Tag Archives: agriculture

June Pickings (so far)

Victorian Plans for Solar PowerChee Chee Leung, The Age
Brumby & QLD Premier Bligh plan for solar roll-out and VIC considers a mandatory solar component to their renewable energy target.

Protesters picket Qld coal conferenceABC News

Scientists: Big powers ‘too slow on climate change’Ben Cubby, SMH

World’s first climate change refugees call for helpRich Bowden, The Hatchet

Australians support the ban on GM cropsSteve Lancaster, New Internationalist

Dividing up the Arctic… oh, and climate changeSMH

Sustainable City Design – Barcelona & MelbourneRob Adams, The Age

Ads target meat-eaters on greenhouseAAP

Quick Grab-bag: Past Week

Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Fossil Fuels receive $28 for every $1 spent on renewable energy. – AAP

NASA scientist urges PM to stop coal exportsSarah Clarke, ABC News

WWF, The Climate Institue ask government to fund carbon capture and storage
The NGO and think tank have joined the Australian Coal Association and the miner’s union in an alliance, while the rest of the environment movement says “clean coal” should be funded by the coal companies. – ABC News.  And more by Kenneth Davidson in The Age.

Climate fund could be radical inflation brake
This is a really interesting proposal. Worth a read. – Matthew Murphy, The Age

Labor resurrects Howard’s uranium planKatharine Murphy, The Age

Climate Scientist Exposes Vic Govt’s GreenwashAdam Morton, The Age

Solar expert wants same support as coalMarian Wilkinson and Ben Cubby, SMH

Include Aviation in Emissions ReductionsABC News

Change in farming can feed world – report
“The short answer to whether [GM] crops can feed the world is ‘no’.” Sounds like a great report on food security, etc. – John Vidal, The Guardian

Vic spanks NSW on climatePaul Austin, The Age

Indigenous people key to climate battle
“There are at least 370 million indigenous people throughout the world living relatively neutral or even carbon negative lifestyles.” – AAP. Plus Inuits losing lives to climate changeABC News

Possible Container Deposit LegislationBen Cubby and Marian Wilkinson, SMH

Excerpt: Clive Hamilton’s Latest Book
A long one, but a good, clear explanation of the emissions cuts we need to make and the tests for a solid Emissions Trading Scheme. – SMH

Poor nations fear being left in cold on global warmingSMH

Call to ban anorexia websites
Labor MP asks for ban on pro-anorexia websites which promote extreme thinness and methods for self-starvation. – Ellie Harvey, SMH

Super Tuesday News – 18 March

Big polluters demand billion-dollar ‘ransom’
AUSTRALIA’S electricity generation industry is demanding massive compensation from the Federal Government in return for its co-operation in efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. – Adam Morton, The Age

World’s first 24-hour renewable energy power station
Apparently there are a few mistakes in this article, but the crux of it is there. – Cara Jenkin, Adelaide Now

Meltdown in the mountains
A thaw of the world’s glaciers has accelerated to a new record, with some of the biggest losses within Europe in a worrying sign of climate change…”an accelerating trend with no apparent end in sight,” – Reuters

Infrastructure bottlenecks are economic blood clots
…and Sydney is struggling for circulation. Tourism, transport and infrastructure industries call for sustainable transport in Sydney. – Christopher Brown, SMH

Read it to believe it: Exorcisms at Mercy Ministries
Hillsong church administers it’s own brand of fundamentalist feminine care to women in need – and you can support them at the David Jones Mercy register. – Tanya Levin, former Hillsong member, SMH

Government funds dish out to polluters
Government-controlled funds are investing $47 in fossil fuels and uranium for every dollar they invest in renewable energy. – Greg Kelton, Adelaide Advertiser

Record glacier melts while Government considers free permits for polluters
by Marian Wilkinson, SMH

The bell tolls for irrigated agriculture
Adelaide heat-wave causes multi-million dollar losses to SA farmers, 15 heat stress cases in 4 days in Melbourne. – Matthew Burgess, The Age

Rudd goes soft on plastic bag levy
The prime minister said the federal and state governments are still working on how to achieve the planned phase-out of single-use plastic bags by January 1, 2009. – AAP

Marrickville councillors warned on Hamas
The Rudd Government has warned councillors from Marrickville that they risk breaking the law if they meet elected representatives from their sister-city, Bethlehem, in the West Bank. – Imre Salusinszky, The Australian

Democracy vs Morals?
Kevin Rudd’s promise to cut taxes by $31 billion will force his Government to choose between these two alternatives. Dr Jeremy Moss, Social Justice Initiative at the Uni of Melbourne argues for a hardship test. – The Age

Sydney’s Eastern suburbs sinking
Keeping the lawns green at Randwick Racecourse and UNSW with water from the Botany aquifer is causing Eastern Sydney to sink. – Brian Robins, SMH