climate change and population

in case anyone hasn’t seen this yet:

Stop blaming the poor. It’s the wally yachters who are buring the planet [from the guardian]

it starts like this:

“It’s no coincidence that most of those who are obsessed with population growth are post-reproductive wealthy white men: it’s about the only environmental issue for which they can’t be blamed.”

—–

I’ve been disturbed lately hearing (some) Greens talk about population growth without any understanding of the classist assumptions and implications underlying their “but we just can’t keep letting people into Australia, they’ll produce more emissions here than back home in Nepal!!” thing.

*cough* long time no see, eh?

So, hello world! its been a while. I have been meaning to write on here, mostly to push the post about bushfires down the page a bit. Basically I’m not writing so much these days because:

• I can’t decide whether I want to write Serious Comment or angstily think through whatever my current personal dramas are to a wider audience
• I’ve got a proper job as an organiser with the CleanStart campaign for CBD office cleaners. When I was studying/researching I used to procrastinate by writing blogs and I felt it was kind of helpful to the overall process (sometimes). But here it seems unrelated, and while I seem to have no problem using facebook etc during work time (everyone else does!), I feel like writing blog posts is sort of more creative and time-consuming so I should do it at home, but of course I don’t go online at home much anymore. I’d like to blog about work stuff in a useful-to-the-campaign kind of way but I’m not quite sure how ethical that is? Or what I’m allowed to do?** [having said that, do check out the photos and story from our International Cleaners Day celebration on Monday!!]
• I’m not studying anymore -> more social life -> more people to earbash in real life -> less need for the internet

Nevertheless, here I am. I actually wanted to write something cynical about Iran, but felt that before criticising all you eager internet-activists I should kind of show my face on here, if that makes sense. Anyway today’s Crikey summed it up really: We’re all wearing green for Iran now apparently. For me, I am finding it hard to feel as outraged about the “stolen election” as it seems I’m meant to be. C’mon people, what were you expecting? Opposition candidates had to be approved by the Government before they could run! And elections are “stolen” all around the world on a regular basis (a couple of those US elections, anyone?)

Democracy is good, I think. People having a say in the institutions that govern their lives (e.g. workplaces, governments) – that’s a pretty good thing, as a general rule. But it is everywhere imperfect; it is something we are constantly striving for, and I’m frankly not surprised when it is corrupted or empty.

I guess I’m also not surprised at other breaches of human rights either, though I am outraged by them. But democracy is a pretty abstract concept, and is not a panacea, so I’m saving my “furious re-tweeting” (phrase from jason wilson) for other issues, like the rally against the NT Intervention that’s on this Saturday.

update: Actually, I like this slightly less cynical but still critical analysis. I’m becoming a groupie of that writer, its really quite tragic. And I should be less negative about the good sides of all this, the sense of solidarity that people are feeling, even if it is a little bizarre and maybe not as well-thought-through as I’d prefer.

——————
** argh and now I feel like I should also defend myself against the lazy union organiser stereotype. I mean I am lazy sometimes. But there are days I don’t have that much work on in the middle of the day (since cleaners work nights mostly). Also I mainly procrastinate because I am actually struggling with work (motivation, or its just some difficult/scary task)… which I think is kind of reasonable. um. I think i’m tying myself in knots. the point is: don’t judge me! or unions! argh!

no words

I haven’t had time to write anything for this for a while – right now because I’m doing a “union summer” internship with the LHMU (awesome) – but I feel the need to talk about the Victorian bushfires. But what is there to say?

I’m thinking of everyone I know with friends or family in Victoria and afraid for them. And afraid to ask. I don’t know these people well enough to ask.

I keep thinking of the pictures of burnt out cars and stories of people who died trying to escape.

I’m also reminded that there are tragedies all around the world all the time and mostly I don’t even pause to think of those hurt or dead. And that I really have no idea about trauma and grief.

This feels like the most useless thing to do – write a fucking blog post about it, contributing to an avalanche of useless words. blargh.

restraint

One of my aims this year is to apply for scholarships and entrance to US PhD programs (in History). My honours thesis was on Australian women religious [nuns] and sexuality, 1940-2007; I want to get as far away from that as possible, but other than that, don’t have too much of an idea of what I want to study!

Okay, that’s not quite true. What I want to get away from is the history of sexuality – I was really into it during my undergrad degree and I think I need to broaden my horizons a bit. In particular I want to learn more about how class operates. Aside from that, I could be studying just about anything. The other bit I have worked out so far is that I’d like to do some topic that links the US and Australia – so I can justify studying in the US, and for all that stuff about broadening of horizons again, and because I did a couple of classes on (20th century) US history, and found the comparisons/differences with Australian history fascinating.

I tend to get interested in concepts rather than events or specific people. So I’m going to ramble about some concepts I’m currently throwing around here, and see if it eventually amounts to something that looks like an ‘area of interest’ for a potential PhD thesis (this is necessary to help work out which schools would be best to apply for).

First cab off the rank: Restraint
A former maths lecturer of mine (random, I know) is working on The Restraint Project, ‘An Australian research project on the virtue of temperance: its history and present applicability’. I went to a couple of sessions of a mini-conference they did recently and found the topic intriguing. Looking at the project plan, this part is probably the bit I’m most interested in:
Australia and the heroism of thrift and temperance
[Noble convicts and hard work - Women and temperance - the Protestant work ethic, Church and Lodge - the mid-century calm - Menzies' `forgotten people' - thrift and reticence - baby health and the Flynn effect - the old order regroups after the Sixties - safety first and compensation litigation]
though there’s plenty of other cool stuff there too.

Of course I’m not going to steal their project! But there are undoubtedly bits they won’t be able to cover, and I suspect I’ll disagree with their findings anyway

I’ve heard some Christians advocate things like ‘voluntary salary restraint’ but am sceptical about the benefits of this – so it could be intriguing to look at something like the history of (possibly religious? would there be much of this in the non-religious world?) anti-materialist positions. This is interesting as now all sorts of people seem to be advocating that people choose to be paid less or work only 4 days a week so that ‘everyone gets to keep their job’. I’m dubious of this claim too but haven’t really had a chance to think/read about economic and other theories about this kind of thing – so a topic like this would hopefully be a way to do that! I want to know more about the counter argument, which I think is partly grounded in the belief that it shouldn’t be the workers who have to make sacrifices… (in ‘good economic times’, people who argue that workers should be allowed to ask for pay raises don’t get much cred!)

update: this is what I’m talkin’ about! Re critique of ‘people should accept pay cuts to save the world’: Unemployment and social responsibility

being a grown up

I’ve noticed, reading about the ‘intervention’ in the Northern Territory, that a favourite quote of its supporters is this from Noel Pearson: ‘Ask the terrified child huddling in the corner when there is a beer drinking party going on down the hall if they want a bit of paternalism.’ – his point being that Indigenous people are in a position like that of the ‘terrified child’.

But the way I understand it, those of us who have argued that the ‘intervention’ is paternalistic mean that it treats Indigenous people like children (the definition of paternalism). So to defend paternalism by saying that Indigenous people really are like children, really they are! is surely a tad problematic and circular?

At the same time (and as is often the case, weirdly) I think I get part of what Noel Pearson seems to be saying – its a bit like those conflicts where, you know, one side seems to have a hellofalot more power than the other? And you can’t just treat the two ’sides’ as equals. In the same way we can’t just assume Indigenous people have all the strength to fix their own problems that the more privileged of us have – because of colonialism, because the Government has done such a shite job of providing things like education and health care and the like, etc etc. To me that’s the grain of truth in Pearson’s line. The problem is that at the same time Indigenous people do have enormous strength to fix their own problems, and know the best way to go about it too. Self determination doesn’t mean ‘leaving them to their own devices ahaha not our responsibility anymore!!’; it does have to take into account the particularly difficult circumstances that Indigenous people find themselves in.

ZOMG this is turning into such a self-righteous rant.

Also on the theme of being adult, or something, I am hereby moving my blog to wordpress to prove to the world that I’m a real blogger, yes I am, not an angsty teenager. (Well, I maintain my right to be angsty, but want street cred at the same time. And also because of fears of an LJ apocalypse.) At the moment I’m thinking of cross-posting to LJ because I don’t want my friends (aka the only people who maybe, possibly, sometimes read this thing anyway) to stop reading me! Will you still love me? What if I force you to leave comments on the Proper blog? (please?)

…. do I sound too insecure?

(also: I totes didn’t mean to steal this design from Squib, and I totes did mean to steal the picture from Eleanor)

What about 'worn a wifebeater'?

There's a list of 'Australian' things floating around as a test of okker-ness – one of the more interesting of this style of meme.

Maybe one that we should add in this internet-age is 'used less sugar than called for by a recipe you found on the net, because its a fair bet that recipe was written by a USian'. That was my lesson for today at any rate. I am making banana bread, because we totally don't have enough cake in the house already. And I had much over-ripe banana goodness. I thought 1 cup of sugar sounded like a lot… maybe it will taste ok when cooked, but the mixture was woah! sweet.

But back to the list, I love this one:
20. Slept on an overnight train or bus
… which I suspect is going the way of '14. Have used Aussie slang naturally in a conversation' in this age of cheap flights etc. Unlike everyone else, apparently, I remain committed to the far more environmentally-friendly travel by train or bus. I actually enjoy it too – well the so-called 'sleeping' is less fun, but you usually get to meet Characters, look out the window, listen to music, think, and not-read any of the pile of books you brought with you.

I've actually also done
29. Been at an ANZAC day Dawn Service.
I even marched, in fact. Scouts. (Well, Venturers, for those in the know.) That was all pain. Everything about scouts was really not me. The stupid rules that had no logic behind them (like we *have* to go to the dawn service, for starters, and that we couldn't even wear proper scout jumpers, even though it was freezing cold). There was also a macho element – again the time we went to the dawn service, I remember all the people who'd done it before harping on about how you just don't go to sleep beforehand etc etc etc we're-so-tough-we-don't-need-sleep kind of thing. Whatever. I mean my friends were in scouts, and they seemed to like it, but I really don't know why I thought I would like it. Anyway…

45. Have tried Lemon, Lime and Bitters
So it's true that this is an Australian drink??!! Someone was saying something like that to me only recently. Can anyone explain this? Do they drink it in the UK?

And I've even
63. Listened to Slim Dusty
… but I have to admit, only on the Slim Dusty Family Reunion CD! Go Kate

And also I love…
91. Called someone a dag

FIVE PERCENT??

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Australia will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent of 2000 levels by 2020

The 5 per cent cut is likely to anger the Greens and environmental groups who have been calling for a much stronger mid-term cut in emissions.
But it is closer to the level some business and industry groups were lobbying for.

damn straight!

What Christine Milne Said. (Also: her comments & a good summary in a story from The World Today)

—–

From ASEN/UNSW's Enviro Collective:
Protest gov's disastrous climate announcements this week. Action outside Peter Garret's office [while he is Minister for the Environment, he's not responsible for Climate Change, that's Penny Wong, but UNSW, my uni, is in his electorate]: 'last dance of the reef year', wear all blue or red,
meet 9am Tuesday on Anzac Pde in front of UNSW.

Turnbull office action [leader of the opposition, his electorate is next door to UNSW]: 'merchant bankers for coal', wear suit, meet 11.30am Wednesday in Pedestrian Mall in Bondi Junction.

PLEASE COME PLEASE FORWARD. I'll be there on Tuesday. If you can't come, write a letter to Penny Wong & Kevin Rudd. (or use this)

—–

eta: Elsewhere:
Economist Peter Martin: Australia to cut emissions ever-so-cautiously. And to throw money at coal.
Sam at Public Polity: This is a dark day in the history of Australia’s battle against runaway climate change. Rudd has just consigned us to the list of people who thought it was all too hard and threw their hands up.
Anna Rose at New Matilda: This White Paper is, in the words of one of Australia's top commentators on climate change, 'totally f*cked'.
Robert Merkel on LP: Deeply unserious targets (among other posts over there, including an open thread on the White Paper)

—–

For more about taking action: Step it up Australia. And also tomorrow morning:

Protest Rudd's 5% White Flag on Climate Change
11am
Tuesday 16 December
Commonwealth Government Offices
70 Phillip Street, Sydney

Speakers: Cate Faehrmann (NCC), Nina Hall (CANA), John Kaye (Greens MP)

Kevin Rudd has run up the white flag on climate change with cuts to emissions as low as 5%, massive handouts to the big polluters and a free kick to the coal industry.

Australia must pull its weight in the international effort to reduce global emissions. The Greens are calling for a 40% reduction by 2020 to save the planet from a climate catastrophe.

Tuesday's event will be part of a nationwide protest organised by the Greens in all capital cities and major centres.

For more information contact Greens MP John Kaye's office on 9230 2668.

Please share this message with your friends, family and networks.

in the hood

Newtown: what's so good about it?

I present to you the real highlights of this (in)famous suburb

(infamous if you're my granny's age, and remember when it was a 'slum')

	Here in Newtown, we protest anything! This poster advertising a rally last wednesday reads, 'Say NO! to Proposition 8 & Yes! to Same-Sex Marriage'. Why we would be protesting specifically about Proposition 8 – which has already passed and not, say, something more strategic or relevant to our own context I don't know. And if we really do want to focus our energies on gay rights in the US, why only in California? All the other anti-gay stuff that was passed at their last election doesn't matter?
	Everyone knows we have the best graffiti outside of Melbourne, though I fear that like the rest of this glorious suburb it is starting to lose its edge. Back when I was ConfusedAboutMySexuality (TM), I regularly went running past this wall which is in a park right near my current house. 'ERIN IS CONFUSED' was my favourite graffiti… I felt some odd kind of distant solidarity with Erin. Sadly it has now been defaced by the worst type of graffiti, the balls-and-penis graffiti. What is it with guys who love to draw dicks everywhere? If we could solve this, I think we would enter a brave new post-patriarchal world.
	But we do have the best festive season decorations. Well this house does, with its fluorescent 'bah humbug' sign, and its crucified Bob the Builder.

So there you have it, dear friends. Newtown in a nutshell. Although the wikipedia article does contain some interesting additional information. I had no idea that 'The Hub' “was used to screen pornographic films and for the staging of live 'adult' sex shows, including the long-running 'Little French Maid'.” You learn something every day.

even better with paternalism thrown in

Further to my last post – it could be worse. We could be black:

(via women for wik)
A Crikey reader writes from the Northern Territory, eagerly awaiting the local impact of the federal government's welfare payment bonuses. Will the rivers of grog flow free this week as payments lob into remote community accounts? Maybe not so much:

I imagine a few whitefellas might get on the piss, but no such luck for people on prescribed communities. Under welfare management they are not being trusted to spend to save the economy. From my understanding, people whose income is quarantined will have these bonuses paid into their quarantine accounts, but will only be able to access it $800 at a time, sweet Jesus, and even then within limits (something like they are not allowed to have more than $1500 in their quarantined account at a time). So a family with four kids will get $4000 but spread over a few months. This means they will not be able to spend up big on the kinds of items that are designed to save the Harvey Normans of this world.

Of course, if you are on income management and want to buy toys for your kids for Christmas, you have to go to the toy shop and get a written quote which then is taken to Centrelink, who pays the merchant directly. After all this, the Christmas present can be picked up, no doubt, by Santa and his helpers. It was a lot easier for baby Jesus who got his presents delivered
by three wise men, rather than through the offices of the 880 Commonwealth public servants up here in the Territory managing the lives and incomes Aboriginal people.

Merry Christmas.

oh the irony of capitalism

I feel deprived of the ability to do my patriotic duty and buy stuff. And apparently it's becoming more likely that people won't spend their bonuses.

Give it to me! I'd spend it! I don't even believe in saving money! My bank statements prove it!

It's because I don't have a baby, isn't it?