This year will be a big one for our environment as the Australian government writes new, more effective laws to protect our country, wildlife and ecosystems.
Many groups are now ramping up efforts to persuade the government to be bold – to put the environment first! We will all be hearing much more about this, so let’s get across the big picture, so we can add our voices when the opportunities come up.
What are we talking about??
We’re talking about the tongue-twisting Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act!
This Act is Australia’s most important piece of environmental legislation. But it’s broken. As The Climate Council explains:
“At the moment, these projects get the green light because Australia’s national environment law doesn’t specifically require the Environment Minister to consider climate change, or its impacts. It ignores the damage that any new coal, oil or gas project built anywhere does to people, places and wildlife everywhere.”
There are other voices also demanding to be heard. For example, when it comes to wildlife and biodiversity, wildlife experts call for these 4 changes — all are crucial:
Set standards and draw a line in the sand on environmental damage
Increase government accountability about the decisions they make
Provide decent funding for protecting species and the environment
Increase ecological knowledge and data collection
So what’s happening?
A review of the Act was undertaken in 2020. Since then, there have been some rounds of consultation. The government says their response addresses the concerns raised in the review. But key groups including the lawyers who work as Environmental Justice Australia have highlighted some key concerns, such as:
Eliminating the reliance on carbon offsets
Involving the community
Addressing the risks of new coal and gas
Inclusion of a ‘climate trigger’
Many other groups involved in the same consultations have added their thoughts: read this for a great summary overview of “an essential checklist of five things the law must include if we are to avoid calamity and hasten environmental recovery”.
Have we achieved anything yet?
We already got an early Christmas present when The Greens and others persuaded the government to bring forward a commitment to add a ‘water trigger” to the law so the impact of new projects being assessed must take into account their impact on water resources. Some say this will make it very hard for major gas fracking projects such as in the Beetaloo Basin to proceed as they will fail this test.
So what’s next?
By now your head is spinning – but rest assured that a great many groups, experts and concerned communities are examining every step taken by the government. They will need our backing to make sure that the laws which emerge later this year are the best possible, to protect and conserve our environment.
There are already ways you can add your voice; check out our action list below.
As you’re taking action it might be helpful to think about which organisations and activities resonate the most with you. If you find some you like, sign up to their newsletter and support them as the campaign for better environmental legislation in Australia ramps up!
Let’s get cracking and take some action this week.
What can you do today?
🐝 How many of these simple petitions can you do?
Australian Marine Conservation Society
“This is a critical opportunity to ensure that the Government doesn’t lock in any more business as usual. These laws are outdated, with inadequate monitoring and enforcement, leaving loopholes for the ongoing destruction of nature.”
Action: Sign here
Australian Conservation Society
“The Albanese Government’s goal of ‘no new extinctions’ has to be backed up with strong action before even more irreversible damage is done. It is drafting landmark new laws that will shape how nature is protected (or neglected) for decades to come – nature needs us to speak up now.
Join over half a million people calling for strong new nature laws and an independent regulator to enforce them.”
Action: Sign the petition to demand that our national environment laws actually protect nature
The Climate Council
“Climate Council, together with Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action, is calling on the Albanese Government to pause all polluting fossil fuel project approvals until our national environment law is strong, and effectively addresses climate change. It must make sure that the climate impacts of new developments are properly considered in the approvals process – and you can help us make this happen.”
Environmental Justice Australia
“As environmental lawyers, we’re concerned this draft plan has some significant gaps and issues that could jeopardise the whole thing. If done right, these reforms could turn around Australia’s extinction crisis – and fix countless other threats to places, plants and animals all at the same time. Opportunities like this don’t come around often!
Action: Call on our Environment Minister to create new laws that actually protect nature
If you are not sure what petitions actually do, check out this super short video from the folk at the Australian Marine Conservation Society.
And let us know in the comments what you think of taking action with petitions.
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽 Thanks for taking action.
See you in two weeks
Malcolm
plus Robyn, Ron and Jan - The Climate Club Qld team
We live, work and play on the lands of the Yuggara and Turrbal people in and around Meanjin - Brisbane. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded - always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
Our inbox is always open! To help us keep these newsletters helpful, you can always reach us by email climateclubqld@gmail.com or check out the simple info on our About page.
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“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.” ― Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Believe = religion
Think = opinion
Know = science
What I know follows.
What do you know that’s different?
Published (SubStack, X, MSN, PAPundits, et. al.)
Peer reviewed (the world)
And undisputed (so far)
ISR at ToA = 1,368 W/m^2.
From the Sun’s perspective Earth is a flat, discular, pin head.
To average that discular energy over a spherical surface divide by 4.
(disc = π r^2, sphere = 4 π r^2)
1,368/4=342.
(Not even close to how the Earth heats & cools + this is Fourier’s model which even Pierrehumbert says is no good.)
Deduct 30% albedo.
(Clouds, ice, snow created by GHE/water vapor.)
342*(1.0-0.3)=240.
Deduct 80 due to atmospheric absorption.
(If this were so ToA would be warmer than surface.)
Net/net of 160 arrives at surface.
Per LoT 1 160 is ALL!! that can leave.
17 sensible + 80 latent + 63 (by remaining diff) LWIR = 160
Balance is closed, done, over, fini, “Ttthhhat’s ALL folks!!”
So where does this 396 second source of surface upwelling heat flow come from?
396 is the S-B BB calculation for any surface at 16 C, 289 K, that serves as the denominator of the emissivity ratio: 63/396=0.16.
It is a theoretical calculation.
It is not real.
It is a duplicate “extra.”
It violates LoT 1.
396 up – 2nd 63 LWIR (How convenient.) = 333 “back” from cold to hot w/o work violating LoT 2.
Not that it matters.
Erase the 396/333/63 GHE “extra” energy loop from the graphic and the balance holds true.
IR instruments do not measure power flux, they are calibrated to report a referenced temperature and infer power flux assuming the target is a BB. (Read the manual.)
16 C + BB = 396 & incorrect.
16 C + 0.16 = 63 & correct.
There is no GHE.
There is no GHG warming.
There is no CAGW,
The consensus is wrong – Aahhgain!!!
Disagree?
Bring science which is not appeals to authority, off topic esoteric Wiki handwavium and ad hominem gas lighting and insults.