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Court Rebukes Administration
in Global Warming Case
Monday 02 April 2007
Washington - In a defeat for the Bush administration, the
Supreme Court ruled Monday that a U.S. government agency has the
power under the clean air law to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions that spur global warming.
The nation's highest court by a 5-4 vote said the Environmental
Protection Agency "has offered no reasoned explanation" for its
refusal to regulate carbon dioxide and other emissions from new
cars and trucks that contribute to climate change.
The ruling came in one of the most important environmental cases
to reach the Supreme Court in decades. It marked the first high
court decision in a case involving global warming.
Greenhouse gases occur naturally and are also emitted by cars,
trucks and factories into the atmosphere. They can trap heat
close to the earth's surface like the glass walls of a
greenhouse.
Such emissions have risen steeply over the past century and many
scientists see a connection between this rise and an increase in
global average temperatures and a related increase in extreme
weather, wildfires, melting glaciers and other damage to the
environment.
Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the court majority,
rejected the administration's argument that it lacked the power
to regulate such emissions. He said the EPA's decision was
"arbitrary, capricious or otherwise not in accordance with law."
In sending the case back for further proceedings, Stevens said
the high court did not decide which policy the EPA must follow.
"We hold only that EPA must ground its reasons for action or
inaction in the statute," he wrote.
The Bush administration has consistently rejected capping
greenhouse gas emissions as bad for business and U.S. workers.
The court's four most conservative members - Chief Justice John
Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, both appointees of President
Bush, and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas -
dissented.
Reuters
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"When we plant trees, we plant the
seeds of peace and seeds of hope" -Wangari Maathai
 Plant
for the Planet
Under the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign,
people, communities, organizations, business and industry, civil
society and governments are being encouraged to plant trees and
enter their tree planting pledges on this web site. The
objective is to plant at least one billion trees worldwide
during 2007.
The idea for the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign was
inspired by Professor Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize
laureate for 2004 and founder of Kenya’s Green Belt Movement,
which has planted more than 30 million trees in 12 African
countries since 1977. When a corporate group in the United
States told Professor Maathai it was planning to plant a million
trees, her response was: “That’s great, but what we really need
is to plant a billion trees.”
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slow down
words and music by
BROTHER
farmland bushland, all the same
dig it up for a short term gain
they give me reasons say i don't understand
but isn't it treason to sell out this land?
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plant something |
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hamish, BROTHER
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Peace Convergence
Operation Talisman Sabre is scheduled to take place over a six
week period from the end of May to 2 July 2007.
Operation Talisman Sabre will utilise and traverse areas of high
environmental significance, i.e. world heritage areas, such as
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and natural heritage listed
sites which include indigenous sites and Ramsar wetlands. These
areas are habitat to many migratory birds and threatened species
such as dugongs and humpback whales. Environmental impacts
identified by the Department of Defence include effects on air
quality, fire potential, noise pollution, waste disposal and
spills and erosion from amphibian craft landings and weapon
target zones.
Update - June 2007
Peace Convergence Update
june 2007
20,000 troops, tanks, bombs, nuclear warships and subs stomping
over pristene Shoalwater Bay...
WIN TV / Channel Nine is conducting a poll on the
war games Talisman Saber 07. They are asking people to vote on
the issue: Should Talisman-Sabre take place at Shoalwater Bay in
Australia?
To vote NO phone (Australia ) 1902 555 166.
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Helen Caldicott Speaks on Operation Talisman Sabre
Operation Talisman Sabre is a destructive joint military
exercise between Australian and the US to be conducted at
the beautiful and pristine Shoalwater Bay in Queensland.
It is now, at this stage in the world's history totally
inappropriate to be conducting exercises to kill people and
to destroy our own beautiful nature and unique heritage.
We need as a nation to put all our energies into diplomacy
and peacemaking, not into encouraging the US to continue
with its killing operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and
elsewhere in the world. The US are, in fact as we speak
preparing plans to invade Iran.
The US needs discipline, and as a good friend we are in the
position to impose this discipline as one would treat and
care for a beloved alcoholic father
“By coming together at events such as today's peace rally
and committing ourselves to further peaceful actions, we are
making a clear statement to our community and the world that
we want to be governed from a place of peace not war and
terror."
More...
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Nuclear Free
Uranium is still unsafe, unnecessary and unwanted,
despite Labor policy shift
Date: 29-Apr-2007
With delegates to the Australian Labor Party national
conference narrowly voting to overturn the party's 'no new
uranium mines' policy, the Australian Conservation
Foundation has vowed to vigorously contest any expansion of
the dangerous and irresponsible nuclear industry.
"Today's vote doesn't make uranium mining any safer, any
more responsible, any more popular or any less controversial
than it has always been," said ACF Executive Director Don
Henry.
"The advocates of expanded uranium mining and export have
failed to come up with answers to the problems of safety,
waste, weapons, terrorism and widespread community concern.
"Today the ALP has scored a stunning own goal, but it has
not delivered a free kick to the uranium industry.
"The Western Australian and Queensland Premiers have today
re-affirmed their states' opposition to uranium mining.
"The Australian Conservation Foundation will continue to
represent the great majority of Australians who remain
deeply concerned about any expansion of this dangerous and
contaminating industry.
"Like radioactive waste, this issue is a long way from
dead."
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Nuclear Free
ALP should say no to open slather uranium mining
Date: 24-Apr-2007
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has added its
weight to the chorus of voices urging Labor Party delegates
not to dump the ALP's 'no new uranium mines' policy at the
party's national conference this week.
In a discussion paper released today ACF outlines some of
the implications of Australia's involvement in the uranium
trade and challenges those seeking to expand the industry to
detail how they intend to address these.
"If Labor wants to be taken seriously when it stands up
against nuclear power then it must get serious about the
fuel that makes nuclear power possible," said ACF Executive
Director Don Henry.
"The 'no new mines' policy is less than perfect – and a long
way from what environment groups would like it to be – but
it is not as illogical as its detractors claim and certainly
not as unethical as an open-slather uranium policy would be.
"Labor's existing policy is pragmatic in that it recognises
the legal, sovereign risk and compensation issues posed by
an immediate shutdown of the three existing commercial
operations, while acknowledging the deep community concerns.
"It also recognises the serious unresolved issues around
radioactive waste management, nuclear weapons and terrorist
dirty bombs.
"The world has not become a safer place since the ALP's
policy was adopted and there is still no answer to the
intractable problem of long-lived radioactive waste.
"Uranium is not copper or iron ore or gold. It is the
starting point of one of the most hazardous and long lived
industrial wastes in the world. And it remains the primary
fuel for the most deadly weapons ever used by humans.
"It deserves special status and the current federal Labor
policy recognises this."
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Earth Day - 22 April 2007
"The world of
tomorrow is not foreordained to be either good or
bad...rather it will be what we make it. In these 77 theses
I have tried to present the essentials ideas needed to
achieve a historic global change - from mindless
exploitation, with increasing danger of worldwide
catastrophe, to the peaceful nurture of our home, Planet
Earth" -John McConnell, Founder of Earth Day
International Earth Day
Earth Day Network
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Sydney
to send message to the world on global warming
WWF launches Earth
Hour - Australia's largest climate change initiative
In a world first,
Sydney will turn off its lights for one hour at 7.30pm on
Saturday March 31, 2007 as a major step towards reducing the
city's greenhouse gas pollution.
With the support of The City of Sydney and the NSW
Government, Earth Hour will be
 the
highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses,
communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed
to cut their emissions by 5% in 2007.
Earth Hour is about simple changes that will collectively
make the 5% difference - from businesses turning off their
lights when their offices are empty, to households turning
off appliances rather than leaving them on standby.
Greg Bourne, CEO, WWF-Australia said: "Sydney is renowned
across the globe for its ability to make things happen -
from the 2000 Olympics to its New Year celebrations. If we
prove that together we can significantly cut our greenhouse
gas pollution it will send a message to every city around
the world that we have the power to take action against
global warming."
read more
EarthHour
WWF Australia
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WA govt stands by uranium mining ban
Monday Jan 8, 2007
The West Australia government has rejected a federal call to
end its ban on uranium mining.
Federal Environment Minister Ian Campbell said WA should
reassess its ban because nuclear power could be used in the
fight against climate change.
Senator Campbell also said there were huge benefits to be
made by the WA and Australian economies from mining uranium
as the world was hungry for it.
But Acting Premier Eric Ripper rejected the call to dump the
ban, one of Labor's central policies in the 2005 state
election.
Mr Ripper dubbed Senator Campbell "a nuclear fanatic".
"I mean, the answer to greenhouse gas emissions is to look
at clean coal technology, to promote renewables, solar,
wind, wave, biomass, to invest in energy efficiency," Mr
Ripper told ABC Radio.
"And, of course, Western Australia is contributing
substantially to one of the other answers, which is to
export LNG so that it replaces coal, for example, in Chinese
power stations."
Mr Ripper said if WA lifted the ban it would come under
intense pressure to accept an international waste dump.
"And that's something I know our electorate would be
strongly opposed to," he said.
"We went to the people at the last election saying we're
opposed to nuclear power, we're opposed to uranium mining
and we're opposed to a waste dump in Western Australia,
that's the contract we have with the people and we intend to
honour that commitment."
Sydney Morning Herald
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Recommended Viewing
Blowin' In the Wind
Blowin' In The Wind
is the latest film from two-time Academy Award nominee,
David Bradbury - arguably Australia's most contentious and
provocative documentary filmmaker. It examines the secret
treaty that allows the US military to train and test its
weaponry on Australian soil. It looks at the impact of
recycled uranium weapons and the far-reaching physical and
moral effects on every Australian.
website
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth offers a passionate and
inspirational look at one man's fervent crusade to halt
global warming's deadly progress in its tracks by exposing
the myths and misconceptions that surround it. That man is
former Vice President Al Gore, who, in the wake of defeat in
the 2000 election, re-set the course of his life to focus on
a last-ditch, all-out effort to help save the planet from
irrevocable change.
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