Australia urged to get with California’s R20 Climate Group
Details of the R20 will be launched at a Global Climate Summit in November along with a ”green bank,” backed by the United Nations Development Program, to help participating governments fund low carbon development.
Act on climate or be left behind, says Stern, Sydney Morning Herald, Tom Arup, September 2, 2010, “……..Terry Tamminen, the climate adviser to the Californian Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is in Melbourne to address a business conference. Continue reading
Global warming impacts on nuclear power plant
Last week, TVA violated its permit with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management when the river temperature topped 90 degrees……..
Hot river forces costly cutback for TVA | Chattanooga Times Free Press, By: Dave Flessner 23 Aug 2010, The Tennessee Valley Authority has lost nearly $50 million in power generation from its biggest nuclear plant because the Tennessee River in Alabama is too hot. Unless the summer cools down, TVA could lose millions of dollars more, pushing up fuel costs and consumer electric bills even after seven consecutive monthly increases. Continue reading
USA fossil fuel energy use decrease, renewables increase
(USA) Hey kids, we used less energy and more renewable tech in 2009! | ZDNet, By Heather Clancy | August 30, 2010, Well, here’s a refreshing bit of news for a Monday afternoon: A new data set released by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reports that we used a lot less coal and petroleum last year, compared with 2008. Meanwhile, there were demonstrable increases in the use of renewable energy sources, especially generation systems based on wind technologies.
The researchers attribute the decrease in coal and petroleum use to lower electricity demand, a shift to natural gas as a fuel source, and wind power production offsets……Hey kids, we used less energy and more renewable tech in 2009! | ZDNet
Climate change denialists’ aggressive politics in Australia
[Tony Abbott] A champion of voters who reject climate change, he has turbocharged his party and could within a couple of weeks be prime minister.
Aggression pays in king hits on Labor, Sydney Morning Herald, Shaun Carney, 28 Aug 2010, CLIMATE change can be a killer. This has nothing to do with the science and everything to do with its impact on political leaders. Look at the list of those who have felt its sting in the past three years: John Howard, Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd. And Julia Gillard…… Continue reading
Victorian energy company award winner
The company has set its goals high – to become the leading solar supply and install business in Australia and to play its part in ensuring all Australians have access to a cleaner, greener electricity supply
Energy Matters A Melbourne Awards Winner : Renewable Energy News, 30 Aug 2010, In a gala ceremony at Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday night, Victoria-based national solar company Energy Matters emerged a winner in the Melbourne Awards. Continue reading
Stopping mindless consumption – no more ‘politics as usual’
all these issues – environmental, social and economic – have their source in a world view that sees the central purpose of our society as pursuing ever more material enrichment in order to allow us to consume more……….
Fiddling while the Earth burns, The Age, Richard Eckersley, August 27, 2010 No more ‘politics as usual’ should mean having enough courage to tackle the sickness of mindless consumption…… Continue reading
Business looks to new Australian Parliament for action on Climate Change
Trillion-dollar climate question, Sydney Morning Herald, August 28, 2010 Hopes surged this week that a swing to the Greens will result in meaningful action on climate change in the new Parliament. Continue reading
NSW Solar scheme needs improvement, but energy efficiency still the best
Dr Diesendorf said schemes such as the solar bonus had long-term potential but ”bang for buck, energy efficiency is the cheapest and fastest”.
Solar bonus generates a mega-load of energy, Sydney Morning Herald, Jennie CurtinAugust 28, 2010 THE NSW Government’s solar bonus scheme, which pays householders for the electricity they generate from their rooftop panels, has proved so popular it has reached a 50-megawatt milestone 18 months before expected. Continue reading
Australia’s economy needs new renewable energy industries, not fossil fuel ones
Relying on our fossil fuels for energy and future wealth is no longer a sensible option…Despite the claims of the fossil-fuel lobby, renewable energy can provide a vital new industry and energy source to power Australia’s economy day and night
Where’s the vision that will take us to a brave new world?, The Canberra Times, BY FIONA ARMSTRONG20 Aug, 2010 Call me fussy, but I have always expected leaders to provide leadership……while we’ve seen plenty of special interests in this election campaign, we haven’t seen much that captures what might be best for all of us…. Continue reading
Victorian govt aiming for Renewable Energy inverstment
Brumby to streamline planning for renewable energy projects – Government News By Rob O’Brien, 25 Aug 2010, Planning processes for renewable energy projects will be streamlined with Victorian councils receiving support to administer wind farm permits, the State Government has announced. Continue reading
Australian Greens will push for a Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff
The petition is still active and can be viewed at FeedInTariff.com.au.
Greens Senate Victory And Australia’s Solar Power Revolution : Renewable Energy News, 25 Aug 2010, While Australia starts the working week still not knowing who will take the reins of the country, the Greens having won the balance of power in the Senate is very good news for renewable energy….. Continue reading
Economic case for a carbon price in Australia
Time for Australia to Go Green Green News and Ecological Awareness , 25 Aug 2010, Australia’s Climate Institute estimated that an absence of a carbon price will cost both the country’s economy and consumers an additional 2 billion dollars by 2020. “It would be better in the long run if we had a carbon price,” said Mr. Warren of the Clean Energy Council. “It’s the economic tool of choice, because it’s seen as being the most efficient and most effective.”Furthermore, he also said, “Once introduced, it creates a core signal to business to change their investment patterns. Without it we are in a second-best market. We encourage a more cooperative approach to a AU carbon scheme as quickly as possible.” However, the bipartite agreement which helped pass the laws on renewable energy does not include the issue on carbon….. Time for Australia to Go Green Green News and Ecological Awareness | Green News and Ecological Awareness
Murdochracy and Lobbyocracy Australia
Major Elephant In The Room Issues Ignored In Australian Elections, Countercurrents.org By Dr Gideon Polya, 24 August, 2010
An extraordinary feature of the election campaign in Murdochcracy and Lobbyocracy Australia was the virtual absence of any discussion about the most serious issues facing Australia .
The major reasons for reasons for this are (a) Murdoch News Empire ownership of about 70% of city daily newspapers; (b) a spineless and irresponsible Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the ABC, Australia’s equivalent of the UK BBC) which adopts a “balanced “ position between extreme right wing Labor and extreme right wing Liberal-National Party Coalition; and (c) Mainstream media and bipartisan, Lib-Lab refusal to properly discuss these key Elephant in the Room issues…… major matters that were effectively not part of the national discussion in the Australian federal elections because of the ignorance and dishonesty of the Australian Mainstream media and right wing politicians. Major Elephant In The Room Issues Ignored In Australian Elections
Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff – the key to thousands of jobs
If we look to those places where renewable energy JOBS are already employing tens of thousands of people, places such as nearly all of Europe and most of Asia; and did I mention Wisconsin? Yes, Wisconsin….
That is the Feed-In Tariff. It is the one item that is proven to make it all work.
(USA) Renewable energy can be the source of JOBS Review Messenger, By Richard Carter. 24 Aug 2010, It’s certainly no secret, the economy needs JOBS, especially in rural Minnesota.There is a source of jobs which could help. Those JOBS come from renewable energy: solar electric, solar hot water, solar hot air, and wind. Continue reading
Australian Election -That Green Light on the Hill
Media commentators focus on the overall national swing against Labor, in the Australian election results.
But what about that other equally big, equally national, swing – towards the Greens?
I note that some mainstream media are describing the elected Greens as “extremists”, and as “completely irrational”.
But a swing to the Greens, across Australia, and the prospect of 9 Greens Senators – it’s hard to write off such a sizeable representation of the Australian public as “extremists” and “irrational”
In the more positive article, Paul Strangio’s ”post-materialist cosmopolitans” is mentioned, as the constituency for new Greens MP Richard di Natale. These people represent a growing new breed in Western culture – progressive, broad-minded, ready to lead a satisfying lifestyle with fewer material things, and less energy use.
It’s unfortunate that the newly elected Senators will not take their places until July 2011. This means that Australians will need to be aware of their politicians rushing bad laws through between now and then – Christina Macpherson 23 Aug 2010
1 This month
15 April – Zoom –Nuclear Power is Not the Solution
Apr 15, 2026 01:00 AM in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Join the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) on Tuesday, April 14th for a timely webinar exploring the risks associated with nuclear power and challenging the myth that it offers a simple, safe, carbon-free solution to the climate crisis
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 