Showing posts with label Climate Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Climate Change. Show all posts

Friday, March 1, 2019

Book Launch - WILDERNESS: Celebrating Australia's Protected Places..

Well thank goodness someone - many someones have been, for decades trying to and succeeding at, saving Australian wilderness areas. Not that its been a straight line of success, a graph pointing only up. Even today, I think many business people and politicians hold onto the dangerous and outmoded idea that nature is only of value - once you cut it down! So the work of the Society is a hard slog, the path rocky at best, but the rewards great, when they win. And not just a win for the Wilderness Society; but for society as a whole. As I think people are beginning to realise in the face of global warming, or whatever you want to call the great climate change disaster sweeping across everyone's doorstep.
Sydney Book Launch - WILDERNESS: Celebrating Australia's Protected Places..
I was fortunate enough to be invited to this event by the host, photographer Sarah Ducker who's own art works are marvellous pictures made in fragile environments. Sarah was kind enough to open her home in Sydney which overlooks the South Pacific Ocean for the book launch. A view with a significance that would come to bear in Sarah's speech. But first the book. The book is stunning a collection of beautiful pictures of Australian wilderness. Wilderness that we still have in large part thanks to the work of the Wilderness Society and their supporters. This is a beautiful book of photography which you have probably heard nothing about.. you can check it out and buy a copy here it's just fantastic. 'The book celebrates the places Wilderness Society has campaigned to protect for over 40 years, including Kakadu, the Daintree rainforest, the Kimberley and of course, the mighty Franklin river.' I think the reason you probably haven't heard about this volume until now is the society are just too busy dealing with the day to day of saving these vast resources - resources just as they are, from the tyranny of progress - to make selling the book a priority. Which I guess is where I come in to do my bit.
Speeches at the Sydney Book Launch - WILDERNESS: Celebrating Australia's Protected Places..
Now launches mean speeches; but I'm not going to go into any great detail other than two points from two of the speakers. Tim Gartrell, (Campaign Director for the successful 'yes' vote in favour of marriage equality at the 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey). Tim dropped this stunning piece of information; that it takes about 1.5 million dollars to lobby successfully to change legislation. Which is a bit more than an email or phone call to your local member - though that is very important too! And the current legislation is not iron clad; 'protected' wilderness areas are not as safe as one would have hoped. And some are still under development threat. So there is more lobbying to be done, and that means more money so - buy the book - it will help and you get a great book..Listening to the speeches at the Sydney Book Launch - WILDERNESS: Celebrating Australia's Protected Places..
The other speech was an incredibly heartfelt one by Sarah. The most poignant point for me was her observation of the vast ocean, seen daily from her vantage point on the cliff - how the ocean, the atmosphere, how that great vastness, over the past decade has really changed. To paraphrase incredibly poorly; the ocean has gone from a classic seascape to a constant boiling pot, a watery miasma. Which I took as a portent of things to come. So there's work to be done; these guys, the Wilderness Society have been at the forefront of environmental protection for a long time. You can donate, or buy the book using the direct links to their website. You can also help by sharing this blog post using the buttons on the side bar.Sarah Ducker speaking at the Sydney Book Launch - WILDERNESS: Celebrating Australia's Protected Places..
Sarah Ducker receives a copy of the book and a hug - WILDERNESS: Celebrating Australia's Protected Places..
 https://shop.wilderness.org.au/products/wilderness-celebrating-australia-s-protected-places
Full disclosure - I enjoyed the catering on the day and a glass of wine or a beer like everyone else. The links are affiliate free - no money or product has changed hands. Don't forget to SHARE THIS BLOG POST!

Telling Stories in Pictures all over..
Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.
0433 796 863
Posted by at 4:05 PM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Time to ACT - No Planet - No Future! Sydney Climate Change Rally & March.

One of the fun things I saw this morning after logging into Facebook was a fairly typical; Positive Thinking cartoon of two people riding in a bus above a valley on a curving road. One person (the negative sad one) is looking at an endless craggy rock face, a solid impenetrable wall. The other person (the happy positive one) is looking out the other side of the bus at a golden valley. The obvious conclusion is that life is how you look at it. Unfortunately life is a little more complex than simplistic solutions to all your problems and the problems of the world - #ClimateChange is real. A trip to Bali to meditate on it is not going to solve it - at least unless your mediation leads you to ACT!

Back to the cartoon, and all I could think was, "thank god someone's driving the bus"! Because these two passengers are BOTH just passive riders; and the time for being Passive Riders, Passive Consumers, just Passive, passive.. is over. So here I am today, wanting to put my two cents in, and my pictures from the march in Sydney yesterday - You should have been there! I also read the other day that there would be no fish in the sea by 2048, not concerned? Don't be lazy, Google it. It's Time to Act!!!

Don't burn my future - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Tibetans for climate action now - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Save our earth - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
If the oceans die we all die - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Solar! Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Danny's Page Its ABC, for the children - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Unless you care - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Hey Malcolm, This sign has more direct action.. Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Project Serenity, Bushcare - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Marching for the Fish - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Fight Connex, Haberfield - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Doctors for the Environment - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
100% Clean - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Save the planet, Go VEGAN - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Windmills, Renewables - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
VEGANS against climate change - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Farms not Gas, Knitting Nannas, PITTWATER - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
#March4u #Paris - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Giant puppets, Tony Abbot, Malcolm Turnbull, CBD Hi-rise in background, King Coal Forever slogan - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Large Sun banner, 100% renewables, marching Macquarie Street - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
No Nukes, Act Now, crowd marching, Macquarie Street - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
#ClimareShip marching Macquarie Street - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Renewable Energy, marching Macquarie Street - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Climate action NOW, marching Macquarie Street - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Breaking up the march peacefully - marching Macquarie Street- Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
The whole march skilfully diffused and rendered mostly impotent by police directives and law abiding citizens..
The view, people diffused, Opera Quay, marching Macquarie Street - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Giant puppets, Opera Quay, Tony Abbot, Malcolm Turnbull, CBD Hi-rise in background, King Coal Forever slogan - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,
Well Done Sydney banner and people after the march, Macquarie Street - Sydney, Climate Change March, The Domain, Macquarie Street, Climate Change, Protest, #NoPlanetNoFuture, #PeoplesClimate, #PeoplesClimateMarch, #Sydney,

Apparently when the march arrived at Moore Stairs, marchers were asked to head down the stairs and also put away their banners so as to not disturb people enjoying the weekend.. Ultimately some were permitted to also continue down Macquarie street to the Opera House forecourt(ish) area; but there would be no massed gathering of marchers under the Opera House sails; which as was pointed out to me by the award winning photo journalist I was standing next too, is "what you needed for international coverage, and saleable pictures".. Strange coincidence or political expedience? You decide dear reader.

View these pictures larger on Street Fashion Sydney's Facebook page HERE.

Telling Stories in Pictures all over Sydney..
Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.
0433 796 863
Posted by at 5:53 PM 2 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)