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February 2007
The best Solar power ad (video)
(via Treehugger)
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A Sustainability Emergency
The Melbourne Age reported on the Victorian Convergence on the Global Sustainability Emergency which unfortunately I was unable to attend. I believe that the last few paragraphs on the implications for business of "wildcards" are particularly relevant.
A state of emergency on global sustainability should be declared, writes Stephen McGrail.
LAST week a group of sustainability advocates met to discuss the possibility of declaring a formal "state of emergency". {I was invited, but unable to attend} Now, you may dismiss these advocates as loonies, but the Victorian Convergence on the Global Sustainability Emergency provides insight into what the future might hold ˜ to those willing to pay close attention.
The group reviewed the many inconvenient and interconnected truths ˜ such as climate change, the water crisis, threats to biodiversity, pressures on biological systems, peaking of conventional oil supplies and increasing socio-economic inequality ˜ and concluded that they add up to a sustainability emergency. On its own, this provides useful insight into the consensus-view of activists. But this should be taken one giant step further.
Suppose for a moment that these activists, thinkers and scientists were successful. Suppose they managed to get our political leaders to declare a formal "state of emergency". What then? Hold this moment in your mind. What changes can you imagine flowing on and what would be their impact?
...
Continue reading "A Sustainability Emergency"
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Byron Bay meet the candidates forum on climate change
Stephanie Long, climate campaigner for Friends of the Earth asked me to pass this on, I think this is an excellent opportunity to pressure the candidates on climate issues, and to discourage them from the non-answers like carbon sequestration and nuclear power.
Invitation to a meet-the-candidates forum
for the March State election
*Date:* Saturday, March 10, 2007
*Time: * Speakers to arrive at 1.30pm for light refreshments & to meet informally
Public meeting, 2pm to 4pm
*Venue:* Byron Bay High School auditorium
*Donation:* We will ask everyone attending to make a donation to go to Byron Bay High School or to North Coast Climate Action Group (NCCAG)
NCCAG believes that Global Warming and Climate Change are the most serious issues facing the entire population of our planet and threaten our very existence. We believe climate change policy and action should be beyond party politics and should head all political and public agendas. The purpose of the forum is for political candidates to outline how they will act to deal with Climate Change and for voters to put questions and discussion points to them. We anticipate the forum will proceed as follows.
1. Brief overview and introduction of speakers – Adrian Gattenhof
2. A ten minute review of the recent Kyoto negotiations in Nairobi, Kenya, and their relevance to Australia – Stephanie Long
3. A Byron Bay High student on local initiatives and innovations
4. Each candidate will be invited to speak for around 15 minutes on what they will do, if elected, to address the issue of Global Warming. Candidates will speak in alphabetical order; John Bailey – Greens, Melanie Doriean – ALP, Don Page, MP, National Party.
5. Panel discussion among the candidates and Stephanie Long with opportunity to question each other, together with questions and discussion points from audience.
The candidates are welcome to distribute election material at the forum.
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Chernobyl photo record
If you ever doubted that nuclear power was a bad idea, take a look at this photo diary of someone who claimed to bike through the area. (though a lot of poetic licence was clearly used, the pictures are still supposedly real), as presumably are a swedish account.
When I was a kid, we had to clean up the mess from one game before being allowed to play another.
Maybe the nuclear industry should be asked to clean up the area, and the tailings sites near many mines and then find safe storage for the existing nuclear waste, before we even consider their requests to build more of their dangerous toys.
Come to think of it, we could do the same for the gold industry, and other industries where the participants create new companies for each venture, and avoid the responsibility for the mistakes repeatedly made in their industry.
- Mitra
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