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What Happens in the Arctic Doesn’t Stay in the Arctic – Four Reasons why the Court Case Against Arctic Oil Could Make History
As people and governments around the world are starting to act on climate change, the Norwegian government is moving in the opposite direction – opening up the remote Arctic for new oil drilling and putting people’s lives at risk. MY Arctic Sunrise moored in Svalbard. The winter of 2015/ 2016 represents a record low for…
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Antarctic Krill – Not Just Whale Food
Krill is whale food. In fact, it’s a commonly held misbelief that ‘krill’ in Norwegian literally means ‘whale food’. It doesn’t, but it’s still true. Massive swarms of krill, a tiny micro-shrimp in the Antarctic Ocean, provide the principal food for blue whales – the largest animal that ever lived. Humpback whales travel down the coasts of…
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It’s all Happening in Port Augusta
Alot can happen pretty quickly here in Port Augusta. Only yesterday I was getting ready to launch a campaign with Greenpeace to ask the South Australian government to follow through on their original promise to pay for the remediation of Bird Lake. Bird Lake has dried up after the closure of the Alinta power plant…
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Climate Leaders: The Time has Come
Across the Internet or in your favourite bookstore you’ll find many stories of great leadership. They focus on the character of great leaders and the decisions they made, the courage they displayed, the integrity they possessed. Supporters for the Paris Agreement at the COP22 in Marrakech – 18 Nov, 2016 A common thread is…
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PACIFIC ISLAND REPRESENT HEADING TO THE COP TO CALL OUT CLIMATE SWEET-TALK AND DEMAND ACTION
Combatting climate change is a huge problem that demands a concerted global effort. Landmark deals like the Paris Agreement are touted as the way forward but they’re not worth the paper they’re written on if the nations signed up don’t obey them. But despite the politically convenient photo opportunities and inspiring words spoken by world…
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5 reasons why coal is on the way out
While some politicians – ahem, Trump! and ahem, Malcolm Turnbull are trying to prop up the fossil fuel industry, there’s been a quiet revolution happening around the world. Despite Australia’s insistence on a mandated percentage of coal usage in the energy mix and consideration of a billion-dollar loan to help fund Adani’s Carmichael rail line the rest of…
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BHP’s secret shame
In November 2015 Brazil suffered one of its worst ever environmental disasters when the iron ore tailings dam at Samarco’s mine collapsed. It resulted in 60 million cubic meters of iron ore waste flowing into the Doce River, causing the deaths of 21 people, the destruction of entire towns, the displacement of thousands, pollution of…
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Our power, our future: Puerto Rico’s road to a #JustRecovery
Hurricane Maria left Puerto Rico devastated. In rebuilding, it’s communities — not corporations — that need to call the shots, Ryan Schleeter writes. It’s hard to quantify Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico. The category four storm completely destroyed the island’s power grid, already damaged by Hurricane Irma two weeks prior. This left all 3.4…
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We have one year to create the largest ever protected area on Earth
In the words of David Attenborough, “Our planet is a blue planet”. With over 70% of our world covered by water, our oceans can be seen from across the solar system. It wasn’t long ago that the oceans were still believed to be too vast for human activity to be able to cause them significant,…
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Historic treaty banning nuclear weapons opens for signature: Australia where are you?
When the first British nuclear test explosion in South Australia on 15 October, 1953 shook the ground, an oily radioactive black mist spread fear and acute radiation sickness among the people living at Wallatinna, Yami Lester was just a young boy.
