IML
Semester 2's intake of 'Survival Arabic' is beckoning; it'd be a good starting point since the last time I 'studied' a language it was...yeah... 12 hours per semester + exams couldn't hurt too much.
The Stern Review
The Stern Report is too epic for me to print out and read right now, but I’ve found this summary by ‘The Guardian’ (H. Osbourne, 2006)
The dangers
· All countries will be affected by climate change, but the poorest countries will suffer earliest and most.
· Average temperatures could rise by 5C from pre-industrial levels if climate change goes unchecked.
· Warming of 3 or 4C will result in many millions more people being flooded. By the middle of the century 200 million may be permanently displaced due to rising sea levels, heavier floods and drought.
· Warming of 4C or more is likely to seriously affect global food production.
· Warming of 2C could leave 15-40% species facing extinction.
· Before the industrial revolution level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million (ppm) CO2 equivalent (CO2e); the current level is 430ppm CO2e. The level should be limited to 450-550ppm CO2.
· Anything higher would substantially increase risks of very harmful impacts. Anything lower would impose very high adjustment costs in the near term and might not even be feasible.
· Deforestation is responsible for more emissions than the transport sector.
· Climate change is the greatest and widest-ranging market failure ever seen.
Recommended actions
· Three elements of policy are required for an effective response: carbon pricing, technology policy and energy efficiency.
· Carbon pricing, through taxation, emissions trading or regulation, will show people the full social costs of their actions. The aim should be a global carbon price across countries and sectors.
· Emissions trading schemes, like that operating across the EU, should be expanded and linked.
· Technology policy should drive the large-scale development and use of a range of low-carbon and high-efficiency products.
· Globally, support for energy research and development should at least double; support for the deployment of low-carbon technologies should be increased my up to five times.
· International product standards could be introduced.
· Large-scale international pilot programmes to explore the best ways to curb deforestation should be started very quickly.
· Climate change should be fully integrated into development policy, and rich countries should honour pledges to increase support through overseas development assistance.
· International funding should support improved regional information on climate change impacts.
· International funding should go into researching new crop varieties that will be more resilient to drought and flood.
Economic impacts
· The benefits of strong, early action considerably outweigh the costs.
· Unabated climate change could cost the world at least 5% of GDP each year; if more dramatic predictions come to pass, the cost could be more than 20% of GDP.
· The cost of reducing emissions could be limited to around 1% of global GDP; people could be charged more for carbon-intensive goods.
· Each tonne of CO2 we emit causes damages worth at least $85, but emissions can be cut at a cost of less than $25 a tonne.
· Shifting the world onto a low-carbon path could eventually benefit the economy by $2.5 trillion a year.
· By 2050, markets for low-carbon technologies could be worth at least $500bn.
· What we do now can have only a limited effect on the climate over the next 40 or 50 years, but what we do in the next 10-20 years can have a profound effect on the climate in the second half of this century.
Fucking. Awesome.
Today, we hit 1000 paying members in AIESEC Australia.To say congratulations would be ridiculously understated. It's just. Fucking. Awesome.Now we just need that next landmark... 360 golden members by July... Brace yourself Melbourne.
Confidentiality
Yes, I am incredibly critical of my university.
And I often complain how ‘real world’ my university actually is.
But I’ve got to give them some credit for tonight’s little activity.
I’ve just had to sign a confidentiality release form for my client. My client happens to be an elderly man running bus tours for Brisbane’s elderly. Yes, very nice gesture, but I’m sure he’s making a packet in the process. This release:
a) gives assurance to said elderly man that I won’t tell his company secrets; andb) transfers ownership of my assignment to said elderly man on completion.
*sigh*
Rural suicides Maharashta and Meekathara...
Check out this article (Ashling O'Connor, CM 27/04/07). I wonder how many other rural areas globally have issues of rural suicide. It doesn't matter if you're in Maharashta in India, or Meekathara in Queensland...Find below a small section:'After pledging billions of rupees in relief packages to the struggling rural poor, the Indian Government now thinks the answer to a spate of suicides by farmers may lie not in economics but in entertainment.Burdened by crop failures and unmanageable debts, thousands of desperate farmers are killing themselves every year, despite the announcement of sizeable subsidies that were supposed to improve their lot. There have been more than 200 suicides this year in the western state of Maharashtra alone, after 1452 in the region last year. Official estimates put the death toll since 2001 on India's western and southern farming plateaus at more than 5000. Unofficial surveys suggest the number could be double that.'At the moment, I know that drought assistance is available via Centrelink for Australian farmers, and that there are a number of inititives by Beyond Blue and federal government being run to combat rural suicide.
Music rant.
On the way home tonight I was listening to music loudly, and I found myself analysing why I listen to the music that I do.
I’ve a penchant for ‘darker’ music. I can’t even remember the last time I listened to a mainstream music station… actually… on that note… any music station.
I’ve come down to a single concept. I find it uplifting.
I like music that makes you think. Because those that wrote it had to think.
You just know that the people who were responsible for that line, or song, or album were incredibly passionate. It must be an amazingly cleansing experience to stand up and yell/ scream/ whisper/ warble their problems to thousands of people, and have them chant it back to you; to have them relate to them either directly or in an abstract way. When you can hear it in their voice that they’re gritting their teeth as they sing. That’s what real music is to me.
Basically, I relate to this:
‘You're keeping in step in the line Got your chin held high and you feel just fine Because you do what you're told But inside your heart it is black and it's hollow and it's cold’
Much more than I can relate to this:
'You just played yourself'Cause you're hot like fireBaby don't try to run your game on me'Cause it's plain to see that you'reHot like fire'
(*shudder* for reference, I actually had to Google ‘Jessica Simpson’ to find that.)
It’s the same premise as PostSecret or LiveJournal Secret; an avenue for people to tell the world something they couldn’t possibly tell anyone themselves.
I’ll leave you with this line from ‘Dead Martyrs’ by Manic Street Preachers:
‘Got no future, just dead stars for dead eyes’
Don’t read too much into it. It’s just a fantastic song.
For Bo.
I can't believe you've actually gone home Turk. But it was a fantastic, crazy, memorable eighteen months (September 10th, 2005 to March 20th, 2007 to be exact).Bo; my housemate, chef- extrodinairre, arthouse film junkie, keeper of my sanity, belly-dancer, shisha-addict and President of the Brian Molko Fan Club.I'm sure that home in Ankara, Turkey has welcomed you as much as Brisbane, Australia misses you.
You're fucking kidding.
As soon as I read the first paragraph of this article, I knew exactly which councillor they were talking about.Toowoomba's politics have hit an all time low. This is just disgraceful. Shameful.Recycled water fight begins (Chris Griffin, CM, 20/03/07)A TOOWOOMBA councillor has organised the distribution of 400,000 28-page booklets to southeast Queensland which claims that recycled water will cause cancers, infertility, and change the sex of male fish.
The booklet claims that recycled water has a 'gender bender' quality and that a third of male fish in the UK were changing to female and producing eggs as a result of swimming in water expunged by sewage treatment plants.
However the State Goverment and academics already has branded the booklet as unscientific and containing dishonest misinformation and recommended they be thrown in the recycling bin.
"Can I say that this material is dishonest in a number of respects, it is not based on sound and comprehensive science and it certainly does not put into the arena all of the facts,'' said Deputy Premier Anna Bligh.
She said recycled water had been used in drinking water safely for more than 40 years in Washington and Orange County in the US.
"I think the people of southeast Queensland are too smart to fall for this sort of nonsense,'' she said.
The man heading the booklet campaign, Toowoomba councillor F.P. ‘Snow’ Manners, said southeast Queensland faced major resistence to recycled water from business, especially the hospitality and catering industry, which had helped finance the massive mailout.
The booklet quotes research by Australian Professor John Aitken and says it suggests that by-products used in reused drinking water could damage the male sperm line with resultant cancers.
It quotes what it says is research by an environmental agency and scientists from Brunel University in the UK who found that a large proportion of male fish in some British rivers were changing sex andf producing eggs as a result of chemicals from treatment plants and factories.
Cr Manners said the booklet, entitled 'Think Before You Agree To Drink?' was being delivered on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to southeast Queensland letter boxes.
He said he expected about 1.2 million residents in 400,000 homes would read it.
Cr Manners said it was a myth that London and Singapore were using recycled water in their domestic drinking supplies.
He said pro-recycled water lobby had been telling 'lies' and exaggerating the widespread acceptance of recycled water in supplies.
Cr Manners was elected in a by-election last year to Toowoomba City Council after running a similar campaign there against recycling water for domestic supply.
Water quality researcher Stuart Khan said the booklet had failed to correct the factual errors contained in a previous version circulated in Toowoomba ahead of its water referendum.
"Not only is there no new information to ‘shake the Government and the Water Industry to the core’, even basic factual errors have not been corrected," Mr Khan said.
He said there was "significant confusion" between what the booklet portrayed as the impacts of conventionally treated sewage, with the advanced treated recycled water proposed for southeast Queensland.
"It continues to permeate TBYATD from front cover to back.," said Mr Khan, a researcher with the Centre for Water and Waste Technology at the University of New South Wales.
"I can only conclude that the misunderstanding and confusion that this is likely to impart to readers is not considered by the authors to be a failing that is worthy of revision."
Long time coming
Congratulations boys, it's been a long time coming. Hometrack in two weeks time.
Gold Dust
Tonight I went to a PRIA networking event, and it really hit home how little I know about the industry that I am planning to work in. I know who the peak body is, but I don’t actually know anyone on the PRIA council. I know that your main options are as a consultant, or in the private sector, but I don’t really know who’s who of that industry. Maybe this is an ‘omen’ leading me closer to my ‘Personal Legend’ (Yes, I’ve just finished reading The Alchemist by Coelho) hinting to me the corporate PR world just isn’t for me.
The stuff I'm really interested in is crisis management and product recalls for high-turnover/ short term products, but tonight the Chair of PRIA let me know that it's not really a field you can pursue; you just need to be paitent and wait until the sh*t hits the fan and be ready to clean up. Bugger.
I also really need to reassess my views on PR; after three years part of me still summons images of the pretentious blonde girls in my classes ending up as pretentious blonde spin doctors holding ethics to ransom in their well manicured hands.
I’m currently reading a fantastic book; ‘Please f*ck off, its our turn now: Holding baby boomers to account’ by Ryan Heath. One of the concepts Heath touches on is gold dusting, ‘the practice of picking jobs and employers that look good on a CV for the purpose of attracting future employers.’
So I’m trying to work out how I can squeeze some ‘What is PR…no…really…don’t lie to me…’ while gathering PR gold dust, but this year I’m already balancing university, Project Overflow, working for government and now Youth Parliament (thanks to Lucy for urging me to nominate!)
I’m doing plenty, but am I doing enough? I think maybe I’ll just start with a PRIA membership…
Obit.
In the month that I have had Giselle, she has been a sickly goldfish, but this morning she finally succumbed. I think her abhorrence to food was a pretty major player. Giselle preferred rocks to fish flakes.
This morning I found her doing corkscrew spirals, doing suicide dives to the bottom of the tank, then spending a good deal of time floating upside down. Odd behaviour, but it did look like a fun way to go out.
I think it was tempting fate to name a fish after a model, especially given that said model is probably wasting away from malnutrition herself.
Giselle is survived by her flatmate, Oliver Twist; the fish that is always hungry.
For clarification.
A quick shoutout to all my OCP's, especially Su, Manny and Jem (and Daz for our OCP chant)
"NLT are a bunch of nuff-nuffs...
... OCP's are great!"
IWD 2007
Today is International Women’s Day; March 8th. A date that meant very little to me, other than replacing tartan with green and purple for one day each year in high school, until recently. In fact, the ‘Gender Studies’ subject in my anthropology degree was the one I was least looking forward to, mostly because I thought it was all a big farce and that we’d already achieved equality. It was only when I started getting involved in business, seeing board rooms full of men and whacking my head against the glass ceiling (that I’d been warned so much about) that it sunk in that gender inequality *gasp* still exists.
So today, I'm taking time out to recognise five women who have been a crucial influence in my life to date:
Robyn Jones, a teacher that spent as much time teaching us the origin of phallic objects, ancient sex rituals, the aphrodisiac qualities in ancient plants and the lives of prostitutes, as she did covering emperors, war and politics.
For Catherine, who undoubtedly will be out celebrating this day with her very wonderful network of businesswomen, who threw me in at the deep end of government bureaucracy, and taught me a huge amount about the nuances of being a female manager in a male dominated field. But mostly, the importance of finding balance.
To Di Thorley, Mayor of Toowoomba and one of the most tenacious, hard working, socially aware people I’ve ever encountered. Most importantly, she’s incredibly down to earth. She's someone who is in the public service because she really gives a s*** about her people and isn’t scared to be controversial when it’s in their best interest.
For Vicky Wallace, the Filipino nurse/ businesswoman/ mother/ powerhouse who set about bettering her place in the world for her children, and has now had an immensurable, sustainable impact on her community, and the people she touches.
And finally, to my Mum who will be sitting in at a lunch in Sydney sipping VC to celebrate today.
Happy International Women’s Day!
New Home.
As of tonight, I’m part of AIESEC UQ.
A few weeks ago now, we made the decision to turn Project Overflow into a PBox based within an LC, rather than run at a regional level, and tonight we finalised that I’ll be based out of UQ.
When I first started, it was Ryan, James, Dan, Ruthie and Nakey that I partied with the most. Some of my closest friends and keepers of my sanity. But it’s going to take me a little while to get my head around being part of a their LC.
It’s an odd feeling to know that QUT, the LC that was have so committed to for the last two years, is now something that I won’t be actively involved in. Of course I’ll still be around. But its just not the same.
I’ve had a reality check thinking about Bo, QUT’s wonderful intern who is leaving in a few days. Just 18 months ago, of the seven people who came to collect her from the airport that day, just one has remained. I don’t think I can be anything but a QUT girl at heart.
So come July, I’ll be chanting:
UQ NUMBER ONE! UQ NUMBER ONE!
Followed by a hearty rendition of WHO ARE, WHO ARE, WHO ARE WE?
And more than likely capped off with a scream-til-your-hoarse QUEENSLANDER!
On fire drills.
Dear Fire Warden,
I’m writing to you to express my feelings on this evening’s fire drill. I understand the importance of fire safety to the student population, and I mean no disrespect to the profession of Fire Warden, however I feel that you could revise the timing of your drills.
This evening’s drill disrupted a 7-9pm financial analysis lecture. It’s already like herding stray cats to even have students attend this class, let alone for our lecturer to contend with the distraction of loud bells and the excitement that ensues.
This evening, as I kept at a safe distance from the source of tonight’s ‘fire’ I calculated that I spend a total of 5 hours and 20 minutes of my life on the lawn, surrounded by hundreds of my peers as we are guided by your watchful hand and fluorescent jacket.
If altering the timing of drills is beyond your responsibility, perhaps you could consider filling this fire drill time with entertainment for students, above and beyond the loud bells. Perhaps you could look to add an element of realism by using a smoke machine or being creative with decorative candles. I honestly believe that this will make my time at university more fulfilling.
Kind regards,
Student 5976500
Decided.
'Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.'
Napoleon Bonaparte
Myotonic Goats
I love National Geographic.
I just watched a documentary on myotonic goats; a breed of goat with a genetic disorder that causes its muscles to tense when the animal is scared, causing the goat to faint.
Their survival makes no sense according to the concept of natural selection; as soon as the myotonic goat sees a predator, they flop on the floor and become an instant meal for any nearby lion/ tiger/ shark.
The reason that they exist in their current numbers is that humans have influenced their evolution. In fact, they’re almost totally reliant on humans to protect them from predators. Some breeders favour myotonic goats as they’re easier to care for, provide more meat (due to the constant muscle work) and their sweeter disposition.
You can check out the Wikipedia entry here, or a video here. And, in my random ‘click the link-itis’ I came across a site for goat merchandise….
Note to my lecturer.
Dear Lecturer,I'm a little concerned about about the amount of content covered in last night's lecture. 52 text- loaded slides covered in a two hour lecture may be a little excessive. Particularly when the latter 34 slides are delivered in the closing 15 minutes. Considering your class material focuses on the behavioural response in consumers to information, maybe you could look to revise your delivery.Kind Regards,Student 5976500
Yes, I am incredibly critical of my university.
