Merchants of Doubt

I am now the proud owner of this book. I will probably make it a JOAD book.

It explains how a small group of scientists have been undermining the scientific consensus on Climate Change and other earlier issues of concern such as tobacco and cancer, and the hole in the ozone layer.


The Author also published this title:

Decluttering [3]

My round coffee table has been lent to a friend. The old iMac computer is now part of the sound system. The second bedroom is no longer a junk room but still has junk in it.

A local Association [4]

The association was formed and incorporated a few days ago with seven members. We are meeting for the first time in about six hours from now. I am the Chairman (President)

I feel tired again after putting out a lot of energy and not sleeping as much as I need to. I just wrote the meeting agenda from an outline from the Secretary of the Association.

All the other members are new friends, whom I made from running the campaign that I tagged 'nimby' in this blog.

The building that we opposed being turned into a nightclub has been sold to the same interests that we believe were behind the push for a nightclub. So we are not done yet!

Carl Jung speaks...

"The facts of nature cannot in the long run be violated. 


Penetrating and seeping through everything like water, they will undermine any system that fails to take account of them, and sooner or later they will bring about its downfall. 


But an authority wise enough in its statesmanship to give sufficient free play to nature - of which spirit is a part - need fear no premature decline."


(Carl Jung (Collected Works 16:227)


Sent by one of my blog readers - Thanks 'Anon' 

A Local Association [3]

I am tired again because of my many interests. I have met someone whom I would like on the committee of the new association. She has a family and thinks she cannot spare the time but is thinking about it.

I could probably form an association next week but I am trying to approach it slowly after last time. I now have five certain members, of which three are willing to be office bearers. I am turning my thoughts to a website. There are quite a few options and I will seek the advice of knowledgeable friends.

I am already showing the symptoms of burnout again...

Decluttering[2]

Mission impossible: getting rid of the junk at my place. I refuse to take perfectly usable things to the rubbish dump.

I have done a little more since April 1st! Now I am having a 'senior moment' trying to remember what it was.


Oh yes! I lent three pieces of furniture to a friend who has just set up an apartment larger than mine. I also lent him my vacuum cleaner, long term, leaving me without one, which my bachelor friend Len thinks was a stroke of genius.
(One of my fridge magnets says, "Housework never killed anyone, but why take the risk?", so it must be true)

My friend Patience is a keen reader and will take any books I don't want, read the ones she likes and give the rest to charity.

Len will take my tarpaulin and give it to his son.

Because Helen bought my swag and gave me a good price, I plant to give her an inflatable double mattress, if she wants it.

Why am I telling you all this?

1. I discovered my April 1st post on decluttering was popular
2. To help fellow hoarders

I am negotiating the loan of my coffee table to a friend with a larger apartment. I can enjoy it when I visit. 

I am putting my obsolete iMac computer on top of the stereo stand, because it has good speakers and is now an alternative source of music in my apartment. 

I am still holding onto my obsolete laptop. Where do you take them for responsible recycling? In this case keeping it was fortunate. I need to get some data from a friend and it can only be done using (obsolete) floppy disks, because she has an (obsolete) computer too. After that it will go (but what if I need to do that again one day; this is the hoarder's nightmare)

To people with large dwellings I plead: ask your friends if you can make their lives easier by storing their junk for them. 

The Mission Statement:

1. I will not have room that turns into "the junk room" no matter how I rearrange the place. 
2. I will be able to walk around with  ease, rather than around obstacles. 
3. I will know when I have succeeded when I feel a warm glow

The conceptual breakthrough:

You can give the stuff away...

A Local Association [2]

By law one must have seven people, three of which are office bearers, to set up an incorporated association is this jurisdiction. I now have 3 confirmed and 3 maybes. I am trying to get a balance of age groups (going well) and a balance of gender (not going so well, need more men).

Having failed at the last hurdle, in July 2010, to get an association up and running, through my own fault, I am taking a slower and more careful approach this time. "More haste less speed". I felt pressured because someone had tipped off the local newspaper and I had said we were forming an association imminently.

I had no desire to involve the media and was completely inexperienced in dealing with them. So I was anxious, exhausted, becoming sick, and losing the wider perspective after a long, mostly solo, effort on the nightclub issue. Well, I have learnt some lessons...

Milestone [1]

This is my 200th post to this blog!

I have gone through the first flush of interest and excitement that blogging can even be done so easily in this new world of the internet.

Then I lost interest. Mainly because of personal difficulties. But also because I wondered how many people other than two close friends were actually reading it! If you are reading this, please consider emailing me on GreenMaven1@gmail.com and let me know which country you are from, and what you are getting from reading a blog like this.

I went through a frantic time when the (Nimby tag) night club issue took over my life and this blog.

Now I want to get back to the fundamental purpose of the blog: to try to prevent catastrophic climate change. Doing my little bit as one citizen of one country to tackle a global issue, by helping to inform and encourage other individuals wherever they live.

I may not blog every day. Quality is better than quantity. I was hoping that a daily blog would increase the number of visitors to the site. But usually any spike in readership comes from a topical and useful post.

Wikipedia [1]

I have been reconsidering how I can become effective as a Climate Change Activist. At the 'Personal' level I feel I have done all I can at present. Working at the 'Community' level has been difficult of late. 

I have been very preoccupied with Wikipedia since the beginning of November. I have begun being a Wikipedia editor or a 'Wikipedian'. I have realised this might be a way to work at the 'National' and 'International' levels (under the framework I have suggested in this blog; the 'Five Levels').

There is a lot to learn about editing the Wikipedia, and I have begun my work on some non-environmental topics, until I can see an opportunity contribute knowledge on environmental matters.

I wrote another letter to my local newspaper on an environmental theme, but have not seen it published. I may have missed out this time.

A Local Association [1]

I have returned to my usual positive state of mind and engagement with people and projects. So I decided to see whether we could still get 'a local association' registered and running. I contacted my friend "Y" of "X&Y" mentioned on July 8th, 2010. We are edging towards reconciliation but he does not want to be part of the association at present. He plans to live abroad for at least one year, starting next April.

I have a large list of former supporters in the struggle which ended recently (see October 28, 2010) and I spent some money and a lot of time on this project. So I would like to see it continue in some form. Wish me luck!

Merchants of doubt, the initiators of climate scepticism

Where does the campaign against Climate Science have its beginning?

Three leading critics of Climate Change Science, all founders of the George C Marshal Institute, were eminent scientists in the fields of physics, rocket science and weapons systems, but not in fields related to climate science or its biophysical consequences. 

Their institute, before attacking climate science, also attacked the scientific findings around tobacco, acid rain, and the hole in the ozone layer. 

Why would distinguished scientists 'besmirch the reputations' of fellow scientists, whose work had been verified through the normal peer-review process?

Driven by ideology, rather than money, they were Cold War warriors, who passionately believed that the West had been kept safe by their work. When the Cold War ended, in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, they made their first attack on Climate Science. 

These three scientists had already worked for the tobacco companies, examining the connection between tobacco and lung cancer. One of them was a former president of the US Academy of Science! Why would such a distinguished scientist challenge the overwhelming evidence linking tobacco and cancer?

They began to see a new enemy - Reds under the Beds - environmentalists with a 'communist or socialist agenda'. Their viewpoint was that "environmental legislation will be a slippery slope to Communism". They had a "repugnance of government regulation". 

Initially, in the 80's, the Institute was not working with the Fossil Fuel Industry, but by the 90's it made common cause with the coal and gas industries. 

The institute has two main strategies (1) to 'sow doubt', and (2) to pressure the media to give them equal time (to be 'fair and balanced'). They want equal time even though their extreme views are not believed by any working scientists or government officials. 

The first of these strategies was invented and perfected by the tobacco industry. 

The US Department of Justice found the tobacco industry "guilty of crimes". 

Source:

An interview between the author of the book, Naomi Oreskes, and Fran Kelly on 'Breakfast' on ABC Radio National, Nov 15, 2010. Naomi Oreskes is a Professor of History and Science Studies at the University of California. 

Her book:

Title: Merchants of Doubt: How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming
Author: Naomi Oreskes
Publisher: Bloomsbury Press

The interview audio file can be downloaded from here

My thoughts:

Anti-communism has been well drilled into the American population. So what better lever to persuade the American public to oppose any new movement? And the Libertarian Right Wing in America is ready to hop unthinkingly onto the bandwagon, believing anything they are told about climate science. 

Coffee with Jack [2]

I have coffee with Jack once a fortnight. He is 86.
A few things have changed. We did not meet for six weeks, during which he was in hospital and then moved to live with his daughter. His grandson lives in his house now.

Jack has decided not to drive his car any more. His daughter Carol kindly takes him to meet me and takes him home again. He is looking stronger than he has for several months.

It is Spring here and the weather is ideal. We sit out in the sun...

My kind of music - Jussi Bjorling

A superb voice and a musical craftsman.

Listen to him here

O Holy Night   (5:04 minutes YouTube)

Una Furtiva Lagrima   (4:10 minutes YouTube)

Pearl Fishers Duet   (4:40 minutes YouTube)

O soave Fanciulla  with Video
Jussi bjorling & Anna-Lisa Bjorling - a duet 
(3:46 minutes YouTube)

Looking for a path ahead. Moving Forward!

My enthusiasm for Green Causes has been diminished of late. I have become weary of attending small meetings which seem to achieve very little.

Several local groups have been focussing on what can be done at the household level to reduce one's environmental impact. This has little interest for me, now that I have done as much as I think possible at home.

At a National Level, I am very disillusioned by both major parties. The Greens have been doing better in the latest elections, but they still find it hard to exert real influence.

I have to think about where to go from here.

Not as original as I thought

I just discovered this site, which calls itself Green Maven!

How can one be unique in a global village?

Celebrate with me

My latest activity is finding music on YouTube

Treat yourself to a song from Ava Gardner

Not in my backyard! [42]

Here is the outcome of the local struggle I have been leading for several months

VICTORY for the local Citizens

My latest email:


"Dear Supporters

Many of you will have received a letter from [local government authority] by now, telling you that the Applicant for the Change to Lease Purpose Clause at the [....] Shops to permit an 'indoor entertainment facility', that we opposed, has now withdrawn his application (DA ....)!

This email is for those who did not submit an objection, and would therefore not have received the notification from [local government authority].

Many thanks to all recipients of this email for your support, whether moral or material. Your efforts were successful in halting this development application. 

I would rather have seen the application rejected by [local government authority], but I think we can assume that the applicant saw that his application was going to have a hard time getting accepted. It also relieves us of the possibility of having to mount an appeal if the decision had gone the other way. So it's a great outcome!

We cannot be sure that the Applicant will not make a new application at some future time, which we may feel obliged to oppose. So I am asking everyone to continue being vigilant on this Block and Section. 

Please email me if you discover any development which is of concern to you, or on any other matter. "

I am very satisfied at the success of the first campaign I have ever led.

Be empowered - do it!

Back at last

I have not posted an entry for about two months. I was sick for a while with a virus.

Not in my backyard! [41]

My dream run on this issue seems to have come to an end. We had a meeting where I had a personality clash with X&Y's next door neighbour. Now I have received this email:

"You have done a fantastic job in building community among us over the last couple of months.

We don’t really understand what happened the other night but need to acknowledge it and figure out whether/how we can keep working together. Can we make a time to talk about what happened at the meeting on Tuesday night.  Maybe we could meet at [a cafe we both like] after work tomorrow.
X&Y"

I have been impatient to get an association formed, and have become sick by taking on too much. The neighbour was supposed to be coming in to help us get the numbers to form an incorporated association. Instead he began to quibble and drag out a minor point in our constitution, talking over the top of everyone. I walked out of the meeting after expressing some anger. I have had difficulty a year ago trying to work with a committee with him on another issue. He seems to effortlessly hijack the agenda and dominate with a voice that cannot be ignored. 

I am proposing that he and I meet alone to address our difficulties, and that I agree to meet with X&Y separately. 

Not in my backyard! [40]

I was greatly heartened after meeting with the minister and his staffer. I was surprised to find that he had allocated as much as 45 minutes, and even more pleased that he stayed for 75 minutes. I felt that we had touched on every issue that was important to me. I decided he was a very likable and approachable man. I also felt encouraged to believe that the decision about the nightclub would go the way I wanted it to. 

We discussed the possibility of community involvement in future planning decisions, and I was very much encouraged to believe that it would be welcome. 

In contrast last night's meeting with the core group was frustrating and conflictual. Half an hour before the meeting with the minister I discovered I would be going alone. I hope I can get back to a more collaborative working arrangement as soon as possible. 

Not in my backyard! [39]

I spent the weekend on other business, and on recovering from my cold. It seems to be very slowly improving. I have decided not not to see Jack today. We always sit outside and it would not help my cold. I will stay inside and work on the community newsletter I do every month. 

I was very pleased to be contacted by the office of the local Minister for Planning last week. I will go to see him on Wednesday with two of my colleagues. 

[later...] My conscience about not seeing Jack was relieved when I phoned him. He told me he could not come today. He sounded weak and was still in bed at 9:30 am. The weather today is cold and gloomy.

Not in my backyard! [38]

I have just sent out a press release to two local papers and a progress report to the 118 people on my email list. My cold is not getting worse or better. I want to relax this afternoon with some hot soup before I go out to another meeting this evening on another issue. 

I am pleased to see I have now had 600 visits to my blog. Yesterday I got my first visit from Mexico, from an Institute of Technology in Valle De Santiago. Now that I have broadband, I used Google maps to see where that was. A few days earlier I had a visit from Canada, but not the first. 

Not in my backyard! [37]

Three of us met last night - two were away - to discuss forming an incorporated association. I need to write the minutes today. I must write an email for our supporters, explaining why the reports in the local papers about no nightclub being planned should not be given much credence. 

Car sharing with my friend Patience [2]

I am up early because I have slept 3.5 hours and that's how it seems to be with me now. I had the alarm set for 3:30 am because I am picking up Patience from a Greyhound bus terminal at 4 am.

I dropped her off at the terminal on Sunday night at midnight. She went to Melbourne overnight, which took eight hours, and spent the next three days with her family. I had the use of her car for three days as part of the deal, but I was able to do everything on my bicycle.

We both do this for the environment. Soon we will begin to feel the effects of Peak Oil and those who learn to adapt ahead of the crisis will fare best. Patience was visiting one of her two grandchildren.

Not in my backyard! [36]

I did not get up until 9:30 this morning after being up in the night for three hours. I felt too sick to visit some friends this morning, but have felt better as the day progressed.

We got quite a good story in the lesser (weekly) of the two local papers today. I did not see the correction to the story from the previous week that I was promised. I have not done much today. Reading the paper was all I was good for.  I am sorting out the useful press items from the past few days. My group of five meets tonight. We will be discussing the details of forming an incorporated association.

Kaboom! Broadband

I am finally connected to non-wireless broadband!

It went very smoothly with AAPT today when I called them up. 

My only complaint - they forgot to tell me that the service had been provided and all I had to do was connect the modem up that had been sitting on my desk for a while. 

This was a tremendous contrast with the incompetence of two other suppliers that I tried to connect through. Well done AAPT Australia. 

Now is the winter of our discontent

It's 10 degrees Celsius in my apartment this morning. I am freezing and it probably does not help my cold. I do it, not because I do not have a heater, but because I am trying to live a simple lifestyle that does minimum harm to the planet.

I have come across a new idea: can I manage in winter with my refrigerator turned off?

I am getting ready to go for my normal coffee and paper to the local shops where I am running a campaign of opposition to a propose change of planning permission for one building. I hope to meet with a supporter I have not seen for about a month.

I expect to find a small report in the paper about our campaign to oppose unwanted change. I am not happy at present about our media coverage. However, the main purpose has been achieved. We brought it to the attention of the local politicians.

Not in my backyard! [35]

I am stepping out for a coffee shortly. I took it easy on Sunday and will do the same today. I want to shake off this cold as soon as possible. 

I am opening up a dialogue with the residents association of a neighbouring suburb. To that end, I photocopied one of the submissions to the local authority and hand delivered it to one of them. All 164 submissions are now on the public record. 

Not in my backyard! [34]

I am worn out after my efforts to influence what gets developed in my local shopping centre. I live 300 metres away and visit the centre every day. I am going there shortly for a coffee. I have a sore throat and a chest cold and I intend to rest up. 

Not in my backyard! [33]

We got a second small item in today's paper. The building owner's solicitor announced that a nightclub is not the plan for the building, but a restaurant and bar. We are not sure how to take that statement and will just continue our campaign to stop the Development Application. 

The meeting went extremely well. Someone counted and said we got "70 people, 6 children and about 8 dogs". I spoke well and was much congratulated, although my voice was almost gone by the end of it. Four of us stayed for coffee and a chat and I went home to relax and have an hour's nap in bed. 

We collected 19 more email addresses, making 115 in total. I have just sent them a media release, which I sent to three local media outlets. 

I am looking forward now to a slower pace, until the decision is made, which might take three or four weeks. 

Not in my backyard! [32]

We managed to get a small item in the local paper yesterday, despite the total dominance of the space by the Julia Gillard story. Her rise to the office of Prime Minister has caused some controversy, although I am OK with it. 

I have been told there will be another item in today's paper. So I am pretty pleased. The journalist has been able to get more out of the building owner's solicitor than I was able to, and it should be featured in today's paper. 

I have a sore throat and a runny nose. I hope the meeting this morning goes well and I don't lose my voice or make myself more sick. 

I wrote a long report to my supporters last night. 

Not in my backyard! [31]

Friday morning. I have not blogged since Sunday. I have been so worn out that I am catching a cold, so I am trying to take it easy. I have to make sure I have a voice left for tomorrow, when I will address a public meeting on a street corner and take questions.

I expect to be in tomorrow's paper, but we had a change of Prime Minister yesterday, and my story may get squeezed out. My focus in trying to prevent a night club or a gambling venue in my suburb has switched from encouraging submissions to the Land Planning Authority, to engaging with politicians and the media. One of my group may approach the radio stations.

I had not wanted to make it political, but peculiarities in our legislation has made it necessary. I am gaining confidence that we may win this struggle. I was astonished to discover that 164 submissions were submitted to the Authority. I am assuming that most of these were supporting the position I have taken.  I have spoken at length to one politician and another's advisor.

My group are trying to get an association formed. Even that is not straightforward.

South African Gospel

Now I am listening to a radio program that has reminded me that it is Sunday. I like this program when I wake up early enough to catch it. It is The Rhythm Divine on ABC public radio.

I discovered Miriam Makeba in the sixties. I was introduced to her music by some of the first friends I had after leaving school and coming to this country. I have two of her LP records on vinyl.


I have the record at the top left.

The second one looks good for anyone who wants to discover her music.



Go for broke.

Here's another one.

I will probably buy from Apple iTunes if I get anything at all. I find I get all the music I need from the radio.

A New Beginning

I will not always blog everyday. It has not caused my readership to increase enough to be worth the effort I put into it. 

I have realised my passion to stop a particular development in my local shopping centre is not a distraction from my mission to prevent dangerous Climate Change, but a necessary local manifestation of it. 

It will reduce the use of motor vehicles, if we make our local centre a real hub for satisfying local needs, and, if we keep out developments that serve the city as a whole, we  reduce the number of vehicles driven in from a distance. 

I am part way through a personal growth course run by the Landmark corporation. I found the first day very hard. I could hardly stop myself from falling asleep in my chair. The second day was easier as the day went on. 

Now, at the beginning of the third day I feel full of energy. I woke up after three hours sleep at 3:00 am, and lay in bed for an hour having bold new ideas about what our opposition to the night club could grow into. 

At 4:00 am, after the news, a radio program began, a repeat of the 2005 "Classic Late Night Live", which reports on some talks from the Adelaide Festival of Ideas. It began with a young woman talking about how fear holds us back. She quoted from Winston Churchill "Without courage all other virtues are meaningless". After she spoke a man spoke on the need for 'quiet time'. That's exactly what underlies my personal objection to a nightclub. I cannot even enjoy a noise free ('music' free) cup of coffee in most of this city. 

A major theme of the Landmark course is that we hold ourselves back from a lack of courage.

5:00 am - the program just ended. 

Our forming residents asociation is already looking towards having more community input into the planning process. 

Not in my backyard! [30]

My email to journalist (C) went out about half an hour ago. Now I am engaged elsewhere for three days on a training workshop. I feel a sense of relief. I cut it down to a more conservative 900 words instead of 1200. My close supporters now think that we should have a stronger presence in the media. I agree, having had the legal advice. We meet again early next week.

Not in my backyard! [29]

On Tuesday we decided to slow down on forming an association and setting up a website. This took a lot of the self-inflicted pressure off me.

One journalist (B) has been given another story and keeps saying he will get back to me but doesn't.

I have been carefully writing replies to questions from the second journalist(C). I will finish it today, but not before she goes home. I have clarified my position by writing 1200 words, but I plan to split a large part of it off, perhaps for journalist (B), and just give her the simple answers to her questions.

Earlier today I had a useful conversation with one of the key players and got another name, adding weight to the hearsay around the shops.

Today has been more restful than I expected it to be.

Not in my backyard! [28]

One day to go, before I am out of action for three days. 

I have questions from yesterdays journalist, which I need to answer today

Or do I? Maybe not. She can accept copy on Monday. Just texted two of the new supporters for advice. 

A second journalist will call me this morning. He wrote the story that has already appeared in the local paper. 

I have a medical appointment. With luck there will still be time for coffee with two friends.

I will spend any spare time studying up on legal and town planning issues. 

I have blogged for today, so that's done. 

Now - to begin...

Not in my backyard! [27]

Rushing to get a post in before midnight. Last night I was in a residents meeting and forgot to post for yesterday!

Today, first thing, I met and spoke with a journalist. Then I went for a regular meeting with five friends.

I skipped lunch after a good morning tea with the friends. Then one hour on the phone to a lawyer.

I met with a body corporate, which had made a submission to the local government.

I went to a public meeting on transport options for the city. I said hello to a local politician, but there was  no time to talk.

I went to a regional community council. The same politician was there. I was able to talk for about 20 minutes. A useful conversation, shared with a resident from my neighbourhood.

At every occasion, except the transport meeting, six out of seven, I spoke on the topic I am taken over by - the opposition to a Lease Purpose Clause to make way for a night club. What a day! Exhausted. Up early tomorrow and back into it.

Not in my backyard! [26]

Four hours in two meetings, with two new supporters. We got as far as allocating some tasks to each other. I feel great about the day's progress. I was able to do some relaxing as well. Looking for a lawyer tomorrow. TV tonight...

I bought this book recently The Quest for Justice

Not in my backyard! [25]

Just missed my Sunday blog post, by being too absorbed in making a report to my supporters, in my campaign to stop a development in my local shopping area.

This is the summary:
88 in my email list.
77 individuals or groups support my position; one is opposed.
75 submissions were made to the local government authority responsible for town planning. Now we await the decision. After that, appeals are possible.

Not in my backyard! [24]

I want to read this book!

Some of my distaste for a nightclub in my neighbourhood is about noise pollution.

I am checking out the Noise Free America website too...

Not quite a day of rest

I attended a local Green Activist group this morning and announced the venue and time for my showing of "An Inconvenient Truth".

In the afternoon I met with three people to help a friend clarify for herself a decision she needs to make. Can't say more, it's confidential.

Movie time

I am planning to show this movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore, to the public in a couple of months. I hope to get an audience of 100. This was the movie that pushed me into being an activist.



I am intending to see "Food Inc."soon at a movie theatre. 





And "Blue Gold" looks interesting:


Be careful when buying DVDs online. Different regions in the world use different DVD recording formats.

Getting back to normal

Yesterday was so busy I forgot to blog

The newsletter is done, printed and distributed by email. 

got up at 4am, working by 4:30, 1C on balcony and 11C in my office

Getting back to planning the next move on resisting the changes proposed in my local shopping centre. 

Not in my backyard! [23]

Finally the pressure is off. The deadline for submissions has passed. 

I completed the church submission, got it signed and delivered. 

Earlier on a friend delivered 17 signed pro-forma letters. I have been responding to email and phone calls most of the day. Tired but satisfied. 

Now for the newsletter...

My Fortune 500!

It's great to wake up and find my blog has passed the 500 visit mark. 502 now.

Not in my backyard! [22]

I expect to spend most of today working on the church submission to the planning authority.

I am finally making time to understand the legal and planning aspects to make the best possible submission, and I will stay on both of these until 4pm tomorrow. 

I have been in email contact with 57 people on this campaign, plus a few who don't have email. 

The day after tomorrow I will work most of the day putting a community newsletter together. 

I am writing this in my lunch break!

Milestone

Wow! Almost up to 500 visits to my blog!

Broadband - the tide begins to turn

There was a loud knock on my door! Was it the local Mafia coming to beat me up because of my opposition to a proposal to build a nightclub or gambling venue nearby?

No!  It was my modem being delivered by the third company from whom I have tried to get broadband services!

I am too busy to unpack it, but delighted to get it!

Not in my backyard! [21]

I spent the day emailing, and visited one supporter at their home. 

I downloaded the "Planning and Development" legislation (500 pages)

I spoke with a local businessman who is paying a professional Town Planner to write a legally strong submission to the local government planning authority. 

I have begun work on setting up a Residents Association. 

I have begun work on a submission for a church group. 

Flat out!

Not in my backyard! [20]

Here is an email I sent this morning

Dear Supporters

Things are going very well with our efforts to prevent a Lease Purpose Change in one building at the "leafy suburb" Shops. 

On the present count, I estimate we will be sending at least 40 submissions to "Small_City Planners" declaring that this proposal would negatively impact us. They are mostly signatures on one letter and other separately signed letters using the pro-forma letter I wrote and sent out. 

A few individually written submissions, some extremely thorough and professionally written, have come from local organisations, associations, body corporates, local business. 

If you are still wondering whether to write to "Small_City Planners", I urge you do do so. The numbers are important because "Small_City Planners" must estimate the impact on the community. Email me if you need assistance. There is still time. 

Not in my backyard! [19]

This morning I am preparing a statement to a local church in the hope that they will adopt it and submit it to our local government. 

For those who came to this site hoping to find material on Climate Change: I am completely focussed at the moment on a local issue about Noise Pollution. 

Not in my backyard! [18]

In fact I slept for only five hours. 

All the photocopying and signing at the meeting went well. Not so many turned up as I had hoped. 

In the late afternoon I set off to visit five people who were either very old or about to leave town. In the end I got 10 signed letters. Seven people added a few comments of their own. I was touched and saddened to see how some of them struggled to write two or three sentences for themselves. Many people wished me well and thanked me. 

I arrived home well after dark. The chain fell off my bicycle just before I found the last house I was visiting. 

There I was disappointed to discover that someone, who volunteered to copy and distribute more of my flyers, decided to edit the flyer. In the process she introduced an error into my phone number, removed some text and changed some fonts. As it is going out under my name I was not happy, but I have restrained myself from being critical of her.

Not in my backyard! [17]

A few minutes ago I emailed out the letter I prepared for individuals to sign, to protest an application to change the planning permission for a building, to allow it to become a gambling venue or a night club.

I also sent it to a friend for printing as my printer has chosen to run out of ink! I will have it photocopied tomorrow and then I will be ready. Hoping to sleep well!

Not in my backyard! [16]

I had two meetings with friends today to discuss our opposition to the Development Application in our local shopping precinct. One was an old friend and the other is a new friend that I was meeting for the first time. 

I have to write the letter now that I want people to sign tomorrow in a local church hall. 

Since I wrote the last line another church and a local business have contacted me and both will be making a submission. Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Broadband - back to the status quo

Well the SIM card arrived two days late, but its all working now. After a famine on dial up at 50Kbps, I have my old small supplier of wireless broadband back again.

Blogging will be easier now. I can stay online and respond to emails as soon as they arrive, and my landline phone is free for incoming calls. 

I shall just wait a little more patiently now for the big companies to provide me a fast internet connection. 

I have realised that our Federal Government is about to make some kind of announcement on a National Broadband System. An election is a few months away. I now think that none of the companies in telecommunication want to install new capacity and that is why I keep getting stalled. 

"Change and Adapt or be Vacant"

I attended a business breakfast this morning at 7:15. I arrived 10 minutes early at the wrong place; and arrived 10 minutes late at the right place!

It was organised by the 'Property Council of Australia' for World Environment Day, and they were kind enough, or smart enough, to offer some Green Activists like myself a free table. 

The topic was the desirability of making commercial buildings more environmentally well designed. 

I hate being late but it worked out well. I would have had to stand around waiting to go in, which I find physically difficult. Instead I walked in with everyone else. Missed out on some schmoozing though...

There were two speakers: a local Greens Politician, who spoke very well from good notes; and a director of a Real Estate multinational company, whose speech was a lot more poorly delivered. 

However, his company sponsored the event and some of what he said was very interesting. Studies in America, of a large sample of buildings, have been done that show that buildings built and managed on sound ecological principles have a higher occupancy rate, and are more profitable to the owners. Employees have fewer days off sick and the savings to tenants, on reduced absenteeism alone, covered the increased rental costs!

Providing separate metering of power to the occupants was what saved the most energy in the building. When they had to pay they began economizing on power! Derr! Didn't someone think of that already? Not in the age of abundant cheap energy, apparently. 

Not in my backyard! [15]

I made it onto page 7 of our city newspaper today. I was happy with the journalist's handling of the story and the material I sent him. 

A supporter from out of town, and her husband, met me for lunch and I have found in her a good new ally. I had friendly conversations with the two existing tenants of the building. They were very happy with the newspaper article. 

I was able to speak with a school principal and she has contacted the school board, but cannot involve herself directly. I made a new friendly contact with another local business and she will photocopy and distribute my leaflets to another church and to her clients. Another tiring but very satisfactory day. 

Support is growing with every day. 

I will have a very early start tomorrow, but more of that in tomorrow's post...

Car sharing with my friend Patience

Yesterday I used my friend's car for the first time. Our arrangement to get the car back to her on the same day fell through, when I needed to go to a local newspaper office immediately for an interview.

She graciously let me keep the car until tomorrow when she must have it. I know the odometer began at 909 kilometres and I have to remember to make my first entry in our logbook before I give the car back.

If this agreement works to our mutual satisfaction I will sell my small car. I like to imagine someone will pick it up, as an alternative to driving a larger gas guzzler, and then squeeze a few more years usefulness out of this little car.

Oil spill and oil addiction

This morning I heard the author of this book, a resident of Vermont USA, speaking on the Gulf Oil Spill with my favorite broadcaster Fran Kelly. Go Fran!!

Lying behind the Oil Spill tragedy, is the addiction to oil of modern economies. The hunger for oil, and its imminent shortage, drives us to search for it so deep under the sea that only robots can reach the wellhead.

Accidents and errors of judgement are implicit in the human condition. We can be sure that more accidents like this will occur as oil companies are driven to search for ever diminishing resources.

The solution lies in a reduction of our demand for resources, while we wait for new, less damaging, technologies to be developed.

Listen in to Australia's great public radio station, and check out this interview

Broadband - still being driven mad [2]

I have decided to go back to my wireless broadband service in preference to being reduced to dial up internet access. On Monday I was told a new SIM card would be mailed to me and should arrive by Wednesday. Of course it did not arrive. I am getting very sick of the way the corporate world treats their customers.

Not in my backyard! [14]

 Today I sent this email, which I have edited slightly, to my supporters in this struggle:

"I was surprised to receive a phone call this afternoon from the [regional newspaper] asking me for an interview. The story had been leaked to the press, and someone, without my permission, gave my name as a spokesman. 

I felt reluctant to agree to their request for a photo of me at the local shops, but I agreed to meet the journalist at his office to discuss it. I would not have chosen this time to go to the press, but under the circumstances I decided to make sure our voice was included in the story.

He will be submitting a story to his sub-editors and expects the story to be published tomorrow. 

Rather than be interviewed and recorded, I asked him to send me his questions, so that I could give a considered response by email. I sent my email to him at 5:50 this evening. 

The journalist suggested, and I hope, that this will benefit us in our efforts to get this development nipped in the bud. It will also give all of us the opportunity to write letters to the editor once the story breaks. Sharpen your quills please..."

I have had more emails and phone calls to reply to today. All but one were supportive. There are now 68 people on my mailing list. 

Not in my backyard! [13]

My meeting - "Tea with the vicar" - went extremely well. There was an unexpected bonus: an opportunity to have a public showing of Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth", of which I am a great fan.

The local businessman let me down again. He left me waiting for 30 minutes and then, after I left the building to go, rushed out to tell me his business partners were still meeting with their solicitor.

However, another businessman phoned me and I spoke with him. He is supporting my position.

I wrote a draft 'Impact Statement' and sent it out to 63 people on my mailing list, so they would have something to use towards their own submissions. A few more people contacted me and went onto my mailing list. A pretty satisfying day. Now I am off to relax.

Not in my backyard! [12]

This morning I will be visiting a religious leader in our community. After that, a lunch time meeting with three partners in one of the businesses most closely affected by the proposed changes to the lease purpose of their building. In the afternoon I hope to write my statement to the city government in opposition to the proposed changes.

Broadband - still being driven mad

I am now onto my third supplier. The second one promised me cable and then said they could not do it on the day I was supposed to be connected.

I have lost confidence in all of them now and will get my old wireless broadband reconnected as a temporary fix. 
I am at the start of a 13 day waiting period to get fast broadband from the third supplier.

Not in my backyard! [11]

I have spoken to two schools and two child minding centres today. They are keen to help. I have added them to my emailing list and sent them some old emails. I am gaining confidence that we can win this one. I will soon have to begin writing my own impact statement because I have promised supporters that I will send it to them to help them write their own submissions.

I have been feeling like Paul Revere as I sped around the suburb on my bicycle! (Read "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell)

I have made an appointment to see one Minister of Religion and am awaiting a call from a school principal.

Not in my backyard! [10]

I am starting my day getting ready to make a list of all the people and groups I need to contact to keep this ball rolling. The rain has eased off and the local storage dams are filling up. I am looking forward to this week.

Cradle to cradle

This book is going on my wanted list.

Better ways to manufacture things...

Not in my backyard! [9]

I have had a busy morning talking to supporters, and to local residents and businessmen. There will definitely be plenty of opposition to the proposal to alter the "lease purpose clause" for the property I have been describing. The general opinion is that the intention is to put in a night club.

Someone who lives closer than me has offered to print more of my flyers and letterbox them for me.

Not in my backyard! [8]

Back home. Handed over correspondence and records from acting as Treasurer for six weeks for a community group.

I was delighted to find that the local businessman, whom I had begun to have doubts about, has come out very publicly in opposition to the proposed "lease purpose change". I have not been able to find him but I know he must be very busy. I have some interesting new information about his business, which I will not pass on until I can confirm it.

I now need to begin composing an "impact statement" of my own, which will be signed by some others, or become the basis for their own statements. It feels great to be involved in a community issue. I have had not a single word of criticism or disagreement, and quite a few offers of support.

Not in my backyard! [7]

Autumn leaves and rain. 

Its too wet for putting out flyers in letterboxes so I will have a quiet morning. It's great that most of them are done. I have some reading to catch up on and I will have my customary morning coffee with the newspaper and a book. 

I did not sleep for long, to my great surprise. I slept for three hours and lay in bed for another three. So I am tired at 8am, but not tired enough to sleep. 

I have my strategy well planned for the coming week. 

Not in my backyard! [6]

I am weary after walking much of the day. A friend and I distributed about 400 flyers to letterboxes. Tomorrow we will do the remaining 100. That brings the total to 800.

The emails are beginning to come in; all are supportive. I have had a few conversations on the street and all were supportive.

Next week I will write my submission and get signatures on it. I will begin by approaching schools and churches to get their support. I feel tired but very satisfied. I will sleep well tonight.

Car sharing in Europe

I have followed up on a comment left by a visitor to this blog. I visited two sites in Europe which facilitate a kind of "pre-booked hitch-hiking" in Britain and Germany

I wonder if anyone is doing this in Australia?

A mixed bag today - not in my backyard [5]

I have some bad news but mostly good news.

The local businessman, who had offered to print leaflets for me, did not live up to his promise. He said he needed to get more paper. I am going to wait to see whether he delivers. I must confess I now doubt his real intentions. A friend, who had offered to help me distribute them had to go home again.

My earlier post: "Car sharing is about to happen" received an encouraging comment and a website address, which I will follow up. A friend saw the comment before I did, and offered me a similar car-sharing website in Europe. 

I lost about $100 in a busy cafe. I went back after about 30 minutes not expecting to recover it, and it was on the floor under my chair. I said to the two ladies at the next table, "Thanks for looking after my money!" They laughed and said they had not even seen it. I feel blessed and encouraged. 

I met someone, with whom I have never had much contact, and she gave me $50 to help me out with my campaign. So I will print more leaflets anyway.

I visited an old man of 86 in his home,who offered to help me oppose the 'lease purpose change' in my local shopping centre. "Show me where to sign!"

A child care centre manager offered to help me, when I walked in. I have had several emails supporting me. An amazing day really...

Not in my backyard! [4]

I distributed nearly 300 flyers to residents close to the O'C shops today, with the help of two friends. 

I am delighted to inform you that a local business has offered to print more flyers for me at no cost. Another friend and I will distribute them tomorrow.

I am opposing the lease purpose change because I do not want either a gambling venue or a nightclub in this location, which I believe are the two most likely possibilities. 

We have two weeks in which to make submissions on this application. I continue to research what means may be available to prevent this outcome. 

The rain is welcome, but...

I have ordered 300 flyers and will be collecting them from the printer today. Two friends have offered to help me distribute them and it's raining!

Usually we are very happy to see rain in this country.

So am I. Tomorrow is another day for distributing the leaflets.

Maybe I can catch up on some reading...  "Requiem for a Species" (that's us) on "Why we resist the Truth about Climate Change"

Not in my backyard! [3]

I have written an A5 flyer and sent it out to my mailing list of 38 for comment.
I expect to send it to a printer this afternoon and begin distributing it tomorrow.

I hope to prevent a local "indoor entertainment facility" being allowed in my local shopping centre,

defined as one of:  "Amusement Arcade, Casino, Cinema, Commercial Theatre, Concert Hall, Dance Hall, Discotheque, Music Hall, Night Club" (which is not apparent from the public notice on the building)

I object to this because it does not serve the local community. 

Coffee with Jack

Jack and I had our usual fortnightly meeting this morning. His daughter wants him to come and live with her but he does not want to move out of the home where he has all his books and other possessions. He lives alone.

He likes to hear about all my activist doings and gives me encouragement.

Passed the 400 mark!

I have now had 405 visits to my blog!

Not in my back yard! [2]

I have had less support from my 32 friends than I had hoped for to support me to oppose an application for permission to build an "indoor entertainment facility" in our hitherto quiet suburban shopping centre.

However, I now have 37 on my email list, with only two dropouts!

I will type up a flyer for local letterboxes and I hope to have it distributed by Wednesday May 26th. 

Those who have offered help are doing so in full...

Relaxing for once

I saw a good movie this morning - The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) - about a German village just before the outbreak of the First World War. I enjoyed the movie and thought it was a brilliant recreation of the period and the attitudes in rural Germany. However, the questions of culpability raised by the movie were all left unanswered. Is this what we get from Post-modernism?

I knew I was right to sit in cafes

The World Café is a flexible, easy-to-use process for fostering collaborative dialogue, sharing collective knowledge, and discovering new opportunities for action. World Café originators Juanita Brown and David Isaacs outline seven core design principles and provide practical tips and tools for convening and hosting "conversations that matter," even with very large groups. Each chapter features actual stories of Café dialogues from business, education, government, and community organizations across the globe, demonstrating how the World Café approach can be adapted to many different settings and cultures. Based on living systems thinking, this is a proven approach for fostering authentic dialogue and creating dynamic networks of conversation around your organization or community’s real work and critical questions––improving both personal relationships and people’s capacity to shape the future together.         (from the Amazon website)

About to crash the 400 barrier!

My blog has received 395 visits now!!

JOAD is back on track

Now I can relax about getting broadband I have caught up on a few things.

I have sent out my JOAD Report No. 2
(The Joad Concept is described in an earlier post)

It includes a spreadsheet containing 40 book titles. I am inserting an ad for one of them here.

I have always admired the writings of George Monbiot.

I would love to get to the stage where JOAD books could be bought several at a time to save freight costs.

“This book is a brilliant and terrifying critique of the crisis of human-induced climate change, and the prospects of stabilizing temperatures before catastrophic runaway warming ensues. George Monbiot brushes aside our rationalizations to maintain the status quo, shallow targets and mechanisms, and the empty promises of political rhetoric and corporate PR spin, to examine the real opportunities and what has to be done to achieve up to 90 percent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by the industrialized nations.”
—David Suzuki
(from the Amazon website)

Car sharing is about to happen

For several years I have been working towards becoming a non-driver of cars, so that I may have a lower environmental impact. A few months ago, I thought I was ready to get rid of my car, but new demands on my time made it too hard again.

Now I have an agreement to share a friend's car. We have agreed on the terms and will try it out in a matter of days. I will use her car and pay her a sum per kilometre to cover her costs. I have bought a logbook to record my usage. If it goes well I will sell my car.

This is not so much a saving for the environment as for my bank account, because most of the cost of driving for me is paying the state for vehicle registration. However, It will give me a strong disincentive to make unnecessary journeys, because our homes are seven kilometres apart.

I tried this arrangement before with someone who lived within walking distance, but we never put it into action once. I was then offering my car to her, because she did not own one. I know it is hard to make these sorts of arrangement work, so I am interested to see how it turns out.

Broadband - the end is in sight (maybe?)

I have cancelled my contract with Australia's largest supplier of broadband internet services, after a fortnight of frustration, poor service and incompetence. I was never able to log on, or download a single byte of data.

I have chosen to stay with my trusted local ISP provider of the past ten years, and through them to access the internet via cable from another local supplier. I know I can go to both supplier's head offices right here to get any problems ironed out. I am paying more but I hope to get a far superior service. I will know by next Friday, after "five business days" have elapsed.

I will definitely tell you how all this turns out...

Not in my backyard!

I have emailed 32 friends in the hope that they will support me to oppose an application for permission to build an "indoor entertainment facility" in our hitherto quiet suburban shopping centre.

This not a "green" issue, and not directly related to Climate Change, however it touches on the citizens' right to oppose activities which may impact them.

It is clear to me that this is essentially a problem about absentee landlords. They seek to maximise their profits, without regard to the impact this has on others. This paradigm can be seen in any number of different contexts other than land use. In this case the owner of the building lives several hundred kilometres away from the property in question.

This will be my first attempt to act politically at the local/community level.

A new endeavour

Yesterday I discovered that a building owner in my local shopping centre is applying to have the lease purpose changed to "permit indoor entertainment". I will investigate this and I expect to oppose it, together with my friends. People Power!

International post gained me some new visitors

Since my last post I posted a comment on an American website (http://www.fouryearsgo.org/question-of-the-week-what-rises-within-you-in-response-to-the-oil-spill-what-will-you-do/comment-page-1/#comment-321), which seemed to result in five new visitors from the United States. Thank you!

I am still so occupied with local activism and my gruelling struggle to get a faster connection to the internet, that I have not posted every day. I continue to be aware that I must focus my energy on what I do best.

A field that is rested grows a good crop

I did not read a word of the book I planned to read today("Why we disagree about Climate Change", see earlier post below). But I am optimistic, there are still six hours left in the day. I might read a paragraph...

Instead I reflected on what I can and cannot expect to achieve on the local scene; "so much to do so little time". Or, more accurately, so little stamina...

I have just sent an email to a local politician, asking for her support in running a seminar/symposium.
called Awakening the Dreamer


We hope to link the event to an international bike tour.

There is an Australian group running these internationally available seminars.

"A field that is rested grows a good crop" The Roman Scholar, Ovid

The Politics of Climate Change

I have just discovered this book. Here is the Amazon product description:

"Product Description

Climate change differs from any other problem that, as collective humanity, we face today. If it goes unchecked, the consequences are likely to be catastrophic for human life on earth. Yet for most people, and for many policy-makers too, it tends to be a 'back of the mind' issue. We recognise its importance and even its urgency, but for the most part it is swamped by more immediate concerns. Politicians have woken up to the dangers, but at the moment their responses are mainly on the level of gesture rather than being, as they have to be, both concrete and radical.
Political action and intervention, on local, national and international levels, is going to have a decisive effect on whether or not we can limit global warming, as well as how we adapt to that already occurring. At the moment, however, Anthony Giddens argues controversially, we do not have a systematic politics of climate change. Politics-as-usual won't allow us to deal with the problems we face, while the recipes of the main challenger to orthodox politics, the green movement, are flawed at source. Giddens introduces a range of new concepts and proposals to fill in the gap, and examines in depth the connections between climate change and energy security.
This book is likely to become a classic in the field. It will be of appeal to everyone concerned about how we can cope with what amounts to a crisis for our civilisation."


'A landmark study in the struggle to contain climate change, the greatest challenge of our era. I urge everyone to read it.'
Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America