Yarra Climate Action Now!: April 2007

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

CSIRO undermines Howard

Heartening news : The nation's leading scientific body, the CSIRO, has undermined Prime Minister John Howard's position on climate change by advising that big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions appear to be both inevitable and affordable for Australia.
(click The Age for full story)

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Howard plays down climate challenge

From both yesterday's and today's age

"Prime Minister John Howard has rejected Labor leader Kevin Rudd's claim that climate change is the overwhelming moral challenge facing Australians. Mr Howard said Australia was a minor emitter of greenhouse gases and could not influence the global climate by acting alone.

(This of course, despite the fact that Australians are the highest per capita greenhouse gas emitters in the world. (UNFCCC) )

"Maintaining economic prosperity — rather than climate change — was Australia's great moral challenge Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday, deepening the gulf between himself and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd."

Apparently the lessons from the Stern report have already worn off. Ignoring climate change will have drastic social, environmental and economic impacts. Climate change is by far the most important issue facing Australians and Howard's inability to recognise this is both short sighted and dangerous.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Human Sign Report

On Sunday 22nd of April over 2000 people made a strong statement about their views on climate change by taking part in the Human Sign on Sandringham Beach that spelled out " HALT CLIMATECHANGE NOW! ". Despite early morning rain threatening to disrupt the event, the sunshine finally prevailed and everything progressed very smoothly - a big congratulations to Bayside Climate Action Group for organising such a successful event. It was great to see so many people out taking part.

If you missed the report on ABC news Sunday night there was also an article in today's Herald Sun which you can find here.

Tues 24th April : Community Organising Workshop

Community Organising: confrontation vs consensus workshop

Date: Tuesday 24th April 2007
Venue : Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane Melbourne
Host :The Change Agency
Workshop: 4.30-8.00pm

In the good ol’ days, every social change group knew how to do a street protest, or an occupation, or something even more confrontational. Today, many social change groups avoid any kind of confrontation in favour of consensus models. Is confrontation really irrelevant to today's social change efforts? Are consensus models really effective? This workshop will draw on participants' experiences with confrontation and consensus processes to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each. Then, using a political opportunity structure model, you will learn how to analyse your political contect to better decide when, where and how to use a combination of confrontation and consensus strategies.
About Randy:

Randy is the moderator/editor of COMM-ORG: The On-Line Conference on Community Organising and Development. (http://comm-org.wisc.edu/) He conducts trainings and speaks frequently on community organising and development, participatory research projects with community development corporations, community organising groups, community information technology programs, and other non-profits in North America and Australia. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin. He has a PhD in Sociology and a Masters of Science in Counselling. Randy has written extensively on community organising and development and community based research, including the books Defending Community (1994), Research Methods for Community Change (2005) and the co-authored book Community-Based Research in Higher Education (2003).

You can find his complete vita here.

Registration: $20 (unwaged); $40 (community sector); $60 (higher income)

RSVP by April 17th to Sam La Rocca m. 0424 610 038

YCAN! meeting ANZAC day

Come along to our meeting this week!

When: Wednesday 25th April
Where: Kindness House
288 Brunswick St, Fitzroy
What time: 6:30pm

Friday, April 20, 2007

Reminder about Human Sign - Sunday 22nd

A quick reminder to come down and be part of creating the 'human sign' as part of the Bayside Sustainable Living Expo on Sunday April 22. Bring your family and friends to raise awareness about global warming, promote sustainability and have a great day out on the beach.

when: 10:00am (sharp) Sunday 22nd April 2007

where: Sandringham Beach (accessible from Sandringham train station - Sunday supersaver tickets are only $2:50 trains leave Flinders St station at 8:52 and 9:32 am.)

See Bayside Climate Change Action Group for more information.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Council Action - Maribyrnong

On Tuesday night (17th April) Maribyrnong city council resolved various things to do with water and climate change, three resolutions were:

- That Council becomes carbon neutral by 2015 for Council’s corporate activities.
- That Council becomes carbon neutral by 2020 for Community (residential and commercial) emissions.
- That Council prepares a detailed Action plan on reaching carbon neutrality by 2015 (Council’s corporate) and 2020 for community (residential and commercial) activities by December 2007 and recommendations be referred for consideration by Council as part of the 2008/2009 Budget process.

This is a great step forward for Maribyrnong Council and we hope that it sparks a change in local councils all around Victoria (and Australia)

We need to work together at all levels of government and community to make a positive difference in the fight against climate change.

Yarra Council - Budget Survey

Each year the City of Yarra must prepare a budget, which is guided by the priorities set out in the Council Plan and a legal requirement for all councils. The development of the Budget provides an opportunity for members of the local community to comment on budget priorities, to make sure they accurately reflect community needs.

We urge everyone in Yarra to take part. Download the survey here and make your concerns heard.

Please return the survey by Friday 27 April to Reply Paid, Marc Giglio, Executive Manager Finance and Information Services, City of Yarra, PO Box 168, Richmond 3121, or simply drop it in to Collingwood or Richmond Town Hall.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Earth, Wind & Fire - Four Corners

Four Corners Report Monday 16th April 2007 (will be repeated Wednesday 18th around 11.35 pm and also on ABC2 digital channel at 9.30 pm Wednesday and 8 am Thursday)

Earth, Wind & Fire

Picture a windswept hillside lined with slender white skyscrapers, each crowned by a giant whirring rotor longer than a jumbo jet. Or a swathe of desert covered by a sea of mirrors drawing power from the sun.
Wind and solar projects are already in place, or planned, on a much grander scale overseas than here. For decades coal-rich Australia has regarded renewable energy as virtuous, but incapable of meeting the needs of a modern economy. It’s been too costly, not yet proven, intermittent, at best a help at the margins.
But as urgency creeps into the hunt for climate-friendly alternatives can Australia afford to go on downplaying the potential of renewable energy? How much power could we extract from sun, wind and geothermal sources, and at what cost compared with the government’s preferred solutions – nuclear power and "clean" coal?

for full transcript go to ABC website.

or watch it online

Melbourne Social Forum

The 3rd Melbourne Social Forum will be held this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the 20th, 21st and 22nd of April.

This year's theme is "CHANGE THE POLITICAL CLIMATE: TURN UP THE HEAT!"

The mission of the Melbourne Social Forum is to create open public spacesto discuss, share and act on ideas for sustainable social and ecological justice. To do this the MSF hosts events, in public and on-line, which bring together progressive individuals and groups from within civil society in the Melbourne area and beyond. The Melbourne Social Forum is a dynamic open space for addressing the 21st century's most pressing local and global challenges: fair trade, labour rights, environmental sustainability, global peace and human rights issues.

Ticket pre-sale will be available at two locations:
-Friends of the Earth on 312 Smith Street Collingwood
-The New International Bookshop in Trades Hall, Carlton South

for more information about events and costings visit www.melbournesocialforum.org

Saturday, April 14, 2007

update from COAG

Unsurprisingly news from COAG (in this morning's Age)

Premiers, PM fail to agree on climate
Mr Howard rejected a proposal by the states to set up a national carbon emissions trading scheme by 2010, with a target of cutting emissions to 60 per cent of 2000 levels by 2050.

Despite the impasse, Prime Minister John Howard described the meeting as "successful", but that view was in sharp contrast to that of Victoria's Premier Steve Bracks. "It could have been a great day, but it wasn't," Mr Bracks said at a news conference after the meeting had concluded. Mr Bracks said the meeting had achieved "about 8.1 of the 10-point plan" for national reform. "Today was a good day but not a great day in terms of the opportunities to put in place a national carbon-trading scheme."

Friday, April 13, 2007

Wind farm to boost power supply

The Victorian government has approved a 160-megawatt wind farm to be built on farmland at Mt Mercer, about 30 kilometres south of Ballarat.
It is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 73,000 homes.

"The Mt Mercer wind farm will be a win for the environment, a win for jobs and a win for sustainable development in rural and regional Victoria," Justin Madden (planning minister) said."We expect this project alone to save more than 390,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year."

(from The Age April 12 2007)

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

YCAN! Meeting 11th April

Please feel free to come along to our next meeting

when: Wednesday 11/04/07 at 6:30 pm
where: Kindness House
288 Brunswick St
Fitzroy 3065.

Australia ignoring solar power

for your interest:
follow this link to see a transcript of the 7:30 Report from 31st of January this year.

Interview with David Mills,one of Australia's leading solar innovators, regarding the lack of interest in his technology from government and energy associations in this country.

Eligible to vote?

Not strictly an environment issue, but it is important that everybody concerned about climate change votes in the upcoming Federal election.
Some recent changes made by the government may affect your eligibility to vote.
The changes made by the Howard Government have made it harder to enrol to vote and harder to update your details. These changes will come into force sometime in April. So if you've moved recently you may find it much harder to get your details updated. These changes will also affect you if you are not enrolled correctly, you're a first time voter or if you've been enrolled but taken off the electoral roll.
Under the changes, those people enrolling or updating their details will need to meet the following proof of identity requirements: A driver's license or if you don't have a license, a prescribed identity document such as a passport; or alternatively You must get 2 witnesses, who are not related to you, who have known you for longer than 1 month and who can confirm their identity with a driver's license (or a prescribed identity document).
Just as importantly, the electoral roll will close earlier, disadvantaging first time voters in particular. The roll will be closed 3 days from the time the election writs are issued to update your details - BUT - you'll only have until 8pm on the day the writs are issued to enrol if you've been taken off the roll or enrolling for the first time. The new rules come into force in April so be quick and check your enrolment details at https://oevf.aec.gov.au/

Monday, April 9, 2007

Small moves

if you're new to this issue you might be wondering what you can do to make small differences at home as well - check out Greenpeace's 12 steps to save electricity (and help the planet) for practical information and tips.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

another one for the diary

Along with the Human Sign project at Sandringham, there is also another important event on the 22nd of April. The Coalition for Peace and Justice Presents two time academy award nominee David Bradbury's:
A HARD RAIN

"Traversing five countries – China, France, UK, Japan and Australia - and using what Bradbury learnt from his previous three nuclear documentaries (Public Enemy Number One, Jabiluka and Blowin' in the Wind), A Hard Rain takes a closer look at the global nuclear industry in its entirety – from the mining of uranium through to the nuclear power plant to the radioactive waste and weapons manufacturing. It exposes the hidden agendas behind this latest push for Australia to go nuclear."

when: 2pm Sunday 22nd April
where: Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) Federation Square

The film is released officially on April 13 - David has worked around the clock to get the film ready before the April ALP conference where a critical vote will be held to determine the future of Uranium Mining in this country. For more information about the documentary and details about getting a free 20 min cut of the tape see here.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Closer to home....

again in the Age today
Business counters PM to back emissions targets
"AUSTRALIA'S top companies say the country must set concrete targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next 30 years as the centrepiece of policies to combat climate change."
This is in response to Howard's recent attack on emissions targets as proposed by opposition leader Kevin Rudd. (60% by 2050) Howard continually opposes such targets saying they will damage the economy but clearly acceptance by the business community for the necessity of targets is a step towards possibly changing that stance.

A positive sign

In todays Age - US ruling hailed by climate change activists.
we can only hope this is a sign of positive things to come both for the US and ultimately for ourselves

Monday, April 2, 2007

Human Sign - Sandringham Beach - 22 April 2007

Come down and be part of creating a 'human sign' as part of the Bayside Sustainable Living Expo on Sunday April 22. Over 3,000 people are needed to form the message HALT CLIMATE CHANGE NOW for an aerial photograph. Bring your family and friends to raise awareness about global warming and promote sustainability.

Everyone is encouraged to use public transport or ride your bikes - leave the car at home and enjoy being outdoors!

when: 10:00am (sharp) Sunday 22nd April 2007
where: Sandringham Beach
accessible from Sandringham train station - Sunday supersaver tickets are only $2:50
trains leave Flinders St station at 8:52 and 9:32 am.

for more information refer to the Bayside City Council website here or call (03) 9599 4444 or contact the Bayside Climate Change Action Group directly.

(event will go ahead rain, hail or shine - so don't let a few clouds deter you)

Yarra Climate Action Now!