All articles
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Our APEC wrap-up
The end of the APEC meeting is a bit of a collective sigh for Sydney-siders but a disappointing for those of us hoping that it would be the first meeting in a decade where John Howard and George Bush stopped trying to undermine international action on climate change. Alas, it was not to be. The…
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Controversial Anvil Hill mine sold to Xstrata
Yesterday’s announcement that Centennial Coal, Australia’s largest independent coal company, has failed in its plan to develop one of the richest coal seams in NSW, is a huge victory for people concerned about climate change as well as concerned locals in the Hunter Valley. The proposed Anvil Hill coal mine has been faced with growing…
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Taking the Prime Minister for a walk…
With John Howard all set to call the election, we rolled out our team of polar bears this morning to trail the Prime Minister on what could be his final morning walk from The Lodge. We were there raise the profile of The Big Switch campaign, the prime web-tool for Australians to express their views…
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Govt climate ad campaign not so clever
After ten years of being a climate sceptic, John Howard begrudgingly pronounced himself a climate change realist. But while the rhetoric has changed, Government policy hasn’t. Australia’s greenhouse pollution continues to soar as the renewables industry slowly but surely packs its bags and heads overseas. Meanwhile the coal industry continues to expand with the help…
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Why I stopped the Kooragang coal loader
Hi I’m Kerrie, one of the activists that stopped the Kooragang coal loader in February this year. I grew up in Newcastle and believe that we need to “Quit Coal” and we need to do it now! There is no time to waste as we only have a very small window of opportunity to stop…
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Proposed coal-fired power stations
So the current Minister for the Environment Malcolm Turnbull’s latest hollow pre-election statement is that the Australian ‘world of electricity’ should be zero emissions by 2050 (ABC television 24 September 2007). It’s hard not to be cynical when one contrasts the rhetoric of the government with what is actually happening in the ‘world of electricity’…
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Kyoto Ground Hog Day
Do you ever wake up and feel, to use that US expression, like it is ‘Ground Hog Day’? Well, today is one of those days with Malcolm Turnbull saying that Australia may consider signing ‘a modified Kyoto Protocol’. The Australian Government is reportedly re-considering their support for the Kyoto Protocol. But nowhere do they say…
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New report by Dr Mark Diesendorf: Pathways to a low carbon future
What would Australia look like in 2020 if our Governments got serious about climate change? According to Dr Mark Diesendorf we can cut our greenhouse pollution by 30% by 2020, but only if we get really serious about shifting from coal to renewables, massively increasing energy efficiency and decarbonising our transport fleet. We will also…
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Anvil Hill becomes a hot potato
Next week, ownership of the controversial Anvil Hill coal mine will officially pass from Centennial Coal to Swiss mining giant Xstrata. It’s a clear sign that widespread community opposition to the mine has had a big impact and has turned Anvil Hill into a hot potato. According to media reports, Centennial managing director Bob Cameron…
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Bring on the climate change election!
After what feels like a long wait, our federal election has finally been called. Although Greenpeace campaigns 365 days a year, elections are important milestones in our work as they focus the public and politicians on all sorts of issues. And for the first time in an Australian election, climate change is a key issue…