Coal vs renewables? A Valentine's verdict!

In Federal Parliament, our wise and far-sighted Government ministers, totally uncorrupted by any donations they've received from fossil fuel industries, joyfully pass around a lump of coal. They've rebranded it as 'clean coal', and they tell us it's wonderful, harmless stuff. Of course we've got to burn the stuff to provide our electricity! Forget this pesky Paris agreement thing we signed up to!










I understand it got as far as the heavily pregnant Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, who refused to handle it!

Meanwhile, the local Greens were out on the streets, gauging  public opinion about fossil fuels, and about the need to drastically increase the renewable energy target. They spent a couple of hours at two northern Sydney train stations on Valentine's Day, organising a Valentine's Day card for local MPs from their constituents. 'We love Renewables' was the message.

And so many people wanted to sign! I've never seen a political action as popular as this.







The cards were subsequently delivered to the relevant State and Federal members. I think they're actually well aware they're on the losing side of history. But maybe not quite aware of  just how far behind public opinion they are. As Greens candidate Emma Heyde put it, if MPs are not thinking of our (clean) energy future, then they should start thinking about their own futures.



 

(Parliament pictures stolen from The Australian and Australian Financial Revue.)

Biodiversity bunfight

I attended a colourful and impassioned gathering in Martin Place yesterday, within earshot of NSW's Parliament House. It was organised by the Nature Conservation Council, and it was to protest the Government's proposed 'Biodiversity' legislation.

In fact, far from protecting biodiversity or endangered species, it's really all about allowing open slather land clearing in rural areas, and open slather tree removal in urban areas too. Huge areas of now-protected habitat would be removed, and several more native species could become extinct. So-called 'offsets' would be made, whereby allegedly similar areas would be found and 'improved' in return for destroying the land you want to develop. That would preserve overall environmental value. Yeah, sure.

Speakers included the state Labor leader, Luke Foley. The Labor Party is always an environmentally wonderful party while it's in opposition.










I thought I saw Premier Mike Baird there for a moment, but no, it was a fake. The real one wisely kept well away.






The Greens' Mehreen Faruqi did a good job, as ever.









The Animal Justice Party's Mark Pearson gave an excellent and constructive speech about possible legal challenges to the legislation, along the lines of excessive and unnecessary animal cruelty due to vegetation clearing.








Among the colourful props on hand were several life-size koalas. But I was rather taken too by some (endangered) red-tailed black cockatoos, fashioned out of old umbrellas.