JUNE NEWSLETTER - Pine Rivers Climate Action Network
This month's cooler weather is no excuse for staying indoors! There's a very active No New Coal Campaign underway in Qld, as well as other events with more of a householder focus such as the Sustainable Shopping Tours in this month and next and the Solar Hot Water Info Night on 23rd July. So don't just sit there - get active and reduce your carbon emissions today!
Kind regards,
Kirsten Kennedy
Co-ordinator, Pine Rivers CAN
Renewable is Do-able!
Sustainable is Attainable!
In this issue…
Community Café brings groups together
PR CAN wins Premiers Award!
Sustainable shopping tours this month in Samford
Solar Hot Water Info Night
Nominate as Qld rep in National Climate Network
National Tree Day coming up - register now
Enquiry into Renewable Energy Sector
Copenhagen - a post mortem
Sustainable Cities in QLD?
SPECIAL FEATURE ON COAL
Upcoming Events Around Brisbane
Movies with a message - what's screening this month
Solar Grants for Community Groups
Inspiring story of communities making a difference
Pine Rivers CAN Calendar of Events for 2010, and more...
Community Groups take a stroll down Green Street
Community groups in the Samford Valley came together on Sunday 23 May at the Farmers Hall for the Green Street Community Group Café. The event was a great opportunity for people from a wide range of groups across the Valley to network and share ideas about reducing emissions and living more sustainability. The event was facilitated by Samford's own Howard Nielsen, one of the founding members of PR CAN.
We were joined by State Minister for Education and State Member for Ferny Grove, Geoff Wilson, as well as representatives from the office of the State Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change, Kate Jones.
A big thank you to all who attended and contributed ideas to the workshop. We look forward to working with you in our shared journey towards a more sustainable future for us all. Thanks also go to local musician Dale Jones, Samford Farmers Hall Trust, Samford Hire, Java Café, the Homestead Restaurant, Girraween Flowers and the Green Street web team from Caboodle Web in Samford for their assistance with the event.
Pine Rivers CAN wins Premiers Climate Smart Sustainability Award
What an honour it was to be the winners of the inaugural Premiers Sustainability Award in the Community category on 4 June! As one of 3 finalists in a field of 19 nominees, we knew we had stiff competition from groups such as the very active Sustainable Jamboree on Brisbane's southside and even the Townsville City Council! The winners were announced at an awards dinner at the Brisbane Convention Centre on the eve of World Environment Day, and presented with a stunning trophy and $5000 to go towards a Sustainability Project. Congratulations also to another winner in our area, Eatons Hill State School was the winner of the Schools Category.
A big thank you goes out to all members and supporters of Pine Rivers CAN for their participation in projects such as the Samford Valley Solar Neighbourhood, the Samford Local Growers and particularly the Green Street Program without whose support the award would not have been possible. Keep an eye out as we launch the Samford Valley Green Street Schools Challenge encouraging more people to sign up to the Green Street website www.greenstreet.net.au.
Thanks also go to the Village Pump, The Westerner and Quest Newspapers for their recognition of our recent award and their past support for our work in the community.
For a full list of finalists and winners of the awards, go to http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/premiersawards/finalists_winners.html
Sustainable Shopping Tours - Book now for June and July!
Walk the aisles of the Samford Super IGA to learn about ethical and environmentally sustainable choices when it comes to the weekly grocery shop.
Which products and brands are the better choice when it comes to food miles, packaging, Australian or foreign ownership, organically grown, genetically modified ingredients, or the track record of the parent company?
Learn all this and more at the brand new Sustainable Shopping Tours - this June and July in Samford. Contact Kirsten at Pine Rivers CAN to register your interest in the following dates:
June: Tuesdays 10am -22 June, 29 June
July: Sundays 12 noon - 11 July, 18 July, 25 July
Limited spaces - don't miss out! Small groups only - 10 people maximum per group.
Bookings essential.
Tour Cost: $10 per person, with $1 discount per person for each additional person that books and attends with you. The cost includes a copy of the Ethical Shopping Guide (valued at $6). Please make payment on the day.
Venue: Samford Super IGA, meet at front entrance 10 mins prior to tour start time.
Bring: small notebook/notepaper, pen.
Solar Hot Water - What are your options?
Pine Rivers CAN is holding a Solar Hot Water Information Evening from 6-8pm on Friday 23rd July at the Lawnton Community Centre, corner Ellis St & Todds Rd, Lawnton. Come and hear why solar hot water is the best environmental choice. A range of solar hot water retailers will feature a choice of solar hot water options and be able to advise the best system for you.
Flat plate collector? Evacuated tube? Gas/electric boosted? Solar heat pump? So many choices. Come and find out what it is all about and what government rebates may make your switch to solar hot water even easier.
RSVP appreciated to Kirsten via email pineriversCAN@gmail.com or by phone 07 3889 1634 or 0418 870 060.
Nominations being called for representing QLD climate groups at national level
Do you want to represent PR CAN and QLD on the National Community Climate Network Australia? Three (3) representatives are invited from across Qld climate groups to liaise with this national network to unify and strengthen the climate movement across the country.
Nomination forms for Qld groups are online at http://www.climatenetworkqld.org/CCNA_nomination and will be reviewed by the Community Climate Network Qld (CCNQ). Nominations due NOW.
National Tree Day - Sunday 1 August
National Tree Day is a "call to action" for all Australians to put their hands in the earth and give back to their community. Each year, about 300,000 people volunteer their time to engage in environmental activities that educate individuals about the world around them. It's a day to venture outdoors and get to know your community, and most importantly, to have fun!
To help do your bit, register your name on the National Tree Day website http://treeday.planetark.org/
Does anyone from Pine Rivers CAN want to nominate an area and co-ordinate some tree planting this year? Talk to your friends and neighbours and see what you come up with! It can be a public place in consultation with local council, or just your own property. Every tree makes a difference! Plant one a month till August and improve your Green Street Score!
Inquiry into Growing Queensland's Renewable Energy Electricity Sector
The committee has resolved to examine and report on the opportunities and challenges for the Queensland Government associated with increasing the proportion of electricity generated from renewable energy sources in Queensland. For this inquiry, the committee will consider, and make recommendations on:
- the value for money from the Queensland Government's investments in renewable energy projects for electricity generation;
- whether the Queensland Government should adopt a target for increasing the proportion of the state's electricity generated from renewable energy sources, and if so, what form the target should take; and
- actions the Queensland Government should take to encourage investment by government-owned energy companies and the private sector in producing more electricity from renewable energy sources.
The committee has prepared Paper No 2: Growing Queensland's Renewable Energy Electricity Sector to provide background information for the inquiry. The paper provides background information and flags issues that the committee would like people to comment on in submissions. To access a copy of the paper please go to:
http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/committees/documents/ERC/other%20publicatons/IP%20No.%202%20-%20May%2010.pdf
The closing date for submissions is 30 June 2010.
If you have any questions about the inquiry please contact the committee's secretariat at Parliament House on 07 3406 7908 or, if calling from outside the Brisbane area, 1800 504 022 for the cost of a local call.
Copenhagen - A Summary
The UN talks in Copenhagen started off with plenty of optimism. Many groups from around the globe were represented with teams on the ground with a deep understanding of the issues. They analysed proposals quickly, lobbied for greater ambition and provided support to countries that lacked resources.
But, by the end of two weeks negotiations had been taken to the brink of total failure.
Late in the night, leaders agreed to a non-binding accord that included a goal - to limit global temperature rise to two degrees. This commitment is a positive step, but sadly the fundamental objectives of the Copenhagen climate talks, for a legally binding deal were not achieved.
In reality, the targets put forward by world leaders add up to at least three degrees of warming, NOT two. For a third of the world's animals, three degrees will mean extinction! As the first country to sign the accord, Australia's credibility will hinge on us:
- Implementing a national pollution law committing to a minimum 25 percent pollution reduction by 2020.
- Providing long term finance to assist developing countries to reduce their pollution and adapt to climate change.
Adapted from WWF Australia CEO Greg Bourne's "Copenhagen Update" in Living Planet Magazine, Autumn 2010.
Queensland to build three new cities
BigPond News, May 26, 2010
The Queensland government has announced three brand new cities will be built in the state's southeast from the ground up to take pressure off population growth.
The Urban Land Development Authority (ULDA) will take responsibility for three major greenfield areas in the south and western growth corridors of southeast Queensland.
The areas where the cities will be built are Ripley Valley, Greater Flagstone and Yarrabilba.
Premier Anna Bligh said the cities will be home to about 250,000 people.
'These will be model communities where children can walk to school, workers can live near to their public transport and families will be guaranteed greenspace for recreation and the lifestyle that Queensland is famous for,' she said.
'For the first time the ULDA will be the architects of entire cities and what that means is that these new cities, which will be home to around 250,000 people, will work better than anything we have seen in Queensland before.'
Ms Bligh said driving population growth west would take the pressure off precious environmental areas and the southeast's sensitive coastal areas.
To read the full story, go to http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Business/2010/05/26/Three_brand_new_cities_for_SEQ_466325.html
Survey for PhD in environmental psychology
Anna Cooke is undertaking a PhD about people's motivation for household environmental behaviour. Please consider completing her online survey, which is at the link below.
It will take about 15 minutes. She's hoping to reach a wide range of Australians. Please circulate widely.
Contact Anna for more info or just cut and paste the following into your web browser.
http://www.tinyurl.com/uqenviro1
Anna Cooke
a.cooke@psy.uq.edu.au
PhD Candidate (Social Psychology)
Green Office Representative, ERE 2010 Secretary
Rm s319, Social Sciences Building 24 Ph: (07) 3346 7282
The University of Queensland, Brisbane
***** SPECIAL FEATURE ON COAL *****
Coal Seam Gas - a long way from clean and green
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxv8MqxWDAw&feature=related
The case against Coal Seam Gas Mining needs to be made directly to the state government. CSG extraction is NOT the clean green industry that has been widely publicised. It WILL put our environment, community and livelihoods at risk. This industry has permission under the petroleum act to extract unlimited quantities of ground water. This water contains large quantities of salt. Under production up to 2,000,000 tonnes of salt per annum will threaten the very existence of the Murray Darling River System.
Extracting this quantity of water from the Great Artesian Basin has irreversible consequences, let alone the issues of Coal Seam Gas impacting on local water supplies.
This documentary trailer gives a glimpse of the potential environmental and community concerns. To voice your concerns, the appropriate contact addresses for relevant ministers and politicians are at the end of the trailer.
Get involved in organising a big action in the first week of August as part of a National Week of Action for NO COAL
4.30pm this Friday 18th June
Friends of the Earth House
294 Montague Rd, West End
(near corner Vulture St & Montague Rd)
The action is linking in with farmers on the Darling Downs who are fighting to protect farming land and the environment from the destructive practice of Coal Seam Gas (CSG) mining.
Unrestrained expansion of CSG mining and unsustainable extraction of water across Australia's food producing basins will endanger food production across the region.
Impacts:
. 40,000+ gas wells across the Surat Basin
. 350,000 megalitres water per year from the Great Artesian Basin
. 2,000,000+ tonnes salt/yr into the Murray-Darling Basin
. 400,000+ hectares land LOST from food production.
Source: The Basin Sustainability Alliance http://www.basinsustainabilityalliance.org/
26 June - You can't eat coal for breakfast…
Protect our Food Bowl! - Free bus trip to the Darling Downs
Farmers and environmentalists are fighting to stop what could easily become a massive environmental disaster as coal and gas companies threaten to turn one of the country's prime agricultural areas into an industrial wasteland. How can we expect to tackle climate change when we are continuing to expand fossil fuel industries?
This full day tour will take in key areas of the Darling Downs threatened by coal and gas mining. You will meet the affected communities and learn about the effects of the coal and gas industries in the Darling Downs.
Lunch will be provided at Jimbour Plains, a highly productive area of the Darling Downs and the bus will return to Brisbane in the evening.
Date: Saturday, 26 June 2010
Time: 07:00 - 18:00
Location: Meet out the front of Roma Street Transit Centre
The costs of the trip are being covered by the landholders who want YOU to hear their cry for support!
RSVP to 6 Degrees at http://www.sixdegrees.org.au/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=22 or contact Drew Hutton on 0428 487 110 or dhutton97@gmail.com
9 July - Sustainability Forum - A youth led event
The Brisbane Youth Leadership for Sustainability Forum will be held on Friday 9 July 2010 from 10am to 4pm and is a project of the Brisbane Youth Environment Network.
The Brisbane Youth Environment Network is newly established and looking to form connections with likeminded groups, either youth-led or with significant potential for youth involvement. Further info on the network is available at
www.visibleink.org/our-projects/brisbane-youth-environment-network /
SOLAR GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY & SPORTING GROUPS
To help local sporting and community groups make the switch to solar and save money on their electricity bills, the Bligh Government has asked the Gambling Community Benefit Fund to prioritise solar applications.
Premier Anna Bligh is encouraging local not-for-profit sporting and community groups to take advantage of the grants and join thousands of Queenslanders that are already doing the bright thing in their homes.
"By switching to solar, sporting and community groups can make great savings on their electricity bills as well as help reduce the State's carbon emissions," the Premier said.
"The Government is helping Queensland families switch to solar and save through our new Solar Hot Water Rebate."
"We want to make sure Queensland not-for-profit community and sporting groups can do the bright thing too."
Eligible sporting and community organisations right across Queensland can apply for grants to support the purchase and installation of 1.5 kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and/or solar hot water systems.
Grants for solar PV systems and solar hot water systems will be available through the Gambling Community Benefit Fund via a competitive application process. Guidelines and application packs are available from 1 June.
It is estimated that switching to solar will cumulatively save Queensland community organisations up to $245,000 each year in electricity costs.
It will also avoid around 1,200 megawatt hours of electricity consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 1,300 tonnes per annum.
For more information about the Gambling Community Benefit Fund's Funding Guidelines, visit the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulations (OLGR) website: www.olgr.qld.gov.au
Upcoming Events Around Brisbane…
June 18, 2010 from 5 to 8pm (maybe longer!) - Sustainable Drinks at Flowers of the World, Southbank - Please come and join us for some informal drinks at Brisbane's best organic florist/coffee shop. If you have a passion about sustainability, come along and network with like-minded people in a social environment. Please invite all of your friends. It is a cash bar. All beers, wines and other beverages are organic.
June 19, 2010 from 9am to 4pm - Annerley Sustainability Fair, Junction Park State School, Waldheim St, Annerley - This event is being organised by Transition Annerley so please show your support for this great initiative.
June 19, 2010 from 9:15am to 4:30pm - Biodynamic Gardening Workshop at Peter Kearney's gardens, 203 Wights Mountain Rd, Wights Mountain via Samford. Cost $75/$65. ($10 from each participant's fee goes to the kitchen garden at the Samford Valley Steiner School).
June 20, 2010 from 9am to 12:30pm - 'In Transition' movie plus 10/10/10 Global Work Party workshop, BCC City Library - Community Meeting room - ground floor
For more information on these events and more, visit Brisbane Transition Hub at: http://brisbanetransitionhub.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network
MOVIES WITH A MESSAGE - SCREENING THIS MONTH
Food, Inc. screening at Palace Centro, James Street Fortitude Valley 24-30 June.
In the Oscar nominated new documentary FOOD, INC., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on the U.S. food industry - an industry that has often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of farmers, the safety of workers and our own environment.
Check cinema website for comprehensive overview. http://www.palacecinemas.com.au/movies/foodinc/
ENVIRONMENT FILM FESTIVAL 2010
Thursday June 24 - Saturday June 26
Brisbane Activist Centre
74b Wickham Street
Fortitude Valley (cnr Wickham Tce & Warren St)
Presented by Green Left Weekly
Exotic vegetarian dinners served nightly from 6:30pm
TICKETS
Session $10 waged / $6 concession
All sessions pass $20 / $12
All sessions + all dinners + nightly drink pass $40 / $28
BOOKINGS: Call 0423 741 734 or 3831 2644; or email brisbane@greenleft.org.au
THU JUNE 24 : THE END OF THE LINE (2009)
FRI JUNE 25 : WHEN THE DUST SETTLES (2010) & BLACK WAVE - The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez (2009)
SAT JUNE 26 : THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD (2009)
About the films:
Thursday June 24
"The End of the Line"
Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. This is the future if we do not stop, think and act. Scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048.
Filmed across the world - from the Straits of Gibraltar to the coasts of Senegal and Alaska to the Tokyo fish market - featuring top scientists, indigenous fishermen and fisheries enforcement officials, and narrated by actor Ted Danson, The End of the Line is a wake-up call to the world. (2009)
Friday June 25
"When the Dust Settles" (David Bradbury)
This is the latest short film by Australia's film maker with a conscience, David Bradbury. Commissioned by the Queensland and Northern Territory ETU, it centres around a young family faced with a decision when the father (played by comedian Austin Tayshus) is offered a job at the Roxby Downs uranium mine. Also featuring anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Helen Caldicott. (2010)
"Black Wave - The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez"
Black Wave was released, uncannily, just months before the worst oil disaster in US history was unleashed by BP.
In the early hours of March 24th 1989 the Exxon Valdez oil supertanker runs aground in Alaska. It discharges millions of gallons of crude oil. The incident becomes the biggest environmental catastrophe in North American history.
For twenty years, Riki Ott and the fishermen of the little town of Cordova, Alaska have waged the longest legal battle in U.S. history against the world's most powerful oil company - ExxonMobil. They tell us all about the environmental, social and economic consequences of the black wave that changed their lives forever. This is the legacy of the Exxon Valdez. (2009)
Saturday June 26
"The Yes Men Fix the World"
The latest hilarious release on the culture jamming exploits of The Yes Men. Tackling everything from climate change to media bias to war, The Yes Men have an unusual hobby: posing as top executives of corporations they hate. Armed with nothing but thrift-store suits, the Yes Men lie their way into business conferences and parody their corporate targets in ever more extreme ways - basically doing everything that they can to wake up their audiences to the danger of letting greed run our world. (2009)
2010 Environment Film Festival, presented by Green Left Weekly, Australia's #1 radical alternative media.
See below for a taste of a fantastic article from Kathryn of Geelong Sustainability Group highlighting all the inspiring work of Victorian regional climate groups!
When politicians fail, people do it for themselves
By KATHRYN MCCALLUM
As legislation falters and programs end, the community is stepping up. Several years ago, I was living on the grounds of a large school, oddly located between a rubbish tip and an oil refinery. The infrastructure of my comfortable life, usually out of sight and mind, was here exposed, inputs on one side, outputs on the other - dirty energy and excessive waste.
The oil refinery sent a helpful fridge magnet. A constant siren, it said, meant ''the incident is contained on site''. An up-and-down siren meant, ''an incident has occurred which may affect other areas''.
One night, after reading a troubling report about the climate crisis, I lay in bed worrying when the siren blared. I felt my unborn baby kick in my womb, and felt sick with fear for his future. At that moment I decided I'd go crazy worrying alone, so I resolved to join with others and find a way forward.
Was the siren constant, or was it going up and down? I couldn't tell, but it was clear to me that no incident is ever contained on site. Anywhere. Ever.
So I met 10 strangers in a Geelong living room..….
To read more, go to http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/when-politicians-fail-people-do-it-for-themselves-20100612-y4m9.html
Kathryn McCallum is a presenter with The Climate Project.