Australia’s Climate Change Minister not strong on Climate Change action on coal power
Federal Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the Gillard government was not focused on committing taxpayers’ money to the Brumby government’s goal of closing a quarter of the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant within four years….Mr Combet said Victoria’s climate policy was ”very strong” but the federal government had different priorities.
Federal funding unlikely for state’s Hazelwood coal-reduction proposal, The Age, Adam Morton and Tom Arup, October 13, 2010 THE federal government has cast doubt over Victoria’s request for hundreds of millions of dollars to start closing Australia’s ”dirtiest” power station, Continue reading
Victoria determined to close down dirty Hazelwood coal power station
Greens MP Greg Barber said new climate change laws allowed the government to legislate Hazelwood out of existence without compensation being due.
Dirty coal station ‘will be closed’, Sydney Morning Herald, Richard Willingham, October 14, 2010 PREMIER John Brumby is ”completely confident” Australia’s dirtiest power station will be closed, with or without federal help. Continue reading
BHP Billiton- uranium and coal miner – not an ethical investment
the problems of decommissioning nuclear power plants and disposal of waste and proliferation, as well as BHP’s carbon footprint, – reasons for not holding the company.
Turbocharged: ethical investments beat the market, Sydney Morning Herald John Collett, October 13, 2010 “…….Some of the largest that run ”socially responsible” funds have BHP Billiton among their biggest shareholdings. It means their investors have more money in BHP than any other company. Continue reading
Australia’s Climate Minister trying to weaken action on Climate Change
The Greens will have the critical say in passing a legislated carbon price when they pick up the balance of power in the Senate after June 30 next year
Greenwashing in Australian banks and “ethical” funds
Many ethical funds will claim to be committed to socially responsible investment but how green are they?…Australian banks investing in coal over renewable energy at a rate of seven to one. The banks invested $5.5 billion in the coal industry, as against $784 million in renewable energies.
Environmentally-friendly investments, How green are they really?, Sydney Morning Herald, Adam Courtenay, October 12, 2010 – The government may have rediscovered a political commitment to carbon containment but few investment houses have shown any signs of moving with the environmental zeitgeist. Green investing, in its purest environmental sense, remains anathema to financial advisers and mainstream fund managers, and investors with a deep green conscience are badly served by the sector.There are only a handful of truly green investment funds available in Australia and most struggle for subscriptions. Continue reading
Secret Pine Gap, the CIA’s largest facility outside USA
Pine Gap hosts the largest CIA facility outside America,…While visiting US lawmakers are taken on tours of Pine Gap, Federal MP’s are denied entry.
Strategic US Military Intel Base in Pine Gap, Australia,
Global Research, by Richard Neville Ground Truth: Pine Gap, Australia On the flight from Sydney to Alice Springs the desert unfolds for hours beneath the window. On descent it is possible to glimpse a space age compound on the sand backed by the MacDonnell Ranges and distinguished by a clump of enormous white pop art “golf balls”. This is Pine Gap, a US military base built on the traditional land of the indigenous Arrente people, Continue reading
Hypocrisy of Australian Liberal Party over Aboriginal Land Rights
Aboriginal people from Muckaty north of Tennant Creek were told by the Liberal Party they would only receive funding for roads, housing and education if they accept a nuclear waste dump on their land. Abbott and Scullion are continuing to support laws which would force this waste dump on Muckaty by over-riding the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT), the Aboriginal Heritage Act and the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Tony Abbott and Nigel Scullion don’t care about Aboriginal Land Rights Statement on Tony Abbott’s Wild Rivers bill from the Intervention Rollback Action Group Alice Springs, October 6 2010 www.rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/statements/
We have been sickened by the hypocrisy of Liberal leader Tony Abbott and Liberal NT Senator Nigel Scullion on their recent crusade to overturn Queensland ‘Wild Rivers’ legislation. Continue reading
Broadcast Australia goes renewable energy
A 15kW wind turbine was installed, along with a 5kW solar power system. Surplus generated electricity is stored in two banks of deep cycle batteries, providing a total of 5800 amp hour storage; enough to provide full power autonomy for two days….The Broadcast Australia network covers approximately 580 transmission sites located throughout the metropolitan, regional and rural areas of Australia.
Broadcast Australia Powers Site With Wind And Solar Energy : Renewable Energy News, 7 Oct 10, Broadcast Australia has upgraded a broadcast transmission site in Tasmania to be powered by renewable energy. Continue reading
Australian govt can use carbon pricing to provide renewable energy infrastructure
The construction of new renewable energy grid infrastructure is one example of an investment-centred measure. Expanded electricity grid infrastructure would open up renewable resources for sustainable development and help overcome a non-market barrier to clean energy deployment……
The Gillard government and those in the parliament who support effective action on climate change can use carbon-pricing legislation to secure funding for an ambitious nation-building climate policy agenda.
Want to stop climate change? Move beyond carbon pricing, Rooted, Leigh Ewbank, October 7, 2010 by Crikey: Continue reading
Uranium company ERA fined for radioactive pollution of workers
Twenty-eight workers had fallen ill with spontaneous vomiting, gastric upsets, headaches or skin rashes after drinking or showering in the water, which contained 400 times more uranium than recommended
When PR Goes Nuclear | Green Hybrid Cars , 29 Sept 10, Northern Territory based miner and producer of uranium oxide Energy Resources Of Australia Limited (ERA) were today fined $150,000 Continue reading
ANZ, National, CBA, Westpac hypocrites with their huge investment in coal
Greenpeace Slams Australia’s Big 4 Banks’ Coal Power Investment, Renewable Energy News, 4 Oct 10, A report prepared for Greenpeace Australia Pacific has found Australia’s big four banks are pouring huge amounts of money into the most polluting form of power generation: coal. Continue reading
Solar electricity in direct competition with coal
“Germany is a world leader in solar power but it has half as much sun per square metre as Australia,” he adds. … solar power is in direct competition with coal- generated electricity.
Solar Energy Gets a Boost, But Offers Much More, By Stephen de Tarczynski MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct 4, 2010 (IPS) – Proponents of renewable energy say that a planned large-scale solar power plant in Australia’s northern Victoria state, which will produce enough output to provide electricity to 60,000 homes, is just a fraction of what could be achieved if federal and state governments were fully committed to harnessing solar energy. Continue reading
Australia’s brain drain for solar, and now wave power
Clean energy advocates are concerned that wave power could experience the same sort of brain drain that has hit the Australian solar industry over the past decade.
Rough ride for sea power, Sydney Morning Herald, Mathew MurphyOctober 4, 2010 A LACK of government support for the fledgling wave-energy industry is forcing Australian companies to increasingly invest overseas despite having the world’s best wave resource off our coastline. Continue reading
Hypocrisy of Australian banks over finance for renewable energy
Most Australian banks are signed up to the Equator Principles for project finance……the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment….the equator principles are “pretty loose … they don’t compel banks to do or not do particular things”. At worst, they are a dangerous aid to bank greenwashing.
Banks under scrutiny over coal funding, Sydney Morning Herald, Paddy Manning, 2 Oct 10, Australian banks, highly dependent on offshore capital, will face increasing international scrutiny of their lending practices – particularly, their exposure to the coal industry. Continue reading
A negative thought for Australian solar energy industry
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union is urging government incentives to promote Australian solar panel makers. Sounds good – BUT – as things stand now, such a plan would also indirectly promote the nuclear industry (ANSTO’s baby)
Call to foster local solar panel makers Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, October 2, 2010The main beneficiary of the union’s plan would be SilexSolar, a subsidiary of a nuclear energy research company, “……. which bought a photovoltaic manufacturing plant at Homebush from BP Solar last year, after BP decided to source its panels from China.The factory turns out less than 100 megawatts worth of panels a year, though that still makes it the largest in the southern hemisphere…” Call to foster Australian solar panel makers
1 This month
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PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
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