John's Wheelbarrow

September poem

Published on 2009-10-07 04:45:00

a cheeky little dropmoist, bold and refreshingit cleanses the palette like an exquisite winebitter and familiar like lagerwarm and flat, cold and sparklingit is the essence of homeyet carries untold mysteries from afarwarm and comfortingharsh and unforgivingit brings new hope and ancient fearsI welcome it into my life each morninga breath of fresh airthe sea breeze.

Climate politics at the Pacific Island Forum

Published on 2009-08-05 16:49:00

Pacific leaders are meeting in Cairns today for the Pacific Island Forum. In recent years the agenda has been dominated by issues of regional stability including the intervention in the Solomons and more recently the troubling political events in Fiji. But with the forum happening in Australia for the first time in over a decade, and climate change at the top of the international political agenda, other issues are set to dominate. Pacific Islands are literally on the front line of climate change

The power of doubt

Published on 2009-06-09 05:20:00

I caught a snippet of a beautiful poem whilst listening to the radio the other day. On being right. And being certain. And on the beauty and importance of doubt.From the place where we are rightFlowers will never bloom in the spring.The place where we are rightIs hard, and trampled like a yard.But doubts and loves dig up the worldLike a mole, a plough.And a whisper will be heard in the placeWhere the ruined house once stood.Yehudah Amichai.

Climate of civil disobedience

Published on 2009-02-07 05:47:00

First published on Crikey's environment blog - "Rooted"“If you disobey a police directive, there is a risk you will be arrested and charged with trespass,” I explained gently to countless groups of people as they lined the front of Parliament House yesterday.Around two and half thousand people of all ages and from all over Australia gathered to encircle federal Parliament on the first sitting day of 2009 to demand urgent action on climate change. It was the culmination of the three day ‘cl

Escalating climate action in 2009

Published on 2009-02-07 05:41:00

Opening plenary address by John Hepburn to Australia's Climate Action Summit, Canberra, 31st Jan 2009. Firstly I’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Ngunnawal people. I’d also like to thank the organisers of the summit, who I know have been working tirelessly for months to make this event happen.I’m going to talk briefly about where we have come to, and what I think are some of the key lessons from the climate movement thus far. And then I’m going to outline so

Climate changed

Published on 2008-05-16 04:56:00

When Rupert Murdoch and Richard Branson join forces with Al Gore and Chevrolet in the fight to save the earth, you’ve got to wonder what is going on. We are all environmentalists now, as celebrities and business leaders jostle to establish their green credentials. For those who’ve been campaigning to put climate change onto the public and political agenda for the past 30 years, the dramatic mainstreaming of the issue in the past 12 months has been a long awaited and hard fought success. But,

Howard spins into hotter water

Published on 2007-09-22 07:43:00

After ten years of being a climate sceptic, John Howard begrudgingly pronounced himself a climate change realist. But while the rhetoric has changed, Government policy hasn’t. Australia’s greenhouse pollution continues to soar as the renewables industry slowly but surely packs its bags and heads overseas. Meanwhile the coal industry continues to expand with the help of massive public subsidies. With APEC over and the federal election looming, Howard is behind in the polls. With climate chang

Cheat Neutral

Published on 2007-08-31 17:29:00

Having problems being faithful? Why not offset your infidelity by paying someone else to do the right thing? This very funny and biting project exposes the absurdity of carbon offsets.

Seeing through the APEC police state

Published on 2007-08-30 19:41:00

It would seem that the battle lines are drawn. On one side are thousands of highly trained police with batons, tazers and a brand spanking new water canon. On the other side are the people of Sydney. Hang on a minute. Isn’t there something wrong here? In an era of anti-terrorist hype, it is all too easy for beefcake politics to trample over democracy and for the issues to be obscured by hyperbole and shows of police strength.Quite simply, John Howard is trying to use the APEC summit to further

APEC - Australia Pushing Export Coal

Published on 2007-08-18 09:43:00

The leaders of the 21 nations of APEC will decend upon Sydney in a matter of weeks. It would appear that Sydneysiders are greeting the meeting with an appropriate level of indifference. Our lives will be disrupted by the security, and our common sense will be assuaulted by the hyperbole that will no doubt eminate from our good Prime Minister.The Agenda is supposed to be about driving action on climate change but, it's really about positioning in the lead up to the federal election. Greenpeace wa

Is nanotechnology the new creationism?

Published on 2007-08-17 10:04:00

Have you ever watched a child carefully taking apart their favourite toy, only to find that they can’t for the life of them put it back together again? It’s a phenomenon that’s as old as humpty dumpty and as old as the enlightenment. We’re remarkably good at pulling things apart. Scientists have been doing it for hundreds of years - looking at smaller and smaller pieces of our world. Every time we thought we’d found the smallest bit, it in turn was revealed to be made of ever more minu

The Kimberley

Published on 2007-05-22 09:07:00

When you are in the Kimberley in north west Australia, you know you are on aboriginal land. The ancient landscape puts in you in your place. It's a humbling experience.After nearly 3 weeks of sleeping under the night sky, the tensions and stresses of our strange urban existance all seem to dissolve into nothingness. What was the point of that meeting again? And what about that new electronic gadget I was thinking of getting? Oh look, a billion stars stretching into eternity. And under my feet, a

Eulogy for my father

Published on 2007-02-02 02:17:00

An honest man here lies at rest,As e’er God with his image blest;The friend of man, the friend of truth,The friend of age, and guide of youth:Few hearts like his, with virtue warm’d,Few heads with knowledge so inform’d:If there’s another world, he lives in bliss;If there is none, he made the best of this.(Robert Burns)It is a great honour, albeit a difficult one, to present a Eulogy for Alan Morton Hepburn. Son of John Morton Hepburn and Helen Robertson. Brother to Eric. Husband of Erika

Like You

Published on 2006-07-17 01:54:00

I stumbled accross this poem - "like you" by El Salvadorean poet Roque Dalton. It was used as a reference in a great article about movement strategy published last year by 'The Free Association'Like you Ilove love, life, the sweet smellof things, the sky-bluelandscape of January days.And my blood boils upand I laugh through eyesthat have known the buds of tears.I believe the world is beautifuland that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.And that my veins don't end in mebut in the unanimous blood

Bio to Nano: Technology, Risk & Democracy

Published on 2006-06-22 04:12:00

Chain Reaction, Autumn 2006The scientific and business community are still struggling to understand the global public rejection of genetically engineered (GE) foods, and with the growing discourse around the risks and disruptive impacts of nanotechnology, many are becoming increasingly worried that history is about to repeat itself. There is a blossoming of reports and conferences that explore ‘From bio to nano’ and how governments can avoid ‘fighting the last war’. PR consultancies and

After the Thaw

Published on 2006-05-14 17:10:00

Great events in human history are captured in our memories like fish in ice at the sudden onset of winter. Frozen in time, to be thawed and trawled out in generations to come by curious grandchildren. What were you doing when it happened? Where were you? Who were you with? How did you feel?Most of these defining moments are shared. The event happens. News flashes around the globe. For a moment we are transfixed, shocked, in awe. JFK has been assassinated…the Berlin Wall came down… the planes

Size matters - public opinion doesn't

Published on 2006-05-08 01:48:00

Canberra Times, 8th May 2006The release last month of a Federal Government discussion paper on the development of a national nanotechnology strategy created ‘nano ripples’ throughout the community – so small as to be imperceptible to the human eye. Nanotechnology is being heralded as the next industrial revolution, redefining life as we know it, but with only one month for public comment, the development of a national strategy to manage the most powerful and transformative technology in hu

Creating an ecological, workers co-op - a case study of 'Reverse Garbage'

Published on 2006-02-14 06:44:00

In case anyone hadn’t noticed, our economy is killing the planet. It also commits millions of people to live in poverty and is creating an ever-widening gap between rich and poor. Some of us think that we should do something about it.The failures are systemic and the solutions also need to be systemic. We need fundamental changes in the way that we think about our relationship with each other and with the earth, and changes in the fundamental power relations in society. Not only do we need to

Reclaiming commons - old and new

Published on 2005-12-25 08:39:00

The law will jail the man or womanWho steals the goose from off the commonBut leave the greater villain looseWho steals the common from the gooseI was lying in bed the other morning, listening to the radio news. On came the soothing and comforting voice of our Prime Minister, John Howard. In amongst his posturing about some issue or another, he said “Nothing is ever free – and nor should it be.” It rolled off his tongue like a truism. Sure - nothing is ever free – and nor should it be. A

Biotech battle looms in Asia

Published on 2005-12-17 08:14:00

Far Eastern Economic Review - July 2005For over four millennia, alchemists have sought to transform ordinary metals into gold. Today, it seems that a new alchemy has finally arrived to make our wildest dreams come true—genetic engineering is set to solve the problems of our age, with a long line of promises that range from the utopian to the truly bizarre. Drought tolerant, pest resistant, crops that are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids, will help the rich lose weight and help the poor ov

Questioning Nanotechnology?

Published on 2005-12-17 07:16:00

It turns out that size really does matter. Or, to be more precise, it’s the size of matter that matters. Scientists are manipulating matter at the nano scale (one billionth of a metre) and finding that common materials assume radically different properties compared to their larger scale counterparts. The new nanotechnology is being heralded as the next industrial revolution that will redefine life as we know it. But who asked for their life to be redefined? I certainly didn’t. Did you? If y

World Food Day

Published on 2005-12-17 07:02:00

World Food Day is a time of year to reflect on where our food comes from, on the abundance of food for some, and the lack of access for so many others. It is a time to reflect on the history of food, and the future of food.The importance of food for our survival, and it’s central role in our economy mean that it is a highly politicised issue. Throughout history, civilisations have risen and fallen on their ability to feed their populations. Today, it is estimated that 840 million people are se

The United State of the movement

Published on 2004-12-14 15:15:00

From June to September I traveled across the USA, visiting activist groups, co-ops, social enterprises and farmers. It was a rare opportunity for reflection on the ‘state of the movement’. I soon learned that the US has the best and worst of everything. In contrast to extreme social injustice, environmental degradation and corporate capitalism, the US is also home to some of the most inspiring progressive initiatives and the most well organised, passionate and radical social movements that

Responding to a 4th term of Howard

Published on 2004-10-27 11:48:00

Ok, so the election result wasn’t exactly what we had hoped for. At least the Labor party didn’t get elected. But that is some small consolation given that the Liberal coalition did – with effective control of the senate to boot. The public contest, as usual, was basically substanceless – crisp, crunchy soundbites of nothingness. But what else can you expect when there is a fundamental consensus between the major parties? In reality the differences are superficial – so it is not surpri

Shortening grace

Published on 2004-08-27 03:28:00

I’m not a religious person, but several of my close friends and relatives are. So from time to time, I have the occasion to witness, or even to say Grace before an evening meal. In most cases, this has been a general ‘give thanks to the lord’, but in some circles it has involved a heartfelt thankyou to the people who made the meal possible -to the cook, the farmers and to the truckies who brought us the food. And of course to nature for her endless abundance. It is an opportunity to appre