Peter Sainsbury

Peter Sainsbury is a retired public health worker with a long interest in social policy, particularly social justice, and now focusing on climate change and environmental sustainability. He is extremely pessimistic about the world avoiding catastrophic global warming.

Peter's recent articles

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 31 March 2019

Gas producers slow down climate action in WA, miners meet ministers in NSW almost weekly, cement producers (allegedly) resist the use of fly ash in concrete production in Australia, and big banks, particularly in the USA, continue to invest trillions in fossil fuel companies. But Bill McKibben and Tim Flannery offer some hope for the environment.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 24 March 2019

In Europe ExxonMobil is spending billions of Euros every year to hold back climate action in the EU, while in Asia communities living in the sixteen downstream countries of the ten rivers that rise in the Hindu Kush region of the Himalayas face increasing problems with food production and incomes as a result of climate change. In the USA forest regrowth after bushfires is also threatened by climate change. And yet recent research demonstrates that action on climate change makes social, environmental sense and economic sense. An initiative by Melbourne City Council produces unexpected heart-warming results.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 17 March 2019

The Reserve Bank of Australia issues its first statement on climate change its highly likely to disrupt the productivity and stability and they now include it with the other factors they consider when managing the economy while schools students across the world strike to draw attention to the failure of current leaders to take adequate action to combat climate change. In Central America, people and governments in Costa Rica and Cuba take climate action more seriously.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 10 March 2019

Water features strongly this week: while Birdlife Australia is being innovative to protect our water birds, the governments and shooters of Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia are wilfully destroying them in the hundreds of thousands; the citizens of Toledo (think Klinger, not El Greco) approve a Lake Erie Bill of Rights; Melbournes water supply is threatened by logging native forests; and, perhaps drawing a longish bow, financial institutions are abandoning their support for coal (the mining of which requires a lot of water).

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 3 March 2019

To mixed responses, global and Australian mining giant Glencore has announced that it will not be expanding its coal mining operations. Meanwhile politicians squabble in Canberra over Australias greenhouse gas emission projections for the next decade. Waters shortages in Australia create many problems but they are unlikely to result in military conflict; in Africa and Asia water wars are a distinct possibility. To finish, I present an alarming graph of global carbon dioxide emission projections from fossil fuels to 2050.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 24 February 2019

Glaciers, forests and the Great Barrier Reef: todays round up discusses threats to biodiversity in each of these from global warming or drought or flood or deforestation, or some combination of these. And to finish, a map of Europe that demonstrates the serious and widespread harm caused to humans by coal fired power stations.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 17 February 2019

It may be too slow but the policy environment around climate change is moving. Recently in NSW we have seen a mine proposal refused because of its impact on climate change and the release of a report calling for the development of a plan for the Hunter Valley to transition away from coal. In the USA calls for a Green New Deal have been released. But while all this grinds along, insects around the world are disappearing fast.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sundays environmental round up, 10 February 2019

Articles from around the world this week: electrical power sources in Australia, oil and gas drilling expansion in the USA, effects of shrinking glaciers on communities in Central Asia, and the Presidency of the next COP meeting in Chile.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday's environmental round up, 3 February 2019

A complete focus on climate change this week, starting with a short video by the inspirational Greta Thunberg and finishing with a map of distinctly chilly Iowa. In between, articles about last year's game-changing IPCC report on warming of 1.5oC, Germany's plans to exit coal fired power, sweltering Adelaide and a report on feeding the world's growing population.

PETER SAINSBURY. Australias greenhouse gas emissions are galloping ahead

The Australian governments most recent projections indicate that greenhouse gas emissions will increase by 5.4% between now and 2030, when they will be only 7% below the level in 2005. Such a reduction is well below Australias Paris Agreement commitment to reduce emissions by 26-28% between 2005 and 2030. And yet the Prime Minister continues to insist that Australia will achieve its commitment in a canter. Personally, I wouldnt bet on it.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday's environmental round up, 27 January 2019

The Australian Energy Market Operators report (summarised here by Sophie Vorrath) into the power failure (caused by a lightning strike) that affected Victoria, NSW and Tasmania in August 2018 illustrates the complexity of maintaining reliable electricity supplies across Australias east coast whatever the power sources. However, the reporting of the AEMOs findings by The Australian was less than comprehensive, misleadingly making it look as though the problem was entirely attributable to the failure of solar energy supplies well, whod have thought it??

Sunday's environment round up

Environmental issues, particularly but not only climate change, are once again prominent in the public eye and their importance has been reflected in frequent posts over the years in Pearls & Irritations. We can also be certain that a range of environmental issues will feature strongly in the forthcoming Federal election, particularly for instance climate change and carbon dioxide emission reduction targets, energy policy, the proposed Adani mine, fracking, the Murray Darling River, the Great Barrier Reef and land clearing. Some issues will assume greater importance in some electorates than others. Starting this week, Peter Sainsbury will be compiling...

PETER SAINSBURY. Labors environmental policies: will the action match the rhetoric?

The ALP has released details of the environmental policies they will introduce if elected during 2019. Central to these are a new Australian Environment Act and a new Federal Environmental Protection Agency. Labors challenge will be to provide national leadership to tackle the wide range of environmental threats to human health and survival, while giving businesses the policy certainty they need but not the free-passes some want.

PETER SAINSBURY. IPCCs 1.5oC report makes Paris Agreement redundant.

The report Global Warming of 1.5oC was published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in October 2018. Although the report does not say so, the evidence it presents renders the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change redundant. It asks the wrong question, and its goals and strategies are now revealed to be completely inadequate for avoiding catastrophic climate change.

Health professionals condemn Australian Government's contemptuous response to IPCC 1.5oC report .

In a letter to The Lancet twenty-two health professionals have condemned the Australian governments contemptuous responses to the report Global Warming of 1.5oC prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The letter includes a call for action covering the phase out of coal mining and burning, an increased CO2 emissions reduction target and an increased renewable energy target.

PETER SAINSBURY. Action on climate change depends on, but not guaranteed by, a change of government

Greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and the devastating consequences of climate change for the environment and humanity march on. The Morrison government is set to continue Australias disgraceful inactivity in combating climate change. The election of a Labor government and a climate action pact between Labor and the Greens provides some hope but no reassurance that this might change.

PETER SAINSBURY. Macron tests his entente cordiale with Turnbull on climate change.

Frances President Macron is taking the opportunity while briefly in Australia to bully, embarrass, shame, blackmail, whatever, Prime Minister Turnbull into taking meaningful action on climate change and become the real leader the Australian people and Macron himself are looking for. Hes got a hard task ahead of him but we need whatever help we can get to move this government forward. Just think how News Corp would be beside itself if a Labor leader got a dressing down like this from a French President!

PETER SAINSBURY. US Republicans advocate (smoke and black holes) plan on climate change.

Eight prominent US Republicans are advocating that the Republican Party should lead action on climate change by introducing a carbon tax, with distribution of the revenue raised to all Americans (a Carbon Dividend). While this may move the debate forward in the USA, the plan is parochial, blind to the range of environmental issues threatening the world, and seeks to maintain current economic and social power structures in the USA and globally.

PETER SAINSBURY. Australias 2017 carbon emission projections yet more spin and red herrings from the Australian government

Despite Australia committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% by 2030 compared with 2005, the Australian government is projecting, but trying hard to cover up, a 3.5% increase in greenhouse gas emissions between now and 2030. It is also encouraging companies to increase their emissions if they can increase their productivity thus confusing efficiency with the need to reduce the total amount of greenhouse gas pumped into the atmosphere if we are to limit global warming to manageable levels. There is a need for greater transparency and honesty in government communications.

PETER Sainsbury. Crisis what crisis? Australian government discussion paper downplays climate change

By ratifying the Paris Agreement on climate change in November 2016 the Australian government committed to a target of reducing Australian carbon emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2030. The government also agreed to review its climate change policies during 2017 to ensure that its policies remain effective in achieving the 2030 target and the other commitments in the Paris Agreement. In March 2017 the government released Terms of Reference for the review and a discussion paper Review of climate change policies (http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/review-climate-change-policies).

PETER SAINSBURY. A timely call to end massive public subsidies of the private health insurance industry

The private health insurance industry is a parasite on the health system and the public purse. The government-funded rebate on private health insurance premiums goes to the insurers, not the health care providers, and allows the government almost no control over how its money is used to treat sickness and promote health. If, for some reason unsupported by most of the evidence, the Government wishes to support private hospitals and private practitioners (as distinct from private health insurance companies), it would deliver itself, the public and patients a much better deal if it by-passed the useless middleman and negotiated...

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