Author Archive: roman

Agroecology recognized as the solution

roman November 11, 2019

Agroecology recognized as the transformative solution for a food system in crisis by experts at UN

07 November, 2019

Civil society representatives from around the world successfully put agroecology on the agenda of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security, as the truly innovative pathway to resolving environmental, hunger, health and inequality crises, and ensuring the right to food.

This year’s Committee on World Food Security (CFS), 14-18 October in Rome, was held in the context of deepening crises. World hunger and malnutrition are on the rise. Since 2015, the number of people without access to sufficient, nutritious food has been increasing. Over 800 million people — that’s one in every nine of us on Earth — experienced severe levels of food insecurity in 2018. Alongside this, malnutrition due to obesity is soaring, now at over two billion people. At the same time, the industrial food system is now recognized as a leading contributor to the multiple crises facing humanity.

The CFS is the foremost inclusive, intergovernmental and international political platform on food security and nutrition, with a vision to foster the right to adequate food for all. Since 2009, the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSM) organizes the participation of civil society representatives – namely smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolks, indigenous peoples, agricultural and food workers, landless, women, youth, consumers, urban food insecure and NGOs. It is the largest international space of civil society organisations working to eradicate food insecurity and malnutrition.

“Here people from the global South, from the grassroots, come together with allies like Friends of the Earth International and La Via Campesina, to transform our messages into a political dimension, which we can take to negotiations with member governments.”

Bertrand Sansonnens, Pro Natura-Friends of the Earth Switzerland

“There are two words that people must always respect to be a good advocate within civil society: inclusiveness and solidarity.

Clean Futures, Food, Old_Notes

Olympic Dam Alert: BHP propose a major new Evaporation Pond 6

roman October 29, 2019

from David Noonan:
Olympic Dam Alert: BHP propose a major new Evaporation Pond 6 for radioactive acid liquor wastes that will continue deaths of hundreds of birds each year

The federal government are inviting comments on BHP’s “Olympic Dam Evaporation Pond 6” EPBC Act Referral 2019/8526 (scroll down to Date of Notice 21/10/2019).

Public submissions are only open until cob Monday 4^th Nov 2019, see info on how to do so at end of this e-mail.

Please consider making a brief submission, key Recommendations are provided below, along with a Background Briefing Paper and a feature press article “BHP vs Birds”.

For info see “Migratory Birds at Risk of Mortality if BHP Continues Use of Evaporation Ponds” a 3 page Briefing written by David Noonan for the ACF, Friends of the Earth and Conservation SA (30 June 2019)

see “BIRDS VS BHP: Evaporation ponds at BHP’s Olympic Dam mine are killing hundreds of birds” article in The Advertiser 10 July 2019

Hundreds of birds are dying each year after mistaking Olympic Dam’s evaporation ponds for wetlands. Environment campaigners want the miner to stop using them…

A set of Key Recommendations on these issues to please make to the federal government:

The federal government must subject BHP’s Olympic Dam Evaporation Pond 6 Referral to a public environmental impact assessment process

The federal government must not just approve this major new Olympic Dam Evaporation Pond 6 on the basis of limited non-independent BHP referral documents. Federal responsibilities to protect Matters of National Environmental Significance require the rigor and transparency of a public environmental impact assessment process. BHP can-not be allowed to be the sole arbiter over continued and unnecessary deaths of hundreds of birds each year on Olympic Dam acid liquor evaporation ponds.

BHP must stop the use of Evaporation Ponds in order to reduce mortality to protected Bird Species

The federal government should not approve or allow BHP’s proposed major new Evaporation Pond 6, which will contribute to the deaths of hundreds of birds at Olympic Dam.… Read more >>

Nuclear, Old_Notes

Make a submission about the National Radioactive Waste Dump in SA

roman October 29, 2019

Send a submission to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DIIS)

The Federal Government wants to put a National Radioactive Waste Facility in Kimba or the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.

The Department is calling for submissions and says these will be “one of the factors the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia may take into account when determining broad community support for the Facility.”

Please express your view by sending DIIS a submission.

If you live outside the ballot area, a submission is the only way to have your say! Here are some of the reasons why it is important that you do:

There is strong opposition from Traditional Owners of the targeted sites. The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation (BDAC) is pursuing legal action against the exclusion of Barngarla Traditional Owners from a proposed ballot to gauge community support in the Kimba region of SA. The Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission last year, alleging contractors damaged a precious cultural site while assessing land for the proposed nuclear dump, and also protesting the exclusion of Traditional Owners from the proposed ‘community ballot’.
This is Australia’s waste and a national issue. The burden of responsibility shouldn’t fall on small, regional and remote communities.
Communities along the transport route have not been consulted by the government at all, yet they will be affected
Flinders Ranges and Kimba communities have been divided by the flawed process and really need the support of people from all over the country.
Government seem to be making it up as they go along. Just recently the size of the site required was increased from 100 to 160 hectares. This is 4 years into the process. The government should have known what they are doing before they started.
Minister Canavan has recently stated that the amount of low level waste from Woomera destined to be permanently disposed of at the site is less than expected – only about 100 barrels.

Nuclear, Old_Notes

FoE Annual General Meeting, Nov 30th

roman October 29, 2019

FoE members and friends are welcome to attend our AGM, 2pm at the Box Factory, November 30th.

The meeting will be held in the kitchen, upstairs at the Box Factory. Drink & Nibbles provided.

Before the formal business of the AGM, we shall have introductions and welcomes, and enjoy a presentation by our Guest Speaker on a Hydrogen Economy.

Agenda for the Adelaide FoE AGM

1. Minutes of Previous AGM
2. Reports
3. Appointment of Office-bearers
  - Facilitator
  - Secretary
  - Treasurer
  - Membership officer
  - Public Officer
  - Other members of the Administration and Strategy Collective
4. Amendments to the constitution (if any)
5. Proposals from Members
6. Any Other Business

FoE, Old_Notes

Repairing the Planet

roman October 29, 2019

Practical solutions to environmental concerns are addressed with the hope that filmmaker Damon Gameau’s daughter, 21 years old in the year 2040, will face a hopeful future.

The film looks at possible solutions in four key areas:

Energy

We look at what can be done with solar panels capturing sunlight and trading it between neighbouring houses.

What happens if we extend the idea to trade electricity over a larger region?

Can we manage our own energy more easily and cheaply than a massive centralised system?

Transport

Is it the end of the motorcar?

Or should me move to rented autonomous vehicles?

Perhaps better public transport?

And what could we do with the space currently taken up by super highways?

Food Production

Can we revise our food production to take better care of the soils, making them more productive

and allowing them to store more carbon at the same time?

Will growing food locally be more productive?

Should we move to a vegetarian diet?

Education

How can we release the creativity of those denied education?

What might happen if people who couldn’t afford education

— or were denied it by virtue of belief, gender or background — were given

the chance to create opportunities and solutions for their regions?

If you’d like to see this movie, you can get tickets for $15/$10 concession, or two tickets for $20.

Why not bring a friend to our screening on November 12th, 7pm at the Mercury?

Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/564492
Click to book!

Adelaide FoE Notes, Climate, FoE