The Australian Open is currently subjecting tennis players and spectators to extreme heat, a striking reminder of human-caused global warming. Tennis players are no strangers to Melbourne heat. During the 2007 Open, Maria Sharapova described conditions as “inhuman”. The 2009 Open broke heat records with an average daily temperature of 34.7°C. Several players including Novak …
Category: Energy
Jan 14 2014
Activists blockade new coal mine
As Australia bakes in a summer heatwave, protestors are blocking construction at Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek Coal Mine in northwest NSW’s Leard State Forest. About 30 activists are blockading the entrance to the forest, chaining themselves to bulldozers seeking to clear trees for an access route. Maules Creek is the largest new coal mine currently …
Nov 16 2013
Climate talks more farcical than ever
Wisdom from the official website of the COP19 climate talks. Delegates of the world’s governments are currently gathered in Warsaw, Poland for the 19th Conference of Parties (COP19) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – global climate talks to us laypeople. During previous COPs, I’ve examined the negotiating positions and outcomes …
Nov 15 2013
We need real direct action on global warming
Note: Regular readers may notice this post goes over ground I’ve covered before. It was originally intended to be published elsewhere, but that didn’t pan out so I’m posting it here. The tragic unseasonal bushfires which ravaged NSW in October are a striking reminder human-caused global warming hasn’t disappeared just because politicians don’t consider it …
Oct 22 2013
Anti-politics 3: Time to demand a real climate policy
This is the third part of a series about the Australian “anti-politics” attitude and how the green left should respond to it. Part 1 lays out evidence for the attitude and speculates on its causes. Part 2 argues the green left needs to distance itself from political elites. This part discusses how we should communicate …
Sep 25 2013
Roundup of petitions to Abbott government
Australia’s new Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Tony Abbott, is claiming a mandate for its promises to tear down the Australian climate policy regime. If you don’t support this program of demolition, then tell him about it! Consider signing the following petitions: Tell Australia not to scrap carbon tax. Tony Abbott and the Coalition: Reconsider …
Sep 06 2013
Let’s make this Australia’s climate election
Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: ‘Too late.’ – Martin Luther King Jr. As Australia, the world’s largest coal exporter, goes to the polls, the window of opportunity for humanity to act on climate change is closing fast. Anthropogenic global warming is the largest and most …
Precarious Climate
- Bendigo Climate Drawdown Summit
- The Paris Agreement was a sham anyway
- Australian election: say no to the polluting major parties
- Will Turnbull act on climate?
- Are we approaching peak stupidity?
- Is Turnbull a green Liberal?
- 2014 the warmest year as global heating speeds up
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership: the dirtiest trade deal you’ve never heard of
- Tony Abbott’s intergenerational theft
- 2014: the year that was