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 →
Two Australian scientists warn that Australia will have to take climate refugees! Yep, you guessed it. They made this warning in... 1988. Quiddington, P. (1988) SCIENTISTS WARN OF ISLANDS' PERIL Sydney Morning Herald 23rd August Australia may need to take in a wave of environmental refugees from coral atolls in the Pacific and Indian oceans,... Continue Reading →
In 1992 the 'Earth Summit' in Rio gave us the Framework Convention on Climate Change. A generation later, 'the world' (cough cough) looks on to Paris for another such statement. What are the similarities and differences between the two lead-up periods? Some initial thoughts... Disclaimers- 1) this post is to fulfil a promise to a... Continue Reading →
Australian journalist Lenore Taylor has been reporting incisive climate stories for a very long time. In two recent (this and this) 'must-read' articles she has explained how the rubbery figures that Tony Abbott and others throw about are simply tosh. Abbott is a tenth (at best) generation photocopy of John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister... Continue Reading →
My smart, funny and generous friend Professor Chris Wright has co-authored a piece about the Australian coal industry and some of its PR moves over the last 20 years or so. It's at the Conversation. Please share/retweet/comment and generally feed my ego.. Btw, Chris has a co-authored book coming out in September; Climate Change, Capitalism... Continue Reading →
So, when climate change burst onto the scene in 1988, I doubt too many hardcore environmentalists were surprised.(1) Carbon dioxide gets a few pages in the 1972 'Limits to Growth' book, which went through numerous printings. The earliest Australian book I have been able to find (so far!) is this - 'Environmental Boomerang', published in... Continue Reading →
Professor Kevin Anderson is what they call a mensch. For years he has been fearlessly reporting on what we are actually tipping into the open sewer we call our atmosphere. Not what we are promising to emit, or what we would like to believe we are emitting, but what is actually going up. He ties... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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