WHAT’S ON
Protest outside John Alexander’s Office We will be outside John Alexander’s office on 19 March at 10am to encourage him to support Zali Steggall’s climate bill. Our slogan is “Find courage and vote for the climate bill” and we’ll be wearing lion masks (referencing Wizard of Oz’s lion who needed courage). Come and join us at 32 Beecroft Rd Epping
Stop Adani Marsh, an insurance broker, is trying to find an insurer for Adani’s project. Three rallies are being held in Sydney as part of a week-long campaign. One is on 17 March at 1pm at 87 Marsden St, Parramatta. Another on 18 March at 8am 11 Murray Rose Ave, Sydney Olympic Park. Another is being held 19 March 8am at 100 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo (Marsh’s HQ)
Stop Santos Lock the Gate is organising a protest on 18 March outside the Sheraton Grand Hotel 161 Elizabeth Sydney 8-9.30am to regarding Santos wanting to do CSG mining in the Narrabri. Bring whistles, rattles or anything to make a noise while the Australian Domestic Gas Outlook Conference is going on inside. It is worth noting that Santos has written off $7 billion in 5 years. https://ieefa.org/santos-loses-7-billion-in-write-offs-in-5-years/
Climate Emergency and what is to be done University of Sydney is holding a forum where this will be discussed on 26 March 6-7pm Charles Perkins Auditorium, John Hopkins Drive, University of Sydney. Free but bookings essential https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/observations-on-the-climate-emergency-what-is-to-be-done-tickets-90894755661
Climate Change protests There’s a stack of protests being planned over the next couple of months. Go to this link and find out which ones you can attend. http://www.climatechangeprotests.net.au/
Sustainability Festival Ryde Council will be holding its Sustainability Festival on 31 May at Wilga Park, Cottonwood Crescent, Macquarie Park 10am-2pm
WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING
In the last month we have done the following:
Written to Trent Zimmerman and John Alexander thanking them for their stand on climate change and asking what they will do next to make sure significant action is taken.
NEWS AND EVENTS
Zali Steggall’s Climate Change Bill will be presented to parliament 23 March. Sign the petition saying you support it and share. Not many people from Bennelong electorate have signed it yet https://climateactnow.com.au/
Stop Adani – Marsh insurance broker petition Marsh Insurance brokers have been asked by Adani to find an insurer for them. Marsh employees are not happy about it. Sign the petition https://www.stopadani.com/marsh
NSW inquiry into bushfires The NSW government has commisioned an inquiry into the recent bushfires and everyone, particularly those directly affected by the fires, are invited to make a submission. Submissions don’t have to be long. Closing date 27 March. Go to https://www.nsw.gov.au/improving-nsw/projects-and-initiatives/make-a-submission-to-the-bushfire-inquiry/ for information and the submission form.
Federal Environmental law review We have mentioned this previously and encourage you to make a submission using this easy-to-use form. Our plants and animals need better protection, particularly in light of recent bushfires. Closing date 27 April. https://www.wwf.org.au/get-involved/stop-australias-extinction-crisis
Fossil fuel industry’s control of government policy. Watch this video produced by Greenpeace with Michael West, an investigative reporter, and see why the battle against coal is so challenging. https://www.facebook.com/greenpeaceaustraliapacific/videos/531492840803418/
Want the government to support renewable energy? Sign the petition asking for a higher renewable energy target, more funding for ARENA and an end to fossil fuel subsidies. https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/climate-justice/stand-up-for-renewable-energy-taylor-moment/stand-up-for-renewable-energy
Sign the petition asking for more funding for ARENA in the upcoming budget https://www.solarcitizens.org.au/supercharge_arena
Denmark plans to have 100% renewables by 2030 https://www.themonthly.com.au/blog/andrew-wear/2020/04/2020/1583281953/gone-wind
Tasmania sets 200% renewables energy target by 2040 https://reneweconomy.com.au/tasmania-sets-world-leading-target-of-200-per-cent-renewables-by-2040/
Polling shows Australians want action on climate change https://www.tai.org.au/content/concern-about-climate-escalates-bushfire-crisis-continues-climate-nation-polling
CSG mining in NSW The NSW government has failed to implement the NSW Chief Scientist’s recommendations on CSG despite having 5 years to do so. Sign the petition to stop CSG mining in the Narrabri area.
https://www.csgfreenorthwest.org.au/narrabri_gas
CSG mining in NT Fracking in the Beetaloo Basin in NT will mean Australia has no chance of meeting its Paris commitments. Tell the federal government that’s not OK by signing the petition https://www.aycc.org.au/stopthegas
Rewild and regrow NPA (National Parks Australia) is seeking donations for its work to help our parks recover from the fires. For more information go to: https://npansw.org/npa/regrow-rewild/
Alternatively, you could buy some raffle tickets for some amazing prizes (and help NPA at the same time) https://www.rafflelink.com.au/npasummerraffle2019
Read about the effects of the fires on our national parks and how the unburnt areas can act as biodiversity arks – a must read https://npansw.org/2020/02/28/the-bits-that-didnt-burn-nsws-unburnt-parks-as-biodiversity-arks/
Enova Community Energy Thinking about changing your energy provider? 1Million Women has partnered with Enova, a community based renewable energy power company. Information about Enova is at https://enovaenergy.com.au/ If you want more information about changing over https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/women-power/
Rio Tinto and the Minerals Council of Australia BP has left the Minerals Council of Australia. Time Rio Tinto did the same. Sign the letter https://act.350.org/sign/ask-rio-tinto-leave-mca
General Electric wants to build 19 coal-fired power stations around the world Sign the letter asking it not to go ahead https://getoutofcoal.org/
Adani Still lots of companies claiming environmental credentials wanting to support Adani. Sign the letter asking them to walk away from the project https://www.marketforces.org.au/the-siemens-fiasco-should-scare-off-adanis-other-european-supporters/
Big companies, big energy users Sign the letter asking Australia’s big companies such as Woolies, Telstra and Coles to move to 100% renewable energy. https://reenergise.org/take-action/
Labor still doesn’t get it Labor is still supporting the mining and exporting of fossil fuels. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-23/labor-backs-2050-global-carbon-emissions-targets/11991912 Sign the letter asking all Labor MPs to support strong climate action and reinstate a 2030 target for emissions reduction (like they used to have) https://www.aycc.org.au/laborert_openletter
Neither does the Coalition The federal government is spruiking a plan to use technology to deal with climate and wants to waste billions on projects such as carbon capture and storage. https://reneweconomy.com.au/we-have-the-technologies-now-cannon-brookes-busts-open-coalition-myth-64792/
And the National Party has no idea It would appear Barnaby Joyce is not aware the National Farmers Federation adopted carbon neutral targets by 2030 in its 2019 roadmap, something endorsed by the Agriculture minister and supported by the PM. Apparently he also doesn’t know that carbon farming could be worth $40 billion to farmers by mid century.You can read the report here https://nff.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/NFF_Roadmap_2030_FINAL.pdf. Meat & Livestock Australia also has a 2030 carbon neutral target. You can read their report here. https://www.mla.eu/the-road-to-carbon-neutral-beef-by-2030/
So what is carbon farming? This explains what it is and how it is effective in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere https://www.carboncycle.org/carbon-farming/
And if you want to learn more about how carbon can be removed from the air and ocean, read “Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming” edited by Paul Hawken – quite inspiring.
Germany – a lesson in how to phase out coal and support workers Germany can do it – why not us? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-23/why-coal-is-being-shut-down-in-germany/11976324
Actions you can take to make a difference Here’s a guide from Climate Council of things you can do to make an impact on climate change. https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/12-climate-actions-make-impact/
RECYCLING AND SUSTAINABILITY
Ryde Council newsletter Ryde Council puts out a monthly newsletter Smarter, Cleaner Greener which has information on how to live more sustainability and lists workshops for you to learn how to do that. To receive the newsletter, email the council on http://cityofryde@ryde.nsw.gov.au