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Time for climate change action
As dawn broke over Swanbank Power Station this morning, 4 Greenpeace activists stirred from their cold, uncomfortable resting place at the top of one of the smokestacks and started painting “Go Solar” down the side. Meanwhile, 800 kilometres to south, 250 people woke to a field of frost at the Camp for Climate Action and…
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Turning The Tide
An editorial in the Newcastle Herald yesterday suggested that demonstrations like Greenpeace’s action at Eraring last week and the Camp for Climate Action which kicked off in Newcastle today merely “state the obvious”, because “most Australians now appear to accept the inevitability of industrial and lifestyle change”. This is music to the ears of those…
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G8+ Summit: Will Kevin Rudd Show Global Climate Change Leadership?
Despite the G8 countries’ announcement this morning of their ‘vision’ to halve global emissions by 2050, there is a continuing reluctance on the part of the developed nations to take decisive action to reduce emissions and shift away from the global reliance on fossil fuels to renewable technologies. Kevin Rudd is speaking at the G8+…
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Only 4 days until the Camp for Climate Action
Hundreds of Novacastrians visited the Esperanza this weekend to “get on board” the Energy [R]evolution. We’ve had so many conversations with residents of the Hunter Valley since we arrived here several days ago, and are amazed at the overwhelming support in the region for a shift to renewable energy. A Newcastle Herald poll last week…
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Greenpeace activists blockade Eraring Power Station
Before dawn today 27 Greenpeace activists walked into Eraring Power Plant in the Hunter Valley to stop work on the coal-fired power station and halt its greenhouse gas pollution. Why would ordinary people want to leave themselves open to arrest and possible conviction? For most activists the reason is a passion for their cause and…
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The Esperanza arrives at the 'coalface' of climate change
Majestic humpback whales escorted the Esperanza as she sailed through the Sydney Harbour heads this morning, heading up the eastern seaboard to spread the message that it’s time for clean, renewable energy to be powering Australia. With 33 crew on board, from the captain to campaigners, deckhands and office volunteers, we are an excited and…
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A bright future for coal workers
This morning our Energy [R]evolution Tour blew a tenacious myth right out of the water with a report showing that the Hunter Valley would have a jobs boom if renewables replaced coal-fired power. The Hunter Valley is home to the world’s largest coal port and a hub of coal-fired power generation for the whole of…
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Greenpeace Esperanza begins Energy [R]evolution tour
Signing the Kyoto Protocol was an important symbolic step for the new government – much like saying sorry. In fact, it opened the door for Kevin Rudd to be a global leader on climate change, if he’s prepared to step up to the task. But to do that will require so much more than setting…
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All we’re fighting for is Australia’s future!
The headlines that made a splash yesterday when we launched our Energy [R]evolution Scenario: Australia report said that Greenpeace “declares war on coal”. It got me pondering this phrase, which naturally people would like to pin on Greenpeace. It allows what we’re saying to be discounted. No threat to powerful business interests: the greenies are…
