Iemma Government in court due to lack of leadership

New ad to fell river red gum fears

Green Groups oppose campfire ban in red gum parks

Bracks gets mandate to protect red gum

Brumby Government Dragging its feet on Environment

Anti-Nuclear Campaign

Forest Network

Barmah-Millewa

Reclaim Globilisation

Eco-Tibet

Climate Justice

Food Co-op

Bookshop

Sustainability

Water

The Barmah Collection: a month of music

Get excited about Thursdays in May... at the Edinburgh Castle in Brunswick you are in for treat with a seductive selection of musical delicacies ranging from ambient pop and acoustic folk to hip-hop and gypsy punk.

All proceeds go directly to the Barmah-Millewa Campaign, to save the world’s largest river red gum forest from logging and achieve land justice for the Yorta Yorta people.

Highlights include Yorta Yorta woman Lou Bennett and her band the Sweetcheeks; hip hop MC Joelistics from TZU; award-winning folk band Milk and Gyspsy stars Chalga Party.

Every Thursday in May - $6/$10 - Doors 8:30pm - For full band line-up click here

Radioactive Exposure Tour 2008
May 9th - 18th

The Radioactive Exposure Tour is on again. Join Friends of the Earth for a journey to remote northern South Australia where we will visit the Olympic Dam uranium mine at Roxby Downs, the Beverley Uranium Project in the Gammon Ranges, the beautiful Lake Eyre and Mound Springs environments and meet with indigenous peoples and local communities campaigning against the nuclear industry. The tour offers a unique opportunity to go out on to country and witness the impacts of the nuclear industry on people and the environment. Indigenous people across the world suffer most directly from the impacts of the nuclear industry, this ‘radioactive racism’ is a major focus of the tour.

You won’t see this on reality TV.....So get on the bus, get out under the desert stars and get ready to listen!

Cost: $600 per person or $450 concession. To read more click here.

Call Out for Artists - Art Auction for the Earth

Friends of the Earth Melbourne's Anti-nuclear and Clean Energy campaign are calling for donations of origonal artworks across all media to until May 20th. The artwork will be part of an exhibition 'Greenhouse or Green House?' and will then be auctioned to raise funds to support our campaign.

THis year we have a special category in which we have materials that are available to artists. We have 10 inch (25cm) square canvas or 'memory box' to create an artwork on the theme of ''Green House or Greenhouse'.

We will be holding an Art Auction called at Synergy Gallery, 253 High St Northcote on June 12th at 7pm.

Exhibition opens for viewing from Tuesday June 3rd @ Synergy Gallery, 253 High St. Northcote. Open Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 7pm.For more information please contact Michaela 03 9419 8700 or Ila 0427 501 944 / ila@melbpc.org.au.

Climate Campaign

The Friend of the Earth Melbourne climate campaign works to bring about necessary changes in lifestyle, society, industry and policy to halt dangerous climate change.

Friends of the Earth Melbourne climate change campaign is focused on bringing about deep cuts to our greenhouse gas pollution (with a need for annual emission reductions), working with community groups to tackle climate change and stop the proposed HRL coal fired power station in the Latrobe Valley and promote clean green renewable energy solutions.

HRL - Burning Coal at Three Minutes to Midnight

The Corporate Watch report on HRL, for Friends of the Earth, ‘Burning Coal at Three Minutes to Midnight’ has been released. Shedding light on the government grants and business interests behind the proposed HRL coal fire power plant in the Latrobe Valley of Victoria.

With $150 million of state and federal government grants this new coal fire power station has benefited from a large injection of taxpayer money to continue Victoria’s reliance on coal based electricity.

The proposed HRL coal fire power plant is one of the first of the so-called ‘clean coal’ power plants scheduled to be built, and if allowed to go ahead will expand Australia’s reliance on polluting fossil fuel sources of energy such as coal, to the detriment of the clean, green renewable energy solutions available to us.

Climate Code Red Report

Climate Code Red: The case for a sustainability emergency. This new report, prepared by Carbon Equity and the Greenleap Strategic Institute, argues for the need to declare a climate emergency.

Climate code red: the case for a sustainability emergency published by FoE, finds that serious climate-change impacts are already happening, both more quickly and at lower global temperature rises than previously projected.

Download a copy of this must-read report to learn more about the latest science on climate change and more importantly what we can do to halt dangerous climate change here

Managed Investment Schemes Enter Melbourne's Water Supply, Pesticide Risk Exposed

Strawberry crops near Woori Yallock. The person who took this photograph ended up in hospital due to pesticide exposure. For more information click here Woori Yallock.

Bay dredging alert

Please take the time (less than a minute) to send a letter to Peter Garrett and help stop the proposed dredging of Port Phillip Bay - just click here to use our simple form now. (This link will take you to an e-lobby on the FoE International website)

LinkUp Melbourne - Sustainable Transport Campaign

Our government needs to provide viable alternatives to private car use. Cities like Vancouver, Toronto and Perth have increased their share of travel by public transport while Melbourne has not, despite the fact that these cities have fewer rail tracks, spend less per person on transport,
and have a lower population density. They have done so by putting public transport under the control of efficient, accountable public agencies, while Melbourne is a privatised, unaccountable, uncoordinated mess.

But Melbourne's public transport can be taken back into public control modelled on the very best in the world, if the state government does not extend or renew the rail and tram franchises by the 30th November 2007. If the government so chooses by the 2007 deadline, Melbourne's trains and trams will revert to public ownership without the need to
compensate the private operators.

To support our sustainable transport campaign, please see their website.

FoE Real Food Campaign

O ur new local food/ 'real food’ campaign was launched early this year. There are meetings at FoE where you can find out more (and get involved if you have the time). If you are really keen to write, edit, do design, etc please feel free to contact Cam via email: cam.walker[at]foe.org.au.

To get a sense of what we’re doing, check out the FoE England website.

Climate Justice: A Fair Share of the Atmosphere

The recent release of the Stern review has caused many who were previously unconvinced of the need to reduce greenhouse emissions that urgent action is needed now. However, a new publication from Friends of the Earth, ‘Climate Justice: A fair share of the Atmosphere’ emphasises that our reasons for addressing climate change must be humanitarian as well as economic. The new report from Friends of the Earth highlights how many people in the Global South are already experiencing devastating impacts of climate change with impacts upon food security, water security, health and livelihoods. Climate change is therefore creating a global human rights crisis which will be much worse without deep and immediate reductions in emissions. Download the publication here

Nuclear power: No solution to climate change

John Howard may have jumped on the nuclear power bandwagon but all the evidence suggestions that nuclear power is no solution to climate change.
*
* Report: 'Nuclear Power: No Solution to Climate Change' September 2005
* Our anti-nuclear campaign with the real story on mines, waste, radiation and health and more
* FoE Australia submissions and briefing papers and the new report Yellow Cake Country: Australias Uranium Industry (PDF 3.7mb)

FoE has been campaigning for real energy solutions and against uranium mining and nuclear power for 35 years. With our allies in civil society, indigenous and local communities we’ve been an important part of some great victories such as stopping the Jabiluka mine, limiting the expansion of the uranium industry in Australia and scuttling a proposed nuclear waste dump in Southern Australia.

Now we face one of our biggest challenges. Please support the campaign. You can donate on-line.

BOYCOTT REFLEX COPY PAPER

Friends of the Earth Melbourne is concerned that a new pulping facility at the PaperlinX owned Maryvale pulp mill, will increase native forest logging by that company by 50% (200,000 cubic metres per year). The new pulp mill will also mean the establishment of 20,000 hectares of eucalypt plantations in the Gippsland Lakes catchment.

On a positive side, the new facility will reduce PaperlinX's need for chlorine bleaching, with almost no dioxin outputs into the Latrobe River and Bass Strait occurring after the new facility is constructed.

For more information see: www.australianpaper.forests.org.au/index2/updates11-02.htm