http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/environment/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2013 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-using-fukushima-for-scare-mongering/ Jim Green’s recent Punch piece on Fukushima accuses Barry Brook and I of having an “indifference to human death and suffering”. This is offensive and false. Green’s attempt to support his accusation by cherry picking sections of the recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the radiation induced health impacts at Fukushima displayed considerable ignorance and bias. Presumably Green considers the cancer risk figures calculated by the 35 authors of the WHO report as credible. Presumably, that’s because he understands that they are seriously expert in such matters. So why didn’t he present their judgement about what the numbers actually mean? The first sentence of the associated WHO press release summarises their findings, but I prefer a shorter simpler sentence from the Summary and Conclusions in the body of the report (p.92): The present results suggest that the increases in the incidence of human disease attributable to the additional radiation exposure from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident are likely to remain below detectable levels. What? Say that again ... “below detectable levels”? feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-using-fukushima-for-scare-mongering/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/stop-using-fukushima-for-scare-mongering/#item10758 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/two-years-from-fukushima-and-we-know-the-truth/ Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/two-years-from-fukushima-and-we-know-the-truth/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/two-years-from-fukushima-and-we-know-the-truth/#item10740 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/too-scaredy-cat-to-protect-the-environment/ The next six months are shaping as a grim time for the environment based on recent events. While Julia Gillard and Christine Milne duke it out over jobs or the environment, Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke appears to have lost his reformist urge and has been overwhelmed by his attempts to reconcile the schizophrenic impulses of his party. Which at times wants to be seen as the friend of the planet, or the workers, but never the same thing at any one time. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/too-scaredy-cat-to-protect-the-environment/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/too-scaredy-cat-to-protect-the-environment/#item10662 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-a-beautiful-reef-to-dump-coal-on-not/ Last Friday, the Environment Minister Tony Burke effectively told UNESCO, ‘don’t worry, be happy’, in response to grave concerns about the future of the Great Barrier Reef. Burke’s response follows a UNESCO investigation of the Reef conducted in June last year.  At that time UNESCO requested that Australia “not permit development that would impact on the outstanding universal value of the Reef”.  UNESCO also warned that the Reef was at risk of being added to the list of World Heritage sites that are “in danger”. In addition to longstanding problems associated with agricultural run-off and plagues of crown of thorns starfish, the Great Barrier Reef is now under imminent threat from expansion by Queensland’s out of control coal industry.  Staggeringly, there are currently proposals for nine new coal export terminals and associated infrastructure for the Great Barrier Reef coast. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-a-beautiful-reef-to-dump-coal-on-not/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-a-beautiful-reef-to-dump-coal-on-not/#item10541 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ten-years-on-from-the-fire-that-changed-our-capital/ Ten years ago on the evening of January 18 I was balancing a hose and a camera on the roof of my house as I watched huge helicopter water bombers changing course overhead. They would scoop water from a nearby dam, drop it on flames about 2km from where I sat, then make the brief flight north to the landmark of the Curtin shops where they banked hard to the south-west to repeat the cycle. It was 10 years ago that the much-loved fingers of bushland which had previously poked benignly into the urban folds of Canberra became thoroughfares for deadly fires. The bushfires had manoeuvred for the past week at the city’s outskirts, but on that Saturday, January 18, they swept, as if in a co-ordinated attack, down the highly combustible bushland lanes which led to the heart of many suburbs. When the battle for Canberra finally ended a week or so later, 70 per cent of those stretches of prized parklands, plantation forests, and pastures including horse paddocks had been razed or badly damaged. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ten-years-on-from-the-fire-that-changed-our-capital/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ten-years-on-from-the-fire-that-changed-our-capital/#item10405 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-wish-oh-i-wish-i-was-a-climate-skeptic1/ The combination of a record heatwave and the hundred plus fires that are currently burning across Australia has seen the issue of “climate change” once again become hotly debated. Those who think that we are experiencing human-induced climate change, including the majority of the world’s scientists, are now pointing the various events around us and saying, “this is what climate change looks like!” The many who refuse to accept the evidence, from your average ‘Jane and Joe’ to the various sceptic groups, point to some statistic or point to some extreme event that has failed to eventuate and argue that the ‘science is still out’. So what is the evidence for each side? feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-wish-oh-i-wish-i-was-a-climate-skeptic1/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/i-wish-oh-i-wish-i-was-a-climate-skeptic1/#item10386 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/20-heat-defeating-tips-from-the-nt-for-soft-southerners/ My mum phones me from Sydney the other day. “It’s sooooo hot,’’ she moans. “The air is so humid, I can’t even go outside! “I’ve shut up the whole house and closed all the blinds to keep it cool. “I couldn’t use the oven, it made the house too hot. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/20-heat-defeating-tips-from-the-nt-for-soft-southerners/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/20-heat-defeating-tips-from-the-nt-for-soft-southerners/#item10381 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heated-arguments-on-the-need-for-a-new-politics/ From the land that brought us Lord Monckton comes this: Climate change denial is “almost a national pastime in Australia”. In the wake of the week’s bushfires and heatwaves, George Monbiot, a seriously impressive and prolific commentator, journalist and activist, writes in The Guardian that Australia’s “new weather demands a new politics”. He – rightly – points out that climate change is likely to have had an effect on recent record-breaking temperatures, and then pins the blame for stagnating climate action squarely on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott: feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heated-arguments-on-the-need-for-a-new-politics/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/heated-arguments-on-the-need-for-a-new-politics/#item10363 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/now-is-exactly-the-time-we-should-take-climate-action/ Monday was Australia’s hottest day in recorded history - the average temperature across the entire country topped 40 degrees celcius. On Tuesday the Bureau of Meteorology added a new colour to their temperature bar so that areas set to experience temperatures in excess of 50 degrees celcius can be represented on their forecast map. And yesterday bushfires continue to rage in regional towns across south east Australia.  The question of whether climate change will cause more extreme weather has been answered by an overwhelming majority of scientists - and this summer it has again been corroborated by our experience. On Monday the Prime Minister made the connection, issuing the following statement: “we do know over time that as a result of climate change we are going to see more extreme weather events and conditions.” This is no longer the question we should be asking. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/now-is-exactly-the-time-we-should-take-climate-action/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/now-is-exactly-the-time-we-should-take-climate-action/#item10357 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone? http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-fishy-business-stealing-food-from-whales/ When did humans decide consuming whale food was a good idea? That it was some sort of multi-vitamin cure-all that will reduce everything from blood pressure to cholesterol; help alleviate PMS or add muscle strength; improve cognitive function and brain health. Is there anything krill oil supplements can’t do? Fish oil supplements have been trendy for quite a while now because of the belief omega-3 fatty acids were beneficial particularly in lowering blood pressure – thus benefiting the heart. This despite the fact a recent extensive study found they actually may have no more benefit than a placebo in preventing death or serious cardiovascular disease. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-fishy-business-stealing-food-from-whales/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/its-a-fishy-business-stealing-food-from-whales/#item10307 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Today is the second anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and it promises to be another silly-season for Australia’s nuclear apologists. They have form. While the crisis was unfolding in March 2011, Ziggy Switkowski advised that “the best place to be whenever there’s an earthquake is at the perimeter of a nuclear plant because they are designed so well.” Even after the multiple explosions and nuclear meltdowns, Adelaide-based nuclear advocate Geoff Russell advised: “If you are in a quake zone and have time to seek shelter, forget hiding under door jambs and tables, find a nuke.” Even as nuclear fuel meltdown was in full swing at Fukushima, Adelaide University’s Prof. Barry Brook reassured us that: “There is no credible risk of a serious accident… Those spreading FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] at the moment will be the ones left with egg on their faces. I am happy to be quoted forever after on the above if I am wrong ... but I won’t be.” Eggs, anyone?