Green Power. Energetic lies.

Next Monday, 10th of September, University Council will be deciding on whether they will be purchasing more Green Power and how much.

I’m encouraging everyone to send an email to the Vice-Chancellor
vc@unimelb.edu.au before Monday 10th of September regarding:
– That the university must buy 100% Accredited Green Power.
– Carbon offsets by tree planting should not be used in place of Green Power. (Since we are still adding Carbon to the biosphere.)
– The University is increasing their energy efficiency and expect to save about $1.3 Million annually. They must at least spend this much on Green Power.

Accredited Green Power
So you also know, Accredited Green power basically means that the electricity would be sourced from only “renewable energy sources that meet strict environmental standards” and “A new renewable energy facility that was built since January 1997”. This encourages new facilities and sources such as hydro and nuclear are not considered accredited green because of other environmental implications.

Energetic Lies
On another note, I encourage everyone to get involved in the students elections. As a quick warning, Energize is basically a Liberal group. Their confusing flyer is quite deceptive, and ignores the fact that the money the uni gives to the Union is negotiated for and not easy to get. It also seems as if there book subsidy is unrealistic, and assuming that each undergraduate got $50 back per year from it it would cost about $1.25 Million. It would not be sustainable and I personally think that it is an attempt to collapse the union. Their super-student lounge appears to be going over the top as well. We still need to have money left over for student services and other student activities that stop us from going insane! (Like Mudfest and the Festival of Nations.) I have also heard from several other tickets that some of the people campaigning for Energize are also campaigning for the Liberal ticket, which has to tell you something.

Worst of all though, is that these people are not at all interested keeping the Union running and advocating for students. The Liberals hate the Union and can’t possibly be good for it’s future, or the average student.