Global Climate Change Action

posted to QEAN YahooGroup by: Eleanor Smith
Sun Dec 6, 2009
Inspiration for the Walk Against Warming next Saturday...
x e
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http://liammacuaid.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/climate-change-demonstration...

For a long time the gap between the size of the movement against climate change and the scale of the issue for humanity has been a real
contradiction. Previous demonstrations in London pulled numbers in the
low thousands and the trend over the past three years had been down.

That changed today with the series of events organised by The Stop
Climate Chaos Coalition http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/the-wave.
Press reports of 20 000 are rubbish. It was not easy to gauge but a
figure of over 50 000 seemed more realistic.

It could be that today’s demonstration in London marked the arrival of
climate change activism as a mass movement. There were large numbers of contingents from universities, churches and NGOs. There was a small but visible trade union presence and it was evident that many of the people there had been brought by organisations of different sorts, in a way that was reminiscent of the early days of the Stop the War demonstrations. The litmus test of how broad a movement’s reach is might be the fact that the organised left makes up only a tiny fraction of its participants and that was true today.

Unhappily I had left my spangly blue wig, boa and face paint on a bus yesterday and so wasn’t able to participate in the blue theme of the
day. Yet countless thousands of people had daubed their faces or were
wearing blue clothes or boas. It’s one way of giving a sense of belonging to a large group and shows that there was a high level of organisation and coordination in a way that was different from most
other demonstrations.

The demands of the official demonstration reflected the politics of the
coalition and have a distinctly NGO flavour. “Protect the Poorest, Act Fair & Fast, and Quit Dirty Coal now, to inspire the deal the world needs.” These are more abstract than what the Campaign Against Climate Change was raising for in its rally at the start of the event. It calls for a million green jobs and 10% cuts in carbon emissions by the end of 2010 and neither pretend to offer a critique of capitalist productivism.

Yet you can’t help thinking that for most people on that demonstration
these nuances are pretty irrelevant. At the moment they are simply
thinking “climate change is real and serious and the world’s rulers are
not doing anything about it.” That’s why they took to the streets.

We can predict with near absolute certainty that the deal that is stitched up in Copenhagen next week will not rise to the challenge of
what has to be done to prevent capitalism’s changes to the planet’s
climate. The positive thing is that it finally looks like that a movement on the scale necessary emerged from its chrysalis today.

Oh and the Climate Camp has set up in Trafalgar Square
http://twitter.com/ClimateCampLdn.

Latest Actions:

Attached is a simple flow chart which shows that privatisation of publicly owned assets contributes to corruption in politics, bad business practices, loss of public revenues and loss of jobs.
see http://globalclimatechangeaction.org/files/Circle3.xls

* Kingaroy Rally 27 July @ 8am
Q Link Depot

* Gayndah Rally Tuesday 28 July, 7am
Qr Infrastructure Depot

* Bundaberg Rally - QCU Bundaberg Building
Wednesday, July 29 at 6:30pm
44 Maryborough Street, Bundaberg.
Hope to see you there :-)

* Maryborough Rally - Maryborough Town Hall
Thursday, July 30 at 7:30pm

Second billboard goes up in the Premier’s electorate

The Electrical Trades Union’s second billboard attacking the State Government’s decision to sell a number of State Government assets has been erected on Gladstone Rd, Highgate Hill, in Premier Anna Bligh’s electorate of South Brisbane.

The first billboard was erected earlier this week in Transport Minister Rachel Nolan’s electorate of Ipswich. The next one will be erected in Rockhampton in the next few weeks.

The billboard advertising is part of the second phase of the ETU’s statewide Light on the Hill campaign and comes as the State Government announced the advisory group for the sale of the assets.

Choice of advice consortium raises more questions

ETU secretary, Peter Simpson, said yesterday’s announcement that companies such as Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Scotland will advise the State Government on the sale is a further blow to the credibility of the decision.

“I mean, what a team. A couple of companies that had to be bailed out recently by governments are now back advising Queensland on privatisation. The Royal Bank of Scotland has effectively been nationalised in recent times with the United Kingdom Government announcing it would move towards a 70 per cent ownership stake. In January this year the RBS announced the biggest corporate losses in British history.

“Merrill Lynch in the USA basically went broke in 2008, due to debt risk from the US sub-prime collapse, and was bailed out by a merger with Bank of America, which I am told then had to go to the US Federal Treasury asking for US$20b in public money.

“The appointment of these companies to advise on the privatisation raises even more questions about this unpopular and unnecessary plan. The people of Queensland are entitled to a detailed outline of their recent performance and their role in the global financial crisis.

“The people of Queensland are also entitled to know just what fees these companies will be paid. There is speculation it could be as much as $200 million, the majority of which could go overseas. Surely the State Government is kidding?

“That is good money that could be used on stimulating the Queensland economy and funding Queensland services.

“The appointment of advisers also suggests the State Government is trying to tough it out on this issue, which regrettably means we will be campaigning against these asset sales right up to the next State election by the looks of it.

“Given the negative public reaction to the proposal, that is not good news for the State Government and many Labor MPs,” Mr Simpson said.

Research of voting intentions in five State electorates, conducted by UMR Research for the ETU, shows an average nine per cent swing against the Bligh Government with the decision to sell a number of State Government corporations the main reason for the swing. UMR Research has done a lot of research for the ALP itself.

The Light on the Hill campaign is being run until, at least, the next State election to stop State Government plans to sell a number of State Government entities, including most of the profitable sections of Queensland Rail and massive State forests, which contribute to national and international sustainable logging practices.

Media inquiries: Peter Simpson 0419-721 041
John Moran 07-3366 9010; 0410-603 278

Earlier Actions, background and further information click "read more" (link below).

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Thanks and acknowledgement for these pictures to Peter Campbell :-)
Thanks and acknowledgement to all who participated :-)
"friend me" on Facebook (link lower left hand side) to see video of rally in Sydney by Zakaria Haroone, currently unable to share here.

contact: i...@climateactioncentre.org

If you have thought of taking action on climate change, now is the time. Drought, bush fires, floods and rising seas are already hitting hard. It's an emergency and we need emergency action.

We can tackle the recession and climate change together. Direct investment in renewable energy will create jobs, stimulate the economy and begin to create the carbon-free economy of the future.

Rally demands:
--100% renewable energy by 2020--
Australia must make the shift from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy from wind, solar and other available technologies.

--Green collar jobs not job cuts--
We can renew our economy by creating hundreds of thousands of 'green jobs' and supporting workers to make a fair and just transition to sustainable industries.

-- Don't pass the Carbon Pollution law--
We need climate policies that make the big polluters pay and not allow big companies to go on polluting. The CPRS won't reduce Australia's greenhouse pollution.

--Protect Australia's Forests--
Logging and clearing vegetation are major contributors to climate change as forests and woodlands are important carbon stores.

Only a strong and growing movement for change will make a difference.

Come with your friends and family to the Rally on June 13th. Help promote the rally in your community

For more information:
http://www.climaterally.org/

To download the poster (to email/print):
http://www.climateactioncentre.org/sites/default/files/MelbRallyJune13.p...

To donate to rally organising costs:
http://foe.org.au/donate/product_info.php?products_id=49&osCsid=mg8uj2f1...

It's time to stand up to big polluters
10am, Saturday 16 May
Sydney Town Hall

IT'S TIME to:
* Stop handouts to big polluters
* End the influence of the fossil fuel lobby
* Fast-track clean, renewable energy
* Create green jobs and protect the climate

Join this peaceful community protest to oppose the Federal Government's recent moves to weaken the already inadequate Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Speakers include Cate Faehrmann (Nature Conservation Council of NSW), Senator Bob Brown (The Greens), Simon Sheikh (GetUp!), Graham Brown (ex-Hunter Valley coal miner and climate change activist) and more.

Enough is Enough when it comes to the undue influence of big polluters over decisions being made on climate change.

Thanks and appreciation go to Mira Wroblewski for the images.
More images here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/miraw2/UrgentClimateChangeRallySydneyMay1620...

For further information see http://climatemovement.org.au
or call (02) 9279 2466.

climate emergency protest, Sydney - please spread the word - *Climate **emergency - **renewables **now**!*

· *No carbon trading loopholes!*
The government is taking a business-as-usual approach to the climate emergency. Carbon trading alone will be too slow; with free permits for the big polluters it won't work at all. It must not be linked to international "carbon offset" schemes; these do nothing to reduce domestic emissions and often support environmentally damaging projects. Under its plan, the government admits, emissions will rise for some years to come. From: [Climate Change Action Group]

FW: Save the Mary River info - For those in SE Qld.
Rally to protest the proposed Traverston Crossing Dam. The Qld Labor Party is holding its State Convention at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on June 21,22. Kevin "I'm here to help" Rudd will be there. Fwd to your contacts. [READ MORE: Climate Change Action Group]