RenewEconomy founder Giles Parkinson wins award, as RE page views hit 25 million

GP bob brown award copy


RenewEconomy founder and editor Giles Parkinson on Monday was announced as the winner of a major environmental prize, the Deni Greene award, as the cumulative total of page views on the website passed 25 million.

In a ceremony in Hobart on Monday, the prize for environmental leadership in a professional capacity was presented to Giles by Bob Brown, the head of the Bob Brown Foundation and the former Senator and Australian Greens leader.

Also receiving awards were Stop Adani activists Adrian Burragubba, (Environmentalist of the Year),  Murrawah Maroochy Johnson (Young Environmentalist of the Year), and Ken Peters-Dodd, on behalf of Reef Defenders (Community Environment Prize).

Brown said it was appropriate that the prizes went to activists working to stop the Adani mega coal mine, given that it was a landmark issue that ranked in importance with the Franklin Dam campaigns in Tasmania in the 1980s.

Brown has promised to lead a “cavalcade” of buses and cars to north Queensland to prevent work on the mine, which will be dependent on Australian government funding if it is to go ahead and will be one of the key issues in the upcoming Queensland state election.

Brown quoted polls that showed the overwhelming majority of Australians were opposed to the mine. Yet, he noted, in the last federal election, 90 per cent of votes were made for parties that do not oppose the project. (The Greens are the only party that do).

Parkinson said he was delighted to receive the reward, and the recognition of RenewEconomy’s growing stature as a source of news, information and analysis that is all but impossible to find in mainstream media.

Deni Greene was a US energy expert, who first came to Australia to advise on energy efficiency and co-generation projects to provide an alternative to damming the Franklin River and building other dams.

She became a leading expert and helped design some of Australia’s formative climate change and clean energy policy documents.

Alan Pears, a previous winner of the award, told RenewEconomy that in 1990 Greene led a project that produced a report showing how Australia could cut its emissions by 20 per cent by 2005 – and benefit from this effort by $6 billion.

“She was mercilessly attacked by the energy establishment, and paid a high price in lost work. But that study was very solid – it just challenged the group-think about the cost and practicality of addressing climate change. In another decade or so, many people will realise she was right,” Pears said.

And as a sign of that growing interest in climate and clean energy solutions, RenewEconomy’s total page views since its launch in 2012 has soared through 25 million in October.

Page views have grown 50 per cent over the last 12 months and now average around 800,000 per month. Monthly unique visitors average nearly 300,000 – an extraordinary number for a niche publication.

Parkinson said that readers were attracted to the website’s two major themes: the falling costs and exciting developments in renewable and storage and grid technologies, and the growing frustration with policy design, politicians and regulators.

RenewEconomy would like to thank the Bob Brown Foundation and Bob Brown in particularly for the recognition of its work, along with its readers, advertisers, subscribers and other supporters. We look forward to your continued support.

Comments

32 responses to “RenewEconomy founder Giles Parkinson wins award, as RE page views hit 25 million”

  1. solarguy Avatar
    solarguy

    Congratulations Giles, a well deserved award for your illuminating work. Well done!

  2. GlennM Avatar
    GlennM

    Well done Giles, most deserved.

  3. Mike Westerman Avatar
    Mike Westerman

    Congrats Giles – great effort! I wonder when MT will give you a congratulatory call!!

  4. Brett Roper Avatar
    Brett Roper

    Congratulations! This site and the podcast are awesome. 🙂

  5. Mark Diesendorf Avatar
    Mark Diesendorf

    Congratulations, Giles. Well deserved!

  6. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    Good on ya Giles, more power to you.

  7. Rob Roy Avatar
    Rob Roy

    And so say all of us. Congrats!

  8. Meg Nielsen Avatar
    Meg Nielsen

    Congratulations Giles! Well deserved recognition for your excellent work & invaluable site. You keep us informed & sane! What would we at State of the Environment program do without it!

  9. Rob G Avatar
    Rob G

    Great work Giles…I know I’ve said this before, RE has been filling the missing gap in all things concerning renewable news. Dealing in facts, in this space, is in short supply in our media. Thankfully we do have a strong and reliable source in this website. Keep up the great work!

  10. DevMac Avatar
    DevMac

    Well deserved Giles, congratulations, and keep up the excellent work.

  11. Stephen Simpson Avatar
    Stephen Simpson

    Great effort Giles, the biggest fight is still ahead, but now there is light at the end of the tunnel.

  12. Suzanne Reece Avatar
    Suzanne Reece

    Congratulations! And thanks for RE which gives us solid information.

  13. Jo Avatar
    Jo

    Congratulations and thank you Giles,
    I am so used to my daily lecture of RenewEconomy that I hardly get trough the weekend.
    I suppose that I will read here, when Bob Brown starts the cavalcade.

  14. Chris Fraser Avatar
    Chris Fraser

    Let’s get the message out and make it 50 Million page views.

  15. John Avatar
    John

    Congratulations Giles. I’ve been following your website since its inception and think it’s a well deserved award for your tireless service here. Where else could we find daily news stories and learn about the latest developments in renewable energy as easily as following your Daily Updates? Nowhere.
    Well done!

  16. Simon Chance Avatar
    Simon Chance

    Good on you Giles, a very richly deserved recognitionof your tremendous effort.
    You have shone a light in the darkness .
    Thank you.

  17. Sir Pete o Possums Reek Avatar
    Sir Pete o Possums Reek

    On behalf of real possums of all types everywhere:

    We bestow on you the
    Oceanic Award of the Ringtail Possum ( with single clasp).

    For hanging on and doing brilliant work.
    (Often late at night I expect)

    Congrats as well 🙂

  18. BushAxe Avatar
    BushAxe

    Well done Giles! Always got time to read the latest on RenewEconomy.

  19. Shaun Colley Avatar
    Shaun Colley

    Well done Giles. Years of work rewarded.

  20. Nick Thiwerspoon Avatar
    Nick Thiwerspoon

    I think you’ve changed the conversation about renewables and energy policy in Australia. You’ve pointed out the nonsense from the dotty denialists, you’ve shown that renewables are cheaper and better than coal, you’ve mocked the pretensions of the energy mafia, and you’ve informed the public. I quote you guys whenever I wrestle with the troglodytes, and I see now that others often refer to this publication to refute some particular stupidity from the trogs.

    You helped inspire me to start my own blog to push for renewables before it’s too late.

    Well done!

  21. Volker Pfannenberg Avatar
    Volker Pfannenberg

    Giles, more than well deserved. You are an inspiring source of information. Thanks keeps !!!!

  22. maxlyrical Avatar
    maxlyrical

    It sometimes dizzies me, the depth and clarity of your articles Giles.
    I wonder how you find the time to write such well researched and in-depth theses.
    Congrats also to all your contributors and sponsors.
    This website gives many of us hope in an uncertain world.
    Cheers!

  23. George Darroch Avatar
    George Darroch

    Your work deserves the recognition. This site is indispensable, and really is changing how Australia thinks about energy.

  24. Russell Yann Avatar
    Russell Yann

    Thank you Giles, for a thorough, professional look into the policy, technology of clean energy in our sunny and windy land. Well deserved award.

  25. Davd Woodgrove Avatar
    Davd Woodgrove

    Congratulations Giles and your team! Our planet needs more of you’re caliber.

  26. Tom Avatar
    Tom

    Congratulations Giles.

    The funny thing is – you’ve won a major environmental award for your work, but it isn’t even really an environmental based website.

    The themes of this website are: Simple economics; Technology; and Exposing government & semi-government conflicts of interest and mismanagement (or praising good management).

    Yes, you support the environment and mention global warming and the ocean pH from time to time, but even if you didn’t it wouldn’t change the themes of your website one bit.

    That’s the awesome part about it.

  27. Robert Comerford Avatar
    Robert Comerford

    Well deserved recognition Giles

  28. Gary Rowbottom Avatar
    Gary Rowbottom

    Congratulations Giles, a deserved recognition for you and your teams steady supply of high quality insights into the never dull energy space.

  29. Gary Rowbottom Avatar
    Gary Rowbottom

    Congratulations Giles, well deserved recognition of you and your team’s insights into the never dull energy space.

  30. Chris Baker Avatar
    Chris Baker

    Congratulations Giles, well deserved. One day they will notice, as Bill Clinton once said — its all about the economy stupid — and no doubt you will also get an award for your work on the economy. The title of this website says it all.
    Thanks for your consistency of purpose.

  31. Ray Miller Avatar
    Ray Miller

    Well done Giles and keep up the good work.

  32. Chris Guest Avatar
    Chris Guest

    I’ve watched this site go from a mere trickle, to a torrent of good news with actual content. Meanwhile it’s comment on our politics cuts through all the disgusting grease in our mainstream media. I read it every day. Well done!

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