Gippsland Climate News

There was an interesting short piece in ‘Environment Connect Winter 2021’, the East Gippsland Shire Council’s environment newsletter entitled “How old is that redgum?” The trees referred to are on the Tulaba Track in Eastwood, a suburb of Bairnsdale – a pleasant Sunday stroll that I have done many times and asked the same question. Following a limb falling from one of these trees the Shire “had an arborist complete an inspection of the tree after the limb fall, which indicated this tree is approximately 450 years old and in sound condition!”

The article further noted that this “magnificent old tree will have an exclusion zone now placed around it with mulch, planting, barriers and signage to highlight what an asset this tree is to our shire. It will be the start of an ongoing project to complete the same treatment around another seven trees in the park that are [of] a similar age. The addition of exclusion zones will increase the health of the trees and prolong their lifespan…” and we “are very fortunate to have many of these trees (Howitt Park is another location where similar treatment has occurred) and have many trees registered through the National Trust. Some of these trees include the Buchan Blue Wattle in Lake Tyers, Mallacoota Gums around Mallacoota (including in the caravan park) and an Indian Bean Tree outside our offices in Orbost.” 

A check with the map of the National Trust tree register gave only three trees for the Bairnsdale area and a couple more for the rest of East Gippsland. I’m assured by the Shire Sustainability Officer Rebecca Lamble that these other trees mentioned in their newsletter are registered and I am grateful for the work the Shire is doing. In replying to Rebecca, I mentioned a large Redwood I had found in the bush many years ago in the old gold mining town of Stirling on the Haunted Stream, but lamented that because there had been three severe bushfires through the location this century it was almost certainly gone.

Against these Shire efforts, we have the ravages of Vic Roads and Vic Forests. I have written previously on the destruction of a mighty Yellow Box on the Great Alpine Road and the wholesale destruction by the tree vandals at Cape Conran to which we can add the continuing scorched earth policy of the loggers in the bush. As well, there are rumours of further planned large-scale tree removal by VicRoads in the Gelantipy-McKillops Bridge area.

At this late stage in the climate emergency (which our governments have known about for thirty years) urgent action is required. All trees are significant, all trees are precious, and all trees are carbon stores. Like the Tulaba Track redgums they should be protected and never removed, except in extreme circumstances.

First published in Bass Coast Post 19/5/21*

Bass Coast Council will be powered by 100 per cent renewable power from July 1 in a landmark deal that also cuts the shire’s energy bill. The council is one of 46 to sign on to VECO, the Victorian Energy Collaboration, the largest ever emissions reduction project by local government in Australia.**

The renewable energy will be provided by two wind farms in Victoria – the 80-turbine Dundonnell wind farm near Mortlake, which started exporting power to the grid in March 2020, and the 99-turbine Murra Warra II wind farm near Horsham, which will be fully operational by June 2022. By joining the project, Bass Coast Shire Council will power its entire electricity use – including streetlights, town halls, visitor centres and civic centres – with 100 per cent renewables.

Bass Coast Mayor Brett Tessari said VECO was a great start towards Bass Coast meeting zero net emissions by 2030, as set out in the council’s recently adopted Climate Change Action Plan. “We are dedicated to reducing our environmental impact and signing up to VECO is one way that we are able to demonstrate that. It is incredible to be a part of this Australian first.”

VECO, led by Darebin City Council in Melbourne’s north, will provide 45 per cent of all Victorian councils’ electricity requirements with 100 per cent renewables, reducing greenhouse emissions by 260,000 tonnes of C02-e every year. The ground-breaking project will reduce each of the council’s current energy bills and reduce electricity prices by using clean renewable energy generated in Victoria.

Darebin Mayor Lina Messina said the project was proof of what could be achieved with collaboration. “This is a collective effort formed by staff and councillors from across the state, for the benefit of our communities. By powering councils with affordable renewable energy, we’re making ratepayers’ dollars go further. Every dollar we save on energy bills is a dollar we can put towards improving roads, footpaths, libraries or community programs.”

Provided by Red Energy***, the 240GWh of clean power is equivalent to powering 48,000 homes with renewables or removing the emissions from 90,000 cars every year. Initiated by and facilitated with the Victorian Greenhouse Alliances, VECO recognises the benefits of renewable energy for the environment and the economy. Red Energy will provide 240 GWh of electricity per year to the 46 councils in the VECO purchasing group over a period of 9.5 years, beginning on July 1.

Owned by Snowy Hydro, Red Energy is a 100 per cent Australian owned and operated energy retailer based in Melbourne. Red Energy CEO Iain Graham said the company was delighted to provide a long-term energy contract that would enable councils to buy renewable energy at a competitive price.

*see here

**other local councils in this agreement include South Gippsland, East Gippsland and Wellington.

*** some activists, including Zali Steggall MHR, are urging a consumer boycott of this company due to its association with the Morrison government’s Kurri Kurri gas generator plans.

BCCAN media release

On a sunny autumn Saturday of May 22, forty to fifty locals rallied outside the National Party’s State Conference at the Workmen’s Club in Wonthaggi. A surprise to some, the Nationals were happy to debate with us about their priorities, while Bass Coast CAN members argued for an urgent transition to renewable power generation.

“We talked how hard it is to follow the science, as we do with Covid, when politics gets in the way” said Neil Rankine, who attended the protest. “We also discussed climate change as a challenge but also an opportunity for farming communities.”

Peter Walsh addressed the crowd, and Damian Drum MP talked at length to a group outside. Neil added “Walsh had nothing of substance to say, basically admitting that they will stay in the background other than supposedly supporting farmers. A member I don’t know said we should wait to hear what came out of the meeting as it was being discussed inside. This was a policy setting opportunity but I haven’t heard that there were motions passed that will move toward a future we can be proud of…” 

and

“Damien Drum did spend considerable time with us outside (I wonder whether, being federal, that was more agreeable than being inside). He talked about the toxic nature of politics around the issue and we all agreed it would be best if the science was communicated and relied upon, like is largely the case with COVID. I pointed out that it is his role, and that of the other politicians attending, to find a way through the quagmire to follow the science for all our benefit.”

Dan Caffrey noted “Both Peter Walsh and Steph Ryan (Deputy Nationals leader in Vic) and Damien Drum, claimed that the Nats were taking climate change seriously, but when asked if this was reflected in their policies, they struggled to point to any apart from carbon sequestration in soils, where farmers would be paid for increasing carbon in the soils. Damian had not heard of Soilkee, the only such process that has been able to claim carbon credits for this. So basically it was all hot air. I do respect the fact they did come out to talk to us…”

A Bass Coast CAN member, Jessica Harrison, said “Debating is fine, but when are the Nationals going to realize that the rural people they represent are already bearing the brunt of climate change? Fires, droughts and extreme weather events are more frequent and they are making life on the land hard. Scientific experts are calling for immediate action to reduce our emissions before the CO2 levels rise any more”.

Dan Caffrey concluded that, “by speaking with us, that they got understand that we were educated about climate change and that they were somewhat deficient when it came to scientific facts” and “I think this was a worthwhile exercise. The more that we confront them with facts, the more they realise that that can’t run from us any more…One thing is certain, nothing substantial to fight climate change and stop emissions from rising will happen while the LibNats stay in government in Canberra.”

Action

The good thing about this is that we have multiple targets to apply our actions. For a start there are the people around us – family and friends some of whom must have voted for the current government – with whom we can discuss the government’s actions and its consequences. Then we can direct our actions to the following: 1. politicians – let them know our concerns and do not give up when they say thank you for your words. 2. the power providers. If everyone saves power then their business is reduced.  Use more efficient lights and appliances. If you can afford it go solar. The solar revolution has surprised the providers and the politicians but it is a continuing battle. 3. the mining companies. Join the Lock the Gate movement – stop the mining companies coming on your land 4. the banks. Your bank and mine (and possibly your super fund) are financing the fossil fuel developments. Let them know of your disapproval. Change banks if possible. 5. the media. It is time for us all to give those apologies for newspapers – the Herald Sun and the Australian – the boot. If you must read them use the local library.

What sort of actions can we involve ourselves in? As individuals – we can discuss, persuade, write, keep ourselves informed, operate in the social media, attend meetings and demonstrations such as this, help form and join groups. Jointly we can join groups such as Landcare and the CFA and whilst these are admirable groups – I am a member of both – they don’t rock the boat. They are part of the status quo. Lock the Gate groups on the other hand directly challenge the mining companies. (As an aside CSG – methane is a far more dangerous greenhouse gas than CO2). The Lock the Gate meeting in Metung [that] recently was attended by over 120 people [which is] as large as [any of] the rallies and meetings… than any I have previously seen here… There are also climate groups such as the climate action network none of which has been formed in Gippsland. Then there are the more political groups like Get Up and little known political parties like Save the Planet and the Global Warming Action Party…**

For me every day is a climate action day. Each day I spend at least an hour or two online doing emails, reading climate articles, using the social media and writing… If anyone would like further detail on anything I have said I am happy to provide it. Please note that I am willing to speak to any group whatever the size on this mammoth problem. With regards our actions I will leave you with a quote from Gandhi who said “You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result”. Thank you.

*Get Up Climate Action Day 17.11.2013. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here.

**Much of this is dated. The Global Warming Action Party is defunct and Save the Planet is registered with the AEC as the Climate Emergency Action Alliance – Vote Planet. The Lock the Gate fight has been won and there are now half a dozen active climate groups across Gippsland.

Business as Usual

Digging up and burning or selling every bit of fossil fuel we can find – is a recipe for disaster. Observations around the world indicate that we already are headed that way. Examples include the decline in glaciers and ice sheets around the earth – especially the Arctic – and the increase in number and severity of extreme weather events. Heatwaves, droughts, floods, storms bushfires. The recent fires in NSW were not caused by climate change. However scientists predicted more than twenty years ago that we would get more bushfires and worse ones.

Why were the NSW fire events called unprecedented and unparalleled? Because they occurred in October extending the previous fire season. In Victoria we have had in the last decade 3 bushfires that can be termed one in one hundred year events – 2003, 2006/7 and 2009. It is a foretaste of the future. In all of these events I was living at Ensay. We were directly threatened by both the 2003 and 2006/7 fires. On each of these occasions my family and I assumed the worst – that the fire would come to us – and we worked hard each day preparing for that eventuality. This is what many of us did during these threatening situations. We prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.

But what are we doing about climate change? At the moment we are going backwards. We have elected governments at all levels whose main priority is business as usual. We have just elected a Federal government intent on dismantling the small advances the previous government made on climate. At best these politicians – including our prime minister – give lip service to the science. At worst they are firmly in the denialist/confusionist camp.

There are formidable forces that are opposed to any action on climate change. They oppose by spreading doubt and confusion and thus the need for action. They spread their influence widely through the media, politicians and the political process. The fossil fuel lobby includes the largest, wealthiest, most influential companies in the world. The largest company on Earth – Exxon – has been funding the denialist camp for more than 20 years. In Australia the world’s richest woman has been vehemently opposed to the so called carbon tax. Why? Perhaps because she is a part owner of a huge coal mine in the Warwick basin in Queensland that plans to export to India. Coal is the main offender in terms of climate change. In the burning process each ton of pure coal is converted into more than 3 tons of carbon dioxide. (To be concluded)

*Get Up Climate Action Day 17.11.2013. Part 1 is here.

Introduction

My name is Peter Gardner and I call myself a climate emergency activist. I have lived in the Omeo district for forty years and am now retired to Bairnsdale.*

The notice for the “Climate Action Day” from Get Up said: “This is your chance to be part of something huge, something important. On Sunday we will stand together with tens of thousands of Australians across the country and demand our nation do better on climate change. When history looks back, we will be remembered for how we responded to this challenge. Historians will write about two groups. Those who took action, and those who remained silent.”

Climate science is one of the most complicated subjects on earth. I urge you to trust the scientists rather than the politicians in this matter. In a highly specialised society much of what we do is based on trust. We trust the pilot when we fly. We trust our doctors when we consult them. So unless you are curious about all the detail – and there’s plenty of that with five peer reviewed articles published on climate science daily around the world – here are the three things you need to know about climate change.

First the Greenhouse effect is a physical law like gravity. It was discovered in the 1820s and it keeps the earth warm. Without the greenhouse effect the earth would be 30 degrees cooler – a ball of ice and snow. Second methane and carbon dioxide are the main greenhouse gases. They are in effect the earth’s thermostat – increase them and the temperature rises and vice versa. Third since the industrial revolution we have been turning up the earth’s thermostat – from about 280ppm to 400ppm of carbon dioxide and it is getting measurably warmer.**

The land here at the Jetty was last the ocean front between 10 and 20 thousand years ago. It is a sobering thought that this may be the ocean front again in as little as one to two hundred years. When the carbon dioxide concentrations were last at 400 ppm – about 3 million years ago in the Pliocene age – earth’s average temperature was 2 to 3 degrees warmer and sea levels were about 25m higher.

Steven Sherwood of the UNSW in the New Scientist of 17.11.12 summarised our dilemma of burning fossil fuels. He said: “It looks like if we fully ‘develop’ all of the world’s coal, tar sands, shales and other fossil fuels we run a high risk of ending up in a few generations with a largely unliveable planet.” James Hansen formerly of NASA argues that exploiting all fossil fuels will lead to a “different, practically uninhabitable planet” by causing a “low-end runaway greenhouse effect” and “that the large climate change from burning all fossil fuels would threaten the biological health and survival of humanity”…. It would appear that the situation is far worse than we are being told. (To be continued)

*Get Up Climate Action Day 17.11.2013

** CO2 levels now around 420ppm

Environment Victoria has been a strong campaigner for climate action for many years. Their most recent Quarterly News (Autumn No 35) has a number of items on Gippsland. They include “Communities Leading Change in the Latrobe Valley” about scientist Ruth Harper who works in the renewable energy sector; “New Bushfires Film looks beyond the burning”* which has the voices of East Gippsland bushfire survivors; and “Community Power stops AGL’s dirty gas plan” on how Australia’s biggest polluter’s gas plan for Westernport Bay was thwarted.

But perhaps the most important article is “The Road to Coal Free Victoria” by Taegan Edwards. She began her article by stating the obvious “Renewables are in and coal is out” and then added “Almost every day the Australian media speculate about the shortening lifetime of the remaining coal-burning power stations.” The article briefly looks at the failure of the Federal government to act, either on phasing out the coal-fired stations as quickly as possible or encouraging their renewable energy replacements. The state government is quite advanced with the latter action.

On the recently announced  proposed closure of Yallourn Edwards noted “2028 is too long to keep Yallourn polluting especially considering the 2030 timeline that scientists say we need for all coal in Victoria to close…it also indicates Victoria’s long awaited climate targets for 2025 and 2030 will be out of step with what the science demands.” She concludes Things are shifting fast. The clean energy juggernought now seems unstoppable and our exit from coal inevitable. But we must double down on our efforts…keep sight of urgent climate action milestones and focus on support for communities on the frontlines of change”

Along with the work of Friends of the Earth, Environment Victoria is to be congratulated for this local focus. Without this, there can be no just, or rapid, transition.

*already screened in Bairnsdale. Environment Victoria website is here.

The Advertiser seems to think there is still a debate on climate change. The Point of View by David Peckham does not deserve space in our local paper. The people quoted in the piece represent the views of fewer than 3% of climate scientists and giving their disproven views yet another run is wasting precious time better used taking action. 

We are in a climate emergency. More than 97% of climate scientists support the need for urgent action on man-made climate change. If a local bridge was deemed dangerous to cross by 9 of the local engineers with only 1 saying it should be OK, would we drive across? The scientific climate consensus is even more strongly decided than this example.

The discussion needs to focus on the details of what we do right now. The Victorian Governments response last week is a start. But even this is not ambitious enough to meet the goals needed to ensure we avoid the worst rises in global temperatures. East Gippsland of all places should be desperately pushing for more action after experiencing the devastating fires of 2020-21.

The reality is that we must act, we need all levels of government to work together as they have with the COVID pandemic. With luck and very serious hard work we may keep global temperatures below 1.5°C. Every fraction of a degree under 2°C will lead to a more tolerable and liveable world for our younger generations. They deserve a future as rich and diverse as older people like me have experienced.

*published on 13.5. The Author is a member of EGCAN, Bairnsdale XR and a contributor to this blog.

When the opportunity came up to build a new house from scratch we* decided to implement our passion and build a “Solar Passive” style of house. Lots of big windows facing north for light and winter heat. Cross flow ventilation to cool it down in summer and big verandas to shade the big windows. Plus, a concrete slab to soak up the winter sun and keep it cosy. We did not have a specific plan, but knew it would be a simple pavilion style of layout. And, compact, and, we want to be able to live in it for as long into our older age as possible. We reckoned we should be able to get an 8 Star house that delivered those outcomes.

But, we also knew that we needed a builder who thought along the same lines. And we found him doing a job just around the corner. We could see from inspecting his work that he was a stickler for detail. We liked that. So, we engaged him to be our builder before we had the house plans drawn up, and he agreed to work with us (and a yet to be appointed designer) to design a comfy and compact 2 bedroom home.

Then the surprise came! He told us about the added benefits of adding a “Passive House” overlay to our basic solar passive ideals. And, we agreed. Not only because he is an accredited Passive House (PH) constructor, but we could see the long term benefits of a really low energy house. The PH add-ons are essentially super insulation to the external skin of the house (floors, walls and ceilings), creating an airtight interior (no draughts) and supplying filtered clean air into the building at times when all the windows and doors are closed. This was great during the bushfires and the recent cool burns – we could live inside and not smell smoke. We know how much these add-ons costed. Not a lot really.

We also know what we did not have to spend. No open fireplace or wood heater. No large reverse cycle air con – the first retailer we spoke to in Bairnsdale wanted to sell us an 8kW system. We only needed 3kW. He would not sell that one to us because he feared we would claim damages against him when it did not work.

Going down the PH path added about 10% to the building cost. But without spending that bit extra, we would not be getting an annual refund from our electricity supplier of $500. And, no firewood to buy. Overall, we achieved a super low energy house (it is all electric) powered by solar PV and a grid connection. It performs better than we expected. And it did not break the budget.

*The author, and his partner Fran Carroll. They are members of the Metung Science Forum

Michael Mann is the most prominent and popular climate scientist since James Hansen. His book The New Climate War: the fight to take back our planet (Scribe, 2021)* tells in detail how vested interests retard meaningful progress on climate change. The science is in. And climate deniers have been replaced by climate ‘inactivists’. The forces of inaction now employ a range of more subtle tactics than the deniers. They are “downplayers, deflectors, dividers, delayers and doomers” (p.45) and each of Mann’s categories is examined in detail in the book. All climate activists should be able to recognise them and counter them where possible.  

Resident in Australia during the black summer Mann is conversant with the climate denialism of the current Canberra incumbents. He noted “there is no will in the current Australian government to do anything about it [climate change] other than promoting ‘adaption and ‘resilience’. Such framing has been front and centre in the messaging of Australia’s fossil-fuel-industry-coddling prime minister, Scott Morrison.” (p.175)

Mann describes in detail how the fossil fuel industry uses social media bots and trolls to manipulate public opinion and sow division and cause polarisation. “A favoured approach is to seed a prospective online discussion with trolls or bots aggressively advocating opposite positions and acrimoniously attacking each other. Pretty soon a melee unfolds. This has, of course, been specifically done in the climate arena.” (p.71)

The question of individual actions verses those of governments is a theme throughout the book. Of course, individual action is to a certain extent important as teaching by example and leading the way. But the guts of the matter is that we will never make headway in the climate emergency without concerted government actions across the globe. Mann details the ‘crying Indian’ campaign as a subtle but persuasive example of deflection. The Morrison government promotion of technological cures and a ‘gas led’ recovery are good examples of deflection, ignoring the need to get to zero emissions as soon as possible.

In the introduction Mann lists a four point ‘battle plan’ to counter the ‘inactivists’: 1) “disregard the doomsayers” 2) “a child shall lead them” 3) “educate, educate, educate” and 4) “Changing the system requires systemic change”. (p.6) I like them all but especially the ‘educate’ advice. To find out more please read the book and act as best you can for systemic change.

*copy in the East Gippsland Shire Library