http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/ saltwatermatt's recent blog posts on StumbleUpon en-us Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:17:23 -0700 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:25:07 -0700 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/ http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/logo_su_36x36.png Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:15:19 -0700 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/23084957/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/23084957/
Excellent video from Washington, USA: Woman planted out her garden with lots of food plants to inspire others. Long, but really inspiring!

Healthy foods, locally, with improved food security!]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/23084957/ Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:42:17 -0700 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20474719/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20474719/ ]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20474719/ Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:38:23 -0700 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472931/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472931/ ]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472931/ Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:33:40 -0700 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472812/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472812/ ]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472812/ Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:14:40 -0700 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472173/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472173/

Town planning to live for...]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20472173/ Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:01:07 -0700 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20471725/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20471725/ ]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/20471725/ Sat, 16 Feb 2008 04:32:20 -0800 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/17496671/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/17496671/ ]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/17496671/ Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:59:00 -0800 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16993129/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16993129/
Carbon Equity has released a new and important report on climate change showing the Rudd Government and the Garnaut Inquiry going down the wrong path in dealing with the problem.
Recent scientific analysis by NASA and a host of institutions at the forefront of climate change research show the problem to be far greater than shown by the UN's IPCC reports of 2007. For example, the summer ice and snow in the Artic circle is set to be completely melted by 2010, not at the end of the century as forecast by the IPCC.
It is clear from the report that we are on the edge of a climate catastrophe which can only be avoided by far greater CO2 emission cuts than that being hinted by the Rudd Government.

Geoff Lazarus

The report can be obtained by going to climatecodered.net [climatecodered.net]

The article below on the report was on the front page of today's Canberra Times.
Report attacks climate policy
by Rosslyn Beeby, Canberra Times, Saturday, 2 February 2008

canberra.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/report-attacks-climate [canberra.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/report-attacks-climate] policy/1174418.html

The Rudd Government's climate change policy has already been
overtaken by new science and will impose a "death sentence" on
Australia unless urgently updated, say the authors of a new report.

Former Victorian government adviser Phillip Sutton and David Spratt,
founder of climate change group CarbonEquity, say the Government's
policy lacks scientific depth and has been cobbled together from
reports now surpassed by new data on the rate and scale of global
warming.

In a hard-hitting report for Friends of the Earth Australia, they
claim the Government's commitment to reduce greenhouse emissions by
60 per cent by 2050 locks Australia into supporting a dangerous 3
degree rise in global temperature and is based on a United Nations
report 12 years out of date.

The Melbourne-based policy analysts also cast doubt on the scope and
relevance of the climate change review being conducted for the
Federal Government by Australian National University economist
Professor Ross Garnaut.....]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16993129/ Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:52:19 -0800 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16700503/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16700503/
"Dear Mr ...

Thank you for your recent correspondence concerning genetically modified (GM) food crops and the moratorium on GM canola.

After an exhaustive and comprehensive review process, Cabinet made the decision to allow the moratorium on GM Canola to expire on 29 Feb 2008.

This is the decision the government has made.

In May 2007 the Victorian Government established an independent Panel, chaired by Sir Gustav Nossal, to review the moratorium on genetically modified canola.

The moratorium was established in 2004 as the result of uncertainty and division among Victorian farmers, canola user industries and the wider community about the likely economic and market impacts of introducing GM canola.

The Panel examined information from submissions, discussions with a range of stakeholders, and a number of independent reports, including a detailed economic analysis prepared specifically for the Review. The Panel submitted its report in late October 2007.

The Panel Report makes a strong and coherent case for allowing the moratorium to lapse. It found there are no valid trade and market grounds to maintain a moratorium that prevents farmers from having choice in the type of canola they wish to grow.

On November 27, 2007, the Premier announced that the Government would accept the Panel's recommendation and allow the moratorium on GM canola to expire on 29 February 2008.

This decision removes the anomaly whereby GM canola food products can be imported and sold in Victorian supermarkets, as long as they are labelled under the national scheme, but the crop cannot be grown here.

The decision means that Queensland, NSW and Victoria will allow farmers choice in the canola they choose to grow.

The Government also accepted the Report's recommendation that the organic sector be supported. The organic and GM sectors are both active and growing in a range of countries such as Canada and the US.

It is worth noting that the Commonwealth Government, not the Victorian Government, is responsible for addressing potential risks to the environment or human health posed by GM organisms.

In 2003, the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) approved the commercial release of the GM canola that was subject to this review, noting that it posed no greater risk to human health or the environment than did conventionally bred canola.

The Panel confirmed this with the Director of the OGTR who stated:
One of my statutory functions under section 27 of the Act is to monitor international practice in the regulation of GMOs. I assure you that I, and my staff, are diligent in monitoring developments with regard to GMOs in other jurisdictions and in the scientific literature.

In Canada, where Roundup Ready® and InVigor® GM canola comprise a significant percentage of the Canadian canola crop each year, no risks to human health and safety or the environment have emerged.

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand is responsible for GM food safety and food labelling in Australia. They require that all GM food or ingredients to be sold in Australia must undergo a mandatory pre-market safety assessment to ensure that it is safe for human consumption.

In addition FSANZ requires all GM food sold in Australia to be labelled if novel DNA or protein is present in the final product. For more information see foodstandards.gov.au [foodstandards.gov.au] .

As I am sure you are now aware I spoke out strongly in caucus expressing reservations to the broad scale lifting of the moratorium and I had an opportunity to express my view to the Premier.

John Brumby is the Premier and he is in the business of making decisions and this is not one he has taken lightly or without considerable consultation.

I am not qualified to reassure you about the science, but we've got a number of eminent scientists saying the regulatory mechanisms in place in Victoria are extremely stringent and these should give comfort to the majority of people...."]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16700503/ Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:48:28 -0800 http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16700410/ http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16700410/
"The dreaded dredge, The Queen of the Netherlands, is on it's way through the RIP and we are asking all of you who don't want the bay dredged, it is "too precious to plunder" to rally on Pt. Lonsdale Pier ..."

See arrival time at 202.53.36.92/shipsinfo/wwwexpmvmt.asp [202.53.36.92/shipsinfo/wwwexpmvmt.asp] ]]> http://saltwatermatt.stumbleupon.com/review/16700410/