In March of 2014 six women set sail from Ísafjörður, Iceland with the intention of sailing across the Denmark Straight and up the south-west coast of Greenland. They hoped to explore the remote coastline, pioneer new ski descents, and collect scientific data in some of the most incredible wilderness on earth.

The film that came from that trip, Shifting Ice, highlighted both the incredible skiing on offer in Greenland and the impacts of climate change on the Arctic.

Ban onshore gas drilling – we’re so close!

As we have been reporting in recent newsletters, the Cabinet reshuffle in May has led to a delay in the state government deciding whether to make the current moratorium on onshore gas permanent.

The new Resources Minister, Wade Noonan, will make a final decision before mid August, so we are in the very last stages of this very long running campaign.

We are doing our best to convince the new minister that the community will support a permanent ban on onshore gas drilling.

If you haven’t called or emailed the minister please do so now. There is a list of campaign ideas available here.

In the lead-up to the Bendigo in a Warming Future forum, which will be held in Bendigo on June 15, a fieldtrip hosted by local ecologists highlighted the impacts of climate change which are already being felt in northern Victoria.

Warning on local climate      

Climate change is already taking its toll locally. During a field trip to Bell Swamp and Mount Alexander on Friday, local ecologists pointed out examples of the impact on the region’s ecology.

Friends of the Earth has welcomed the Victorian government’s announcement that it intends to take ‘decisive action’ to tackle climate change and re-assert the states leadership role on climate action.

The Andrews government has today released its response to the Independent Review (IRC) of the Climate Change Act (CCA), supporting almost all of the recommendations proposed by the IRC.

Tax time is fast approaching - as is the federal election - and things are go, go, go at FoE!

Whilst the attack on our charitable status continues via the House Of Reps Inquiry in to the Register of Environmental Organisation, you can still claim any donations over $2 to FoE as a tax deduction.

Please donate to FoE today to ensure that we can stave of this attack, whilst continuing to keep our grassroots led campaigns for social and environmental justice going.

Thanks!

Public Forum

Capital Theatre, Bendigo

Wed June 15 at 7pm.

Bendigo is one of the more vulnerable places in Australia when it comes to global warming.

Apart from higher average temperatures we are told to prepare for more frequent droughts and lower overall rainfall totals. Is the city prepared enough for these changes? What are the predictions for Central Victoria for the immediate and distant future? What will happen to our farmland? Is there enough water to support all of us through the dry times? How will our wildlife cope? And what about the fire danger? What questions would you ask the climate scientists working on these issues?

When they were in power, the Victorian Coalition gutted the Climate Change Act. Victoria has been without effective climate laws or policies for five years. In that time, the global climate crisis has worsened, Victoria’s emissions have not fallen, the development of renewable energy was halted for almost five years, and the state is behind where we should be in adaptation planning. Globally, we are about to cross  the threshold point of 400 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The government has recently been handed the Independent Review to the Climate Change Act, which makes 33 recommendations about how the Act could be re-built. Most of them are common sense improvements.

It will respond to the review shortly. The government’s response will outline how it intends to re-build the Climate Change Act.

A few weeks ago, CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall announced his plans to get rid of 350 more scientists, mostly from climate and environmental research.

Malcolm Turnbull can step in and fix this problem. He can agree to reverse the funding cuts and properly fund science in the interest of the nation.

Join us at the State Library of Victoria on saturday April 2nd to rally against the savage cuts to climate research at the CSIRO.

As the Victorian government ponders whether to open up the state to both conventional and unconventional gas drilling operations, new evidence has come to light about the failure of the gas industry to act responsibly and safely.

The Australian newspaper has published two articles regarding Origin Energy's conventional gas operations. An internal Origin audit (the Origin Energy Conventional Operations Environmental Review, Aug 2015) found that Origin management put “inadequate” resources into compliance at the “upstream” division, with not all regulatory breaches properly logged on the company’s internal system. Origin has admitted for the first time that it's gas processing plant at Lang Lang, in Victoria, has been emitting much higher volumes of toxic chemicals than allowed under its licence.