Ryde Gladesville Climate Change Action Group

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Welcome to new supporters and thanks to those who came by our stall at the Moocooboola Festival and said hello or participated in our message to Kevin Rudd to respond urgently to climate change. Check out our banner and message and those of other groups across Australia.  http://turnthetidekevin.blogspot.com/    

Al Gore: His challenge to the USA

The USA can and should to shift to 100% renewables for electricity production in the next 10 years. This case was put by Al Gore in a major speech on 17 July.  

“There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes…” http://wecansolveit.org/content/pages/304/    

Climate Code Red

The necessary response to the rapid changes to our climate is to view the situation as an emergency. This is the case made by David Spratt and Phillip Sutton in their new book ”Climate Code Red: The case for emergency action” . They argue that we need to stop thinking about what is reasonable and respond to the situation with measures that can return us to a safe climate.  

A summary was published in The Age on 8 August. Middle of the road … towards a cliff  

Afternoon with Local Government Election Candidates

A forum is being held by the Ryde – Hunters Hill Flora and Fauna Preservation Society to find out the views of Council election candidates on climate change - especially the impact on threatened species. 

Date: Saturday 23rd August
Time: 2:00 – 4:00pm
Place: Environmental Education Centre, Field of Mars Reserve
(enter at car park off Pittwater Road, Gladesville)  

Meeting with John Watkins, Member for Ryde

Ryde Gladesville Climate Change Action Group are meeting with our local state member in the next 2 weeks to ask him how current state policy is going to impact on emissions reductions. Watch this space.

Dear Supporters

Welcome to our second Newsletter of 2008

GARNAUT REPORT

As we go to press the dust is yet to settle following Ross Garnaut’s Interim Report to the Federal Government on Climate Change.

Things are hotting up not only for our planet but in the political arena too on this important issue. Professor Garnaut himself acknowledges this “diabolical problem” needs bipartisan support but the very real danger is that it will be turned into a gigantic political football. The Federal Government will be under incredible pressure from business and special interest groups all pursuing their own agendas. The Coalition, anxious to get back on side with the electorate, is obviously determined to make political mileage where it can by championing the battlers, as it has done on its leader’s stand on the petrol price debate. Though his plan to cut the excise by 5c, saving the average family, as some economists have suggested, $2.50 per week, assumes petrol  retailers would pass on the entire cut and not merely increase prices by a further 5c. When you have daily fluctuations in the petrol price of up to 20c who would be able to tell? Maybe we do need the Government’s proposed Petrol Price Watch Scheme.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO

Most Australians don’t have time to read Professor Garnaut’s shocking 600 page climate report, so GetUp have created a quick clip that summarises it fast – what it means for Australia and what it means for you.

Garnaut is already under fire from a “scare campaign” being waged by the polluting industries’ lobby groups and the Opposition. Get up have pointed out that over the next fortnight the government will formulate its response to Garnaut in the form of a Green Paper. They suggest that we help shape that debate by writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper and to write to your local Member of Parliament.

 www.getup.org.au/campaign/ClimateActionNow

Send an email now to our new federal Member for Bennelong Maxine McKew and let her know you are concerned about the slow response to climate change and would like to see the Garnaut Report implemented in full immediately.

Maxine.McKew.MP@aph.gov.au

RUDD GOVERNMENT FAILS ITS FIRST REAL TEST?

The Federal Budget has been and gone and as far as climate change is concerned it hardly rated a mention and was a big disappointment. For a critical appraisal one needs to look no further than Professor Tim Flannery’s budget response, go to

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/green-in-your-dreams-20080604-2lu1.html

Perhaps one area where more support was expected was for solar power but in a hard to understand and very short sighted decision the Government’s means testing of the solar power rebate has drawn much flack from many quarters. If you feel angry at this incredible decision you too can vent your spleen by signing the petition organised by Channel 7’s sunrise programme. Log on to http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/sunrise/  the link is usually in the top left of the page. You then can follow the prompts and sign the petition. If you can get 10 people to sign up and each of those 10 to get another 10 and so on we can get this dumb decision overturned.

This latest petition follows 7 Sunrise’s 2006 campaign that had 170,000 petitioning for the Solar Rebate to be retained when the Howard Government threatened to scrap it. When I signed up it was already over 34,000. 

CONFUSED ABOUT THE ETHANOL AND FUEL vs FOOD DEBATE?

Ethanol is an alternative fuel made from renewable resources usually agricultural grains or sugar but also other woody products.  The NSW government has flagged the possibility of legislating for all petrol to contain 10% ethanol, known as E10. 

As a fuel, ethanol and other biofuels produce less greenhouse gas than petrol. But producing it requires fossil fuels to grow the crop, harvest and transport it. E10 can be used by most cars produced after 1986. (For a full list see www.fcai.com.au/ethanol)

Bio fuels have been blamed for recent global rises in food prices. Realistically there are many more factors leading to low stocks and high prices including increased demand for food, drought and increasing oil prices, which increase the cost of fertilisers, pesticides, and cultivation costs.

In Australia, our biodiesel and ethanol are made from waste and co-products of food production, not from food itself and the current levels of biofuel production don’t offer competition for food prices.  The good news is that non-food sources are being successfully trialled. These include eucalypt trees and grasses, garden clippings, waste products such as corn cobs and algae  (summary from article by Jennie Curtin, Sydney Morning Herald April 2008).   Clearly though some environment groups are concerned about the view that we can simply quench our petrol thirst with bio fuels, with Friends of the Earth campaigning for a moratorium on biofuel targets and incentives.

ENERGY SAVING TIP

Turn off heating appliances 15 minutes or so before leaving the room or bathroom rather than when you leave. In this time the room, if properly draft proofed, should remain warm.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

“…………..the oft stated goal to keep global warming less than 2 degrees Celsius is a recipe for global disaster, not salvation.”

- James Hansen (climate Scientist)

To listen to Jim visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auTEWanRTfM  Unfortunately this video is no longer available but if you go into this link on the right hand side of the page click on to the related video – Not Facing up to Climate Change Crisis a Crime.

EVENTS COMING UP

Peak Oil and Climate Change - how will these two mammoth issues interact? If you want to find out then set aside Monday evening 7.00pm (for 7.30pm start) 21^st July 2008 at Ku-ring-gai Centre for Seniors, 259 Pacific Highway Lindfield and listen to a presentation from Peter Driscoll and Andrew Harvey from Transition Australia hosted by Permaculture North. For more info ring 1300 887 145 or visit www.permaculturenorth.org.au.

Hello Dear Supporters

We are now back on deck after an extended leave following the momentous conclusion to last year’s Federal Election. A very belated Thank You for your support in the months leading up to the Election as well as a belated Happy New Year wish for 2008.

Late February our Core Committee decided that our work was not finished as the new Labor Federal Government’s Climate Change policies, though marginally superior to the Coalition’s, still left a lot to be desired. This concern was borne out by the lukewarm response of the new Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, to the initial findings of Ross Garnaut, who Labor themselves appointed last year to report back to them on what targets Australia needed to set to avoid dangerous climate change.

What is encouraging is the reborn Coalition, with Brendan Nelson at the helm. It has quickly shed many of the policies of the previous administration and their new Shadow Environment Minister is already taking the fight up to the new Federal Government. Add to this the fact that the Coalition’s previous Environment Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who worked heroically in this portfolio despite having both hands tied behind his back by a Prime Minister who never really got to grips with the implications of climate change, is waiting in the wings. So we see this important issue remaining on the front burner and if Mr Rudd’s administration fails to deliver we believe the Coalition will be letting them know in no uncertain manner.

So the scene is set. We sincerely hope that you will remain onboard with RGCCAG on what should be an interesting and at times bumpy journey to save the planet.

Federal Government Subsidises Fossil Fuel Industries

Did you know that last year the state and federal governments handed out $9 billion of our money to subsidise the use of fossil fuels, even though we know burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas are causing dangerous climate change.

Billions of dollars went to wealthy multi-national companies, which helped to increase their profits. In comparison, for every $28 spent on subsidising fossil fuels, only $1 was spent on renewable energy.

This has been happening for the past ten years. The details have been buried under technical jargon, hidden in different policies. The full picture only came to light after Greenpeace commissioned a formal independent report last year.

Greenpeace is launching a campaign to ask our new government to stop funding just one of these subsidies to show they’re prepared to break with the past and start taking real action on climate change. Of the $9 billion given to subsidise fossil fuels, $308 million is given to coal companies as a rebate on their diesel fuel.

This means that unlike ordinary Australians, wealthy companies, like BHP Billiton, which posted a $13.7 Billion profit last year, don’t have to pay tax on the fuel they use. That one little tax-break is more than the total amount given to the renewable energy sector.

Greenpeace, we understand, is currently raising funds in order to undertake a nation-wide campaign to ask Treasurer Wayne Swan to announce he’ll stop funding the fuel rebate to coal companies and start funding the fledgling renewable energy sector.

If you are outraged by this you may wish to make a donation to help Greenpeace take this to a national level and get the message to the Treasurer: It’s time to stop wasting our money on wealthy climate polluters and start giving Australian renewable energy a fair go.

So why has this scandal been allowed to occur? Well, for over a decade the coal industry has wielded such political power it has been able to influence government decision-making. Greenpeace is Australia’s only environmental charity entirely independent of corporate or government funding and they are prepared to tackle the coal industry head-on.

Governments must responsibly phase out coal, not subsidise it, if we are to cut our greenhouse gas emissions and avoid dangerous climate change. To do it we have to give renewable energy a fair go.

Further information can be obtained and an online petition be signed at http://www.stop-fueling-climate-change.org/

Another important matter to consider is that the Federal Government’s Future Fund is investing in fossil fuel companies and not new renewable technologies. Perhaps it should be known as the No Future Fund?

The NSW Electricity Sell Off

The NSW government plans to privatise NSW’s electricity industry are a disaster for greenhouse gas reduction targets. A privately owned electricity industry will be driven by the need to sell more energy to make greater profits, not encourage people to use less.
The government is also planning for a new baseload power station and seems to be ignoring all suggestions that this could come from other sources than coal.

If you do nothing else today, send an email to our local state member for Ryde, John Watkins, who is also Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport asking him to oppose the sell off and advocate for addressing growing demand through alternative energy sources and efficiency measures.

Email ryde@parliament.nsw.gov.au

For more information on energy and climate change impacts of privatisation – visit The Greens John Kaye’s website.

In this issue…  

What do the Bennelong candidates plan to do about climate change ?
We contacted the November 07 Federal election candidates from the key parties to meet with them and find out how they would address climate change. Our major focus in this edition is on their views. Read here about their key ideas and personal steps they take to reduce their own energy use.  

Fiddling while the planet burns 
Our group requested a meeting with Mr Howard in August and did not receive any response despite a subsequent fax and phone calls. In frustration and because it seems to us that his government has fiddled while the planet has heated up, on 31 October we arranged for a string quartet to play outside his electorate office. Our event was featured on SBS news that night. Have a look at some photos.    

ALP policy also needs to grow
We also the ALP falls short of making enough difference to climate change. This week we took ALP Bennelong candidate a gift of three fruit trees so that when the rural sector fails as it will if climate change remains unchecked, she will be able to grow her own food. Have a look at pictures here.  

What IS the preferential voting system ?
You may have concluded that the Greens and the Democrats have more comprehensive policies on climate change than either of the other two major parties. The Australian preferential voting system allows your second preferences to be passed on to your number 2 vote, if either of the two major parties don’t get over 50% of the vote. Check out how this works on the Australian Electoral Commission website. http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/count.htm  

Also, don’t forget about your senate vote. Senate places are allocated on a quota system. Voting for one of the smaller parties with strong climate policies can be a way of keeping pressure on the government. The AEC web site also explains how senate preferences work.  

Walk Against Warming
Thanks to those supporters who came out and joined the crowds on Sunday 11 November at Walk Against Warming. Here we are with our banner and a second banner we made for the event proposing a 25% renewable target by 2020.  

Human Sign
Clean Energy for Eternity are making a human sign at ManlyBeach, spelling out the words Lifesaving Energy on December 2. They are looking for people to join in and hope to make the largest human sign yet. To find out more and register to participate go to cleanenergyforeternity.net.au

Bennelong election candidates – where do they stand?

The Federal election is five weeks away. Your vote can make a big difference on climate change. We have been meeting the Bennelong candidates from the major parties – the ALP, the Greens and the Australian Democrats.

We have not yet met our local member, Mr John Howard. We have still had no response to our letter sent in August, or follow up calls to his office.

We will publish the candidates’ responses to our questions (including their personal actions) in our next newsletter.

Missed opportunity – renewables targets

The federal government recently announced a “clean energy” target. It includes nuclear power and “clean coal”, solutions which are too slow, too dangerous and unproven. It adds no new renewable energy as it’s set at the same level as existing state government targets.

This is a wasted opportunity, as a strong target will attract investment and provide certainty for industry. Our position is that the target should be 25% by 2020.

Send an email to our local Federal member using this link. Tell him you are a member of his electorate and would like to see a higher Mandatory Renewables Target and better greenhouse emissions policies. http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm

Find out more about the Clean Energy Target read Greenpeace’s briefing at
http://climatemovement.org.au/images/docs/clean-energy-target-gp-briefing.pdf

You are part of something bigger

Ryde-Gladesville Climate Change Action Group is featured on the home page of climatemovement.org , the peak websites for climate change groups. Also featured is our beautiful giant light globe sign. Check it out at
http://www.climatemovement.org.au/

Want to give a hand?

The Australian Conservation Foundation are looking for people in Bennelong to help distribute materials they have produced for the election campaign encouraging people to think about climate policies and their vote. If you can help with letterboxing, or displaying an “I care about climate change” poster contact Bianca Havas at the ACF on b.havas@acfonline.org.au or phone 8270 9902.

Upcoming Events

Have a look at our upcoming events page for climate change events in the area which you can be involved with.

Ryde Gladesville Climate Change Group members preparing for Walk Against Warming which will be held on 11 November.

Greetings and welcome to our third newsletter.

We will continue to keep the newsletters short and to enable you to look for more information where you wish. Feedback is very welcome!

In this newsletter:

At the heart of a climate change action group are supporters. With a strong weight of numbers we represent the voice of many people in the Ryde-Gladesville area, and combined with other climate action groups, the voice of people across Sydney and Australia. Help us sign up more supporters and you could win a copy of Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ DVD.