During the prime ministership of John Howard, the term 'greenhouse mafia' was coined to describe the fossil fuel industry representatives who were so influential they were literally writing the federal government's climate and energy policies. With Martin Ferguson as Labor's Minister for Resources and Energy, it seems very little has changed. The draft Energy White Paper (EWP), released in December 2011, provides as clear an indication as ever of the access and esteem granted to…
The recent Garnaut Review Climate Science Update provides further confirmation of two seemingly paradoxical trends. While scientific and experiential evidence that global warming is accelerating continues to strengthen, public support for the action needed to prevent catastrophic climate change continues to decline.
John Brumby stands looking upwards into the distance, squinting and baring his nice straight teeth. Behind him is a giant octagonal configuration of mirrors reflecting the sun's rays against a backdrop of perfect blue sky. They call this greenie porn: pictures of big shiny solutions for the energy dilemmas of our time, like this one taken at a large-scale solar power plant.
A report on the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother EarthA wave of appreciative chuckles rippled through the 20,000-strong crowd packed into the openair Tiquipaya football stadium. Bolivian President Evo Morales was on stage thrusting plastic plates and disposable ponchos into the air as he made his case for the superiority of the lifestyles and products of the Indigenous Andean peoples in comparison to imposed Western alternatives. Speaking to a…
