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The Generator news service publishes articles on sustainable development, agriculture and energy as well as observations on current affairs. The news service is used on the weekly radio show, The Generator, as well as by a number of monthly and quarterly magazines. A podcast of the Generator news is also available.
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  • Volunteers Needed: Help Us Get Australia to Go Vegan! PETA AUSTRALIA

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    Volunteers Needed: Help Us Get Australia to Go Vegan!

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    PETA Australia info@peta.org.au via server8839.e-activist.com 
    10:06 AM (25 minutes ago)
    to me
    PETA
    Volunteers Needed: Help Us Get Australia to Go Vegan!
    Dear neville,

    VSK

    If you’ve been thinking about getting more active for animals, then we have just the project for you.

    PETA is looking to reach as many people as possible with our vegetarian/vegan starter kit, which is an easy-to-follow, 24-page magazine filled with tips, quotes from animal-loving celebrities and yummy recipes – all designed to help people make the transition to healthy and humane vegan eating. It’s a great resource for people who are already vegetarian or vegan, too.

    We want everyone to know that ditching meat can help combat Australians’ growing girth (as meat-eaters have three times the obesity rate of vegetarians and nine times the obesity rate of vegans) and also lower people’s risk of developing heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancer. Adopting a vegan diet is also more effective than switching to a “greener” car in the fight against climate change.

    PETA is looking for volunteers to help hand out starter kits on 25 July. Our goal is to open the minds of people who haven’t thought about this issue.

    All you need to do is e-mail Info@peta.org.au and let us know your postal address and how many kits you would like to distribute. (If you just want one copy, you can order it here.) You can hand the starter kits out on your local high street or at a train station during peak hour, leave them in your doctor’s office, drop some off at the library or even do a letterbox drop with them if your local council allows this. Or feel free to come up with your own inventive way to reach people.

    Thank you for taking action for animals! Together, we can make a difference.

    Sincerely,
    Jason Baker

    Jason Baker
    Director of Campaigns
    PETA Australia

  • I wasn’t going to email today, but I had to share this with you: WWF
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    I wasn’t going to email today, but I had to share this with you:

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    Richard Leck, WWF-Australia noreply@act.wwf.org.au via server8839.e-activist.com 
    11:56 AM (3 hours ago)
    to me
    Reef image

    Dear NEVILLE,

    I wasn’t going to email today because we’re so close to the Bonn World Heritage Committee Meeting – when the future protections for the Reef will be decided – and there’s so much going on. But then something beautiful landed in my inbox and I had to share it with you:

    Check out this amazing footage of a turtle with a carefully-fitted camera on its back swimming through the Great Barrier Reef.

    This little video really puts things in perspective.  If the Committee votes to put Australia on probation and insist they protect the Reef, then turtles like this, currently endangered, will have a fighting chance.

    A strong Committee decision could lead to the return of thriving coral, more turtles and dugongs, and better water quality in the Reef – because it will ensure the Government report back on progress and deliver on the promises that’ll fix the Reef.

    For the sake of the turtles, let’s do this.

    (Here’s that link again – how good is it!?)

    Cheers

    Richard Leck
    Great Barrier Reef Campaigner
    WWF-Australia

    P.S. The background to this video is great: in order to find out more about the level of pollution affecting turtles within the Great Barrier Reef, WWF is working on an innovative project in Queensland with the support of our partners Banrock Station Wines Environmental Trust, James Cook University, University of Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, State and Commonwealth government agencies, Indigenous rangers and local community groups. As part of that project, the opportunity arose to very carefully fit a small GoPro camera to a turtle, to better understand the post-release behaviour of tagged green turtles. And the result is this amazing video. It’s so good that they aired it on the Today Show on Channel 9 this morning!

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    WWF-Australia PO Box 528 Sydney NSW 2001

  • The RET deal is working BILL SHORTEN

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    The RET deal is working

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    Bill Shorten via sendgrid.info 
    1:20 PM (12 minutes ago)
    to me
    .
    Inga —

    It’s a compromise most of us didn’t like all that much, but it’s working.

    Today GE and Downer have announced the fantastic news that they will be expanding the Ararat Wind Farm following the passing of the Renewable Energy Target legislation this week.

    This expansion is a $450 million investment in Australia’s renewable energy industry. It will create up to 285 jobs and inject $7 million into the local community of Ararat!

    As you know, we reached a compromise with the Government on the Renewable Energy Target in response to calls from industry who have been crying out for investment to flow back into the sector. This news from the Ararat Wind Farm shows that choice is paying off.

    Despite this, there is some misinformation out there about Labor’s commitment to renewables. The Greens decided to vote against the passage of legislation – once again choosing to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the imperfect – a choice which would have left all the workers at Ararat, and their families, in limbo.

    Can you share this on facebook so your friends have the facts? 

    As you and I well know the Government has spent the last 18 months trashing our renewable energy industry. From the Prime Minister’s comments about wind farms being ‘ugly’ to investment declining by 88% when it has CLIMBED by 16% worldwide.

    We would have preferred Tony Abbott had kept his promise not to change the Renewable Energy Target, but he can’t hold back the future and today’s announcement shows that.

    Labor will always stand up for effective action on climate change and we have a vision for renewable energy in Australia – if Labor is elected in 2016 we will increase the 2020 target.

    Investment has started to flow again and jobs are being created. Please share this great news with your friends and show your support for renewables in Australia.

    Thanks for standing with me on this,

    Bill.

  • Days to save whales avaaz

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    Days to save whales

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    Lisa Vickers – Avaaz Unsubscribe
    7:07 AM (2 hours ago)
    to me

    Icelandic whalers are about to start harpooning over 150 endangered fin whales. But If we can get a tiny Caribbean nation to remove their flag from a ship that’s carrying millions of dollars worth of fin whale meat to Japan, we can hit them where it hurts. Stopping this sale could turn the tide. The ship could leave in six days. Add your voice and share this urgently:

    Sign the petition
    Dear friends,

    The Icelandic whaling fleet is about to leave port to hunt and kill 150 endangered fin whales. We’ve come close to shutting down this barbaric operation before and now we have a chance to end it for good.

    As the whalers sharpen their harpoons for this year’s hunt, their boss is trying to ship last year’s whale meat to Japan right now. Over 1,700 tonnes are about to be sent through the icy passage between Russia and the North Pole. But if the tiny Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis simply removes their flag from the vessel it can’t leave port! Tourism is the main pillar of their country’s economy and we can put their reputation on the line by throwing them into our giant global spotlight.

    We have just six days before the boat could set sail.

    Our community already helped push European countries to shun this shameful trade. Let’s now get St. Kitts to stop helping the whalers! Sign now and share with everyone urgently — Avaaz will deliver our voices straight to the new Prime Minister, and if he doesn’t respond quickly, Avaaz’ll target his biggest tourist market – the US – and show how St. Kitts is supporting the slaughter of these majestic beings:

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/days_to_save_whales_loc/?bhPqncb&v=61041

    Dear friends,

    The Icelandic whaling fleet is about to leave port to hunt and kill 150 endangered fin whales. We’ve come close to shutting down this barbaric operation before and now we have a chance to end it for good.

    As the whalers sharpen their harpoons for this year’s hunt, their boss is trying to ship last year’s whale meat to Japan right now. Over 1,700 tonnes are about to be sent through the icy passage between Russia and the North Pole. But if the tiny Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis simply removes their flag from the vessel it can’t leave port! Tourism is the main pillar of their country’s economy and we can put their reputation on the line by throwing them into our giant global spotlight.

    We have just six days before the boat could set sail.

    Our community already helped push European countries to shun this shameful trade. Let’s now get St. Kitts to stop helping the whalers! Sign now and share with everyone urgently — Avaaz will deliver our voices straight to the new Prime Minister, and if he doesn’t respond quickly, Avaaz’ll target his biggest tourist market – the US – and show how St. Kitts is supporting the slaughter of these majestic beings:

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/days_to_save_whales_loc/?bhPqncb&v=61041

    Iceland’s entire fin whaling industry is run by one man, Kristjan Loftsson, but his business is barely breaking even, so if we stop the whale meat from reaching Japan we can sink his profits! Other nations have removed their flag from vessels in response to public pressure over other environmental concerns so we know this can work for the whales. All we need to do is create a scandal and get a delay to make the crossing to Japan impossible.

    Japanese whalers plan to resume “scientific” whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary despite widespread opposition, and St. Kitts and Nevis votes in support of Japan’s “research” at the International Whaling Commission. If we take them out of the equation now we can strike a deadly blow to both Icelandic and Japanese whaling at the same time!

    Pressure has been mounting globally and nationally to stop the Icelandic whalers. This could be a turning point for the whales. Together we have the power to turn the International Whaling Commission into the International Whale Conservation Commission. And we can get started by stopping this year’s harpooning and this whale meat shipment! Sign the urgent petition now:

    https://secure.avaaz.org/en/days_to_save_whales_loc/?bhPqncb&v=61041

    We know our voices work! Following our 1 million strong petition in 2013, the Dutch government blocked Iceland’s whale meat shipments docking in the Netherlands. And together with Greenpeace, our community managed to get fin whale meat sent back to Iceland from Germany. Since then major shipping companies announced they would never ship whale meat again. We’re making it harder and harder for this industry to make a profit. Let’s shut it down for good!

    With hope,

    Lisa, Danny, Alice, Ricken, Mel, Nick, Rewan and the whole Avaaz team

    MORE INFORMATION

    Iceland sends shipment of 1,700 tonnes of whale meat to Japan (The Guardian)
    http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/05/iceland-sends-shipment-of-1700-tonnes-of-whale-meat-to-japan.

    Desperate whalers go north (Greenpeace)
    http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/whale-meat-iceland/blog/53241/

    The Winter Bay (Vessel Fider – shows where the ship carrying the whale meat is and which country is registering it)
    https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/WINTER-BAY-IMO-8601680-MMSI-341433000

    Japan to resume whaling hunt despite IWC warning (AFP)
    https://uk.news.yahoo.com/japan-resume-whaling-hunt-despite-iwc-warning-105354478.html#ohHmAJ1

  • Calling all health professionals THE GUARDIAN

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    Calling all health professionals

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    Emma Howard <info@mail.theguardian.com> Unsubscribe
    2:27 AM (6 hours ago)
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    Dear Neville,

    Today in the Guardian, a group of senior health professionals – along with other doctors, nurses and academics – are asking the Wellcome Trust to divest from fossil fuels. Among them are the editors of the leading medical journals, the BMJ and the Lancet.

    “Health organisations such as the Wellcome Trust have considerable moral and scientific authority, and a decision to divest has the potential to influence policy-makers, other investors and the public, in the UK and internationally.”

    Do you belong to the health community? If so, the signatories to the letter are inviting you to join them and sign the letter too. Whether you’re a psychologist, community health worker, academic, student, retired GP, dentist or midwife, you can add your name to their letter here.

    Your voice has authority too and will hold weight with the Wellcome Trust. If you don’t want to sign the letter but you are a health professional concerned about climate change, simply tell us why and if you give permission we will publish a selection of your responses on our site.

    Also today, we launched our fifth carbon bomb – vast fossil fuel reserves, which, if burned, will take us well along the road to catastrophic climate change. This time it comes from the coast of Rio de Janeiro, where nine years ago billions of barrels worth of oil was discovered. Many hoped it would bring Brazil prosperity, but today their biggest energy company Petrobras is facing up to severe debt, scandal and the threat of a second Deepwater Horizon.

    Thank you for your support, as ever,

    Emma Howard, Keep it in the Ground
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    Our heartfelt thanks for protecting our SBS

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    Margaret Pomeranz & Quentin Dempster – via CommunityRun <info@communityrun.org>
    9:23 PM (11 hours ago)
    to me
    Thank you for protecting our SBS

    Hi NEVILLE,

    Yesterday the Senate voted against the Bill that would have increased advertising on our SBS.

    We started the campaign six months ago, when the proposals were first flagged. Since then almost 62,000 Australians, including you, joined the campaign to protect our SBS from further commercialisation.

    This could not have been achieved without you and the hard work of our friends at Save Our SBS supporters & friends of SBS, and GetUp. We want to convey our heartfelt thanks for your individual contribution to the success of our campaign. This was democracy in action.

    As it says in the name, our Special Broadcasting Service is something special. With many Australians, speaking a language other than English at home, it’s important we foster a sense of inclusion within our community. We couldn’t sit back and watch as this vital and unique service was put at risk.

    After launching the campaign, it took only a matter of weeks before this display of public support for our SBS was decisive. This meant that when we met with senators in Canberra, we were able to demonstrate the mass support for our petition against an increase in ads on the SBS. As a result, we were able to persuade senators that SBS should be protected from destructive laws seeking to fully commercialise the SBS through doubling prime time advertising and product placement.

    Proponents of the laws argued an increase in advertising was needed to claw back revenue lost through recent budget cuts. However, if the Bill had passed, our SBS would have looked no different from commercial TV and would fail to meet its Charter obligations.

    Our concerns regarding the future of SBS don’t rest here. We’ll continue to advocate for the restoration of funding for our SBS and we’ll oppose any attempts to undermine its integrity. We hope you’ll continue to stand with us.

    Warmest regards,

    Margaret Pomeranz & Quentin Dempster

    PS. We ask that you join us for the next phase of the battle to secure a sustainable future for SBS. With this in mind, if you’d like to stay in the loop, you can join Save Our SBS, the national peak body for supporters & friends of SBS (if you haven’t already done so), by visiting SaveOurSBS.org