I went to a conference (see my critique here) that had some nuggets of gold. One of them was a short and engaging presentation by one Bill Dunn. There's a longer paper that I hope to link to, but for now, based on scribbled notes, here are those 8 reasons 1. The term is used... Continue Reading →
‘Resistance’ rituals: “Historical materialism” or the material of history
You'd think an academic conference - attended by people with the willingness to think and criticise, and a hunger for a transformed world – would be looking at the questions of what what went wrong, of how the 'revolutionary' fervour of “1968” gave us not the new Jerusalem, but the new Las Vegas. 'Neo-liberalism' (see... Continue Reading →
8th July, 1996 – the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network first mentioned (I think)
Did I ever mention I do a blog about climate history (with a bias to Australia and the US)? According to (my ability to search) Factiva, on this day in 1996 came the first mention (by name) of the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network, in an article called When green and gold don't mix The Australian... Continue Reading →
July 7th, 1997 – Australian Foreign Minister explains facts of life on #climate
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 →
