Climate change: Victoria’s iconic Great Ocean Road at risk from sea level rise
Great Ocean Road at risk from surging sea , Canberra Times, By Royce Millar, 10 January 2019 Key sections of the Great Ocean Road are at risk of being washed away, raising safety fears and calls for the Andrews government to reroute parts of the world-recognised tourist road.
New studies of dramatic beach erosion around Apollo Bay over the last two years highlight the mounting problem of erosion, flooding and sea level rise along Victoria’s coast.
In a report to the State government released exclusively to The Age, leading coastal geomorphologist Neville Rosengren and engineer Tony Miner recommend urgent action to protect the foreshore of Mounts Bay next to Apollo Bay, after major erosion there in 2017.
They warn the national heritage-listed road could be “compromised” within five years.
A second report on erosion at Apollo Bay by engineers GHD also recommends the eventual “realignment” of the road outside township areas at Apollo Bay. It notes that five metres of erosion at Apollo Bay beach during a June 2018 storm put the road “at risk”.
The studies point to erosion at critical levels at the very time the state’s south-west is hosting ever greater numbers of visitors, now more than five million a year.
Similar problems are being faced along the wider coast, from Port Fairy in the south-west to Inverloch and the Ninety Mile Beach and Lakes Entrance in the south-east and east……..
findings raise the prospect that rising seas due to climate change are now proving a real problem for vulnerable coastal locations.
Mr Rosengren said rising sea levels contributed to the erosion at Mounts Bay.
“You’re witnessing the effects of a complex of processes of which sea level is one,” he said.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) current projection for sea level rise, based on high emissions, ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, is almost 90 centimetres by the year 2100, relative to an average sea level for the period 1986-2005.
That projection will be updated, most likely upwards, in the IPCC’s special oceans report due for release this year.
Other peer-reviewed studies have forecast a much steeper rise in sea level by 2100.
……… While possible, realignment of the road would be difficult and expensive at Mounts Bay because the Barham River runs along the landward side of the road, making the area also susceptible to flooding.
…….. A quandary for all concerned is that sea walls of any form will alter the character of a coastline renowned for its rugged, natural beauty. Sea walls also interfere with the coast’s ecology and its ability to naturally replenish itself.
Bankrolled by public donations, the 243-kilometre Great Ocean Road was built by World War I veterans between 1919 and 1932 as a memorial to soldiers killed in the war, and to open the south-west coast to tourists and daytrippers. It was built as close to the ocean as possible.
……… A Victorian Department of Environment Land Water and Planning spokesperson said accounting for sea level rise was now “embedded” in the Victorian planning system.
The Age has sought an interview and comments from federal Environment Minister Melissa Price about the Morrison government’s policies on, and plans for, sea level rise. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/victoria/great-ocean-road-at-risk-from-surging-sea-20190110-p50qjb.html
Victoria’s bushfires could burn for weeks
Bushfires across Victoria could burn for weeks, The Age, By Rachael Dexter, Liam Mannix, Rachel Wells & Simone Fox Koob, 5 January 2019, Firefighters will use a brief reprieve from the hot weather to try to get on top of a major bushfire in Gippsland – before temperatures start to rise again.
The bushfire at Rosedale, suspected to be deliberately lit, ripped through more than 10,000 hectares of scrub and forest before it was brought under control about 2.30am Saturday.
After a cool change following one of the hottest days in years on Friday, the mercury is forecast to rise to 31 degrees on Tuesday. Another cool front will bring relief Wednesday and Thursday with temperatures of 23 and 25 degrees.
But the fire, which is burning through a state park and pine plantation, could take weeks to extinguish. Gippsland will get a week of cool weather, before the temperature starts to get into the 30s next weekend. Firefighters hope to have it well under control by then. ……..
The Rosedale fire was the largest of more than 200 that burnt across Victoria on Friday, as high temperatures and fast winds combined to apply a blowtorch to the state. Melbourne recorded its hottest day in five years with a top temperature of 42.6 degrees…….. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bushfires-across-victoria-could-burn-for-weeks-20190105-p50prw.html
Bushfire threat to vital koala habitat
Salamander Bay bushfire threatens homes, vital koala habitat in Port Stephens, ABC 11 Dec 18 An entire koala population in Port Stephens could be wiped out after a fire devastated their habitat near Port Stephens, an animal rescue group fears.
An estimated 16 hectares of the Mambo Wetlands, north of Newcastle, was scorched on Monday night, according to Port Stephens Koalas.
The reserve is about 40 per cent of the vital koala habitat.
The blaze broke out near the Salamander Bay shopping centre about 6:30pm and dozens of firefighters spent the night backburning to protect homes.
It burnt away more than 80 hectares of swampy scrub, which made access difficult for fire crews.
The fire flared up to a watch and act level at 3:00am, but weather conditions eased in the early hours and the blaze was brought under control.
Carers from the rescue group today surveyed the damage and fielded calls about stranded and injured wildlife.
Simone Aurino, senior carer at Port Stephens Koalas, said the reserve was one of the most important areas in the Tomaree Peninsula.
“It has a viable breeding population and its central to all the other habitats,” she said.
“It’s a really, really essential habitat.”
Ms Aurino said the blaze would lead to significant flow-on effects which may not be known for some time.
“It has the potential to wipe out the population in this area, it’s really quite devastating,” she said.
“The habitat’s been changed, so the animals are going to move…….https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-11/bushfire-threatens-vital-koala-habitat-in-port-stephens/10605160
The Royal Nuclear Show — exhibition on in Victoria
Public works: Royal Nuclear Show, THE AUSTRALIAN, By BRONWYN WATSON, DECEMBER 7, 2018
“……….Screen-printing workshops across the country, such as Redback Graphix, Earthworks Poster Collective and the Tin Sheds, created posters that adorned cafes, telephone poles, university campuses, libraries and virtually any public space. They had slogans such as No Nukes No Tests, No More Hiroshimas, and End Uranium Mining. At the time, perception of a nuclear future was seen as progressive and positive, with governments and industry trying to promote nuclear experimentation as necessary to the nation’s security and beneficial to humanity.
One artist who emphasised these issues in her poster prints was Toni Robertson, whose work, The Royal Nuclear Show — 3, is on show at the Burrinja Dandenong Ranges Cultural Centre in Upwey, Victoria. Produced while Robertson was an artist-in-residence at the Experimental Art Foundation in Adelaide in 1981, it depicts a dystopian post-nuclear carnival where crowds wander past a billboard with a baby sleeping and sucking a bottle. On the baby’s pillow is written Bomblet. The billboard reads: “Meet the nuclear family, Bomblet the baby nuke. He’s so like his dad! This little boy was conceived as a low yield, tactical weapon for use in limited theatre war.” “Little boy” was the name given to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
……. Gallery and exhibition curator JD Mittmann says this work “really resonates quite strongly with me. It is really a statement of the time, but I think not much has changed in some ways. We are still sold nuclear technology, especially as a solution to climate change problems. Certainly, it is important to remember how dangerous these things are, and so I think this print might have been from 1981 but if you had 2011 underneath it, it would work in just the same way.” https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/public-works-royal-nuclear-show/news-story/aa2b2b7a2a0dd38f6f6efcc61d15d081
Victorian Labor’s policies on Aboriginal issues
 ABORIGINAL CULTURE AND COUNTRY5.2.1.1 SELF DETERMINATION Labor supports the development of a treaty with our first nation’s people. Labor will: * resource and support the Victorian Treaty Advancement Commission to develop a representative structure to negotiate the terms of a Treaty with Victoria; * support the representative structure to negotiate a treaty; * work with Aboriginal Victorians to determine a process that reports against a set of key indicators and monitors government efforts to improve outcomes across the Victorian Aboriginal Community: 5.2.1.2 LAND RIGHTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE Labor acknowledges and supports traditional owners and their connection to land, culture and heritage. Labor will develop and lead a policy reform that provides self-determined land-based initiatives, aimed at providing economic development and employment opportunities and reaffirming the access and development rights of traditional owners of the land estate of Aboriginal Victorians. Labor will: * accelerate the negotiation and resolution of outstanding Traditional Owner Settlement claims; * investigate the application of a revenue scheme for traditional owner groups, incorporating best practice from other models and jurisdictions; * work with Traditional Owners as equal partners in the management of public lands and natural resources, planning and management; * ensure that Caring for Country will become embedded as the best practice approach to land and sea management in Victoria; * support Victorian Aboriginal landholders to map their cultural heritage includingintangible cultural heritage; * acknowledge, recognise and remember our Aboriginal legacy and history in partnership with Aboriginal Victorians and follow appropriate protocols to create lasting memorials and markers that recognise and contribute to Reconciliation with the legacy of the past; * continue and expand the practice of having Traditional Owner Country plaques/signs at geographic markers at government boundaries or Traditional Owner boundaries; * roll out State-wide initiatives across cemeteries to ensure culturally appropriate resting places; * work with relevant Aboriginal groups and individuals to establish codes of conduct that ensure consent of Aboriginal Victorians is obtained when collecting and using Indigenous information for research; and * promote and resource Victorian Aboriginal Languages Week.
POLICY IN ACTION 7.6.8 COMMUNITY AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 7.10.4 RECOGNISING ABORIGINAL VALUES OF WATER |
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Victorian Labor dials up its renewable energy target to 50 per cent by 2030
By Benjamin Preiss, Adam Carey & Noel Towell, Canberra Times, 8 November
2018 Half of Victoria’s energy could come from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro power within 12 years, if the Andrews government is re-elected.
The Age can reveal that Labor will promise to raise Victoria’s renewable energy target from 40 per cent to 50 per cent by 2030 if it wins this month’s election.
The move would enhance Labor’s green credentials and cement the state’s transition away from coal as its primary power source.
Victoria has already legislated renewable energy targets of 25 per cent by 2020 and 40 per cent by 2025, although the Coalition has promised to scrap the targets if it wins the November 24 election. ………https://www.canberratimes.com.au/politics/victoria/labor-dials-up-its-renewable-energy-target-to-50-per-cent-by-2030-20181107-p50emw.html
City of Melbourne supports Australia joining UN Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty
The City of Melbourne, birthplace of ICAN, just voted unanimously in support of a motion calling on the Australian government to join the UN #nuclearban treaty! @cityofmelbourne @dfat
Victoria’s largest solar farm goes ahead after “solving” connection dilemma
 Victoria’s largest solar farm goes ahead after “solving” connection dilemma, REneweconomy, 16 October 2018 The 200MW Kiamal solar farm in Victoria – the largest in the state to date – will be officially launched on Wednesday and begin construction this month after developer Total Eren says it has resolved connection issues that had already delayed the $300 million project.The Kiamal solar farm is located near the town of Ouyen – not far from Mildura in the state’s north west. But as RenewEconomy revealed in May, it is located in what could be described as the “rhombus of death”, a part of the network that doesn’t have the “system strength” to accommodate all the wind and solar projects planned for the area.
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Darebin Council, Victoria leads the way on climate change action
It’s not too late to act on climate change, The Age, Paul Gilding 11 Sept 18, People engaged in the climate debate are often bewildered by society’s lack of response. How can we ignore such overwhelming evidence of an existential threat to social and economic stability?
Darebin in Melbourne. This local council looked rationally at what the science told them – that we face a crisis and the only logical response is to declare a climate emergency. And so they did. In consultation with their community, they then developed the Darebin Climate Emergency Plan.
Yes, it’s frustrating that these things take time. Therefore, knowing we can still “win” is key. Towards this end I co-wrote nearly 10 years ago a journal paper, The One Degree War Plan, with Professor Jorgen Randers, showing how achieving 1 degree of warming was surprisingly realistic with a WWII style mobilisation. Recently along the same lines, The Climate Mobilisation developed a “Victory Plan” to show what a WWII style economic mobilisation across the USA could look like.
Find this hard to imagine? It is. But as we learnt from Churchill in 1940, when we shift our thinking to “what is necessary”, what we can achieve is quite extraordinary. Or as Nelson Mandela said: “It always seems impossible, until it’s done.”
Paul Gilding is a Fellow at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/it-s-not-too-late-to-act-on-climate-change-20180911-p50318.html?crpt=index
Victorian homeowners will be paid nearly $5000 towards the cost of household solar batteries if Labor is re-elected
Victorian Labor offers a $4838 battery bonanza for homes with solar panels , The Age ,By Noel Towell & Benjamin Preiss, 10 September 2018 Victorian homeowners will be paid nearly $5000 towards the cost of household solar batteries by a re-elected Andrews government in the latest move aimed at making the state Australia’s leader in domestic-scale renewable energy.
The latest promise of subsidies for small-scale renewable energy will see households who already have solar panels able to claim half the cost – up to $4838 – of batteries that can store energy generated on their rooftops.
The announcement comes as the Andrews government commits to building six new renewable energy plants across regional Victoria, generating enough power for 640,000 homes.
The three solar and three wind farms, producing 928 megawatts of power, will be built by private companies.
Labor has been encouraged by more than 9000 registrations of interest in its subsidised solar program in the three weeks since it began its announcements. The new batteries policy will cost an estimated $40 million, with 10,000 households expected to take part, lured by the chance of cutting up to $650 from their annual power bills with the rapidly improving battery storage technology.
The announcement is part of a suite of subsidies and payments aimed at putting solar technology in 720,000 Victorian homes. The centrepiece of the government energy renewable election pitch, a $1.2 billion subsidies scheme offering free solar panels to 650,0000 households, was announced in August.
It was followed by a $60 million promise to pay $1000 toward the installation of solar hot water systems in homes that are not suitable for rooftop solar panels.
The latest announcement will open up subsidies to even more households – those already using solar panels to generate power – as Labor looks to build a strong cost-of-living policy platform heading into November’s election………
The government says technology is in development that will allow neighbourhoods to link their batteries, creating “micro-grids” of shared stored power to lower electricity prices even further.
Labor says it will spend $10 million to preparing the state’s ageing power grid for an influx of hundreds of thousands of household micro-generation operations………https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/labor-offers-a-4838-battery-bonanza-for-homes-with-solar-panels-20180910-p502wc.html?crpt=index
Solar energy microgrid for Euroa, Victoria
The Euroa Environment Group is behind the $6 million grassroots project to install 589 kilowatts of new solar photovolatic (PV) panels, and up to 400 kilowatts of new batteries.
It will work with Mondo Power and Globird Energy as well as 14 businesses within Euroa which will install the technology.
The project may eventually extend to the residential community of Euroa and to other towns as it will demonstrate how a microgrid can operate.
The town has endured countless blackouts and it is hoped the microgrid will address the issue in the lead-up to summer.
The closure of the Hazelwood coal-fired power station in Victoria last year drove up energy power prices in southern states and put pressure on the market operator to deliver enough power to meet demand on summer’s hottest days.
Shirley Saywell, who is a business owner in Euroa and president of the group, said power options had been limited.
“This microgrid within another microgrid will give us the opportunity to generate power locally, store power locally and share power locally. It’s the town making itself more resilient in these times of uncertainty.
“There’s been stories about how complicated renewables are, and I see my role as showing people that it shouldn’t be as complicated as it’s made out to be.”
The intention of the project is to give the town greater reliability in its power supply as well as decrease the price of energy.
Energy strategy one of many Continue reading
Event 27 June The Need for Leadership to Address White Supremacy in the NGO Sector
Pro Bono Australia Luke Michael, 14 June 18
Charities and not for profits need to show leadership to address the issue of white supremacy in the NGO sector, a prominent Aboriginal writer and activist believes.Nayuka Gorrie is a Kurnai/Gunai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta writer and activist who spoke on a panel at the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) 2018 Summit on Wednesday.
She was joined by Victorian ombudsman Deborah Glass OAM, Will Stracke from the Victorian Trades Hall Council, Reason Party leader Fiona Patten, and Centre for Social Impact CEO Kristy Muir.
The panel discussed the “shifting nature of leadership and the role of citizens to shape their own prosperous and inclusive society”.
One of the topics discussed was the need for greater diversity in leadership, particularly around race and gender.
Stracke admitted during the panel discussion that leadership in the trade union movement was “too white”.
“One of our values that we say is ‘diversity is our strength and solidarity is our power’,” Stracke said.
“And that’s about the diversity of our movement and our movement is very diverse… but I think we as a union movement [still] need more voices.
“We’ve very white in terms of our leadership and we need to get better at that.”………
“Leadership needs to be much more representative of the people,” Glass said.
“It’s not just gender, it’s race, it’s disability, it’s everything we all stand for. We can’t have leaders speaking for us who don’t represent us, who don’t look like us or don’t speak like us.”………
Gorrie has organised an event to discuss “dismantling white supremacy in the NGO sector” at Victorian Trades Hall on 27 June.
She told Pro Bono News why she decided to create the event.
“I decided to put on that event after chatting to a number of different people that work in the not-for-profit sector,” she said.
“And [people of colour] are doing twice as much work just to survive I think.”
Gorrie said while white supremacy was found across all sections of society, it was especially disappointing to see it in the not-for-profit sector, considering the sector’s purpose to make the world a better place.
……..“I think a lot of not for profits make a lot of money and the Indigenous Advancement Strategy was a really good example of that. Most of the money in the strategy went to non-black organisations.“So there is a lot of money to be made in perceived black dysfunction and I don’t know if it’s possible for them to do the work they’ve set out to do if they haven’t examined and [removed] the white supremacy within themselves.”https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/06/need-leadership-address-white-supremacy-ngo-sector/
Victorian lower house passes treaty legislation after Greens accept Labor deal
‘Bill creates framework for Indigenous body to represent Aboriginal Victorians and advance treaty process‘ Calla Wahlquist @callapilla 7 Jun 2018
‘The legislation passed with the support of the Greens after
the Aboriginal affairs minister, Natalie Hutchins, proposed amendments
that went some way towards addressing concerns raised
by Gunnai-Gunditjmara woman and Northcote MP Lidia Thorpe.
‘Thorpe proposed additional amendments on the floor of parliament,
particularly demanding an acknowledgement of Aboriginal sovereignty
by the state of Victoria, but they were not adopted. …
‘The amendments to the Victorian legislation were moved
in response to concerns raised by Thorpe, the only
Aboriginal person in Victorian parliament, who said she was
concerned about a lack of engagement with elders;
a potential sidelining of Victorian traditional owners in favour of
government-appointed people on the representative body; and
the failure of the legislation to explicitly acknowledge the
sovereignty of Aboriginal clans in Victoria.
‘The latter remains a significant concern for Thorpe,
who said in parliament on Thursday that she was disappointed the government
had decided against including a firm acknowledgement in the legislation
that traditional owners in Victoria retained sovereignty over their lands.
‘“Treaties are between two sovereigns, and to talk about treaty
or to go ahead with treaty negotiations and not actually recognise
that Aboriginal people are the sovereign people of this land,
then I think that’s one of the major failures of this legislation,”
Thorpe told Guardian Australia.
“If we can’t start by addressing sovereignty, then that’s a joke.” … ‘
Solar microgrid to launch in the heart of coal country
SMH, By Cole Latimer, Dairy farmers in the heart of Victorian coal country will soon be able to trade solar power using blockchain processes.
A virtual microgrid will be created in the the Latrobe Valley, exchanging energy generated from 200 Gippsland dairy farmers, 20 businesses and 150 households, powered by a decentralised, peer-to-peer blockchain energy trading platform called Exergy.
Ivor Frischknecht, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s chief executive, said the trial was the first step in transitioning the agricultural region – near the state’s coal-fired power stations – to renewable power. It would be the first major trial of a blockchain-based virtual microgrid in Australia.
“The ‘virtual microgrid’ concept brings an alternative approach to energy where the control remains with the customers, rather than retailers, who can choose to opt in depending on the current prices and energy types, or their willingness to provide demand response,” Mr Frischknecht said.
The project will be built by LO3 Energy, a New York-based company that created the world’s first local energy marketplace, in Brooklyn, which allowed participants to trade energy using blockchain technology.
…….. The Victorian virtual microgrid will comprise solar installations, battery storage, and demand response and enabling technologies combined with LO3’s Exergy peer-to-peer trading mechanism, which uses blockchain processes to allow those within the market to buy and sell locally generated renewable energy.
With the energy-hungry farming industry still recovering from the 2016 milk crisis, it promises a cost-effective and resilient solution for farmers to create and manage their own energy and profit from trading their excess generation,” LO3 Energy founder Lawrence Orsini said.
“Engaging with farms is a key part of the project as they have the capacity to install large solar generation and storage. Exergy makes it possible for them to become mini-power plants and gain revenue for energy they don’t use.”
The farms will be given loans to build solar installations by the Sustainable Melbourne Fund, which will be repaid through council fees.
ARENA will also provide $370,000 in funding for the $775,000 project.
“The local Latrobe Valley marketplace would allow Gippsland farmers to take greater control of their energy use, providing the opportunity to sell their power back to the grid,” the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) said, “consumers will also be paid for choosing to conserve energy at peak times.”
The study will run to the end of the year, with plans to roll out a pilot microgrid in Gippsland in 2019. https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/solar-microgrid-to-launch-in-the-heart-of-coal-country-20180426-p4zbtf.html
Australia’s first lithium battery recycling plant established in Gisborne, Victoria
Australia’s first lithium battery recycling plant launched https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-first-lithium-battery-recycling-plant-launched-19366/, By Sophie Vorrath on 27 April 2018
Australia’s first lithium battery recycling plant has been officially anointed in Victoria, in conjunction with the launch of $16.5 million state government e-waste processing plan.
The plant, established in New Gisbourne by Victorian company Envirostream Australia, is the first in the nation to recycle lithium batteries – the now ubiquitous power source for mobile phones, tablets, electric cars and home energy storage systems.
But while batteries – and in particular lithium batteries – are playing a central role in facilitating the world’s digital and clean energy revolutions, only 3 per cent of Australian batteries are currently recovered – the lowest rate in the OECD.
Envirostream’s $2 million recycling facility, which began operations last year, is trying to change that. In 2017 alone, the plant recycled 240,000 kilograms of batteries that would otherwise have gone to landfill, or been shipped to China for processing
Electronic waste – or e-waste – is defined as anything with a plug or battery that has come to the end of its useful life; including old mobile phones, computers, audio devices, refrigerators and other white goods, hair driers, TVs, heaters and air-conditioners.
The amount of e-waste generated in Victoria is projected to increase from 109,000 tonnes in 2015 to approximately 256,000 tonnes in 2035.
The plan, which is being rolled out by Sustainability Victoria, comes ahead of the impending state ban on sending e-waste to landfill, which takes effect on 1 July 2019.
It includes $15 million in grants to help Victorian councils and state government entities upgrade infrastructure to collect e-waste at more than 130 sites.
This will ensure that 98 per cent of Melburnians are within a 20-minute drive of an e-waste disposal point, and 98 per cent of regional Victorians are within a 30-minute drive of one.
It will also include a $1.5 million awareness campaign to educate Victorians on recognising e-waste, how it should be managed, and the environmental and economic benefits of reusing, donating, repairing or recycling it.
To Envirostream, Sustainability Victoria has extended a grant of $40,000 to go towards boosting the company’s recovery of valuable materials in lithium batteries.
“As one of the country’s trailblazers in reprocessing electronic waste, it’s helping to keep valuable resources out of landfills,” said Sustainability Victoria CEO Stan Krpan.
“Envirostream is showing how opportunities can be developed in Australia’s resource recovery sector, create jobs in regional communities and capture valuable chemicals, copper, steel, nickel, lithium, other metals and graphene captured so they can be sent to South Korea to be used in new batteries.”
Envirostream Director, Andrew McKenzie, said recycling batteries at New Gisborne would create five new jobs over the next year and help build Victoria’s recycling capacity.
“We have a nationally coordinated partnership to increase Australia’s low recovery rates of batteries and mobile phones and want to make sure these recoverable resources are not just thrown away or sent offshore for recycling.”
“We’re in an increasingly mobile world. Lithium batteries are now the dominant mode of energy storage for domestic and industrial uses, and like other e-waste, their use is growing fast,” he said.
1.This month.
Zoom webinar – “Nuclear Winter: The Environmental Consequences of a Nuclear Exchange.”
April 7th at 11:30 am PST / 2:30 pm EST
Nuclear Winter: The Environmental Consequences of a Nuclear Exchange”
Join us for an informative webinar with renowned atmospheric scientist, Professor Brian Toon, as he discusses the environmental risks and global impacts of a nuclear war. Despite the potential damage caused by the blast from even small nuclear weapons, many countries continue to invest in and expand nuclear arsenals. Professor Toon will provide a scientific assessment of civilian fatalities, agricultural failures, climate concerns, and complications with food supply that would follow any international nuclear conflict. We need to plan how to prevent nuclear conflict and avoid catastrophe. Politicians and military planners must be made aware of global climate and agricultural complications that would ensue. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from, and engage in, this vital conversation
The Road to War brings a sharp focus to why it is not in Australia’s best interest to be dragged into a war with China which will almost inevitably go nuclear very quickly. The filmmaker has interviewed some of Australia’s senior foreign policy analysts who have vast experience behind them in analysing what really is going on here as the United States rattles its sabres with China. And sets us up to be its proxy, like the poor Ukranians have been fed into the Meatgrinder. So America can remain the Top Dog. The Road to War reveals how the United States through its spy base at Pine Gap and by stationing six nuclear capable B52 bombers in the Top End (without permission from the traditional owners) is making Australia a prime nuclear target if the current war of words suddenly melts down into full scale war.
The Road to War shows the implicit connection between Carbon emissions (the US military uses a whopping 70% of America’s annual petroleum to move its armies and vast War Machine around the globe to its 800+ military bases..but under a loophole wangled at Kyoto, the US military does not have to report its C02 annual emissions). The Road to War starts screening at selected cities and regional centres in March. See the trailer end for details.
Antinuclear 