Climate ChangeAnother Hot Topic ...With the recent Australian launch of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" we are finally seeing wide spread prominence on an issue some world leaders have acknowledged as being one of the biggest threats to global security this century. Climate change is already having severe impacts across the world and in Australia we are well behind in properly recognising, let alone addressing the problem. The Howard government is lagging well behind by refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol and is talking about subsidising the coal and nuclear industries as the answer to climate change. From the AFL addressing their carbon emissions to Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloid papers calling for action; this issue has hit the mainstream... Here is a selection of facts, figures and contacts to help you spread the word. Some brief facts
And projections are constantly being revised, with regular evidence of previously unanticipated changes. A general perception is that unless we act urgently we will see the 'tipping point' within 10-15 years. The time to act is now. The local picture in WA"... there has been a phenomenal shift of climate and weather in the south of WA and it does appear to be unique worldwide ... there seems to be no other place that is drying quite as fast as the south of Western Australia ... for the last eight or nine years the rainfall has been down by about 21 per cent on what it was up until 1974, and the run-off has been down by 64 per cent. Actually now it is becoming clear that for the last four or five years, since 2001, we seem to be down still further." Australia's greenhouse emissions are the highest in the world on a per capita basis, with 60% of these coming from eletricity generation. In WA, emissions increased by 2.8% per year between 1990 and 2002, and are projected to rise 39% by 2008. WA is already experiencing a massive impact from climate change with rainfall in the South West dropping by 21%. This threatens all life and will lead to severe biodiversity loss in the South West. The combined impacts of land clearing, related salinity problems and climate change could be disastrous for WA, in particular the South West. What To DoWe have some tips for how you can make important changes in your own home, however we need urgent, large scale change from industry, directed by government. Write to your local federal member of Parliament and other decision makers. Senator Ian Campbell - Federal Minister for the Environment Mark McGowan - State Environment Minister Letters to the editor - You don't need to be an expert, just keep them short and simple. Contact the The West Australian Contact The Australian Your local community newspaper Sign onto the new Getup campaign: www.getup.org.au Other Snippets and Websites
Other simple ideas
What the Greens Are Up to
Some Hope For the Future...A local music festival in Western Australia recently put a large focus on energy efficiency and waste reduction - all in an amazing natural location. Rock and roll leads the way! The 'Walk Against Warming' was held on 4th November - it was an international day of action with events happening across Australia. Some photos from this event are temporarily available. There are some steps you can take at home. This is a very brief overview so if you have any good resources you would like us to add to future editions please let us know. |
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