The Government's position was explained in a speech given by the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, in the lead up to the Kyoto Conference in 1997, in which he stated: A significant proportion of the Australian economy is currently geared toward the production of emission intensive products. As a result, the abatement costs in Australia are... Continue Reading →
The Australian Climate Roundtable – what, who, why and what does it all mean? #climateroundtable
UPDATE: See this EXCELLENT piece by Ian Dunlop on how the Australian elites have fundamentally failed us on climate change [minor corrections spotted by eagle-eyed people, and corrected] The Australian climate policy soap opera is a bit like the TV show Neighbours. It’s been going since the late 80s. It survived the departure of some... Continue Reading →
2 pivotal years in Australian #climate history (2006-2007)
At the end of 2005, climate change was still a 'non-issue' for most Australian voters and politicians at the Federal level. Two years later the incumbent Coalition Government was swept from power in what has been called 'the first climate change election' (Rootes, 2008). This paper describes what happened, offers explanation as to why it... Continue Reading →
Womjep plotholes
What's womjep? "Woman in jeopardy," in which our heroine is beset on all sides by untrustworthy men, and is (usually) saved by her own nous but also seen and unseen heroic men. [I think I may owe it to Christopher Buckley, in his awesome 'Thank You for Smoking'). The go-to example is the Julia Roberts... Continue Reading →
With the benefit of hindsight – final paragraphs of 9 year old books about #Australia and #climate
You've slaved over the book (either as the writer or the reader!). There have been bits where you've wanted to scream (as either the writer or the reader...), bits where you've gotten bored and skimmed over what should have been taken slowly (either as...) or gone slow when you should have gone quick (...). There's... Continue Reading →
Of eagles and geese – capitalising Aesop’s fables for capital accumulation
The word 'natural' is one of the busiest and slipperiest in the English language. One of its many shades of meaning is that something 'natural' is 'right' and 'normal.' Naturally (!), powerful actors hoping to become still more powerful will try to convince those who might constrain them that they are 'natural', and should be allowed... Continue Reading →
Judging books by their covers, or ‘act naturally’- Australia’s Coal Export Industry
Young folk today, eh? They think if it isn't on google's first or second page, it's not worth knowing. Fossils like me, fueled by the thrill of the chase, pace the library shelves. And you stumble across the greatest stuff. So, I didn't know that the Federal Government, for a period between 1993 and 2001,... Continue Reading →
Australian Coal Association advert and also awesome librarians again
I've said it before, and no doubt I will say it again - the librarians at the Barr Smith library (University of Adelaide) are awesome. They fossicked out hard copies of the Business Council of Australia Bulletin from the early 1990s. I spent a few hours today systematically going through them for any articles even... Continue Reading →
Technology and the PEBCAC problem, as elucidated by Lee Child’s “Jack Reacher”
No system, as the adage goes, is fool-proof to a sufficiently determined and talented fool. Computer help-desk people have an acronym for it - 'PEBCAC', which stands for Problem Exists Between Computer And Chair. A serious amount of mental effort gets spent on human-computer interfaces (there are journals, conferences etc etc). In another life, I'd... Continue Reading →
Of Garnaut, geosequestration and the (non)belling of the neoliberal cat
Professor Ross Garnaut is a highly intelligent, tenacious and formidably well-informed public intellectual, and I’m not just saying that because I want to interview him for my PhD research. Because look, in my very next sentence I say ‘I think he is wrong about the future of energy.’ He was speaking tonight in Adelaide, giving... Continue Reading →
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