A Time to Get Serious.
A Time to believe that People Can Make a Difference.
September 2007
WFCA Members and Friends, what an amazing year. I am not going to document WFCA’s achievements, but I know that we can all feel proud. We have made a difference. Climate Change is now more topical than ever before. However, there is more work to be done and the next two months will be crucial in the run up to the federal election.
Acknowledging Climate Change and how unsustainable the world is, is not pleasant. It can be scary, threatening, creating fear and anxiety in most of us, or despair as Al Gore says. It also creates a fire in the belly, as I saw and heard from attending an Al Gore lunch. Al is angry and he is passionate. He passionately believes that humanity has the power and resources to solve the Climate Change problem. All we lack is serious political will. Despite recent policy announcements from both major parties, they are both well short of the mark, when it comes to offering comprehensive and necessary Climate Change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
1) With this in mind, WFCA is proud to be a co organiser and co host of the ‘Wentworth Candidates Climate Change Forum’. This is an extremely important event, where we will have the opportunity to hear all the candidates debate Climate Change and their policies. Everyone is strongly encouraged to attend, so we can all make a more informed decision at the polling booths this year.
The forum will be held on Wednesday 17th October at 7pm, at The Waverely RSL, Bondi Junction. You can also download the flyer as an A4 pdf here.
2) The Gunns’ pulp mill is not just a local Tasmanian problem. This is an issue that affects us all. This mill has the potential to generate a conservative estimate of 10 million tonnes of CO2 p.a., or 2% of Australia’s total emissions each year. It will pump toxic effluent into Bass Strait. This is about a project that has in excess of a 30 year life; is a very significant emitter of many pollutants; where the lack of transparency and the fast tracking of the approval process has been called into question; and where there is strong legal advice that Malcolm Turnbull could take the carbon emissions into account but is choosing not to.
This project is not just about all the local Tamar Residents loosing their homes and livelihoods, it is about a very significant investment taking place in 2007, which will emit huge greenhouse gas emissions at a time when all scientific evidence confirms that we need to reduce global emissions to avert serious Climate Change.
This is an unsustainable project that must be rejected. WFCA has joined with Tasmanian locals, Tasmanians against the pulp mill (TAP), to lobby ANZ not to fund the mill. To solve the Climate Change problems our banks must learn not to finance unsustainable projects and alternatively fund companies that are offering positive solutions to the problems. I now have a package for “The Sign the Letter Campaign”. Please download from the website and start collecting signatures now. We need and want thousands of signatures and you all can help. Print off the package and have it with you or ask your local coffee shop or shops to help.
This campaign is not just about a pulp mill, it is about the cessation of native logging, a high emission and antiquated business model. This is about standing up for the democratic rights of people and doing what is right for the future of Australians and their children.
Start now Click Here “Sign the letter Campaign”
Thank you all for caring and helping make a difference.
Danielle Ecuyer
President WFCA
