Appointees in NASA Press Office Blamed

By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/02/AR2008060202698.\
html?nav=rss_politics

An investigation by the NASA inspector general found that political
appointees in the space agency's public affairs office worked to
control and distort public accounts of its researchers' findings about
climate change for at least two years, the inspector general's office
said yesterday.

The probe came at the request of 14 senators after The Washington Post
and other news outlets reported in 2006 that Bush administration
officials had monitored and impeded communications between NASA
climate scientists and reporters.

James E. Hansen, who directs NASA's Goddard Institute for Space
Studies and has campaigned publicly for more stringent limits on
greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, told The Post and
the New York Times in September 2006 that he had been censored by NASA
press officers, and several other agency climate scientists reported
similar experiences. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration are two of the government's lead agencies on climate
change issues.

From the fall of 2004 through 2006, the report said, NASA's public
affairs office "managed the topic of climate change in a manner that
reduced, marginalized, or mischaracterized climate change science made
available to the general public." It noted elsewhere that "news
releases in the areas of climate change suffered from inaccuracy,
factual insufficiency, and scientific dilution."

Officials of the Office of Public Affairs told investigators that they
regulated communication by NASA scientists for technical rather than
political reasons, but the report found "by a preponderance of the
evidence, that the claims of inappropriate political interference made
by the climate change scientists and career public affairs officers
were more persuasive than the arguments of the senior public affairs
officials that their actions were due to the volume and poor quality
of the draft news releases."

The political interference did not extend to the research itself or
its dissemination through scientific journals and conferences, the
investigators said. "We found no evidence indicating NASA blocked or
interfered with the actual research activities of its climate
scientists," the report said, but as a result of the actions of the
political appointees, "trust was lost, at least temporarily, between
the agency and some of its key employees and perhaps the public it
serves."
ad_icon

Kristin Scuderi, a spokeswoman for the White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy, said in an e-mail that director John H.
Marburger III "would not comment until he's reviewed the report, and
he has not yet done so yet. Therefore, OSTP has no comment at this time."

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), one of the senators who pressed for
the investigation, said in a statement that the report showed that
citizens had been denied access to critical scientific information
that should inform public policy.

"Global warming is the most serious environmental threat we face --
but this report is more evidence that the Bush Administration's
appointees have put political ideology ahead of science," Lautenberg
said. "Our government's response to global warming must be based on
science, and the Bush Administration's manipulation of that
information violates the public trust."

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [savelakecowal] Uncle Chappy speaks out at the UN
From:    "WGAR News" <wgar.news@...>
Date:    Sun, June 1, 2008 12:03 am
To:      "ACT indigenous network" <actindnetwork@yahoogroups.com>
          "Black & Green" <blackgreensolidarity@...>
          "Racism" <Racism_Against_Indigenous_Peoples@egroups.com>
          "Save Lake Cowal" <savelakecowal@yahoogroups.com>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Uncle Neville 'Chappy' Williams speaks out at the UN


Source:
http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/friends-earth-joint-submission-un-permanent\
-forum-indigenous-issues


7th United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues,
United Nations, NY

Agenda Item 4.2: Pacific/Sustainable Development


Joint submission by Friends of the Earth International

on behalf of

Mooka and Kalara United Families within the Wiradjuri Nation,

Murray Darling Basin, Central New South Wales, Australia

in a joint intervention with

New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

Akali Tange Association Inc. Pogera Enga Province,
Papua New Guinea

Agence Kanak de Developpement

Western Shoshone Defence Project, Nevada, USA

Laura Calm Wind, Kitchenuhmay Koosib Inninuwug, Canada

Comision Juridica para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos
Originarios Andinos (CAPAJ), Andes

Indigenous Peoples Links

Centre for Organization Research and Education (CORE)

First Indigenous Nations Civic Association of South Africa
(FINCASA)

Indigenous Environment Network (IEN)


Brothers and Sisters, I am Neville Chappy Williams, a
Custodian and Traditional Owner of Lake Cowal within the
Wiradjuri Nation in the centre of the Murray Darling Basin,
Australia.

Aboriginal and Indigenous Peoples hold many of the solutions
to heal our Mother, the Earth, from her rape by colonialism,
which is now causing climate change. But many rogue mining
companies and other extractive industries operate with
impunity and impact our Nations and Peoples at the very
core of our cultural being, at the very essence of our
existence, through the desecration of our sacred sites and
sacred waters.

Our people become weakened through the assault on our
spirituality, leading to depression, division, oppression
and even death. Yet at this time of climate change
Indigenous Peoples need to be strong and influential in
caring for our Earth and each other. Our Peoples have
already lived through global warming and global cooling,
which caused the Ice Ages. Our collective traditional
knowledge and wisdoms hold the keys to survival and, right
now, it is our Mother, the Earth, who is crying out for a
rest from mining, other extractive industries and
unsustainable practices.

Brothers and sisters, in 2002 at the UN World Summit on
Sustainable Development the mining and extractive
industries' PR machinery managed to include in the final
conference text the idea that mining is sustainable. But
from our perspective as custodians, this is a crazy claim.
To us sustainable development is taking from the Earth only
what we need for our spiritual wellbeing and our health.
Mining is fuelled by greed for profit, resulting in bogus
people being put up to sign deals, desecrated sacred sites,
degraded lands, polluted waters, divided communities and a
legacy of mining waste, contaminated soil and poisoned
drinking water and polluted fishing grounds. How can this
be called 'sustainable'?

In the Northern Territory, the Angela and Pamela uranium
mine near Titchikala, 25 kilometres south of Alice Springs,
is in the middle of the artesian basin, which is the main
water supply of Alice Springs and surrounding communities.

In Western Australia, the Burrup Peninsula holds some of
the oldest artwork in the world – rock carvings and
paintings. It is a World Heritage site, but the interests
of the Woodside Petroleum gas industry overrode the
sacredness of this site. Now the carved rocks, which carry
the story of our humanity, are stockpiled behind a locked
fence.

In our case, Lake Cowal in the middle of the Murray Darling
Basin, Australia, we are opposed to the gold mine, but we
have no right of veto, and have been trying for years to
stop the Canadian company, Barrick Gold, from desecrating
our ancient sacred lake and destroying our marked trees and
cultural objects. One gram of cyanide can kill a human and
we fear their practice of bringing in 6000 tonnes of
cyanide a year into the floodplain of the lake and the
Kalara (Lachlan) river, which forms an inland sea during a
major flood. But, when we try to access the area, we are
told we are trespassing and security call the armed police.

We took Barrick Gold to court many times. We formed
alliances with environmental groups around the world, but
now Barrick Gold has gone ahead and are digging a large
mine pit into the lakebed itself and have built vast
tailings dams, where once thousands of our people have
camped, back from the sacredness. When I flew over Lake
Cowal in March this year in a small plane, I saw that the
wall in the mine pit had collapsed after heavy rains, at
the end of a long drought. Barrick Gold had not told the
public, even though the mining was on public land. But when
we asked questions in parliament, the NSW Minister for
Mineral resources admitted the landslide has buried blast
holes full of explosives. What is sustainable about this?

We are well aware that the four countries that opposed the
Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the
General Assembly - Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the
US - are the source of many of these rogue transnational
companies.


We have five Recommendations for this 7th Permanent Forum.
Although the World Bank has stated in this forum that their
policies are consistent with the Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples, there is a big difference between
the World Bank's "free, prior and informed consultation"
and the "free prior and informed consent" in the Declaration.
Nevertheless, we recommend that the Permanent Forum:

1. Calls for activation of the 2005 Extractive Industries
Review and for activation of the previous interventions to
address the impact and legacy of extractive industries on
Indigenous Lands, territories and natural resources;

2. Urgently calls for funding through ECOSOC for a World
Summit to seek solutions for Indigenous Nations and Peoples
affected by extractive industries in order to complete
Recommendations by 2009 for the 2010 Commission on
Sustainable Development;

3. Calls on the Human Rights Council to request the new UN
Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to
investigate how to set up an Indigenous arbitration system,
a regulatory regime, to control the practices of the
trans-national mining companies, other extractive
industries, forestry and fisheries;

4. Calls on ECOSOC to request a Joint Report, before the
8th Permanent Forum, from the Special Representative of the
UN Secretary-General on business and human rights and the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, identifying
transnationals and their types of behaviour, which breach
the inherent rights detailed the Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples. The report is to include:

* Requests to UN agencies to build on the research done by
NGOs to document the whole impact of mining on Indigenous
communities, including environmental justice, the legacy of
mining waste, desecrated sacred sites, degraded lands and
poisoned waters; and make the findings available to
concerned communities;

* An evaluation of the amount Indigenous communities
involuntarily subsidise the mining industry and other
extractive industries through their natural resources,
which are seized with minimal compensation, if any, by
forms of colonialism perpetrated by trans-national
companies;

* All expert investigations into mining impacts on
Indigenous Nations and Peoples, such as the CERD's
observations that both Canada and the US must regulate their
transnational corporations impacting Indigenous communities
outside their borders;

5. Create an Indigenous Network on Mining Activities (INMA).
We call on everyone at this forum to begin this network.

Thank you.

Neville Williams, savelakecowal@...

24/4/08

------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Rally JUNE 21: Stop the NT intervention
From:    "Nuclear Free Australia" <nuclearfreeaus@...>
Date:    Mon, June 2, 2008 5:12 am
To:      nfanews@...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rallies will be held in Melbourne, Sydney, Alice Springs, Darwin, Perth,
Brisbane, Wollongong and Adelaide.

Please forward widely...

STOP THE NT INTERVENTION

Aboriginal Control of Aboriginal Affairs

National Day of Action - 12pm Saturday June 21st  @ State Library

- Repeal all "NT intervention" legislation
- Restore the Racial Discrimination Act
- Fund infrastructure and community controlled services
- Sign and implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

June 21 will mark one year since the Howard Government announced the NT
intervention. Far from improving child welfare, the intervention has
created a new wave of dispossession and is compounding social problems.

The Racial Discrimination Act has been suspended, land taken over and
business managers imposed on communities.

The universal quarantining of welfare payments, the closure of many
Community Employment Development Projects (CDEP) and the compulsory
acquisition of Aboriginal property has forced thousands of people from
their communities into urban centres.

Bagot town camp in Darwin, for example, has increased in population from
500-1200 people since the intervention. People are facing extreme hardship
without jobs, services or stable accommodation.

While the Rudd Labor government made a symbolic apology for the Stolen
Generations, in practice, it has retained and expanded Howard's explicitly
racist intervention laws. The government refuses to acknowledge the social
break down taking place. They continue to deny protection under the Racial
Discrimination Act.

Aboriginal people are suffering stark discrimination as they are forced to
stand in segregated queues in Centrelink, in supermarkets and in schools.
The practice of traditional culture is becoming impossible for many,
unable to travel due to welfare restrictions. As Lyle Cooper, Vice
President Bagot Community has said, "I thank you Prime Minister Rudd for
your apology.(but) it's an invasion all over again. We are being told
where to shop, what to eat, how to act and how to live".

Communities continue to stand up against the intervention. Scores of
representatives from "prescribed areas" traveled to join the 2000 strong
Canberra Convergence at the opening of the new Parliament. Many more will
come from communities around the Northern Territory to protest in Alice
Springs and Darwin as part of the national protests on 21 June.

One of the strongest examples is Yuendumu, where a strategy of
non-cooperation has held off repeated attempts by the government to take
over local programs and implement "income management". Jeannie Nungarrayi
Egan from the community council has said, "No body likes it, we have to
control our own community, we're going to push out the quarantine".

Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma recently released a report which
demonstrates how NT intervention legislation contravenes numerous UN
charters to which Australia is signatory, including International
Covenants on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR); and the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

In July Jenny Macklin, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs will begin a
review of the Intervention. We need to bring thousands of people out onto
the streets around the country to ensure grass-roots voices are no longer
ignored. The new Government must break with the assimilationist policies
of the Howard era. They must act on the UN

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A massive injection of
funds and resources into communities is badly needed, but cannot come at
the expense of basic human rights. Only an approach which respects
self-determination will lead to improvements in community life.

Stop the intervention, Stop the Racism - Human Rights for all!

Rallies will be held in Melbourne, Sydney, Alice Springs, Darwin, Perth,
Brisbane, Wollongong and Adelaide.

ENDORSEMENTS:

Rally endorsed by the national conference called by the Aboriginal Rights
Coalition on Sunday May 25 in Sydney attended by over 200 people. Support
from Aboriginal leaders and activists includes: Barbara Shaw (Mt Nancy
town camp, Alice Springs), Lyall Cooper (President of Bagot community,
Darwin), Harry Nelson (President, Yuendumu community council), June Mills
(Long-grass association, Darwin), Pat Eatock, Brian Butler, Shireen
Malamoo, Millie Ingram, Pastor Ray Minniecon, Mitch, Peta Ridgeway, Heidi
Norman, Shane Phillips

Supportive organisations include: Maritime Union of Australia (MUA NSW &
NT), Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), Railway Tram
and Bus Union (RBTU NT), Australian Services Union (ASU NT), Top End
Aboriginal Conservation Alliance, Australians for Native Title and
Reconciliation (ANTaR NSW & NT), Indigenous Social Justice Association,
Alliance for Indigenous Self Determination Melbourne, Intervention
Rollback Action Group (Alice Springs), Aboriginal Rights Coalition
(Darwin, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth), Australian Young Labor Left,
Friends of the Earth, LASNET, ASEAN, University of Melbourne Student
Union, Swinburne Student Union, Latrobe SRC, Socialist Alternative,
Socialist Alliance, Union Solidarity.






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Published on Friday, May 30, 2008 by The Guardian/UK
Act On Climate Change, Top Scientists Warn US
by Dan Glaister in Los Angeles and James Randerson
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/30/climatechange.scienceofclimate\
change1
Reproduced @
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/30/9299/

A group of 1,700 leading scientists called on the US government
yesterday to take the lead in fighting global warming. Citing the
"unprecedented and unanticipated" effects of global warming, the
scientists, including six Nobel prizewinners, presented a letter
calling for an immediate reduction in US carbon emissions.

The statement came as the Senate prepares to debate a bill next week
that would impose economy-wide limits on greenhouse emissions to avert
what it describes as "catastrophic climate change".

The letter, issued by the non-profit Union of Concerned Scientists,
warns: "If emissions continue unabated, our nation and the world will
face more sea level rise, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, snowmelt,
flood risk, and public health threats, as well as increased rates of
plant and animal species extinctions."

The White House joined in the chorus of gloom when it issued a
long-delayed report bringing together research into global warming.
The report was issued after environmental groups won a court order
last year enforcing a statute that obliges the government to produce
an assessment of global warming every four years. Described as "a
litany of bad news in store for the US", the report catalogues threats
from drought, natural disaster, insect infestation and energy shortages.

The scientists call on the government to "put our nation on to a path
today to reduce emissions on the order of 80% below 2000 levels by
2050." As a first step, the scientists call for a 15-20% reduction on
2000 levels by 2020. "There is no time to waste," the letter
concludes. "The most risky thing we can do is nothing."

The targets go beyond those proposed by senators Joe Lieberman and
John Warner in America's climate security act, due to be debated on
Monday. Citing the prospect of rises in diseases such as malaria and
asthma from hotter temperatures, as well as hunger, dislocation and
death due to storms, that bill calls for a cut of up to 63% on 2005
levels by 2050.

Another group of climate scientists warned yesterday that a "false
optimism" has infused international climate talks, saying that
politicians should deliver "stringent emissions cuts and major
adaptation efforts" or risk profound consequences for the planet.

The scientists said the world has lost 10 years talking about climate
change when it should have acted. "A curious optimism … pervades the
political arenas of the G8 and UN climate meetings. This is false
optimism and is obscuring reality," they write in Nature Reports
Climate Change. The authors are part of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, but stress in this paper they do not represent the panel.

The scientists say that even the most politically feasible target, of
a 50% global reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 from the levels of
1990, would still entail "major global impacts". They used new
modelling data on the impact of differing long-term cuts in greenhouse
gas emissions. "For the first time we can read off what damages are
avoided or not avoided for different amounts of emissions cuts," said
Professor Martin Parry.

Microgeneration could rival nuclear power, report shows


http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/02/renewableenergy.alternativeene\
rgy

British buildings equipped with solar, wind and other micro power
equipment could generate as much electricity in a year as five nuclear
power stations, a government-backed industry report showed today.

Commissioned by the Department for Business, Energy and Regulatory
Reform (DBERR), the report says that if government chose to be as
ambitious as some other countries, a combination of loans, grants and
incentives could lead to nearly 10m microgeneration systems being
installed by 2020.

Such a large scale switch to microrenewable energy could save 30m
tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of nearly 5% of all UK electricity.

The report estimates that there are nearly 100,000 microgeneration
units already installed in Britain. Nearly 90,000 of these are solar
water heaters, with limited numbers of biomass boilers, photovoltaic
panels, heat pumps, fuel cells, and small-scale hydroelectric and
windpower schemes.

If no action is taken, says the report, Britain can expect about
500,000 microunits to be installed by 2015 and 2-3m by 2020. But, with
the right incentives, nearly one in five buildings in Britain would
effectively become mini power stations, feeding electricity into the
grid, or generating enough to be largely self-sufficient. Some of the
greatest gains would be in combined heat and power units which are
suitable for large blocks of flats, estates and businesses.

Britain has been widely criticised for not doing as much as other
countries to encourage a mass market for small-scale renewables. The
few existing schemes have failed to kick-start the industry. But the
report says this could be swiftly changed: Germany has invested nearly
£10bn in photovoltaic technology and Sweden has made it very
attractive for consumers to install heat pumps.

The small-scale energy revolution will depend on the government
stimulating the market with a range of consumer-friendly financial
incentives schemes. "For widespread uptake of microgeneration to occur
in the UK, sustained policy support will be required," says the report.

Top of the proposed incentive list is a "feed-in" tariff scheme which
would reward people who invest in making their own electricity for
feeding excess power into the national gird. This has been introduced
in most European countries and is now a part of the Conservative
party's energy policy.

Other possible incentives include 50% grants to help people meet the
high initial cost of equipment and installation. If the government
subsidised 50% of the cost of the some of the technologies, Britain
would save 14m tonnes of CO2 a year, or 3% of all emissions for a cost
rising to £2.2bn a year by 2030.

A third option would be to provide mortgage-style discounted
low-interest "soft loans" payable over 25 years. This, suggests the
report, would lead to a massive 8m units being installed by 2020. But
it cautions that the life of the loan would probably exceed the life
of most power units.

It also proposes a scheme where consumers put up some of the cost of a
new electricity generating boiler in return for a long-term guaranteed
cut in their power bills.

The report comes at a critical point, with the government's energy
strategy due to be published soon and microgeneration targets due to
be decided later in the year. The outlook it thought to be favourable
because energy prices are expected to continue rising steeply as oil
and gas prices soar.

The energy minister, Malcolm Wicks, welcomed the report:
"Microgeneration has the potential to make a significant contribution
to overall energy use in the UK and, combined with energy efficiency
measures, will help towards reducing our carbon emissions. The
concerned individual can take an active role in the battle against
climate change."

The industry has called for binding targets which it said would lead
to greater certainty for investors and lower costs for consumers.
"This shows that with the right policies in place, citizens can save
money and make make a marked difference to tackling UK emissions and
future-proof their homes," said Dave Sowden, chief executive of the
Micropower Council.

One problem was not considered by the report, however. Conservative
leader David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Malcolm Wicks have all had
applications to erect wind turbines on their roofs turned down by
planning officers.

FYI in case Nina doesn't have you on her mailing list.

I'm replying to say I agree.

Cheers,

Brooke

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  Climate Protection Bill: We need your group's endorsement to
make it HUGE!
Date:  Fri, 30 May 2008 21:57:51 +1000
From:  Nina Hall <ninalansbury@...>
To:  <robertwiblin@...>, <dani@...>,
<smeacher@...>, <decortis@...>,
<allinsoninoz@...>, <vitaldifference@...>,
<coniforcey@...>, <brooke@...>, <coordinator@...>,
<climatez@...>, <linda@...>,
<petel@...>
CC:  <huxtable@...>, <louise.morris@...>,
<ruthshepherdsoundhealing@...>, <peter@...>,
<airskywind11@...>, <secretary@...>,
<aforbes@...>, <deb_hart@...>,
<littleearth@...>, <bischarddrysdale@...>,
<suejlewis@...>, <janet@...>,
<courthouse.group@...>, <info@...>,
<wvorobioff@...>



Dear climate-concerned folks,


Do you remember last year when your climate group endorsed the Climate
Protection Bill, that inspiring, community-initiated piece of climate
legislation?


(And if your group didn't endorse the Bill back then, now is your second
chance!).


Because of the support of your group and many other community-based
climate groups, the Climate Protection has traveled deep into the halls
of Parliament.

As my email update in March let you know, Tony Windsor (Independent, New
England) is currently drafting a version of the Climate Protection Bill
into a

Private Members' Bill. We anticipate it could be introduced into Federal
Parliament for debate in September or October this year.


To raise the political and public awareness of the Bill, some of the
Bill's supporters have been organising the 'Cycle 4 Climate Protection'.
This cycle

will start in all different locations in Australia and converge in
Canberra on the same day in September this year to deliver 10,000 signed
postcards

in support of the Climate Protection Bill.


The latest exciting development is that GetUp, the online and
community-oriented action group, is keen to embrace the Climate
Protection Bill as part

of its focus on climate change. They are planning a climate-related
event to tour Australia and also end up in Canberra in September.
Supporters of the Bill

and GetUp organisers have met to discuss how to converge our common aims
and events to build a massive, attention-grabbing event with thousands
of people delivering the same message to Kevin Rudd and Penny Wong.


It's all possible, but we need your groups' endorsement of some changes
to the Climate Protection Bill so that the mandate of Australians and
GetUp policies

are in alignment.


Do you agree that the revised Climate Protection Bill will:

1. Demand emission reduction targets of 50% below 1990 levels by 2002
and carbon neutral by 2040;

2. No longer call for ratification of the Kyoto Protocol (as it's been
achieved!);

3. No longer demand each MP to report on how they voted on decisions
relating to climate change (as this looked peculiar to Tony Windsor MP)


These changes are outlined in the revised Overview of the Climate
Protection Bill, attached to this email.


Please send your endorsement or quick responses to me by WEDNESDAY, JUNE
11 at _ninalansbury@..._ <mailto:ninalansbury@...>.


Thanks for your support so far, and looking forward to continuing to
work together towards effective action on climate change!


From


Nina Hall

for Climate Action Coogee


PS: If you are keen on getting involved in the Cycle 4 Climate
Protection, visit www.climatemovement.org.au.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email Australia. Be part of history. Take part in Australia's first
e-mail archive with <http://emailaustralia.ninemsn.com.au>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I fear that Tim Flannery is like so many pundits catapaulted into prominence -
it is usually for other reasons - and Tim is a very ego-driven personality.
He is also a very good palaeo-biologist - but I suspect, not much technical
understanding - so by parroting the pronouncements of the fossil fuel
insdustry lobbyists,  he is not being a good exemplar of a scientist for
the public.

Hugh





>A couple of days ago I read an article in which Tim flannery said the
>coal industry must develop CCS/geosequestration within 3 years, as if
>the concept was practically implementable and/or economically feasible.
>
>Clean coal needed in 2-3 years: Flannery
>http://au.news.yahoo.com/080526/2/170d3.html
>[quote]The federal government also needed to boost its contribution
>from $100 million to $5 billion, recognising Australia's critical role
>in developing clean coal technologies, he said.[/quote]
>
>It doesn't take too much research to recognise that so called 'clean
>coal' technologies are nothing more than a distractionary attempt to
>postpone the inevitable - abolition of coal mining. So what's a uni
>professor with presumably far greater access to research material than
>Joe & Mary Blo doing wasting time promoting clean coal fantasies?
>
>Am I to presume Tim Flannery is in the coal industry's pocket, or that
>he's just a bumbling boffin waffling on about subjects he's failed to
>rationally scrutinise?
>
>Tonight I spotted the following article in which Tim Flannery
>advocates/proposes pumping sulfur into the atmosphere to abate global
>warming via global dimming.
>Surely a uni professor would realise airbourne sulfur is known to
>cause acid rain?
>Maybe he thinks acid rain is a more cost effective method for
>deforestation.
>I don't understand the point of saving a planet by inducing a
>phenomena which destroys the flora on it.
>
>
>Yellow Sky of Earth
>http://www.earthweek.com/2008/ew080523/ew080523f.html
>via
>http://www.earthweek.com/
>
>A climate change activist who was voted "Australian of the Year" in
>2007 has proposed a radical scheme to reverse global warming by
>injecting an element into the atmosphere that would change the color
>of Earth's normally blue sky.
>
>Tim Flannery, an adjunct professor at Macquarie University, made the
>proposal at a sustainability conference in Canberra.
>
>He advocates generating a process called "solar dimming" in which vast
>amounts of sulfur would be injected into the atmosphere in order to
>repel the sun's rays.
>
>Flannery says the most cost-effective way to deliver the sulfur into
>the atmosphere would be to add the element to jet fuel.
>
>"Everything's going in the wrong direction at the moment, timelines
>are getting shorter, the amount of pollution in the atmosphere is
>growing," Flannery said.
>
>The injection of sulfur into the atmosphere was one of several actions
>he believes are needed to save the planet from a climate catastrophe.
>
>Flannery admits no one knows if there would be any negative
>consequences of putting such a vast amount of sulfur into the air.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------------
>
>Yahoo!7 Groups Links
>
>
>

A couple of days ago I read an article in which Tim flannery said the
coal industry must develop CCS/geosequestration within 3 years, as if
the concept was practically implementable and/or economically feasible.

Clean coal needed in 2-3 years: Flannery
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080526/2/170d3.html
[quote]The federal government also needed to boost its contribution
from $100 million to $5 billion, recognising Australia's critical role
in developing clean coal technologies, he said.[/quote]

It doesn't take too much research to recognise that so called 'clean
coal' technologies are nothing more than a distractionary attempt to
postpone the inevitable - abolition of coal mining. So what's a uni
professor with presumably far greater access to research material than
Joe & Mary Blo doing wasting time promoting clean coal fantasies?

Am I to presume Tim Flannery is in the coal industry's pocket, or that
he's just a bumbling boffin waffling on about subjects he's failed to
rationally scrutinise?

Tonight I spotted the following article in which Tim Flannery
advocates/proposes pumping sulfur into the atmosphere to abate global
warming via global dimming.
Surely a uni professor would realise airbourne sulfur is known to
cause acid rain?
Maybe he thinks acid rain is a more cost effective method for
deforestation.
I don't understand the point of saving a planet by inducing a
phenomena which destroys the flora on it.


Yellow Sky of Earth
http://www.earthweek.com/2008/ew080523/ew080523f.html
via
http://www.earthweek.com/

A climate change activist who was voted "Australian of the Year" in
2007 has proposed a radical scheme to reverse global warming by
injecting an element into the atmosphere that would change the color
of Earth's normally blue sky.

Tim Flannery, an adjunct professor at Macquarie University, made the
proposal at a sustainability conference in Canberra.

He advocates generating a process called "solar dimming" in which vast
amounts of sulfur would be injected into the atmosphere in order to
repel the sun's rays.

Flannery says the most cost-effective way to deliver the sulfur into
the atmosphere would be to add the element to jet fuel.

"Everything's going in the wrong direction at the moment, timelines
are getting shorter, the amount of pollution in the atmosphere is
growing," Flannery said.

The injection of sulfur into the atmosphere was one of several actions
he believes are needed to save the planet from a climate catastrophe.

Flannery admits no one knows if there would be any negative
consequences of putting such a vast amount of sulfur into the air.

Recycling of grey water is a far far better option than de-salination -
most Australian cities now operate on a greater or lesser amount of
re-cycled water.  The energy costs are far less than de-salination - The
Californian cities of LosAngeles Orange County (Irvine, Santa Anna, Tustin
etc) are now not only purifying the effluent (to a better standard than
drinking water - but they are pumping it back into the aquifers to
re-charge them).  If they can do it - so can all Australian cities and
towns. (see - http:/www.discovermagazine.com  'better water' May 2008.

The 'Yuk' factor is a serious 'con' foisted by people who ought to know better.

De-salination requires very significant energy expenditures - which in our
regions are provided by coal burning power stations..global warming anyone??

go figure

Hugh.





>For those in SEQld.  Rally to protest the proposed Traverston Crossing
>Dam.  Fwd to your contacts.  Information from the attached flyer:
>
>The Qld Labor Party is holding its State Convention at the Gold Coast
>Convention Centre on June 21,22. Kevin "I'm here to help" Rudd will be
>there.
>
>BACKGROUND INFORMATION
>
>    * Brisbane and SEQ want (and are entitled to) the cheapest source of
>      100% reliable water.
>    * The politicians must provide it in a way that is environmentally
>      and economically responsible.
>    * There is an overwhelming body of evidence that, along with present
>      storages, the demand for water can be met from non-rainfall
>      dependent methods such as desalination using renewable energy
>      sources, combined with water saving methods such as storm water
>      harvesting, recycling of waste water, responsible water usage from
>      household and industry, and installation of water saving devices.
>
>
>A dam approved at Traveston Crossing, even with conditions, however
>strictly phrased or enforced, fails these requirements. It destroys
>productive farmland, unique animal species, fisheries, AND COSTS MORE!
>
>Just one desalination plant can provide the water that the Qld Govt say
>they will take from the Mary.

??????

It will cost less, it will be 100%
>reliable, and it will pose no threat to the Lungfish, Mary River Turtle,
>or to the rare and endangered species of the Great Sandy Straits.
>This plant can be powered from renewable energy sources. WA currently
>has a desal plant powered by a wind farm.
>
>Otherwise Qld converts this beautiful productive working river into the
>mess that is the Murray.

>This alternative is unthinkable. Why would you do it when it is not even
>necessary?
>
>

For those in SEQld.  Rally to protest the proposed Traverston Crossing
Dam.  Fwd to your contacts.  Information from the attached flyer:

The Qld Labor Party is holding its State Convention at the Gold Coast
Convention Centre on June 21,22. Kevin "I'm here to help" Rudd will be
there.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

     * Brisbane and SEQ want (and are entitled to) the cheapest source of
       100% reliable water.
     * The politicians must provide it in a way that is environmentally
       and economically responsible.
     * There is an overwhelming body of evidence that, along with present
       storages, the demand for water can be met from non-rainfall
       dependent methods such as desalination using renewable energy
       sources, combined with water saving methods such as storm water
       harvesting, recycling of waste water, responsible water usage from
       household and industry, and installation of water saving devices.


A dam approved at Traveston Crossing, even with conditions, however
strictly phrased or enforced, fails these requirements. It destroys
productive farmland, unique animal species, fisheries, AND COSTS MORE!

Just one desalination plant can provide the water that the Qld Govt say
they will take from the Mary. It will cost less, it will be 100%
reliable, and it will pose no threat to the Lungfish, Mary River Turtle,
or to the rare and endangered species of the Great Sandy Straits.
This plant can be powered from renewable energy sources. WA currently
has a desal plant powered by a wind farm.

Otherwise Qld converts this beautiful productive working river into the
mess that is the Murray.
This alternative is unthinkable. Why would you do it when it is not even
necessary?


-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  Fwd: URGENT - RALLY INFO - SEND TO ALL NETWORKS NOW
Date:  Tue, 27 May 2008 11:25:29 +1000
From:  MARY RIVER <savethemaryriver@...>
To:  MARYRIVER <savethemaryriver@...>
References:  <785075.31887.qm@...>



Hello supporters of the beautiful Mary River wherever you are........



THE NEXT MONTH OR SO IS CRITICAL FOR THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE PROPOSED
TC DAM.



Attached is the first piece of information regarding a rally at the
State Labor Conference on June 21. Your contribution at this time is
crucial, because the Federal Government is about to assess the Qld Govt
Environmental Impact Statement EIS.



WE NEED EVERYONE TO HELP IN SOME WAY - HOWEVER SMALL - HERE'S SOME
IDEAS. (Contact numbers on the attached flyer).



     * Best of all attend our rally - by our bus or car pool with friends
     * Spread the word about the rally - by email, phone, post, get some
       flyers from us and letterbox 50 houses in your area. Get others to
       use the pyramid selling technique to help the campaign expand.
     * Write letters to newspapers and politicians - more details coming
       on this one.
     * Hand your copy of the newsletter around (out soon).
     * Send our postcards to your friends - let us know if you need them.
     * Man our stall for an hour or two (we will set it up and train you
       - it's easy!)
     * Ring talkback radio wih our message (see flyer) - more help coming
       on the basic points we need to get across.
     * Send us your slogans for the rally.



A BRIEF EMAIL TO LET US KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING WOULD BE GREAT -
jrporter@... <mailto:jrporter@...> or
  kent.hutton@... <mailto:kent.hutton@...>



John Porter, Lyndall Ensbey, Leanne Tompkins, Kent Hutton

Rally Organising Committee





--
www.savethemaryriver.com <http://www.savethemaryriver.com>
how to help:

Join the forum for up to date news.
tell as many people about the website as possible
If you would like to be removed from this mailing list please respond
with subject REMOVE. Thanks


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Submarines search for radioactive material dumped off the Scottish coast
in the 1980s
full story:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/25/pollution.conservation
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/25/pollution.conservatio\
n>

snips…(bolding mine)

Although the UKAEA kept no precise accounts for building and running
Dounreay, it is known to have cost several billion pounds.

“We built the first fast breeder reactor to generate electricity
for a national grid�.
For 40 years, test reactors â€" part of Britain’s fast
breeder reactor construction programme â€" operated there but the
technology turned out to be messy. Fast breeders use liquid metal
coolants and their contaminated remnants still await removal. “At
the time, engineers were only interested in building reactors. No one
thought how we might dismantle them,�

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), owners of Dounreay, was
eventually fined 140,000 pounds at Wick Sheriff Court last year for
‘very grave errors’ that led to the beach’s
contamination. The authority’s safety director, Dr John Crofts,
admitted the release represented “an unacceptable legacy.�

Two kilometres of beach outside the Dounreay nuclear plant have been
closed since 1983, and fishing banned, when it was found old fuel rod
fragments were being accidentally pumped into the sea.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Bob

Thank you so much for getting in touch with me, and sincere apologies for
the faulty link. Someone else alerted me to this last night, and so I've
re-sent my invitation to the group with the link fixed. Hopefully it will be
coming through the emails soon! In any case, this is the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=zU33zSv8O90j9xmzwNuS6w_3d_3d

Please do get in touch if you have any questions or want more info (also
happy to correspond through my work (UOW) address - which is given on the
front page of the survey - I just tend to use gmail for joining lists and
forums so as not to flood my work account).

Very best wishes, and thanks!

Andrew GM

On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 1:08 PM, Dr Bob Rich <bobrich@...>
wrote:

>   Sorry Andrew, link didn't work even with pasting. I only got the
> surveymonkey default page.
> :(
> Bob
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> Dr Bob Rich
> http://bobswriting.com
> http://anxietyanddepression-help.com
> http://mudsmith.net
> Commit random acts of kindness
> ---------------------------------------------------
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sorry Andrew, link didn't work even with pasting. I only got the
surveymonkey default page.
:(
Bob

--------------------------------------------------
Dr Bob Rich
http://bobswriting.com
http://anxietyanddepression-help.com
http://mudsmith.net
Commit random acts of kindness
---------------------------------------------------

Dear all,

I posted a message earlier today introducing myself and a research
project I am working on. I'm very sorry to post all over again, but
apparently the link to the online survey didn't come through properly
before (thanks to people for alerting me to this!). So here is my post
again (immediately below) , this time with the link fixed. Thanks for
your patience!

Andrew


Dear all,

I hope you're well! I'm new to this group, joining by invitation of
Peter Bright (big thank you!). My name is Andrew Gorman-Murray. I am a
geography researcher with both personal and professional interests in
the environment, human relations to and meanings of the environment,
and climate change issues and action.

I've just started a project on human-environment relations and the
cultural significance of snow and alpine environments in Australia in
light of climate change impacts. I'm interested in what these fragile
and already marginal environments *mean* to Australians from different
stripes (skiers, walkers, conservationists, wider public, etc) both in
the past and present, and in light of the CSIRO's dire predictions
about the retreat of snow in Australia due to warming and drying. I'm
currently running an online survey to gather data (while also
gathering archival data and seeking interested people for interviews).
Peter suggested that I might like to post a link to my survey here on
Climate Change Action. I already have 90 surveys completed, with a
range of really interesting perspectives given. I'm looking for views
from across Australia, from Queensland to Tasmania, Perth to Cabramurra!

I feel that I should warn you that the survey is fairly long for an
internet survey (ppl have told me 20-30 mins). This is because many of
the questions are open-ended rather than pick-a-box. I did this
because I sought people's thoughts, experiences, ideas ... where and
how they feel they connect with snow environments personally and *as
Australians*. I ask some questions in terms of activities and some in
terms of *identities* - i.e. how does snow fit into your personal
identity, and how does it into Australian identity?

If you're really not interested, that's cool (so to speak); if you get
half way and think it's taking too long, there's no obligation to keep
going. This is just an invitation, and I appreciate any and all help!
I hope the data can assist in making a difference. I think we have to
help using whatever skills we have - as a trained researcher, this is
something I can do, at least. I also think it's important to have a
record of personal testimonies about the meanings and importance of
diverse Australians environments. I think that meanings and memories
of the environment are as important as economic considerations (if not
more).

One more thing - I thought I'd explain the origins of this project. My
partner, a friend and I (partner and friend both secondary science
teachers) were reading and discussing the CSIRO report about the
impact of climate change on the Alps. We all felt sad about the
possible demise of snow/alpine country in Australia, but we also
wondered if it really mattered to Australians (given Australian
culture is often so much tied to the bush, beach, outback and desert)?
We thought that it could both matter and not, depending on how people
thought about the environment and ecosystem diversity ... and their
own values. (I do have my own view, but don't want to influence
responses!) And so I thought, well, why not ask people - why not
actually get some data! So without further ado, here is the link
(copy/paste into browser rather than click on it):

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=zU33zSv8O90j9xmzwNuS6w_3d_3d


Thanks heaps guys - remember no obligation! Please do contact me if
you want more info or have any other questions.

Sincerely, and with best wishes,

Andrew Gorman-Murray

PS. I'm a researcher in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
at the University of Wollongong.

Dear all,

I hope you're well! I'm new to this group, joining by invitation of
Peter Bright (big thank you!). My name is Andrew Gorman-Murray. I am a
geography researcher with both personal and professional interests in
the environment, human relations to and meanings of the environment,
and climate change issues and action.

I've just started a project on human-environment relations and the
cultural significance of snow and alpine environments in Australia in
light of climate change impacts. I'm interested in what these fragile
and already marginal environments *mean* to Australians from different
stripes (skiers, walkers, conservationists, wider public, etc) both in
the past and present, and in light of the CSIRO's dire predictions
about the retreat of snow in Australia due to warming and drying. I'm
currently running an online survey to gather data (while also
gathering archival data and seeking interested people for interviews).
Peter suggested that I might like to post a link to my survey here on
Climate Change Action. I already have 90 surveys completed, with a
range of really interesting perspectives given. I'm looking for views
from across Australia, from Queensland to Tasmania, Perth to Cabramurra!

I feel that I should warn you that the survey is fairly long for an
internet survey (ppl have told me 20-30 mins). This is because many of
the questions are open-ended rather than pick-a-box. I did this
because I sought people's thoughts, experiences, ideas ... where and
how they feel they connect with snow environments personally and *as
Australians*. I ask some questions in terms of activities and some in
terms of *identities* - i.e. how does snow fit into your personal
identity, and how does it into Australian identity?

If you're really not interested, that's cool (so to speak); if you get
half way and think it's taking too long, there's no obligation to keep
going. This is just an invitation, and I appreciate any and all help!
I hope the data can assist in making a difference. I think we have to
help using whatever skills we have - as a trained researcher, this is
something I can do, at least. I also think it's important to have a
record of personal testimonies about the meanings and importance of
diverse Australians environments. I think that meanings and memories
of the environment are as important as economic considerations (if not
more).

One more thing - I thought I'd explain the origins of this project. My
partner, a friend and I (partner and friend both secondary science
teachers) were reading and discussing the CSIRO report about the
impact of climate change on the Alps. We all felt sad about the
possible demise of snow/alpine country in Australia, but we also
wondered if it really mattered to Australians (given Australian
culture is often so much tied to the bush, beach, outback and desert)?
We thought that it could both matter and not, depending on how people
thought about the environment and ecosystem diversity ... and their
own values. (I do have my own view, but don't want to influence
responses!) And so I thought, well, why not ask people - why not
actually get some data! So without further ado, here is the link
(copy/paste into browser rather than click on it):

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=zU33...xmzwNuS6w_3d_3d

Thanks heaps guys - remember no obligation! Please do contact me if
you want more info or have any other questions.

Sincerely, and with best wishes,

Andrew Gorman-Murray

PS. I'm a researcher in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
at the University of Wollongong.

Dear friends,

This is a protest in brisbane against the Traverston Dam and apologies
to those on the lists that don't live in this region of South East QLD.
The dam will flood the Mary River, displace communities and destroy
local fauna and flora and has been shown to not really help the water
shortage in South East QLD.  Please join in if possible and/or pass on
to your contacts.

I never lived in QLD when Joe Bjelke-Petersen was in power, though the
way that the QLD State Government is pushing through development
proposals suggests to me what this time must have been like.  Just
yesterday I hear that they have approved the controversial Transapex
Airport Link & North-South Bypass Tunnel.  Transapex and the Traverston
dam are big brute force solutions to problems caused by over population
and over consumption.  Brute force ways won't solve the problems.  The
answer is efficiency and this is where money should be spent.

Cheers,

Brooke

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  Traveston Dam Protest Rally to Brisbane
Date:  Mon, 19 May 2008 19:18:29 +1000
From:  MARY RIVER <savethemaryriver@...>
To:  MARYRIVER <savethemaryriver@...>
References:  <453410.30787.qm@...>



Hi All,
Here is information about the Protest Rally being organised by Chris
Foley.  Please spread the word to all your networks to register interest
in participating.
Regards
Glenda




*Traveston Dam Protest Rally to Brisbane *

     *c*
     <mailto:Maryborough@...?subject=Register+My+Interest>*lick
     here to register
     <mailto:Maryborough@...?subject=Register+My+Interest>
     your interest in the car rally protest against the Traveston Dam!*

      Please leave your details

         *

           Name

         *

           Phone number

         *

           How many people are travelling

     *Chris Foley MP, State Member for Maryborough*, is organising a car
     rally from Maryborough to Brisbane on Friday 6 June 2008.

     The rally will depart from the Maryborough City Hall in Kent Street
     at 6am and plans are to arrive at Parliament House at 11am.

     Friday 6 June is the final sitting day in Parliament of Budget week
     and 11am will be halfway through Question time.
     We want as many people as possible to be involved to show the
     Government that we mean business.
     If enough interest is shown, we will organise a bus to transport
     those who cannot drive for a minimal cost per person.
     *Click on the link above to register your interest or call the
     Maryborough Electorate Office on 4122 2277.*

     **

     www.chrisfoley.com.au <http://www.chrisfoley.com.au/>



     *
     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
     *
     ** <http://www.savethemaryriver.com/>
        *Our Tiaro Community*

     Website www.ourtiaro.com <http://www.ourtiaro.com/>
     Email jokev@... <mailto:jokev@...>
     Mail P.O. Box 741 Maryborough Qld 4650
     Community email list
     Community photos
     Community web sites
     Community information
     We offer free ads for non profit community organisations through our
     website and email list

     Kevin & Josie

     This e-mail and any attachments are confidential.
     If you are not the intended recipient you should not copy, re-send
     or use any part of it without permission.
     If you have received this e-mail in error please notify us
     immediately at: jokev@... <mailto:jokev@...>
     It is the recipient's responsibility to ensure that this e-mail and
     any attachments are virus-free.

     jokev
     ***********************************
     www.ourtiaro.com/ <http://www.ourtiaro.com/>
     www.chrisfoley.com.au/ <http://www.chrisfoley.com.au/>
     www.tiaropromotions.com.au/ <http://www.tiaropromotions.com.au/>
     www.gracecommunitychurch.com.au
     <http://www.gracecommunitychurch.com.au/>
     ***********************************
     © 2003 to 2008  jokev  All Rights Reserved
     Community email list: To be automatically excluded from any further
     emails, reply to sender, with "REMOVE"( in the subject line)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 269.23.14/1425 - Release Date:
9/05/2008 12:38 PM



--
www.savethemaryriver.com <http://www.savethemaryriver.com>
how to help:

Join the forum for up to date news.
tell as many people about the website as possible
If you would like to be removed from this mailing list please respond
with subject REMOVE. Thanks


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Greens-Media]

Carbon storage liability issues will destroy 'clean coal' pipedream even
faster than technology failures

Hobart, Monday 19 May 2008  Australian Greens climate change
spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne, today called Martin Ferguson's
draft legislation for carbon storage a clear demonstration of the many
problems still bedevilling the proposed technology.

Senator Milne said, "This draft legislation perfectly demonstrates the
Pandora's box of liability issues facing carbon capture and storage that
can never be satisfactorily resolved.

"Aside from the tremendous remaining questions about whether the
technology will even work, the liability issue may ensure that so-called
'clean coal' projects never get off the ground. Coal corporations will
not commit to storing tens of millions of tonnes of CO2 unless they are
guaranteed that the governments will carry their liability in
perpetuity, and no one government can bind future governments to ensure
that will be the case.

"You would have thought that, after Ok Tedi and so many other examples
in recent years, no government would readily facilitate companies
walking away from their long-term pollution liabilities. But this draft
legislation, released deliberately on a Saturday to avoid scrutiny,
appears to do exactly that by passing perpetual liability for carbon
leakage into public hands if the Minister issues a site closing
certificate.

"It is wrong to transfer the risk of worse climate change from carbon
leakage onto taxpayers and future generations. Working families care
about the world their children inherit and the costs that are imposed
upon them.

"The minister and industry are on notice that future governments will
not bound by this one. A future minister might care about the atmosphere
more than the coal industry and simply refuse to sign closing
certificates, ensuring that corporations continue to carry the
liability.

"I fully expect the coal corporations to launch a huge lobbying effort
to amend the draft to require the minister to issue a closing
certificate once certain conditions have been met. That has, after all,
long been the tactic of the nuclear industry around the world.

"The liability issues clearly demonstrate the folly of further
developing an industry which generates an enormous and highly dangerous
waste stream. Rather than spending billions on working out how to store
the waste and billions more on perpetual monitoring, surely it would be
better not to generate the waste at all and move to truly clean
alternatives.

"A myriad of renewable energy technologies provide that alternative and
are ready to do the job now. Every dollar we spend on coal is a missed
opportunity which will further undermine Australia's competitive
advantage. Ministers Ferguson, Wong and Garrett are desperately trying
to perpetuate the coal age when the solar century has already started.

"Martin Ferguson revealed the government's true priorities, in saying
that making geosequestration work is vital to the long term
sustainability of the coal industry. The Government should fund
technologies that promote the long term sustainability of the planet,
not the coal industry."


Tim Hollo
Media and Communications Adviser
Senator Christine Milne
+61 (0)2 6277 3063
+61 (0) 437 587 562
www.christinemilne.org.au

Come join the discussion at http://greensblog.org

--
Another message from the Greens Media mailing list.

Too many messages? Don't unsubscribe - try switching to a daily digest.
You can unsubscribe or change your subscription settings here:
<http://lists.greens.org.au/cgi-bin/mailman/options/media>
Or send an email to <media-unsubscribe@...>

No single commercial product in the history of capitalism has had a
greater effect on the economy and politics than the automobile. No other
product has been such a lever to increase consumption and increase
markets in the developed world. It could be argued that the car, more
than any other product, was at the very heart of the 20th century’s
economic expansion. In US society, for over a century, the car has been
raised on a cultural pedestal worshipping individuality and defining big
business’ vision of freedom.

The car hastened the massive sprawl of suburbia and in itself shaped US
urban planning like no other product. Today, in the United States,
public transport plays a distant second fiddle to the car with nine out
of ten workers using their cars to travel to work. In people’s everyday
life, the car is now their second biggest household expense, next to
housing. The car has reached its zenith.

This brief socialist history of the automobile will attempt to give some
background and context to today’s car-dominated world. It will attempt
to explain how the automobile and the mad chase for profits has shaped
the world, and helped in turn lead humanity to its current fork, where
one road indisputably will lead to global destruction.

Full: http://links.org.au/node/423

Subscribe free to /Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal/ -
at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373

Environmental and Public Interest Groups Condemn Plans to Hand
Record-Breaking Subsidies to Nuclear Energy
Groups' leaders urge senators not to allow billions of dollars for
nuclear power in Lieberman-Warner climate change bill

http://www.commondreams.org/news2008/0515-15.htm

WASHINGTON, DC - May 15 - The leaders of six national environmental
and public interest groups warned today that the impending
Lieberman-Warner climate change bill could contain at least $544
billion in taxpayer subsidies for nuclear energy. This would represent
the biggest federal handout in history for the nuclear industry,
already the most heavily subsidized energy sector over the past 50 years.

The Lieberman-Warner bill is expected to be on the Senate floor in
early June. According to an analysis conducted by Friends of the
Earth, the bill contains close to half a trillion dollars that can be
accessed by the nuclear energy industry under a vaguely entitled
category for "zero and low carbon energy technologies." Nuclear is the
only energy industry that could fall under this category that does not
have a specific carve elsewhere; funding for renewable energy is
identified separately in the bill.

"Although the word `nuclear' has been carefully omitted from the bill,
it is clear that this is a covert attempt to bolster a failing nuclear
power industry in the name of addressing climate change," said Brent
Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth. "It's time to focus on
real global warming solutions like solar, wind and energy efficiency,
not to further fatten the moribund nuclear calf."

The environmental and public interest group leaders decried the bill's
record-breaking giveaway to nuclear power which would encourage new
construction of nuclear plants, the least-effective way of reducing
carbon emissions because of their long construction times and high costs.

"After 50 years of unresolved safety and waste disposal issues, it
perplexes many Americans why Congress would support massive subsidies
for the nuclear industry," said John Passacantando, Executive Director
of Greenpeace USA. "Nuclear power is a dirty and dangerous distraction
from real global warming solutions," said Passacantando. "When both
Wall Street and Warren Buffet think nuclear is a risky investment,
Congress should not waste American tax dollars to further subsidize
this 1950s technology."

Furthermore, the leaders stated that even while enriching the nuclear
industry, the bill does not adequately reduce greenhouse gas emissions
enough to avoid even the most catastrophic impacts of global warming,
as identified by the scientific community.

"It's significant that the authors of the bill tried to conceal the
nuclear funding under ambiguous language," said Joan Claybrook,
president of Public Citizen. "Why are they hiding it? Because they
know that the environmental movement in this country is serious about
addressing climate change and will not tolerate a reversion to
dangerous, dirty and expensive nuclear energy."

"Taxpayers should not be asked to continue bankrolling a nuclear power
industry that has never been financially or environmentally viable,
especially in times of tight budgets," said Sandra Schubert,
Environmental Working Group Director of Government Affairs. "Instead,
the federal government should do everything in its power to rapidly
pursue clean energy solutions like solar and wind."

[Greens-Media]

Canberra, Tuesday 13 May 2008  Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan have delivered
a Budget that does little more on climate change than those delivered by
John Howard and Peter Costello - and they weren't even pretending -
Australian Greens climate change spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne,
said tonight.

Senator Milne said, "Tonight's Budget is a slap in the face to all those
Australians who had hoped that electing a Rudd Government would lead to
strong, systemic change to build a carbon-free Australia, delivering
real emissions reductions fast. Instead, the tokenism and spin of the
Howard Government continue.

"With climate scientists warning that the Arctic Ice may disappear in
summer within the next few years, global warming is a planetary
emergency. And yet the Rudd Government is still spending 40 times more
on defence than on climate change.

"As expected, coal is a big winner, with unproven 'clean coal' securing
over $250 million over the next three years, while commercialising
proven large-scale renewable energy technologies gets nothing in the
coming year and only $125 million over 3 years.

"The most obvious evidence of a failure to rethink the Howard years is
on fossil fuel subsidies and energy efficiency.

"Whereas the Greens would have rolled out energy efficiency measures
such as solar hot water and insulation to 100% of Australia's 7.4
million homes in the next decade, Labor will loan the money to cover a
pitiful 3%.

"They couldn't even muster the courage to get rid of the Fringe Benefits
Tax Concession on motor vehicles or to remove the fuel rebates to the
trucks in coal mines, boosting the already massive profits of the coal
corporations.

"The 'Investing in the Future' funds, a laudable idea as far as they go,
are nevertheless a $40 billion missed opportunity to set aside some of
the windfall profits from coal exports to rebuild Australia for a
carbon-free future.

"A fine demonstration of the Government's utter confusion is the
decision to means test the rooftop solar rebate. What household earning
less than $100,000 a year will spend the money on installing rooftop
solar panels? This is confused and confusing policy.

"Rural Australia, already in despair because of the drought, has been
snubbed with a mere $32 million a year for adaptation to climate change.
Where is the long-term thinking?

"After tonight's failures, the Government cannot truly claim to have a
vision of an 'effective national... response to climate change, ...
including the necessary transformation of the Australian economy'. This
necessary transformation would see systemic change driven by a massive
investment, not the tokenism and spin we have seen tonight."


Tim Hollo
Media and Communications Adviser
Senator Christine Milne
+61 (0)2 6277 3063
+61 (0) 437 587 562
www.christinemilne.org.au

Come join the discussion at http://greensblog.org

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7400911.stm

http://www.petitiononline.com/Nelmezzo/petition.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/12/climatechange.carbonemissions

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached a
record high, according to new figures that renew fears that climate
change could begin to slide out of control.

Scientists at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii say that CO2 levels
in the atmosphere now stand at 387 parts per million (ppm), up almost
40% since the industrial revolution and the highest for at least the
last 650,000 years.

The figures, published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) on its website, also confirm that carbon
dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, is accumulating in the atmosphere
faster than expected. The annual mean growth rate for 2007 was 2.14ppm
– the fourth year in the past six to see an annual rise greater than
2ppm. From 1970 to 2000, the concentration rose by about 1.5ppm each
year, but since 2000 the annual rise has leapt to an average 2.1ppm.

Scientists say the shift could indicate that the Earth is losing its
natural ability to soak up billions of tons of carbon each year.
Climate models assume that about half our future emissions will be
re-absorbed by forests and oceans, but the new figures confirm this
may be too optimistic. If more of our carbon pollution stays in the
atmosphere, it means emissions will have to be cut by more than
currently projected to prevent dangerous levels of global warming.

Martin Parry, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change's working group on impacts, said: "Despite all the talk, the
situation is getting worse. Levels of greenhouse gases continue to
rise in the atmosphere and the rate of that rise is accelerating. We
are already seeing the impacts of climate change and the scale of
those impacts will also accelerate, until we decide to do something
about it."

Please tell everyone you know in Sydney...

Event InfoHost:
Still Wild Still Threatened

Type:
Causes - Rally

Time and Place
Start Time:
Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 8:00am
End Time:
Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 6:00pm

Location:
Peter Garretts Office - Park 200m from his office

Street:
Cnr Anzac Parade and Maroubra rd

City/Town:
Maroubra, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Please use this link if you wish to view the HTML version of this email in
your web
browser:
http://123campaign.com/link.php?ml=481fd6cb8419a&lk=481fc41934f9a&lf=2008_05

May 6th, 2008

Dear Anne,

Yesterday in Canberra, a team of Greenpeace supporters delivered a
giant perspex wind turbine encasing thousands of petitions to
Treasurer Wayne Swan. This is the petition that 30,000 of you signed
sending a very clear message to Kevin Rudd and Wayne Swan: if they
are serious about tackling climate change they will redirect massive
government handouts to fossil fuels into support for renewable energy
in next week's budget.

The story made radio and TV news so even though the Treasurer didn't
come out to accept your petition, the message will no doubt have
reached his office that Australians are waiting to see if he'll end
the practice of topping up fossil fuel industry profits with our
taxes.

Click here for a photo of the petition delivery:
http://123campaign.com/link.php?ml=481fd6cb8419a&lk=481fd6c9e489f&lf=2008_05

Our petition is even more timely, with the government set to announce
even more money for the coal industry to support their ‘carbon
capture and storage' (CCS) fantasy.

Greenpeace International have just published a report entitled "False
Hope",  highlighting the many reasons why carbon capture cannot
save the climate. Even if CCS ever becomes a mature technology, it
will, as the United Nations says, arrive on the battlefield far too
late to help the world avoid dangerous climate change. You can view
this very important report on our website:
http://123campaign.com/link.php?ml=481fd6cb8419a&lk=481fc4193670b&lf=2008_05

We've been overwhelmed by your enthusiasm for this campaign - be it
signing the petition, organising your local community group's
support, donating to our national radio advertising campaign or
speaking up in the media or to politicians.  Next week we'll know
whether the new government is listening to us or if it's more
Howard-style "pollution as usual" under Rudd. We know that you'll be
keen to know the outcome and will give you a wrap-up, after the
Budget has been announced.

Regardless, we've done our best to hold them to account.

Many thanks,

Julien Vincent
Climate campaigner
Greenpeace




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey. I thought you might find this interesting:

http://www.wecansolveit.org/content/action/

It's from the We Campaign (http://wecansolveit.org).

Take action now!



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Are livable cities just a dream? <http://links.org.au/node/390>

By *Dave Holmes*

When one sees a modern city from the air, especially at night, it is a
truly awe-inspiring spectacle. What always strikes me is the immensity
of the project, a testimony to the power and creativity of human beings.
However, on the ground and actually living and working in this wonder,
things are quite different and the social and ecological problems crowd
in and fill one's view. The truth is that our cities have always been
dominated by the rich and powerful and built and operated to serve their
needs --- not those of the mass of working people who live and toil in them.

Full article: http://links.org.au/node/390

Subscribe free to /Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal/ -
at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Dear friends at Climate Change Action,
First and foremost my apologies for several months of silence since
joining this important group, and Anne's subsequent much appreciated
welcome, reason being that my hard drive crashed and in my stress to
recover some 70,000 files collected in the past 10 or more of
research, I could think of little else!

That aside, and with most files now retrieved [be all in quite an
alarming disarray], I have a question, namely why am I reading about
the Australia's climate change victims in a British newspaper?

Surely if this does not stir our politicians to pull their fingers
out, what indeed might?

In solidarity and with best regards, Lynette
^^^^^^^^^^
Formatted version of "Sinking without trace: Australia's climate
change victims" with photograph, at:
http://www.global-sisterhood-network.org/content/view/2105/59/
^^^^^^^^^^
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/sinking-without-trace-au\
stralias-climate-change-victims-821136.html
The Independent ~~ London ~~ Monday May 5 2008
Sinking without trace: Australia's climate change victims

Like Kiribati and Tuvalu, the islands of the Torres Strait are slowly
being submerged. But unlike their Pacific neighbours, the plight of
their inhabitants is being overlooked.

By Kathy Marks
Photo: Masig Island, one of the low-lying islands of the Torres Strait

Ron and Maria Passi, who operate Murray Island's only taxi, were out
driving the night the king tide struck. Neighbours flagged them down,
asking for help, and so it was not until some time later that they saw
their own grandchildren standing in the road. "They were shouting
'Granddad, stop the car, the water is coming in the house'," says Ron.
"I just slammed on the brakes."

The couple's son, Sonny, was outside his fibro shack with his five
children, watching the monster surf, lashed by north-west winds, rise
ever higher. In the commotion, everyone had forgotten that Sedoi, the
baby, was still inside. They heard her crying and found her in her
cot, covered in sand. Water had surged in after a wave picked up a big
wooden pallet and flung it through the front wall.

No one on Murray had ever seen such a high tide before. Other islands
in the Torres Strait, which lies between the far north-eastern tip of
the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea, have witnessed similar
scenes in recent years. Houses, roads and graveyards have been
flooded, and the locals believe they know the reason: climate change.

The low-lying islands that dot the sparkling waters of this region are
facing similar challenges to South Pacific nations such as Kiribati
and Tuvalu. But while the plight of those countries is well known and
is regularly discussed in the international arena, few people outside
Australia have even heard of the Torres Strait. Even Australians would
have difficulty locating it on the map, and the remote islands –
accessible only by light plane – receive few visitors.

Donna Green is one exception. A scientist at the University of New
South Wales, English-born Dr Green is educating the islanders about
the possible impacts of climate change and ways in which they can
adapt. She embarked on the project after discovering that no one else
was doing it. In fact, although the Torres Strait is considered the
most vulnerable area of Australia, it is barely on the radar, either
as a subject of scientific research or a focus of government policy.

There is no action plan for the region, and the newly formed
Department of Climate Change was unable to cite any studies relating
to these northerly islands. A search for the words "Torres Strait" on
the department's website yields no results.

Until the end of the last Ice Age, the strait was a land bridge
connecting northern Australia with New Guinea. Some islands lie only a
few miles off the Papua New Guinea coast, and the locals have more in
common, ethnically, with the Melanesians of Papua New Guinea than the
Aborigines of the Australian mainland. But they consider themselves
proud Australians, and feel mildly aggrieved that it is not widely
known that Australia has not one, but two indigenous races.

Six of the inhabited Torres islands are low-lying coral cays or swampy
mud islands, with little or no elevation. As you fly over them, they
look like smudges of green in a shimmering expanse of blue. Others are
granite or volcanic, with some higher land. Even there, though, people
are accustomed to living by the beach, their days revolving around
fishing and collecting shells.

At dusk, walking along the water's edge on Murray Island, the scene is
idyllic. A local man is fishing for mackerel with his young son, as
shoals of sardines dart along in the shallows. Children play in the
sand, and reggae music drifts from one of the simple houses built
along the beachfront, in the shade of coconut palms and almond trees.

But, after generations of living by the sea, many locals no longer
feel comfortable. Maria Passi says: "At night I can't sleep if the
tide is high." Her house was flooded by the king tide as well as her
son's. "There was water everywhere, and rubbish floating around, and
coconuts under the bed," says her husband Ron, as his wife adds: "When
I saw how it looked, I just sat down and cried."

Abnormally high tides are not the only phenomenon that the islanders
have observed. The seasons are shifting, and the land is eroding.
Birds' migration patterns have altered, and the turtles and dugongs
(sea cow) that are traditionally hunted for meat have grown scarce.
People are no longer certain when to plant their crops: cassava, yams,
sugarcane, bananas, sweet potato.

Murray, home to about 400 people, is the birthplace of indigenous land
rights. It was five Murray Islanders, led by Eddie Mabo, who brought a
legal action contesting the idea that Australia was uninhabited and
belonged to no one when the British arrived. After a landmark High
Court decision in 1992, Aborigines and Torres Strait islanders
regained ownership of their traditional lands. But now the land for
which Mr Mabo fought so long and hard is being swallowed by the sea.

Dr Green has organised workshops on the islands, offering information
and practical advice. She has also held meetings with community elders
in order to record their observations of weather patterns and
environmental changes, in a project that blends traditional knowledge
with Western science.

"There are very few formal records for this area, but the people who
have lived here for generations have got these amazing banks of
knowledge in their heads," Dr Green says. "If we can understand the
past, through people's memories of extreme weather events, for
instance, we can make projections for the future and work out what
kind of action needs to be taken.

"Some of the people I've spoken to have already passed away. So that
knowledge of theirs, which is like a library, is already being lost
and it's irreplaceable."

Ron Day, a Murray Island elder and community leader, says he has
witnessed disturbing changes. "We see the big trees near the beach,
like the wongai trees, falling down. The seagrass that the dugongs
eat, you used to find long patches of it, but not any more. The corals
are dying, and the sand is getting swept away and exposing the rock.

"We were taught by our grandfathers and fathers to read the sky and
forecast the weather. You see this cloud, you go to your garden and
start planting. You see that cloud, it's time to clear your land. But
nowadays the weather is unpredictable."

Others report that the rainy season is rainier, the dry season drier.
And the marine life is behaving oddly. Julie Zaro, administration
officer at the school on Murray, says: "Normally, at this time of
year, you just throw out a line and get a mullet. But I sat there all
weekend and didn't see one fish. When it's turtle time [the mating
season], you usually see hundreds of them up on the beach, laying
their eggs. But this year I saw only five or six."

The people of this area – already socially and economically
marginalised – face an uncertain future. Yet they barely figure in the
Australian climate change debate, which has largely focused on the
prolonged drought and its impact on farmers. About 7,000 people live
on the islands, 18 of which are inhabited. Some want an evacuation and
relocation plan; others are determined to stay put. They have a
visceral connection with their land, and fear that their identity and
culture will be extinguished if they are dispersed.

In the absence of any significant outside assistance, individuals are
taking the initiative. On Murray, some locals have built makeshift
fortifications against the waves, using fallen tree trunks, beach
debris, rubber tyres and concrete blocks.

Mr Day is encouraging the islanders to move to higher ground. "We're
sea people, and the sea is in our blood," he says. "But living on a
small island surrounded by ocean, it's very dangerous. We have to face
facts: the water is rising."

One of his fellow islanders, Sarie Tabo, is considering relocating.
"But it would be very hard for me, because I fish every morning and
every afternoon," he says. "I wake up and I go to sleep with the sound
of the waves. Up on the hill, it would be a whole different way of life."

At least he has that option. On islands such as Saibai, there is no
high land to move to. The islanders are squeezed on to a narrow strip
of ground, between the encroaching ocean and the encroaching swamp.
They have raised their houses, and sandbagged their families' burial
plots. The sea wall gets washed away during floods.

Father Ezra Waigana, priest of St Matthias Church on Saibai, says: "We
were told there's an iceberg melting and the level of the sea is going
up. We don't know how we will survive. Our island is only flat, and
the water seems to be taking all the land."

There was an exodus from Saibai after a major flood in 1948 but elders
of Mr Waigana's clan decided to stay on, in the place where their
ancestors are buried. Their descendants feel it would be disrespectful
to move – and some people cite God's promise to Noah never again to
flood the Earth.

Politicians from Canberra and Queensland occasionally fly into the
islands and fly out. The locals call them seagulls. Asked whether the
government is doing enough to help, Mr Day replies: "Most of the time
they play deaf." The islanders, he says, "need to make ourselves known
to people in the global village".

Dr Green says: "It's been said to me by some islanders that they're
very happy that the Australian government is investing in the Pacific,
to help their brothers and sisters deal with the impact of climate
change. But they wonder why the government is not more strongly
investing in similar communities in Australia, and they feel a bit overlooked.

"This is an area with few resources, and limited capacity to adapt,
and it does seem a little forgotten at the moment. But these problems
are not in Australia's backyard. They are right in the front room."

By *Terry Townsend*

/A talk to the Climate Change Social Change Conference held in Sydney
from April 11 to 13, organised by /Green Left Weekly
<http://www.greenleft.org.au>/. For more articles, audio and video from
the conference, click here. <http://links.org.au/taxonomy/term/138>
/

April 13, 2008 -- I’m sure everybody here is aware of the basic facts of
global warming and the likely consequences if rapid and serious action
is not taken. There is virtually unanimous agreement among scientists
and activists, and increasingly among millions of ordinary people, about
the degree of the problem and the time frame we have to make fundamental
changes to address it.

The main “solutions” being offered by the capitalist class, its
politicians and the corporate-dominated mass media — and endorsed by
some key peak environmental organisations — are consciously designed to
shift the responsibility for, and the major costs of, addressing global
warming away from the most polluting corporations and to preserve the
basic structure and mechanisms of Western capitalist economies. They are
also designed to delay the necessary political, economic and social
changes for as long as possible, and to keep them to the minimum that
are compatible (in their assessment) with both the survival of
capitalist society and ameliorating the worst of climate change.

This is why major-party politicians and the corporate media — and again
unfortunately some peak environment groups – do not place serious
demands on big business, but endorse — even celebrate — big business’
preferred measures of emissions trading, “green” taxes, carbon
offsetting projects in the Third World and capitalism-friendly publicly
subsidised techno-fixes such as so-called clean coal and agro-fuels.

These false “solutions” are not only inadequate, they are
counterproductive. However, since other speakers and workshops will be
focusing on those, I’ll concentrate on another of the establishment’s
favoured — and ultimately also counterproductive — “solution” — one that
is intertwined with the others. The push for all individuals to
voluntarily consume a little less, and “buy green” whenever they can.
That the answer to global warming is for all of “us” — consumers,
workers, residents, pensioners — to voluntarily change our wasteful
behaviour.

Full article at: http://links.org.au/node/386

Subscribe free to /Links - International Journal of Socialist Renewal/ -
at http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=343373

One day a year is not enough, let's start a movement..


Every month on the first of the month starting tonight!
******

Our household's power will be turned off between 8-9 pm tonight...
that’s just 3 hours from now.

My son and a few friends of ours will meet under the coconut palms
outside the surf life saving club at Picnic Bay.
Where we will share an hour of peace together.
Everyone is invited, hope to see you there.

We want to grow the movement and follow my home town, Sydney's lead,
of just over one year ago.

I hope my thoughts will allow me to visit my birthplace, Bronte.
where I could sit comfortably on my favourite rock..

Imagine Bronte in the darkness.
as it has never been in my lifetime of 48 years.

I will imagine all of Magnetic Island in total darkness...
and all of Townsville in darkness across the bay...
and the jetty in darkness.

and dream that the all the people of our planet see…
that peace is possible

Anne Goddard