Geelong Sustainability

"There are only a few topics that seem less obvious but more hotly debated than climate change. It's here, it's happening, it's caused by humanity, and it is one of the largest problems humanity will ever face. But I believe we will face it, and we'll face it with the desperate ingenuity and bravado with which we have faced our entire history on this planet. And we will survive it, as long as we can finally freaking agree that "it" isn't a conspiracy theory made up to annoy the rich and powerful."

"Australian energy utility Origin Energy is under the SQHQ microscope this week readers. More specifically their claim that the carbon tax and subsidies for green schemes are the chief cause of the rise in the average electricity bill. Your correspondent received his bill from Origin on Thursday. While never a pleasant experience this was made worse by a clear message situated prominently on the lower right side of the document in big red letters. NSW Govt estimates that the Federal carbon tax and green energy schemes add about $332 a year to a typical 6.5MWh household bill. Sounds nasty readers but is it true?"

"What's happening in Australia is vastly different than what's happened in the United States. Sure, we've had climate skeptics, contrarians, and deniers in positions of power or in control of parties. Or news networks. But here in the United States, climate change has never taken center stage in national politics. During last year's Presidential campaign, it scarcely escaped the lips of either Obama or Romney, and the campaign press corps did little to end the silence."

"Sales of two-wheeled vehicles are outstripping four-wheeled vehicles across the continent. Now we'll get to see what a widespread biking culture really looks like."

"Recently NASA reported that this year's maximum wintertime extent of Antarctic sea ice was the largest on record, even greater than the previous year's record. This is understandably at odds with the public's perception of how polar ice should respond to a warming climate, given the dramatic headlines of severe decline in Arctic summertime extent. But the "paradox of Antarctic sea ice" has been on climate scientists' minds for some time."

"The global conveyer belt is part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by differences in the density of the waters. It plays a key role in keeping the climate at balance and Europe warm. Global warming may change it forever with unforeseeable consequences. "

""Solar-powered households face higher fees to use grid" read this weeks headline in The Australian. "Australia's one million households with rooftop solar photovoltaic panels face the prospect of higher charges to use the poles and wires that distribute electricity" it went on. The AEMC will be making recommendations to our Federal and State Governments. But we know what can move these governments - the voice of the people. Together, we can tell our governments to get behind solar - not penalise it. Show that you won't stand for a tax on the sun by signing our petition below."

"December 02, 2009 , 9:24 AM by Prue Bentley In the last 24 hours, Tony Abbott has come under fire for his comments on the veracity of climate change. The media has seized on his claim to a small local Victorian paper that "climate change is crap". In the context of his leadership this is curious as Mr Abbott seems to have spun 180 degrees in his estimation of human influenced climate change in as little as a few hours / votes. The paper in question happened to be the Pyrenees Advocate and the Editor of the paper, Craig Wilson, was there when those words were uttered."

The Climate Reality Project, founded and chaired by former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore, is dedicated to unleashing a global cultural movement demanding action on the climate crisis. Despite overwhelming international scientific consensus on climate change, the global community still lacks the resolve to implement meaningful solutions. The Climate Reality Project exists to forge an unwavering bedrock of impassioned support necessary for urgent action. With that foundation, together we will ignite the moral courage in our leaders to solve the climate crisis. The Climate Reality Project employs cutting-edge communications and grassroots engagement tools to break the dam of inaction and raise the profile of the climate crisis to its proper state of urgency. With a global movement more than 5 million strong and a grassroots network of Climate Leaders trained by Chairman Al Gore, we stand up to denial, press for solutions, and spread the truth about climate change to empower our leaders to solve the climate crisis.

"Food manufacturers could be facing their tobacco moment as growing consumer awareness on well-being turns towards commodities such as sugar, a global report says. The report on sugar, compiled by the Credit Suisse Research Institute, highlights the need for the food and beverage industry to tackle the focus on obesity head-on by joining a diversification into new healthier products."

"THE Victorian Opposition will overturn tough wind farm planning laws introduced by the State Government in 2011 if elected to power. Opposition planning spokesman Brian Tee said if elected next year, the Labor Party would repeal the setback that prevents developers building turbines within 2km of a house without the owner's written consent."

"Remember carbon capture and storage? Five years ago, the idea of grabbing the carbon dioxide from coal and gas power plants and burying it deep underground was considered an essential technology for curbing the world's greenhouse-gas emissions. A diagram of how various sorts of carbon capture might work. (Congressional Budget Office) But carbon capture hasn't fared well in the years since. Since 2008, world governments committed at least $25 billion to fund large-scale demonstration projects, the Financial Times reports. And we have remarkably little to show for it so far."

Energy Made Easy is an Australian Government website maintained by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). Under the National Energy Retail Law, which came into effect on 1 July 2012, the AER developed and must operate a price comparator website. The aim of Energy Made Easy is to help residential and small business energy consumers to navigate the often complex electricity and gas retail markets to find a suitable energy offer. The website also allows you to understand and compare your residential electricity usage against other similar households living in their area and to learn about energy related topics such as energy efficiency, contracts, bills, your rights and obligations, and the energy market.

The publications linked to on this page provide statistics and other information from the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics from both2012 and 2013 related to Australia's energy policy development.

"There have been fierce arguments this week about whether it's opportunistic to discuss climate change in connection to the devastating New South Wales fires. Amid all the bluster, it's surprising that we've heard so little from one group of experts: frontline emergency service workers, including the firefighters risking their lives for the rest of us. Yet if you do ask for their opinion - as we did for a study released in June this year - many, ....... , are not reluctant to talk about climate change. In fact, quite a few of the emergency workers and planners we interviewed said we should be talking about it more, if our communities are to be better prepared for disasters like the one unfolding in NSW right now."

"A    DANDENONG South steel manufacturer's rooftop is attracting international attention. Hilton Manufacturing ­recently switched on the largest array of sun-tracking solar panels on a factory roof in the southern hemisphere. This month the site will host delegations from Taiwan and India, keen to learn more about the technology. Project manager Jacques Esper said the business would draw about 25 per cent of its power from the 340 solar panels arranged on top of the 15,000sq m factory, which had become a showpiece."

"Experts have come a long way in trying to figure out which messages can successfully open minds and move public opinion. There's just one problem: They disagree about whether the message everyone's using actually works."

"You want to know what the biggest obstacle to dealing with climate change is? Simple: time. It will take decades before the carbon dioxide we emit now begins to have its full effect on the planet's climate. And by the same token, it will take decades before we are able to enjoy the positive climate effects of reducing carbon-dioxide emissions now. "

Do Something Near You is Australia's definitive community directory and volunteer portal. The website provides vital links between charities, councils and communities. The aim of the project is to encourage and assist members of the public and the business community to invest their time and resources in local not-for-profit organisations, to the benefit of all Australians.

"In October the world's leading authority on climate science released its latest report, finding that the science on climate change was now 'unequivocal'. In response, the LA times and now the Sydney Morning Herald have stated that they would no longer publish factually inaccurate letters denying climate science. We call on The Age, the Australian and the Herald Sun newspapers to follow the leadership of their peers and stop publishing factually incorrect letters from so-called climate sceptics. ADD YOUR SIGNATURE TO THE LETTER TO THE EDITORS OF THE AUSTRALIAN, THE AGE AND THE HERALD SUN"