WHAT’S ON
Film showing A reminder we will be showing the documentary about the Stop Adani campaign, “A Mighty Force”, at Ryde Library, 1 Pope St, Ryde. The date has now changed to 22 March at 7- 8.00pm
Anti Coal and CSG RallyA reminder of the rally on 24 March from 12 noon to 2pm against coal and CSG. Look for us and our banner at the Macquarie Street end of Martin Place at 12 noon. Bring your friends and family.
Manly Environment Centre There’s always lots of family activities in their monthly newsletter. Find it at http://www.mec.org.au
World Water day event On 24 March from 8.45am to 2pm there is an event at the Field of Mars run jointly by Ryde Council, National Parks and Ryde Flora and Fauna Society. Includes water testing and learning about water dragons and eels. Free but bookings essential http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/worldwaterday
Household chemical clean out Bring your unwanted household chemicals to Meadowbank Netball courts on 24 and 25 March. To find out more about what you can drop off go to http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/recycling-and-reuse/household-recycling-overview/find-crcs-or-hcco
National Parks Why not explore some of our amazing National Parks? Have a look at their schedule for organised walks for the autumn period. http://bushwalk.npansw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/NPA_activites_program_Autumn_2018.pdf
EarthHour On 24 March it’s Earth Hour. Turn off your lights at 8.30pm.
WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING
In the last month we have done the following:
Wrote a submission regarding the Regional Forestry Agreements for NSW which are woefully inadequate to protect forests and which need to be totally re-written.
On 7 March members of our core group met with John Alexander, Federal MP for Bennelong, to ask him to speak against Adani’s Carmichael mine. This was our fourth meeting with him since he was elected. We informed him about
- the ways the Adani mine does not stack up economically
- the scandalous track record of Adani on pollution and tax avoidance
- rising Australian carbon emissions
- impact of the government’s impediments to the renewable energy
We asked him if he was aware of talks with Adani by the Australian government’s Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) which lends money to exporters. He was unaware of this but in response said a) “It’s very complex” and b) “Adani has stalled hasn’t it?”
In reponse to our questions, Mr Alexander said there needed to be a “genuine competition between the technologies” and for the need for a “measured transition” (this has been a recurrent theme in each meeting with Mr Alexander). We did point out that the time for a leisurely transition to renewables was no longer any option. When we pointed out the continued rise in Australia’s emissions since the government’s axing of the price on carbon in 2014 and asked him whether he thought this was acceptable and whether Australia needed to do more than “meet the Paris commitments”, he responded by telling us about a Japanese hydrogen fuelled car.
It is obvious the government still doesn’t understand the consequences of ignoring climate change as an economic issue as evidenced by the lack of this being part of any Coalition budget since it came to power.
We left him with the challenge of using his remaining time in parliament to introduce the economic and social costs of climate change into the party room rather than being part of discussions that treat climate change as an ideological issue.
NEWS AND EVENTS
EFIC and Adani The federal government is trying to indirectly fund, through EFIC, the Carmichael mine with loans to companies involved in the mine’s supply chain. Senate estimates has found out it is already planning to support one contractor. Sign the petition to insist EFIC does not fund any loans to support the Carmichael mine.https://www.marketforces.org.au/efic/ You can also have a look at the companies that are in and out of the Adani project. https://www.marketforces.org.au/info/key-issues/theadanilist/ You can read the news report about EFIC.https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/federal-government-to-lend-money-to-adani-business-associates-20180305-p4z2uy.html
Rethinking Australia’s environmental laws
Currently our environmental laws do not allow the public to have a say in developments and their impact on the environment. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/06/everything-is-made-into-a-political-issue-rethinking-australias-environmental-laws Sign the petition to Turnbull and Shorten asking them to fix our poor environmental laws. https://www.acf.org.au/environment_laws_petition
Adani Remember the coal water overflow from Abbott Point following Cyclone Debbie? It would appear Adani altered the lab results. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/02/suspicions-adani-altered-lab-report-while-appealing-fine-for-abbot-point-coal-spill AECOM is a US company that is considering building the rail line for the Carmichael Mine. Sign the letter asking them not to https://www.marketforces.org.au/info/key-issues/theadanilist/aecom/ Aurizon has withdrawn its application for a loan with NAIF to build a rail line for Adani. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-09/aurizon-pulls-pin-on-naif-loan-application-galilee-basin-rail/9414074
NSW land clearing laws and koalas The new land clearing laws could see 99% of the koala habitat lost. Sign the petition asking for protection of these habitats https://www.nature.org.au/get-involved/take-action/is-koala-habitat-off-limits/
Losing our national icons Climate change will affect many of our natural icons from the Great Barrier Reef to the ski fields. Read the Climate Council’s new report http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/tourism-2018
Australia’s solar power boom Australia is seeing a boom in PV installations and solar farm approvals, yes, even in NSW! https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/11/australias-solar-power-boom-could-almost-double-capacity-in-a-year-analysts-say
South Korea moving away from coal South Korea’s government is looking to more renewables and no new coal fired power stations and halting those under development. Australia sells $6 billion worth of coal to South Korea each year. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/16/south-koreas-ahn-hee-jung-on-coal-trade-after-paris-everything-should-change
Renewables and storage The Climate Council has a new report on battery storage http://www.climatecouncil.org.au/battery-storage-2018
Government approves emissions increase Nearly 60 industrial sites have been given approval to increase their carbon emissions, meaning millions of dollars of public money from Direct Action have been wasted. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/19/emissions-increases-approved-by-regulator-may-wipe-out-260m-of-direct-action-cuts
Carbon Capture and Storage uselss Depite the federal government’s hopes, CCS has not been able to make any impression on storing carbon any where in the world. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/16/itd-be-wonderful-if-the-claims-made-about-carbon-capture-were-true
RECYCLING
Recycling toothbrushes In a joint project with Colgate and Terracycle, the Putney Dental surgery is now a collection point for waste oral care products including toothbrushes (not electric ones), plastic packaging, empty toothpaste tubes, floss containers and mouthwash bottles. They can then be upcycled. You can drop these items off during business hours at Putney Dental Surgery, 80B Charles St, Putney
Mattress recycling Over 15 million mattresses end up in landfill each year. Find out how to dispose of and recycle your old mattress. https://www.bestmattressreviews.com/mattress-disposal-guide/