Part D: Teaching in China - Driving in China? No way!

No way? For starters they drive on the wrong side of the road! 

... And why bother even thinking about it when in the large cities, taxis are inexpensive, the drivers use a meter and don't have a habit of ripping off the tourist. 

Driving and parking on the footpath.

Taxis are easy to hail; just step onto the road, extend your arm and waggle your fingers. If they have a green light on the roof they're available. Of course, you'll have thought ahead and will either have a map with the location you want to get to circled, or have asked someone to write the address down in Chinese. Your hotel business card will be tucked safely into your pocket so the return driver knows where to take you! Occasionally they'll refuse to take you to the address - perhaps it's too far, or they don't know the area - don't worry, there'll be another along soon who's happy for the fare.

I've been a passenger a number of times in private cars, tour cars and taxis, in different cities in China, and have observed some very big differences between driver habits in Australia and there. 

At first the traffic seems chaotic, with people driving on the wrong side of the road, riding e-bikes on the footpath, parking on the footpath, casually crossing double lines and tooting repeatedly. 

Learning to drive on the footpath at an early age! I asked permission to photograph this child, and dad, with the remote control firmly in hand was happy to oblige.

But when observed over a few days it settles into a pattern. On the whole, tooting is not aggressive, it's to alert another driver that you're there or overtaking. Drivers are occasionally pushy, particularly in the larger cities, but rarely show the overt, nasty and aggressive overtone, complete with foul abuse and rude hand gestures that is prevalent in Australia.

Remind me again.
Which lane goes in which direction?

The word “accepting” came to mind. As if drivers understand and accept that a taxi will stop at the curb waiting for passengers to fill the seats with parcels, and people need to get settled before setting off. Drivers give way. Driving with alcohol in your system is illegal so our drivers didn't drink at all. They don’t (on the whole) push in, determined to be first, to show who’s more powerful or more of a bully. They generally don't speed. Of course there are exceptions to all observations, but it's common to see and experience foul rudeness and dangerous driving within minutes of getting into a car in Australia (at least in Melbourne it is).

Well organised chaos.

It takes a while to get used to e-bikes being ridden, and to cars being parked on footpaths. E-bikes in particular are a challenge because they're silent and you don't know they're coming. In Xuzhou, it was common to see people wandering along the centre of the road texting, gazing into the air and completely ignoring the tonnes of metal whizzing past, with complete indifference. It works. I don't know how, but it does. Don't try this at home people! 

Learning to stroll in to the middle of the road with the locals. 

It's best to just shrug your shoulders and embrace the difference with a smile and (attempt) to act like a local. 

Great little 3 wheeled taxis. Apparently driven by disabled people.

It's no wonder that Chinese drivers get a bad reputation when they presume that similar courtesies are practised in Australia! It's not that they're necessarily poor drivers, I suspect it's that we're far ruder and less tolerant on the roads.

Hire bikes are common, and seemingly everywhere.

E-bikes and clothing sheltering from the rain.
Tianzifang. Shanghai.

The adoption of electric bicycles, scooters and larger bikes over the years has made a massive difference to the levels of pollution. It's now possible to walk along many major streets without gagging in the fumes. Of course there's still a long way to go, but they've made huge inroads. C'mon Australia we're being left behind!

My previous posts about Teaching in China were our Arrival, Banquets,  Culture and comfort foods . The next one will be about Exercise.

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When will Australia's fossil fuel industry stop receiving handouts?

Corporate welfare!

Tax-breaks!

Subsidies!

and fawning adulation!

What more could an undeserving industry lust after?

At the expense of other industries, Australian governments choose to generously support the already wealthy, demanding, powerful and often foreign owned, fossil fuel industry. Petulant, entitled, selfish, like an indulged only child, they suck up our taxes, demand more, and throw hissy fits and stamp their collective feet with fury, whenever a suggestion is made to curb their excesses. 

To continue to support the wealthy fossil fuel industry to the tune of around 10 BILLION dollars every year is unnecessary, unsustainable and unconscionable.

And yet the current government has shown by word and deed that when thinking of an energy future for Australia, they are only prepared to consider fossil fuels. 

It's a case of:

fossil fuels = all good

renewable energy = all bad.

There seems to be no concept that a mix of energy sources would be a sound investment, a buffer for a frighteningly heating country where unprecedented temperatures create a demand for energy to feed fans and air-conditioners. Not unexpectedly there are times when there is peak usage. Australians don't want to be cooked alive in their own homes. And while that seems like an overly dramatic statement, the statistics are there. There are significantly more deaths during, and immediately after heat waves, and heat related deaths are on the rise.

In late January 2014 in this article, "Ambulance Victoria says it received a 700 per cent rise in the number of call-outs it received for cardiac arrests on Friday, when temperatures spike at almost 44 degrees Celsius." There's also a rise in other illnesses as discussed in this paper.

And yet, it's at precisely those times when the air is superheated, that in Victoria, citizens have been asked to go easy on the electricity.  There have been rolling blackouts. The fossil fuels so beloved of the state and federal governments can't cope. 

This seems to the government to be time to roll out the welcome mat and increase our already significant reliance on, and subsidies to, the fossil fuels industry, to increase our emissions and to show that we aren't ready to take our rightful place on the world stage of sustainable energy.

Put simply we're being left behind. Australia is a 'has-been', following the same well worn coal fired path, spewing emissions carelessly into the air, sullying water and leaving sick people and ailing communities in its coal dust wake.

There is massive potential for growth in the alternative energy sector. We have skilled professional, and trades people keen to be involved with what should be a positive growth market. This is a real opportunity for jobs creation! Yet, obstacles are created, hurdles erected and alternatives to fossil fuels are consistently, persistently talked down. 

I've worked with people who are enthusiastic, ready, willing and able to take up positions in the sustainable energy field. It's where their passion lies and they want to be part of a positive future for Australia and see us take our place alongside other countries looking forward, not backward.

They want to have hope that their children will have a positive future, not one supporting climate change and contributing to appalling pollution in developing countries.

Our creative talent is going to waste in this area. We could be proudly sponsoring people and groups to attend international sustainability forums and strut our stuff on the world stage. As a nation, we should be receiving positive accolades, and celebrating!

We're an international laughing stock when it comes to wind power and having a Prime Minister who listens to fringe, discredited pseudo-science as opposed to reputable evidence. Too many other countries to mention are harvesting wind, solar and wave energy. We are far, far behind the 8 ball and need to do a lot to catch up and join this positive, growing international movement.

To take our place alongside the rest of the world who are actively investing in sustainable energy technologies and consequently employing thousands of people, we need to encourage and support our best and brightest minds. Encourage them to stay here and use their expertise to assist Australia to catch up with what's happening in sustainable energy in other parts of the world. How exciting it'll be when we join in with other countries who are already getting up to 40% and often more of their energy from sustainable sources such as wind, wave and solar.

How embarrassing that in this day and age, we'll need to catch up to the rest of the world. How shameful that 5% use of sustainable energy is referred to by our PM as "reliance".

We're not even in the ball park we're so far behind! It's already bad enough attempting to explain to people in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, The Czech Republic and many other European countries as well as a significant number in Africa, why we don't harvest our abundant sun and have solar panels on every roof and wind turbines capturing the wind. They shake their heads in disbelief.

So many countries and regions are doing better than Australia in lowering their emissions. We look pathetic and incompetent while they can strut around pointing at their reduced emissions and be proud of what they're doing in contributing less to climate change. Not only are they reducing their emissions and increasing employment in sustainable energy, but they are therefore less reliant on our fossil fuel exports. Good on them I say!

If Australia is genuinely dedicated to ensuring future energy security, stability and needs, we'll plan for a solid mix of alternative sources alongside fossil fuels.

It should not be a one size fits all either/or scenario where fossil fuels are the only option. It's not a competition, though it's often presented as one. When all our energy sources come from the one kind of energy basket it's a recipe for disaster. There is no back up plan, no plan B, no choice - we are completely at the mercy of that industry.

We should be focusing on Australia going into an uncertain and increasingly volatile climate future where a balanced portfolio of energy is supplied from different sources. 

I'd love to see the government have the courage to remove subsidies, tax breaks and all other forms of hidden assistance from fossil fuel companies and put that level of support into renewable energy. Predictably, the companies become hysterical whenever they're asked to play fair, but it'd finally show how much they rely on government support via our taxes.

The next best thing would be for the subsidies and supports that the fossil fuel companies receive, to be mentioned with the same enthusiasm that the supposed negatives regarding sustainable energy are. 

Illnesses directly related to the extraction of coal have been known for many, many years. They're real, verifiable and have a huge cost, not only on the person suffering, but on their family and community. Yet this massive cost is consistently ignored when fossil fuels are discussed. These real, genuine illnesses, which leave people with asthma and cancers which have occurred due to coal dust, should be mentioned alongside EVERY spurious comment made about renewable energy. 

It's then that the true cost of fossil fuel energy would begin to be understood and a more informed, balanced and honest discussion could take place.  

Any government that is serious about jobs growth will support alternative energy.

Any government that is serious about community health and the significant costs associated with illnesses as a direct result of fossil fuel extraction and in particular coal, will support alternative energy.

Any government that is serious about planning for the future will support alternative energy.  

What will Australia's government choose?

Part of a small mixed farm - including solar
 The Czeck Republic

Now that's what I call a wind farm. Tehachapi Pass. California.

And just in from the IMF:

The planet is "perilously close" to a climate change tipping point, and requires urgent cooperation between countries, cities and businesses, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has said.  

Addressing an audience in London, Lagarde said reducing subsidies for fossil fuels and pricing carbon pollution should be priorities for governments around the world.

More reading: 

From Laggard to Leader. How Australia can Lead the World to Zero Carbon Prosperity
http://bze.org.au/laggardtoleader

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/big-fall-in-electricity-sector-emissions-since-carbon-tax-20140205-320a6.html


http://theconversation.com/when-will-australians-finally-stop-wasting-our-energy-21574?utm_source=ReNew+eNewsletter&utm_campaign=a05760e871-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6052baff3-a05760e871-248887757



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The environment minister receives a massive petition from GetUp to "Save the reef"

"Look mummy, there's a shark!"

A young child squeaks in delight as a shark, turtle, crab, assorted fish and a man in a wet-suit complete with spear gun, walk past the Fred Smith Reserve playground in Hastings Vic, with the express purpose of delivering a petition, recently signed by 243,236 people (and still coming in!), to the Environment Minister's office. 

Small groups of people formed, chatted for a while, then reformed as they either met up with acquaintances or used the opportunity to expand their network of friendly, local, like minded people. 

The atmosphere was warm and welcoming. I'd been unsure what to expect as I hadn't attended a GetUp function before, but the email I received had been positive and explained what to expect when I arrived. What they hadn't mentioned was to expect dozens and dozens of cheerful, local people, many decked out in orange, all with the purpose of standing up for what is important. Some people clearly knew each other but there was a welcoming air and above the general hubbub of chatter you could hear words like 'dugongs', 'turtles', 'mangroves' and 'our children's future'. It was great! 

I chatted with someone who had taken time off work to attend. She'd told her boss that she had an important appointment that she couldn't miss and which couldn't be changed. She also hadn't been to a Get Up event before but felt this was too important not to support. It was local, and she wanted to be there in person to show solidarity for our natural heritage.

Young mums had picked their children up from kinder and come down, a couple of tradies seemed to have downed tools for a while to make time to come along. All age ranges were represented from children in prams to the elderly with walking sticks and everyone in between. 

After a short briefing we set off like a long undulating, orange reef-worm past the playground and shops towards Mr Hunt's office.  Enthusiastically waving drivers were tooting and cheering - that was unexpected and fun!

I remember hearing once that each person who shows up at something like this represents hundreds of people who are unable to attend. I wonder how many people are represented by tooting?!

There was no guarantee that Mr Hunt would be there in person to receive the masses of signatures and see the large group of people from the electorate who had made the effort to show support. But Sam, a GetUp organiser checked; it seems that Mr Hunt was expecting us!  Sam escorted Mr Hunt out to meet the enthusiastic throng.

Sam spoke to Mr Hunt, the media and the crowd about why we were all there - in short to protect the Reef. He was professional, respectful, assured ... and very tall!

Fiona Maxwell, another Get Up organiser also spoke and gave Mr Hunt the placard stating that "243,236 Australians say SAVE OUR REEF". She was thoroughly professional and spoke courteously, yet strongly about how the reef needs to be protected for future generations. 

People who speak disparagingly about Gen Y, about the cult of the self, of selfishness and self-centredness, could get out and spend time with the young activists who will be impacted dramatically by climate change. Many of them are not only aware of the damage climate events will have on their lives, but are committed to doing whatever they can to avert the worst of the impacts. They are truly wonderful and worthy of our respect and commendation.

 

Mr Hunt appeared to listen and was gracious in his reply. He acknowledged the organisers and crowd and accepted the petitions with respect. I was quite relieved as a friend had been involved in presenting a petition to a state minister who had received them with a smirk, then with her watching, had put them straight in the bin. Hardly the response worthy of an elected representative. Mr Hunt, in contrast, appeared to acknowledge the concerns and gave the impression that he'd listen. He then invited a small group into his office to discuss the matter. If/when I hear the outcome of that meeting, I'll add a link.

I've written a bit about the Great Barrier Reef in the past, the first post was in 2011. It's incredibly disheartening to realise that it still has no real security and even though Mr Hunt spoke soothingly, and appeared to acknowledge and understand the concerns expressed, I don't feel entirely reassured that he fully realises the enormous implications from continuing and increasing the use of fossil fuels. However, that's a much bigger issue that what was being specifically addressed today. 

The Great Barrier Reef has been described as one of the 7 wonders of the natural world, as a treasure, as a gift. Surely we should be responsible stewards for this magnificent area and not continue to treat it as a temporary and irrelevant inconvenience. How about we stop treating the fossil fuel industry with kid gloves and kow-towing to their every whim? 

How about we factor in the cost of health care, pollution and environmental damage for those people and areas impacted by fossil fuel mining? My grumpy post about that is at: The vital topic that's not being discussed this election.

Whether the Great Barrier Reef will be adequately and appropriately protected - who knows. However, for myself, and for many others, we can say "we did our best". I know there are many, many other groups both in Australia and around the world trying to get assurance that the reef shouldn't be lined with ports to transport fossil fuels and that dredging shouldn't be allowed. Let's hope that once and for all, sound action is taken to preserve what's left of this incredible wonder!

I grumbled here after seeing the excellent 4 corners programme: The Great Barrier Grief. 

A year later, in 2012, not much had changed, the threats to the reef continued and I wondered if it was to become an open sewer. 

Why the Great Barrier Reef is worth preserving from GetUp!

• The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world and is recognised as a global treasure, due to the amazing biodiversity which it sustains and it's unparalleled beauty.
• The Great Barrier Reef is one of the 7 Wonders of the Natural World.
• The reef brings in billions of dollars of economic activity every year and supports tens of thousands of jobs in tourism and the fishing industry.
• The largest dredging project ever undertaken in Australia was approved to occur within the Great Barrier Reef WHA, at Gladstone Harbour, and is slated to remove a total of around 50 million cubic metres of soil.
• The ecosystem of the GBR is already very fragile and is facing total collapse with the added pressure of the dredging, which releases toxic chemicals into the sea.
• In the past 6 months (the first stage of dredging) there has been a steep increase in deaths of endangered marine wildlife - 6 dolphins, 10 dugongs and 231 turtles have washed up dead near Gladstone on the Great Barrier Reef.
• Fishermen and their families have been getting sick and have noticed that many of the fish have washed up with a strange flesh disease.
• The Australian government failed to inform UNESCO of the approval of the gas facilities in the Great Barrier Reef WHA.

And if you would like to email Mr Hunt and ask him to say no to all mega-ports and shipping superhighways along the Great Barrier Reef coastline: 

www.getup.org.au/email-greg-hunt 

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Waste "management" in the Shire of Mornington.

Arthurs Seat Tip

I went to the packed information meeting about the proposed tip on Arthurs Seat on the weekend. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Surely the Mornington Council which proudly advertises that it’s "COMMITTED TO A SUSTAINABLE PENINSULA" wouldn’t be interested in any proposal to turn the disused quarry site, which is embraced by the Arthurs Seat State Park, into a non recycle, non reuse dump and run landfill for other councils? How wrong I was.

The speakers were professional and clearly very knowledgeable. They'd put in hours of time into their presentations, working out how to best explain the proposal. And it's far, far worse than I'd expected. 

Night view from Arthurs Seat over Dromana and Safety Beach

Arthurs Seat is a smallish hill (305 metres above sea level) on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. It's a major tourist attraction with beautiful sweeping views across Port Phillip Bay. To the north is Melbourne and to the south are The Heads - a very narrow channel between two headlands, leading into Bass Strait. Arthurs Seat was named by Acting Lieutenant John Murray who saw it from aboard the sailing ship the Lady Nelson in 1802 way back when the area was first being explored by the English. 

Mornington Peninsula is now described as Melbourne's playground because of the wonderful scenery, glorious beaches, great natural spas, golf courses with stunning views, excellent wines, good surf, fishing, state and national parks, boating and food, all relatively close to the capital city. 

The Arthurs Seat State Park, which flanks the proposed tip site, is valuable not only for its koalas, wallabies, goannas and bandicoots but supports a wide range birdlife which help maintain the areas health and biodiversity. More than 25 species of plants are either rare or uncommon on the Peninsula, and four are listed as threatened. 

The State Park gives a glimpse into what the region was like before white settlers came and found the land was good for market gardens, farming, vineyards, spas and a multitude of fabulous tourist ventures. 

Arthurs Seat is the backdrop for the bayside towns of Rosebud, Dromana and McCrae. Near the proposed tip location are two primary schools, organic farms and Diggers Seeds - a much loved and highly regarded source of heirloom and organic seeds and plants. This partially sets the scene for the sense of betrayal locals feel that the Mornington Shire Council would even consider this location as a viable option for a tip.

Westernport Bay RAMSAR Wetlands

Biosphere

But it’s even more offensive than that. Ten years ago, the entire Mornington Peninsula including the Westernport region was nominated for, and proudly wears the mantle of being a proclaimed UNESCO biosphere reserve.

This means that the area is considered to be a living laboratory where people co-operate to develop better ways to manage the earth’s resources to meet human needs,while conserving natural processes and biodiversity. Conservation and sustainable development underpin the entire concept, however participation is entirely voluntary. There has been wide community support for the biosphere reserve and responsible stewardship is encouraged across the entire area.

Zero Waste

Interestingly Peninsula Waste Management (PWM) highlights responsible recycling in the header of their web site, yet at the meeting, it was noted that there will be no facility for recycling at all at the proposed tip, and all waste, including green waste will be dumped in together. 

Unlike the current tip at Rye where recycling is encouraged, locals will be unable to take trailer loads of green waste to be mulched, or goods to be sorted for resale.  

The Shire website states “MPS has a significant opportunity to play a leading role in promoting sound waste management practices, high levels of recycling services and innovative waste education and leadership within the waste sector.” Elsewhere the term “best practice” is used.

Maybe I've got the wrong end of the green wedge, but this proposal hardly reflects the name chosen for the Mornington Peninsula Regional Waste Management Group - Peninsula Zero Waste! Dumping unsorted waste, including asbestos, into a hole in the ground which is set below the water table, lined with plastic and with pipes and pumps to continually remove the water and liquid that will collect doesn't appear to be best practice, responsible stewardship, environmentally wise or sustainable. 

However, let’s continue.

How the liner works

The liner for this kind of tip can be problematic too. It sounds neat for a small domestic fish pond, but the requirement here is massive. Basically the liner, or membrane, is placed at the base of the hole and up the very steep sides to separate the waste from the surrounding ground and to prevent the toxic sludge entering the waterways (the mind boggles at how they do this). Pipes are laid out to pump out the wet stuff. (more here)

The wet substance is called leachate and it’s pumped to storage tanks where it’ll be transported off site daily in 15 (?) tankers. It’s not nice stuff.

The waste is dumped on top of the membrane. It gets heavy ... they estimate 70 – 100 trucks per day will lumber in and out dumping loads of unsorted waste - surely I got that figure wrong, that's an enormous number. The waste gets rained on adding even more weight; assorted chemicals, solvents, paints etc wash around and out of those containers that were thrown “away”. They mix together and create new and interesting potions which get pumped out. 

Unlike the pond or swimming pool at home which can be emptied with some difficulty, then repaired, this membrane cannot be repaired. If it becomes worn, if there are abrasions, holes or leaks of any kind, it's impossible to remove what's been dumped on top and patch the liner. 

The pipes which have been meticulously laid to collect the water and wet debris are likewise unable to be repaired, unclogged or cleaned. Would you use the word "never" when discussing the possibility of a leakage into creeks and waterways? 

Melbourne across the bay from Mornington

What gets tipped and who does the tipping

I heard at the meeting that it’s estimated that 70% of the landfill to be dumped will come from outside the Shire of Mornington. It’ll include, but not be limited to “solid inert waste, usually generated by industry, such as packaging and building materials”. It sounds inocuous enough stated like that, and of course we can be confident that no unscrupulous, or lazy people would sneak in the odd toxic by-product from their chemical factory over in Dandenong can’t we? Of course it'll all be sorted before it gets dumped!

Then of course we have the standard nasties included in household waste.  Unfortunately, not everyone composts their organic refuse which will mix in with discarded pongy “disposable nappies”, and bottles containing household cleaning chemicals such as bleach and ammonia.

Known toxins in discarded containers of common garden fertilisers and insecticides will be added to this complex slurry. (Please, for the health of our soil, insects and bees, go organic!) Some materials will decompose relatively quickly, others including the convenient disposable nappies can take up to 500 years, and polystyrene can reportedly take over a million years to decompose.

We can do so much better. From the Shire website: “The Shire contrator managing the Rye Waste Disposal Centre, and the Shire’s other waste transfer stations, is required to meet stringent waste diversion targets. Waste is sorted and markets have been developed to avoid taking much of this waste to landfill. In the last year 58% of hard waste was diverted from landfill. This is significantly ahead of the diversion rates being achieved anywhere in Victoria.” The proposed site won't have this service.  

Waste transfer stations work and locals have embraced them, sorting trailer loads of household rubbish into various on-site areas for reuse. I understand that a waste processing plant is likely to be developed in Hallam which is within a reasonable distance. Yet, this proposal is to allow garbage from that area to be dumped here trusting that it'll be pre-filtered and sorted. No doubt it's cheaper to dump than sort and process. But it's not responsible.

Unpleasant odours?

The smells, gasses and dusts from this delectable mix will of course be well contained even on hot, humid or windy mid summer days. How do I know? We’ve been assured by PWM the smells won’t travel! They'll stay within the boundary of the site and not set our noses twitching with displeasure. These well behaved smells will know how to act and have no doubt read and understood this requirement. 

And in 20 or 30 years when the quarry is filled to the brim with some decidedly unpleasant refuse, (remember, a significant proportion having been sourced from outside the Shire) it’ll all be covered with a metre or so of soil and be nearly transformed back to the original appearance! Yaay. No noxious fumes, no gasses, no leaching, no awkward, unfixable dribbles from aged liner or pipes. No problems!

Wildlife

As for the local wildlife, the creatures which live nearby in the state park. I’m sure they’ll be fine with a bit less habitat, it’s not as if they owned it anyway. It’s possible the koalas won’t even notice the removal of some manna gums, their preferred food source. 

As for the known fire hazards in a tip of this nature, and especially as it's embraced on two sides by an iconic State Park, with a school nearby – it doesn’t bear thinking about.

Leachate – the not so nice byproduct

One of the issues which was discussed in some detail is the possible leaching of the byproducts of the tipped waste into the surrounding land and water table, and eventually into Sheepwash Creek and Port Phillip Bay.

Comfortingly, according to PWM, “The principal components of leachate are nitrogen species such as ammonia and salts, like table salt. … The Toxicity of landfill leachate is comparable to that of water draining from a septic tank.” That's reassuring.

However, according to Wikipedia, leachate is a liquid that contains harmful substances which are likely to become putrid. I mentioned some of the nasties that get dumped domestically; then there's waste from chicken processing plants, farms and various manufacturing businesses.  This leachate is clearly not going to be equivalent to regular table salts!

More from Wikipedia: “All membranes are porous to some limited extent so that over time low volumes of leachate will cross the membrane.” I’m partially reassured that “they should never have a measurable adverse impact on the quality of the receiving groundwater.” But unsettled by “A more significant risk may be the failure or abandonment of the leachate collection system. Such systems are prone to internal failure as landfills suffer large internal movements as waste decomposes unevely and thus buckles and distorts pipes.”

Distressingly, the more I read about leachate, the more it sounds like something you wouldn’t want entering Port Phillip Bay or in trucks trundling past a local primary school umpteen times per day. 

The PWM literature states that  “there will never be a leachate discharge to any creek.”

“Never”. Wow, that's supremely confident. I'd be much more reassured by a statement along the lines of "in the unlikely event of a leak, we have x, y and z process in place to respond immediately and without hesitation." At least then I'd know they'd thought about how to respond. Never alerts me to the fact that a response hasn't even been considered.

A trait I've noticed with some sectors involved with dangerous substances or toxic byproducts, (such as with fracking, oil pipelines and nuclear waste,) is the ability of those involved to downplay concerns and over-estimate their competence, the state of their equipment and ability to respond to any incident promptly and effectively. Unfortunately the path of overconfidence is well worn and the years or decades of suffering by those living nearby is minimised and forgotten as the next "unexpected" disaster unfolds.  

At this stage I begin to wonder if there could be any adverse effect from an earth tremor associated with Selwyn Fault. This wasn't mentioned at the meeting, so perhaps not.

The Peninsula expects increased severe weather events including extremely heavy rains associated with climate change. The risk of increased flooding is anticipated. Will the pumps designed for current  “highest recorded flows” be up to the challenge of future inundations? 

Under what circumstances could the pumps fail? Never? 

If there is any overflow or leak, the leachate will find its way into Sheepwash Creek and from there into Port Phillip Bay to be absorbed by the shellfish being farmed locally. As for the businesses close by which have worked hard to gain their organic certification – I guess they’ll be considered an inconvenient offsite irritant when they complain that airborne dust (which didn't quite manage to get tucked in at night) carrying tiny fibres and toxins from the waste are affecting their livelihoods.

There's a petition at: http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/save-arthurs-seat

Further information including how to write a submission to the EPA, and place an objection to council and local MP is at http://savearthursseat.com/

What a shame it's not a council election year. It'd be great to hear from individual councillors what they really value and mean by: 

"COMMITTED TO A  SUSTAINABLE PENINSULA" or perhaps they'll change that statement?

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Reduce consumption, repurpose articles, recycle whenever possible.

If you haven't seen the Story of stuff it's well worth watching. 

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Further information: 

http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/parks-and-reserves/about-parks-and-reserves/biosphere-reserves

Biosphere http://www.biosphere.org.au/documents/nomination/zones.pdf

http://www.biosphere.org.au/aboutus.html

http://www.peninsulawaste.com.au/

http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Environmental_Problems:_Landfills

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posted by Sue Travers

Mornington Peninsula and Casey Coastal Transition Towns film night - Generation Green and In Transition 2.0

Wikipedia describes Transition Towns as "a grassroots network of communities that are working to build resilience in response to peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instability." It's about sustainable living and local resilience to the changes we're experiencing. Communities are encouraged to find "methods for reducing energy usage as well as reducing their reliance on long supply chains that are totally dependent of fossil fuels for essential items."

Given my interest in these issues, it seemed like a good opportunity to find out what's happening locally when a film night was advertised to screen In Transition 2.0 at Pearcedale Community Centre, not far from where I live.

We were invited to bring a plate of food to share after the screening - vegetarian. It may seem a bit odd, given that I believe vegetarian food is not only good for sustainable living but can yummy too, that my natural inclination is to balk when I see it on an advertisement. My brain slips into reactive mode: Will I be expected to sit awkwardly on the floor scrunched up and painfully uncomfortable? Will there be mung beans? Nutmeat? What will the other people be like - surely not as 'out there' as the people at Nimbin, so alternative as to be almost off the scale. But mostly - Will I fit in?

I know I'm not alone thinking like this, and I suspect that there are others who could be interested in the Transition Towns concept, but ... well, sometimes it's easier not to attend things when we feel a bit unsure. But I figured - If they're too weird, I'll leave! So with my BS detector firmly in place I went.

I was pleased and relieved when there was a table full of pamphlets from reliably mundane (some might even say boring) organisations such as Melbourne Water - a promising start!

Two films were shown, the first Generation Green about BZE (Beyond Zero Emissions), a group I'd already 'friended' on FaceBook. They've produced an excellent, comprehensive report of how Australia can be weaned off the addiction to fossil fuels and use alternatives instead.

It was great to meet the people behind the report and be drawn into their commitment to create a viable future for us all. They're under no illusions that the path we're currently on will lead to wholesale destruction of everything we have been conditioned to consider 'normal'. There's a link to two of their reports here.

The 14-minute documentary Generation Green ... charts the "inspiring work of young Australians fighting climate change", its director Briony Benjamin said.
The film focuses on Patrick Hearps a chemical engineer who resigned from oil giant Mobil and joined Melbourne think-tank Beyond Zero Emissions where he co-authored the Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan released last year.
"The film is about young people, who have said inaction over climate change is not good enough and are working to shape the future they want to live in," Ms Benjamin said.
"Patrick wanted to use his skills to do good and combat climate change; the Stationary Energy Plan is a detailed, fully costed report on how Australia could have 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020 using currently available technology costing on average $8 a week for a household."
She said Generation Green is a rallying call to mobilise people power to start demanding clean, sustainable energy from governments.
"We have one of the sunniest, windiest continents and we should be leading the world with renewable energy solutions, Generation Green tells us how." (from http://www.qut.edu.au/creative-industries/about/news/news?news-id=52956)

One of the main messages I took from this short documentary is that in this election year, it's up to each of us to ask candidates standing for election what they are doing to actively support sustainable energy locally as well as nationally. I'll be asking my local candidates something along the lines of: "What are you currently involved with to seriously address the complex interlinked issues related to climate change?"

If candidates haven't yet thought about the impact of these issues and aren't committed to addressing them consistently and proactively, they're not worthy of the responsibility of being in parliament. We desperately need wise leaders who act with integrity, who are honest, and who have a viable vision for the future which involves a real commitment to energy, food and water security, beyond what the fossil fuel industry and other huge corporations are willing or able to provide.

We owe it to our children to take climate change and our addictive reliance on fossil fuels far more seriously than the current crop of politicians appears to be doing. At present, huge amounts of food are transported massive distances as well as between countries using fossil fuels. Putting all our energy and food needs into the one basket is a recipe for disaster.
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The second documentary was In Transition 2.0. If you haven't seen it, and it's being shown near you, go. It's mostly about acting locally with an understanding of our need to be less reliant on food monopolies to supply foods. It's an encouraging film, full of active, proactive people working locally to improve streetscapes, wellbeing, environments. It's about people coming together to learn to be communities again. It's not all hearts, flowers and twittery bluebirds of cutesy happiness. It's real, and there is discussion of difficulties, challenges and failures. It's about responsibility and how we can find potential, then transform our little bit of the world independent of politicians.

In Transition 2.0 is about building resilience, and it's not just for aged hippies or new agers or intense people with a bee in their bonnet, a chip on their shoulder and an axe to grind. These are "normal" people, our neighbours, the kids down the street, the mums, dads, grandmas and grandpas. They're the professionals, the tradies, students and teachers. They're in communities all over the world from India, to the UK, the US, Japan and Australia and the thing they have in common is the desire to connect and to improve their lives. And that's not a bad thing to be part of!
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Thankyou to Mornington Peninsula and Casey Coastal Transition Towns for showing these two documentaries. I was interested in the discussion afterwards to hear that in both Mornington and Casey it's ok to grow vegetables on your nature strip but that in Frankston it isn't ... C'mon Frankston, get with it!!

It was great to be part of such an engaged audience and in particular to see a local councillor - Antonella Celi - there. I could only imagine how encouraging it'd be to have a local political candidate attend an event such as this.

I'd love to hear if you're involved with Transition Towns or something similar. Are you growing vegetables? Keeping chooks? Bees? A goat?

I'm not sure where this came from, but it seems appropriate!

More on climate and change here.

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