This week on Eco Radio we spoke with Ewan Saunders, one of the organisers of the National Climate Emergency Rally in Brisbane. The rally has united a coalition of different activist groups and is hoping to pressure state and federal governments in to actually doing something about climate change and our transition to a post-carbon future. The audio can be heard here.
Eliza then gave us the lowdown on last week's World Environment Day protests, organised by the Six Degrees crew who will also be out in force for this week's rally.
We also had a report back from Kasey Sparks, who was recently part of Friends of the Earth's Radioactive Exposure Tour. The Radtour takes in such abominations as the Maralinga test site and Ranger uranium mine. Here's a fun fact: Australia's cheese exports are actually a bigger contributor to our economy than the current revenue stream generated by the nuclear industry! Sorry vegans, this is proof that we should all eat cheese and leave the poison in the ground. Yep.
The Pledge (DJ Spooky Ill Bootleg mp3 remix) – Saul Williams Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government) – The Vandals Up to No Good – Rancid Dontcha Hear Me - Lazy Grey The Raft – Fat Freddy's Drop (during the community notices) Leaky Lifeboat – Sonic Youth
This week on Eco Radio we had a visit from Omar Ameer from the North Brisbane Carbon Reduction Action Group. Omar told us about a group of awesome Brisvegans who are doing their bit to slow down the seemingly inevitable clusterfuck that is climate change. For the uninitiated, a Carbon Reduction Action Group or CRAG is an organisation of peeps taking climatic matters into their own hands, basically due to their frustration with our shitty governments and 'captains of industry' doing sweet FA. With an undertaking to reduce their carbon emissions – mainly by reducing their electricity consumption and travel patterns – CRAG members set about the business of fixing shit up before it's too late. Word.
Meanwhile the schmucks in Canberra, Washington, Geneva and probably Copenhagen grease the wheels of the capitalist death machine with a softly softly approach to the climate criminals. Go figure.
For more info about CRAGs in general a great resource is http://www.carbonequity.info/. For info about the North Brisbane CRAG hit up the link above, email NB.CRAG[at]gmail[dot]com or call Omar on 0413 664 369. They're having their next meeting on the 15th of June in Red Hill, so get on ya bike or PT and get involved. We'll hear from the North Brisbane CRAG later in the year when they do a bit of a stocktake on their carbon reduction efforts to see how things are working out.
We also heard some mutherf*ckin radness from the Stimulator and the latest edition of ITEOTWAWKIAIFF, and another of Mumia Abu Jamal's pearls of wisdom from death row.
Music Gang of Four – Capital Barons of Tang – Tango for Billy The Slits – Typical Girls Mexico City – Ghetto Fireballs – Depression Manic Chris Macro presents: King Tubby vs Wu Tang Clan – Money Rules Everything Around Me
It's now official – Kev, Penny and Co are on the nose. The announcement of the government's long-awaited carbon pollution reduction targets has drawn suitable ire from greenies, a concerned public, and most surprisingly, from industry.
The announcement of a 5-15% target falls well short of the 25-40% environmentalists are saying is essential to stop runaway climate change completely screwing things up. Many argue the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu wetlands and Murray-Darling basin are all set for irreparable damage thanks to the 5% figure.
Even 15%is likely to be pretty bleak, should next year's negotiations in Copenhagen actually succeed.
We spoke to Mathew Murphy, Energy Reporter with The Age in Melbourne to get some insight into what the targets actually mean and whether it was all as bad as it seems. He seems to think not, but says there is definitely room for movement into a higher percentage range.
The Australian Youth Climate Coalition's Anna Rose thinks otherwise. We heard last week about the AYCC's 'Your targets = Our Future' campaign, which was anticipating a 5-15% reduction target. The AYCC are going to be at the government's White Paper information sessions around the country, including in Brisbane tomorrow from 9 until 11am, at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on Merivale St, South Brisbane.
Fortunately people seem to care about what's in store – Radio Democracy tried to get in to hear the session and all 370 seats are already booked out. Being outside is always more fun anyway.
While we were on a roll with doomsday scenarios and climate chaos, we heard the first of three excerpts from Radio Ecoshock, featuring journalist and war historian Gwynne Dyer. Dyer was speaking in Vancouver about his latest book and upcoming radio series, which looks at the likelihood of war as a result of climate change.
While hardly the first person to run this argument, Dyer puts a very strong, logical case as to just how we can expect the shit to hit the fan. The first is a massive influx of Mesicans and Central Americans into the United States and increased border control (think Palestine, walls, guns, razorwire etc.), the second a drying up of the Indus River by India, leaving Pakistan thirsty, angry and armed with nukes and finally a collapse – through desertification – of the world's food producing regions. Case in point – the Murray Darling. More next week.
Music Capital – Gang of Four Moment of Truth – Blue King Brown Burn Down the Parliament – The Herd Cigarettes and Alcohol – The Leftovers Car Song - Woody Guthrie Conspiracy to Riot – Sage Francis
It is 60 years today since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed by Eleanor Roosevelt in the immediate aftermath of World War II.
And while the principles contained in the declaration are certainly noble, it seems sadly, after 60 years, many of these principles are yet to become reality.
The Federal Government has announced a consultation on a possible bill of rights for Australia, to be headed by Father Frank Brennan, who The Australian newspaper describes as a human rights skeptic.
We spoke to Phoebe Knowles, Campaign Coordinator for the Australian Human Rights Group, a coalition of over 60 organisations who would like to see better protection of human rights in this country.
She told us about what form the consultation will take, how people can make submissions and what a bill of rights would mean for Australia. A popular argument is that a bill of rights would prevent policies such as mandatory detention from coming into existence, so we asked Phoebe if this could even be applied to such idiocies as the mandatory internet filter. She thinks a constitutional protection of the right to free speech, association and expression could preempt the existence of the filter (as an example).
My two cents: seeing as 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights hasn't exactly changed a whole lot, maybe an Australian bill of rights – as much as the UDHR itself – could do with a revision. A lot has changed in the last 60 years, and while the concept of universal human rights should be strived for, perhaps the way we frame the concept needs to be redefined a little, or a lot.
Dave was in again with an report on the activities of the 'clean coal' lobby, which are ramping up in anticipation of the government's announcement of its emissions reduction targets next week.
The greenwash is going into overdrive as the dinosaurs refuse to die.
Climate Change minister Penny Wong is currently in Poznan, Poland for a United Nations Climate Change summit and the elephant in the room is Australia’s expected emissions cuts.
Senator Wong is remaining tight-lipped about Australia’s target, but it is anticipated that the Government will announce a figure of 5-15% on Monday.
That’s a 5-15% cut on 2000 levels by 2020.
Like many other environmental groups, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition says this isn’t enough. We spoke to Jess Willis from the AYCC to discuss their ‘Your targets = our future’ campaign.
Music Door Peep – Burning Spear Alternative Energy – Combat Wombat Time to Evolve – Bill Hicks Paranoid Android – Easy Dub All Stars Revolution Get Down – The Bellrays A Public Dis-service Announcement from Shell/... And we thought Nation States Were a Bad Idea – Propagandhi Eureka – Unkle Ho Nights in Venice – The Saints
Australia’s three largest environmental groups have offered a mixed reaction to the findings of the Garnaut Report.
The final report – which was released yesterday – underlines the importance of responding to climate change, but is being criticised for aiming too low, with a reduction to 550 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
This represents a reduction of emissions of ten percent by 2020, based on the 2000 level.
Friends of the Earth had called for a reduction of between 300-325ppm in their submission to the Garnaut report.
"A target of 550 ppm of carbon dioxide is a recipe for disaster and even the lower target of 450 ppm will mean we will face runaway climate change,” a Friends of the Earth statement said.
"The Arctic sea ice and Himalaya glaciers are already disappearing and the permafrost bomb is looming. We need much deeper cuts. "
The Report is being seen by many as an exercise in politics rather than science or economics, leaving plenty of room for governments to interpret or adapt its recommendations.
The Wilderness Society has also said the targets are too low, while highlighting the role our forests – a natural means for carbon capture and storage – play in mitigating the risks of climate change.
Australia’s native forests, like those currently under threat of logging in Tasmania, are capable of offsetting as much as 25% of our carbon emissions, based on 2005 levels.
“The Rudd Government has no excuse to allow destruction of Australia’s native forests to continue,” the Wilderness Society’s Tasmanian Campaign Manager Geoff Law said.
“Australia can massively reduce its damaging greenhouse-gas emissions if we stop logging immediately in the majority of our native forests.
“A transition to Australia’s existing stands of fast-growing plantations should be implemented for the timber industry.”
But the biggest problem lies with Australia’s highly profitable and highly polluting coal industry.
Greenpeace has criticised the proposed compensation for the coal industry offered under the Rudd Government’s Emissions Trading Scheme or ETS.
The Garnaut Report recommends a one billion dollar fund to facilitate a transition to a low-emissions coal industry, according to a report on Crikey.com.
Rio Tinto and NRG, owners of the Gladstone coal-fired power station, are set to receive compensation of $70.8 million under the proposed ETS, while NSW’s state-owned Macquarie Generation is set to receive $208 million in compensation.
Greenpeace campaigner Trish Harrup said community members and unions working in the coal industry don’t want to see a blank checque offered to the industry, but investment and job creation in the renewable energy sector.
On today's show we spoke with peace activist Gareth Smith about the development of hypersonic technology at the University of Queensland. Hypersonics is a super-supersonic model of engine design which I think may be beyond the layperson's comprehension.
The good news: potential Sydney to London flying time of two hours; The bad: a US$74 million dollar investment from the US Air Force, who Smith says are developing Hypersonics for new bombers named Falcon and Blackswift.
I can't personally substantiate this, but given the military's leading role in the development of technology, it doesn't seem at all unreasonable.
We heard the responses of the big 3 environmental NGOs to the final Garnaut Report – see the blog post above.
Finally, Associate Professor Dick Bryan from the University of Sydney joined Radio Democracy to discuss the financial meltdown we are currently experiencing. We discussed the bailout, what alternatives there may be, and how we arrived to this point.
The Drones – Minotaur (from their outstanding new album Havilah out on All Tomorrow's Parties) Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley – We're Gonna Make It Talking Heads – Burning Down the House Easy Dub All-stars – Money GOD – My Pal
This week on Eco Radio we spoke with Ewan Saunders, one of the organisers of the National Climate Emergency Rally in Brisbane. The rally has united a coalition of different activist groups and is hoping to pressure state and federal governments in to actually doing something about climate change and our transition to a post-carbon future. The audio can be heard here.
