Australian Church Leaders Discover Climate Change Hysteria By James Reed
These sort of woke adventures occur often at Easter and Christmas. The Australian special was a letter by church leaders endorsing the climate change catastrophe rhetoric. Of course, the solution was not to accept the Bible and prepare for Armageddon, which makes sense to me, but to go full speed to so-called renewable energies. Presumably these toys, such as wind generators, will allow the present materialist life style to proceed and all will go on swimmingly well.. But, as detailed below, so-called renewable energy cannot fuel our present life style, which is non-negotiable.
“Dozens of church leaders, including many others affected by flooding and bushfires, have signed on to an open letter calling for government leaders to take action on climate change.
The letter (see the full text and list of signatories below) was released today, on Easter Saturday – an unusual time for Christians to take political action and an indication of how important the issue is to them.
In the letter arranged by the Very Reverend Peter Catt, Anglican Dean of Brisbane, they say, “Our churches, along with homes and businesses in our communities, are being burnt down, flooded and severely impacted by extreme weather. Damage to the climate is a key contributing factor to these events.”
Easter is the holiest time in the Christian calendar and a powerful symbol of hope. Church leaders say they are hopeful, and buoyed by the strength of their communities in coming together to face the challenges of climate change.
However, they recognise that this great challenge requires systemic transformation that must be led by governments.
The letter reads, “As our government leaders continue their election campaign this Easter, we welcome them to our churches and call on them to take powerful action to preserve and protect God’s creation.:
The letter’s signatories call for:
● Halving carbon emissions this decade, in line with the recommendation of scientists and targets of their major trading partners;
● Transforming energy system towards 100 per cent renewable electricity while delivering a planned and just transition for energy workers; and
● Investing in programs to support communities on the frontlines to plan, prepare and adapt to the extreme weather events.
The group’s media release points to example of Uniting Church minister Reverend Tim Bennett, who won’t be hosting an Easter service this year because his church in Lismore in Northern NSW has been severely damaged in successive floods and he doesn’t know if it will ever reopen.
“But us not having a church is neither here nor there,” Bennett says. “Hundreds of families have lost everything.
“The idea that climate change will affect the poorest and most vulnerable first is no longer abstract, that’s what we are seeing with the least well off in North and South Lismore hit the hardest.”
With a federal election campaign in full swing this Easter, Bennett views climate change’s effect on the vulnerable as a political issue.
“If Jesus were alive today, he would encourage people to consider the environment when they cast their vote in May,” he says.
Church Leaders’ Easter Statement on the Environment
Easter is a celebration of life. In order to celebrate life all people need to flourish, but we acknowledge that Australians have been enduring dark days – with droughts, bushfires, severe storms and massive floods.
Our churches, along with homes and businesses in our communities, are being burnt down, flooded and severely impacted by extreme weather. Damage to the climate is a key contributing factor to these events.
Yet among these shared struggles there is Easter, a message of hope. Hope which reminds us that we can overcome the challenges that face us lifts hearts and minds to perceive a transformed world. Amongst the greatest challenges we face, is climate change. This is a challenge that collectively we can overcome. Facing this challenge requires us all to act responsibly and courageously.
Faith communities have worked tirelessly – alongside our neighbours – providing relief, comfort and practical support to those affected by climate driven disasters. But we cannot do this alone. The greater challenge of preventing such disasters in the future requires systemic transformation. We need our government leaders to heed the advice of climate experts to reduce carbon emissions to ensure a safe and sustainable future.
Churches along with other institutions in civil society and the business community must examine our own practices so we can help reverse damage to the climate. We commit to this action, in particular to support and protect marginalised communities and First Nations people who are on the frontlines of these dramatic environmental changes.
As our political leaders continue their election campaign this Easter, we welcome them to our churches and call on them to take powerful action to preserve and protect God’s creation by:
- Halving carbon emissions this decade, in line with the recommendation of scientists and targets of our major trading partners;
● Transforming our energy system towards 100% renewable electricity while delivering a planned and just transition for energy workers; and
● Investing in programs to support communities on the frontlines to plan, prepare and adapt to the extreme weather events.
Signed by
Rev Sharon Hollis, President Uniting Church in Australia Assembly Ann Zubrick, Presiding Clerk, Quakers Australia
Archbishop Haigazoun Najarian, Primate, Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand
Rev. John Gilmore, President, National Council of Churches in Australia
The Most Rev’d Kay Goldsworthy AO, Anglican Archbishop of Perth
The Most Rev’d Dr Phillip Aspinall AC, Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane
The Most Rev’d Mark Coleridge, Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane
The Most Rev’d Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv STL DD, Bishop of Parramatta [Catholic]
The Right Rev’d Dr Murray Harvey, Bishop of Grafton [Anglican]
The Right Rev’d Dr Peter Stuart, Bishop of Newcastle [Anglican]
The Right Rev’d Kate Prowd, Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Melbourne [Anglican]
The Right Rev’d Sonia Roulston, Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Newcastle [Anglican]
The Right Rev’d Charlie Murry, Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Newcastle [Anglican]
The Right Rev’d Jeremy Greaves, Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Brisbane [Anglican]
The Right Rev’d Cameron Venables, Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Brisbane [Anglican]
The Right Rev’d John Roundhill, Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Brisbane [Anglican]
The Right Rev’d Philip Huggins, Diocese of Melbourne [President of the National Council of Churches in Australia]
The Right Rev’d Dr Stephen Pickard, Adjunct Professor, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Charles Sturt University
The Right Rev Dr George Browning, Inaugural Convener, Anglican Communion Climate Network
The Very Rev’d Elizabeth Dyke, Dean of Bendigo [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d David Price, Dean of The Murray [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Richard Humphrey, Dean of Hobart [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Dr Kenneth Lay, Dean of Townsville [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Darryl Cotton, Dean of Bunbury [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Dr Andreas Loewe, Dean of Melbourne [Anglican]
Bishop Chis McLeod, Dean of Adelaide [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Chris Chataway, Dean of Perth [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Katherine Bowyer, Dean of Newcastle [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt, Dean of Brisbane [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Ken Goodger, Dean of Wangaratta [Anglican]
The Very Rev’d Rob Llewellyn, Dean of Darwin [Anglican]
Very Rev Robert Riedling, Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta [Catholic]
Kristyn Crossfield, Common Grace Board Chair [A non-denominational Not for Profit]
Sister Anne Lane President Society of Presentation Sisters of Australia and Papua New Guinea [Presentation Congregations in Australia]
Sr. Eveline Crotty Institute Leader Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea [Catholic]
Sr Wendy Hildebrand, Institute Leader Loreto Sisters Australia and South East Asia [Catholic]
Well, that is a mighty powerful lot of spiritual folk. ButJoan Nova has an excellent article defusing one aspect of the new-found climate change fanaticism of the church people, namely that so-called “sustainable” energy sources are actually “sustainable,” or even environmentally friendly. Wind and solar energy programs have a vast carbon footprint which is disguised by the Greens, taking vast quantities of energy and resources to produce, and to replace. These energy sources are thus polluting. The environmental havoc is documented below, something environmentalists should be made to read before leaving class.
https://joannenova.com.au/2022/04/rafe-champion-guest-post-the-dark-side-of-wind-and-solar-power/
“We are now alert to the failure of the green energy transition and even more alarming for genuine environmentalists is the fact that “decarbonization” policies are wreaking more havoc on the planet than global warming ever will. That has been going on for decades in plain sight and Michael Moore gave a glimpse of that ugly picture in his documentary film Planet of the Humans. No wonder that the usual suspects tried to close him down, happily without success. Still I have not seen it mentioned lately, certainly not in the “progressive” press.
Bill Stinson of the Energy Realists of Australia has compiled a record of environmental and human rights devastation through ten phases of wind and solar power production, from sourcing minerals to the disposal of work out windmills and solar panels and the remediation of damage (what remediation did you say?)
Phase 1 – Raw material sourcing – Environment Destruction.
Phase 2 – Raw material mining
Phase 3 – Raw material processing – Environment Destruction, Human Rights Abuse, Toxic Waste
Phase 4 – Approval – Supply Chains – Modern Slavery, Human Rights Abuse
Phase 5 – Fabrication – Large Scale Environment Destruction
Phase 6 – Transportation “Throughout the solar PV manufacturing process all of the materials and products must be shipped to and from more than a dozen countries around the world in large barges, container ships, trains or trucks – all powered by non-renewable oil.”
Phase 7 – Construction – Environment Destruction, Tenuous Supply Chain, Toxic Waste
Phase 8 – Operation – Environment Destruction, Flora and Fauna Destruction,
Phase 9 – Demolition and Rehabilitation
Phase 10 – Disposal – Environment Destruction, Toxic Waste
Environment-Destruction-The-Dark-Side-of-Renewable-Energy-1
The paper is too densely packed for casual readers so we split out some bite-sized chunks to put in briefing notes for our list of politicians and others. This was Note 21.2 to introduce the paper.
Critical issues with the volume of raw materials required
Note 21.20 signalled the massive scale of mining that is required to deliver the raw materials required for the international net zero effort.
The International Energy Agency calculated that the needs for “energy transition minerals” such as lithium, graphite, nickel and rare-earth metals would rise by 4,200%, 2,500%, 1,900% and 700%, respectively, by 2040.
The report noted that the world doesn’t have the capacity to meet such demand and there are no plans to fund and build the necessary infrastructure for mines, transport facilities and refineries.
Critical issues at the stage of exploration and sourcing
Briefing Note 21.21 reported that an international research team with members at the Centre for Biodiversity at the University of Queensland has raised serious concerns.
“Mining threats to biodiversity will increase as more mines target materials for renewable energy production and these new threats to biodiversity may surpass those averted by climate change mitigation.” This is just the tip of an iceberg because there is bound to be a global “gold rush” for energy materials taking miners into remote wilderness areas that haven’t yet been disturbed.”
See also Mark Mills – What’s Wrong with Wind and Solar
“The mining industry necessarily uses oil for heavy machinery, often to generate electricity in remote locations. Global mining already uses nearly twice as much petroleum as the entire country of Germany, and that’s before the emerging “gold rush” for energy minerals.”
“The global push for Electric Vehicles will drive up demand for a variety of other energy minerals from 200% to 8,000%. Mining can be done responsibly, but new mines aren’t likely to open in America or Europe. Consequently, some environmentalists have begun to worry about the invasion of pristine and fragile ecosystems around the world in hot pursuit of mineral wealth.”
(Mark P Mills – Washington Examiner – Energy & Environment – “The Myth of the Great Energy Transition” – October 1, 2020)
Critical issues at the phase of construction
Briefing Note 22.1 signals the environmental impact of building wind and solar farms. RE facilities, including the poles and wires required to carry the power to market from remote locations, demand massive amounts of land, concrete, steel, and metals including the essential rare earths.
A single wind turbine contains around 900 tons of steel, 2,500 tons of concrete and 45 tons of nonrecyclable plastic. Transport of the materials adds to the environmental impact, as does the disposal of the components when the facility is decommissioned.
The AEMO Integrated System Plan to double our electricity supply using wind and solar power calls for a ten-fold increase in large-scale wind and solar capacity and more than 10,000 km of new transmission lines. Environmental impact is the dirty secret of the RE industry and when environmentalists realise what is happening many will not tolerate the that amount of damage.
Human Rights and Environmental Issues in the supply chain
Note 22.2 describe the human rights, environmental impacts and waste disposal issues arising from large-scale generation of renewable energy.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) report titled Uyghurs for Sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang claims that the Chinese government had facilitated the mass transfer of Uyghur and other ethnic minority citizens from the far western region of Xinjiang to factories across the country.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo some 40,000 children as young as four toil with their parents for less than $2 a day up to 12 hours a day. https://www.cfact.org/2020/08/09/renewable-energys-staggering-human-costs/
The Commonwealth of Australia – Modern Slavery Act No 153, 2018 Act requires entities based, or operating, in Australia, which have an annual consolidated revenue of more than $100 million, to report annually on the risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains, and actions to address those risks. Other entities based, or operating, in Australia may report voluntarily.
The Commonwealth is required to report on behalf of non-corporate Commonwealth entities, and the reporting requirements also apply to Commonwealth corporate entities and companies with an annual consolidated revenue of more than $100 million.”
(Commonwealth of Australia – Modern Slavery Act No 153, 2018 Clause 3)
Environmental and waste disposal issues
The manufacture of solar panels requires significant natural resources including quartz, coal, silver, copper and highly toxic rare earth elements. Mining those resources is damaging to the environment and destroys habitats.
Processing those natural resources requires generation of significant amounts of electricity. In particular, construction of photovoltaic (PV) cells (i.e. solar cells) requires the extraction of silicon from quartz (i.e. silicon oxide) using carbon. “The first step of solar PV production is gathering, transporting and burning millions of tons of coal, coke and petroleum coke – along with charcoal and wood chips made from hardwood trees – to smelt > 97% pure mg-Si from quartz”. Large quantities of coal, coke, charcoal and woodchips must be burnt, with a consequential substantial release of CO2 into the atmosphere. A “vast amount of deforestation [is] necessary for solar PV production”
(Why Do We Burn Coal and Trees to Make Solar Panels? Thomas Troszak, 14 November 2019, para 2, paras 3 and 15 and reference notes [14] to [16])
“They’ve long wanted a totally electric vehicle fleet, which they claim would be clean, ethical, climate-friendly and sustainable. Of course, those labels hold up only so long as they look solely at activities and emissions within California state boundaries – and not where the mining, manufacturing and electricity generation take place. That kind of “life cycle” analysis would totally disrupt their claims.
Consider copper. A typical internal combustion engine uses about 50 pounds (23 kilos ) of this vital everyday metal, the International Copper Association says. A hybrid car requires almost 90 lb (40 kg); a plug-in EV needs 132 lb (60 kg); and a big electric bus can use up to 812 lb (369 kg) of copper. If all 15,000,000 California cars were EVs, they would need almost 1,000,000 tons of copper.
But copper ores average just 0.5% metal by weight. That means 200,000,000 tons of ore would have to be dug up, crushed, processed and refined to get that much copper. Almost every step in that process would require fossil fuels”. (The staggering human costs of “renewable” energy – Paul Driessen – Energy – August 9th 2020, page 1)
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