Posted 29/10/07 Updated 14/12/10

Climate Change Bulletins 

Climate Change:  Is It Now "God Help All Of Us..."?

A Letter From 2070 - Is This The Doomed Future We Are Headed For?

Get The Latest On Global Warming At Climate Crisis Coalition Newsfeed 

UK Conservative Party's "Blueprint for a Green Economy" Shoots Straight, Says It Like It Is

Climate Change:  "The Big Switch" Turns The Spotlight On Federal Election Candidates

Australian Conservation Foundation Serves Up "Consumption Atlas" 

Listen To The (Wise) Wombat

What To Do And Not To Do With The Bathwater.  

Climate Change:  Is It Now "God Help All Of Us..."?

(10/11/07 - E)  It's happening faster.  On the eve of the release of the next IPCC bulletin, this haunting paper asks us to remember not just human rights, but our human obligations.

Click here

A Letter From 2070 - Is This The Doomed Future We Are Headed For?

(20/9/07 - E)  A catastrophic forecast about the world we are shaping for ourselves... Can we pull back from the brink?

The 'letter' was sent to MRRA by a supporter.  It is a slideshow produced in 2002.  Whether you subscribe to its conclusions or not, it very definitely is food for thought.  There aren't any laughs in it, but it will leave you wondering what the hell we are doing to ourselves, and more importantly, to our children.  Click here if you are interested in being part of the generation that turned it all around...

Get The Latest On Global Warming At Climate Crisis Coalition Newsfeed  www.climatecrisiscoalition.org

UK Conservative Party's "Blueprint for a Green Economy" Shoots Straight, Says It Like It Is

(17/9/07 - E)  AT LAST.  Someone's taking a realistic, if not brutal, look at climate change, social upheaval and the bleak future this world has if we don't start thinking - and acting - differently:  "we need to recognise that fossil energy was, in the words of writer Bill Mckibben, ‘a one-time gift that underwrote a one-time binge of growth.’"  Those times are over...

Liz Minchin, in today's Age says:

"John Howard and Kevin Rudd could learn much from Britain's Tories. SOMETHING extraordinary is happening in politics: conservatives are becoming the new world leaders on climate change. It's just a pity someone forgot to tell John Howard and Kevin Rudd.  Late last week, the British Conservative Party released a 523-page environmental policy document packed with ideas that put Australia's major parties to shame." 

To view the full Age article, click on: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/16/1189881335891.html

You can read part 1.1 of Blueprint for a Green Economy by Clicking here, or go to http://www.conservatives.com/ to access the full (hefty) document.

MRRA Says:

We've only had time to skim through part 1.1 but it sure enough started us drooling. It's inspirational!  Even the headings say a lot: 

The case for change; Hitting the buffers?; Climate change: the canary in the coalmine; The problem with growth; How government has failed us.

It takes us right back to "Hell To Pay - Cities In The Age Of Default and Revolt", an eerily prophetic 2004 publication by Brendan Gleeson of Griffith University.

As for Blueprint for a Green Economy, the last comment in part 1.1 goes as follows:  "Sustained and inspirational political leadership is precisely what will be required of a future Conservative government.  It will be hard and often very challenging. There is, however, no serious alternative." 

Sustained and inspirational political leadership...  That's precisely what Australians should be demanding at all levels of government - people who think and act differently to those who got us in this mess in the first place.   We agree with Liz Minchin that John Howard and Kevin Rudd could learn a lot from the UK conservatives, but why stop there?  Has anyone given Mr. Brumby  - all State politicians - a copy?   And who's going to be first to send a copy to Macedon Ranges' Council? 

It's time for us all to take a long hard look at the fading future we are creating for ourselves and generations to come by what we thoughtlessly and greedily do today.  In short, there isn't going to be much of a future unless we change.  The warning signs are there already that it's going to be a long, hot summer in Australia, with potentially not enough or expensive food, water and electricity, and way too much fire.

It really is time we stopped thinking like grasshoppers, singing and dancing as if summer never ends, and thought more like the ant, by turning our minds to doing what it will take to survive the hard times ahead.  As a society, we don't actually have a choice - we do it, or we - and other living things - die.  This Blueprint recognizes that, so take a deep breath, and let's get on with it.

Climate Change:  "The Big Switch" Turns The Spotlight On Federal Election Candidates

(7/8/07 - E)  A website where you can take the pledge to act on climate change, and find out where your Federal representatives stand on climate change...

"The Big Switch" is a fast-growing coalition of Australian organisations, businesses and community groups. Its goal is to raise awareness about climate change solutions, by informing Australians about simple lifestyle choices they can make to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.  TBS also aims to let you know where your political leaders stand on this crucial issue. To better inform you, TBS sent federal politicians a survey asking them whether they support key climate change solutions.

"The Big Switch" has support from various environmental organisations, including:

Greenpeace

Nature Conservation Council of NSW

Conservation Council of the South East Region and Canberra

Environment Victoria

Environment Tasmania Inc.

Queensland Conservation

GetUp!

Conservation Council of South Australia

Friends of the Earth

To learn more about The Big Switch, go to www.thebigswitch.org.au

To find out where your politicians stand on climate change, go to www.thebigswitch.org.au click on What are our politicians doing? on the home page.

You can search by the politician's name or the electorate.  The names and electorates of Federal members of parliament in Macedon Ranges Shire are:

Lower House (MHR: Member of the House of Representatives)

Fran Bailey (Lib), Federal MHR for McEwen (south and east parts of the Shire, roughly speaking)  fran.bailey.mp@aph.gov.au

Steve Gibbons (ALP), Federal MHR for Bendigo  (north and west parts of the Shire, roughly speaking) steve.gibbons.mp@aph.gov.au

Upper House (Senate)

To find out more about how political parties in the Senate perform on climate change, go to The Big Switch www.thebigswitch.org.au, go to What are our politicians doing?, then on the right you will see Democracy in Action, click on Your vote and the Senate.  

Senators for Victoria are:  (Note:  not all current senators will be running for re-election.)

Julian McGauran (Nat), senator.mcgauran@aph.gov.au

Lyn Allison (Aust. Democrats), senator.allison@aph.gov.au

Kim Carr (ALP), senator.carr@aph.gov.au

Stephen Conroy (ALP), senator.conroy@aph.gov.au

Steve Fielding (Family First), senator.fielding@aph.gov.au

Mitch Fifield (Lib), senator.fifield@aph.gov.au

Rod Kemp (Lib), senator.rod.kemp@aph.gov.au

Gavin Marshall (ALP), senator.marshall@aph.gov.au

Kay Patterson (Lib), senator.kcpatterson@aph.gov.au

Robert Ray (ALP),  senator.ray@aph.gov.au

Michael Ronaldson (Lib), senator.ronaldson@aph.gov.au

Judith Troeth (Lib), senator.troeth@aph.gov.au

Australian Conservation Foundation Serves Up "Consumption Atlas" : See How Places Perform On Water Use, Eco-Footprint and Greenhouse Pollution...

(12/7/07 - E) Macedon Ranges isn't performing as well as it should

If you go to the ACF's website (www.acfonline.org.au), you can check on how Macedon Ranges is doing on using resources wisely and treading with a light step on the environment.  The results come packaged in the same format as Australian Bureau of Statistics' census districts, with three sub-areas in the Shire: Kyneton, Romsey and Balance (Gisborne and Woodend).  The figures were prepared through the University of Sydney.  You can read more about how they were arrived at on ACF's website.  Consumption is broken down into a profile of where the biggest impacts are for each category.

MRRA did have a quick look and it seems that as a community we may need to work harder - particularly some of us!

MRRA Says:

Well done Romsey (i.e. Riddells Creek, Romsey, Cherokee, Lancefield, Monegeetta, Darraweit, Bolinda)!!   Kyneton (Kyneton, Malmsbury, Carlsruhe, Tylden, Lauriston, Baynton, Pastoria, Spring Hill) can no doubt improve more and will go further ahead, but cripes, take a look at the Balance area... 

Good grief, you aren't going to let those Romsey-types and Kyneton-types grab the prizes, are you?  A bit of sock-lifting seems in order, so go to it Balance area (Woodend, Gisborne, New Gisborne, South Gisborne, Barringo, Bullengarook, Macedon, Mt. Macedon, Newham, Hesket, and Ashbourne). 

The State of Victoria might want to pull its finger out, as well.

How You Can Help Stop Global Warming

(17/2/07 - E)   Simple things can mean a lot - if we all do it now.  10 actions you can take, and how much carbon dioxide you save.

Easy peasey.  Click here for details.  If you want to know more, check out the EPA's website (www.epa.vic.gov.au), click on Publications & Library, and search the publications by category section.

Listen To The (Wise) Wombat

(17/2/07 - E)   He knows what he's talking about even if he has an American accent!

Click on http://www.global-mindshift.org/memes/wombat.swf to get the message.  It's important.

REVISIT  What To Do And Not To Do With The Bathwater.   EPA Publication:  "Domestic Wastewater Management Series: Reuse Options for Household Wastewater"

(17/2/07 - E)  This is an important document. We originally published a link to it in October 2006. Instead of archiving it, we think it's worth revisiting as we continue to live through dry - and recycling - times.    Here's what we said then "We all want to help by recycling water, but there are some fairly important things we need to know before we do it."  Click here for more information.