In addition to our local Anti-Nuclear/Pro-Renewables campaign, you can keep an eye on Friends of the Earth Australia’s website for updates – thanks to our national Nuclear Campaigner Dr Jim Green.
http://www.foe.org.au/royal-commission
If you’d like to be on our local campaigner Nectaria Calan’spersonal nuclear email list please contact adelaide.office@foe.org.au
Friends of the Earth Adelaide has two main collectives. The Fair Food Adelaide collective works on food sovereignty issues including March Against Monsanto, and the Clean Futures Collective focuses on Mining and Energy; and is pro-renewables, anti-nuclear and anti-fracking.
This financial year Fair Food Adelaide focussed on events for Fair Food Week held each October where we held two events – a bicycle community garden tour, and a forum on food poverty co-hosted with Foodbank SA. After a local food Long Table lunch and an end of year picnic, we’ve had a quieter 2015 as two of our main organisers have had to step down due to new jobs. Our monthly Urban Orchard food swap is continuing, and instead of rallying on the anniversary of the first March Against Monsanto we wrote letters to SA’s Agriculture Minister to congratulate him on standing strong to continue SA’s GM moratorium and championing soil improvement rather than GMO crops. We also lobbied the federal Agriculture Minister and Health Minister asking them to ban the weedkiller Roundup (glyphosate) in light of the recent announcement by the World Health Organisation that it probably causes cancer. We have received replies from Barnaby Joyce saying the approval status of glyphosate is under review. We are also collecting signatures for a petition to Bunnings asking them to stop stocking the neonicotinoid pesticides that harm bees. We also work with the GM-Free Australia Alliance as one of its member groups. Member Kim Hill hosted workshop on The End of Agriculture at the Students of Sustainability conference in July.
We’ll continue to keep members up to date with information on our Facebook page, Facebook group, googlegroup and website.
See www.facebook.com/fairfoodadelaide and www.facebook.com/groups/MarchAgainstMonsantoAdelaide
Sign up for our fortnightly e-newsletter at the bottom left side of our home page www.adelaide.foe.org.au… Read more >>
People interested in renewable energy storage may like to attend this Alternative Technology Association event:
ATA Adelaide Branch Meeting – Energy Storage Opportunities for SA
When: Monday, August 17
Time: 7.30pm sharp
Where: Goodwood Community Centre (Banquet Hall), 32/34 Rosa St, Goodwood. Goodwood Community Centre is convenient to the tram, buses and train. Enter the car park via Florence St.
Cost: ATA members $2, non-members $5. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided.
Presenter: Dean Spaccavento of Reposit Power
South Australia enjoys a high penetration of solar energy but electricity consumers pay high electricity prices by world standards. We have a volatile energy market and energy companies pay very high spot prices to generators when demand is high. All of this makes solar, energy storage and intelligent control a more attractive prospect for SA than elsewhere.
Dean will speak about the GridCredits software that allows householders to trade on the energy market. Using parameters such as a home’s energy consumption habits, weather, grid demand and future energy prices, the software automatically decides whether it’s advantageous for a system to store the solar energy or sell to the grid, allowing the household to profit. GridCredits is integrated into Tesla’s Powerwall battery storage system.
Dean has considerable technical expertise in the Australian, North American and Asian-Pacific electrical supply industries.
Other events
Adelaide Cleantech Network will hold their Tonsley Tour and refreshments on August 26 at 4pm. Click herefor details and free registration. Presentations include new Siemens facility.
Adelaide Sustainable Building Network: Graeme Hopkins and Janelle Arbon will present on Connecting with Nature on August 26, 6.30-8.30pm at 87 Gibson St, Bowden. Details and registration:https://guestlistapp.com/events/338700
Q&A
ATA meetings put people with questions in touch with people who might have answers. The Q&A session is an open discussion about sustainability topics.
ATA Adelaide Branch meetings are open to ATA members and non-members.… Read more >>
The next antinuclear coalition meeting will be this Thursday 20th August 6pm start at Mad Mouse Alley, 58 Light Square, City (on the eastern end of the square, along the alley to the north of the People’s Choice Credit Union building). Mad Mouse is a DIY not-for-profit social centre.
Enquiries robyn.wood@foe.org.au or 0423 219 096
MEDIA RELEASE
23rd July 2015
PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS BASED ON MISINFORMATION:
ROYAL COMMISSION ON THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE FAILS TO CORRECT FACTUAL ERROR IN ISSUES PAPER
Friends of the Earth Adelaide have recently informed the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle of a factual error in Issues Paper 1, concerning the regulation of Aboriginal Heritage matters in South Australia. Issues Paper 1, which deals with the exploration, extraction and milling of uranium, states that Aboriginal sites of significance are protected by the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988.
“The Royal Commission was informed in writing that this is not the case for BHP Billiton, South Australia’s biggest miner,” said Nectaria Calan of Friends of the Earth Adelaide. “Under the Indenture Act, which applies solely to BHP Billiton, the company’s Olympic Dam mine and some
15, 000 square kilometres of the surrounding Stuart Shelf are exempt from the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988. This exemption would carry through to any future expansion of uranium mining by BHP Billiton at Olympic Dam or in the surrounding area.”
In his recent response to Friends of the Earth Adelaide Royal Commissioner Kevin Scarce insisted that in the event of an expansion of uranium mining Aboriginal Heritage matters would be regulated by the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988.
“This is simply not the law throughout the state,” said Ms Calan. “Friends of the Earth Adelaide have supplied the Royal Commission with referenced information regarding the Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) (Amendment of Indenture) Amendment Act 2011, which amends the current Indenture Act to apply to any expansion formally announced by the company up until October 2016. If it was an honest mistake to begin with, it is negligent not to correct it.”
“At one point, the Royal Commissions reply almost acknowledges the inaccuracy by suggesting that it is the substance rather than source of legal protections that is important. … Read more >>