SEMINAR: "A FUTURE FOR LIFE"
Policies to minimise and to confront the consequences of global warming.

Held at Hobart on Sat. 10th - Sun 11th. February 2007

Global warming presents problems which can be defeated while enhancing living standards, increasing employment and improving community well-being, but only if action is taken immediately.

This action must include:

• Incentives for reduced energy demand through improved efficiency and a public education campaign leading to more informed choices.
• Staged reductions of carbon emissions leading to a 90% reduction against 1990 levels by 2050.
• A plan to phase out coal as an energy source replaced by gas in the short term, with a plan to increase the use of renewable sources for base load power using current wind and solar power technologies incorporating recent developments in storage technology similar to what is being used today on King Island.
• Such alternatives that have been proposed as geosequestration, so-called clean coal, and nuclear fission are either too expensive,too dangerous or not sufficiently developed to meet the problem within a useful timeframe.
• Planning in such areas as transport and urban development must take carbon emission factors into account.

Australian jobs are also being lost because Australian-manufactured cars cannot be exported to China, due to the Chinese having high emissions standards.

Now We The People will be conducting an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of this issue among politicians and the general public.

The seminar was addressed by the following speakers:
Professor Ian Lowe of the ACF
Dr Barrie Pittock, formerly of the CSIRO
Dr Stuart Rosewarne from Sydney University
Senator Christine Milne
Mr Duncan Kerr MP
Dr Stuart Godfrey
Dr David Leaman
Ms Jean Walker
Mr Andrew Wilkie
Dr John Greenhill
Mr Chris Harries

Statement

Global warming is an issue which requires us to act now.
Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth

A recent development in climate science is the recognition of the danger of the ‘runaway climate change effect’ which if unchecked NOW will become beyond our capacity to control. Change needs to begin in the immediate future if we are to prevent unstoppable and extremely serious problems over the next few decades.

We owe it to our children and their children to stop activities that threaten to make our planet a place incapable of providing the clean air, fresh water and many other amenities essential to a decent quality of life for all human beings.

we are not inescapably dependent on this flood of commodities which our economic system is designed to produce.
Coombs H. C. Return of Scarcity, 1990

environmental concerns are inherently in conflict with the motivating force of the market economy.
J.K.Galbraith The Good Society, 1996

We are taking more resources from our continent than its natural systems can replenish. That, by any definition, is unsustainable.
The Wentworth Group of Australian Scientists, Nov 2002

Consumerism and the massive use of energy and scarce resources, plus the destruction that is part of modern war, are major factors in worsening future prospects for a decent quality of human life over which we the people have some control. If we act to change direction now we can prevent the worst consequences of current lifestyles being visited on our children.

Yet life for most Australians goes on as if there were no tomorrow.

What more will it take to convince us we are heading towards self-destruction? Since the New Orleans disaster, there have been an increasing number of devastating floods in some countries and drought in others.

Australia is now experiencing the worst droughts, the most devastating bushfires, ever. Worse is predicted. We need to be aware and wary of political spin doctors whose concern is to hide the realities we face.

There is no substantive measure to relieve poverty or improve the lives of the underclass that does not require action by the state, although there is seemingly sophisticated argument to the contrary, (it’s) purpose is not to produce results but to relieve those who are more privileged of adverse conscience and cost.
Galbraith J. K. The World Economy since the War 1994

Gailbraith’s evaluation of the role and purpose of political spin is even more pertinent in today’s conditions of Global Warming and its developing consequences than in the late twentieth century.

Currently, privately controlled and control hungry corporations are in charge of our economy.

What can we do? Refuse to buy consumerism Just don’t buy the latest plasma screen, designer gizmo, mobile phone, gas-guzzling car unless your old one has genuinely died on you. Don’t fall for crass advertising. Give preference, where possible, to locally produced goods. Governments need to encourage local nonpolluting industry, and to develop efficient, regular, easily accessible and reasonably priced public transport systems including efficient rail systems for transport of goods as well as people.

Put relentless pressure on governments and public bureaucracies to change direction and develop economic and social policies that will enable us to build an ecologically sustainable economy capable of providing a decent quality of life for all human beings.

Tell them they must

• make decisions in the real national interest and of present and future generations.
• develop solar and other sustainable energy sources.

  Nuclear energy is the most economically costly, environmentally damaging and socially dangerous course possible, serving along with ‘clean coal technology’ to take much needed resources away from developing genuine nonpolluting and safe energy sources. The Howard government’s current aim is to preserve the power and short-term profits of coal and uranium mining corporations.

• develop a stronger more democratically administered public sector

  Public health, education, transport, water and energy must be strengthened and real opportunities provided for viable, ecologically sustainable and socially beneficial small business and cooperative enterprises.

• adopt a Bill of Rights enshrining Workers Rights and the Rights of all citizens

  A Bill of Rights is also the way to counter terrorism, not allowing secret imprisonment without charge of innocent Australian citizens on the say-so of one politician, the Federal Attorney-General.

• rewrite the Media Laws

  Current recent legislation encourages control of the mass media by a small number of self interested, greedy and power hungry individuals. The mass media needs to become accessible to people and open to differing opinions.

• create transparency in order to reassert control over closed and secretive and often corrupt government executives

  Current political practice in the major parties is to make decisions favouring corporate ‘mates’ and ramming them through Parliament with as little debate as possible.

Decisions need to be made on the basis of factual information and in the interests of all. Currently a few rich, powerful, and greedy individuals with economic and social power dominate in the dissemination of information and misinformation in the making of public policy. Real participatory democracy, exercised by an informed public, and social equity are needed if we are to meet the challenges Global Warming poses for a human future.

What can you do?

Letter to Howard
Letter to Rudd

The Challenge of Global Warming - How to get Action

Letters

In order to keep the momentum rolling towards where we can go from here I offer some initial links to one of the ideas mentioned at the seminar- the carbon credit card.

This is a link to recent discussion about a carbon credit card being promoted within the next 5 years in UK parliament by Environment Secretary, Mr Millibrand. You can vote there too - Would you use a carbon credit card ? - So far 10633 people have voted and 42.3% say yes, 44.9% No and 12.9% Maybe.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6167671.stm

The move is based on a feasibility study that was carried out by the UK Centre for Sustainable Energy for the Department of the Environment (Defra), who are now working on an implementation programme. There is also a blog at the site concerning reaction to the concept.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/individual/pca/index.htm

The UN Report about woeful global efforts and climate threats to humans, with a huge focus on water, is encapsulated in Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis.
http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/

Hope this generates some discussion on your website.

Regards,
Lynne Forster

Seminar Papers