Solar and wind are on the way, and so’s the end of the world
Posted on 28 November 2012 by e-news
Please send your contributions for the next e-news to e-news@masg.org.au by 11am on Wednesday, 12 December.
You’ll find lots to read in this issue.
The end of the world’s going to rock …
It’s the end of the world as we know it Cabaret! This Saturday! Don’t miss it! Only three days left till the end of the world! Get out your best dress, polish your dancing shoes and turn up from 7.30 for a night of MASG mayhem. Buy your tickets this week at the MASG office or at the door on Saturday.
Solar and wind could offer ‘cheaper power than coal’
According to the Climate Commission solar and wind could be cheaper than coal by 2030.
Chief Commissioner Professor Tim Flannery said rooftop solar panels may already be cheaper than conventional electricity in areas with high power prices, such as south-west Western Australia, and some regional areas.
Solar generates about 0.3 per cent of the nation’s electricity and he said the industry was set to boom as costs fell and markets expanded in places like India and sub-Saharan Africa.
Celebrate International Volunteer Day in Mount Alexander Shire
Next Wednesday, 5 December Mt Alexander will celebrate and give thanks for the work volunteers and community groups do.
There will be a Volunteer Expo at the Castlemaine Market Building on Wednesday and an official launch will be followed by a celebration morning tea at 11am. Cocktail hour is from 5.30pm with complimentary drinks, canapés and live music.
A Volunteer Thank You dinner will be held at the Castlemaine Town Hall from 7pm on Wednesday 5 December. Bookings required by this Monday, 3 December by email to mavn@cch.org.au or telephone 0425 323 005.
Carbon tax trumps Abbott
The bete noire of Australian politics–the carbon tax–has come in from the cold.
The latest poll by Essential Research has found that for the first time in a long time, more people support the carbon tax (46 per cent) than oppose it (44 per cent). It’s the first time since at least September 2011 that the carbon tax has more fans than critics.
The carbon tax is now significantly more popular than its chief detractor, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. Support for Abbott is at -31 per cent (voter satisfaction compared to dissatisfaction, in a 26 November Newspoll published in The Australian).
Combustion engine? That’s so 2011!
For the first time ever, Motor Trend magazine in the US has voted unanimously for a winner of Car of the Year. Even more significantly, the winner has no internal combustion engine. It’s Elon Musk’s electric vehicle, the Tesla.
What is biodiversity and why does it matter?
All of us need to breathe, drink and eat. These benefits are fundamentally provided by biodiversity. Biodiversity collectively describes the vast array of approximately nine million unique living organisms (including Homo sapiens) that inhabit the earth, together with the interactions among them.
Biodiversity includes every species of bacteria, virus, plant, fungi, and animal, as well as the diversity of genetic material within each species. Find out why we can’t get by without it, why biodiversity is in decline, and what we can do about it.
Methane leaking from coal seam gas field, testing shows
Vast amounts of methane appear to be leaking undetected from Australia’s biggest coal seam gas field, according to world-first research, undercutting claims by the gas industry.
Testing inside the Tara gas field, near Condamine on Queensland’s Western Downs, found some greenhouse gas levels over three times higher than nearby districts, according to the study by researchers at Southern Cross University.
Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide
Produced by Society (AMCS) is available online at www.sustainableseafood.org.au, or you can download the free app to your iPhone. The guide is also available from most local libraries. And you can request a free mini guide for your wallet from www.amcs.org.au
For more information on sustainable seafood, ocean health and what you can do, visit www.amcs.org.au
Giving to MASG
We need your help to keep our work going. You can help in many different ways:
- You can renew your membership
- You can volunteer your time and expertise, on projects or specific tasks …. for a couple of hours (or more) a week
- You can make an additional single donation to MASG generally, or for a specific project such as Community Wind
- You can commit to giving a regular amount to MASG or to the Wind project. Find out how here.
The Australian Tax Office has given MASG Donor Gift Recipient (DGR) status, so cash donations over $2 are tax deductible.
Pay for membership and give a donation:
Or
Drop in a cheque, card or money to our office, upstairs at 203-205 Barker Street, Castlemaine, opposite the Post Office. We are open Tuesdays to Thursday from 9.30am to 3.30pm.
Or
Send us a cheque with the downloaded membership form to MASG, PO Box 1043, Castlemaine, 3450;
You can safely donate online using the ‘Ourcommunity’ facility.
With your help, we can have even more success than we’ve had so far. We can make a bigger difference locally. We can set an example for the rest of the world.
Final word
“Nature shrinks as capital grows. The growth of the market cannot solve the very crisis it creates.”
Vandana Shiva, Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis
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