John worked as a mechanical engineer making components for the coal, oil and nuclear industries before becoming an environmental activist in the mid 1990′s. He co-founded a successful recycling business in Brisbane before moving to Sydney to work with Greenpeace. He has a strong interest in the politics of technology and in social movement strategy, and, like many, is extremely concerned about climate change. He works part-time as a senior campaigner with the Greenpeace Australia Pacific climate change campaign.
December 6, 2011 – 10:09 am
If you have ever visited Gloucester, you will know it as a delightful farming community in the foothills of the Barrington Tops world heritage area. It is an area best known for rich dairy herds, fine produce, and the dramatic Gloucester Tops range that rises abruptly from the valley floor. But now it is increasingly [...]
August 25, 2011 – 1:55 pm
The eyes of even the most hardened court observers glazed over as the seemingly endless mess of legal procedures dragged on. It wasn’t just unremarkable, it was outright dull – obscuring the profound struggle set to unfold. Monday was day one of a court case in the Brisbane Magistrates Court in which a group of [...]
We’re approaching corporate AGM season. It’s an inspiring time of year. As the birds begin nesting and the spring flowers bloom, countless annual reports with pictures of smiling children and windmills will be printed on glossy recycled paper, reminding us all of the ability of companies to pretend that they care about something other than [...]
Greenpeace have been strongly criticised in recent weeks over the destruction of a trial crop of genetically engineered wheat. Some critics have labelled the organisation ‘anti-science’ and claim that opposition to GM crops somehow contradicts the support of climate science. Firstly, it is useful to revisit what ‘science’ actually is, and what it isn’t. Science [...]
On Sunday evening, after reading the Dr Seuss classic “If I ran the zoo” to my three year old daughter, I sat on the couch, fortified myself with a strong drink, and began to read the Treasury modelling on the carbon price (I know, I know, it’s an exciting life). After reading the projections for [...]
Another day, another rent-seeking whinge from the richest companies in the country. Yesterday the Australian Coal Association(ACA) released more ‘independent economic analysis’ that said just how hard done by they would be under a carbon tax. It was a pre-emptive strike before the much awaited Productivity Commission report, due today, that analyses the effective carbon [...]
With the multi party climate change committee (MPCCC) in the midst of the crucial negotiation phase for the introduction of a price on carbon, other parts of the country are rushing forward with plans that will see Australia’s contribution to global warming soar. Yesterday, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh announced that proponents are being sought for [...]
The approval by the Victorian EPA on Friday of a new coal power station is set to create yet another headache for Julia Gillard. In the leadup to the election, she promised that “We will never allow a highly inefficent and dirty power station to be built again in Australia”. With a projected emissions intensity [...]
April 14, 2011 – 10:10 am
In the long run, the least likely event will occur. Such is the nature of probability, and the nature of risk. The environmental movement have been talking about this for some time now. It has been the basis of much of the opposition to nuclear energy and releasing genetically engineered organisms into the environment for [...]
November 23, 2010 – 10:12 am
September 30 was a busy day. It was the day that ANZ signed off on secret loan for the refurbishment of the highly polluting Muja A&B power stations in Western Australia, citing reputation risk as the reason for the confidentiality clause. Thanks to some more snooping by the AFR yesterday, it turns out that National [...]
