Every Action will get a Reaction!!!!

Write a letter to the editor of mainstream newspapers....

Keep letters short , sharp and witty and they'll have a much better chance of getting published. Local newspapers can be really influencial so dont forget to write to your local paper. Why not tell them what you are doing to reduce your greenhouse pollution and challenge you local political representatives to do more?

The Sydney Morning Herald
letters@smh.com.au

The Daily Telegraph
letters@dailytelegraph.com.au

The Southern Courier
wfitzgibbon@spcourier.com.au

Every action you take will get a reaction!

And another....

This article was in the "breaking news" section of the SMH on Monday...

Read the whole article

Keep it up SMH....somethings gotta give...

Today Julia Baird of the SMH wrote "THE debate is over. We know the science. We see the threat posed by changes in our climate. And we know the time for action is now." That was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Last year. You know the climate change debate has changed radically when it is being championed by the man whose steroid-riddled body portrayed post-apocalyptic robots in the Terminator films.

And now, the man who refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol, John Howard, has suddenly emerged as an advocate of drastic action to stop the overheating of the Earth.

She carries on to say....

What we need to do is get serious about our entire environmental strategy, radically rethink our approach to energy and correct the years of denial and neglect by our governments. We need to implement all those other suggestions green groups have been promoting for decades: renewable energy sources, solar energy, that unsigned protocol, carbon taxes and credits, energy efficiency and investing in wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy like ethanol.

See the article here

For whatever reason the Howard government is suddenly waking up about climate change, at least they are waking up!!!

How do I find out who's my member of parliament?

Easy!

You can find out which electorate you are in from the State Electoral Office website: http://www.seo.nsw.gov.au or call the Australian Electoral Commission on 12 23 26. Then go to the NSW Parliament website to find out who your member of parliament is (formally called a Member of the Legislative Assembly) and how to contact them: http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au.

Anvil Hill's owner trying to buy silence!

Centennial Coal, the developer of the Anvil Hill project, is trying to get landowners in the Wybong Area to sign an outrageous contract. Centennial must buy their land to mine Anvil Hill. In return for a payment of $25,000, anyone who signs the contract must:

1. “….not in any way make any objection or complaint to any Authority regarding the grant of Project Approval [for Anvil Hill]” (Clause 4.1)

Effectively then, anyone signing the Agreement is gagged.

2. “do all things and sign all documents reasonable required by Centennial to support the grant of Project Approval” (Clause 4.2).

This means that Centennial could require a landowner who signed the Agreement to sign a petition in support of the mine, or write a letter in support of the mine, or even attend a community meeting to speak out in support of the mine. And if they don’t? Centennial can demand the $25,000 back. Centennial doesn’t just want to buy land, Centennial wants to buy people’s opinions and their right to free speech!

It also has to be asked – is this mine is such a good idea, then why does Centennial need to gag and manipulate community opinion?

Write to the Premier and your local member today and express your outrage at this heavy-handed unethical behavoiur by Centennial (contact details on the “Act now section of this website).

Sample letter:

Dear Premier,

The Agreement that Centennial is offering to landholders in the Wybong area is outrageous. In return for $25,000, landowners are prohibited from speaking against the mine – in effect they are gagged – and are also required to publicly support the mine whenever Centennial asks them to. This could mean being forced to sign petitions or attend community meetings and speak in favour of Anvil Hill going ahead. This is an outrageous, unethica breach of our right to free speech and I urge you to prevent Centennial or any other coal company from being able to use such agreements.

Renewable Energy is on the Decline

At the same time as all of this, the renewable energy industry in NSW is on its last legs. Next year the Federal Government's mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) will expire. Unless other measures to promote investment are introduced, growth in renewable energy industry will stall.

If the NSW government legislated a state renewable energy target of 15% by 2012, and 25% by 2020, it would spur up to $3 billion in investment in clean energy products and 2000 new jobs in NSW.

Not only would this provide us with clean energy, but we could start exporting clean energy instead of climate-changing coal

Saving Anvil Hill

We have to start somewhere, and that place is Anvil Hill. Anvil Hill is one of the biggest of the new open-cut coal mines seeking approval in the Hunter Valley. It is also a key driver of the expansion of the Valley's coal infrastructure like the huge new coal loader at Newcastle which is being partly financed by Anvil Hills owner, Centennial Coal. Anvil Hill is also an area of great environmental significance. It is the largest intact stand of remnant vegetation on the Central Hunter Valley floor and is home to endangered animals and plants, as well as being a major catchment of Wybong Creek, which flows into the Goulburn and Hunter Rivers.

Saving Anvil Hill is the first step toward stopping more coal mines that devastate the Hunter Valley and fuel climate change, and kick starting a clean energy future for NSW. Go to www.anvilhill.org.au for more information.

NSW is on the frontline of climate change

Scientists warn of potential sever impacts in Sydney and NSW from climate change in the coming years. Among them are:

• More severe droughts: NSW could see a 70% increase in drought frequency by 2030;
• Increased frequency of very hot days: Sydney currently gets 3 days per year over 35C. This could reach 18 by 2070. The number over 40C could reach 4. The Australian Medical Association has warned that by 2100, up to 15,000 Australians could die every year from heat related illnesses due to warmer temperatures caused by climate change if no action is taken;
• More Bushfires: Bushfires will become more intense and more frequent;
• Tourism industry affected: The CSIRO projects that the NSW snowfields may decrease in size by between 18% and 66% by 2030, which would dramatically limit the opportunities for tourism, skiing and snowboarding;
• Less water for Sydney:Sydney is likely to experience increased reductions in its already stressed water supply systems. This particularly likely as key rivers that feed into Sydneys water storage facilities are expected to experience a significant decline in stream flow;
• Loss of coastline: Research carried out by Sydney University scientists suggests that as much as 150 metres of the Sydney coastline could be lost by 2100 as a result of sea-level rise. Bondi Beach would disappear. Collaroy and Narrabeen beaches could retreat by 22 metres, and when combined with a 50-year storm surge by over 110 metres.
  

Dangerous Climate Change: The most serious threat facing our state, and planet

The scientific consensus is in: climate change is real and it is the most serious threat facing our state, and planet. As NSW Premier Morris Iemma has said, "The greatest threat to our environment and way of life comes from global climate change. It is no longer possible to talk of some future when the heating of the planet will begin to have adverse effects. The time is now - climate change is already happening.

Climate change is caused by an accumulation of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. The most abundant greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels like oil, coal and natural gas. Australia has the worlds highest per capita emissions of the greenhouse pollution that causes climate change, mainly because of our coal and aluminium sectors. Greenhouse-polluting coal is used to generate almost 90% of our power.