CLIMATE ACTION RADIO SHOW SEPTEMBER 12th 2022
Produced by Vivien Langford
THE DIRTY TRUTH ABOUT GREEN OPTIMISM
I was alerted to the new gold rush for critical minerals by Gavin Mudd, Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering at RMIT University. We must not make the transition to renewable energy and electrifying everything without putting far more regulation on global mining. As Carlos Zorilla says from Ecuador
"The voices calling for careful considerations of the impacts of a transition to ‘clean’ energy are drowned by the misplaced optimism of a green future. Few are asking commonsense questions that, if not answered now could easily create a worse environmental disaster later – and even compound the climate crisis. The elephant in the room few want to acknowledge is the destruction of people and the environment that will result from the hunger for so-called green energy minerals – mainly copper, cobalt, nickel and lithium."
In Chile Lithium is called the "white gold" Lithium Mining Is Leaving Chile’s Indigenous Communities High and Dry (Literally) | NRDC
and in Ecuador our own Gina Rinehart is determined to extract copper from a fragile mountainous cloud forest.Rinehart's Roadblock in Ecuador - Friends of the Earth Australia (foe.org.au)
Meanwhile the Climate Campaigners focussed on stopping new coal exports from Australia are very grateful to the Wangan and Jagalingou people.The Adani Carmichael mine is 9 months into operation with a huge slag heap rising up off their land and underground water already being sucked out to wash the coal. But they are not lying down on the rail tracks. Their dignified year long Waddanangu Ceremony is attracting indigenous and other visitors from all over the country.W&J have shown their intent to continue the ceremony and take their land back - you can sign up as a monthly donor to keep the sacred fire burning here.
Moving news from Ecuador
Carlos Zorilla won the Equator prize for the protection, restoration and sustainable management of ecosystems that help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. He speaks to us from the Cloud Forest in Ecuador where they are protecting a wonderland of biodiversity.
They have made two foreign mining companies back down but now are defending their land against the ravenous appetite for critical minerals used in electric vehicles and all the machinery of the renewables transition we have to make.
One of the companies HANRINE is connected to Australian Gina Rinehart.
Carlos Zorrilla | The Ecologist
Thrilling news from Colombia: New anti extractivist Government promises strong climate action.
The Vice President Francia Marquez is already a veteran environmental warrior. She was awarded the "Green Nobel" Goldman Prize in 2018.
Green Left Latin America expert Federico Fuentes puts a bit of a brake on Vivien's enthusiasm by explaining how difficult it is going to be. But what new energy has been released with so many women, indigenous and Afro Colombian people in power?
Historic Year for Climate Movement and Wangan and Jagalingou people : Waddanangu Ceremony near the Adani coal mine in Qld completes its first full year
Plus :Coedie Mc Avoy is awarded the Environmentalist of the year prize by Bob Brown
(20+) Facebook Live | Facebook
Coral Wynter tells us about Aboriginal people from all over Australia coming to participate in this ceremony and week of listening to each others news. It sounded like a summit.
Mining extracts gigalitres of water, leaved horrendous slag heaps and black voids. If the land rights laws lack teeth to prevent this, Coedie Mc Avoy and the Wangan and Jagalingou people are using the Human rights laws to occupy parts of their land for ceremony. Coral also talks about what she learned about the sacredness of this land. Trees where a person's placenta was buried become that person's responsibility. Imagine if all Australians were initiated into this level of care!
On the eve of the anniversary a special First Nations panel was held on Wangan and Jagalingou Country to discuss the theme of resilience and reoccupation with some incredible speakers: Gwenda Stanley Gomeroi Cultural Ambassador - Tent Embassy, Josie Alec, Kuruma Marthudhunera Custodian, Burrup peninsula, DK- Fresh Water Yuggera man, Deebing creek (who have been reoccupying their homelands for 1000 days) and Wangan and Jagalingou Tribal elder Adrian Burragubba. If you missed it you can watch the livestream here.
Climate Action Collective
