Run for your lives, climate campaigners are sophisticated and can tie their own shoelaces | Environment Before I reveal some chilling truths about environmental campaigners, you’d best grab your nearest cuddly toy and take refuge behind the sofa. As government ministers, conservative commentators and coal lobbyists have warned us in recent days, the greenies are coming. Comfort toys may not be enough. The origins of this fearful outbreak of self-interested pleading came from a federal court challenge to the giant Carmichael coalmine being proposed in Queensland by the Indian mining and energy company Adani. Mining lobbyists and ministers said green groups were using the courts to “sabotage” projects because they hated people having jobs. The government now wants to change the laws so that the only groups will have the legal standing to object in cases will be those directly affected by mining projects. In fact, as the court was later forced to point out, there was no judgment in the case – and therefore no sabotage had actually taken place. They go to court with actual lawyers.
Top 10: climate change campaigns | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian When it comes to climate change adverts, we’ve seen everything from melting polar bears to electricity conscious orangutans. But which ones really stood out from the rest? Campaigns by 350 and Liberate Tate proved popular among our readers and followers, so here’s the full top 10 as decided by you: There’s no denying that WWF has produced a staggering number of climate change campaigns over the years, featuring evocative images from displaced seals sleeping on park benches to Tarzan swinging across a barren rainforest. The one that has lodged itself firmly in Julie Mollins’s mind is the picture of a shadow where a tree once grew. She says: I like this advert as it shows the importance of trees in the urban landscape. 9. Over 600,000 people have joined GetUp! I like the campaign because it's independent, seeks to educate, and inform governments. 8. It’s inspired by the divestment movement that succeeded in bringing down the South African Apartheid regime in the 80s. 7. 6. 5. 3. 2.
Divest Monash University from fossil fuels | Fossil Free Monash University should: 1) Investigate and disclose the full carbon exposure of its investments; 2) Stop any new investments in fossil fuel extraction or usage; 3) Develop a strategic plan to transition its investment portfolio away from fossil fuels towards cleaner solutions. Why is this important? Monash University is one the leading universities in Australia. Numerous Monash researchers (many of them IPCC authors) contribute important research about climate change and its future impacts. The scientific consensus on climate change from these researchers is quite clear, climate change must urgently be addressed. Monash University has an opportunity to show leadership by divesting from investments in fossil fuels which are driving and accelerating world carbon emissions and obstructing meaningful action to curb climate change.
PETITION: Divest RMIT from fossil fuels We call on RMIT to do the following: Publicly commit to cease any further investment in fossil fuelsPublicly commit to divesting RMIT entirely from fossil fuels within the next five yearsPublicly report regularly on the fossil fuel exposure and carbon intensity of RMIT's investments The risks of catastrophic climate change are well documented: increased natural disasters like bushfires and cyclones; rising sea levels; acidification of the oceans; severe drought and crop failure resulting in food and water shortages; mass displacement of populations and destruction of coastal cities. Climate change scientists have told us that to avoid the worst effects we need to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius. There is a limit to the amount of carbon we can emit to stay below this target (the ‘Carbon Budget’). This amount is, according to the IPCC Assessment Report, 575 gigatons between 2011 and 2049. An opportunity and a responsibility to become a sustainability leader
U2’s Activism: From Innocence to Experience Legendary Irish rock band U2 is in the midst of a triumphal tour of North America. Called “Innocence + Experience,” the tour’s moniker could also characterize the band’s evolution as activists. Casual observers could be forgiven for thinking of U2 as merely a “benefit” band, haranguing audiences in concert after concert about its causes. But over time, the band’s activism has grown more direct and effective. U2’s most important advance is the institutionalization of its activism in the last decade. ONE embraced all of DATA’s causes and added a concern for making more transparent the activities of mining, oil, and gas corporations. Learning how to lobby Its strategy was to help pass laws that pressured these corporations to disclose all payments they made to governments. In particular, he championed the Lugar-Carding amendment of the Dodd-Frank bill passed by the U.S. As always, ONE used Bono to drum up media attention. Harnessing public support ONE perpetuated Bono’s successful lobbying.
Photos: Naked PETA Activists' Pro-Vegan Demonstration Interrupted by Police | News Releases | Media Center | PETA For Immediate Release: June 20, 2014 Contact: Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382 Québec City – Québec City police intervened this afternoon in response to a complaint about a “disturbance”: three PETA members who stood outside Le Beffroi Steak House wearing nothing but tattoo markings that mimic a butcher’s diagram of body parts and holding signs that read, “All Animals Have the Same Parts—Try Vegan.” After 10 minutes in a patrol car, the protesters were released and allowed to continue their demonstration. A news release about today’s event is below. Nude Activists Painted With Butcher’s Diagram Will Bare Skin to Protest Eating Meat Three PETA members will be outside Le Beffroi Steak House on Friday protesting the meat industry by wearing nothing but tattoo markings that mimic a butcher’s diagram of body parts and standing behind a poster that reads, “All Animals Have the Same Parts—Try Vegan.” When: Friday, June 20, noon Where: Northwest corner of Rue Saint-Jean and Rue d’Youville, Québec City
Don't wait for global politics to fix climate change – we can do it ourselves It’s now almost certain that 2015 will be the warmest year ever recorded. However, rather than reduce green house gas emissions – something that has to happen quite urgently in order to avoid crashing through the safety barrier of 2℃ warming – we continue to pump more into the atmosphere. Thus far, the collective international response to climate change has been similar to a frog passively sitting in heated pan of water. We will have to wait and see if the latest and largest UN climate change summit in Paris will buck this trend and produce effective responses to climate change. Why has it proved so difficult to agree to limit carbon emissions? One reason stems from the fact the Earth’s atmosphere is a public good, just like street lighting, schools or public parks. If the atmosphere is a global public good then, in the absence of enforcement via international law to limit carbon emissions, you may conclude we are doomed. Can we avoid climate tragedy? The implications are profound.
Resurgence • Resurgence