EcoRadio

Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • They want to mine where?! AVAAZ

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    They want to mine where?!

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    Alex Wilks – Avaaz Unsubscribe
    4:52 AM (6 hours ago)
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    Massive companies are rushing to mine the fragile ocean floor. But the twenty-four people who make the rules are meeting this week, and we can stop this plunder if we back scientists’ warnings with a massive wake-up call:

    Sign the petition
    Dear friends,

    For years they’ve poisoned rivers, devastated forests and displaced communities, and now massive companies are rushing to dig up the seabed for precious metals.

    Twenty-four people can stop this plunder of our planet’s most fragile places, and they’re meeting this week!! The International Seabed Authority normally attracts as little attention as an underwater mine miles offshore, but our community can change that.

    A few countries have agreed full or partial bans, and leading scientists just appealed for a freeze on deep sea mining contracts. Let’s amplify their message with a million-strong call, take out newspaper ads to hand deliver to each delegate, then publish their names and their responses. Add your voice and send widely:

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/deep_sea_mining_en_dn2/?bhPqncb&v=62025

    Mining companies claim they can mine the seabed safely, but authorities in Namibia, Australia and New Zealand recently blocked seabed mining projects. Scientists point out that many deep water species are being discovered all the time, and that the ocean floor can take decades to recover from disturbances such as the creation of sediment plumes from mining.

    The International Seabed Authority has already issued licenses for exploratory mining across 1.2 million square kilometres of ocean floor. The body is almost unknown, and its 24-person Legal and Technical Committee does the detailed scrutiny of proposals and environmental safeguards with minimal transparency. We now have a unique opportunity to put its twenty-four members on notice with a demand that they freeze all mining until independent science proves it safe and the ISA opens up to concerned scientists and citizens.

    Often, we don’t realise the value of our most precious ecosystems until they’re destroyed — but this time we have the chance to take action before this whole new threat lets rip across our oceans. Join the call for a freeze on deep-sea mining, so we can hit a million and deliver to all delegates before their meeting ends:

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/deep_sea_mining_en_dn2/?bhPqncb&v=62025

    Together we’ve stood up to protect our earth’s most precious, awe inspiring ecosystems — from the majestic trees of the Amazon to the stunning species in the Great Barrier Reef. Now, we are standing on the brink of a new gold rush that could devastate an ecosystem that has so far escaped the ravages of mankind.

    With hope and determination,

    Alex, Laila, Alaphia, Alison and the rest of the Avaaz team

    Deep sea mining: the new resource frontier? (Al-Arabiya)
    http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/world/2014/11/12/Deep-sea-mining-the-new-resource-frontie…

    Marine mining: Underwater gold rush sparks fears of ocean catastrophe (The Guardian)
    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/02/underwater-gold-rush-marine-mining-fears-ocean-th…

    New Interest in Seafloor Mining Revives Calls for Conservation (National Geographic)
    http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/12/11/new-interest-in-seafloor-mining-revives-calls-for-co…

    Deep sea mining hopes hit by New Zealand decision (Financial Times)
    http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6edaeea8-b894-11e4-a2fb-00144feab7de.html#axzz3VFC8Wm1y

    Scientists call for temporary halt on new deep sea mining projects (Popular Science)
    http://www.popsci.com/some-scientists-urge-caution-underwater-mining

    Shedding some light on the International Seabed Authority (University of Southampton)
    http://moocs.southampton.ac.uk/oceans/2014/03/09/shedding-some-light-on-the-international-seabed-aut…


    Avaaz.org is a 41-million-person global campaign network     that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people shape global decision-making. (“Avaaz” means “voice” or “song” in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz’s biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

  • We must help them sarah hanson young

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    Errors: 101

    We must help them

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    Sarah Hanson-Young <sarah@sarahhansonyoung.com>
    11:47 AM (46 minutes ago)
    to me
    Dear Neville —

    This is Clare with her 4 month old baby boy Gardin. She is from Cameroon and was trafficked to Libya, put into slavery and is now trying to escape after being raped and assaulted.

    I witnessed her being rescued alongside 414 other people from an overcrowded sinking wooden boat in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

    rescued_4.jpg

    This humanitarian rescue mission was one of many that Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) undertake, saving thousands of lives.On the morning of the rescue we were awoken by the sight of a small wooden asylum boat just off the horizon about 20 miles from the Libyan coast.

    After 4 hours, 414 people were rescued from a small rickety wooden boat that was slowly sinking and leaking fuel. They were all transferred onto the MOAS boat, the MY Phoenix, and given food and water. On board were 21 women and 23 children including a number of babies, one only four months old. Their lives were saved as a result of this incredible humanitarian rescue operation.

    In Europe organisations like MOAS and MSF are working to rescue people on unsafe boats and save lives, while in Australia the Abbott Government has a policy of boat turn backs, and telling desperate people ‘nope, nope, nope… we will not help’.

    It is an international embarrassment for Australia.

    Help us send a message that boat turn backs are an affront to fundamental human rights.

    The Abbott Government has already shown us just how cruel and inhumane they can be towards the world’s most vulnerable people, and now Labor are in lock step.

    Sign our petition to tell the major parties that turnbacks are not the answer to the refugee crisis.

    There are more refugees today than at any other time since records began. Now more than ever, Australia needs a humanitarian and compassionate response to the global refugee crisis that includes a coordinated regional solution where we work with countries in our region along with the United Nations.
    People do not just disappear if they are pushed back to sea. They are simply left to die somewhere else.

    We need to help them.

    Yours in hope,

    Sarah Hanson-Young
    http://www.sarahhansonyoung.com/

  • Tony Abbott’s best fortnight LABOR

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    Tony Abbott’s best fortnight

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    George Wright Unsubscribe
    10:15 AM (5 minutes ago)
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    .
    Inga —

    Yesterday, in the paper, Tony Abbott was quoted as saying he and his Government have had “the best fortnight in the life of this Parliament.”

    Let’s quickly examine the Abbott Government’s “achievements” over the last two weeks:

    1. Tony Abbott undermined the independence of the ABC and banned his ministers from going on Q&A.

    2. He prevented the Clean Energy Finance Corporation from investing in wind farms.

    3. He also asked the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to stop investing in rooftop solar.

    4. He caused division in his Cabinet by approving a coal mine in the Liverpool Plains.

    5. The OECD rated Australia as the 6th worst in the developed world for women in the ministry.

    6. His Government and Party started tearing itself apart about marriage equality.

    7. His $8.43 GP tax came into effect.

    Sadly, this is the kind of fortnight Tony Abbott likes to have – one where he attacks clean energy and undermines our universal health care system.

    We are well-behind the Coalition in fundraising for the next election, and they know it. Can you chip in just $5 to help us get ready to beat Tony Abbott?

    button_5.png
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    Given Tony Abbott has reintroduced legislation that will give him a trigger for a double dissolution election, we’ve got to get ready NOW to take him head on. Our country can’t afford many more fortnights like this.

    Let’s make sure we’re ready to fight Tony Abbott and the Liberals.

    Thanks for your support,

    George Wright,
    Campaign Director

  • Energy like it’s 1899 AVAST

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    Energy like it’s 1899

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    Emily Mulligan- Avaaz.org Unsubscribe
    10:10 AM (7 hours ago)
    to me

    The Prime Minister is trying to ban the Clean Energy Finance Corporation from investing in wind and small scale solar energy in Australia. It’s crazy, but not final yet — let’s raise a huge outcry now and stop this dogmatic decision from going ahead! Sign now:

    Sign the Petition
    Dear friends,

    The Prime Minister wants to ban the Clean Energy Finance Corporation from investing in wind and small scale solar energy. Seriously. 

    This could kill the industry and our best hope to address dangerous climate change. Australians want clean energy, already more than 14% of households have rooftop solar. The dogmatic decision isn’t final, if we raise a huge backlash now, we can reverse this ridiculous position.

    Australia is a sunburnt country — solar energy is our future. Let’s force our impulsive Prime Minister to back track. Sign the petition to lift the ban on wind and solar investment and when we reach 50,000 signatures Avaaz will team up with the clean energy industry to deliver our call:

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/australia_bans_renewables_loc/?bhPqncb&v=61896

    Australians aren’t looking for handouts. While coal, oil and gas companies get $4 BILLION in subsidies every year, renewable energy investment is now being slashed and policy uncertainty is crippling business. The government’s war on wind farms is taking it’s toll.

    This ban harms the renewable energy projects designed to help the poor and most vulnerable. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is designed to boost the renewable energy sector in Australia, and has been performing really well — fulfilling it’s mandate while returning a profit. Now it’s been hamstrung.

    Old fashioned forms of energy such as coal pollute the air, warm our atmosphere and are directly linked to health impacts like asthma. It’s crazy that Australia continues to invest in coal and now has banned investment in proven clean energy. These senseless bans on renewable energy leads to brain drain where Aussie business leaders are forced out of the country — already countless businesses have moved offshore to supportive countries.

    Sign the petition now and share it widely:

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/australia_bans_renewables_loc/?bhPqncb&v=61896

    Already this year Avaaz was instrumental in getting the G7 to commit to phasing out fossil fuels. Let’s not allow Australia to lag behind the rest of the world.

    With hope and determination,

    Emily, David, Jooyea, Nic, Ben and the whole Avaaz team

    SOURCES

    Abbott government extends renewable energy investment ban to solar power (The Guardian)
    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/12/abbott-government-extends-ban-on-renewable-energy-to-solar-panels

    Clean Energy Finance Corporation directed by Government to stop funding wind farms (ABC)
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-12/government-lobbies-for-cefc-to-stop-wind-farm-funding/6613590

    Tony Abbott has escalated his war on wind power (The Sydney Morning Herald)
    http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-has-escalated-his-war-on-wind-power-20150711-gia3xi.html#ixzz3fjVP6YT9

  • 1) GET UP
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    1) Most people haven’t heard about it; 2) When they do, they get mad

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    Alycia – GetUp!
    8:44 PM (14 minutes ago)
    to me

    Dear NEVILLE,

    The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – the dirtiest deal too many people haven’t heard of – is inching ever closer to becoming law.

    The US is bulldozing ahead with TPP ‘fast track’ legislation, which means the final text of the agreement – which could allow foreign companies to sue Australia for laws that protect our health and environment – might be a matter of weeks away.

    Fortunately, the US doesn’t speak for us, and our Senate will cast a critical vote on whether the TPP is implemented. The Liberal Party has signalled its support for the TPP, but they don’t have the numbers on their own. The ALP will be critical in determining whether our government is ultimately able to put the interests of foreign corporations ahead of Australian families.

    We know two things about the TPP: 1) Most people haven’t heard about it, but 2) When they do, they get mad.1 That’s why we’ve an audacious plan to get information about the TPP into the hands of the critical marginal seat voters who Labor cares about most – and the plan is powered by GetUp members.

    First, GetUp members pitch in the funds to print thousands of ‘door hanger’ info pamphlets that spell out what the TPP could mean for access to medicine, food safety, environmental protections and more. Then, GetUp members in critical electorates will go door-to-door, neighbour-to-neighbour, taking that information right to people’s doorstep (or doorknobs, as it were).

    Will you chip in now to get critical information on the TPP into the hands of voters that Labor cares about most – before the ALP National Conference in late July?

    The TPP agenda is being primarily driven by Big Business, Big Pharmaceuticals, and Big Tobacco – but its impacts will affect everyday Australians. Public health measures, environmental protections, access to medicine, and Internet freedoms are all in the firing line. This is why high-paid lobbyists of multinationals are hard at work trying to ensure the passage of this colossal trade deal in secrecy.2 And to make matters worse, there have been leaks to suggest that some corporations have seen the draft text while everyday citizens are left in the dark.3

    And their efforts are paying off, with predictions that delegates from the 12 countries – including our very own Trade Minister Andrew Robb – may sign onto the deal as soon as late July.4

    The next few weeks are critical. Not only is the next round of TPP negotiations taking place, but the Labor National Conference on 24 July will see the ALP debate and vote upon its national policy platform.

    GetUp members in electorates with razor-thin margins are stepping up by the dozen to distribute door hangers in their electorate. But to make this happen, we need the funds to cover the cost of printing and delivery. Together, we can bring enormous pressure to bear on Labor MPs to take a stronger stance against this dirty deal. Can you help fund the effort?

    Click here to see the door hanger design, a list of the target marginal seats and then pitch in to help make this happen.

    With the ALP National Conference just two weeks away, this is the prime time to catch the ear of Labor MPs in important battleground electorates listening out for the issues that matter to their constituents. Together, we can show Labor that Australians don’t want any part of this dirty deal.

    https://www.getup.org.au/tpp-chip-in

    Thanks for putting people over profits,
    Alycia, Mark, Daney and Nat, for the GetUp team

    PS – Yet to sign the petition? Join over 91,000 Australians calling on Parliament to stop the TPP. Once you sign, you’ll have an opportunity to chip in to help fund the door hanger effort!: https://www.getup.org.au/tpp-sign

    PPS – The designers are still putting finishing touches on the door hangers, but here’s a sneak preview of what they’ll look like.

    References
    [1] ‘Eden Monaro poll: The massive trade deal half of Australia hasn’t even heard about’, PRWire, June 2015
    [2] ‘Here’s how much corporations paid US senators to fast-track the TPP bill’, The Guardian, 27 May 2015
    [3] ‘Documents released under US FOI laws in the case of IP Watch v USTR’, Electronic Frontier Foundation, 5 June 2015
    [4] ‘TPP ministerial meeting set for last week of July: source’, Reuters, 29 June 2015

  • “Utterly Offensive” Blair Palaise 350 0rg

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    “Utterly Offensive”

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    Blair Palese – 350.org Australia <350@350.org> Unsubscribe
    7:35 PM (35 minutes ago)
    to me

    Neville,

    Our Government has just told the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) — Australia’s investment fund for renewable energy — to stop investing in clean energy!

    Yep, you heard us right. Joe Hockey finds wind turbines “utterly offensive”. So, having slashed the renewable energy target, his Government has directed the CEFC to stop all investment in wind and small-scale solar[1], rubbing salt in the wounds of a renewables sector that is already battling to keep afloat after years of ever-changing policy and little to no support.

    Our Government needs to know that Australians don’t support these dangerous attacks — and that each time they do something like this, it brings them one step closer to being voted out at the next election.

    Click here to tell Abbott and co. that you find their behaviour “utterly offensive.”

    This is yet another step towards the Coalition’s grand plan of scrapping the CEFC altogether. According to Abbott – if renewable energy stacked up economically, then it wouldn’t need this kind of support. Never mind that renewables are cost-competitive with fossil fuels in numerous regions nor that they’re competing with a fossil fuel industry that our Government is subsidising to the tune of $10 billion annually.[2]

    Take action now if you find this outrageous.

    Whilst Australia buries its head in the sand on the very solutions that could dig us out of this climate mess, the rest of the world is moving ahead. Those so-called “offensive” and “awful” wind turbines last week generated 140% of Denmark’s electricity and will soon provide Kenya with a fifth of its energy needs.[5]

    Meanwhile, NASA just gave us a glimpse of the pace with which China is leaping ahead on renewables when they revealed images of Chinese solar arrays in the Gobi Desert — so massive they can be viewed from outer space.[6]

    Email our Government to tell them to dig their heads out of the sand today.

    The world’s energy needs will not and cannot continue to be met by coal, oil and gas. Instead they will and must come from the sun and the wind. The rest of the world already knows this, which is why they’re moving their money out of fossil fuels and into renewables by the day. Yet Australia is intent upon denying the science, ignoring common sense and keeping us wedded to a dirty, backward industry of the past.

    Tell our Government that they’ve gone too far – it’s time to stop this madness – it’s offensive, embarrassing and outright destructive.

    In outrage,

    Blair for the 350.org Australia team

    —

    References:

    [1] Coalition bans government’s clean energy bank from financing wind power, The Guardian, 12 July; Abbott government extends renewable energy investment ban to solar power, The Guardian, 12 July.

    [2] Where your taxes go, Market Forces.

    [3] Liverpool Plains community ‘gutted’ – Shenhua vindicated by federal approval for controversial Watermark coal mine, ABC, 10 July.

    [4] Adani’s Carmichael Mine is unbankable says Queensland Treasury, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 June.

    [5] Windpower generates 140% of Denmark’s energy demand, The Guardian, 10 July; Kenya’s New Wind Farm will Provide Nearly One Fifth of the Country’s Power, Climate Progress, 6 July.

    [6] Nasa satellite images show China’s giant solar panel expansion in Gobi Desert, International Business Times, 2 July.

    350.org is building a global climate movement.You can connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and become a sustaining donor to keep this movement strong and growing.