Please send this profound little environmental poem about a beautiful family of butterflies to all the young people you know. You may just inspire them!
Link for easy opening: http://www.greenskillsaustralia.com/Saddest_Book.htm
Please sign our 'Australian Cash for Clunkers' petition at http://twitition.com/4q7ef - THANKS!
Please support a 'Cash for Clunkers' program for Australia, as successfully implemented in other countries
Australia needs to reduce car emissions
The Australian new car industry is suffering
We still need to consider the life cycle of cars
It’s time for the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program here.
Germany, France, Italy, Spain and now the US have run the wildly successful 'Cash for Clunkers' program. Why not in Australia too?
Okay, maybe the US program was TOO successful, with the $US1 billion budget being depleted in the first few days, and nearly 23,000 clunkers taken off the road in the first week, but the Australian government could slightly reduce the trade-in offered and impose greater reductions in emissions before handing over clunker cash. This would (a) make demand manageable, (b) ensure that reasonably efficient cars live out more of their life cycle, (c) improve the bang for the government’s buck as it cuts greenhouse gases and (d) make the program more sustainable in terms of long-term viability (people need to get used to the program to get involved). And perhaps the new car industry could get involved by adding to the fund or discounting new cars where clunkers are traded in? They stand to gain a much-needed boost.
If you agree, please (a) contact your local MP suggesting an Aussie Cash for Clunkers program and (b) send this blog to your friends.
Thanks
Senator Steve Fielding may not be popular right now amongst many Australian environmentalists for holding up the works while he investigates to what extent atmospheric carbon dioxide is causing global warming.
However, I’d suggest that it's simple responsibility for a politician to look at both/all sides to an issue without any preconceptions. The role of solar flares in temperature change should be investigated at a political level. Government scientists should present their case to Senator Fielding.
Steve Fielding appears to be genuinely searching for the facts on the matter. In fact, his self-funded trip to the USA is quite gutsy given the pressure to make a quick decision and given the multitude of voices saying "What could you possibly know or determine?" We have a similar responsibility to become informed before we form a position (or vote), no matter what our current level of knowledge is.
Of course, if solar flares are at some stage found to be the main cause of global warming, there may be no less impetus to reduce carbon emissions – after all, carbon emission reduction is at least partially within our power - but that is a separate debate. We should be progressing on reliable scientific facts as Steve Fielding is endeavouring to do.
The green movement may have been rather exclusive in the past, but we now have no choice but to be inclusive.
http://tr.im/nJqI
VW has revealed its single-seater prototype, 0.91 litres/100km & top speed of 123km/h - the world's most economical non-hybrid.
(I hope there'll be less photos this time - apologies in advance if not)
Segway is famous for its two-wheeler and other inventions. Could this new two-wheeler solve the world's urban transportation problems (along with the financial problems of its partner in this venture, General Motors Corp)?
An interdisciplinary workshop was recently conducted at the CCAMLR headquarters in Hobart, Tasmania, to address important issues in measuring, assessing and providing early-warning detection of climate change impacts on marine ecosystems and biodiversity, by measuring change in the Southern Ocean. A key focus was to promote national and international collaboration and the aim is to develop a Southern Ocean Sentinel program. It will take ten years to refine, but an action plan was drawn up during the meeting.
Workshop dates: 20-24 April 2009
The Chinese experts asked a Canberra conference why China should take strong action on global warming when Australia's efforts were "insufficient".
Australia's environmental standards and public transport were described as poor and building and street lighting as not energy efficient. Australia's pledge to cut greenhouse emissions by five to 15 per cent by 2020 was also labelled as "insufficient."
Source: Yahoo (AAP)
Published: 15 April 2009
