground to lie down in the intersection before moving on to Carlton Gardens.
Protesters young and old chanted “this is our future, there is no plan B” and “what do we want — action, when do we want it — now”.
One of the protest organisers, Extinction Rebellion Victoria, called for governments to set up a “Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice” to lead environmental policy.
Extinction Rebellion organised a series of protests in London last month which caused major disruptions……. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-24/climate-protesters-flood-melbournes-cbd/11145648
May 25, 2019
Posted by Christina MacPherson |
climate change - global warming, Victoria |
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France acknowledges Polynesian islands ‘strong-armed’ into dangerous nuclear tests, Telegraph UK Henry Samuel, Paris, 24 MAY 2019 France has officially acknowledged for the first time that French Polynesians were effectively forced into accepting almost 200 nuclear tests conducted over a 30-year period, and that it is responsible for compensating them for the illnesses caused by the fallout.
The French parliament issued the much-awaited admission in a bill reforming the status of the collectivity of 118 islands in the South Pacific, with MPs saying the change should make it easier for the local population to request compensation for cancer and other illnesses linked to radioactivity.
From 1966 to 1996, France carried out 193 nuclear tests around the paradise islands, including Bora Bora and Tahiti, immortalised by Paul Gauguin. Images of a mushroom cloud over the Moruroa atoll, one of two used as test sites along with Fangataufa, provoked international protests.
Charles De Gaulle and subsequent presidents had thanked French Polynesians for their role in assuring the grandeur of France by allowing it to conduct the tests.
But in the parliamentary bill, France acknowledges that the islands were “called upon” – effectively strong-armed – into accepting the tests for the purposes of “building (its) nuclear deterrent and national defence”.
It also stipulates that the French state will “ensure the maintenance and surveillance of the sites concerned” and “support the economic and structural reconversion of French Polynesia following the cessation of nuclear tests”.
Patrice Bouveret of the Observatoire des armements (Armaments Observatory), an independent organisation that has been assessing the impacts of French nuclear testing in Polynesia since 1984, welcomed the reform.
“It recognises the fact that local people’s health could have been affected and thus the French state’s responsibility in compensating them for such damage. Until now, the entire French discourse was that the tests were ‘clean’ – that was the actual word used – and that they had taken all due precautions for staff and locals.”
However, he said it was a “scandal” that it had taken 23 years for France to officially recognise its responsibility, and said there was nothing in the law on the ill-effects on future generations……. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/05/24/france-acknowledges-polynesian-islands-strong-armed-dangerous/
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May 25, 2019
Posted by Christina MacPherson |
General News |
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Former U.S. Nuclear Safety Chief: ‘New Nuclear Is off the Table https://www.ecowatch.com/nuclear-safety-chief-climate-crisis-2637882298.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 ‘
May. 23, 2019 09: By Grant SmithFrom 2009 to 2012, Gregory Jaczko was chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which approves nuclear power plant designs and sets safety standards for plants. But he now says that nuclear power is too dangerous and expensive — and not part of the answer to the climate crisis.
“Nuclear power was supposed to save the planet,” Jaczko wrote in a recent op-ed for The Washington Post. As an atomic physicist, he once endorsed that view. But his years on the NRC changed his mind:
This tech is no longer a viable strategy for dealing with climate change, nor is it a competitive source of power. It is hazardous, expensive and unreliable, and abandoning it wouldn’t bring on climate doom. The real choice now is between saving the planet and saving the dying nuclear industry. I vote for the planet.
Jaczko describes how his experience revealed the pervasive political influence of the nuclear power industry in Congress and among his fellow commissioners. Their opposition derailed much of the safety measures he proposed in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. In 2011 an investigative series by the Associated Press detailed the collusion between regulators and the industry to weaken safety standards to keep existing plants economically viable.
Jaczko’s efforts to protect the American public likely cost him his career at the NRC. He now leads an offshore wind power startup and is speaking out at an important juncture for the nation’s energy future.
Electric utilities that operate nuclear plants are boasting of being “carbon free” by mid-century. They insist that their aging nuclear plants must be part of the equation to keep costs down. But even though Japan closed most of its reactors after Fukushima, carbon emissions went down, because the Japanese ramped up energy efficiency and solar investments.
“It turns out that relying on nuclear energy is actually a bad strategy for combating climate change,” Jaczko wrote. “One accident wiped out Japan’s carbon gains. Only a turn to renewables and conservation brought the country back on target.”
Jaczko’s heightened concern for a nuclear accident in the U.S. is also well founded. The former director of the nuclear safety project at Union of Concerned Scientists, David Lochbaum, determined that the industry’s efforts to continue to run aging nuclear plants 20 to 30 years or even longer than their initial licenses allowed for is akin to playing Russian roulette.
Since Fukushima, Germany has ordered the shutdown of all nuclear plants by 2022. Japan has reopened only a few reactors. Even France, long a champion of nuclear power, is ramping down its nuclear fleet because of safety concerns. But in the U.S., the Trump administration and lawmakers in some states continue to support taxpayer-financed subsidies to bail out money-losing nuclear plants. On grounds of both economics and safety, that’s a fool’s bet.
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May 25, 2019
Posted by Christina MacPherson |
General News |
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From https://cpj.org: “US charges Julian Assange with 17 counts under Espionage Act May 23, 2019 5:01 PM ET New York, May 23, 2019–The Trump administration today disclosed 17 new criminal charges [1] against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act for unlawfully obtaining and disclosing national defense information. “The indictment of Julian Assange under […]
via US charges Julian Assange with 17 counts under Espionage Act — Mining Awareness +
May 24, 2019
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Queensland Premier issues expedited deadline for Adani environmental approvals, just days after company reaches agreement on water contamination breaches The post Adani approvals could be granted within weeks as Palaszczuk sets deadline appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Adani approvals could be granted within weeks as Palaszczuk sets deadline — RenewEconomy
May 24, 2019
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Science and Technology: ¶ “Scientists Discover Sustainable Alternatives To Cement” • Cement manufacture is responsible for 8% of the global CO₂ emissions each year. Scientists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg say they have found environmentally friendly, low carbon alternatives to cement can be made from two types of industrial residues. [CleanTechnica] World: ¶ “EDF And […]
via May 24 Energy News — geoharvey
May 24, 2019
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Labor under Anthony Albanese may look overseas in its search for a way to re-engage voters on climate change, and rebrand its policy suite. The post Albo and the Green New Deal: Great name for a band, but is it good policy? appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Albo and the Green New Deal: Great name for a band, but is it good policy? — RenewEconomy
May 24, 2019
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“Crazy” new laws, along with delays to auctions and grid upgrades, is raising question about how serious the Queensland Labor government is about its 50% renewables target. The post How serious is Queensland about its 50 per cent renewable energy target? appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via How serious is Queensland about its 50 per cent renewable energy target? — RenewEconomy
May 24, 2019
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WA is set to capitalise on rapid growth in demand for battery storage, with a surge in exploration activity for raw battery materials. The post WA taps into boom for raw materials for EV and storage batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via WA taps into boom for raw materials for EV and storage batteries — RenewEconomy
May 24, 2019
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RES Australia plans for 183MW wind farm and a big battery in South Australia edge closer to reality, despite ongoing local opposition and concern about “extra frosts”. The post Twin Creek wind farm and Australia’s biggest battery edge closer to approval appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Twin Creek wind farm and Australia’s biggest battery edge closer to approval — RenewEconomy
May 24, 2019
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Gupta moves forward with Cultana solar project for Whyalla steel works, to be “firmed up” by big battery. The post Gupta chooses Suntech for Cultana solar farm and big battery project appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Gupta chooses Suntech for Cultana solar farm and big battery project — RenewEconomy
May 24, 2019
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GB Auto GM Bill Dunlop tells The Driven how the NSW auto electrical group got involved with Landcruiser conversions, and where it is going from here. The post Electric Landcruiser conversion – made for Australian mining – goes viral appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Electric Landcruiser conversion – made for Australian mining – goes viral — RenewEconomy
May 24, 2019
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