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  • From: "wenshidi@yahoo.co.uk" <wenshidi@yahoo.co.uk>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] Fw: enewsletter #143 - and Solar Action
  • Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 09:17:14 +0100 (BST)

Australian readers might find this newsletter interesting even though it is
usually a bit more commercial. 
They seem to be organising a good campaign that our friends down under might
appreciate knowing about.

Chris

--- On Tue, 5/17/11, Rainbow Power Co Newsletter <rpc-news@rpc.com.au> wrote:
Rainbow Power Company   Enewsletter #143 17th May 2011






WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST 3 MONTHS:



1) This is the first E-Newsletter since Christmas.   I am very sorry about
this but we have been so
busy for the past few months reacting to State & Federal Governments action
to make life very
difficult for us.  In the past two months we have had three meetings with our
local NSW Member
of Parliament, two meetings with the Energy Minister and several hundred
calls from customers
trying to understand the situation.  The chain of back-flips and policy
vacuums has been truly
amazing.   Here is just a brief summary of them:



a) Federal government reduces the RECs/ STC 'multiplier from 5 to 4 which
basically reduced the
'rebate' by 20%



b) NSW gov't announces that the Feed in Tariff (FIT) will reduce from $0.60
to $0.20 per kWh



c) The NSW gov't announces that a statewide cap of 300 MW on solar
installations will be
enforced; the program was over subscribed by some 40 MW and once the cap was
reached
customers would not receive any payment for excess power to the grid -  eg
the $0.60 was now
$0.0



d) The utilities offer $0.06 / kWh for excess power sold;



f) The Federal gov't further reduces the RECs/ STC multiplier from 5 to 4 and
now to 3, reducing
the rebate by some 40%



g) The value of the STCs decreases in value from their supposed fixed value
of $40 to $25 - the
effect of all these changes has been to double the 'out of pocket' expense
for a 1.5 kW grid feed
system.



h) The NSW gov't announces two summits, the first to work out what to do with
existing
customers, the second what to do for future applicants.



i) The NSW gov't proposes to break the contract with some 120,000 customers
to reduce their
FIT payment from $0.60 to $0.40 / kWh.



2) WHAT CAN NSW RESIDENTS DO?



You have no doubt heard about the outrageous NSW government proposal to
change the
FIT from $0.60 to $0.40 / kWh. Here are some suggested actions:



1) Write emails to:



Liberal Party
Premier office@premier.nsw.gov.au
 Minister office@hartcher.minister.nsw.gov.au



National Party
 Andrew Stoner (Deputy Premier) oxley@parliament.nsw.gov.au



Shooters and Fishers Party
 Robert Borsak (S&FP) robert.borsak@parliament.nsw.gov.au
 Robert Brown (S&FP) robert.brown@parliament.nsw.gov.au



Christian Democratic Party
 Fred Nile (CDP) F.Nile@parliament.nsw.gov.au;
 Paul Green (CDP)paul.green@parliament.nsw.gov.au



Sunrise TV Program (they have been very supportive in the past):
http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/contact-us/soapbox/



Here is some sample text prepared by AuSES - Please DO NOT just copy and
paste it-
include some personal details about yourself- how the decision effects you
etc.



Sir,



I am deeply concerned about the NSW decision to tear up the feed in contract
the NSW
Government has with the people of NSW.



I made an investment decision based on the rules laid out by the government.
Now I am going to
be punished for following the rules.



I am not alone. Over 120,000 households and businesses have invested large
sums ($3,500
to $75,000) based on this legally binding promise, including a substantial
amount in regional
NSW.



Changing the rules retrospectively like this goes against the rule of law and
fatally undermines
public trust in government.



You need to act to restore fairness in NSW and protect the reputation of the
state as a safe,
stable place to invest and do business.



Do not allow this change to be made.



Vote NO to retrospective cuts to solar, and YES  to an immediate a 1:1 feed
in tariff in NSW.



2) Join Facebook Pages:



LIKE: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rally-for-Solar/211096198921304



If you are near Sydney- ATTEND:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131075640300692



TWEET: http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23rallyforsolar



3) If you are near Sydney, attend the Rally:



The Rally will be held in the Barnet Long Room
Customs House
31 Alfred Street
Circular Quay, Sydney
from 11.30 to 12.30



4) Try and get a GetUp! campaign going by giving 3 votes to each of these:



http://suggest.getup.org.au/forums/60819-campaign-ideas/suggestions/1813467-nsw-
government-slashing-the-solar-energy-
tariff?utm_campaign=ShortUrls&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=suggest.getup.org.au



http://suggest.getup.org.au/forums/60819-campaign-ideas/suggestions/1812729-campaign-
to-stop-nsw-liberal-government-from-
retro?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=suggest.getup.org.au&utm_campaign=ShortUrls



5) Sign this online petition:
http://www.feedintariff.com.au/results.php



6)  If you are on the Far North Coast, PLEASE attend a rally this Wednesday
(tomorrow) starting
at 11:30 in front of the Lismore Library and then marching onto Thomas
George's office.



7) Call Slater & Gordon on 1800 555 777 to suggest they take up the cause.









CONCLUSION



Once again that’s it for this month.



We welcome any comments or articles you think may be of interest to us all
for the next
enewsletter



Dave Lambert
Sales Manager



If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe to the newsletter
please follow the link
below to our web site:
http://www.rpc.com.au/news/subscribe.html



RAINBOW POWER COMPANY LTD
PO Box 240   Nimbin  NSW  2480  Australia



Website:      http://www.rpc.com.au
  email:          sales@rpc.com.au



                        Within Australia        International
 Telephone:       (02) 6689 1430       +61 2 6689 1088  
       Fax:          (02) 6689 1109       +61 2 6689 1109



ABN:     74 003 323 420
  


>From brent@gp.org Tue May 17 16:23:51 2011
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Subject: [permaculture] (USA) Ag policy's world focus has left a gap at home
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A glimpse into the growing crisis of Big Ag:

The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
May 14, 2011
Ag policy's world focus has left a gap at home

A column by Alan Guebert

Squeeze almost any official of almost any agbiz or farm group and the
words �Feed the world� will cross their lips. This is a cornerstone of our
export-directed ag policy.

But this ambition, according to the number-crunching crew in Daryll Ray's
ag shop at the University of Tennessee, has been more of a mission
statement than a mission accomplished.

Writing in an early April �Policy Pennings� column, Ray notes that the
combined 2010/11 U.S. exports for barley, corn, oats, rice and wheat �at
88.0 million tonnes (is) 82.4 percent of the 106.8 million tonnes of grain
exports in the 1980/81 crop year.�

Yes, we're exporting 18 percent less of the Big Five grains today than 30
years ago.

When soybeans are added to the export numbers, Ray notes, 1980/81 sales of
the six rise to �126.5 million tonnes (while) 2010-11 projected exports
are 131.3 million tonnes.�

So, U.S. exports of the Big Five and soy did increase over 30 years but
only by �3.8 percent from the beginning to the end of the 30-year period,�
says Ray.

This worldly focus, however, has food and nutrition consequences at home,
suggests Angie Tagtow, an Iowa-based registered dietician and public
health researcher.

For example, she notes, the 1978 U.S. Ag Census showed 50 percent of all
Iowa farms grew hogs, 60 percent grew cattle, 56 percent grew hay and 34
percent grew oats. The 2002 Census showed these segments, respectfully, at
12, 33, 36 and 8 percent.

Taken across the nation, Tagtow explains, the 30-year shift to commodities
means �We're not growing enough �healthy' food to meet minimum federal
guidelines for a healthy diet.�

Tagtow and fellow dietitian Susan Roberts examined what this food policy
means for Iowa, a state of agricultural bounty but not agricultural
diversity. Their discoveries are detailed in �Cultivating Resilience,� a
Feb. 2011 report outlining the state's food strengths and weaknesses.

For example, while only 0.04 percent of all Iowa farmland grows fruits and
vegetables, 85 percent of the nearly $9 billion spent annually on food in
Iowa leaves the state. (Links to �Cultivating Resilience� and Daryll Ray's
�Policy Pennings� are posted at www.farmandfoodfile.com.)

Facts like that suggest there might be a better future feeding America
rather than feeding the world. Right now, we're doing neither.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alan Guebert's Farm File appears each week in Business Monday. Contact him
at agcomm@farmandfoodfile.com or Alan Guebert, 21673 Lago Drive, Delavan,
IL 61734. His website is www.farmandfoodfile.com. Discuss this article!

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110514/BUSINESS/105140356

posted by:

Brent McMillan, Steward of Woodhaven
Avilla, IN USA





  • [permaculture] Fw: enewsletter #143 - and Solar Action, wenshidi@yahoo.co.uk, 05/17/2011

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