Tag: ABC

Bookmarked If we each spent $200 to help prevent climate change, here’s how we could transform Australia (ABC News)

On average, Australians are willing to chip in an extra $200 a year to prevent climate change. It turns out that money could go a long way.

Responding to the findings of the Australia Talks National Survey, Nick Kilvert and the team at the ABC speak with a number of specialists to identify what they would do now in response to the climate debate. Some of the suggestions provided include investing in research, subsidising electric vehicles and installing solar panels.
Bookmarked Chernobyl’s radiation legacy: Zombie reactors and an invisible enemy – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (mobile.abc.net.au)
Linton Besser, Mark Doman, Alex Palmer and Nathanael Scott report on the invisible legacy that is nuclear radiation that will continue to haunt parts of Europe for hundreds and even thousands of years. As Sofia Bezverhaya, a resident who lived then and still now within 30 kilometres of the Chernobyl reactor:

This fallout was an “invisible enemy”, Sofia said. Although she “neither saw it nor felt it [and] it had no colour and no taste”, it would go on to take the lives of many of those close to her.

People are still suffering the ill effects from eating contaminated food, such as milk and berries.

As of January, of the 2.1 million people registered with Ukraine’s health authorities for treatment for Chernobyl-related illnesses, 350,000 were children.

The biggest concern is that with ageing facilities and lapsed safety standards due to financial pressures, it is feasible for another catastrophe to occur:

“This is why we call them zombie reactors, because on the one hand, we have them running. We use the electricity from them. And from the other hand, we understand that there are safety shortcomings in those reactors that might lead to an accident with the potential major consequences.” Iryana Holovko said.

The episode of Foreign Correspondent can be viewed here:

via ABC Weekend Readspo

Bookmarked How Hillsong and other Pentecostal megachurches are redefining religion in Australia – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (mobile.abc.net.au)
  • Pentecostal churches are growing, while other Christian denominations are declining
  • The denomination began in Los Angeles in the early 1900s before arriving in Australia
  • Modern Pentecostals in Australia often embrace ‘prosperity doctrine’
Stephen Stockwell and Ruby Jones discusses the rise of Pentecostal churches, such as Hillsong. The popularity relates to the use contemporary music, the promise of the holy spirit and the hope of prosperity. It would seem that unlike more traditional movements, Pentecostal churches continually adjust with the time, such as a tech incubator. Pentecostalism grew from small churches in Los Angeles in the early 1900s and spread to Australia in 1920s. Although the tie between politics and religion is nothing new, Scott Morrison is the first Pentecostal leader.
Bookmarked Conquering Mount Everest: High hopes and broken dreams – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (mobile.abc.net.au)

Overcrowding, along with inexperience, has been blamed for this year’s death toll, with “traffic jams” at the summit forcing climbers to wait in line, their precious stores of oxygen ebbing lower with each passing minute.

Numerous tour operators and Everest-watchers have expressed concern over the number of novice mountaineers taking on the challenge, saying many possess neither the skills nor experience to tackle such a treacherous feat.

In some ways, Everest tour operators have become victims of their own success. A solid safety record and skyrocketing rates of summiting have heightened Everest’s allure, especially among bucket listers.

Inga Ting, Alex Palmer, Stephen Hutcheon and Siobhan Heanue provide an insight into what is involved in climbing Mount Everest. They discuss the route, what is involved, the statistics of fatalities on the mountain, the changes over time and the small window of opportunity available each year. Interestingly, Everest is actually considered a lot safer than some of the other mountains in the Himilayas:

The fatality rate on Mount Everest stands at 1.15 per cent — well below neighbouring Himalayan giants such as Annapurna I, with a death rate of 3.9 per cent, or Dhaulagiri I, with a rate of 2.99 per cent.

This makes me want to re-watch Everest to make sense of what happened and where.

Bookmarked Weekend Reads – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (mobile.abc.net.au)
The Weekend Reads is a weekly newsletter written by Virginia Tripoli, the new morning host for ABC Melbourne. It is both a reflection on the week just past and some mixture of reflections and links, as well as a short list of popular pieces on the ABC News site.
Bookmarked Bruce Pascoe teaches Australians about the rich Indigenous history of their country (education.abc.net.au)

ABC Education has launched a new resource for Australian students to learn more about their country’s Indigenous history.

The ABC has produced a new digibook with Bruce Pascoe to support students in learning about the history of Aboriginal agriculture and technology and celebrate the ingenuity of the First Australians. Pascoe is also releasing a children’s version of his award winning book Dark Emu.
Bookmarked Sportsbet’s big punt (ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation))

The barrage of blokey ads. The sponsorship signage. The steady drip of endorsements by smiling sports stars.

Online betting giants are pumping millions into the battle for the minds and wallets of Australian punters, with a singular aim: making you reach for your phone.

Now a 7.30 investigation can reveal details about the powerful machinery behind one of the country’s leading sports betting operators — a company that has spent nearly half a billion dollars over five years on endeavours aimed at tightening its grip on this rapidly growing market.

Paul Farrell, Inga Ting and Amy Donaldson investigate the tangled web of influence associated with SportsBet. From various sporting clubs to the tech giants, the 7:30 Report uncovers the ways in which the betting company has managed to spend nearly half a billion on advertising in a five year period. This reminds me of a post from Tom Cummings from a few years ago looking at the roll gambling had in relation to Hawthorne’s grand final success.
Liked The Mike Willesee question that turned the ‘unlosable election’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (ABC)

Willesee: “If I buy a birthday cake from a cake shop and GST is in place, do I pay more or less for that birthday cake?”

Hewson: “…If it is a cake shop, a cake from a cake shop that has sales tax, and it’s decorated and has candles as you say, that attracts sales tax, then of course we scrap the sales tax, before the GST is…”

Willesee: “OK — it’s just an example. If the answer to a birthday cake is so complex — you do have a problem with the overall GST?”

Liked ‘Being different is something we should embrace’: Why the AFLW’s appeal is growing – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) by Kate O’Halloran (ABC News)

Fans of women’s sport, the broader LGBTIQ community and those interested in gender equity more broadly — these are the people I see drawn to AFLW matches, many of whom would have made the trip to Footscray for their first ever match of Australian rules football on Friday.

Watched Sydney’s New Year’s Eve 2018 from youtu.be
The Night is Yours concert included performances from Tim Minchin, Christine Anu, Ross Wilson, Ben Folds, Daryl Braithwaite, Casey Donovan, Isabella Manfredi of The Preatures, Client Liaison, Baker Boy, Kaiit, G Flip and Kimbra. What was really interesting was to hear artists cover the classics.

This is one of the reasons why the funding of the ABC is so important, with the only ad of mention being the spoof around Hottest One Hundred voting:

https://youtu.be/WCA87UHqd1c

Bookmarked Your ABC: Value, Investment and Return for the Community (Future of Your ABC)

Why the ABC and public broadcasting is vital to the community. Transcript of ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie’s speech at the Melbourne Press Club, Tuesday 19 June, 2018.

In response to the recent call to sell the ABC, Michelle Guthrie presents a speech explaining the value of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in today’s world. I must be honest, I don’t listen to the ABC as much as I used to, however I follow a number of podcasts, such as RN Future Tense, and often turn to their website as a first port of call for news. In a time when there is a lot of discussion about the ownership of core infrastructure, it seems strange to sell the ABC. I wonder if this is a reflection of the changes to the media landscape that my nostalgia is overlooking?
Bookmarked Liberal Party council votes to sell off the ABC and move Australian embassy to Jerusalem (The Sydney Morning Herald)

The Liberal Party’s peak council voted overwhelmingly in favour of privatising the public broadcaster with backing of a conservative think-tank.

In a time when there is a lot of discussion about the ownership of core infrastructure, it seems strange to sell the ABC. I wonder if this is a reflection of the changes to the media landscape that my nostalgia is overlooking?