Over 150 people attended a public meeting organised by the Rivers SOS Alliance in Singleton yesterday to learn about the negative health and environmental effects of open-cut and longwall mining.
After a screening of the Rivers of Shame 2 DVD, which features ex-coal miner Graham Brown, the residents shared personal stories of asthma, heavy metal poisoning, thyroid diseases and cancers.
Two local doctors presented anecdotal evidence about the disproportionate number of health problems in the Region which could be attributed to the poisoning of rivers and soils from mining dust.
The residents expressed anger at the failed promises of the NSW Government to commence comprehensive health and environmental studies of the region, and indicated that they would be submitting their children to blood tests to determine whether they had been poisoned by lead and other heavy metals.
The doctors expressed their support for the proposal after several residents revealed that they had been victims of lead poisoning.
Graham Brown, who was arrested that morning at a Greenpeace action shutting down the Eraring power station, was not in attendance. Several councillors from Singleton and Maitland councils attended the event.
The meeting unanimously passed a motion calling for comprehensive health and environmental studies in the region.
The meeting came several days after a report from the University of Newcastle's Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE) revealed that thousands of jobs could be created by shifting to a renewable energy economy.
About a dozen Upper Hunter residents indicated that they would be attending next week's Camp for Climate Action.
Showing posts with label clean green newcastle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clean green newcastle. Show all posts
Friday, July 4, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Site announced for Camp for Climate Action
After weeks of stalling from local police and council authorities, the logistics working group of the Camp for Climate Action has announced that the camp will be held on public land on the corner of Mangrove Road and River Road, in Sandgate.The working group had requested several different sites, and at various stages over the past month, authorities had given and withdrawn permission for all of the proposed sites.
With less than three weeks to go until the site, the working group realised that they could not wait any longer and decided to pick a site and promote it.
Up to 1000 people are expected to participate in the Camp for Climate Action. In late May, the actions working group announced that the highlight of the camp would be a mass blockade of the rail line which delivers coal to the world's biggest coal port.
According to the Gerald's sources, authorities are now tripping over themselves to find a different site for the camp.
The camp was promoted yesterday at a flash mob at Westfield Kotara, where up to 60 people who met each other via the social networking site Facebook froze for five minutes to demand a freeze in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.
It was also promoted in Parliament by NSW Treasurer Michael Costa on Wednesday and Thursday, in response to questions by Greens MLC John Kaye. The Treasurer misled Parliament into believing that the camp was organised by the NSW Greens in order to divert attention from a question asked by John Kaye. Mr. Kaye asked the Treasurer whether failure to privatise the electricity industry would lead to his resignation, as he promised in early February.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Letter from one of the "Kooragang 16"
The Newcastle Gerald has found this letter sent by Paula Morrow, one of the Kooragang 16, to a newspaper which calls itself "The Newcastle Herald". Paula is a mother and grandmother and very concerned that she is living in Australia's biggest "infrastructure bottleneck", otherwise known as the world's biggest coal export port and Australia's biggest contribution to climate change, currently undergoing a massive expansion.
The "Herald" declined to print Paula's letter despite a foreword from Paula which said she understood if the "Herald" had to cut the letter down for space reasons. The Newcastle Gerald has decided to publish Paula's letter in full.
Dear Editor,
If you want to sell more papers, can we please open up the debate on coal?
I am one of the 'Kooragang 16'. We trespassed on the construction site of the third coal loader very deliberately, to get everyone’s attention.
Newcastle is the world's biggest coal port. The state government under Iemma, Costa and Sartor is trying to greatly increase the mining and selling of coal.
We are evaporating our coal mines into our atmosphere and therefore, we believe, greatly hastening the onset of climate change.
We have been given a mix of community service directions and fines by the court, those most committed to the environment movement getting the biggest punishments. These were reasonable penalties given the laws. I know that the rule of law is extremely important.
The thing is we already give up a lot of time, of our precious lives, doing community service.
Only about fifty of us went on the original walk-in and only about an extra fifteen came to support us in a vigil outside the courthouse. This is not enough people to save the planet.
It was great to see 3 or 4 ministers and 3 or 4 quakers in a vigil outside the court, people representing god; or at least the human reach for the spiritual.
When I think of the actual activists, I think that we represent conscience, and the ability to see what's coming. Those that walked in and got arrested, are mostly young, in their twenties and thirties. There were only a couple of us older ones. Those young people are all very smart and could be focusing on career.
Our main attributes are that we can add up, that we can see humanity is destroying its nest. We don't want one more bit of our beautiful planet or its creatures destroyed.
If we put the brakes on and are proved wrong, it doesn't matter that lots of energy is saved and pollution prevented. If we don't put the brakes on and we are right about the gravity of the situation, then our children and grandchildren face a terrifying future as our eco-system is de-stabilised; climate will become more erratic, and agriculture unworkable.
Messrs Iemma, Costa and Sartor have a huge responsibility to the people of NSW to curb dramatically the use of coal and to greatly increase the use of renewable energy such as solar, wave, wind, and perhaps, geo-thermal. Or are they going to fiddle while Rome burns, as the the generals are doing in Burma? Do they have other loyalties?
We choose to spend our precious time trying to alert our fellow-citizens while there is still time, in order to try and make a big difference to what happens.
It is not enough. It needs big numbers of people to wake up and step up and make the politicians do what needs to be done, because those in charge of our state government don't, or won't, get it.
Paula Morrow, Tighes Hill
The "Herald" declined to print Paula's letter despite a foreword from Paula which said she understood if the "Herald" had to cut the letter down for space reasons. The Newcastle Gerald has decided to publish Paula's letter in full.
Dear Editor,
If you want to sell more papers, can we please open up the debate on coal?
I am one of the 'Kooragang 16'. We trespassed on the construction site of the third coal loader very deliberately, to get everyone’s attention.
Newcastle is the world's biggest coal port. The state government under Iemma, Costa and Sartor is trying to greatly increase the mining and selling of coal.
We are evaporating our coal mines into our atmosphere and therefore, we believe, greatly hastening the onset of climate change.
We have been given a mix of community service directions and fines by the court, those most committed to the environment movement getting the biggest punishments. These were reasonable penalties given the laws. I know that the rule of law is extremely important.
The thing is we already give up a lot of time, of our precious lives, doing community service.
Only about fifty of us went on the original walk-in and only about an extra fifteen came to support us in a vigil outside the courthouse. This is not enough people to save the planet.
It was great to see 3 or 4 ministers and 3 or 4 quakers in a vigil outside the court, people representing god; or at least the human reach for the spiritual.
When I think of the actual activists, I think that we represent conscience, and the ability to see what's coming. Those that walked in and got arrested, are mostly young, in their twenties and thirties. There were only a couple of us older ones. Those young people are all very smart and could be focusing on career.
Our main attributes are that we can add up, that we can see humanity is destroying its nest. We don't want one more bit of our beautiful planet or its creatures destroyed.
If we put the brakes on and are proved wrong, it doesn't matter that lots of energy is saved and pollution prevented. If we don't put the brakes on and we are right about the gravity of the situation, then our children and grandchildren face a terrifying future as our eco-system is de-stabilised; climate will become more erratic, and agriculture unworkable.
Messrs Iemma, Costa and Sartor have a huge responsibility to the people of NSW to curb dramatically the use of coal and to greatly increase the use of renewable energy such as solar, wave, wind, and perhaps, geo-thermal. Or are they going to fiddle while Rome burns, as the the generals are doing in Burma? Do they have other loyalties?
We choose to spend our precious time trying to alert our fellow-citizens while there is still time, in order to try and make a big difference to what happens.
It is not enough. It needs big numbers of people to wake up and step up and make the politicians do what needs to be done, because those in charge of our state government don't, or won't, get it.
Paula Morrow, Tighes Hill
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Exclusive: Kooragang 16 tried after successful vigil
Quakers, Buddhists, atheists and members of the Uniting Church were among those holding a climate change vigil in front of Newcastle Local Court this morning ahead of the trial of the Kooragang 16. Seven women and nine men were arrested at a peaceful protest on the construction site of Newcastle's third coal loader on April 19, where close to 50 people successfully stopped work for 90 minutes.
All sixteen pleaded guilty to trespass. Magistrate Michael Morahan sentenced eleven of the arrestees, who had no prior convictions, to community service to be determined at a later date. The other five were fined $200 each and ordered to pay costs of $70 each.
Outside, the group's supporters, young and old, held banners in a festive atmosphere.
Tonight's budget is expected to feature an $18 billion budget surplus, to be invested in reducing "infrastructure bottlenecks", including the massive expansion of Australia's coal export capacity. Australia is already the world's biggest coal exporter, exporting 18% of the world's coal.
In Rangoon, aid organisations are already moving in to help the victims of a recent cyclone which killed over 100,000 people. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that such natural disasters will become more and more frequent as we continue to increase our greenhouse gas emissions.
More nonviolent direct action is expected at the Camp for Climate Action, to be held in Newcastle in July.
All sixteen pleaded guilty to trespass. Magistrate Michael Morahan sentenced eleven of the arrestees, who had no prior convictions, to community service to be determined at a later date. The other five were fined $200 each and ordered to pay costs of $70 each.
Outside, the group's supporters, young and old, held banners in a festive atmosphere.
Tonight's budget is expected to feature an $18 billion budget surplus, to be invested in reducing "infrastructure bottlenecks", including the massive expansion of Australia's coal export capacity. Australia is already the world's biggest coal exporter, exporting 18% of the world's coal.
In Rangoon, aid organisations are already moving in to help the victims of a recent cyclone which killed over 100,000 people. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that such natural disasters will become more and more frequent as we continue to increase our greenhouse gas emissions.
More nonviolent direct action is expected at the Camp for Climate Action, to be held in Newcastle in July.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Peaceful action camp opens registrations
The organising collective of the Camp for Climate Action, to be held in Newcastle this July, has announced that online registrations have now opened. According to its website, the camp will involve "five days of inspiring workshops & direct action aimed a shutting down the world's largest coal port in Newcastle".
The camp is one of seven climate camps being organised in Europe, Australia and North America and aims to shift attention away from voluntary lifestyle changes, and "false solutions" such as clean coal, nuclear power, carbon offsets and carbon trading to the "cause of the climate crisis - fossil fuels".
The organising collective is expecting hundreds of participants and is being supported by Rising Tide, the Australian Students' Environment Network and Friends of the Earth.
The camp is one of seven climate camps being organised in Europe, Australia and North America and aims to shift attention away from voluntary lifestyle changes, and "false solutions" such as clean coal, nuclear power, carbon offsets and carbon trading to the "cause of the climate crisis - fossil fuels".
The organising collective is expecting hundreds of participants and is being supported by Rising Tide, the Australian Students' Environment Network and Friends of the Earth.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Welcome to The Newcastle Gerald
To the Citizens of Newcastle and the Hunter Region.
Today Sunday 20 April at noon we launched The Newcastle Gerald - an online blog newspaper.
We at the Gerald believe that our media and political process have become compromised by developer donations and investment which means
(1) that our community's voice is not being heard by our political leaders,
(2) nor are we getting all the information we need to make sound decisions concerning our local region and wider global community.
(3) our current path is based upon money and greed and not common sense
We advocate the creative transition from fossil fuel to a clean green renewable energy future for the Hunter Region by 2020 and call for an end to human stupidity.
Thank you
The Editor.
Today Sunday 20 April at noon we launched The Newcastle Gerald - an online blog newspaper.
We at the Gerald believe that our media and political process have become compromised by developer donations and investment which means
(1) that our community's voice is not being heard by our political leaders,
(2) nor are we getting all the information we need to make sound decisions concerning our local region and wider global community.
(3) our current path is based upon money and greed and not common sense
We advocate the creative transition from fossil fuel to a clean green renewable energy future for the Hunter Region by 2020 and call for an end to human stupidity.
Thank you
The Editor.
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