For many of us Christmas is inherently about excess, family, presents and, importantly, food. And all of this would not be such a bad thing, if so much of it didn’t go to waste, writes Larissa Ocampo.
Environment
Another climate change roadmap — is this one for real?
The UN ended its annual climate change talks in Durban as it always does — after all-night sittings and amid a cloud of conspiracy theories, accusations, frayed tempers, backflips and compromise, writes Giles Parkinson.
Crikey Says: Keep reading this, even if it is about Durban
Here it is: all countries have agreed to negotiate by 2015 a single, legally-binding global agreement that will cover all major carbon pollution emitters including the big guns — China, India and the United States.
Durban: a global climate deal begins
Crikey media wrap: Late-night negotiations in Durban resulted in more than 190 countries agreeing to develop a global treaty in 2015 that will cut emissions by 2020.
Is Australia a developing nation when it comes to climate change?
Australia is keen to address questions of climate justice, livability and quality of life. But on the question of harm we need to look close to home, writes Robin Cameron.
Minister gives thumbs down to Tarkine on National Heritage list
Environment Minister Tony Burke has announced that he had no intention of using his emergency powers to include the Tarkine on the National Heritage List, write Deb Wilkinson and Andrew Macintosh from ANU.
Durban: won’t somebody think of the children?
Often overlooked in debates on climate change is the necessity to engage childrens. After all, it’s children that stand to lose the most if we are unable to prevent dangerous climate change, writes Paul Mitchell.
Gloucester landowners blockade AGL coal seam gas project
AGL plan to drill over a hundred wells in the valley that would, along with the coal mine expansions, transform the Gloucester valley into an industrial zone, writes John Hepburn.
Invented numbers please no one in basin plan
Has Labor given up on meeting the requirements of the 2007 Water Act to ensure the environmental sustainability and long-term health of the Murray-Darling Basin? Professor Chris Miller questions the basin plan guide.
Gloucester landowners blockade AGL coal seam gas project
Residents of Gloucester are grappling with a now widespread problem: “how can we stop our most beautiful and productive farmlands becoming an industrial wasteland at the hands of the mining industry?”
Hard word on developing nations for a Durban climate deal
Canada seems to be enjoying its status as the pariah of the Durban climate change talks, reportedly registering a louder cheer in its parliament each time it is awarded a “fossil of the day” award, writes Giles Parkinson of Climate Spectator.
Will MDBA leadership or vested interests prevail?
The narrative is that the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan is the best that our scientists, policy makers and water managers can design with what we know now. , says Brian Ramsay, in the first of the returned Murray Murmurings series.
Murray Murmurings: will MDBA leadership or vested interests prevail?
The need for fundamental change to water management and the competing interests are well known to all, writes Brian Ramsay, founder of the Basin Pulse initiative and managing director of Inovact Consulting.
As smoke clears from WA, it’s time to look at what didn’t burn
The damage from fire is routinely underestimated. The impact on people beyond “fire victims” has never been acknowledged, writes Crikey naturalist Lionel Elmore.
Durban might just keep the Kyoto protocol alive
This two weeks at the Durban climate talks might turn out to be more interesting than expected, writes academic Michael Jacobs. The stakes are certainly high enough.
Australia can speak with authority at Durban climate talks
For the first time in the history of the international negotiations, Australia can speak with authority and join other nations in taking credible action, writes Erwin Jackson, deputy CEO at Climate Institute.
Parkinson: Durban talks off to a bad start
The UN climate change talks begin today in Durban in much the same way they have since 1995 — with rhetoric about why the world needs to act but virtually no agreement on how or when, writes Giles Parkinson of Climate Spectator.
New Murray-Darling Plan leaves everyone unhappy
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority today released the draft of the $10 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan. And it seems neither irrigators nor scientists are happy with the latest inclination of the Plan, writes Amber Jamieson.
Ray Hadley v Tim Flannery … and ‘David’ the neighbour
High-rating 2GB presenter Ray Hadley has unloaded again on Crikey and Tim Flannery over an allegation he hatched a plot with one of his neighbours to expose him as a climate change hypocrite.
New Climategate emails reveal life is tough for scientists
The cache of emails reveals the difficulties that climate scientists have in going about their everyday work, particular under a constant barrage of Freedom of Information requests and public criticism, writes freelancer Graham Readfearn.
Hadley v Flannery: who’s telling the truth?
Ray Hadley blasted Tim Flannery and Crikey over claims the 2GB host arranged a call to his program that sparked a flurry of criticism over his waterfront property. But Flannery is standing by his story.
Carbon farming: there’s money in that animal poo, no bull
Welcome to the Crikey farmyard, where we examine what carbon farming initiatives are available to different farmers and how they can cash in on this burgeoning industry.
Climategate II: 5000+ new emails released sparking climate conspiracy despite evidence
Reminiscent of the ridiculous “Climategate” scandal, over 5000 hacked emails from climate scientists have been leaked just weeks before the crucial UN climate negotiations in Durban, writes Amber Jamieson.
Flannery: Hadley concocted story on my waterside home
Of all the responses to Robert Manne’s Quarterly Essay on The Australian it is the letter from Tim Flannery published in the latest edition that adds the juiciest grist to the mill.
