Friday 6 September 2013

@WePublicHealth - did you ever have to make up your mind?

Did you ever have to finally decide?
Say yes to one, and let the other one ride?

(A beautiful old Song by The Loving Spoonful)

Classified as: reflective journal - advocacy

Well if there's anyone out there who's still trying to decide, how about putting the future first? Vote 1 for a climate we can live with.

Here is the Party Ratings from Climate and Health Alliance, and here is Croakey's Election Wrap to help you decide.

Below are some recent tweets from @WePublicHealth and a few other goodies I've enjoyed or found inspiring, to finish up this week. It's been fun and I've learnt a lot. Some have links that work, but for technical reasons I couldn't fix them all - so hope it gives you the flavour.

Fiona Armstrong (@WePublicHealth)
Cool! “@ecocreative: Where have people tweeted about the election?... simonrogers.cartodb.com/viz/4d5746d8-1… #auspol


Like the idea of Prime Minister Turnbull? Well... Check this out from @bycrikey voteturnbull2016.com #ausvotes cc @TurnbullMalcolm


When our kids ask what we did or didn’t do to protect them from dangerous #climate change, how will you respond? theconversation.com/time-to-stop-p…


It's nearly over. All we have to do now is vote. 350.org urge you to put #climate first: 350.org.au/how-will-you-v… #ausvotes


Tracking the transition to a low-carbon economy: $5.2 trillion invested since 2007, according to report j.mp/1fAB8Ut



And when pictures say it all - wordclouds of values and priorities for #health peeps this election blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2013/0… #ausvotes #equity



Soft targets, no caps, hot world? Abbott clarifies his position on #climate policy - by A/P Peter Christoff theconversation.com/soft-targets-n… #ausvotes


Fiona Armstrong (@WePublicHealth)
Great wrap of election twitter stream from @marcusod and recognition for @croakeyblog for leading coverage on #health theconversation.com/tweeting-the-e…


And here are some related or interesting tweets

John Falzon (@JohnFalzon)
We are yet to see a commitment from either side to lift Newstart by $50 a week. blog.vinnies.org.au/vinnies-warns-…

Val Kay (@Valakay)
"Those voting for change will get it. The nature of that change may not be what they expect" themonthly.com.au/politicoz #AusVotes


John Connor (@jconnoroz)
How far Oz has come after 20yrs of Fed elections & why this one was politics from another planet shar.es/i3yov #ausvotes #climate

Val Kay (@Valakay)
Reducing emissions - "price signals are powerful, policy uncertainty is a drag ..." bit.ly/17CjWsM #climate&health


Mad As A March Hare (@twowitwowoo)
When I was young, I was told that anyone could become Prime Minister. Now I’m starting to believe it.

@WePublicHealth: Great wrap of election twitter stream from @marcusod and recognition for @croakeyblog for leading coverage on #health http://t.co/BL6MMgWb2v

@WePublicHealth: Is the future under an Abbott govt? Direct Action cartoon from today's SMH http://t.co/NbRvtU2Bre #climate #environment #health

@WePublicHealth: Humanity has pushed world's #climate system to the brink, leaving scant time to act: UN climate scientists http://t.co/bCZnLHb2NP #ausvotes

@WePublicHealth: Time for a national strategy on #climate and #health? Email your candidates now to ask them to commit2 one! http://t.co/QxvqLBnnSh #ausvotes

@WePublicHealth: Are we stuck “between the impossible and the unthinkable"? What part does hope play? Or fellowship? #climate #health http://t.co/fJtiFM76Tv

@WePublicHealth: Health groups want #climate to be a policy priority with a broad sweep of organizations calling for climate action http://t.co/kqwGRlLgQQ

@WePublicHealth: Fascinating insight from rural mental #health nurse about why & how she will vote - & it's not for the major parties http://t.co/eOgSUzLuUH

And others - some fierce, some funny, all informative. Bye for now:

@farm_strong: As extinctions accelerate Coalition 2 seek 2 remove world heritage listing 4 Tas forests 2 allow logging http://t.co/EKovbcwKjg via @abcnews

@Cam_Walker: Just checking my watch. The Coalition has released an Energy policy that doesn't mention climate change. Its the 21st century, yes?

@farm_strong: Tony Abbott admits Direct Action policy won't work writes @beneltham. Its real aim was to "obfuscate and misdirect" https://t.co/QlPxf7lHxj

@healthy_climate: How the Votes are Counted http://t.co/MAY08CGnol #ausvotes

@margokingston1: I voted Green for future - environment, accountability in Senate. Urge protesters at LibLabor choice to power-up vote http://t.co/eQEuIl5Qy0

@JohnFalzon: We are yet to see a commitment from either side to lift Newstart by $50 a week. http://t.co/AR8BAfb3VV

@barnardwind: Sharing this from Melbourne which has best carbon-reduction plan in the world' | http://t.co/gNi3paXLHp http://t.co/kxwAoq0gNC

@Valakay: "So the poor will pay" for LNP policy - Tim Colebatch http://t.co/SNHgCSEbS5


@PmPaulKeating: Cut they forgot to mention, savings from eliminating Ministry of Environment. Needless
#Murray
#Barrier Reef
#climate chng
#auspol
#ausvotes


@sydnets: Facing up to #climatechange ? If voting Labor preference Greens, if voting Greens preference Labor. http://t.co/hZJ4dRLu64

@Valakay: Reducing emissions - "price signals are powerful, policy uncertainty is a drag ..." http://t.co/X5IGyki1rI #climate&health

@Valakay: "Those voting for change will get it. The nature of that change may not be what they expect" http://t.co/1n80o5If3e #AusVotes

@TimCostello: Coalition decision on foreign aid risks wiping out a generation of youth campaigning on ideals and principles regarding global poverty.

@hotnanna1: @WePublicHealth Vote for those who already have Climate Change policies! Not Crap lip service.

@jconnoroz: How far Oz has come after 20yrs of Fed elections & why this one was politics from another planet http://t.co/tChtpVrT3u #ausvotes #climate

@twowitwowoo: When I was young, I was told that anyone could become Prime Minister. Now I’m starting to believe it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

sorry if this is off topic, but what do you think will happen as climate deterioration already in the pipe as it were begins to bed down & increasing numbers of what they call low information voters gradually come to the realisation its not a hoax. i think it will take about four or five record breaking summers & record breaking winters for it to begin to be raised at suburban bar-b-ques. maybe less. will they turn on labor & the greens for being right? will they turn on the libs & nats for getting it wrong? personally i think the instances (is that the right word?) of clinical depression will increase. are you hopeful that mass denial can be turned around? in time? my partner says i'm an inveterate optimist but its getting harder for me to be positive about this. i heard a german green interviewed back in the 80s, i'll never forget it, she said we'll either get green democracy or we'll get green fascism. like i said i'm finding it hard to stay optimistic even though from all accounts that matter i seem hardwired for it.

Val Kay said...

Thanks for your comment, it raises some big questions, I might have to reply to them in later posts but will try to give some brief responses below.
It hasn't actually been a landslide result in the election, in spite of some predictions, which presumably means people could turn back towards Labor and Greens in coming elections without too much angst. The risk is of course that we will lose years of progress on carbon reduction we could have been making, and it gets harder and more expensive all the time. I will be interested to see whether Tony Abbott follows through his promise to get rid of the carbon price, we shall see soon I suppose, but I think it will be hard to do in practice.

Health services already are responding to the mental health issues raised by climate change, will try to put some info about that up in a post soon.

Regarding turning denial around, my view in summary is: go around it rather than confront it - talk to people about benefits of sustainable living, appeal to both self interest and altruism (saving money for yourself and helping the environment), as discussed in a previous post. Next step may well need to be regulation, but Australians have a history of accepting regulation fairly readily when linked to public health (seat belts, non smoking regulations etc) - of course the whole free market, individualistic discourse about freedom from the IPA etc may lessen the chance of getting reasonable regulation democratically accepted, and thereby actually make heavy handed (fascist) responses more likely. That's my fear I guess but I hope it doesn't happen.