Yarra Climate Action Now!

100% renewable energy for Australia within a decade is possible and affordable. Come along to the energy event of the year to find out how.

This free public lecture will be the launch of the Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan.

Hosted by the University of Melbourne Energy Institute.

The campaign to Replace Hazelwood power station with renewable energy (and energy efficiency) is gathering strength. You may have seen the coverage in the media recently as well as Hazelwood’s owners’ outrageous attempt to sabotage energy efficiency programs.

Hazelwood brown coal-fired power station near Morwell is Australia’s most polluting power station. Replacing it with renewable energy and energy efficiency would reduce Victoria’s emissions by around 12% and Australia’s by 3%. If we want to reduce emissions, we must start by replacing Hazelwood.

To do this we need your help.

The state and federal Labor governments are now under pressure to act after Kevin Rudd's backflip on climate change.

So, now is the time to get the message out in the community.

http://www.climateactioncentre.org/iwanttodoorknock

Over the next two months local community climate groups are going to be doorknocking in the key inner city electorates of Melbourne.

Door knocking is easy, fun and one of the most effective ways of getting our message into the community and having an impact on politicians.

Here is how it works. We start at 1pm and do about an hour of training, we knock on doors for less than two hours (in pairs) and then get together for a cuppa or a drink and talk about how it went.
http://www.climateactioncentre.org/iwanttodoorknock

It's easy! Residents are friendly and usually very happy to take some information or sign the petition.

No prior experience or detailed technical knowledge about Hazelwood necessary – we will provide training and materials. Doorknocking will be done in pairs.

YCAN will be hosting two doorknocking sessions:
Saturday 19 June in Fitzroy, 1-4pm
Sunday 4 July in Richmond, 1-4pm

There is also doorknocking happening in Brunswick, Kensington, North Melbourne and Westgarth/Northcote.

So please join us on a coming Saturday or Sunday by clicking on the link below and registering to doorknock. There is also a video showing how it works below.

http://www.climateactioncentre.org/iwanttodoorknock

To find out more about doorknocking and the Hazelwood campaign go here http://www.climateactioncentre.org/replacehazelwood

Sunday 14 February
12noon
Melbourne Town Hall, Swanston St, City.

Seats are limited, to book your free seat go to: http://t10.eventbrite.com/

Featuring: The Governor of Victoria Professor David de Kretser AC
Uncle Bob Randall traditional owner of Uluru
Professor Will Steffen, Executive Director, ANU Climate Change Institute
Senator Christine Milne
...and many more.

At both the state and national levels, local leadership has failed to deliver even very small cuts in carbon emissions. Not surprisingly at the international level, the recent Copenhagen negotiations have produced no meaningful outcome either.

We have to face it, conventional political change methods have not worked.

We have run out of time for half-measures. It is now imperative that a safe climate is restored as fast as humanly possible. This will require zero emissions, and more, at emergency speed.

It seems that what is essential to accomplish is impossible to achieve. Clearly a breakthrough is needed.

The Transition Decade (T10) initiative has been designed to meet this dual challenge of going for the goals that are really needed and getting effective change too. The strategy is to harness the power of collaboration.

An alliance of committed groups has been formed to drive a collaborative framework through a decade of structural and social change. The launch will create the opportunity to take the size and effectiveness of this alliance to a whole new level. The launch of the Transition Decade will showcase leading work by groups that are using this shared time frame and scale of change, and will set out the many ways that thousands of organisations and millions of people can join the alliance.

Can we do it together? Will a shared plan work? Come along and decide for yourself!

Book your seat at: http://t10.eventbrite.com/

Brought to you by the founding members of T10, the Sustainable Living Foundation, Beyond Zero Emissions, Friends of the Earth and the Climate Emergency Network.

Millions of people in around 50 countries have marched this weekend to demand a strong, fair and binding deal at the Copenhagen climate talks.

Around 100,000 protested in Copenhagen itself, while Melbourne had the biggest rally in Australia with police estimates putting the crowd at a massive 40,000 people. The Walk Against Warming, which took place in every Australian capital and many regional centres, showed once again that many Australians are deeply worried about what the climate crisis means for them and their children, and that they are prepared to take to the streets to express this.

The talks will continue until Friday.

For ABC news coverage of the Walk click here.

For more photos click here and/or here.

Some fun and interesting climate change events happening in the next couple of weeks in our local area - all free and all welcome:

1. Renewable is Do-able public meeting - Thursday 3 December
2. Ride Planet Earth bike ride - Sunday 6 December
3. Walk Against Warming - Saturday 12 December

Details below:





The Walk Against Warming is Australia’s biggest day of community action on climate change. Similar Walks will be happening across the country, and across the globe as communities everywhere come together to tell their leaders they want action for a safe climate.

If you’ve ever replaced an old light globe with an energy efficient one, taken public transport instead of driving, switched to Green Power, or worried about the kind of world you’re going to leave to your kids, then the 2009 Walk Against Warming is for you!

12pm, 12 December, Victorian State Library (cnr Latrobe and Swanston Sts, City)

GetUp’s ReEnergise Australia campaign has been knocking on doors in Kensington and Richmond in the federal electorate of Melbourne, talking to people about the potential for renewable energy to power Australia and create thousands of clean energy jobs. Over 1600 of the 1700 people that GetUp spoke to signed their petition, asking Lindsay Tanner, the Labor member for Melbourne to become a clean energy champion in the Federal Parliament. This is quite far from the current Rudd Government position, which includes wholehearted support for the coal industry and billions of taxpayer dollars for the big coal corporations while Australian technology and know-how, such as Solar Systems is allowed to go belly-up.

The key result from the door-knocking was this – 85% of those people who identified as Labor voters said they would consider changing their vote if the Government doesn’t act.

GetUp will be handing over their petition tomorrow (Friday) at 5.30pm at Lindsay Tanner’s office – 280 King St, Melbourne. All are invited to come along.

The people of Melbourne have sent a clear message, we want the Government to support renewable energy, not fossil fuels, or else we will vote for someone who will.

Reminder:

SAVE SOLAR SYSTEMS RALLY – 5:30 FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER, PARLIAMENT HOUSE

The building of the first large-scale solar power plant in Australia is in doubt.

The Solar Systems power plant will create 1,000 renewable energy jobs, power 45,000 homes and uses home grown, Australian designed and built, world leading technology.

As the administrators look at whether funding for Solar Systems can be found, now is our chance to build momentum for clean energy and demand that state and Federal Governments live up to their rhetoric of supporting renewables.

Join us at the Save Solar Systems Rally, tomorrow, Friday 30th October at 5:30 PM at Parliament House.

Your voice counts. Tell the Government that we want solar not coal.

Over 100 people had their photo taken on Saturday outside Melbourne's iconic Flinders Street Station, sending a message to Kevin Rudd that we want science based climate change policies, not trade-offs to the big polluters and vested interests, which is an accurate description of his current climate change policy proposals.

This was part of the world's biggest day of climate action ever (so far!) for 350.org day. In Melbourne around 60 actions took place, including a mass bike ride and several concerts and gigs.

A great time was had by all!!!

Attached is a taste of the photos we took. More are available via our flickr site. Down the bottom of this post is a great video that summarises the day.

Are our leaders criminally insane? Or maybe they live in a parallel universe?
These questions may seem harsh (and probably weird), but they need to be asked urgently in the face of developments in the past week.

First we'll set some context. The climate science keeps getting worse. Climate change is happening faster and faster, with the impacts become greater. We are facing an emergency the likes of which humanity has never seen. Europe's leading climate scientist, Prof Schellnhuber, has warned that on current trends, the Earth's carrying capacity for humans will be below one billion by the year 2100. He also released a report recently, which showed that to give ourselves a two out of three chance of avoiding more than 2 degrees of warming (already unsafe), the USA and Australia needed to cut their emissions to zero by 2020, China by 2035, with the whole world reaching zero by 2050.

In this context, the inaction of our governments on climate change is indeed striking, and the lengths they will go to to protect the profits of the coal industry very disturbing.

Last week, the Rudd Government rejected a UK Government proposal that Australia sign up to their policy of only approving new coal-fired power stations if they have clean coal (carbon capture and storage) technology in place. This sensible policy was rejected, probably because the Rudd Government is aware this would mean no more coal-fired power stations would be built, as carbon capture and storage will never be viable. But why are they planning to build any more anyway? How about some wind and solar thermal power?

At the state level, The Age revealed that the Minister for Maximising Coal Industry Profits, Peter Batchelor, is planning to open up Victoria's brown coal resources for export to India. This would mean that we export the world's most greenhouse gas intensive fuel to India for it to burn in its power stations. Why aren't we investing in manufacturing renewable energy technology and exporting that?

Our climate scientists are very worried, but they insist we still have a chance to avoid runaway climate change. However, this won't happen unless we stop burning coal, and stop it fast.

We need to let our leaders know that we don't live in a parallel universe, we live in reality, a reality threatened by the climate crisis.

A snap rally has been called to encourage Brumby to block the coal export proposal:
START: 12.30, Thursday 22nd October
WHERE: Steps of Parliament House, Spring St
FINISH: 1.10 – plenty of time for lunch and getting back to work!
RSVP: Let us know you’re coming by sending a quick email to exportingcoalisdumb -at- yahoo.com.au

24 October. Be there.

There are a few events coming up this month that you can’t miss!!


Trivia Night Fundraiser

What dinosaur has eight chimneys, eats coal and suffers from terrible gas?

With live music, stand-up comedy, great questions, food and drink.

This is a fun night for all to raise money for the upcoming Hazelwood Power Station protest.

Details: Saturday August 15, 7pm-10pm – Northcote High School, 25 St Georges Road, Northcote.
Price (including light dinner) Table of 8, $120 Individual $20/$15 concession

Book online at www.trybooking.com/BJB
Tickets also available on the night unless sold out.


The Big Melt Tour

Come and hear the world-record holder for the fastest climb of Mt Everest talk about the effects of climate change in the ‘roof of the world’.

See www.thebigmelt.org

Hear Pemba Dorje Sherpa, holder of the world record for the fastest climb of Mount Everest, talk about his experience of global warming in the Himalayas. He is joined by environmental lawyer and activist Prakash Sharma, Pro Public Nepal.

Global warming is already having a big impact on Mount Everest and the Himalayas. Glaciers are melting creating floods and danger for the local people. But the big melt also means a big dry as these 'water towers' of Asia lose their capacity to provide water to the giant rivers in the summer months. Eventually rivers like the Ganges in India and the Yellow River in China will lose their dry season flow and the billion people in these river basins will lose their water security.

Details of Public Meeting 6.30 PM – 8.00 PM
Monday, August 17, 2009 Village Roadshow Theatrette
State Library of Victoria
328 Swanston St
(Use Entry 3, La Trobe Street)


Clifton Hill Community Sustainability Meeting
…featuring comedian Rod Quantock on the climate science

We are a group of Clifton Hill residents - not experts - with the shared aim of helping each other to live more sustainably and encouraging action that avoids runaway climate change.

Perhaps you share our concern but find the issues frighteningly large and complex and are unsure of what you can do that will make a difference.

You may be asking yourself…

• Where can I find reliable up-to-date climate change
information?

• What can I do to reduce the likelihood of dangerous
climate change?

• What can I do to reduce the environmental impact of
my lifestyle?

• Will it help if I change my diet or grow some of my own
food?

• If I installed water tanks and solar panels how much
would it help and what will it cost?

If you are interested in any of the above issues, this meeting is for you.

There will be displays with handouts and people with particular expertise to talk to.

For information contact: Doug Evans at dg.evans -at- bigpond.com

Featuring Rod Quantock, Yarra Climate Action Now, Beyond Zero Emissions, The Environment Shop, the Ethical Consumption Group and other local groups.

Details: Sunday, 23 August 2009, 2:30 - 4:30pm
St. Mark's Church, 100 Hodgkinson St, Clifton Hill

Yesterday’s National Climate Emergency Rally saw thousands of Australians take to the streets to demand the Rudd Government recognise climate change for the emergency it is, take the Carbon Pollution Rewards Scheme back to the drawing board, and take much stronger action to create green jobs and a switch to 100% renewable energy by 2020.

Rallies were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart and Wollongong.

Damien Lawson’s opinion piece published in The Age today sums up the sentiments of protestors: Stop wasting time and save the planet Mr Rudd

For photos of the event click here, here and here.

The rallies received media attention in Australia and internationally, see:

BBC - Australians demand climate action
Reuters India - Australians demand more action on climate change

ABC Online - Wong defends policy amid climate change protests
The Sydney Morning Herald - Activists call for green jobs
The West Australian - Hundreds rally in Perth for climate action

...and compilation of TV coverage in Sydney

6 months to Copenhagen and a crucial vote on the terrible Carbon Pollution Law in the Senate. Now is the time to show you care.

National Climate Emergency Rally
1pm, Saturday June 13, State Library, Melbourne


If you have thought of taking action on climate change, now is the time. Drought, bushfires, floods and rising seas are already hitting hard. It’s an emergency and we need emergency action.

In December 2009, governments of the world will meet in Copenhagen to create a new global climate agreement. Australia must support, not stop, strong global action.

We can tackle the recession and climate change together. Direct investment in renewable energy will create jobs, stimulate the economy and begin to create the carbon-free economy of the future.

100% renewable energy by 2020
Australia must make the shift from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy from wind, solar and other available technologies.

Green collar jobs not job cuts
We can renew our economy by creating hundreds of thousands of ‘green jobs’ and supporting workers to make a fair and just transition to sustainable industries.

Strong international action with climate justice
Australia must take the lead in global climate talks, not undermine them with an ineffective 5%-25% target. Globally, we must to listen those who are most affected by climate change and least responsible for it.

Don’t pass the Carbon Pollution law
We need climate policies that make the big polluters pay and not allow big companies to go on polluting. The CPRS won’t reduce Australia’s greenhouse pollution.

Protect Australia’s Forests
Logging and clearing vegetation are major contributors to climate change as forests and woodlands are essential carbon stores.

1pm Saturday, June 13, State Library
Only a strong and growing movement for change will make a difference. Come with your friends and family to the Rally. Help promote the rally in your community.

Speakers and entertainment includes:
Peter Marshall - United Firefighters Union, Emeretta Cross -Tuvaluan climate activist, David Spratt - author Climate Code Red, Greens leader Senator Bob Brown, Rod Quantock - Melbourne comedian and Taegen Edwards - Yarra Climate Action Now.
Music by Melting Pot.

Rally
1pm Wednesday 6 May
Steps of Parliament House, Spring Street

This protest is to demand a real feed-in tariff for Victoria, as opposed to the pointless scheme being proposed by the Brumby Government.

A real, gross, feed-in tariff will:

• increase the number of solar panels on Victorian roofs
• grow green collar jobs in Victoria
• support our solar industry
• and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions

Come out to support green jobs and solar energy. We have a unique opportunity to influence the Victorian Parliament to amend the flawed legislation!

For further information on solar feed-in tariffs, see our previous blog entry here, and see Environment Victoria’s website.

Contact Victoria@envict.org.au for further information.

To send Ted Baillieu a message on this issue instantly, click here.