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Category: News
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Why can’t we talk about this? Ellen Sandell MP
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Adani’s sinking liferaft Sam R – GetUp!
The conversation has been marked as not important.More1 of 42Adani’s sinking liferaft
Inboxx Sam R – GetUp! Unsubscribe
12:50 PM (5 minutes ago)to meSomething exciting just happened, NEVILLE.Indian mining company Adani is seeking a lifeline for their Reef-destroying, climate-damaging project – and we have the chance to sink it.
This morning on Radio National, Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg was asked if he would be prepared to give huge handouts for Adani’s coal project. His answer? “Adani needs to stand on its own two feet… it wouldn’t be a priority project for the Commonwealth.”1
It’s a major shift from the Government, who have repeatedly nominated Adani as a candidate for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of handouts to prop up their Reef-destroying, climate-damaging project.
They’re encouraging words, but it’s far from a concrete promise.
But if enough of us reach out right now, we can show Minister Frydenberg just how popular a solid commitment not to fork out Government money for Adani would be. It could be enough to get him over the line.
Here’s the really exciting thing. Without a government lifeline, Adani could be cooked. Top financial analysts have said the market for thermal coal will never recover, and Adani’s coal will likely never find a market.2
Major banks won’t touch it. Already, 15 of the world’s 20 biggest banks have ruled it out because of financial or environmental concerns.
Simply put, the Carmichael Mine and Abbot Point might never get off the ground without this funding.
Can you help grab this golden opportunity with both hands? https://www.getup.org.au/nohandouts
With hope,
Sam R and Adam, for the GetUp team
PS – There’s never been a more important time to act. Just this morning, we heard the Great Barrier Reef is facing the worst bleaching event in history. This summer, up to 10% of the Reef’s coral risks dying. We need to do every single thing we can to protect our precious Reef. Here’s the first step: https://www.getup.org.au/nohandouts
References
[1] Big ideas for the top end, ABC Radio National, 9 October 2015
[2] Why more banks should be wary about coal, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 September 2015 -
THE GLOBAL CONVEYOR BELT
Currents
The Global Conveyor Belt 1 2 3
Thermohaline circulation begins in the Earth’s polar regions. When ocean water in these areas gets very cold, sea ice forms. The surrounding seawater gets saltier, increases in density and sinks.
Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface. However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
In the Earth’s polar regions ocean water gets very cold, forming sea ice. As a consequence the surrounding seawater gets saltier, because when sea ice forms, the salt is left behind. As the seawater gets saltier, its density increases, and it starts to sink. Surface water is pulled in to replace the sinking water, which in turn eventually becomes cold and salty enough to sink. This initiates the deep-ocean currents driving the global conveyer belt.
Continue to 2 3
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Abyan’s story Aurora – GetUp!
Abyan’s story
Inboxx Aurora – GetUp! Unsubscribe
8:27 PM (20 minutes ago)to meContent warning: sexual assault, violence against women.NEVILLE,
The government is scrambling, trying to convince the Australian public that all is well on Nauru. But they can’t hide the human cost of their abusive detention regime.
This week, we heard the story of a 23 year old refugee called Abyan. After she fled war to seek safety in Australia, our government denied her our protection, and sent her to Nauru. When she was allegedly raped on the island, our government failed to offer her the care and support she needed.
Now, pregnant as a result of her violent assault, she is calling directly on Prime Minister Turnbull to allow her to urgently access medical care in Australia. Care that includes an abortion, which is illegal on the island.1
Abyan’s case is an emergency we can’t let the government ignore. Pressure is already building on Prime Minister Turnbull – if enough of us speak out now, we could push him to act. Click here to call on the Prime Minister to allow Abyan to come to Australia for medical care.
Abyan’s story shows just how bad the situation on Nauru is for refugees and people seeking asylum.
Over the weekend the Nauran government announced that the Australian-run detention camp is now an ‘open centre’. Since then the governments of Australia and Nauru have been trying spin this as an improvement for refugees and people seeking asylum.
But it’s not true – Nauru remains unsafe.
Though the physical bars are gone, the constant threat of violence remains. It’s horrifying, but Abyan’s story is one of a string of reports of violence and sexual assault, including rape, occurring outside the camp’s walls.3 Women like Abyan deserve meaningful protection, access to justice – and control over their own bodies.
Will you take a few minutes to write to Prime Minister Turnbull calling on him to ensure Abyan and all women who have survived assault on Nauru receive the care they need, here in Australia? www.getup.org.au/she-needs-our-help
Thank you for doing your part to make sure Abyan receives the help she needs.
Aurora, Matthew and Sally for the GetUp team
PS. No Business in Abuse, our campaign targeting the corporations profiting from Australia’s grotesque detention regime, is causing trouble for Transfield! On Tuesday, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton implied that their new contract, which just a week ago looked like a done deal, is up in the air again.4 We’ll be in touch soon with more news from No Business in Abuse – in the meantime, congratulate yourself on the impact your voice is already having!
*Abyan is not her real name; it is the name used by the media to protect her identity.
References
[1] ‘Refugee raped on Nauru begs Malcolm Turnbull to let her come to Australia for an abortion’, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 October 2015
[2] ‘Detainees in Nauru to be granted full freedom of movement 24 hours a day’, ABC News, 3 October 2015
[3] ‘Detainees on Nauru may have been ‘released’, but they are not free’, The Converstion, 6 October 2015
[4] Interview with Peter Dutton on Breakfast, Radio National, 6 October 2015 -
JODY COMMON GRACE GIFT OF SOLAR PANELS
Dear Neville, As most of you know, last Christmas Common Grace members crowd-funded solar panels for Kirribilli House as a clean energy gift to our nation. Several months later, we were informed that the Government would not accept the gift for various reasons that really didn’t stack up.
So we tried again, explaining how easily these objections could be overcome and yet – despite a pile of media articles reporting the story and an increasingly loud chorus of Christians and non-Christians urging them to #acceptthegift – again the Government said no.Now… after months of exploring alternative options, we are pleased to let you know that we have finally found the PERFECT gift recipient and (even better!) they have ACCEPTED THE GIFT! Hooray!
Get your akubra hat ready and meet the solar gift beneficiary on video here! And share your message of encouragement to the family in the comments.
We all know that farmers work hard to provide us with food that keeps us healthy and that, as the world experiences its hottest decade on record, Aussie farmers are facing longer and more intense drought. In addition, many of our farmers spend years trying to stop large corporations from digging massive coal mines, and coal seam gas projects that endanger their family, prime agricultural land and a clean energy future.
So, knowing that farmers are on the front lines of climate change, we asked Josh Gilbert, chair of NSW Young Farmers Association for advice on who to offer the solar panels too. Josh told us about a family who have been an inspiration to young farmers right across the country – Derek and Kirrily Blomfield and their two boys Patrick and Reilly.
Derek and Kirrily are passionate about regenerative agriculture (which focuses on improving soil health, which enables the soil to absorb huge amounts of carbon pollution) and its role to create healthy food and a healthy world. Known as the “Conscious Farmers”, Derek and Kirrily run a sustainable beef practice on the Liverpool Plains in NSW and educate young farmers how to create thriving, nourishing and sustainable food producing landscapes. They are local legends, known to have inspired other young farmers with their passion for sustainable agriculture, and having invested countless hours over the past ten years to protect some of Australia’s best agricultural land from dangerous coal projects.
For all of these reasons, I was excited to give the solar panels gift to the Blomfield family on your behalf, travelling to the Liverpool Plains last Friday.
The day was a huge success, with media covering the event, and plans made for an exciting new climate justice campaign (stay tuned!), but I reckon the most beautiful part about the day was seeing the reaction from the family to the messages of encouragement that the solar panel donors had sent through.
From Jody, Kylie, Jarrod and the whole Common Grace team.
P.S. This gift is the beginning of a new journey. Shenhou corporation is planning to dig a 35 square km coal mine in the heart of Australia’s food bowl right near Derek and Kirrily’s farm. Farmers across Australia have warned that if the mine goes ahead, it could cause irreversible damage to groundwater, posing an unacceptable risk to the future of farming in Australia’s best agricultural land. The young farmers in the area have been incredibly brave and have led a campaign to stop the mine from going ahead. You know this is something we are going to want to celebrate even more in the days ahead, right? Stay tuned!
Common Grace
http://www.commongrace.org.au/ -
Our amazing community All of us at The Climate Council.
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Our amazing community
Inboxx Climate Council Team <community@climatecouncil.org.au> Unsubscribe
3:54 PM (1 hour ago)to me
Dear Inga,
We are constantly amazed by the generosity and support of the Climate Council community, and the response to our recent emails about our second birthday was no exception. It is so encouraging to know that so many people are not only passionate about ensuring that science underpins the public debate on climate change, but committed to the work that we’re doing.
We know you’re committed to urgent action on climate change – and this is why we plan to make our third year the biggest, most impactful one yet. There is still so much to do, and thanks to the support of this amazing community, we believe we can do it.
- In the coming year, we will reach even more people through national and social media thanks to our authoritative, and engaging reports and content. In fact, in the last few weeks alone, we’ve released an update to our seminal Critical Decade report: Climate Change 2015: Growing Risks, Critical Choices, as well as a groundbreaking report on the significant and growing national security threat that’s undermining the preparedness of the Australian Defence Force, Be Prepared: Climate Change, Security and Australia’s Defence Force.
- We will soon be launching a new Climate Council project, the Climate Media Centre. This initiative will see us change the face of climate change in the media from policy wonks and scientists, to farmers to firefighters, and doctors to renewable energy installers. We will focus on telling relevant and engaging stories to connect with a new and diverse audience of Australians. Stories of the heart – not just the head.
- In the coming months, we will also significantly increasing our engagement with rural and regional communities by highlighting the impacts and opportunities they face through video, stories and a series of reports, the first of which was launched yesterday in Sydney, Feeding a Hungry Nation: Climate Change, Food and Farming in Australia. Please – we invite you to read, and share this important work with your networks.
- And we will continue to build on our success as a key hub for digital content that people want to share – telling the story of why climate change matters, what it means to real people, and about the desirability of solutions. We’ll look at more formats; distributed to more partners; with even greater reach – leading to an even bigger impact.
We’re so excited. Our plans are big! And thanks to your support, they will get bigger, bolder and more impactful still – we’ll be sure to keep you updated.
Best,
All of us at The Climate Council.
