The Cubans are here!
Posted on 19 March 2015 by e-news
Switch on to our e-news! Switch off fossil power.
The next e-news will be published on Thursday, April 2, just before Easter, so get your contributions in to us then, by 11am.
This e-news is a bumper edition! And, if you live in Castlemaine no doubt you’ll be in the middle of celebrating the State Festival. Hence, our title, and the, well, downright Cuban theme to some of our images.
We are looking for new staff at MASG because some of us are leaving, so check out our ads below and consider them – maybe you’re the person we need!
And, if you get in before the end of March to renew your membership, we have some great giveaways. Not a trip to Cuba, but close to! Draftstoppas, to make your house downright tropical, and more.
Positions vacant at MASG
Do you have what it takes to work at MASG? Enthusiasm for environmental issues, working with a community group? Do you want to see real change in the world, starting with local change?
We have three part-time positions that may be right for you.
You may have skills to suit more than one of these positions and should make it clear what you are applying for. We have funding for different periods for each but are working on further funding to extend each position. So there’s a strong future here.
You will be working alongside volunteers and will sometimes need to contribute time over and above your paid hours. You need to be motivated by and committed to the aims of a sustainable community.
Apply for a Position Description for each by contacting the MASG office on 5470 6978 or by emailing Mick Lewin. Closing date for all positions is April 10, 2015.
Wash Against Waste Trailer Coordinator
The WAWT Coordinator will manage the marketing and booking of the WAWT, which is offered to public events. It is currently hired out to 25-30 events per year and we hope to increase it to 40 or more. We have a number of trained operators and volunteers but that needs to be increased as well.
Currently we have funding for three months at half a day a week. We plan to seek funding to extend this period.
Officer Manager/Projects Coordinator
The Officer Manager / Project Coordinator Is a key role in the MASG. The position requires a person who can:
• Offer guidance to the MASG Committee of Management (COM) on governance matters
• Use excellent communications skills in dealing with members, volunteers, Committee of Management and the community
• Undertake office administration using skills that include familiarity with office software tools, the internet and social media
• And lots more!
This position has funding for one day a week and we will offer a six-month contract. We understand that the position can require more time than this if it is to be done to its optimum and further funding will be sought to expand it.
Communications Officer
The Communications Officer works with the MASG staff and with the project Working Groups to develop and maintain relationships in the community, with stakeholders and supporters. The CO will support MASG projects and specifically support the Community Renewables projects, presenting their activities to the community.
The Communications officer acts as a focus for the collection of stories supporting our goals and will ensure they are made available to the public and membership through the media and through the MASG e-News newsletter, the web and social media. This position is currently funded for six months at one day a week.
A trip to Cuba? Not if you sign up to renew your membership now, but other great prizes await.
Mad March Hare Special on Memberships!
It has to be said that Hares in Castlemaine do not box the ears of other hares, jump vertically in the air for no reason, or display any peculiarities of their breeding season … that’s March for hares in the northern hemisphere. Locavore hares might be found supping on blackberries, putting on their fetching grey winter coats, or getting their burrows just right.
And they would certainly approve of MASG’s autumnal special on membership.
For March ONLY – join or renew with MASG and receive a gift of your choice from our fantastic range of energy saving devices – from EcoSwitches to Draftstoppas and energy monitors.
Membership valid until July 2015.
Drop into MASG at 325 Barker St to renew, 10am-4pm Tuesday to Friday. Or join online and then come in to pick up your gift.
MASG Members’ Forum
We’re looking forward to seeing you at our Members Forum on Thursday, 26 March at 7.30pm, at the Castlemaine Uniting Church Hall.
What would you like to see MASG doing in 2015? What are the exciting projects we are working on now? How can you be involved? Bioenergy, solar, wind?
Come along to our Members’ Forum and find out what MASG’s possibilities are for 2015.
Mt Alexander Business Awards
Businesses and organisations that are ‘sustainability superstars’ have until Monday, 30 March for the opportunity for their achievements to be publicly recognised through the Mount Alexander Business Awards – Sustainability and Environment category.
This category is for organisations which have successfully integrated sustainable principles and practices into their operational activities to reduce their environmental footprint. The Sustainability and Environment Award is sponsored by Maldon & District Community Bank® Branch. For more information and to enter, visit www.mountalexanderbusinessawards.com.au
Oak tree seedlings
For a gold coin donation – there is a small number of ‘free*’ oak tree seedlings next to the mail box at 23 Andrew St Castlemaine.
Either put the donation at the MASG office or in the mail box.
Free to good home – please plant into the ground and water during summer to ensure your seedling grows into a big ‘carbon-sink’ tree.
* All donations to MASG go towards projects such as paying for light and battery recycling, running our office, maintaining our projects and, one day, paying all staff to holiday in Cuba.
Is irradiated tuna from North Pacific being sold in Australia?
Fears are growing that Coles, Woolworths and other Australian supermarkets are selling tuna from the irradiated North Pacific Ocean at lowest prices without passing through nuclear radiation testing.
Solar, wind power aid unprecedented halt in global emissions
The International Energy Agency has hailed a “surprising” and “unprecedented” halt in the rise of global carbon dioxide emissions – an event it directly credits to the growth in solar and wind power, increased hydro, and the decline in coal-fired generation.
The IEA says global CO2 emissions stood at 32.3 billion tonnes in 2014, unchanged from the preceding year, despite a 3 per cent increase in global economic growth. It says this is the first time in 40 years in which there was a halt or reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases that was not tied to an economic downturn such as the global financial crisis.
Ringbarking the Tree of Life
A thoughtful piece by George Monbiot, comparing the destruction of cultural antiquities by ISIS to the everyday destruction of the earth’s natural treasures.
Slacktivism – climate action with your (Cuban tree rat) mouse
Guess which ten companies are Australia’s biggest polluters?
Here’s a hint: they’re a handful of giants who got super rich digging up or burning oil, gas and coal.
These companies are polluting our air, our water, our ecosystems and our communities. There’s only a handful of them and they’re trying to make a quick buck while they still can. And even worse – some are lobbying against cutting pollution.
They admit global warming is a problem, but they really want to keep things as they are. They’re holding our communities back from transitioning to clean energy. They have a lot to lose.
But so do we.
Australia’s top 10 climate polluters report was launched on Lateline recently. It is all over the media. It was the most popular story on ABC News Online. It’s in the Guardian, the The Australian, ABC Radio National, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, Brisbane Times, WA Today, Daily Mail, the New Daily Mail and more.
Everyone should know about this. Will you spread the word?
Social media can reach well over a million people this week. That’s one million people who can judge whether the behaviour of the big polluters – and the politicians who do their bidding – is still socially acceptable.
Will you name the 10 biggest polluters on Facebook?
Last word 1
Collectively, through our intolerance of difference and lack of respect for beauty, we are waging war on the wonders of our small planet. Needlessly, mindlessly, we are ringbarking the Tree of Life.
~ George Monbiot
Last word 2
I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy, it is gross, it is alienating… because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition.
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