Australia

[Australia] To spread the urgent news about global warming, Australian fellow initiates worked together to bring the messages to 75% of Australia’s population of 20 million, including those in regional country towns.

Their media coverage which started late May included:

♥ A national media launch with press releases to hundreds of outlets
♥ TV ads running for 3 weeks on all 3 commercial channels and 6 months on a special interest channel, during peak and off peak times
♥ A website www.askMOREnow.com.au with supporting information and lots of local content.
♥ Interviews on radio, TV and in newspapers.
♥ Print media advertising in major newspapers.
♥ Airport poster displays, for three months, in the political capital, Canberra, where politicians frequently fly.
♥ A letter writing campaign to politicians, government departments and hundreds of councils Submissions to government reviews to ensure future policy decisions are based on correct information       Online forums, monitoring talkback shows, and much more.

This is a demonstration during the national press release day, showing daily methane (red balloon) and carbon dioxide (yellow balloon) emissions from cows. The measuring stick indicates how sea level rise will affect some of the most expensive real estate in Australia.

Many devoted and dedicated fellow initiates from each state helped in whatever way possible. A media PR consultant was engaged to prepare an information kit for all types of media outlets, including press releases and supporting information. The initiates were also trained on how to handle interviews and present the SOS messages, our Association and Master in the best possible light and professional manner.

As a result of the PR consultant’s “pitching,” many media outlets interviewed the initiates and aired the urgent messages. By monitoring forums and talk back shows, they were delighted to discover the campaign was working; it caused people to stop and think. One interview was held with AAP, which was sent to all media by newswire, even some international outlets ran the story. This became a newspaper article on page 3 of the Sun Herald, a large Melbourne paper, and in News.com online and in other news which has received favorable responses.

Three national TV ads were created for the campaign. These can be seen on www.askMOREnow.com.au

Posters were displayed in Canberra airport to remind everyone, especially politicians, of the campaign. Australia is disappearing due to melting ice. A picture speaks a thousand words!!

In addition, two 15 second announcements were placed on peak TV time, with the first one alerting people to the urgency of global warming and the second one highlighting the link between the meat diet and greenhouse pollution. Both can be seen on the webpage, askMOREnow.com.au, which has supporting scientific evidence, actions to take, information on vegetarianism and Master, endorsements from prominent figures, and a discussion forum.

Currently, the initiates are investigating how to influence the government to include agricultural emissions in a proposed carbon trading scheme. Future activities may include joint activities with other climate groups, demonstrations and viral internet activities like cartoons by email. They firmly believe that standing united there is a chance to win the fight against global warming.

The askMOREnow website was set up to support the media campaign.

[Sydney] On June 15, Golden Year 5 (2008), the Vegan Society of NSW held its second Vegan Expo in the heart of Sydney. The event, entitled “Cool the Planet Bite by Bite,” was also supported by “Voiceless” - an active Australian animal rights organization. The atmosphere that day was lively and there was plenty of entertainment and delicious vegan food. The Sydney fellow initiates had a stall, displaying Master’s SOS messages, Alternate Living and Supreme Master TV flyers, The Noble Wilds book, vegan recipes and Master’s DVD about the urgency of global warming, which was played throughout the expo.

It was wonderful to hear that some visitors had already seen Master’s climate change messages through national TV. Many children stayed at the stall for quite a while to watch the SOS video and they seemed to be very concerned about the effects of global warming. One lady, thinking of switching to a more compassionate diet, was particularly eager to know whether the vegan diet is healthy for babies. She was astounded to learn that the 1½ year old strong, healthy, energetic daughter of one of the fellow initiates present has been a vegan since birth. This gave her a confidence boost about switching to a vegan diet. A lot of visitors encouraged the initiates to keep up the good work and said that there should be more people spreading these critical messages. Several guests to the event wanted to know where to purchase the book, The Noble Wilds. They were also introduced to Master’s two other best sellers, The Dogs in My Life and The Birds in My Life.

Many thanks to the NSW Vegan Society for organizing such a wonderful event, for inspiring more people to adopt the vegetarian or vegan diet, and for highlighting the link between global warming and our food choices.

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