2024
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY SITS ATOP OF THE LAND OF THE GADIGAL PEOPLE OF THE EORA NATION; STOLEN, UNCEDED FIRST NATIONS LAND. THUS, IT IS INCUMBENT ON US AS LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS TO CENTRE FIRST NATIONS DEMANDS AND VOICES IN OUR ACTIVISM. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE CONSIDERING THAT USYD HAS AND CONTINUES TO MARGINALISE FIRST NATIONS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS FOR WESTERN WAYS OF THINKING. USYD ITSELF IS ALSO SURROUNDED BY THE SIGNIFICANT AREA OF REDFERN, WHICH HAS A RENOWNED LEGACY OF FIRST NATIONS ACTIVISM. NAMELY, IT HAS BIRTHED THE ABORIGINAL LEGAL AND MEDICAL SERVICES, AND SERVED AS THE HOME OF THE ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF THE 1970S. WE REMAIN INSPIRED BY AND COMMITTED TO THIS STRUGGLE. IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE ARE CONTINUALLY OPPRESSED UNDER THE RACIST STATE OF AUSTRALIA. WE ONLY HAVE TO LOOK SO FAR AS TO HOW THE COLONIAL INSTITUTIONS OF SO-CALLED AUSTRALIA MAKE CONCERTED EFFORTS TO DEGRADE FIRST NATIONS LAND AND / OR FORCE COMMUNITIES OFF THEIR LAND AND WATERS. JUST RECENTLY, TIWI ISLAND ELDERS LOST A LEGAL BATTLE TO SANTOS, MEANING THAT AN UNDERWATER GAS PIPE WILL SHAMEFULLY BE CONSTRUCTED ON ABORIGINAL LAND. INDEED, THE COLONIAL, IMPERIALIST AND ILLEGITIMATE PROJECT OF ‘AUSTRALIA’ MUST BE RECOGNISED FOR WHAT IT IS: IT ATTEMPTS TO WIPE AWAY FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY, IN ORDER TO REINFORCE ITS LEGITIMACY AND SILENCE TRUTH TELLING. AT EVERY TURN, WE MUST REJECT THIS. WE MUST SUPPORT EVERY AND ALL EFFORTS TO DECOLONISE OUR MINDS, OUR COMMUNITIES AND SO-CALLED AUSTRALIA. ALWAYS WAS, ALWAYS WILL BE.
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ABOUT THE COVER THE COVER IS A REFERENCE TO THE PALESTINIAN RESISTANCE MOVEMENT. RIGHT NOW, ISRAEL IS CARRYING OUT A GENOCIDE IN PALESTINE. WHILE WE SUPPORT CALLS FOR A PERMANENT CEASEFIRE, THE OPPRESSION OF PALESTINIANS HAS LONG PRECEDED THE ASSAULT ON GAZA WHICH ESCALATED LATE LAST YEAR. AS LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS, WE MUST TAKE UP THE MANTLE TO SHOW UP FOR PALESTINE. THE USE OF PALESTINIAN OLIVE TREES ON THE COVER IS A CALL TO ISRAEL’S ILLEGAL UPROOTING OF MORE THAN 800,000 OLIVE TREES SINCE 1967, NOT ONLY AFFECTING THE HARVEST AS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF THE PALESTINIAN ECONOMY, BUT ATTEMPTING TO DESTROY A SYMBOL OF PALESTINIAN RESILIENCE AND RESISTANCE. OLIVE TREES ARE ALSO AN IMPORTANT CARBON SINK - UPROOTING THEM REPRESENTS A REJECTION OF PALESTINIAN STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES AND HOW ISRAEL’S OCCUPATION IS COMPLETELY INCOMPATIBLE WITH HOW PALESTINIAN LAND SHOULD BE CARED FOR. THUS, AS ENVIRO ACTIVISTS, WE REJECT THE GREENWASHING OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL (PAGE 27 GOES INTO FURTHER DEPTH IN RELATION TO THIS). ISRAEL’S GREENWASHING DOES NOT COVER UP PALESTINIAN BLOOD. IMPORTANTLY, WE ALSO LEND OUR FULL SOLIDARITY TO COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCING AND RESISTING GENOCIDE ACROSS THE GLOBE: WEST PAPUA, SUDAN AND CONGO. SIMPLY PUT, ONE STRUGGLE, ONE FIGHT.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
WHAT IS THE USYD ENVIRO COLLECTIVE? BY MADDIE CLARK
4
CLIMANT JUSTICE ARTWORK BY FRANCESCA BRANAGAN
6
YOUR UNIVERSITY IS COMPLICIT IN ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION BY JORDAN ANDERSON
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RISING TIDE BLOCKADE BY ANNABELLE JONES
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CREATING LEGAL RIGHTS FOR RIVERS; THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN BY ETHAN FLOYD
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CLIMATE CHANGE IS A FEMINIST ISSUE BY ELIZA CROSSLEY
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WHY CAPITALISM IS TO BLAME FOR THE CLIMATE CRISIS BY MADDIE CLARK
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THE MYTH OF COMPENSATION BY ANGUS MCGREGOR
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HOPE AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS BY FRANCESCA BRANAGAN
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WHY LABOR’S ENVIRO POLICY IS GREENWASHING BY JORDAN ANDERSON
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THE ECO GENDER GAP AND THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE BY MARTHA BARLOW
24
PALESTINE AND ENVIRO JUSTICE BY JORDAN ANDERSON AND GRACE STREET
27
ALL ARTICLES REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THEIR AUTHORS.
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WHAT IS THE ENVIRO COLLECTIVE? BY MADDIE CLARK THE ENVIRO COLLECTIVE IS AN ACTIVIST, LEFT WING SPACE ON CAMPUS! WE KNOW THAT CLIMATE CHANGE WILL BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FOR OUR GENERATION. LAST YEAR SAW COUNTLESS RECORDS BROKEN, WITH SOME OF EUROPE AND AUSTRALIA’S HOTTEST DAYS RECORDED. WE KNOW THIS WILL ONLY GET WORSE AS EMISSIONS CONTINUE TO RISE. WE ALSO WANT TO FIGHT AGAINST THE SYSTEM BECAUSE ORDINARY WORKERS AND STUDENTS ARE GETTING SCREWED. WHILE THE RICH ARE GETTING RICHER, STUDENTS ARE FACING COST OF LIVING PRESSURES LIKE A RENTAL MARKET WITH ZERO RIGHTS FOR RENTERS AND WAGES THAT AREN’T KEEPING UP WITH INFLATION. THE GOVERNMENT HAS PROMISED ACTION BUT INSTEAD THE LABOR PARTY IS OPENING UP MORE COAL MINES AND GAS PROJECTS THAN EVER. ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS PROFIT AND THE ECONOMY. BUT THAT’S NOT BENEFITING US. THAT’S WHY WE’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN CAMPAIGNS FIGHTING FOR A STOP TO THE GOVERNMENT’S FOSSIL FUEL PLANS, LIKE THE SANTOS GAS PROJECT IN NARRABRI. NOT ONLY DO WE WANT TO TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE GOVERNMENT, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO HOLD OUR UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABLE AS THEY SUPPORT THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY. SYDNEY UNIVERSITY HAS MANY LINKS TO CORPORATE COMPANIES AND IS LOOKING TO EXTEND A PARTNERSHIP WITH RIO TINTO. WE WANT OUR UNIVERSITIES TO BE FOR THE COMMON GOOD AND NOT FOR MINES! NOTHING IS WON WITHOUT A FIGHT AND THIS YEAR WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO ORGANIZE AND AGITATE AROUND THE CLIMATE BUT ALSO AROUND OTHER CRITICAL ISSUES FOR LEFT WING PEOPLE. THIS YEAR WE’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE FIGHT FOR A FREE PALESTINE AND AGAINST THE WAR IN GAZA. WE SAY NO TO GENOCIDE AND SEE HOW FIGHTING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT ON THIS ISSUES STRENGTHENS OUR SIDE WHEN IT COMES TO OTHER INJUSTICES ACROSS SOCIETY. WE WANT TO SHOW THAT STUDENTS ARE A FORCE THAT THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT IGNORE SO GET INVOLVED TODAY! JACK LOCKHART, MADDIE CLARK, TOM WILLIAMS AND JORDAN ANDERSON ARE THE 2024 SRC ENVIRONMENT OFFICERS.
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BY FRANCESCA BRANAGAN
YOUR UNIVERSITY IS COMPLICIT IN ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION JORDAN ANDERSON INVITES YOU TO JOIN THE ENVIRO COLLECTIVE AS FIRST-YEARS, WE OFTEN ENTER THE WORLD OF UNI WITH THE PRECONCEIVED NOTION THAT UNIVERSITIES ARE PLACES OF GOOD; THAT THEY ARE PLACES WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS DISSEMINATED AND IMPORTANT ISSUES LITIGATED. WHILE PRESENTING THIS IMAGE THROUGH POLISHED PR CAMPAIGNS, SYDNEY UNIVERSITY, IN FACT, DOES THE CONTRARY: MANAGEMENT UNDERPAYS ITS WORKERS, CUTS COURSES, SUPPRESSES STUDENT ACTIVISM, AND INVESTS IN ALL OF THE MOST HEINOUS INDUSTRIES THAT CAN BE INVESTED IN. IN AUGUST 2023, AN HONI SOIT ARTICLE REVEALED THAT USYD MANAGEMENT HAD PURCHASED 109,685 SHARES IN BHP, 18,163 SHARES IN RIO TINTO, 6,984 SHARES IN SHELL, AND 77,000 SHARES IN BP - COMPANIES COMMITTED TO CHURNING A PROFIT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE ENVIRONMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, WHILE BHP PURPORTS TO BE WORKING TOWARD THE TARGETS SET BY THE PARIS AGREEMENT BY SELLING THE DAUNIA AND BLACKWATER COAL MINES TO WHITEHAVEN COAL, IT IS DOING NOTHING EXCEPT FOR FACILITATING MORE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. SIMILAR STRATEGIES HAVE BEEN USED BY BP AND SHELL. FURTHERMORE, RIO TINTO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF A ROCK SHELTER SACRED TO THE MUNTULGURA GURUMA PEOPLE. NOT ONLY DOES THIS HIGHLIGHT THE UNDENIABLE LINKS BETWEEN FIRST NATIONS JUSTICE AND CLIMATE JUSTICE, BUT IT DEMONSTRATES USYD MANAGEMENT’S APATHY TOWARDS BOTH. MANAGEMENT’S JUSTIFICATION FOR THEIR INVESTMENT IS THAT THESE COMPANIES ARE “ALIGNED WITH LOW CARBON TRANSITION METHODOLOGY”. HOWEVER, AS LUKE CASS NOTES IN THEIR HONI ARTICLE, “IF BHP, BP AND SHELL ARE COMPANIES “ALIGNED WITH A “LOW CARBON TRANSITION,” IT IS UNCLEAR WHICH COMPANIES ARE NOT”. IN ADDITION TO THIS, THE USYD ENVIRONMENT COLLECTIVE AND THE EDUCATION ACTION GROUP LED A CAMPAIGN LAST YEAR, EXPOSING OUR UNIVERSITY’S TIES WITH THE MPC CREDIT TRUST FUND (WHICH IS KNOWN TO HAVE LENT BILLIONS TO GAS GIANT SANTOS).
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AS A TIMELY EXAMPLE OF THEIR DISREGARD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, IN LATE 2023, SANTOS WAS GIVEN APPROVAL FOR GAS DRILLING IN THE TIMOR SEA AGAINST THE WISHES OF TIWI ISLAND ELDERS. THUS, SANTOS IS MORE THAN WILLING TO WORSEN THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND SIDELINE FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES IN THE PROCESS - WHILE USYD MANAGEMENT IS SHAMEFULLY COMPLICIT IN THIS. NOT ONLY DID THIS CAMPAIGN PROTEST SANTOS’ PRESENCE ON OUR CAMPUS, BUT ALSO THAT OF THALES, A FRENCH WEAPONS MANUFACTURING COMPANY. IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT MILITARISM GOES HAND IN HAND WITH ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION: WEAPONS DESTROY LAND, POLLUTE WATERWAYS AND PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT CARBON EMISSIONS.
WHAT THIS DEMONSTRATES IS THAT USYD WILL PURSUE PROFITS AT ANY AND ALL COSTS. I PROMISE YOU THAT, THE LONGER THAT YOU ARE AT USYD, THE CLEARER THAT THIS WILL BECOME AND THUS, TO KEEP OUR UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTABLE FOR ITS COMPLICITY IN THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT, YOU SHOULD GET INVOLVED IN THE USYD ENVIRO COLLECTIVE!
GGEST WEAPO I B S ’ NS F D Y S U A IC NAT
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RISING TIDE BLOCKADE ANNABELLE JONES REFLECTS ON HER INVOLVEMENT
32 HOURS, 3000 PEOPLE, 500 CAMPERS, 10 DISRUPTED SHIPS AND THE WORLD’S LARGEST COAL PORT, ALL DRIVEN BY A DEMAND TO END EXPORTS FROM THE PORT BY 2030. THE PEOPLE’S BLOCKADE, REVOLVING AROUND A 30 HOUR FLOTILLA BLOCKING THE COAL PORT, WAS HELD ON UNCEDED AWABAKAL AND WORIMI LAND AND WATER. RISING TIDE’S OBJECTIVE IS TO BUILD A PEACEFUL MASS MOVEMENT, AND THE WEEKEND WAS TESTAMENT TO THIS. THE ACTION REVOLVED AROUND BEING A FAMILY-FRIENDLY, POSITIVE EVENT, WITH LIVE MUSIC, A FULL MOON PARTY, A DANCE PONTOON, AND SPEAKER PANELS, HOWEVER, ATTENDEES NEVER DEVIATED FROM THEIR OBJECTIVE. THE ACTION WAS ATTENDED BY ALL ACROSS THE AGE SPECTRUM, DEMONSTRATING THE WIDE REACH OF THEIR ORGANISING. HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO TIME MORE EXCITING THAN THE MAIN EVENT - THE LAUNCH OF THE FLOTILLA ACROSS THE SHIPPING CHANNEL AS KAYAKS, TINNIES, PADDLE BOARDS AND HOMEMADE VESSELS LINED THE SAND, BLOCKING ALL INCOMING COAL SHIPS. I FOUND MYSELF SHARING A KAYAK WITH AN OLDER PROTESTOR WHO HAD COME ALL THE WAY FROM LISMORE VIA BUS. THEY HAD TRAVELLED WITH AMONG OTHER PROTESTORS, ALL OF WHOM WERE UNDERSTANDABLY FRUSTRATED AND, FRANKLY, FED UP WITH OUR GOVERNMENT’S CLIMATE INACTION. WE PADDLED OUT, AND IT WAS ON!. THE BLOCKADE REMAINED FOR 32 HOURS, AND OVERNIGHT SHIFTS WERE TAKEN TO KEEP THE FLOTILLA STRONG. THE ACTION RECEIVED POLITICAL ATTENTION: CHRIS MINNS SHAMEFULLY SAID HE WOULD ‘RATHER IT DIDN’T HAPPEN’. CONTRASTINGLY, ADAM BANDT URGED AN ‘EMBRACE’ OF CLIMATE ACTION THROUGH PROTEST AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, AND THEN JOINED THE FLOTILLA HIMSELF. AT THE END OF THE 30 HOURS, OVER 100 PROTESTORS REMAINED IN THE SHIPPING CHANNEL. 109 WERE ARRESTED, INCLUDING TWO 15 YEAR OLD SCHOOLCHILDREN AND A 97 YEAR OLD MINISTER. TEN WERE RELEASED WITHOUT CHARGE.
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THIS SERVES AS A REMINDER OF HOW THE LAW IS WEAPONIZED TO SILENCE LEFTWING DISSENT AND INTIMIDATE ACTIVISTS WHEN THEY CALL OUT THE GOVERNMENT’S INTRANSIGENCE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS, WHICH IS ESPECIALLY PERTINENT TO NOTE AFTER BOTH NSW MAJOR PARTIES PASSED DRACONIAN PROTEST LAWS IN 2022. IT ALSO DEMONSTRATES HOW THE POLICE ARE INHERENTLY A PRO-COLONIAL AND PRO-CAPITALIST FORCE THAT ATTEMPTS TO QUASH ACTIVISM. REFLECTIVE OF THIS, AS I ENTERED THE BLOCKADE, POLICE HAD POSITIONED THEMSELVES AT THE ENTRY POINTS AND WERE WATCHING PROTESTERS’ EVERY MOVE. THUS, OUR CLIMATE ACTIVISM MUST OPPOSE THESE FORCES AT EVERY TURN.
DESPITE THESE ATTEMPTS TO CURB THEIR MOMENTUM, RISING TIDE CONTINUES THEIR FIGHT, AND BRINGS INTO 2024 A GOAL OF A 5 DAY ACTION POWERED BY 10,000 PARTICIPANTS. THE 2024 PEOPLE’S BLOCKADE OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST COAL PORT WILL TAKE PLACE FROM 20 NOV-29 NOV 2024 ON THE UNCEDED LAND AND WATER OF THE AWABAKAL AND WORIMI PEOPLES AT MULOOBINBA (NEWCASTLE, NSW). | 11
CREATING LEGAL RIGHTS FOR RIVERS; THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN ETHAN FLOYD TALKS SOLUTIONS
IN MAY OF LAST YEAR, BEFORE LABOR’S NOVEMBER DEAL WITH THE GREENS ON THEIR PLAN FOR THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN, I WAS A DELEGATE TO THE ANU INSTITUTE FOR WATER FUTURES’ NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE LANDS OF THE NGAMBRI (KAMBERRI), NGUNNAWAL AND NGARIGO PEOPLES, REPRESENTING FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES’ INTERESTS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE RIVER SYSTEM. AT THE HEART OF OUR DISCUSSIONS WAS A CENTRAL DILEMMA. THE UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (UNDRIP) IN 2009 STATES THAT SIGNATORIES MUST OBTAIN “FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT FROM INDIGENOUS PEOPLES BEFORE APPROVING ANY PROJECT AFFECTING THEIR LAND OR TERRITORIES,” INCLUDING WATER. DESPITE UNDRIP BEING ENDORSED, SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS IN AUSTRALIA HAVE RECKLESSLY APPROVED INVASIVE AND EXTRACTIVE PROJECTS WHICH HAVE DESECRATED THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL FLOWS OF THE BASIN. INTERNATIONAL LAW IS NOTORIOUSLY UNENFORCEABLE, AND THE SHORTCOMINGS OF UNDRIP IN PARTICULAR HAVE BEEN AT THE CENTRE OF RECENT HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISPUTES. SO, THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES; HOW DO WE NEGOTIATE THE NON-BINDING NATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW WITH THE IMMUTABLE NEED TO PROTECT THE MURRAYDARLING BASIN AND ITS ECOSYSTEM? IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD; RIVERS, WETLANDS, LAKES, AQUIFERS, AND ESTUARIES ARE BEING RECOGNISED AS LEGAL PERSONS, AND NEW QUESTIONS ARE BEING RAISED ABOUT THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF RIVERS UNDER THE LAW. SINCE 2008, THE MOVEMENT TO RECOGNISE THE RIGHTS OF NATURE HAS GAINED MOMENTUM, AND A NUMBER OF JURISDICTIONS RECOGNISE SOME FORM OF LEGAL STATUS OF NATURE. THE CONCEPT OF RIVER PERSONHOOD HAS EMERGED AS THE MAIN FORM OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUBJECTIVITY. IN MARCH 2011, TWO PLAINTIFFS IN ECUADOR SUED THE DISTRICT GOVERNMENT FOR EROSION AND FLOODING OF THE VILCABAMBA RIVER BY ASSERTING A BREACH OF THE LEGAL PROVISIONS IN ECUADOR’S CONSTITUTION. SIX YEARS LATER, NEW ZEALAND’S TE AWA TUPUA (WHANGANUI RIVER CLAIMS SETTLEMENT) ACT 2017 RECOGNISED THE WHANGANUI RIVER AS “AN INDIVISIBLE AND LIVING WHOLE, COMPRISING THE WHANGANUI RIVER FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA, INCORPORATING ALL ITS PHYSICAL AND META-PHYSICAL ELEMENTS”. | 12
THESE ARE WATERSHED CASES, AND FUNDAMENTALLY CHALLENGE EXTRACTIVE NEOLIBERAL VALUES EMBEDDED IN MODERN LEGAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEMS — THE BELIEF THAT NATURAL ENTITIES ARE RESOURCES THAT CAN BE USED FOR HUMAN BENEFIT WITHOUT REGARD FOR THEIR WELL-BEING AND LONGEVITY. SO, IS LEGAL PERSONHOOD A VIABLE WAY FORWARD FOR PROTECTING WATER RIGHTS HERE IN AUSTRALIA? SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY LECTURER ALESSANDRO PELIZZON, MELBOURNE LAW SCHOOL’S ERIN O'DONNELL, AND NOTRE DAME’S ANNE POELINA SUGGEST ONE WAY TO DO THIS IN AUSTRALIA IS BY DEVELOPING A NOVEL LEGAL CONCEPT — THE ‘ANCESTRAL PERSON’. THEY BELIEVE THIS COULD UNITE THE IDEA OF NATURE AS A LEGAL SUBJECT WITH FIRST NATIONS EPISTEMOLOGIES THAT SEE NATURE AS A “COMPLEX TAPESTRY OF ANCESTRAL RELATIONS, ENMESHED IN A NETWORK OF INTERDEPENDENCE AND GUARDIANSHIP.” ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN, LEGAL PERSONHOOD AS AN ‘ANCESTRAL BEING’ CAN ALLOW GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES TO FULFIL THE NEEDS OF THE BASIN PLAN – PROTECTING RIVER FLOWS, ESTABLISHING GOOD GOVERNANCE, BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES, AND SECURING FIRST NATIONS FLOWS. IN AUSTRALIA, THE CONCEPT OF RECOGNISING A RIVER AS A LEGAL ENTITY WAS FIRST EXPLORED IN VICTORIA IN 2017, WHEN THE VICTORIAN PARLIAMENT ENACTED THE YARRA RIVER PROTECTION (WILIP-GIN BIRRARUNG MURRON) ACT 2017. IN ITS PREAMBLE, TRANSLATED FROM WOI WURRUNG LANGUAGE, THE ACT RECOGNISED THAT, FOR THE WURUNDJERI PEOPLE, THE BIRRARUNG IS “A RIVER OF MISTS AND SHADOWS'' AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES HAVE A DEEP CONNECTION WITH THE BIRRARUNG AS A LIVING ENTITY: “WE THE WOI-WURRUNG, THE FIRST PEOPLE, AND THE BIRRARUNG, BELONG TO THIS COUNTRY. THIS COUNTRY AND THE BIRRARUNG ARE A PART OF US. THE BIRRARUNG IS ALIVE, HAS A HEART, A SPIRIT, AND IS PART OF OUR DREAMING. WE HAVE LIVED WITH AND KNOWN THE BIRRARUNG SINCE THE BEGINNING.” THROUGH THIS NEW IMAGINING OF WATER SOVEREIGNTY, COLONIAL WESTERN LAW CAN BE MADE TO RECOGNISE THE PRE-EXISTING AND CONTINUING LEGAL AUTHORITY OF FIRST NATIONS GOVERNANCE IN RELATION TO THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN IN ORDER TO PRESERVE ITS INTEGRITY THROUGH A PROCESS OF LEGAL DECOLONISATION. FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO THE BASIN RECOGNISE THAT THE SYSTEM IS ALREADY A LIVING ANCESTRAL BEING WITH A RIGHT TO LIFE AND FLOW. WHILE A RIVER SUCH AS THE MURRAY-DARLING HOLDS SIGNIFICANCE IN ITS OWN RIGHT INDEPENDENT OF WESTERN LAW, THE RADICAL IDEA OF AN ‘ANCESTRAL PERSON’ CAN GALVANISE THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE BASIN’S LIFE AND THE COMMUNITIES WHO DEPEND ON IT. LEGAL PERSONHOOD THROUGH RECOGNITION OF AN ‘ANCESTRAL BEING’ CAN HELP US TO MOVE AWAY FROM SEEING RIVERS AS OBJECTS FOR US TO EXPLOIT AS WE WISH, TO SEEING THEM AS LIVING ENTITIES, WITH WHOM WE ARE ALL IN A LASTING, RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP. | 13
CLIMATE CHANGE IS A FEMINIST ISSUE ELIZA CROSSLEY ANALYSES THE GENDERED IMPACTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS CW: DEATH, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSING MORE FREQUENT, MORE VIOLENT NATURAL DISASTERS, AND WOMEN ARE ON THE FRONT LINES. WHILE IT IS ESTABLISHED THAT COMMUNITIES IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH ARE HIT HARDEST BY THE CLIMATE CRISIS, A LESS-DISCUSSED INTERSECTION IS THAT THE IMPACTS OF THESE DISASTERS ARE ALSO OVERWHELMINGLY GENDERED. DURING AND FOLLOWING NATURAL DISASTERS, WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DIE, INCUR INJURIES, AND MISS OUT ON EDUCATION. THEY EXPERIENCE MORE VIOLENCE, POVERTY, AND INCREASED LABORIOUS WORK FOLLOWING A DISASTER THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS. ON AVERAGE, WOMEN OUTNUMBER MEN 14 TO 1 AMONG NATURAL DISASTER DEATHS. OVERALL, THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE DEEPLY INTERTWINED WITH EXISTING GENDER INEQUALITIES, AND AS SUCH, THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN NEED TO BE RECOGNISED TO CORRECTLY RESPOND TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS. FOLLOWING THE 1991 CYCLONE AND FLOOD IN BANGLADESH, 90% OF THE 140,000 DEATHS WERE WOMEN. WOMEN WERE LESS ABLE TO ESCAPE BECAUSE MANY HAD NOT BEEN TAUGHT TO SWIM, OR DID NOT DRIVE OR OWN CARS, AND THEY WERE LESS LIKELY TO WORK IN PUBLIC SPACES WHERE WARNING INFORMATION WAS BEING SPREAD. SIMILAR DISADVANTAGES MEANT THAT AFTER CYCLONE NARGIS (2008) IN MYANMAR, 61% OF THE FATALITIES WERE WOMEN, AND 77% OF FATALITIES FROM THE BANDA ACEH TSUNAMI (2004) WERE WOMEN. TRAGEDY COMPOUNDS EVERY TIME A WOMAN'S LIFE IS LOST. WITH EVERY DISASTER, THE LOSS OF MOTHERS, SISTERS, AND AUNTS FURTHER DISADVANTAGES YOUNG GIRLS WHO STEP INTO THEIR (OFTEN DOMESTIC) ROLES AND FILL THE GAPS LEFT BY THE WOMEN WHO DIED. IT HAS BEEN EXPECTED THAT GIRLS IN PLACES HEALING FROM NATURAL DISASTERS SACRIFICE THEIR EDUCATION TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES.
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STUDIES OF RESPONSES TO DROUGHT IN INDIA STARTING IN THE 1970’S REVEALED THAT IN YEARS FOLLOWING DISASTERS, GIRLS WERE 19% LESS LIKELY TO EVER ATTEND SCHOOL. BAGHYALAXMI, A TEENAGE GIRL WHO LOST HER MOTHER IN THE AFOREMENTIONED BANDA ACEH TSUNAMI, DESCRIBED HER EXPERIENCE TO THE GUARDIAN, "ONE OF MY YOUNGER BROTHERS HAS A MENTAL HANDICAP AND IS TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON US NOW. IF AMMA WAS AROUND, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO PROBLEM. NOR WOULD I HAVE HAD TO STOP MY SCHOOL TO LOOK AFTER HIM. I CANNOT AFFORD TO MISS CLASSES, BUT MY FAMILY IS MORE IMPORTANT." FURTHERMORE, DUE TO SOCIALLY ASCRIBED GENDER ROLES, WOMEN, PARTICULARLY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH, ARE MORE OFTEN RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING FOOD AND WATER FOR THEIR FAMILIES. IN INDIA, MORE THAN 84% OF WOMEN ARE INVOLVED IN AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES. AS A RESULT, WHEN DISASTERS LEAD TO RESOURCE SCARCITY, WOMEN MUST WORK HARDER TO PROVIDE. IN PARTS OF KENYA, FETCHING WATER MAY USE UP TO 85% OF A WOMAN’S DAILY ENERGY EXPENDITURE; IN TIMES OF DROUGHT, A GREATER WORKLOAD IS PLACED ON WOMEN’S SHOULDERS. WOMEN’S NUTRITION CAN SUFFER AS WELL, DESCRIBING DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN INDIA, FARMER SITA DEBI WROTE “WHEN THERE IS NO RAIN, WE WOMEN HAVE TO WORK REALLY HARD IN THE FIELDS TO TRY AND GROW CROPS. OUR NUTRITION ALSO SUFFERS BECAUSE WE ARE THE LAST TO EAT AT THE FAMILY TABLE.” THE GENDERED EFFECTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS ARE NOT JUST FELT IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH: THEY ARE A GLOBAL PHENOMENON. NOTABLY, THE FINANCIAL AND MENTAL STRESSES OF POST-DISASTER LIFE OFTEN RESULTS IN INCREASED RATES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. AFTER THE 2009 AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRES, THE PERCENTAGE OF SERIOUSLY AFFECTED WOMEN WHO EXPERIENCED VIOLENCE WAS SEVEN TIMES THAT OF WOMEN IN AREAS THAT HAD BEEN ONLY PERIPHERALLY BURNED. AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA, THERE WAS A ~98% INCREASE IN PHYSICAL VIOLENCE TOWARDS WOMEN. AFTER THE 2011 CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKES, NEW ZEALAND SAW A 40% RISE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN RURAL AREAS. TIME AND TIME AGAIN WHEN DISASTERS OCCUR, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FOLLOWS, FURTHER COMPROMISING WOMEN’S SAFETY. MEN BECOME OBSERVABLY MORE VIOLENT AND WOMEN ARE RESTRICTED IN THEIR CAPACITY TO ESCAPE. AS WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO ADAPT AND RESPOND TO CLIMATE DISASTERS, WE MUST REMEMBER THAT MEANINGFUL DISASTER RESILIENCE REQUIRES SOLUTIONS THAT ALIGN WITH THE INTERESTS AND NEEDS OF WOMEN. FACED WITH THE REALITY THAT CLIMATE DISASTERS HIT WOMEN HARDER IN A MULTITUDE OF WAYS, FEMINIST DEMANDS MUST BE AT THE FRONT AND CENTRE OF OUR INTERSECTIONAL STRUGGLE FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE.
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WHY CAPITALISM IS TO BLAME
FOR THE CLIMATE CRISIS? MADDIE CLARK SPEAKS THE TRUTH
WE’VE ENTERED THE ERA OF GREENWASHING AND IT’S A SCAM. FROM CARBON CREDIT SCHEMES TO FUTURE TARGETS, ENDLESS CONFERENCES AND PLATITUDES, THE MESSAGE TO ORDINARY PEOPLE IS “DON’T WORRY, WE’RE DOING SOMETHING”. BUT WHEN YOU SCRATCH BENEATH THE SURFACE A DIFFERENT PICTURE EMERGES. THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS HERE AND IT’S GETTING WORSE. ACCORDING TO THE LATEST IPCC REPORT, GLOBAL TEMPERATURES COULD INCREASE BY 5 TO 7 DEGREES CELSIUS BY 2100 IF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CONTINUE AS THEY DO.IF THE WORLD DOES WARM BY THESE PERCENTAGES IT WOULD SPELL DISASTER FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET. THE SAME IPCC REPORT STATED THAT BETWEEN 3.3 BILLION AND 3.6 BILLION HUMAN LIVES “ARE HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE”. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE COULD BECOME CLIMATE REFUGEES IN JUST A FEW YEARS. THIS IS LOOKING CONCERNINGLY LIKELY AS COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD UP THEIR INVESTMENT IN FOSSIL FUEL PROJECTS. AUSTRALIA ALONE IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING 72 NEW COAL PROJECTS AND 44 NEW GAS AND OIL PROJECTS. THIS WOULD CONTRIBUTE AN EXTRA 5 TO 10% TO GLOBAL EMISSIONS. IF THESE GO AHEAD, AUSTRALIA WOULD BECOME THE THIRD HIGHEST EXPORT EMISSTER IN THE WORLD.
SO WHAT’S BEHIND THE LACK OF REAL ACTION?
THE SIMPLE ANSWER IS: PROFIT.
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AN ANALYSIS IN 2022 REVEALED THAT IN THE LAST 50 YEARS THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY HAS DELIVERED ALMOST $3BILLION IN PURE PROFIT PER DAY. IN AUSTRALIA, THE RESOURCES SECTOR POSTED A RECORD $81 BILLION IN QUARTERLY PROFIT ALONE. WITH THE WAR IN UKRAINE, GAS PRICES SPIKED, BEGINNING A NEW RACE TO INVEST IN GAS PROJECTS ACROSS EUROPE AND OTHER PLACES IN THE WORLD. IT’S NOT ONLY DIRECT FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRIES THAT MAKE MONEY EITHER, BUT THERE ARE OTHER HUGELY PROFITABLE INDUSTRIES THAT CREATE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF EMISSIONS AND DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT - NOTABLY THE MILITARY AND AGRICULTURAL SECTORS.
THE RICH WHO OWN THESE BUSINESSES ARE NOT PREPARED TO GIVE UP THIS VAST AMOUNT OF WEALTH. IT’S THE REASON WHY THEY LIVE IN LUXURY. IT MADE GINA RINEHART THE RICHEST PERSON IN AUSTRALIA. SHE HAS A $34 MILLION MANSION IN NOOSA. WHENEVER IT’S TOO HOT OR TOO RAINY, SHE CAN JET OFF IN HER PRIVATE JET TO SOMEWHERE NICER. BECAUSE CAPITALISM IS COMPETITIVE, IT’S NOT ONLY A QUESTION OF THE RICH NOT EXPERIENCING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. NOT ONLY WOULD THEY RISK LOSING THEIR OWN PRIVATE WEALTH, THEY WOULD RISK THEIR COMPANY BEING BOUGHT OUT BY ANOTHER COMPANY. THE SYSTEM WE LIVE UNDER, FOR THE RULING CLASS, IS A ZERO SUM GAME: INVEST AND GROW OR BECOME BANKRUPT. IT’S NOT ENOUGH FOR US TO SHOW THE SCIENCE BEHIND CLIMATE CHANGE. WE HAVE TO CHALLENGE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE. | 17
THE MYTH OF COMPENSATION ANGUS MCGREGOR PONDERS THE FAILURE OF NSW OFFSET POLICY THE DESTRUCTION OF BIODIVERSITY IN NSW HAS REACHED EPIDEMIC LEVELS. ACCORDING TO THE RECENT HENRY REVIEW, COMMISSIONED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO ASSESS THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION, HALF OF ALL SPECIES ARE SET TO BE EXTINCT IN NSW WITHIN THE NEXT 100 YEARS. LAND CLEARING HAS TRIPLED IN THE PAST DECADE WITH 379,000 HECTARES OF LAND CLEARED SINCE 2016. SINCE 2016, NSW HAS RELIED ON A SYSTEM OF OFFSETS MANAGED BY THE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION TRUST TO BALANCE OUT THE DESTRUCTION. RATHER THAN PUTTING A CAP ON THE AMOUNT OF LAND DEVELOPERS CAN USE, THE SCHEME MANDATES THEY PAY INTO A FUND, WHICH IS THEN SUPPOSED TO FUND THE PROTECTION OF A SIMILAR AMOUNT OF LAND. REFLECTIVE OF THE GROWING POLICY TREND OF ALLOWING MARKET FORCES TO REGULATE SOCIAL ISSUES, MULTIPLE REVIEWS HAVE DEEMED THE SCHEME A DISASTER. NSW GREENS ENVIRONMENT SPOKESPERSON SUE HIGGINSON HAS LABELLED THE SCHEME A “COMPLETE FAILURE,” AND THE LABOR GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO TAKE SWIFT ACTION TO REPLACE IT WITH GENUINE LIMITS ON HABITAT DESTRUCTION. THE CORE OF THE ISSUE STEMS FROM DEVELOPERS OFFLOADING THE RESPONSIBILITY TO FIND APPROPRIATE OFFSETS ON THE GOVERNMENT. ONCE A PAYMENT INTO THE FUND IS MADE, THE TRUST IS OBLIGATED TO FIND THE LAND THAT GENERATES THOSE CREDITS OR PAY TO PRESERVE ALREADY PROTECTED LAND. THE INDEPENDENT PRICING AND REGULATORY TRIBUNAL (IPART) FOUND THAT ONLY 1/5 OF DEVELOPERS BOUGHT CREDITS IN THE MARKET, WHILE 4/5 PASSED ON THEIR OBLIGATIONS BY PAYING INTO THE FUND. DEVELOPERS ARE PAYING INTO THE FUND FIVE TIMES FASTER THAN THE BCT CAN FIND OFFSETS. THE NSW AUDITOR-GENERAL HAS FOUND 96 PERCENT OF DEVELOPERS' DEMAND FOR CREDITS CANNOT BE MET. LUDICROUS EXAMPLES ILLUSTRATE ITS INEFFICACY, SUCH AS AN OFFSET FOR THE M7 IN SYDNEY THAT HAS STILL NOT BEEN DELIVERED 15 YEARS LATER. ALLOWING THE MINING AND FARMING INDUSTRIES TO DESTROY NATIVE FORESTS IN THE HOPE THAT LAND MIGHT BE FOUND LATER OF EQUIVALENT SIZE TO PROTECT IT IS A SELF-DEFEATING POLICY. THE DEFINITION OF WHAT COUNTS AS AN APPROPRIATE OFFSET POSES ANOTHER PROBLEM. CREDITS THAT ARE BOUGHT IN THE FORMS OF BIODIVERSITY STEWARDSHIP AGREEMENTS WITH ALREADY PROTECTED LAND ARE CONTINUOUS. THEREFORE, COMPANIES CAN USE THE SAME PIECE OF PROTECTED LAND IN PERPETUITY TO | 18 CONTINUE LAND CLEARING OPERATIONS.
EVEN IF THAT STEWARDSHIP IS EFFECTIVE, THE LONG-TERM DESTRUCTION OF MORE AND MORE NATURE IS NOT BEING ‘OFFSET’ BY ANY REASONABLE DEFINITION. FURTHER, THERE IS ALMOST NO TRANSPARENCY TO UNDERSTAND HOW SITES ARE CHOSEN. THE GUARDIAN FOUND IN A 2021 INVESTIGATION THAT DEVELOPERS HAD PAID TO PROTECT LAND THAT OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS HAD ALREADY PROTECTED AND THERE IS NO COMPLETE PUBLIC REGISTER OF CREDITS. NOT ALL DEVELOPMENTS REQUIRE AN OFFSET UNLESS THEY MEET AN “IMPACT THRESHOLD,” WHICH IS DECIDED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY. THIS MAKES VULNERABLE HABITATS SUBJECT TO THE POLITICS OF LOBBYING AND SHORT ELECTION CYCLES. WITH ALMOST COMPLETE MINISTERIAL DISCRETION, A WEAK, MINORITY MINNS GOVERNMENT CAN CONTINUE TO MAKE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCESSIONS WHILE TECHNICALLY FOLLOWING THE LAW. WHEN AN APPROPRIATE OFFSET IS FOUND AND FUNDED, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE UNDER AN OFFSET SCHEME THAT THE LAND IS WELL-MAINTAINED OR USED EFFECTIVELY. LAND SET ASIDE STILL FACES THE BROADER IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE INCLUDING THE RISE OF INTRODUCED PLANT AND ANIMAL SPECIES OUTCOMPETING NATIVE FLORA AND FAUNA AND THE STRESS ON RIVERS AND WATERWAYS. ONLY 60 PERCENT OF THE 226 CURRENT BIODIVERSITY SITES ARE BEING ACTIVELY MANAGED. AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ACT FOUND THAT THE “DIVERSITY AND QUALITY OF ECOSYSTEMS IS NOT BEING MAINTAINED, NOR IS THEIR CAPACITY TO ADAPT TO CHANGE AND PROVIDE FOR THE NEEDS OF FUTURE GENERATIONS BEING ENHANCED.” WHEN LABOR WAS IN OPPOSITION, THEY PLEDGED A COMPLETE OVERHAUL OF THE SCHEME. HOWEVER, SIMILAR TO THE DISABILITY ROYAL COMMISSION AND AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITY INTERIM REPORT, GOVERNMENTS HAVE TENDED TOWARDS REVIEWS AND INQUIRIES IN PLACE OF SUBSTANTIAL POLICY CHANGE. IN THIS CASE, THE HENRY REVIEW WAS DAMNING BUT REFORM IS LIKELY TO BE SLOW. THE BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ACT ARGUES THAT THE OFFSETS EXIST FOR WHEN DEVELOPMENT IS “UNAVOIDABLE,” BUT ALL DEVELOPMENT FEELS NECESSARY AND UNAVOIDABLE WHILE SHORT-TERM ECONOMIC INCENTIVES ARE INGRAINED IN OUR INSTITUTIONS. THE OFFSET FUND HAS EFFECTIVELY JUST BECOME THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS IN NSW. “IF WE ARE TO HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE AS WELL OFF AS WE ARE,” THE HENRY REVIEW CONCLUDES, THE ONLY PATH FORWARD IS THE RAPID DECREASE OF LAND CLEARING AND END OF NATIVE LOGGING. | 19
HOPE AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS FRANCESCA BRANAGAN REFLECTS ON OUR FUTURE
“ANOTHER WORLD IS NOT ONLY POSSIBLE, SHE IS ON HER WAY. ON A QUIET DAY, I CAN HEAR HER BREATHING.” ― ARUNDHATI ROY HOPE IS ACTIVISM. HOPE HOLDS POWER AGAINST THOSE WHO ACTIVELY DEVASTATE OUR FUTURE, AND WHO AIM FOR US TO QUIETLY ACCEPT THIS DESTRUCTION IN THE NAME OF PROFIT. ALTHOUGH THE FOCUS HERE IS ON FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES, THESE ENTITIES CANNOT BE OPPOSED WITHOUT ALSO OPPOSING THE DESTRUCTIVE SYSTEMS THAT UPHOLD THEM, SUCH AS CAPITALISM AND COLONIALISM. THUS, WE MUST WORK TO ALSO DISMANTLE THESE STRUCTURES. OPTIMISM CAN PROVIDE ENERGY FOR ACTIVISM IN ALL ITS FORMS, INCLUDING PEACEFUL PROTESTS, CREATING POLITICISED ART, AND FACING DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS. IN ONE STUDY, “HOPE” WAS FOUND TO BE A POWERFUL MOTIVATIONAL FORCE FOR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR (OJALA 2012). HOWEVER, THIS HOPE MUST BE “CONSTRUCTIVE”, RATHER THAN BEING BASED ON DENIAL OR ILLUSION. OJALA (2012) FOUND THAT CREATING A “GOOD STORY” ABOUT THE GLOBAL FUTURE IS IMPORTANT IN ESTABLISHING THIS CONSTRUCTIVE HOPE. I DEFINITELY RESONATED WITH THIS: HOW CAN YOU BE OPTIMISTIC FOR A WORLD YOU CAN’T CLEARLY VISUALISE? IF YOU NEED A PLACE TO START, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK INTO INTERSECTIONAL ENVIRONMENTALISM, UTOPIAN FICTION, AND SOLUTIONFOCUSED DOCUMENTARIES. THE PAST TOO CAN PROVIDE INSPIRATION: MASS MOVEMENTS WITH A CLEAR VISION FOR THE FUTURE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL BEFORE, SUCH AS THE FRANKLIN RIVER DAM AND JABILUKA PROTESTS, AND GANDHI’S MOVEMENT AGAINST BRITISH COLONIALISM IN INDIA (NORDGREN 2021). IN ADDITION, WHILE TIME IS CERTAINLY RUNNING OUT, IT IS STILL POSSIBLE TO DRASTICALLY CUT EMISSIONS AND KEEP GLOBAL WARMING TO BELOW 1.5°, KEEPING DAMAGE TO A MINIMUM. THOUGH, THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT WE SHOULD BE HOPEFUL AT THE EXPENSE OF BEING IGNORANT. REJECTING THE ALARMING FACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE, OR ASSUMING IT WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY SOLVED IS INEFFECTIVE. | 20
IF HOPE CAN INSPIRE ACTION, SURELY THE OPPOSITE CAN BE TRUE. CLIMATE CHANGE ANXIETY HAS BEEN LINKED WITH NEGATIVE MENTAL HEALTH (WULLENKORD & MARIA 2023), ESPECIALLY THE WELLBEING OF YOUNGER GENERATIONS. HOWEVER, IT IS OFTEN A PRIVILEGE TO WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING MORE THAN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE. FOR MANY, THE COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS, MENTAL OR PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES, OR IMMEDIATE THREATS TO THE SAFETY OF THEMSELVES OR THEIR LOVED ONES ARE ALL-CONSUMING. THIS CAN LEAVE LITTLE ROOM FOR CONCERN OVER AN ISSUE AS SEEMINGLY ABSTRACT AS CLIMATE CHANGE (NOTWITHSTANDING THAT THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE CAN ALREADY BE FELT). REGARDLESS, CLIMATE ANXIETY CANNOT BE IGNORED, OR SIMPLY DEALT WITH. FOR ME, IT IS IMPORTANT TO USE MY PRIVILEGE TO MOBILISE AND PUSH FOR A BETTER FUTURE. ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO COUNTER THIS ANXIETY IS BY WORKING FOR THE CLIMATE. SO OFTEN, WORRIES FOR OUR COLLECTIVE FUTURE HAVE THREATENED TO OVERWHELM ME. HOWEVER, AFTER MANY ENVIRONMENTALLY-FOCUSSED PROTESTS, I HAVE FELT OPTIMISTIC FOR THE FUTURE. WITH HOPE, POLITICAL STRATEGY, AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PROTESTS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, IT FEELS AS IF CHANGE CAN BE PUSHED FOR AND IS INDEED, ON ITS WAY. IMPORTANTLY, HOPE, IN ITSELF, IS AN IMPORTANT FORCE IN ACTIVISM. PESSIMISM AND PASSIVITY DIRECTLY BENEFIT OPPRESSIVE SYSTEMS AND FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES, ALLOWING THEM TO WREAK HAVOC WITHOUT CONSEQUENCE. FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES, AFTER DECADES OF EFFORTS, ARE FINALLY LOSING TO SCIENCE IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION AROUND CLIMATE DENIAL. THEIR RHETORIC HAS UNASHAMEDLY SHIFTED FROM ATTEMPTING TO CONVINCE US THAT CLIMATE CHANGE DOES NOT EXIST, TO AN INCREASED MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN, SPREADING CONFUSION. BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT TO CONVINCE THE PUBLIC THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT AS BAD AS THESE (IRONICALLY) ‘PAID OFF’ SCIENTISTS AND THESE HYSTERICAL, RADICAL HIPPIES ARE SAYING. ACTIVISTS ARE DISMISSED AS “CLIMATE ALARMISTS” AND “DOOMSAYERS” WHO USE “SCAREMONGERING CAMPAIGNS” TO CREATE CHAOS, DESTROY EVERYTHING WE LOVE AND ERADICATE ALL JOBS THAT HAVE EVER EXISTED (JASPER 2023). SUCH MISINFORMATION-SPREADING AND VILIFICATION ALLOWS THESE INDUSTRIES TO CONTINUE TO PROFIT UNINTERRUPTED. ANOTHER INSIDIOUS SENTIMENT THAT WORKS IN THEIR FAVOUR IS HOPELESSNESS, OR THE IDEA THAT IT IS TOO LATE. WHEN WE BELIEVE THAT NOTHING CAN BE DONE IN REGARD TO CLIMATE CHANGE, THERE WILL BE LITTLE OR NO OPPOSITION TO POLLUTING INDUSTRIES. WHY STRUGGLE FOR SOMETHING YOU DON’T BELIEVE IS POSSIBLE? HAVING OPTIMISM ABOUT A BETTER FUTURE GIVES US ENERGY AND REASON TO WORK FOR ONE. THUS, YOUR HOPE IS NEEDED. IT CAN BE REVOLUTIONARY | 21
WHY LABOR’S ENVIRO POLICY IS GREENWASHING JORDAN ANDERSON ARGUES THAT LABOR IS NOT THE ANSWER ANTHONY ALBANESE'S WIN IN THE 2022 FEDERAL ELECTION SHOWS THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC'S GENERAL BELIEF THAT LABOR, AS AN OSTENSIBLY LEFTWING PARTY, IS CAPABLE OF DELIVERING LEGITIMATE CLIMATE ACTION. THIS, HOWEVER, IS A GROSS MISCONCEPTION. LABOR’S SLATE OF CLIMATE POLICIES ARE ONLY MARGINALLY BETTER THAN THEIR COALIATION COUNTERPARTS. THIS IS BECAUSE LABOR PRESERVES AND, INDEED EXPANDS, THE SAME NEOLIBERAL, CAPITALISTIC AND COLONIAL STRUCTURES THAT THEIR PREDECESSORS VALUE. FURTHERMORE, WITH LABOR DECLARING $110,090 IN DONATIONS FROM SANTOS, IT IS CLEAR WHERE THE PARTY’S LOYALTIES LIE - WITH THOSE WHO ARE PROFITING ON THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT. THESE CORRUPTED INTERESTS TRANSLATE INTO LABOR’S CLIMATE POLICY. THUS, WHILE LABOR PURPORTS TO BE ON TRACK TO REDUCE AUSTRALIA’S EMISSIONS BY 43% BEFORE 2030, RECENT STUDIES SHOW THAT THIS TARGET WILL NOT BE ACHIEVED UNTIL 2037. NEVERTHELESS, LABOR’S TARGET IS NOT ENOUGH, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE IMPACTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE SALIENT. AS UNSW CANBERRA ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CLIMATE SCIENCE, SARAH PERKINS-KIRKPATRICK NOTES, "ALL THE EVIDENCE POINTS TO WORSENING BUSHFIRE CONDITIONS IN THE DECADES AHEAD DUE TO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CAUSING CLIMATE CHANGE.” LABOR’S RESPONSE TO THIS HAS BEEN TO APPROVE NEW COAL AND GAS PROJECTS, WHICH FLIES IN THE FACE OF THEIR ALLEGEDLY ‘SUBSTANTIVE CLIMATE ACTION’, AND THUS EXPOSES THEIR RAMPANT GREENWASHING. FOR INSTANCE, THE LABOR GOVERNMENT APPROVED THE MIDDLE ARM DEVELOPMENT; A “KEY ENABLER” FOR THE EXPORT OF GAS FROM THE BEETALOO BASIN. ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS THE GREGORY CRINUM COAL MINE IN THE BOWEN BASIN, WHICH IS MEANT TO RUN UNTIL 2073. THE LIST OF EXAMPLES COULD GO ON AND ON. SIMPLY PUT, LABOR IS NOT IDLY SITTING BY, TURNING A BLIND EYE TO BUSHFIRES AND RISING SEA LEVELS, THEY ARE THE ENGINEERS OF OUR APOCALYPTIC FUTURE.
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MOREOVER, WHEN LABOR APPROVES THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOSSIL FUEL PROJECTS, NOT ONLY ARE THEY ASSENTING TO FURTHER CLIMATE DESTRUCTION, BUT THEY ARE ALSO DESTROYING FIRST NATIONS LAND AND WATERS. LABOR IS PRESIDING OVER SANTOS BEING ABLE TO BUILD AN UNDERWATER GAS PIPE ON FIRST NATIONS LAND, DESPITE DISSENT FROM TIWI ISLAND ELDERS. THIS REAFFIRMS LABOR’S LACK OF COMMITMENT TO FIRST NATIONS AND CLIMATE JUSTICE, BOTH OF WHICH ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED. LABOR IS NOT SHY ABOUT THEIR SUPPORT OF THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY, IN SPITE OF THEIR GREENWASHING ATTEMPTS. LATE LAST YEAR, ANTHONY ALBANESE ADDRESSED THE MINERALS COUNCIL’S ANNUAL DINNER, CHOOSING TO LEND A HELPING HAND TO THE FOSSIL FUEL BOSSES. WHEN LABOR CLAIMS THAT IT HAS “ENDED THE CLIMATE WARS” OR THAT ITS CLIMATE POLICIES ARE PROGRESSIVE, IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN GREENWASHING. OUR RESPONSE TO THIS, AS ACTIVISTS WHO CARE STRONGLY ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, MUST BE TO OPPOSE LABOR’S MEAGRE CLIMATE ACTION AT ALL TURNS, RATHER THAN PRETEND THAT THEY ARE THE KEY TO A GREENER FUTURE.
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THE ECO GENDER GAP AND THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE MARTHA BARLOW EXPLORES THE GENDERING OF SUSTAINABILITY
THE “ECO GENDER GAP” REFERS TO THE NEWLY OBSERVED WESTERN PHENOMENON IN WHICH WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO TAKE ON SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOURS AND MAKE “ECO-FRIENDLY” CHOICES THAN MEN. FOR EXAMPLE, STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT 77% OF WOMEN ARE COMMITTED TO REGULARLY RECYCLING, COMPARED TO 67% OF MEN (CAPECCHI 2018), WHO ARE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO LITTER. FURTHER, AROUND 61% OF VEGANS ARE WOMEN, AND ONLY 39% MEN (ADAMCZYK ET. AL. 2023). IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IT IS WIDELY ACCEPTED AND PROVEN THAT INDIVIDUAL CHOICES HAVE NEGLIGIBLE ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS COMPARED TO THE ACTIONS OF CAPITAL-OWNING CORPORATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS, E.G. THROUGH MINING, FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCTION AND WASTE. FURTHER, PRODUCTS MARKETED AS “GREEN” OR “ECOFRIENDLY” ARE OFTEN SUBJECTS OF GREENWASHING, AND DO NOT HAVE THE POSITIVE IMPACT THEY PURPORT TO. HOWEVER, IT IS WORTH EXAMINING THE GENDERED NATURE OF INDIVIDUAL CHOICES AS THEY REPRESENT A MICROCOSM OF THE GENDERED DYNAMICS THAT APPEAR WITHIN THE CLIMATE DEBATE, WHICH MORE BROADLY INFLUENCES ATTITUDES, POLICY AND INFRASTRUCTURE. THE ENTRENCHMENT OF DOMESTIC ROLES AND THE GENDERING OF DOMESTIC LABOUR POINTS TO A POTENTIAL REASON FOR THIS GAP. MANY ASPECTS OF CONTEMPORARY INDIVIDUAL SUSTAINABILITY REVOLVE AROUND THE DOMESTIC SPHERE - FOR EXAMPLE COOKING OR GROCERY SHOPPING - PERHAPS LEADING TO AN ASSUMPTION THAT THESE ARE WOMEN’S CHOICES, AND THAT IT IS “EMASCULATING” FOR MEN TO PARTICIPATE IN SUCH ACTIONS. HUNT (2020) DISCUSSES THE IDEA THAT CHOOSING NOT TO USE ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS IS A WAY OF “SAFEGUARDING” WESTERN CONCEPTIONS OF MASCULINITY.THIS PRODUCES A POPULAR, ALTHOUGH NOT NECESSARILY CORRECT, COGNITIVE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENTAL/CLIMATE JUSTICE IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN RIGID GENDER ROLES THAT SUSTAIN AND UPHOLD DIVISION FOR THE PURPOSE OF CAPITALIST EXPLOITATION THAT, AT ITS CORE, IS THE PROGENITOR OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS. | 24
IT’S A SIMILAR SET OF BELIEF-DEPENDENT CONSTRUCTS THAT LEAD TO THE GENDER IMBALANCE IN VEGANISM - WHERE HUNTING, PREPARING AND CONSUMING MEAT IS SEEN AS A HISTORICAL SYMBOL OF POWER, DOMINATION AND MASCULINITY; FOR MEN, GIVING UP MEAT CAN FEEL LIKE RELINQUISHING POWER. ON A MORE IMPLICIT LEVEL, WHEN A HOUSEHOLD IS SET UP IN SUCH A WAY THAT PUTS MOST OF THE DOMESTIC LABOUR ONTO WOMEN, IT LARGELY EXCLUDES MEN FROM EVEN HAVING TO THINK ABOUT - IN A MORE INDIVIDUALISED SENSE - HOW “GREEN” THEIR CHOICES ARE. THIS IS FURTHER PERPETUATED BY MARKETING, AS MOST “GREEN” PRODUCTS TARGETED TOWARDS WOMEN - FROM DOMESTIC NECESSITIES LIKE WASHING DETERGENT OR REUSABLE FOOD STORAGE, TO MENSTRUAL CUPS AND REUSABLE PADS - DEMONSTRATING HOW CAPITALISM FUNCTIONS TO RE-POSITION THE CLIMATE BURDEN ON INDIVIDUAL CONSUMERS, ESPECIALLY WOMEN. BROADLY, MASCULINE ATTITUDES TOWARDS CLIMATE CHANGE TEND TO REFLECT A PROBLEMATIC ESSENTIALIST ECOFEMINIST IDEAL THAT WOMEN ARE SOMEHOW INHERENTLY MORE NURTURING AND CARING THAN MEN, AND THUS MORE LIKELY TO CARE ABOUT CLIMATE ISSUES. AS A RESULT, WOMEN, WHO TEND TO HOLD LESS POWER TO EFFECT CHANGE IN SOCIETY, ARE LEFT TO DO MOST OF THE HEAVY LIFTING WHEN IT COMES TO CLIMATE ACTIVISM. THIS ISSUE COMPOUNDS FOR BIPOC AND WORKING CLASS WOMEN, WHO DUE TO CAPITALISM AND COLONIALISM TYPICALLY HOLD EVEN LESS SOCIETAL POWER THAN THEIR WEALTHY WHITE COUNTERPARTS, YET ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE - FOR EXAMPLE DUE TO THE LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE IN LOWER-SES AREAS AND HIGHER RATES OF PRE EXISTING COMMUNITY HEALTH CHALLENGES. THESE ISSUES ARE COMPOUNDED AMIDST ECOLOGICAL DISASTERS BY A LACK OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO RESPOND AND REBUILD. WORSENING THIS DISPARITY IS THE FACT THAT MAINSTREAM CONVERSATIONS AROUND SUSTAINABILITY ARE OFTEN SPEARHEADED BY WEALTHY, WHITE, WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND INFLUENCERS WHO ARE OFTEN GUILTY OF GREENWASHING, PROMOTING OVERCONSUMPTION AND PERPETUATING THE FALSE NARRATIVE THAT INDIVIDUAL CHOICE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF THE CLIMATE DEBATE. GENDER AND MISOGYNY HAVE ALSO HISTORICALLY PLAYED A ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL. FOR MUCH OF THE 20TH CENTURY, WESTERN MASCULINE IDENTITY HAS BEEN TIED TO INDUSTRIALISATION, TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT. THUS WHEN CLIMATE ACTIVISM CALLS FOR THINGS LIKE PUBLIC OWNERSHIP, JUST TRANSITIONS FOR WORKERS, AND OTHER RADICAL STRUCTURAL CHANGES THAT SEEK TO UNITE THE WORKING CLASS AND CREATE JUSTICE FOR MARGINALISED PEOPLE, THIS IS SEEN AS A THREAT TO THE DOMINATION OF MEN IN SOCIETY, LEADING TO A DENIAL OF AND A REFUSAL TO ACT UPON CLIMATE CHANGE.
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THIS HAS ALSO MEANT THAT BECAUSE MEN TEND TO HOLD MORE POWER IN SOCIETY AS POLITICIANS AND CEOS, MUCH CLIMATE ACTIVISM - OR, TO PUT IT MORE APTLY, LOBBYING - IS FORCED TO CATER TO MASCULINE VALUES. SWIM ET. AL. (2018) HAVE OBSERVED THAT CAPITAL-OWNING MEN IN THE WEST ARE MORE LIKELY TO PURSUE AND BE PERSUADED BY CLIMATE CHANGE ARGUMENTS THAT REVOLVE AROUND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY, BUSINESS AND PROFIT MOTIVES, RATHER THAN MORE RADICAL, DECOLONIAL AND ANTI-CAPITALIST ARGUMENTS (LIKE A JUST TRANSITION TO 100% PUBLICLY-OWNED RENEWABLES) THAT THREATEN THE OTHERWISE UNINTERRUPTED FUNCTIONING OF A GLOBAL CLIMATE-DESTROYING SYSTEM, AND CHALLENGE EXISTING POWER STRUCTURES THAT UPHOLD PATRIARCHY.
PERHAPS EXEMPLIFYING THIS GENDERED DYNAMIC IS THAT ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT VOICES FOR CLIMATE ACTIVISM IN RECENT YEARS HAS BEEN GRETA THUNBERG - AND THE LOUDEST VOICES SHOUTING HER DOWN HAVE BEEN THOSE OF OLD, CONSERVATIVE MEN. AGAIN, WHILE THE ARGUMENT THAT WOMEN ARE INHERENTLY MORE NURTURING AND EMOTIONAL THAN MEN IS UNCONVINCING, THERE IS CERTAINLY A REALITY AROUND THE FACT THAT WOMEN ARE SOCIALISED TO BE THIS WAY, AND THAT MEN ARE CONTRASTINGLY SOCIALISED TO DEVALUE THESE FEMININE TRAITS. SO WHEN AN ACTIVIST LIKE THUNBERG APPEALS WITH ANGER AND EMPATHY TO HUMAN, ANIMAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUFFERING, IT IS UNSURPRISING THAT MEN - ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE HALLS OF POWER - TEND NOT TO LISTEN. ULTIMATELY, EXAMINING THE GENDERED DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES AND APPROACHES TO CLIMATE JUSTICE SERVES AS A REMINDER THAT OUR ACTIVISM MUST BE INTERSECTIONAL, IT MUST BE STAUNCHLY ANTI-COLONIAL, AND IT MUST BE STAUNCHLY ANTICAPITALIST. IN THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER TO UPHOLD AND ACT ON OUR LEFT-WING VALUES, AND CHALLENGE OUR OWN ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT WHOSE VOICES WE ARE WILLING TO LISTEN TO, AND WHOSE WE IGNORE.
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PALESTINE & ENVIRO JUSTICE JORDAN ANDERSON & GRACE STREET CONTEMPLATE THE TWO WHY ALL ENVIRONMENTALISTS SHOULD SUPPORT A FREE PALESTINE ALL ACTIVISTS MUST SUPPORT A FREE PALESTINE, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE ATROCITIES PERPETRATED BY ISRAEL AGAINST PALESTINIANS ARE UNACCEPTABLE. IT THEREFORE GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MUST INCLUDE PALESTINIAN LIBERATION; FIRST AND FOREMOST BECAUSE CLIMATE JUSTICE IS A LEFT-WING, ANTI-COLONIAL AND ANTICAPITALIST MOVEMENT. EXAMINING IT THROUGH AN EXPLICITLY ENVIRONMENTAL LENS, WE CAN DISCERN THAT ISAREL’S GENOCIDE OF PALESTINE NOT ONLY EXTENDS TO A DESTRUCTION OF ITS PEOPLE, LAND, CULTURE AND STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES, BUT ALSO AMOUNTS TO A COLOSSAL ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE. THIS DEMONSTRATES THAT MILITARISM AND WESTERN IMPERIALISM WILL BRING ABOUT OUR DEMISE – IF NOT KILLING US DIRECTLY, THEN KILLING US SLOWLY VIA THE DEATH OF OUR ENVIRONMENT. ISRAELI GREENWASHING GENUINE SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE IN THE CONTEXT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM IS UNDERSTANDING THAT, DESPITE ISRAELI GREENWASHING, THE ETHNIC CLEANSING AND GENOCIDE OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE IS COMPLETELY INCOMPATIBLE WITH CLIMATE JUSTICE. WE MUST RECOGNISE ALSO, THAT ISRAEL’S USE OF WHITE PHOSPHORUS AND CARPET BOMBING TO DESTROY PALESTINIAN ECOSYSTEMS AND THEIR LAND AMOUNTS TO AN ENVIRONMENTAL WAR CRIME AND CONTRADICTS THEIR SELF-PROCLAIMED STATUS AS A “CLIMATE LEADER”. NOT ONLY HAS THIS RENDERED THE GAZA STRIP UNINHABITABLE, BUT IT HAS RELEASED MILLIONS OF TONNES OF CO2 AS THE CLIMATE CRISIS CONTINUES TO SNOWBALL. IN JANUARY 2023, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RIGHTFULLY ADOPTED A RESOLUTION WHICH RECOGNISED THAT RUSSIA’S WAR ON UKRAINE WILL CAUSE LONG-TERM DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE, AMOUNTING TO AN “ECOCIDE”. ISRAEL’S ASSAULT ON GAZA IS THE SAME; ISRAEL IS COMMITTING AN “ECOCIDE” AND THUS EXPOSING THEIR DISINGENUOUS GREENWASHING. YET, THE WEST TURNS A BLIND EYE, DEMONSTRATING THEIR APATHY TOWARD PALESTINE. | 27
ISRAEL’S SUPPOSEDLY ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PRACTICES ARE ALSO A METHOD FOR OTHER COUNTRIES TO NORMALISE RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL. FOR EXAMPLE, THE SAME DAY AS ISRAEL WAS INDISCRIMINATELY BOMBING PALESTINE, ISRAELI DELEGATES WERE PARTICIPATING IN COP28 CLIMATE TALKS. HOWEVER, WHAT NEEDS TO BE UNDERSTOOD ABOUT ISRAEL’S ECONOMY IS THAT IT IS BUILT ON THE BACK OF THE WEAPONS MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY, ESPECIALLY SELLING THESE TO DESPOTS (SUCH AS MILITIA ASSOCIATED WITH THE SOUTH SUDANESE GOVERNMENT CURRENTLY FUELLING CIVIL WAR, RWANDAN FORCES IN THE 1994 TUTSI GENOCIDE, THE SERBIAN ARMY IN THE 1995 GENOCIDE, AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID GOVERNMENT IN 1975), WHICH HAS UNLEASHED EXTENSIVE HUMANITARIAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEVASTATION. ISRAEL’S MISSION HERE IS CLEAR - REHABILITATE THEIR INTERNATIONAL IMAGE WITH GREEN GLOSS. HOWEVER, THEIR GENOCIDE OF THE PALESTINIANS AND THEIR ECONOMY, MORE BROADLY, ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT. NO ONE CAN SERIOUSLY THINK THAT ISRAEL IS COMMITTED TO ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES WHEN THEY ARE DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH EXTENSIVE CARPET BOMBING, ILLEGALLY UPROOTING PALESTINIAN OLIVE TREES AND MANUFACTURING WEAPONS - IT IS A FARCE TO BOOST AN IMAGE OF WESTERN MORALISM AND INNOVATION THAT CAN JUSTIFY THE SLAUGHTER OF PALESTINIAN PEOPLE AND LAND. WATER AS A TOOL OF CONTROL, COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT, AND COERCION WATER IS USED BY ISRAEL AS A COLONISING TOOL TO EXACT COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT (A WAR CRIME) ON PALESTINIANS AND TO COERCE ITS ARAB NEIGHBOURS INTO NORMALISED RELATIONS. ISRAELI INDUSTRY AND SETTLEMENTS ARE LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTAMINATION AND DRYING UP OF THE JORDAN RIVER, WHICH IS HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT TO ALL THREE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS AND WAS THE MAIN WATER SOURCE FOR SURROUNDING COUNTRIES. WITH WHAT REMAINS OF THE JORDAN RIVER BEING SEWAGE INFESTED, NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES ARE INCREASINGLY WATER-POOR, AND MANY SACRED SITES HAVE BEEN SHUT DOWN ALONG THE RIVER. FURTHER, 97% OF WATER IN GAZA IS UNDRINKABLE, DESPITE ISRAEL LARGELY CONTROLLING THEIR WATERWAYS SINCE THE 2006 BLOCKADE. ACCORDING TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, ISRAELIS HAVE ACCESS TO BETWEEN 250 AND 300 LITRES OF WATER PER PERSON PER DAY, WHILE PALESTINIANS IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK HAVE ACCESS TO ONLY 20 TO 70 LITRES, AND GAZANS HAVE HAD ACCESS TO LESS THAN THREE LITRES A DAY SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE CURRENT ASSAULT IN OCTOBER. | 28
GAZANS ARE TURNING TO DRINKING UNTREATED RAINWATER WHICH HAS LED TO EPIDEMICS OF GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASES. JORDANIANS ARE DISPOSSESSED OF THEIR WATER RESOURCES, USING AN AVERAGE OF 70 LITRES PER PERSON PER DAY, AND HAVE SIMILARLY EXPERIENCED BOUTS OF WATER-BORNE DISEASES. LIKE PALESTINIANS, JORDANIANS FEEL “HUMILIATED” BY DEPENDENCE ON ISRAEL’S OPPORTUNISTIC RESOURCE AGREEMENTS AND LIVE IN FEAR OF HAVING THEIR WATER SOURCES CUT OFF. PALESTINIANS AND JORDANIANS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO RELY ON THE COLONIAL STATE OF ISRAEL FOR ITS SUPPLY OF WATER. THE COMPLICITY OF FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES IT IS ALSO WORTH NOTING THAT FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES ARE COMPLICIT IN ISRAEL’S ATROCITIES, MOST PROMINENTLY CALTEX, AMPOL AND CHEVRON. CHEVRON HAS BEEN THE MAIN INTERNATIONAL ACTOR EXTRACTING GAS CLAIMED BY ISRAEL IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. CHEVRON BRINGS IN BILLIONS IN REVENUE FOR ISRAEL, WHICH IS THEN SPENT ON ITS OCCUPATION AND GENOCIDE OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE THROUGH SURVEILLANCE OR WEAPONRY. ONE EXAMPLE OF CHEVRON'S FUNDING OF THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION AND REGIME IS THE TAMAR GAS FIELD. IT WAS PURPORTEDLY FAST-TRACKED IN 2009 TO MEET IMMEDIATE LOCAL NEEDS AFTER EGYPT STOPPED SUPPLYING ISRAEL WITH NATURAL GAS, AND PRODUCES VOLUMES OF NATURAL GAS RANGING FROM 7.1 TO 8.5 MILLION CUBIC METRES PER DAY. THE PLATFORM CAN EVEN BE SEEN FROM THE GAZA STRIP ON A CLEAR DAY, THUS REPRESENTING A COMMERCIAL MONUMENT ON STOLEN PALESTINIAN LAND/WATERS. FURTHERMORE, FOSSIL GAS IS ILLEGALLY PASSED THROUGH A PIPELINE TO EGYPT WHICH CROSSES PALESTINE (GAZA, SPECIFICALLY), HIGHLIGHTING ISRAEL AND CALTEX’S DISREGARD FOR PALESTINIAN LAND. DESPITE THE ASSAULT ON GAZA, CHEVRON WANTS TO CONTINUE EXPANSION INTO SO-CALLED ISRAEL WITH THEIR VICE PRESIDENT, COLIN PARFITT, SAYING “IT STILL FEELS AN ATTRACTIVE PLACE FOR GAS TO SUPPLY.” THEREFORE, OUR CALLS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE MUST NOW AND ALWAYS INCLUDE CALLS FOR PALESTINIAN LIBERATION. IN OUR THOUSANDS, IN OUR MILLIONS, WE ARE ALL PALESTINIANS.
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SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OUR WRITERS: FRANCESCA BRANAGAN ANNABELLE JONES ETHAN FLOYD ELIZA CROSSLEY ANGUS MCGREGOR AND MARTHA BARLOW. SPECIAL THANKS, ALSO, TO THOSE WHO HELPED EDIT: SIMONE MADDISON ALANA RAMSHAW HARRISON BRENNAN ISHBEL DUNSMORE AND TIGER PERKINS. SPECIAL THANKS, ALSO, TO THOSE WHO HELPED WITH ART/PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANCESCA BRANAGAN AND ISHBEL DUNSMORE. WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU! | 31