Reposted from "The Conversation". Thanks as ever to the very cool editors. There’s a deafening silence in the ongoing Australian election campaign over the environment. Polling shows increasing public support for greater action on climate changebut debate has been mostly missing. And despite some blows traded over the Great Barrier Reef, the wider environment has... Continue Reading →
Glossaries and my undiagnosed CDO
CDO? That's OCD, in the correct alphabetical order, dammit. So, it's been an interesting couple of weeks. Quite stressful. And one of the ways I cope with stress (a displacement activity, perhaps) is to try to categorise information. It somehow soothes me. Go figure. Here are five glossaries that I've worked on (some I started quite a... Continue Reading →
Reef madness; suppressing bad news is nothing new. #Australia and #climate silence
Unless you've been in a coma on Mars, you'll have spotted that the Australian Government strong-armed UNESCO recently. They did this to keep the inconvenient-to-tourism fact that significant chunks of the Greater Barrier Reef is suffering coral bleaching out of a report on climate change and World Heritage sites. In yet another example of the... Continue Reading →
The “Greenhouse Mafia”, ten years on. #Australia #auspol #climate
Ten years ago today Four Corners broadcast a programme on “the greenhouse mafia”. In hindsight it can be seen as the starting gun for a two year sprint that led to “the first climate change election” It's worth knowing the history and actions of one of the groups revealed by that documentary. The first time... Continue Reading →
Learning Curve: Australia and the #Climate Negotiations #Paris
Below is a short briefing, in the format of a Q and A, about the upcoming Paris climate talks, and Australia's role over the last 30 years (and the motivations behind that). There's also a short glossary, a timeline, references and the standard disclaimer. (My basic opinion on Paris, written in February, is here). You... Continue Reading →
#Carmichael – Of subsidies, coal mines and nation-building #auspol #climate
Who’d try to build a new coal mine? The divestment campaigns are slowly convincing banks to steer clear (), the coal price is in the floor. The Indians seem to be (finally) increasing domestic production and their solar price is tumbling. The environmentalists and their pesky skinks are slowing things down, the social licence to operate... Continue Reading →
“Energy Slaves” and convicts- a story of Australian attitudes to labour and mining #climate
Jean-Francois Mouhot who wrote an article Past connections and present similarities in slave ownership and fossil fuel usage published in Climatic Change in 2011, He also makes the point that The history of slavery and its abolition shows how blurred the frontier between what is considered good and evil can be, and how quickly it... Continue Reading →
Save Karen and the “limits” of Australian democracy #SaveKaren #FreeKaren
Last Friday the Government released a booklet with a set of anti-radicalisation homilies every bit as subtle as the movie 'Reefer Madness'. One in particular spoke of 'Karen', the sweet well-meaning lass who became a green Jihadi Jane because she cared too much - or in the wrong way - about the environmental destruction we... Continue Reading →
Tony Abbott and his #climate record since becoming Prime Minister 2 years ago #auspol
“By their fruit ye shall know them.” Since September 7th 2013 Tony Abbott has done his best to undermine Australia’s response to climate change. Here’s a guide to the ruins, under the following headings Opposing robust climate action Attacking green groups In favour of coal Undermining renewables Symbolic action [If I've missed anything, please let me know!... Continue Reading →
The gift that keeps on giving: of solar panels and Australian Prime Ministers #climate #auspol
On 20 October 1997 a team of Greenpeace activists scaled the walls surrounding Kirribilli House, the Sydney residence of Australian Prime Minister, John Howard. Solar panels were rushed past the security guards and lifted up on to the roof as a 'gift' to the Prime Minister. From the roof, the protesters used mobile phones to... Continue Reading →
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