New research brings focus back to forests, vegetation in climate debate http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/07/15/new-research-brings-focus-back-to-forests-vegetation-in-climate-debate/

Study casts doubt on forest carbon capture plans

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-14/tree-planting-carbon-offset/2794426

Climate change media to 13 July 2011

A weekly service of the Climate Centre, Melbourne 

To subscribe (one email per week) send blank email to  

carbonequityproject-subscribe@topica.com

Twitter   

http://twitter.com/climatecentre

Posted online at  

http://www.climateactioncentre.org/mediasummary

Read the archive of weekly media summaries at 

http://lists.topica.com/lists/carbonequityproject/read

THIS WEEK…

NOTE: In response to a number of requests, I will now try and include a short overview with each weekly summary. – David

THIS week it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the carbon package coverage, but I have kept it down to a dull roar. Thankfully some attention is now being given to the Abbott package, including an analysis from the Australia Institute. And Al Gore launches a new project.

AS THE polar north moves towards the summer melt, Arctic sea-ice is tracking at a record low level. The easy-to-read daily-updated satellite image can be found at:

http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_stddev_timeseries.png  and

http://www.ijis.iarc.uaf.edu/seaice/extent/AMSRE_Sea_Ice_Extent.png

Also significant is research showing a loss in efficiency of the ocean’s carbon uptake.

BUT the most compelling news came from the 4 Degrees or more: Australia in a hot world conference held in Melbourne, which I was fortunate to attend. The opening address was from Prof John Schellnuber, director of Germany’s Potsdam Institute. Rhetorically he asked: “What is the difference between 2 degrees and 4 degrees?” His answer was concise: “The difference is human civilisation”. It is a real step forward that the dreadful realities of a 4-degree world got their first substantial public airing in Australia.

PICKS OF THE WEEK •••••••

••••••• Arctic Death Spiral – Second Lowest June Sea Ice Extent, Lowest June Volume

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/08/262576/arctic-death-spiral-sea-ice-volume

Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 8 June 2011

The National Snow and Ice Data Center’s reported this week: Arctic sea ice extent for June 2011 was the second lowest in the satellite data record since 1979, continuing the trend of declining summer ice cover. 

AND

Arctic ice melting fast

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2011/s3263256.htm

ABC AM, 7 August 2011

Climate scientists are keeping a close eye on the northern summer as the Arctic sea ice melts at a faster rate than ever before. Two-thousand and seven saw Arctic sea ice shrink to a record low level but this year it’s on track to be even worse.

••••••• The real cost of direct action: An analysis of the Coalition’s Direct Action Plan

https://www.tai.org.au/index.php?q=node%2F19&pubid=878&act=display

Richard Denniss and Matt Grudnoff, Australia Institute, July 12, 2011

This analysis finds that the Coalition’s Direct Action Plan will cost far more than is budgeted for and is unlikely to find sufficient greenhouse gas reduction projects in order to reach the Coalition’s emissions reduction target.

••••••• Why are fossil fuel assets Triple-A rated?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/12/fossil-fuels-coal 

James Murray, BusinessGreen/Guardian, 12 July 2011

Report suggests valuation of top 200 listed fossil fuel firms is based on ’unburnable’ carbon assets
AND

Why high-carbon investment could be the next sub-prime crisis

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/12/high-carbon-investment

Ben Caldecott, Guardian, 12 July 2011

Over-exposure to fossil fuel investments could have even more severe implications than those of the financial crisis

••••••• Al Gore returns with new climate campaign

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/12/al-gore-climate-change

Suzanne Goldenberg, Guardian, 12 July 2011

Climate Reality Project aims to expose reality of global warming crisis and kicks off with a 24-hour live streamed event

4 DEGREES CONFERENCE————–

On course to suffer global warming of four degrees 

http://www.smh.com.au/business/on-course-to-suffer-global-warming-of-four-degrees-20110708-1h6mh.html

Paddy Manning, Sydney Morning Herald, July 9, 2011

There is only one way to frame the weekend’s carbon tax announcement: a start. Assume Australia hits its very soft target, cutting annual greenhouse gas emissions five per cent by 2020 – and the rest of the world does everything they’ve promised – we are on course to suffer global warming of 4 degrees or more by the end of the century

The end of the world is nigh? It’s just a matter of degrees, says one expert

http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-end-of-the-world-is-nigh-its-just-a-matter-of-degrees-says-one-expert-20110712-1hcad.html
Jo Chandler, The Age, July 13, 2011

Drawing on forecasts of a 4-degree warmer world within a lifetime, Professor Hans Joachin Schellnhuber – one of the world’s most cited and outspoken climate scientists – opened a Melbourne University conference yesterday by painting a bleak picture of an unrecognisable Australia, circa 2100.

A carbon price label is all-important: Schellnhuber

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2011/s3268037.htm

ABC Lateline, 12 July 2011

Leading climate change expert Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber says progress will be much easier now Australia has put a price signal on carbon emissions.

Tougher targets and more focus on renewables would make the lucky country a true leader in tackling climate change.

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/a-pioneer-role-for-australia-20110711-1hala.html

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber,  The Age, July 12, 2011

Australia is a lucky country. Blessed by sunshine, precious minerals and many other resources, it has prospered. As a global presence, the country punches above its weight on many issues, science included. Germans, when asked which country they would choose to emigrate to, say Australia.

Australia at plus 4°C: Not so hot

http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/australia-plus-4-c-not-so-hot

Sophie Vorrath, Climate Spectator, 14 July 2011

Of all the players in Australia’s climate policy debate, farmers might have the right to feel among the most maligned. 

Australia faces prospect of being unable to feed itself

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/un-climate-conference/australia-faces-prospect-of-being-unable-to-feed-itself-20110713-1hdyn.htm
Jo Chandler, The Age, July 14, 2011

As the politics of a carbon tax continue to inflame public debate, leading climate scientists gathered in Melbourne yesterday to present their latest projections for Australia if greenhouse emissions continue on their present path.

CARBON PRICE PACKAGE————–

At a glance…

http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/07/10/carbon-tax-gillards-clean-energy-future-at-a-glance

Key points of the carbon price package                 

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/key-points-of-the-carbon-price-package-20110710-1h8j0.html

Is Australia’s Proposed Carbon Tax Strong Enough to Do Any Good?

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2083303,00.html

Marina Kamenev, Time, 15 July 2011

In August 2010, when Julia Gillard was campaigning in the national election, she made a promise: “There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead,” she said to an Australian television channel.

Good start, but only the beginning of decarbonising the economy

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/good-start-but-only-the-beginning-of-decarbonising-the-economy-20110710-1h8zq.html

Jo Chandler, SMH, July 11, 2011

Turning around emissions growth this decade and then cutting greenhouse pollution by 80 per cent by 2050 – the target announced by the Gillard government yesterday – would put Australia on the trajectory the world needs to take to avoid the catastrophic consequences of four degrees warming this century, leading climate scientists said yesterday.

Cutting to the chase on emissions

http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/cutting-chase-emissions

Giles Parkinson, Climate Spectator, 11 July 2011

One of the biggest imperatives of Labor’s carbon pricing policy package has been to make the government as small a target as possible. That’s not easy when you’re seeking to transform the economy with the biggest structural change in a generation.

A soft start on carbon

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/contributors/a-soft-start-on-carbon-20110710-1h8w3.html

Robyn Eckersley and Peter Christoff, The Age, July 11, 2011

Our modest carbon tax is a welcome development, but it is long overdue.

Public transport – collateral damage of our new carbon price 

http://theconversation.edu.au/public-transport-collateral-damage-of-our-new-carbon-price-2181

John Stanley, The Conversation, 11 July 2011

Transport accounts for 14% of Australia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has one of the fastest emission growth rates. Cutting our national emissions might, therefore, be expected to shine a blowtorch on transport fuels, right?

Carbon price a historic step forward, but political compromise triumphs over scientific necessity

http://climatecodered.blogspot.com/2011/07/carbon-price-historic-step-forward-but.html

Carbon price: Academics’ view

http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/carbon-price-academics-view

What the Greens say

http://greensmps.org.au/content/carbon-price-agreement-historic-first-step-towards-clean-energy-economy

ENERGY&INNOVATION————–

France Becomes First Nation To Ban Fracking

http://www.care2.com/causes/france-becomes-first-nation-to-ban-fracking.html

Gina-Marie Cheeseman, Care2, July 6, 2011

France became the first nation to ban the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking in drilling for natural gas and oil on June 30 when French senators voted to ban the practice.

Solar PV price drop mirrors price path of high-tech consumer goods 

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/06/261550/solar-pv-system-cost-reductions

Stephen Lacey, Climate Progress, July 6, 2011

Clean energy professionals often complain that solar PV receives too much attention compared to other sectors like solar hot water, geothermal and biomass. I’m sympathetic to that sentiment. But I also think the attention is deserved.

Green energy investment hits record global high

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14030849

Mark Kinverr, BBC News, 7 July 2011

Global investment in renewable energy sources grew by 32% during 2010 to reach a record level of US$211bn (£132bn), a UN study has reported.

When it comes to dishing the dirt, Hazelwood’s up there with the worst

Adam Morton., The Age,  July 11, 2011

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/when-it-comes-to-dishing-the-dirt-hazelwoods-up-there-with-the-worst-20110710-1h8zh.html

Hazelwood  is often described by environmentalists as Australia’s “dirtiest” power generator. This is arguable – its owner, International Power-GDF Suez says other power stations emit more – but in terms of emissions per unit of power generated it sits at or near the top of tree.

Australian solar’s race to the edge

http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/australian-solars-race-edge

Warwick Johnston, Climate Spectator, 13 July 2011

The Australian solar industry is poised to break through the one gigawatt mark. That makes it a major solar nation, but the industry is about to fall off a cliff.

Green Jobs Reach 2.7 Million: The “Clean Economy” Starts Delivering on its Promise of High-Wage Jobs, Brookings finds

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/13/267390/cleantech-jobs-2-7-million-clean-economy-high-wage-brookings

Stephen Lacey, Climate Progress, July 13, 2011

Numerous reports have shown solid growth in the “clean economy” over the years. But what we’re seeing now is that the clean economy is just, well, a normal part of the overall economy — albeit one with higher wages and more value-added.

SCIENCE&IMPACTS————–

Climate Change Reducing Ocean’s Carbon Dioxide Uptake

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/12/267277/climate-change-reducing-oceans-carbon-dioxide-uptake

Joe Romm, Climate Progress, 12 July 2011

We now know that as the ocean warms up, its ability to act as a carbon “sink” is diminishing.  We are seeing a dangerous, amplifying carbon-cycle feedback.

AND

Ocean carbon sinks feeling the heat

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/07/11/atlantic.ocean.carbon.warming/

“Worst food crisis of 21stC” driven by “Worst drought in 60 yrs” in East Africa as CC makes less rain “chronic problem” 

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/05/260744/worst-food-crisis-of-the-21st-century-driven-by-worst-drought-in-60-years-in-east-africa-as-climate-change-makes-reduced-rainfall-a-chronic-problem/

Climate Progress, 5 July 2011

“This is the worst food crisis of the 21st Century and we are seriously concerned that large numbers of lives could soon be lost.” That’s from Jane Cocking, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Director, who along with the Save The Children organization, is calling for $144 million in aid to malnourished East Africans.

Researchers push the boundary with high carbon emission scenarios

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-07/iop-rpt063011.php

Eureka Alert, 4 July 2011
US and Swiss researchers have, for the first time, modeled a climate system with extremely high carbon emissions in an attempt to test the boundaries of the current computer simulation programs that inform us. 

Is black carbon affecting the Asian monsoon?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14047815

Navin Singh Khadka, BBC News, 8 July 2011
Uncertainties surrounding the timing of the monsoon in recent years are causing anxiety in South Asia. While the debate continues over the role of climate change, scientists have also been looking at the possible role of  soot and urban smog pollution in disrupting this weather system.

Italy’s elite are dismayed by vanishing beaches

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/10/italy-beaches-erosion-climate-change

Tom Kington, The Observer, 10 July 2011 

Sand is trucked in to build up a coastline suffering erosion from storms, rising sea levels and development.

Drought Spreads Pain From Florida to Arizona

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/us/12drought.html

Kim Severson and Kirk Johnson, NYT, 11 July 2011

The heat and the drought are so bad in this southwest corner of Georgia that hogs can barely eat. Corn, a lucrative crop with a notorious thirst, is burning up in fields. Cotton plants are too weak to punch through soil so dry it might as well be pavement.

Is Sea-Level Rise Accelerating?

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2011/07/is-sea-level-rise-accelerating/

Real Climate, 12 July 2011

A few months ago a paper by Jim Houston and Bob Dean in the Journal of Coastal Research (JCR) cast doubt on whether global sea level rise has accelerated over the past century or so. As things go these days, ‘climate sceptics’ websites immediately heralded this as a “bombshell”. A rebuttal by myself and Martin Vermeer has now been published in JCR.

CRUNCH TIME ON CLIMATE CHANGE

31.5.11

Climate and Environment Groups Join Forces for Climate Action

With the Federal Government’s Multi Party Climate Change Committee moving towards making critical decisions on Australia’s climate change policies, Canberra’s climate and environment organizations are banding together to send a powerful message to our politicians.

According to key organizers Geoff Lazarus and Prof Bob Douglas, “a carbon tax and a few other modest measures aren’t enough in themselves to transform our economy to being based on renewable energy.”

“We are saying to the Federal Parliament, we must have a raft of strong measures including base load solar power stations, expansion of wind power, a feed in tariff and new land management practices as a matter of great urgency.”

“Expanding our fledgling renewable energy industries has the potential to create thousands of new jobs.”

“Australia, along with other major polluters, must play its role in reducing carbon levels, particularly as we have the highest per person pollution levels in the world.”

“With extreme weather getting worse and worse due to global warming impacts on the world’s climate, we can’t afford to put off taking real climate action according to leading climate scientists.”

Come rain or shine on Sunday June 5, a huge crowd will walk across Commonwealth Bridge to Parliament House from Regatta Point, to tell our parliamentarians CANBERRA SAYS YES TO REAL CLIMATE ACTION NOW!

The CANBERRA SAFE CLIMATE ALLIANCE, includes Climate Action Canberra, Greenpeace, SEE-Change ACT, Conservation Council ACT Region, ACT Environment Centre, Canberra Loves 40%, Climate Active Australia, ANU Environment Collective, Canberra Pedestrian Forum, Climate Whistleblowers, AYCC and Healthy Soils Australia,.

The walk will begin at 1.30 on Sunday, 5 June at Regatta Point, near the bridge.

There will be live music, kid’s activities, and informed and inspirational talks to be followed by a march on Parliament. Speakers will include John Hewson(former leader of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party), Richard Denniss(Australia Institute), Bishop Pat Power, Linsey Cole(AYCC), Lin Hatfield Dodds(Uniting Care), Gosta Lynga(former Swedish member of Parliament) and Phoebe Howe from Canberra Loves 40%.

For further information contact Geoff Lazarus, 0419 369 206 or Prof Bob Douglas, 0409 233 138

Contact details for letters to the editor & talk back radio are below.

Points you might like to consider in your letter:

- Climate scientists say human activity is the major cause of global warming,

- We face a climate emergency with ever increasing extreme weather events and need a plan to take us to a safe climate,
- A price on carbon will… reduce coal and oil usage and therefore emissions that are causing the planet to heat up,
- Our politicians must support a high price on carbon and other strong measures. This could be a big step forward for Australia and create great opportunities for economic development and thousands of new jobs,
- Ordinary Australians should receive compensation for a price on carbon depending on their financial circumstances,
- Tony Abbott’s confusion on climate change and flip-flops on a price on carbon creates industry and community uncertainty.

Remember keep it short and to the point – if it’s less than 150 words, it’s far more likely to be published! Also make sure you put your contact details into your email – they will not be published but they are vital to allow the paper contact you and confirm your letter.

1. Adelaide Advertiser: submit letters at www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/news/opinion/sendletter
2. The Age: email letters to letters@theage.com.au
3. The Australian: email letters to letters@theaustralian.com.au
4. Australian Financial Review: email letters to edletters@afr.com.au
5. Canberra Times: email letters to letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au
6. The Courier Mail: submit letters at www.news.com.au/couriermail/editorial/letter
7. The Daily Telegraph: email letters to letters@dailytelegraph.com.au
8. The Herald Sun: submit letters at www.news.com.au/heraldsun/editorial/letter
9. Hobart Mercury: submit letters at www.themercury.com.au/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-submit.html
10. Sydney Morning Herald: email letters to letters@smh.com.au
11. The West Australian: email letters to letters@wanews.com.au

This will be a hot topic in the days and weeks to come.

You might also like to take part in Talkback radio discussion as it happens.

1. Australia-wide ABC NewsRadio – 13 9994
2. ABC Radio National – (02) 8333 2821
3. ACT ABC Canberra (666AM) – 1300 681 666
4. NSW ABC Newcastle (1233AM) – 1300 233 222
5. ABC Sydney (702AM) – 1300 222 702
6. 2GB (873AM) – 131 873
7. 2UE (954AM) – (02) 9930 9954
8. 2SER (107.3FM) – (02) 9514 9514
9. 2SM (1269AM) – 13 12 69
10. FBI (94.5FM) – (02) 8332 2999
11. vega (95.3FM) – 13 25 10
12. 2NUR (103.7FM) – (02) 4921 5000
13. SA ABC Adelaide (891AM) – 1300 222 891
14. FiveAA (1395AM) – (08) 8223 0000
15. Fresh (92.7FM) – 1300 7 FRESH
16. Radio Adelaide (101.5FM) – (08) 8303 5000
17. TAS ABC Hobart (936AM) – 1300 222 936
18. 7HO (101.7FM) – (03) 6216 1017
19. NT ABC Alice Springs (783AM) – 1300 019 783
20. ABC Darwin (105.7FM) – 1300 057 222
21. QLD ABC Brisbane (612AM) – 1300 222 612
22. WA 6PR (882AM) – (08) 9221 1882
23. ABC Perth (720AM) – 1300 222 720
24. RTR (92.1FM) – (08) 9260 9210
25. VIC 3AW (693AM) – (03) 9690 0693
26. 3CR (855AM) – (03) 9419 0155
27. ABC Melbourne (774AM) – 1300 222 774
28. JOY (94.9FM) – (03) 9699 2949
29. PBS (106.7FM) – (03) 8415 1067
30. SYN – (03) 9925 9907
31. RRR (102.7FM) – (03) 9388 1027

Feel free to use this messaging in media statements.

 Join the “Climate Callout”                                    -  phone Climate Committee members .

6.  Create a new Government authority to steer a transition to a renewable energy based economy

7.   No compensation to the big polluters

The phone numbers of politicians to call are listed below. Most likely you will end up talking to a staff member.

PM Julie Gillard       Tel: (02) 6277 7700      Fax: (02) 6273 4100    Internet: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact-your-pm
 
Deputy PM Wayne Swan    Tel: (02) 6277 7340     Fax: (02) 6273 3420      E-mail: Wayne.Swan.MP@aph.gov.au
 
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet    Tel: (02) 6277 7920    Fax: (02) 6273 7330    E-mail: Greg.Combet.MP@aph.gov.au
 
Tony Windsor MP    Tel: (02) 6277 4722    Fax: (02) 6277 8545   E-mail: Tony.Windsor.MP@aph.gov.au
 
Senator Bob Brown      Tel:(02) 6277 3170    Fax: (02) 6277 3185           Email: senator.bob.brown@aph.gov.au

Climate Action Canberra,  Geoff Lazarus 0419 369 206, 

                                                               Rebecca Horridge 0406 375 401

Climate Action Canberra Media Release 16.2.2011

Low carbon price means high cost for global warming 

Climate Action Canberra (CAC) today called on the Government’s Climate Committee to take immediate action on Friday to define a pathway to a safe climate for Australia.

According CAC spokesperson, Geoff Lazarus, “the key to Australia playing its part in emission reductions and rapid development of renewable energy industries is to set a price on carbon with a schedule of price increases to have coal-based electricity phased out within ten years.”

“Instead of a confusing message about energy choices, the combination of carbon price and regulations needs to provide a compelling reason for transition.”

“We must set a phased in price of at least $40-50 per tonne that will drive investment towards a new clean renewable energy economy.”

“The Government’s low price will lock Australia into continuing fossil fuel usage that the NASA climate science chief James Hansen says is a ‘recipe for disaster’.”

“Having a safe climate for current and future generations requires taking action now commensurate with the scale of the problem.”

“It can’t be a compromise with business groups concerned about protecting their profits.”

“According to the NAB Bank, the total cost of recent floods alone could shave off 1.5% of our GDP in the March quarter.”

“If we don’t act now we will be subjected to even more extreme weather events that will, over time, impose a greater cost than the 2 to 3% of GDP per year required to take us to a clean, renewable energy economy.”

 “An appropriate price on carbon and appropriate use of its proceeds could see the creation of many thousands of renewable energy jobs and proper support for communities impacted by change.”

Call the Climate Committee Thursday Feb 17th

 

Join the climate buzz on Facebook.

Find us at  Climate-Action Canberra

The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences. – Winston Churchill

We face a climate emergency

The climate is changing faster than we thought. What we believed would happen in a hundred years is happening now. It’s getting hotter, the ice caps are melting, the oceans are rising, bushfires are bigger, and crops are failing. A climate crisis threatening hundreds of millions of lives faces us all, and we have to start treating it as an emergency!

For years our cars have run on petrol and our electricity has come from burning coal. Climate-changing gases have been pumped into the air. If we continue to release these gases for much longer it will soon be impossible to stop the climate from changing dramatically.

Climate change can be daunting, but like any emergency we have to deal with it. We need to respond to this emergency the same way we would a bushfire or if someone was having a heart attack – with action.

If we ignore climate change now, we will be unable to ignore the damage it causes in the near future – and the survivors will ask why we didn’t act when we still could.

We need an emergency response

Australians know that climate change is a real problem and many of us are taking personal steps to stop it – such as using less electricity in the home. But this only solves a small part of the problem. We need businesses and government to act – but they aren’t.  Money needs to be invested into cleaner energy and transport solutions, not large polluting industries.

We need to quickly change how we generate power, produce food, travel, and organise our economy. Responding to this emergency will bring change and create job opportunities through new industries and different farming practises.

The ‘put jobs before the climate’ argument is completely misleading and hollow. It’s a lot like arguing that a fire-fighter should let a house burn so that builders will have work.

In working together to solve this crisis, we will also strengthen our communities.

Humankind has shown that we can rise to meet urgent challenges when needed. In World War Two car factories became tank factories, millions of civilians were trained to be soldiers, and the world’s largest consumer economy (the USA) became the largest military economy within one year. Today, instead of tanks and soldiers we need clean energy and engineers; are we able to do what we did 65 years ago to save humanity?

The climate movement needs you

An emergency response is possible, but it’s far from certain. Polluting industries pay hundreds of professional lobbyists to spread doubt about climate science – just like tobacco companies did about the medical effects of smoking. And politicians are still able to win votes by talking ‘green’, but acting dirty.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s up to individuals to change this. Thousands of people across Australia, from every walk of life, have realised that they need to do something. But time is short, so we have to face facts about what is the most effective ‘something’ for people to do.

Climate change will not be avoided through individuals living green lifestyles or buying green products, but by individuals uniting to transform their societies. Living in the only climate-friendly house in your street, in a city built around cars, is not the solution.

As long as millions of tonnes of oil and coal are still being burnt, we are simply standing aside while politics-as-usual and business-as-usual destroys our Earth. And unfortunately, it’s the only one we’ve got.

Accepting that climate change is real is no longer enough. To judge between real solutions and the fibs of politicians, we must understand the urgency and size of the problem. We cannot ignore or negotiate with the laws of physics and chemistry, and we need to know when our leaders are trying to do just that.

To survive this emergency we must change the way we do things. To succeed we will need to find the courage hidden within ourselves. We will need to argue with our friends, go to a protest instead of to a movie, and put our reputations on the line. Some of us – in the tradition of Gandhi, Mandela and King – may risk even more.

These are truths that don’t fit easily with the way we’ve always done things – but we should not disregard them, for we now enter an age of consequences. There is hope, and more than hope, in the hundreds of climate action groups that now exist throughout Australia. If you haven’t joined one yet, now is the time.

Climate change is too much of a hot potato for our leaders

by Geoff Lazarus

The floods show us that Gillard and Bligh lack conviction on tackling global warming. With the weather disaster being played out in eastern Australia, it’s pleasing to see our political leaders giving good leadership to the authorities and communities dealing with the tragic loss of life and property impacting on thousands of Australians. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh’s two-hourly press conferences were informative and well conducted. And apart from the rather silly offering to some West Australians of lesser flood relief amounts than for Queenslanders, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has become a strong leadership voice supporting flood-stricken communities in three states.

Less pleasing has been their failure, along with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, to properly explain the atmospheric and oceanic factors influencing our weather which is putting people’s lives and property at risk and will continue to do so with greater intensity over coming decades. Gillard disappointed those of us who understand the dynamics of global warming when asked indirectly and directly on ABC radio about its relationship to current weather events and whether we have to plan for future disasters. She avoided answering the questions.
What she should have said is that our nation has always been periodically beset by floods and droughts but due to global warming these events are even more likely to occur and with greater intensity.
Tying down the connection between eastern Australian flooding and global warming is not a straight forward matter. To what extent it’s caused by natural climate variability on the one hand, and global warming on the other, can’t be clearly established at this point. But while we can’t say with absolute certainty that individual events can be attributed to climate change, the weather extremes are in keeping with the views and predictions of climate scientists.
Melbourne University climate science professor David Karoly said recently the wild extremes being experienced by the continent were consistent with scientists’ forecasts of more flooding associated with increased heavy rain and more droughts as a result of high temperatures and more evaporation. Karoly says the present heavy rainfall is being caused by our experiencing of possibly the strongest La Nina in recorded history as well as record-high ocean temperatures in northern Australia, which means more moisture evaporating into the atmosphere which in turn means lots of heavy rain.
The record high ocean and atmospheric temperatures are, of course, being caused by global warming factors. Back in 2004, the CSIRO predicted that climate change would lead to more intense rainfall globally, and that results from a computer model focusing on regional Australia suggested small areas would receive much more extreme rainfall. Each year extreme rainfall events cause significant damage as a result of flooding in the highly urbanised regions along Australia’s eastern coastline where population is increasing. CSIRO says this will become all too apparent in future decades.
Last year, the scientific advisory group to the Queensland Government’s inland flooding study advised ‘‘an increase in rainfall intensity is likely’’ and ‘‘the available scientific literature indicates this increased rainfall intensity to be in the range of 3 to 10 per cent per degree of global warming.’’And according to the CSIRO, a 26 per cent increase in flooding leads to a 60 per cent increase in damage costs and with projected increases in the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events, the community’s exposure to extreme rainfall events is growing rapidly.
The CSIRO and the advisory group are providing clear warnings on what will happen in future decades and Gillard and Bligh should be articulating a perspective that acknowledges what climate science is telling us. Will Bligh factor this into future planning decisions in the recovery period? Will she ensure that businesses and residents are fully informed of the probability of this type of event repeating itself? Not likely because this could lead to questions about her rapidly expanding and large coal industry.
The irony of global warming impacts on Queensland is the fact that it’s also Australia’s leading contributor to global CO2 emissions. As for Gillard, isn’t this the appropriate time for the Government to properly explain what global warming is and how it’s going to have a greater and greater impact unless the top 22 polluting nations, that include Australia, reduce their emissions by 80 to 100 per cent over the next 10 years?
For all the talk by our leading politicians about the seriousness of climate change, there continues to be little sign of the strong leadership required to have Australia play its role in averting a global catastrophe.

 The next test for the Government will be whether it’s prepared to put in place a price on carbon through a carbon tax and regulations substantial enough to drive the transformation to a renewable,energy-based economy.  This means scrapping the 12 coal-based power stations proposed for various states. Judging by our politicians’ recent performances, it’s hard to be optimistic about the future wellbeing of the nation.
(this article was published in the Canberra Times on  Jan 22nd)
■ Geoff Lazarus is a spokesperson for Climate Action Canberra.