Supporters Newsletter # 3 - August 2006
Dear supporters,
Welcome to our August 2006 newsletter, we’ve had a busy month and a half since our last newsletter and the membership is growing steadily.
Contents
1. What’s news…..
2. What’s coming up…..
3. What you can do…..
4. Be Heard – Write a Letter……
1. What’s News……….
Solar Panels for Rozelle Public School
As a direct result of The Cool Change Curry Night, $40,000 worth of photovoltaic solar panels have been generously donated to CCBR (Climate Change Balmain Rozelle). The great support by our local community of this event was picked up by the Sydney Morning Herald and it was the article that was printed (20- 21 May 2006) that inspired the very generous donation of these solar panels. What a great response for an inaugural fundraiser!
We have an accredited installer who has offered to lend his services to get them installed. The children at Rozelle will soon be engaged in interpretive activities that will educate them about the production of clean solar power.
We plan to have panels on all schools on the peninsula and this remains one of our targets
“Letter Trails”
The letters we’ve been writing to Morris Iemma, Ian McDonald and other politicians together with their responses can now be seen on our website. Go to www.climatechangebr.org and look up the “Letter Trails” page to check them out.
Proforma letters.
As part of the campaign to make positive changes towards stopping climate change you can send a letter. We’ve given you a choice of different ones and different people to send them to. Exercise your right to let the people in power know what you want!
Check out “4. Be Heard” of this newsletter
CCBR in the media
WWF - Australia interviewed Sue Lewis from CCBR and the article is in this month’s E-Magazine. www.wwf.org.au follow the path, Home > Feature Articles > Locals Shaping Our Future (Urban Renewal). We are also mentioned in the “Start a Group and Volunteer” section from the end of the article. Sign up to become a ‘futuremaker’ while you are there.
The NCC (Nature Conservation Council) has got a new website to encourage people to start up their own local action groups. www.climatemovement.org.au – CCBR is one on the list of groups that has been formed to date.
2. What’s coming up……….
Community screening of “An Inconvenient Truth”
This movie encapsulates the climate change concerns we face – a must see.
Join us for a night with like-minded people.
Where: Palace Cinema, Norton St. Leichhardt
When: 6:30pm, Tuesday September 5
Cost: $12.00
This is a premier screening organized by ‘The Glebe Society’.
The film is to be released nationally later in September.
David Suzuki’s talk …………..
Anvil Hill Project Watch Association Inc. (AHPWA) have secured the assistance of Dr David Suzuki in their efforts to combat the Anvil Hill Open Cut Coal Mine proposal.
CCBR supports AHPWA in their campaign to prevent the approval of the proposed Anvil Hill Coal Mine in the Hunter. For more information about this mine and it’s impact on global warming see www.anvilhill.org.au
Event: “The Challenge of the 21st Century, Putting the World Back Together”
Where: Enmore Theatre, Newtown
When: Monday Sept. 4.
6pm – show starts 7pm – David Suzuki 8.10pm
Cost: $71.90 ($61.40 conc.)
Supporting artists are the African Tribal Drum Group "Karifi -The African Experience" and "Les Saxby of Yidaki Didj and Dance"
Tickets will be on sale through Ticketek Agencies from Monday 31 July.
Dr David Suzuki will be personally signing copies of his autobiography which will be on sale on the night. This is his last Australian Tour.
Walk Against Warming Rally
Event: International Day of Action on Climate Change
When: Saturday, Nov 4, 2006
Where: to be advised
Street Stalls
We’re hitting the streets once more to raise awareness and help people make a difference.
At the stalls we’ll be….
• presenting letters you can send to the pollies
• signing households up to the Cut-the-Kilowatts Challenge
• petitions
• giving away bumper stickers to get the message out there.
Come along and have a chat, we’d love to see you!
The CCBR “Power to the People Picnic”
a fun afternoon for us to gather within our community and share ideas, stories, fun & sunshine (weather permitting). Date to be announced – some time in Spring
3. What you can do………
We would really like to harness the enthusiasm that our community has shown by offering a number of different options on how everyone can be involved.
On the lighter end of things you could:
o The best and most immediate thing you can do is to switch to an accredited renewable energy provider for your home (see www. greenpower.gov.au)
o Change your light bulbs to low energy fluorescent bulbs.
o Put a Climate Change B-R bumper sticker on your car (coming soon).
On the more vocal front you could:
o Write a letter to a politician . See the end of this newsletter for proforma letters
o Offer to letterbox drop
o Join us at the ‘Walk Against Warming’ rally on November 4
And if you feel like being actively involved in the functioning of Climate Change Balmain-Rozelle, you could express an interest in one of the specific committees:
Fundraising – assisting with fundraising projects for our Schools Solar Panels project.
Props – making banners and props, printing T-shirts and bumper stickers, printing petitions and pro forma letters, posters etc.
Events – Joining in under the CCBR banner at third party events and helping to organise our own.
We would love to hear from people who would like to assist us. Our hope is that by suggesting a wide variety of ways that people can become involved, that there is something for everyone and that in some way everyone can become part of the solution.
Please email us at ccbrmail@aapt.net.au and either specify a committee, an activity, a particular skill you may have, or a general desire to assist.
4. Be Heard – Write a Letter……
There are 21 new coal ‘projects’ (i.e. mines) in the planning stage in NSW currently! (http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/asp/register.asp)
From one coal project alone (Anvil Hill), Centennial Coal will extract enough coal to fill 10,000 Olympic swimming pools, every year for 18 years.
Another, the Moolarben coal project on the Goulburn River, is linked to the construction of a new coal-fired power station in Ulan, in the Central West.
The greenhouse gas emissions from combustion of this coal will increase the global temperature for many decades to come …
In opposition to new coal projects, write to:-
The Hon. Frank SARTOR, MP
Level 34 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place SYDNEY NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9228 4700
Fax (02) 9228 4711
office@sartor.minister.nsw.gov.au
The Hon. Morris Iemma
Premier, Minister for State Development, and Minister for Citizenship
Level 40 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place SYDNEY NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9228 5239
Fax (02) 9228 3934
thepremier@www.nsw.gov.au
Sample Letter:
Dear Premier Iemma
CC: Minister Sartor.
RE: climate change impacts of Anvil Hill mine proposal must be considered
It is unacceptable that assessment of the proposed Anvil Hill mine in the NSW Hunter Valley will fail to address this mine's enormous contribution to climate change.
The 10.5 million tonnes of coal per year proposed to be mined at Anvil Hill would contribute over 25 million tonnes of equivalent carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year for the life of the mine. This is more than Australia's entire annual transport emissions!
I demand that the NSW Government consider the Anvil Hill mine proposal in the context of the urgent need to cut global greenhouse pollution. Failure to do this would be reckless and irresponsible, and would condemn the world to runaway dangerous climate change.
Sincerely,
For more information on
o Moolarben: www.savethedrip.com
o Anvil Hill: www.anvilhill.org.au
The very technologies that we need to stop dangerous climate change are being starved while the climate-changing coal industry is booming…
Every year about 80 million tonnes of climate-changing coal leave Newcastle. In the next 5 years, more massive coal mines are planned to open and more coal infrastructure will be built.
Ultimately, Newcastle’s exports will increase by up to 50 million tonnes a year. This compares to Australia’s total coal consumption of 67 million tonnes and NSW’s consumption of 30 million tonnes. If this expansion occurs, it will accelerate the onset of dangerous climate change and see NSW actively fuelling its greatest threat.
At the same time, 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 the 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 projects and 2,000 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.
In opposition to lack of investment in renewable energy industries write to:-
Hon. Bob Debus MP
bob.debus@debus.minister.nsw.gov.
Minister for the Environment
Level 36
Governor Macquarie Tower 1
Farrer Place SYDNEY NSW 2000
PO Box: PO Box A290
SYDNEY SOUTH NSW 1232
Phone (02) 9228 3071
Fax (02) 9228 3166
Hon. Ian MACDONALD, MLC
office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au
Minister for Natural Resources,
Primary Industries & Mineral Resources
Level 30
Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place Sydney NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9228 3344
Fax (02) 9228 3452
Hon. John Howard, Prime Minister
http://www.pm.gov.au/email.cfm
Prime Minister
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600
Hon. Kim Beazley,
Kim.Beazley.MP@aph.gov.au
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600
Hon. Ian Campbell, Senator for Western Australia
senator.ian.campbell@aph.gov.au
Minister for Environment and Heritage
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600
Ph: (02) 6277 7640
Fax: (02) 6273 6101
Electoral office:
GPO Box B58, Perth WA 6838
Ph: (08) 94211755, (08) 9325 4227
Fax: (08) 9325 6857, (08) 9325 7906
The member for Pt Jackson will be announced in early August
And Lastly………
If you like what we’re doing and have friends who you think would be interested in this newsletter please feel free to forward it on.
Or…..if you have any feedback or ideas contact us at ccbrmail@aapt.net.au
Or…. if you would like to unsubscribe please let us know at ccbrmail@aapt.net.au
