ORCA News 12th November 2008 | Otway Ranges Climate Action

Don’t forget about the Inaugural ORCA AGM Monday at 6:30pm on the 17th November in the Community House (6 Pengilly Ave, Apollo Bay). All positions are vacant and nominations for Chair, Treasurer and Secretary are called for. Please contact either Matt Armstrong 03 5237 1007 or Simon Pockley 0418575525.

Calendar of coming events:

15th November: – 1:00 pm Melbourne Walk against warming starting at 1pm at Federation Square – walking to Parliament House.NASA’s Dr. James Hansen, the world’s leading climate scientist will be addressing the crowd from the big screen at Federation Square before we all walk to Parliament House to send a direct message to our leaders – We Want Urgent Climate Action Now! Bring your friends, family, colleagues and neighbours to make it clear that the whole community wants action to stop climate change – and bring something to make some noise with! Info: Environment Victoria 03 9341 8112, victoria.mckenziemcharg@envict.org.au
17th November: ORCA AGM on Monday at 6:30pm at the Community House (6 Pengilly Ave, Apollo Bay).
23rd November Sunday 9am to 1pm Making Your Own Biodiesel Workshop – Camberwell Community Centre, 33 Fairholm Grove, Camberwell VIC Cost: $110 Register:www.sustainability.ofm.uwa.edu.au/welcome/biodieselJonathon Thwaites has a wide ranging expertise in sustainable energy and alternative technologies. He has been running biodiesel workshops for six years, is a founder of the Perth Sun Fair and provides training courses for Bioworks, an Australian company that is establishing regionalised biodiesel factories for local industry and reactors suitable for backyard or farmyard use. The aim of the course is show how easy it is to manufacture biodiesel and how biodiesel fits into the future of alternative energy.
Course Outline:
* Biofuels and biodiesel introduction
* Biodiesel demonstration, making a two litre batch in class and safety
* Morning tea and discussion
* Theory on biodiesel chemistry and testing
* Finish biodiesel lab
* Legal aspects, future of biodiesel and conclusion
For more information contact Jonathon Thwaites on jthwaites@admin.uwa.edu.au
31st January 2009: Canberra. Invitation to the Climate Action Summit. From February January 31st to February 3rd, community climate action groups from across the continent are joining together for Australia’s
Climate Action Summit in Canberra, the weekend before the first day of the 2009 Federal Parliament.
January 20th to February 20th 2009 CO-EDAPT

More things of interest

Sent by Carbon Equity and the Climate Action Centre Melbourne

VERY SPOOKY———————–

Southern Ocean close to acid tipping point

www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/11/2416190.htm

Bianca Nogrady, ABC News, 11 November 2008

Results show a speeding up of the process of ocean acidification by 30 years

AND

Tighter timeline for ocean organisms

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2416423.htm
ABC The World Today, 11 November , 2008

New documentary on the oceans and climate change

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/new-documentary-on-the-oceans-and-climate-change,613595.shtm

Ocean acidification background

http://oceanacidification.wordpress.com/

ENERGY & INNOVATION—————

Zero Carbon Communities

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44558

Mario de Queiroz, IPS, 3November 2008

This small municipality in the south of Portugal is becoming increasingly well-known for its alternative energy initiatives. The latest is the Sunflower project, which also involves communities in seven other European Union countries.

Green coal?

http://www.precaution.org/lib/08/prn_is_coal_green.081106.htm

Peter Montague, November 6, 2008

As we search for solutions to global warming and toxic contamination, we can compare technologies, intending to select the least harmful.

Running on empty: deserts could solve energy crisis

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/running-on-empty-deserts-could-solve-energy-crisis-20081104-5hqu.html

Adam Morton, The Age, November 5, 2008

DESERTS could generate enough renewable energy to power Australia, in the process creating unprecedented opportunities for its remote communities, a leading scientist says.

Solar Power Game-changer: ‘Near Perfect’ Absorption Of Sunlight, From All Angles

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081103130924.htm

ScienceDaily, November 4, 2008

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered and demonstrated a new method for overcoming two major hurdles facing solar energy

New international agency to promote renewable energies

http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy/new-international-agency-promote-renewable-energies/article-176895

3 November 2008

Joint efforts to expand worldwide use of renewable energies recently received a boost as countries from all continents team up to support the establishment of an International Renewable Energy Agency.

Australia’s natural Strategy for Energy Efficiency: Policy report

http://www.climateinstitute.org.au/images/energy%20efficiency%20policy%20paper%20final.pdf

SCIENCE & IMPACTS————-

Current warming sharpest climate change in 5,000 years: study

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hHeIQXFs5IrQxlhEFpsF0R68GMaQ

AFP, 7 November 2008

Research on Arctic and North Atlantic ecosystems shows the recent warming trend counts as the most dramatic climate change since the onset of human civilization 5,000 years ago, according to studies published Thursday.

Carbon Dioxide Levels Already In Danger Zone, Revised Theory Shows

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081108155834.htm

ScienceDaily, Nov. 9, 2008

If climate disasters are to be averted, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) must be reduced below the levels that already exist today, according to a study by a group of 10 scientists.

Energy Agency warns of 6 °C rise in temperatures

http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/climate-change/dn15144-energy-agency-warns-of-6-c-rise-in-temperatures.html0

Catherine Brahic, NewScientist, 06 November 2008

Our voracious appetite for energy is potentially putting the planet on the path for a 6°C rise in temperatures – which is far more than what climate specialists say the environment can cope with.

Bubbling our way to the apocalypse

http://www.climatecodered.net/permafrost.html

David Spratt & Damien Lawson, Rolling Stone (Aust), November 2008

Kevin Rudd should send his climate change minister, Penny Wong, to Siberia.

Power, water, roads at risk: climate report

http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/power-water-roads-at-risk-climate-report/2008/11/06/1225561044334.html

Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald, November 7, 2008

THE country’s electricity and water supplies are at high risk from climate change, and immediate action is needed to prepare for the threat, a report presented to the Federal Government has warned.

Garnaut’s grim reality here to stay

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24546508-11949,00.html

Asa Wahlquist, The Australian, 8 November 2008

THE Garnaut report, the Impacts of Climate Change in Australia, paints a grim picture. Without mitigation, it says, within the next two decades urban water supplies will be stressed, and agriculture will be affected.

World needs climate emergency backup plan, says expert

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/ci-wnc110708.php

Correcting ocean cooling

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/OceanCooling/printall.php

Rebecca Lindsay, 5 November 2008

FAQ on climate models

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=527

Real Climate, 3 November 2008

Measuring extinction, species by species

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4A501920081106

Alister Doyle, Reuters, 6 November 2008

The Yangtze River dolphin, the Christmas Island shrew and the Venezuelan skunk frog are all victims in an alarming flood of extinctions, but how do scientists decide when such “possibly extinct” creatures no longer exist?

Drought land ‘will be abandoned’

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/02/climate-change-desertification-water-drought

Juliette Jowit, The Observer, November 2 2008

Climate change will cause ‘economic deserts’ even in rich countries, warns UN environment chief

OCEANS, POLES & SEA LEVELS——————

Arctic Sea Ice Down to Second-Lowest Extent; Likely Record-Low Volume

http://nsidc.org/news/press/20081002_seaice_pressrelease.html

NSIDC, 2 October 2008

Despite cooler temperatures and ice-favoring conditions, long-term decline continues.

Arctic heat

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026794.500-60-seconds.html

New Scientist, 25 October 2008

Autumn air temperatures have risen to record levels in the Arctic.

Arctic Sea Ice Decline Shakes Up Ocean Ecosystems

http://www.sflorg.com/earthnews/en110808_01.html

SLForg, November 8, 2008

Avoiding confusion for stabilization targets for climate change and ocean acidification

http://www.climateshifts.org/?p=683

Climate change drives Maldives to buy land

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e4d63c6a-af55-11dd-a4bf-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1Judith Evans, Financial Times, November 10 2008

The Indian Ocean state of the Maldives will start to divert cash from its largest industry, tourism, to buy land in case rising sea levels submerge the country’s low-lying coral islands.

SUSTAINABILITY—————

More of the same no cure for inherent ills

http://business.theage.com.au/business/more-of-the-same-no-cure-for-inherent-ills-20081106-5jej.html

Joanne Knight, The Age, November 7, 2008

The consumer economy is consuming itself. It has created excessive household and national debt as consumers indulge in compulsive shopping in a system depending on their dollars.

CARBON TRADING—————-

Carbon crash hits Europe’s emission trading scheme

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24608324-30538,00.html

Carl Mortished, The Australian, November 06, 2008

WHILE you were distracted by crashing banks and clashing US senators, you may have missed a small environmental earthquake. The price of carbon has collapsed.

POLITICS AND POLICY———————

‘Big gains in greener behaviour’

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/big-gains-in-greener-behaviour-20081109-5kxf.html

Adam Morton, The Age, November 10, 2008

A detailed analysis of Victoria’s greenhouse footprint has found the state could slash its emissions in half by 2020, largely through existing technology that is yet to be embraced.

Download report

http://www.envict.org.au/inform.php?menu=5&submenu=1919&item=1923

Countdown to perilous global warming

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/09/carbonemissions

Andrew Simms, The Guardian, 9 November 2008

The climate clock is speeding up. Governments must take responsibility and protect their people from disaster

The Climate for Change

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html

Al Gore, New York Times, November 9, 2008

The inspiring and transformative choice by the American people to elect Barack Obama as our 44th president lays the foundation for another fateful choice that he — and we — must make this January to begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis.

ALSO

President Obama’s Big Climate Challenge

http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2082

Energy: can Obama keep it clean?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/nov/07/barack-obama-energy-auto-industr

Obama victory signals rebirth of US environmental policy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/05/climatechange-carbonemissions

John Vidal, The Guardian, November 05 2008

Climate talks: Obama victory offers hope

http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/global-warming/climate-talks-obama-victory-offers-hope/2008/11/05/1225560930149.html

Climate change to take formal role in planning decisions

http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2229836/national-planning-policies

Tom Young, BusinessGreen, 05 Nov 2008

Government moves to address renewables project bottleneck by forcing all national planning strategies to make it clear how they will mitigate climate change

Climate crime outbreak may occur: study

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=652127

ninemsn, Oct 23 2008

Australia may need to brace for an outbreak of climate crime as the world warms and greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans are imposed, a new study warns.

American evangelical takes climate change crusade to Canberra

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/10/2414844.htm

ABC News, Nov 10, 2008

Climate change is not an issue normally associated with evangelical Christians but a visiting American religious leader has taken up the mantle of climate change crusader.

ACTIVISM—————–

UK Report launch: How do we get back to climate safety?

www.climatesafety.org

On Thursday 27th November, The Public Interest Research Centre will present the Climate Safety report at Friends Meeting House, Euston, London.

Australian direct actions on coal

http://whosepower.wordpress.com

http://www.climatemovement.org.au/2008/11/four-power-plant-shutdowns-in-seven-days

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/774/39927

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE4A91CK20081110

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/06/2411942.htm?section=business

VIDEO—————-

Now or Never: Tim Flannery in conversation with Robert Manne on climate change: video