“Switch off Coal and Switch on Renewables” was the very clear message being sent to State and Federal Governments this Earth Hour by community climate activists who occupied Hazelwood Power Station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley on Saturday March 28.
View the video – http://www.engagemedia.org/Members/bento/videos/Hazelwood.m4v/view
Switch Off Hazelwood Blog – http://switchoffcoal.wordpress.com/
Louise Morris, one of the Hazelwood protesters from Friends of the Earth, said every hour should be Earth Hour, according to an ABC Report. 3 activists locked on to equipment early Saturday morning with 30 more present protesting for the shutdown of one of the most polluting coal power stations in the world and calling for a rapid transition to renewable energy technologies.
“If we’re serious about climate change, we actually need to be switching off coal and switching on renewables rather than just switching off our lights for one hour once a year,” she said.
On the Switch Off Hazelwood Blog Louise Morris said:
“Hazelwood’s carbon pollution emissions, at 17 million tonnes annually, are equivalent to about 5% of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions – the same amount as Kevin Rudd’s emission reduction target for 2020. “
“By shutting down Hazelwood this year, we could achieve this 5% target immediately, and then adopt proper emission reduction targets as the climate science demands. It’s time to get down to the real business of transitioning Australia away from polluting fossil fuels and switching onto renewable energy,” said Ms Morris.
“Governments are happy to provide token support for climate change by switching off their lights for an hour, once a year, but if they are serious on climate change it’s clear Hazelwood needs to be decommissioned this year.”
“This Earth Hour we need to acknowledge it is time to do so much more than just switch off our lights for an hour. We need to switch off our reliance on dirty coal and switch onto job rich renewable energy sources.”