Rising Tide Australia

Protesters stopping work at the new NCIG Kooragang coal loader

Image gallery is here.

Rising Tide Newcastle is calling for an immediate response from the Federal Government after one of the world's foremost climate scientists wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd calling on him to halt plans for more coal mining and exporting, and put a ban on new coal fired power stations.

The letter's author, Dr. James Hansen, is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Adjunct Professor at the Columbia University Earth Institute, and member of the US National Academy of Sciences. His letter states that:

The community group responsible for erecting signs around Newcastle Harbour warning the public not to fish or swim in the water has denied that the signs are a “hoax".

Rising Tide Newcastle spokesperson Steve Phillips said: “There is nothing on those signs that is not true. Newcastle Harbour is being dredged, and highly toxic materials are known to be present in the sediment. There is a real risk that contaminants may be present in the water, and the public has a right to know that.”

Inaction by State and Federal Governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and relieve the community of economic dependence on coal is driving a growing movement of people to take non-violent “direct action” to stop the expansion of the coal industry themselves, according to Newcastle climate action group, Rising Tide.

Rising Tide maintains a website where members of the community can pledge to take non-violent direct action – meaning bodily intervention like pickets, sit-ins and blockades – to prevent the construction of the third coal terminal on Kooragang Island.

As the community campaign against NSW electricity privitisation grows stronger, grassroots climate action group Rising Tide Newcastle has added its voice to the chorus of opposition to the proposal.

Climate activist group Rising Tide has expressed serious concerns about the suitability of Professor Ross Garnaut for making adequate recommendations for Australia's climate change policy after his comments yesterday appeared to pre-empt the findings of his report. State and Federal Governments have charged Professor Garnaut with defining the parameters of Australia's climate change policy, but according to Rising Tide, this may leave the interests of the community and the environment playing second fiddle to the powerful mining industry.

Global coal reserves will soon peak and fall into terminal decline, according to an article published in this week's edition of New Scientist. The article backs up recent reports of the same conclusion and heralds the imminent end of global reliance on coal.

This should inspire a change in direction for communities and nations that continue to rely on coal for their development, according to Newcastle climate activist group Rising Tide.

Grassroots climate change action group Rising Tide has blockaded a coal train on its way into the world’s biggest coal export port, at Kooragang Island in Newcastle Harbour. No trains are able to enter Kooragang Coal Terminal because of the blockade.

The blockade comes just two days after the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report warning that the effects of climate change will be worse than previously anticipated, and five days before the Federal Election.

Carteret Islanders Speaking Tour

3pm, Newcastle City Hall

Two visitors from the Carteret Islands will address this public forum this afternoon. The Carteret Islands are being evacuated as rising sea levels make the islands uninhabitable. This the first time an entire culture is facing relocation due to the impacts of climate change.

Winners announced this morning - see below.

The Environment and Community Scam Awards, attended by members of coal affected communities from around NSW, will be held outside the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Terrigal this morning, to recognise and denounce the irreversible impacts of coal mining on communities and the environment.

The awards ceremony is a protest against the NSW Minerals Council’s Environment and Community Conference, which will be held inside the hotel, for $1000 per ticket.