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Pages tagged "climate"

Possibilities for our region

Humans are capable of amazing things. Our ingenuity is limitless.

This month marks 50 years since humans first set foot on the moon. In 1969, only 8 years after President J F. Kennedy announced a national goal of landing on the moon

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their “giant leap for mankind”. This amazing feat was accomplished with only a fraction of the technology that we have access to today.

 

 It is incredible how fast technology has evolved since then, and it’s amazing what we can achieve once we set our minds on a goal.

 Imagine the amazing things that humanity could accomplish in the future. 

Now consider the huge threat our own behaviour is having on our very existence. Is our love of coal and burning fossil fuels worth limiting our potential and worth limiting the time that earth is even habitable? 

The great thing is that we don’t have to cook the planet in order to have our modern conveniences. We have the technology we need to move on from burning coal and other fossil fuels. We now have this amazing opportunity to take advantage of the exciting possibilities that using renewable energy technologies can open up. Renewable energy can run all the electrical things that coal fired power can. With good renewable energy systems, we can actually have more power for less money, which will improve the profitability and productivity of most businesses. 

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Media Release: Adani demands CSIRO scientists’ names: Mackay Conservation Group raises concerns

Media Release
16 July 2019

Adani demands CSIRO scientists’ names: Mackay Conservation Group raises concerns


The Mackay Conservation Group says Adani should be investigated following revelations that the company requested the identities of CSIRO scientists involved in assessing the mining giant’s groundwater management plan (ABC today, Adani demands names of CSIRO scientists reviewing groundwater plans).

Mackay Conservation Group spokesperson, Michael Kane, says “Adani’s actions are clearly designed to intimidate people who work for some of Australia’s most trusted institutions and organisations, including the CSIRO and Geocsience Australia.

“All Australians should be concerned about international corporations applying undue pressure on our independent regulators, regardless of whether they support Adani’s Carmichael project or not.

“If there was a federal anti-corruption body this would be exactly the kind of conduct it would be responsible for examining.

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Worldwide movement to declare Climate Emergencies

🚨 A fast-growing number of countries, nations, territories and cities are accepting the science and declaring climate emergencies. 🚨

This includes entire countries of the UK, Canada and Portugal and the nations of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The City Councils of London, New York and Auckland have also joined the list.

In Australia, 25 areas have declared climate emergencies including the Australian Capital Territory and the city councils of Sydney, Hobart and Fremantle. 

So what exactly is a climate emergency declaration? And will it mean climate action?

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Source your electricity from local renewable projects today

Many of us are keen to reduce our environmental impact and do our best but with limited access to public transport, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, coal and gas dominating energy production and suburban sprawl making us dependent on our cars it can seem hard to significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

There are of course clean energy alternatives like purchasing rooftop solar and battery storage but many people simply can’t afford it, live in unsuitable homes or rent and don’t get a say about how their electricity is sourced.

However, there are affordable options for electricity consumers to switch to renewable energy no matter where you live.

For example. Mackay’s sole energy retailer Ergon Energy customers can source between 10 to 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by participating in Ergon Energy’s ‘Clean Energy Programme’.

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Adani is just the tip of the melting iceberg

Environmental organisations such as Mackay Conservation Group have focused on preventing the Adani mine from being constructed for several years. We have built a movement of two million people around the country who support organisations that are part of the Stop Adani alliance. That leads some people to wonder why we aren’t focussed on the other mines planned for the Galilee Basin and elsewhere.

In 2012 it appeared that the first cab off the rank would be the GVK-Hancock Alpha mine. It attracted a lot of attention from the environmental movement. That project hasn’t gone anywhere, while Adani has been eyeing off opportunities to open its mine with generous support from taxpayers including low-interest loans and special royalties deals.

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Join us to Stop Adani

Because of people like you, we have stopped coal being dug up from the Galilee Basin for 7 years. 

The Stop Adani movement has only been around since early 2017 after Matt Canavan threw $1 billion at the project, and Annastacia Palaszczuk declared the project ‘critical infrastructure’.

People power stopped that loan and forced Australia’s big 4 banks and over 50 financial institutions, insurers and contractors to rule out supporting the project.

There are still many approvals left until Adani can dig up coal. And with your help, we can win.

Join our community to take action on climate change and move Australia beyond coal!


Media release: Adani's water approval goes against science

13 June 2019

Queensland Government has ignored science by giving away water to Adani

Mackay Conservation Group has today condemned the Queensland Government’s approval of Adani’s Groundwater plan. The group expressed disappointment that the government had given in to bullying by the billionaire mining company and ignored the science, risking Queensland’s water.

Mackay Conservation Group community organiser Emma Barrett said“Today’s decision has ignored expert warnings that Adani’s mine could permanently damage Queensland’s groundwater. Leading water scientists tell us that Adani’s modelling is flawed, not fit for purpose and risks drying up the ecologically important Doongmabulla Springs.

The Doongmabulla Springs is home to four endangered plant and animal species including birds, herbs and grasses.

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Media Release: Queensland Government Signs Death Warrant for Black Throated Finch Rather Than Stand Up to Adani

The Mackay Conservation Group has condemned the Queensland Government’s fast-track approval of Adani’s controversial Black Throated Finch management plan that will sign the death warrant for the endangered bird and ignores the company’s poor record in breaching environmental laws.

Mackay Conservation Group community organiser, Michael Kane, said the decision was politically motivated and the approval process had been rushed, manifestly inadequate and compromised.

“With the decision today, Australians now have a front row seat to the real time extinction of the endangered Black Throated Finch due to political expediency and a lack of leadership” he said.

“The truth is once Adani bulldozes the tiny finch’s last viable habitat, the birds will literally starve to death in great numbers. This is an extinction that we can stop today. There is still time for the Premier to walk back this process.

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Media Release: Mackay Locals Plan Afresh To Stop Adani To Manage Climate Risks

Mackay, Queensland. It was clear from the dozens of people who gathered in Mackay over the weekend, to discuss the next steps in the campaign to stop the Adani mine, that locals have a significant appetite for working to prevent enormous coal mines being dug in the Galilee Basin and avert dangerous climate change.

About 40 residents met in East Mackay on Sunday to discuss the next steps in the local Stop Adani campaign following the apparent change in the Queensland Government’s position on assessing the project scientifically.  

Mackay Conservation Group coordinator, Peter McCallum, said “People are increasingly worried about climate change given the extreme weather they’ve seen hit Queensland in recent times. They’ve also heard the dire predictions that the world’s leading scientists have been sharing with governments and the public for decades.

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Media Release: Palaszczuk must stick with science in the face of political bullying

Media Release

22 May 2019

Palaszczuk must stick with science in the face of political bullying

The Queensland Premier has announced that the Adani mine assessment process will be fast-tracked and that a timeline for approval of the mine will be made public by Friday.

Peter McCallum, coordinator of Mackay Conservation Group, said “This decision follows intense political pressure from the mining industry and the Murdoch press. It is a kick in the guts for all those Queenslanders who were counting on the Palaszczuk Government to make sound scientific decisions on environmental issues.

“Today the Premier has said that she wants the scientific assessment process cut short. There can be only one reason for that, the pressure put on her government by a highly-orchestrated campaign by the mining industry and the Murdoch press.

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