Environmentalists and anti-nuclear campaigners are disappointed but not surprised by the ALP national conference decision on April 28 to drop its 聯no new uranium mines聰 policy. This allows state Labor governments to approve new mines, a policy backed by the South Australian and Queensland premiers.
Zoe Kenny
It now appears certain that the ALP鈥檚 national conference, to be held in Sydney from April 27-29, will drop the party鈥檚 鈥渘o new uranium mines鈥 policy, adopted in 1998.
This will satisfy the big mining companies鈥 desire to expand uranium mining. Labor leader Kevin Rudd and his 鈥渓eft-wing鈥 deputy, Julia Gillard, are leading the push to scrap the policy.
Those hoping for a more serious approach to tackling global warming from the federal ALP than the do-as-little-as-politically-possible tack of John Howard鈥檚 Coalition government should revise down their expectations. On February 25, Labor leader Kevin Rudd unveiled the centrepiece of his party鈥檚 鈥渃limate action plan鈥 鈥 $500 million in funding for 鈥渃lean coal鈥 technologies research.
In his first two articles in the Cuban Communist Party鈥檚 newspaper, Granma, since becoming ill last year, President Fidel Castro lashed out at the recently signed ethanol deal between Brazil and the US. In an April 3 article he described it as 鈥渢he internationalisation of genocide鈥.
The major parties聮 聯green聰 credentials were again put to the test on March 22 when Greens Senator Christine Milne introduced Australia聮s first climate change bill. Despite some high profile backing for the bill 聴 which attempted to set legally binding targets for cuts to greenhouse gases 聴 the major parties refused to support it, giving the lie to their concern about climate change.
聯Nuclear fools聮 day聰 protests will mark Palm Sunday 聴 April 1. The protests are in response to the most significant push for expanded uranium mining in Australia since the Hawke Labor government聮s 1983 decision to defy public opinion and allow uranium mining to continue at Rio Tinto聮s Ranger mine in the Northern Territory, and to be developed at Australia聮s two other largest uranium deposits 聴 BHP Billiton聮s Olympic Dam (Roxby Downs) mine in South Australia, opened in 1988, and Rio Tinto聮s Beverley mine (also in SA) in 2001.
On March 8, Greenpeace announced that a community campaign had stopped the construction of Mighty River Power聮s Marsden B coal-fired power station, which would have been the first coal-fired power station to be built in New Zealand in 30 years. The campaign, launched in 2004, involved the local community, indigenous people and environmental organisations.
The Pacific island-nation of Tuvalu is the first country to have evacuated some of its citizens because of the sea-level rise driven by global warming. The highest point on the eight coral atolls that make up Tuvalu鈥檚 26 square kilometres of territory sits only five metres above sea level. Almost a quarter of the nation鈥檚 population have already been evacuated and the remaining 8000 Tuvaluans may also have to leave in future years.
The Pacific island-nation of Tuvalu is the first country to have evacuated some of its citizens because of the sea-level rise driven by global warming. The highest point on the eight coral atolls that make up Tuvalu聮s 26 square kilometres of territory sits only five metres above sea level. Almost a quarter of the nation聮s population have already been evacuated and the remaining 8000 Tuvaluans may also have to leave in future years.
In early February, rains that flooded up to 70% of Jakarta and displaced some 450,000 people began. Across Indonesia, 85 people died, according to a March 12 Agence France-Presse report. Bloomberg聮s wire service reported on March 6 that, according to government estimates, the floods caused a direct economic loss of 聯at least 5.2 trillion rupiah聰 (US$574 million), with indirect losses of 3.6 trillion rupiah.
With global warming increasingly dominating mainstream political discussion, the debate about solutions has intensified. While PM John Howard has thrown his weight behind the lie of 鈥渃lean, green鈥 nuclear power, the ALP has maintained its opposition to this deeply unpopular option.
A small Western Australia-based company, Eden Energy, is working on a project to convert most of India聮s public buses to run on a cleaner type of gas that will reduce smog in packed Indian cities. Eden Energy owns the patent for a fuel known as Hythane, or HCNG, a compressed mixture of hydrogen and compressed natural gas.
- Previous page
- Page 6
- Next page