Friday June 17th News
Posted on 17 June 2011 by e-news
the media scrum around the 100% team and MPCCC members on presentation of the report
MASG news
Download a text version here (37 Kb) fri june 17 2011
CoG meeting- Committee of Management + staff and working groups
Last Thursday of the month: 30 June between 12 and 2 @ the Old Forge meeting rooms opposite She Shells Seafood in Barker St. This is the main action and discussion forum for MASG. All members and interested people are welcome.
Social network presence
MASG is 21st century and is looking at getting more active in the social media space. If you are interested in having MASG more Facebooked, tweeted or otherwise networked contact ian.lillington@internode.on.net
Report on 14,000 conversations about renewable energy handed over in Canberra
Lindsay Soutar (national campaign coordinator) Adam Bandt (Greens MP), Rob Oakeshott (Independent MP) and Tony Driftwood (100% campaigner from Lismore NSW)
Dean Bridgfoot reports: “What a whirlwind 24 hours! I was a MASG representative on this national campaign for renewable energy and joined 7 other people from sustainability groups across Australia to present the “100% Renewable” national survey results to Rob Oakeshott and the Greens in front of solar panels and forest of TV cameras.
This report follows months of door knocking and conversations with residents by over 800 volunteers from over 70 local 100% renewable groups in every state and territory. The results showed that 91 per cent want the government to implement strong policies to support new jobs and investment in renewable energy and that 86 per cent want Australia to develop a plan to be 100% powered by renewable energy.
The full report of the 14,000 conversations is available here
Also if you missed it get a rundown on the 14,000 conversations and the political situation from Dean’s ABC Victoria radio interview on Thursday16th 10am here (6Mb) dean bridgfoot abc victoria 16 june 2011. (some interesting questions baseload power and Tony Abbott !)
100% National team inside parliament house
More Photos on the 100% Facebook site .
Solar Panels ready to go inside...pity they're not on the roof !
Events and news from other groups
Food for thought
The Food Forest Movie- Sunday June 26th, 4.30pm @ Continuing Ed building Templeton St. Movie and shared meal $5. See www.cch.org.au/growing.shtml A movie about an amazing people and thier lives based on organic farming and permaculture principles from around the world.
Wind power risks and opportunities for Macedon Ranges.
Wind power is particularly abundant in the Macedon Ranges region, and nearby Hepburn Wind have just completed their community-owned windfarm at Leonard’s Hill. You are invited to a public meeting on 23rd June, 7pm, at the Holy Cross primary school, 158 Hamilton Rd, New Gisborne (just near the train station). Panel of speakers and discussion:
• Barry Mann, from (WISE) who are developing a community-owned wind park
• A speaker on micro-scale wind power (TBC)
• Tobias Geiger, Managing Director of wind farm developer WestWind Energy
• Merryn Redenbach, from Doctors for the Environment Australia, on the health impacts of our energy sources
• Michael Power, from the Environment Defenders’ Office, on planning law and wind farms
More info at http://yes2renewables.org/take-action/wind-supporters/
Free – all welcome. For further information, contact Ben Courtice: ben.courtice@foe.org.au
Climate change other news
More Prominent Australians want a price on pollution
Dame Elizabeth Murdoch and son....pity she couldn't have a quiet word to him about what his papers and TV are up to !
A second group of prominent Australians has published an open letter calling for a price on carbon to help deal with climate change. The letter is signed by four former Australians of the year – including Professor Fiona Stanley, Ian Kiernan, Professor Pat McGorry and Sir Gustav Nossal. It is also signed by Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, the philanthopist and mother of News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch. Professor David de Kretser, recently governor of Victoria, organised the letter and says he hopes it leads to climate change action . Read more on prominant Australian’s support letter in the AGE.
Pension payment boost
The Federal Government will permanently boost payments to Australia’s 3.4 million pensioners, including up-front cash compensation to help them cope with the proposed carbon tax. It plans to boost the pension by 2.5 per cent, worth about $500 a year to single pensioners and $760 for couples. See the Age story on Pensioners and carbon price here.
Why Australia is vulnerable to both climate change and climate sceptics
The UK paper The Guardian writes that:
The ‘lucky country’ may feel the impacts of global warming particularly harshly, but the world’s biggest coal exporter remains a haven for sceptics.
Newcastle NSW is the largest coal port in the world
It is less well known that Australia is also a coal “superpower,” being the world’s largest exporter of this dirtiest of all fossil fuels.
This tension between vulnerability and commercial stakes has created fault lines throughout Australian society and polity. Although the federal government is currently seeking to introduce a modest carbon price (around $20 per ton, or roughly five times lower than the current price in Sweden), other branches of government just proposed a $6bn coal port expansion. See the Australian’s coal expansion story.
Although Australia is blessed with an abundance of sunshine, the share of renewables in power generation has declined from 19% in 1960 to 7% in 2008 and Australia now emits more CO2 to generate a unit of power than all but three other countries; only Botswana, Cambodia, and India emit more. Australia emits 20 times more than Sweden and 128 times more than Norway to generate the same amount of power.
Read the full Guardian story on Australia’s situation here.
‘Impressive and remarkable’ – judge rules in favour of coal protesters
49 coal protesters facing East Maitland Court today were discharged with a Section 10, meaning they have no conviction recorded, no criminal record and their fines dropped.
After reading the references and bios of the protestors, the judge noted those appealing the conviction all demonstrated community spirit and a commitment to social justice and environment. He found them to be “impressive and remarkable individuals”.
Impressive protesters according to the Judge
The judge stated the protesters do not pose a threat to the community, and instead are of good character, representing community concerns around coal and climate change.
Charges were laid on 5 December last year, when 130 people walked onto and occupied the coal train line transporting coal to Bayswater Power Station in the Hunter Valley – Australia’s
QUOTE of the Week
“Taking action on climate change is essential to ensure that we have an environment and a planet which actually is there for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.”
David de Kretser, ex-governor of Victoria
commenting on why he publically supports putting a price on pollution
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