Geelong’s Mik Aidt talks about the climate crisis and The Sustainable Hour
→ Climate Conversations | Robert McLean’s Podcast – 31 March 2020:
Geelong’s Mik Aidt talks about the climate crisis and The Sustainable Hour
→ New Zealand Recreation – November 2019:
Mik Aidt Recreation Conference Reflection: The Islands of Natural Beings
“The declaration ultimately represents a change in the “story” of the climate crisis, forging a newfound sense of urgency, according to Aidt: “If we don’t have a good story that gets everyone to come together around a common purpose and goal, we will fail to deal with the enormous challenge of transforming our societies to zero emissions and begin the task of carbon drawdown.” “
Leah Dunlevy in Pacific Standard on 8 May 2019
→ Pacific Standard – 8 May 2019:
The U.K. Has Declared a Climate Emergency—but a New Report Advocates More Aggressive Action
“A new report pushes for zero carbon emissions by 2050, more electric vehicles, and retrofitting urban buildings.” By Leah Dunlevy
→ Yes2renewables.org – 11 February 2014:
Victoria can vote for renewables, climate change action in 2014 poll
By Anthony Gleeson
→ Yes2renewables.org – 10 February 2014:
Climate safety is a choice for political leaders
By Mik Aidt
Letters to the Editor
Written by members of Centre for Climate Safety
How the Corona crisis becomes a test of who we are as a people
This corona crisis is not about whether YOU risk get infected by the virus. It is about our collective responsibility: Do we see ourselves as a part of society and act in a responsible, precautious manner in order to protect vulnerable groups and so that our healthcare system is relieved? Or don’t we?
So far, the virus crisis has exposed some pretty ugly examples of selfishness among Australians, putting at display that same mentality of greed and shortsightedness which is the root cause of the climate and ecological emergency.
Mik Aidt, journalist
Published in Geelong Advertiser on 14 March 2020.
Science is not a question of faith
On 7 February 2014, you chose to print Alan Barron’s letter which attempted to mislead readers into thinking that climate science is a question of “blind faith”, and that global warming is a “theory”.
Climate science is based on research and observation, not belief. Climate science is not a question of faith or opinion. Regardless of what a few independent analysts claim, such as Steven Goddard who Alan Barron refers to, climate change is measurable. In every part of the world new climate extremes are being reported.
Last year was Australia’s hottest year on record, and around Geelong and Melbourne, July was the warmest July on record. The polar ice is visibly disappearing right in front of our “eyes” – the satellite cameras. The climate data and CO2-parts per million measurements are non-debatable.
The consequences of these changes in our climate caused by our increasing annual emissions, now over 30,000,000,000 tons of CO2, are very serious and beyond doubt. Fire frequency and intensity, for instance, is expected to increase substantially in coming decades.
There is not one solution to this mess. There are many. Most of them are electrical and non-polluting. Continuing to spread confusion and doubt about the science of climate change obviously benefits those who have a vested interest in selling just a bit more oil, gas and coal before the reserves run out eventually.
It is time to confront the reality of climate change and take bold steps to transition to renewable energy – along with the guidelines of, among others, the World Bank and the United Nations, and their global government-supported initiative Sustainable Energy for All.
Mik Aidt, journalist
Posted to Geelong Independent on 11 February 2014.
Climate safety is a choice
A new report from Friends of the Earth shows disasters related to climate change—fires, floods, heatwaves and storms—have cost Victoria almost $20 billion between 2003 and 2013.
Climate change will keep raising that figure in the coming decades. But instead of following the advice of impartial scientists, governments continue to delay the inevitable transition from polluting fossil fuels to clean renewable electricity generated by wind turbines, solar rooftops and dams.
PM Tony Abbott is attempting to stall the march of renewables with a review of the Howard-era Renewable Energy Target. The PM has also backed another costly inquiry into the health impacts of wind farms despite 19 reviews showing the technology is clean and safe. At a state level, anti-wind farm laws introduced by Premier Baillieu have stalled the sector—costing jobs, income for farmers and climate safety action.
It’s time for PM Abbott and Premier Napthine to get informed about the impacts of climate change. Future generations will thank them if they change tack and take leadership on climate change and renewable energy.
Mik Aidt, journalist
Posted to the following newspapers: Canberra Times, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Weekly Times, and Stock & Land
Misleading and false wind-“facts”
It is shocking that Pedro Corro, Ph.D, from Daylesford has the nerve to call his misinformation, which was published in Hepburn Shire Advocate on 22 January 2014, “facts”.
2013 was the first year when wind turbines in Denmark during one month produced more than half of the electricity consumed in the country, and it was a record year for the wind energy sector. Never before has so much wind energy been distributed to the Danish electricity grid.
In 2012, wind turbines provided 29.8 percent of the country’s power production, in total 4,163 MW. It is expected that before 2020, new wind turbines with a total capacity of 1,800 MW will be built on land in Denmark.
So to say that the Danes are, and I quote: “…tired of subsidising the industry. Consequently in Denmark, wind turbines will no longer be erected on land” is simply an outright misinformation.
Just a few weeks ago, on 22 January, three big turbines were inaugurated on land near the centre of Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen. And the 4,000 citizens who live near the turbines and have bought shares in them, expecting a profit from them in only eight monts, are not anticipating to get sick from it.
Mr Corro would be interested to know that Danes have not even heard about wind turbines causing health problems. This is an Australian phenomena which is linked to anti-wind farm groups funded by fossil fuel interests. (See SourceWatch: Waubra Foundation).
Denmark does not have 4,000 wind turbines, as Corro stated. Denmark has 5,194 wind turbines. In average that’s almost one turbine per 1,000 citizens – similar to if Australia had 23,000 wind turbines.
Mik Aidt, journalist
Posted to Hepburn Shire Advocate