CCNQ

Congratulation to Pine Rivers Climate Action Network for winning the inaugral Premiers Climate Smart Community Award on 4 June 2010!
 
Lots of hard work and fantastic initiatives over the last 2 and a half years have paid off... The Samford Valley Solar Neighbourhood project, the Green Street website, the Green Street Cafe events, the Samford Local Growers group all featured in their nomination.

Happy World Environment Day everyone.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY Events in SEQ:

World Environment Day is an international celebration commemorated every year on June 5 to recognise the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm in 1972.

Saturday 5 June:     Morningside festival                                  3pm – 7pm
                                Really Really Free market                        10am – 4pm
                                Logan Eco Action Festival LEAF              10am – 5pm
                                Boonah festival                                          9am – 3pm
                                Plastic Fantastic !?!                                   6pm – 8pm

Sunday 6 June        Sunshine Coast Environment Festival       9am – 4pm

There is currently a frenzied call for car based infrastructure in the Centenary area. However, you can help counter it!

Join the call for a blend of smart, sustainable solutions to traffic congestion by signing Sustainable Jamboree’s petitions to the both the Lord Mayor and State Parliament.

We’re calling for consideration of options like:
• transit lanes (sooner rather than later);
• reliable high frequency express buses / train connections;
• better access to telecommuting and flexible work conditions;
• a better suburban cycle network, end of trip facilities, bicycle skills training, buddy systems and so on.

You can request a pdf of the petitions from Mrs McGaw on phone 3375 7268.

You can also sign the online version of the petition to the Lord Mayor at http://sustainablejamboree.org

An e-petition to State Parliament, sponsored by Julie Attwood MP can now be found here

Electric vechicles are poised to revolutionise how we travel and when powered by green electricity they offer the possibility of zero carbon transport.

Come along and Learn the who, what, why, where, how and $ of electric vehicles

1 - 3pm, Sat 22 May 2010
Repeated 2 - 4pm, Wed 26 May 2010

Veue: Mt Ommaney Library, Dandenong Road
RSVP: info@sustainablejamboree.org or phone 3375 7268

Speakers / panel

  a.. Dr Andrew Simpson, senior research fellow, Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute. He has over 10 years experience in the hybrid/electric vehicle, electric power and renewable energy industries in Australia and North America, including two years most-recently at Tesla Motors in California.

 b.. Russell Austerberry, Australian Electric Vehicles Association, Brisbane.

 c.. Paul Martin, electric bicycles enthusiast

d.. Allan Dow, www.elationebikes.com.au (tbc)

UQ Climate for Change is running several cool events for Climate Reality week. A nationwide event organised by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), this week aims to remind everyone that we cannot escape the realities of climate change by ignoring the problem, we need to take action.

On Friday May 7th, John Cook, author of the website Skeptical Science will be giving a lunch time talk at the University of Queensland about "The reality of climate change" and true scientific skepticism (map).

After John's talk there will be a panel discussion also featuring:

Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg - Director, Global Change Institute, UQ and expert on coral reefs and climate change
Jessie Wells - Oxfam Australia
Megan Evans - UQ Climate for Change

Update: The AYCC and UQ Climate for Change have produce a short climate change fact sheet. It covers some basic climate science and deals with some of the most common myths and misconceptions out there. Be informed, have a read of it.

Thanks to everyone who came along to our inorgoral event: Towards a Safe Climate - A community forum and networking event on the 14th of April.

We had lots of people come along and got a lot of positive feedback. We hope that everyone learned something and was inspired to take action towards a safe climate.

Some photos of the event are now available. If anyone has more they would like uploaded to the CCNQ Picasa Web album please let us know

We are currently working on creating vidoes of the talks and hope to have these posted fairly soon.

Nominations are now invited for up to three (3) State representatives on the network facilitation group (NFG) for the national Community Climate Network, Australia (CCNA). Nominations can be made by any group that is a member of the CCNA, and each group is able to nominate one person (It is not necessary for the group to also be a member of the CCN Qld, though of course we would invite your group to join!)

QLD groups belonging to the CCNA are:

Beenleigh Cool Change

Cairns Climate Coalition 

Capricorn Conservation Council 

Climate Action Brisbane

Climate Front Line Collective 

Emerald for Sustainability

Gecko - Gold Coast and Hinterland Environment Conservation Council 

HOPE 

Get a heads-up on climate change, sustainable cities and this year's political agenda.                                                                                            

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), The Climate Project and QPSU invite all Union Climate Connectors based in Southeast Queensland to an important meeting on Wednesday 28 April from 5:30 to 7:30pm to hear about the ACF's federal campaign and how we get climate change and sustainable cities onto this year's political agenda; Why Southeast Queensland is an important region; and Share ideas on what you can do to engage with different kinds of people during this federal election year.

Become a Union Climate Connector at

Light refreshments will be provided.                                                

Please come at 5:15 for a 5:30 start.                   

Whether you're into growing your own fruit and veges, starting a local business, riding your bicycle, or making your own clothes, this fun-filled inspiring film is for you!

This event is co-hosted by Sustainable Jamboree, the Centenary District Environmental Action group and the Wolston & Centenary Creeks Catchment group.

This 50 minute documentary film is entitled, ‘In Transition 1.0: from oil dependence to local resilience.’ It will help us celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day and let everyone know why the Transition Towns international movement is taking off in Brisbane.

Register early. Limited seating. To rsvp, email ngaire@sustainablejamboree.org or phone 3375 7268

Pop in to grab free magazines and latest rebate information.

More about the film...

Sick of waiting for government to come up with a solution to climate change and peak oil?

See how communities from the UK, New Zealand and elsewhere across the world are tackling themselves and having a great time in the process.

It's all through the international Transition Towns movement - communities around the world responding to peak oil and climate change with creativity, imagination and humour, and setting about rebuilding their local economies and communities.

To join the Brisbane Transition Hub of over 600 members visit - http://brisbanetransitionhub.ning.com/ and www.transitionbrisbane.org

See also the international website: http://www.transitionnetwork.org/

Learn about building the green economy at: http://transitionculture.org/

You can buy the handbook at: http://www.sustainableinsight.com.au/shop/the-transition-handbook-by-rob...
Mention Sustainable Jamboree and we'll get some loyalty points.

The first of several inquiries into the hacked email brouhaha, that from the UK House of Commons, has reported its findings (you can download their report here).

The findings of the inquiry do much to exonerate Prof Phil Jones and the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia whose emails were stolen and who have been subsequently targeted with what can only be described as an extremely vicious smear campaign. The inquiry stated that: 

"The focus on Professor Jones and CRU has been largely misplaced. On the accusations relating to Professor Jones's refusal to share raw data and computer codes, the Committee considers that his actions were in line with common practice in the climate science community but that those practices need to change.

On the much cited phrases in the leaked e-mails—"trick" and "hiding the decline"—the Committee considers that they were colloquial terms used in private e-mails and the balance of evidence is that they were not part of a systematic attempt to mislead.

Insofar as the Committee was able to consider accusations of dishonesty against CRU, the Committee considers that there is no case to answer.

The Committee found no reason in this inquiry to challenge the scientific consensus as expressed by Professor Beddington, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, that "global warming is happening [and] that it is induced by human activity"."