Green cash on offer

Climate change could be tackled at a regional level with the help of new Victorian Government grant funding.

Lily D’Ambrosio.

Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio recently launched the $1 million Community Climate Change Adaptation (3CA) grants program.

Grants of between $25 000 and $75 000 will be available for practical, locally-driven projects that are helping communities adapt to climate change.

Funding is available for two categories of projects that build the adaptive capacity for communities and stakeholders to respond or adapt to climate change impacts in their region; and, projects that deliver tangible actions that help communities adapt to climate change impacts they already face.

‘‘All our regions have their own unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to climate change, which is why we need to support good ideas at a local level to build resilient communities in the face of a changing climate,’’ Ms D’Ambrosio said.

Goulburn Valley Environmental Group and Slap Tomorrow president John Pettigrew said groups such as these had long been advocating for action against climate change whether it be mitigating or adapting to climate change.

‘‘They work in different fields — Slap Tomorrow has certainly brought speakers to this region to help people to make changes and give them the confidence to take action.

‘‘And GVEG has certainly been on the front foot when it comes to sustainability projects at a local level.’’

Mr Pettigrew said both groups welcomed any actions like this from the government to assist communities make the change.

‘‘We, like other groups, will be looking at what options there are and whether we can take up some of this funding,’’ he said. 

●Applications close on March 31. To apply, visit: climatechange.vic.gov.au/ 3CAgrants

Story by Tara Whitsed from The Shepparton News - “Green cash on offer.”

Smartphones are killing the planet faster than anyone expected

Before you upgrade your next iPhone, you may want to consider a $29 battery instead. Not only will the choice save you money, it could help save the planet.

Think twice, and then think again before replacing
your smartphone as they are energy-rich and are
 chewing up the Earth/s resources at an alarming rate.

A new study from researchers at McMaster University published in the Journal of Cleaner Production analyzed the carbon impact of the whole Information and Communication Industry (ICT) from around 2010-2020, including PCs, laptops, monitors, smartphones, and servers. They found remarkably bad news. Even as the world shifts away from giant tower PCs toward tiny, energy-sipping phones, the overall environmental impact of technology is only getting worse. Whereas ICT represented 1% of the carbon footprint in 2007, it’s already about tripled, and is on its way to exceed 14% by 2040. That’s half as large as the carbon impact of the entire transportation industry.

Smartphones are particularly insidious for a few reasons. With a two-year average life cycle, they’re more or less disposable. The problem is that building a new smartphone–and specifically, mining the rare materials inside them–represents 85% to 95% of the device’s total CO2 emissions for two years. That means buying one new phone takes as much energy as recharging and operating a smartphone for an entire decade.

Read the story by Mark Wilson from Co.design  - “Smartphones are killing the planet faster than anyone expected.”

Climate Crisis – Saving landscapes?

There could be a welcome side effect of carbon credits. 

Will this scheme aimed at fixing the climate crisis also help to save rural and degraded landscapes? 

In recent years, Australian farmers and other landholders have been signing up for 'carbon farming' credits, including being paid not to clear native vegetation on their properties. 

In places like western NSW, it is transforming otherwise degraded and largely unproductive country. A similar scheme of so-called 'reef credits' is proposed for Great Barrier Reef catchments.

Heartlands Conversations presented by The Blue Mountains Music Festival. 17 March 2018.

Listen to Big Ideas on Radio National - “Climate Crisis – Saving landscapes?”

Energy Secretary Rick Perry says moving from fossil fuels to renewables is ‘immoral’

Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Wednesday that it was “immoral” to help poor nations shift off of fossil fuels.

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry believes it is
 'immoral' to help poor nations shift off fossil fuels.

“Look those people in the eyes that are starving and tell them you can’t have electricity,” said Perry in remarks after his big speech to the oil and gas industry at the annual CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. “Because as a society we decided fossil fuels were bad. I think that is immoral.”

Read the ThinkProgress story by Joe Romm - “Energy Secretary Rick Perry says moving from fossil fuels to renewables is ‘immoral’.”

US weather latest: Parts of country colder than Antarctica or Mars

US officials are urging residents to help the vulnerable as a deep freeze sets in across half the country, bringing colder temperatures than those Antarctica or parts of Mars. 

Rochelle Carlotti, 28, shovels steps near her home after a record snowfall in Erie, Pa.

Forecasters warned people to be wary of hypothermia and frostbite from the arctic blast sweeping across from the Midwest to the Northeast, where the temperature, without wind chill factored in, plummeted to -35C degrees in parts of New York state. 

In Antarctica, temperatures are currently around -16C. 

The prolonged, dangerous cold weather has sent advocates for the homeless scrambling to get people off the streets and to bring in extra beds for them. Warming centres were also set up in some locations.

Segundo Rivera and Sean Stuart told The Boston Herald they were not comfortable spending the night in a shelter.

Read the story on the Independent by Lucy Pasha-Robinson - "US weather latest: Parts of country colder than Antarctica or Mars”.

IKEA spends big to help poorer nations with renewable energy, climate change

I

KEA, the world's biggest furniture retailer, plans to spend 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion) on renewable energy and steps to help poor nations cope with climate change, the latest example of firms upstaging governments in efforts to slow warming.

Chief Executive Peter Agnefjall said the measures would "absolutely not" push up prices at the Swedish group's stores. The investments will be "good for customers, good for the climate and good for IKEA too," he told Reuters.

He said the plan was motivated by a desire to tackle climate change, rather than to court favourable publicity. "Getting that message out to the customers is secondary," he said.

An internal review last year showed only 41 percent of its customers see IKEA as a company that "takes social and environmental responsibility", below its goal of 70 percent by 2015.

Read The New York Times report - “IKEA Pledges 1 Billion Euros to Help Slow Climate Change”.

Shepparton News asks readers to acknowledge climate change

Today’s Shepparton News editorialized about the difficulties in Vanuatu caused by Cyclone Pam and encouraged its readers to at least acknowledge the effects of climate change.

Below is what was said in the editorial.

 

Once again nature has unleashed its devastating force on a neighbour, and once again it is the poorest of the poor who are hit the hardest.

Since the category five Cyclone Pam slammed into Vanuatu with brutal force on Friday last week, 24 people have so far been counted among the dead; thousands of homes are destroyed and at least 70 000 children have been left homeless. Australians have a long and deep connection to the island nation.

Each year we donate millions of dollars in aid to help education, health, business and infrastructure.

Vanuatu depends on Australian tourism and expertise for its economy.

Now its people will depend on us to help rebuild their island home.

Already Australians are responding to the call with HMAS Townsville and a Royal Australian Navy Taipan helicopter adding to search and rescue and medical teams on the ground.

Ordinary Australians such as former Shepparton resident Zoe O’Brien are contributing their expertise and their funds.

This is as it should be.

We are in a position to help, and so we do.

We share the beauty and terror of this part of the world equally with our neighbours.

Cyclones are part of life here in Australia and across the southern Pacific.

However, we do have to ask – and the question has already been raised – can we expect more frequent and ferocious cyclones?

Vanuatu’s president Baldwin Lonsdale has already said climate change was a key factor in the scale of devastation Pam caused.

The head of the United Nations’ Development Program in Fiji, Osnat Lubrani, who has responsibility for the four countries Cyclone Pam has affected, says the latest disaster to hit the pacific must result in a binding deal on greenhouse gas emissions.

Whether or not climate change is the cause of this most recent disaster may seem irrelevant in the race to meet the desperate needs of the people of Vanuatu.

Arguments about the science will not put roofs over children’s head or feed thousands of hungry mouths.

But if we are to plan for the future, to avoid the repeated scenes of trauma and the continuing scramble for aid, surely we must at least acknowledge the effects of climate change and act to prevent further loss of life and property.

Whether this means moving whole populations or strengthening infrastructure, or at least increasing aid – something will have to be done.

Already another cyclone is building – Cyclone Nathan is bearing down of far north Queensland and communities from Cape Melville down to Innisfail have been warned to brace for a severe tropical cyclone by the end of the week.

The Pacific region is a weather barometer, and it will bear the brunt of any changing climate.

And while climate change may be slow and incremental, it is not invisible.

•This article can be found on the SheppartonNews website, although it is behind a paywall.

Help needed with workable ideas

Help!

Those with workable ideas, views or opinions about how individual, communities and more broadly, society generally should respond to human induced changes to our climate are invited to send their thoughts to Robert McLean.

Some will be published on Beneath the Wisteria and the best will almost certainly generate discussion among those gathering Beneath the Wisteria.

Don’t forget – we need your thoughts, keep them brief, to the point and of relevance for people keen to do what they can in response to our changing climate.