July 10 2011

Day 191. 174 days remaining in the year. I was amazed to see a lone bather far out from the shore, frolicking – yes that’s the only word for it – in the massive surf. Fearless, effortless – was he part seal, part dolphin?

Tonight Julia Gillard made her official TV address to the people of Australia confirming the carbon price and a new clean energy plan for Australia that will be brought in in July 2012. And naturally Mr Rabbit took equal screen time for his own official address – by jingo, it’s his right – to degrade the carbon tax as a load of crap. As if he’d say anything else. It was an evening devoid of surprises. Or inspiration. I should have been excited to hear about the $3.2 billion fund for renewable energy, and an emissions reduction target of 80% by 2050. But our leaders are neither inspiring nor charismatic. However, I am not complaining.  It is a step in the right direction, Gillard seems to have pulled off the impossible, and one could almost dare to feel encouraged and hopeful, perhaps.

Word cloud by worditout.com

May 27 2011

Day 147
Saw a pretty sky, snuck away from desk to snap it.
Mmm. Fresh air.

In Bratislava, Slovakia, seven nations have signed an agreement – a Protocol on Sustainable Forest Management – to protect the old growth and virgin forests of the Carpathian Mountains.
It is International Year of Forests.

March 13 2011

On the morning of the seventy-second day of the year, the water was perfect. Nothing beats a pummelling by a couple of waves to start the day. Nothing. After which, finally getting around to all my filing was surprisingly satisfying.
And in the news today, seven European economies now back the move to 30% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, instead of the current 20%.

At a time when the price of oil is soaring, putting in place an ambitious plan for Europe’s low-carbon future has wider benefits than tackling climate change. It will increase the continent’s resilience against oil price spikes and reduce its dependence on imported energy. And it will help Europe compete with emerging economies in the fast-growing markets for green goods and services.”
Letter to the Guardian,  signed by 7 European ministers

March 10 2011

On the sixty-ninth day of the year I tried not to scratch the welts on my arm and leg – the inevitable flare-up after some ocean thing stung me on Tuesday. Almost exactly one year ago a purple people eater got me on the shin. Is this some kind of annual penance?

In Dharamasala today, the Dalai Lama announced he will retire from political life,  and Marisol Valles García has retired involuntarily from her role as police chief of Praxedis G Guerrero in Mexico’s deadly Juárez valley. Forced into hiding after serious death threats, she has applied for US asylum.

Valles’ predecessor in Praxedis was kidnapped and decapitated in August 2009, and 15 of the 17 officers he commanded were also killed.”

March 8 2011

On the sixty-seventh day of the year I finished reading The Theory of Light and Matter, short stories by Andrew Porter (on a windy beach, so now I’ll never get all the sand out of the spine).

Today marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and in Ivory Coast, hundreds of women took to the streets in protest against political violence and the shooting of seven women last Thursday, but in Abidjan a women’s march ended when pro-Gbagbo’s soldiers shot and killed four people.

Women perform 66% of the world’s work, they produce 50% of the world’s food, but earn only 10% of the world’s income and own only 1% of the world’s property.”
Julie McKay, UN Women Australia

February 20 2011

On the eighth sunday of the year, I spent 24 hours without email – which was unmitigated bliss – and learned two things.

1. I can give myself motion sickness by trying to walk home and read my new book at the same time

2. You can’t put Sigg full of water in the freezer overnight. (RIP Sigg the Second)

And two German journalists, held under arrest in Tehran for interviewing the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, arrived back in Berlin, after 132 days of diplomatic efforts to secure their release.

Photo by Karen Horne

January 30 2011

On Sunday, the thirtieth day of 2011, my neighbour told me the beach was quiet, which surprised me and I soon realised he’d been speaking comparatively. When I got there It was only crowded, as opposed to the freaking circus that it was on Australia Day. Later, Power Plant was a nice way to finish off the Sydney Festival.
Meanwhile in South Korea, five Somali pirates arrived in Busan to stand trial; in Manhattan left wing academic Frances Fox Piven spoke of receiving death threats as the result of Glenn Beck’s hate campaign; and in a desperate search for some non-upsetting news for a change, I found a report of a flying car – I’m sorry, I mean “Transition Roadable Aircraft” – except it runs on fossil fuels. So… I’ll be more excited when they develop the electric version.

Photo by Matthew Andrews

January 27 2011

On 2011’s twenty-seventh day, we received the first storyboard (all quite exciting, really) and I arrived at the beach just as the lifeguard was announcing an infestation of bluebottles on the incoming tide. I tried to believe i didn’t need to swim, but who was I kidding. So I went in anyway for a few minutes and managed to dodge the evil little blue fuckers.
And today Julia Gillard announced government spending cuts to help meet the estimated $5.9 billion flood recovery costs, that would include cuts to environmental programs and climate change measures. To which I can but quote The Greens response:

It beggars belief

 

January 26 2011

On the twenty-sixth day of 2011,  I woke to a kitchen invasion of ants and a weird fog that had descended and settled-in all along the coast, whiting out the sky, erasing the view past the end of the street, and wafting past me like smoke from someone’s barbecue. Midsummer fog? Bizarre – but it had a great cooling effect.
In Egypt, social networking sites were blocked and other communications disrupted – reportedly by the government – in attempts to prevent opponents from broadcasting information and organising protests; and on the other side of the globe, President Obama finally delivered the world a soundbite with his “Sputnik moment“.

Photo by @bondiicebergs

January 23 2011

On the morning of the twenty-third day of the year we body-surfed in perfect little waves and Al Jazeera published the Palestine Papers.

Photo by Karen Horne