Jennifer Marohasy

a forum for the discussion of issues concerning the natural environment

Archives for October 13, 2008

WWF and Greenpeace as Well-Funded Successful Modern Political Organisations

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I spent last weekend at The Annual Australian Environment Foundation (AEF) Conference at Rydges Hotel Lakeside in Canberra.  The conference theme was a ‘climate for change’.

But it wasn’t only about ‘climate change’, political analysis Graham Young spoke at the conference about the power of the internet, politics and lobbying and even mentioning this blog.  He suggested we were about “community”, “sharing information”, “understanding objections” and also “rehearsing arguments”. 

In the context of lobbying Mr Young made reference to the large environment groups’ Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund suggesting they are “successful modern political organisations”.  

Outspoken geologist and climate change sceptic, Bob Carter, also made mention of the same two organisations, explaining that Greenpeace with an annual budget of US$272 million  and WWF with a budget of US$487 million have more money to spend on lobbying than Australia’s major political parties during a federal election.

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There are photographs of some of the delegates and speakers at the AEF conference at the Community Web pages of this blog.
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/2008/10/aef-annual-conference/

AEF Annual Conference: Photographs from The First Day

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The Australian Environment Foundation (AEF) held its Annual Conference and AGM this last weekend in Canberra.   We heard some great speakers and also had a good time.  Photographs about to be uploaded here

After I welcomed delegates to the conference as Chair of the Australian Environment Foundation, Professor Bob Carter spoke about climate change – both warming and cooling – as a natural hazard.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bill Kininmonth, a meteorologist formerly at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Professor Don Aikin, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra, also spoke on climate change and emphasised like Professor Carter, that it is something that always changes.  

 

Gillian Hogendyk, AEF Secretary, is pictured in the front row at Rydges Lakeside.  Gillian is a Vet who lives in Warren (near Dubbo) and has spent some years studying the natural history of the Macquarie Marshes in central western New South Wales.  Gillian spoke to conference delegates about the need for controls on grazing within the marshes. 

       

Forester, Mark Poynter, is pictured here making some last minute changes to his speech notes before telling us about the River Red Gum forests of western Victoria including how controlled grazing can be a useful weed control. 

 

 

 

Well known climate change sceptic and sometimes commentator at this blog, John McLean was also at the conference.

 

 

 

Leon Ashby recorded the entire first day’s proceedings and I hope will have DVDs for sale soon.  I shall ask him to post details as a comment.

 

 

I will post more on the conference over the next week, including photographs from the dinner where comedian Dr Barry York spoke about “that movie”.   

Next year’s AEF conference and AGM will be in Perth.

Sydney to Have Farmers on Rooftops

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“Australian cities must join a global network in which urban farmers grow produce on rooftops, a leading science commentator says.   Professor Julian Cribb, author of The Coming Famine, said the global food crisis was a forewarning of what could be expected as civilisation ran low on water, arable land and nutrients, and experienced soaring energy costs.  Professor Cribb said the urban farmers of the future – who would primarily grow vegetables – would play a much larger role in the global diet.   Read more here (free sign-on at FarmOnline).

Aynsley Kellow on Popular Nonsense in Perth

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A couple of weeks ago Aynsley Kellow, Professor and Head of the Department of Government at the University of Tasmania, gave a lecture in Perth. He said: 

“I am pleased to present this lecture today in Perth.I am particularly pleased to find that Perth is still here. I last visited here in 2005 – the year that Professor Tim Flannery suggested that Perth could become the first ‘ghost metropolis’ due to reductions in rainfall because of climate change.  I must confess that I was somewhat bemused by this statement, because my visit to Perth was to present a paper on water policy under climate uncertainty. I knew from my research for that paper that Perth was in fact better adapted to uncertainty in its water supply than any other capital city. 

Perth and the south-west of the state have suffered a decline in rainfall, which appears to have shifted to the north-east. The cause appears to be not the gradual accumulation of greenhouse gases, but a sudden shift in ocean currents. This decline in rainfall has translated into a marked decline in catchment yields thanks to changed catchment management, and an increased yield can be obtained by thinning catchments. 

Regardless, Perth has adapted to its natural environment with a number of responses: demand management; use of aquifers; the construction of the Kwinana industrial recycling plant; and now a desalination plant.  Professor Flannery was, of course, talking nonsense – but, as sales of his book The Weathermakers and his subsequent selection as ‘Australian of the Year’ showed, this is popular nonsense.”   

Read more here: The 2008 Harold Clough Lecture: ‘The Politics and Science of Climate Change: The Wrong Stuff’