It looks like an advertisment to promote individual awareness about energy conservation - to turn off light-switches when not in use. But is it ?? Lets click on it and see what comes up . . .
Hmmm. . . .
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I agree that everyone can 'do a little' - but I think we need to encourage people to do MORE about climate change.
Oh Geez, the Australian 'dirty' coal industry is trying to go green (I mean 'clean'). Much like the nucler industry is trying to go green by promoting itself as being 'safe' (laughing so hard, except it is not funny!!).
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Gee, maybe I don't need to do anything if the Australian Coal industry is going to reduce its emissions by 'up to 90%) - wrong !! This taps into the 'I will leave it to someone else' or 'there is nothing I can do because I am too small' type thinking that is so common in our society when it comes to climate change.
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Everyone may be worried, but many people just want someone else to 'do something'. This is a problem because people can do a LOT to help reduce the need for more coal power stations by reducing their individual carbon footprint. There are many ways for people to reduce their energy consumption (such as turning off lights when not in use, more efficient appliances, solar panels, gas rather than electric heating). The combined effect of everyone doing MORE will be a reduced need for more dirty coal power stations !!
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Anyway, then this pops up
So I clicked on it to see what their website had to say. I was guessing 'clean coal' as the 'solution' and I was right. What was funnier, it had a place to "Ask an expert" a question related to "topics like low-emissions coal technology, coal's role in the Australian economy and the challenge of climate change".
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One of my more deeper-green thinking friends believes that the idea of asking an 'expert' from the coal industry "what is the solution to climate change?" is like asking Charles Manson how to keep the streets safe. "Come on, where are most of the emissions coming from?? DIRTY COAL STATIONS !!"
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Anyway, I asked their 'expert' about whether ecological modernisation i.e. “The dirty and ugly industrial caterpillar will transform into an ecological butterfly” (Huber, 1985) is the solution to climate change or if more ecocentric thinking was required.
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I also asked if 'clean' coal was similiar to 'safe' nuclear energy.
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I also asked the 'expert' if renewable energy (such as solar) and individual behaviour change were better options than dirty coal.
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If the coal industry is pushing for a technocratic ecological modernisation approach (which it is), then it needs to realise that one of the main features of ecological modernisation is a change from top-down expert driven kowledge and decision making to bottom-up local knowledge and decision making. The coal industry needs to start listening to the community.
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Yet here is the Australian Coal industry with "ask a coal industry expert'. Australian society increasingly wants renewable energy and real green jobs over dirty coal and its dirty brown jobs. Dirty coal has had its day.
Could the huge amounts of money being invested in clean coal by governments be better spent on renewables (which is also already available) or even environmental behaviour change programs such as Community Based Social Marketing?
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What do you all think ????
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