| Rudd locks in green power plan |
  THE Rudd Government has set Australia on course for a new era of greener but more expensive electricity, pressing ahead with a plan to make 20% of our power come from renewable sources within just over a decade.
Honouring a key election pledge, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has released a blueprint for mandatory renewable energy targets that is expected to be discussed at today's COAG meeting with state and territory leaders in Sydney. |
 doug on July 03 2008 15:18
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| Permaculture Project Promotion |
 From Geoff Lawton, Permaculture Australia:
Hi Folks. We have a lot happening at this end, and we'd like to make the most of our extended network as we try to ramp up the spread of permaculture worldwide. We are all aware of the escalating price of oil, daily environmental disasters, and, significantly, a food crisis that just isn't going to go away anytime soon, etc. We feel we really need to all work together to do what we can to ameliorate the situation as best we can, and with peak oil worries now hitting the mainstream media, we're in a race against time - hence this email. |
doug on July 03 2008 15:11
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| Colombian Greens Hostage Rescued After Six Yearse |
 The six-year hostage ordeal of former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt is over. Ms Betancourt and 14 other hostages have been rescued from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) camp in a jungle raid. Today's operation marks the single biggest blow against the FARC and the end of the years-long ordeals of 15 hostages.
Ms Betancourt was kidnapped while campaigning for the Colombian presidency in 2002. |
alangray on July 03 2008 13:31
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| WA Govt Wind Claims Choked By Bulldust |
 A wind farm might be a dangerous place for chickens to roost given the threat the rotating blades are said to pose for birdlife. But a whole flock of chooks from former premier Geoff Gallop’s backyard coop landed in the middle of a wind farm north of Perth last week. These were carrier chooks. They came with a message that must have left a salty taste in the mouth of the man who now teaches the principles of government in New South Wales.
Back on July 26, 2005, then premier Gallop released a media statement headed: “Wind farm chosen to power Perth’s desalination plant.” |
alangray on July 02 2008 13:22
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| Marking 25 years of the Franklin River decision |
 Today is the 25th anniversary of the High Court's decision to block the Franklin Dam in Tasmania's south-west Wilderness. In 1982 Tasmanians elected a Liberal Government for the first time ever. The Premier, Robin Gray, had campaigned on building the Franklin Dam. After losing the battle to save Lake Pedder from being dammed in the 1970s conservationists launched a highly co-ordinated battle to save the Franklin River, beginning in late 1982. |
alangray on July 01 2008 17:02
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| Green electricity users face 'double bills' |
| GREENPOWER users will be double billed if changes to the new greenhouse gas reporting system are not made, says University of Adelaide climate change Professor Barry Brook. This could cause the GreenPower national accreditation scheme to "implode" when an emissions trading scheme is introduced in 2010. |
alangray on June 30 2008 14:40
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| 75,000 Victorian Forest hectares to be set aside? |
 The Victorian Government will set aside 75,000 hectares to protect three of Victoria's most endangered wildlife species, including Leadbeater's possum, the state's faunal emblem. The Government is expected to announce the plan on Monday. It will include a 30,000-hectare reserve in central Victoria for the possum, 40,000 hectares in East Gippsland and the state's north-east to protect the long-footed potoroo, and 5500 hectares to protect the most significant habitat of the Baw Baw frog. |
alangray on June 29 2008 21:35
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| Poll finds strong mill opposition |
 A NATIONAL poll has found nearly two thirds of Australians oppose the Gunns pulp mill. The poll, commissioned by civil action group GetUp, surveyed more than 1000 people from across Australia and found 61 per cent opposed the mill. According to the poll, 65 per cent of Labor voters opposed the mill. |
alangray on June 26 2008 14:57
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| Energy rating might soon be part of sale deed |
 HOME owners may soon have to reveal the energy efficiency of their homes when they put them up for sale, potentially affecting the value of millions of homes. The Victorian Government, as part of a national process, is working on the new disclosure rules for the benefit of potential buyers, with about 1.8 million existing homes in Victoria having an energy efficiency of only about 2½ stars - half the level of the 40,000 new homes built each year. The ACT already has mandatory efficiency reporting for all homes at the time of sale and South Australia and NSW are believed be close to introducing similar rules. |
alangray on June 26 2008 14:51
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| US mayors ban bottled water |
 Mayors in the United States have voted to phase out the use of bottled water in their cities and towns, over fears it is damaging to the environment. The US Conference of Mayors passed the resolution amid increasing concerns about the prevalence of bottled water, because of its use of plastic and the energy costs in transporting it. |
alangray on June 24 2008 20:10
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