Tag: an inconvenient truth

Environment Workshop: All About Climate Change

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All About Climate Change is the first of two workshops organised by Maroondah City Council to explore the issue of climate change.

The workshop will feature a presentation from an Al Gore ambassador (An Inconvenient Truth) with the aim of providing a greater understanding of how our climate is changing and how it will impact on our lives and families.

The workshop will be held at Maroondah City Council offices, Braeside Avenue, Ringwood (Melways 50 A7), or bus route 670 along Maroondah Highway (call Metlink on 131 638 for timetable information).

Places are limited to 80 for each workshop so please register your attendance by Tuesday the 13th of November.

For further information or to register your place, please call Maroondah City Council 9298 4261.

Media Release: Find out what climate change is all about

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Heard about climate change but not sure how you make a difference?

Then come along to Maroondah City Council’s free workshops on Climate Change and Energy Efficiency during November.

Councillor Alex Makin said the first workshop, All About Climate Change focuses on exploring the issue of climate change and the concept of an ecological footprint.

“Featuring a presentation by an Al Gore Climate Ambassador, the workshop will provide a a greater understanding of how our climate is changing and how this will impact our lives and our families,” said Cr Makin.

“It also explains the importance of energy efficiency and how, as a society, our behaviours and attitudes need to become more environmentally sustainable,” said Cr Makin.

“The second workshop, Combating Climate Change at Home, will offer practical advice on what people can do at home to save energy and reduce their ecological footprint. The workshop will cover a wide range of suggestions from something as simple as turning off superfluous lights to incorporating efficient design into buildings and renovations,” said Cr Makin.

“I wholeheartedly encourage the Maroondah community to come along to one, or both, of the workshops. Council has an ongoing commitment to the Maroondah community regarding sustainability issues, because what we do today will have a major impact on the future of our environment,” said Cr Makin.

  • All About Climate Change will be held on Tuesday 20 November, with registrations closing on Tuesday 13 November.
  • Combating Climate Change at Home will be on Tuesday 27 November, with registrations closing on Tuesday 20 November.

Both workshops will be held from 7.00pm until 9.00pm at the City Offices, Braeside Avenue, Ringwood (Melways 50 A7), or bus route 670 along Maroondah Highway (from Ringwood or Croydon Stations – call Metlink on 131 638 for timetable information).

Places are limited to 80 for each workshop.

For further information or to register your place, please call 9298 4261.

Maroondah Climate Change Action Group: the Science, Politics and Solutions on Climate Change

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The Maroondah Climate Change Action Group was formed earlier this year to advocate to all levels of government on the need for action in regard to climate change and to educate the wider Maroondah community on the need for greater environmental sustainability. In working towards these aims, the group organised a public presentation at the Karralyka Centre which explored the growing consensus around climate change and the solutions that are available.

The presentation included two speakers, Dr. Peter Christoff, the Vice-President of the Australian Conservation Society and Professor at the School of Social and Environmental Enquiry at the University of Melbourne and Mark Wakeham from Greenpeace.

Dr. Christoff, who was trained to deliver presentations on Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth, was able to reinforce his presentation with a number of localised examples, showing the repercussions that climate change would present to Australia. While the focus of the presentation was in regard to energy, Dr. Christoff did make reference to the damage being caused by the transport sector, which remains Australia’s fastest growing source of emissions.

Mark Wakeham spoke about the need for greenhouse reduction targets, but failed to provide any indication as to whether political parties would in reality meet such goals. While setting greenhouse reduction targets might be seen as a positive step forward, there is a need for a detailed implementation plan to achieve such goals.

As an example, the State Government has targets to increase rail freight usage to 30% by the year 2010 and public transport modal share to 20% by 2020. In the case of the freight goal, the trends have shown a decline in rail freight usage, demonstrating a complete failure to achieve this target. In regard to public transport modal share, the State Government has still failed to provide a detailed implementation plan that would work towards increasing modal share above the current figure of 9%. While more people are using public transport, more people are also driving showing very little improvement in achieving this target and a lack of conviction on the part of the State Government.

It is easy for political parties to set goals, it is more difficult for them to actually maintain the conviction to achieve such goals, particularly when target dates such as 2050 are chosen. Electorates should remain cynical until a detailed implementation plan is provided with interim targets to benchmark performance.

Delegates' report: Peak Oil and Climate Change

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On the 27th of June I attended the Peak Oil, Petrol Prices and Climate Change Conference convened by the Victorian Council of Social Services, Environment Victoria and in partnership with the Victorian Government.

Peak Oil is the situation that occurs when the supply of oil is unable to meet demand. It was first hypothesised by Marion King Hubbert who successfully predicted the peaking of US oil supplies in the 1970s.

This conference provided a wealth of information on the repercussions of rising petrol prices and therefore the implications of peak oil on Melbourne and Victoria more broadly. This has a number of consequences for Maroondah since rising petrol prices can create increasing financial strain on household budgets.

In fact one of the speakers at the conference, Dr. Jago Dodson, has investigated the vulnerability of Australia’s cities in regard to rising petrol prices. The report found that outer eastern Melbourne, including Maroondah is definitely susceptible to the resulting increased financial strain, due mainly to the under provision of public transport services.

The conference on peak oil reinforced the need for strong advocacy in regard to public transport. It is therefore encouraging that Maroondah has recently appointed a full-time sustainable transport officer to strengthen our advocacy for public transport improvements.

There were a number of sustainability related events over the course of the past month, including the Croydon Conservation Society Film night on the 28th of June. This film night included screenings of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the End of Suburbia, a film that further explores the concept of peak oil.

An Inconvenient Truth which features former US Vice-President Al Gore, explores the growing evidence surrounding climate change and the growing need for worldwide consensus and action. The film draws an interesting comparison between the controversy surrounding climate change and the debate that surrounded CFCs approximately two decades ago.

At the time there was much controversy surrounding the environmentally harmful effects of CFCs, however a worldwide treaty banning their production was signed in 1987. As a result of this definitive action the ozone hole over the Antarctic improved, demonstrating the merit of effective worldwide action. It would appear that similar action is required in regard to climate change. While there is still much debate surrounding the magnitude of climate change, effective action is required to mitigate its increasingly dire effects.

Croydon Conservation Society Film Night: An Inconvenient Truth and the End of Suburbia

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Urban sustainability and the environment have continued to remain at the forefront of the Maroondah community with the Croydon Conservation Society holding a film night, showcasing Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the End of Suburbia.

An Inconvenient Truth is a documentary surrounding former US Vice-President Al Gore’s presentation on climate change. Through the presentation Al Gore explores the impact of climate change on ocean levels, the polar ice caps and the migration trends and habitat of wildlife. In particular Al Gore stresses the need for immediate action to curb greenhouse emissions and draws a comparison between the worldwide action that resulted in the agreement to phase out CFCs. The phasing out of CFCs came into force in 1989 through the Montreal Treaty of 1987 and has often been hailed as one of the most successful international treaties in regard to its commitment and implementation.

It is interesting to note that at the time there was much controversy surrounding the effects of CFCs and the needs for a treaty, a situation that appears to have repeated itself in regard to climate change and the Kyoto treaty.

The second documentary, The End of Suburbia explores Peak Oil and the ramifications that rising petrol prices and the end of cheap fuel will have on suburbia. Peak Oil, where the supply of oil is unable to cater to rising demand, has risen in prominence within Australia due largely to overall trend of rising petrol prices. In particular the film explores why alternative fuels cannot simply substitute the current dependence on oil meaning that sustainable forms of transport such as public transport will be need to be improved. Hydrogen is a net energy loser (since it consumes more energy in its production than it actually provides) and biodiesels, such as ethanol, would currently require all agriculture land currently used for food production to be diverted to fuel production, obviously leaving a chronic shortfall in food sources. Evidence of this is already seen within a number of developing countries that have experienced rising food prices due to the increase of biodiesel production at the expense of food production.

While debate may still surround climate change and peak oil, the discussion is shifting from one of doubt to one of questioning the magnitude of when these events will occur. In this regard it seems imperative to begin mitigating the risks associated with both climate change and peak oil.

Croydon Conservation Society Film Night

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The Croydon Conservation Society is holding a community screening of the Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth followed by the End of Suburbia.

An Inconvenient Truth explores the mounting evidence that confirms that humans are contributing to climate change and the End of Suburbia explores the concept of peak oil, which is where demand for oil exceeds the limited supply that is available.

Details:

The films will be screened at Luther College, Plymouth Road Croydon. (Melway: 36 H12 or bus route 366 from Ringwood or Croydon Stations).