The future of the Renewable Energy Target remains in the balance, with no hint of a final compromise. But a long running argument over burning waste and residues from Australia’s native forests threatens to undermine the prospects for any peace deal on the RET. In addition, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has backed trials for another …
Australian Paper which manufactures REFLEX paper from the Central Highland ash forests, is Victoria’s major user of natural gas. The price of gas is set to rise astronomically due to increased sales offshore. This will be a serious financial burden for this Nippon owned pulp and paper mill. As a result it is pleading for …
Fire profoundly influences human health, the economy and wildlife. In Victoria, for instance, bushfires have burned more than one million hectares since 2009, claiming 178 lives and more than 2,300 homes, and causing more than A$4 billion in social, economic and environmental costs. Reducing fire risk is a global issue, as highlighted by recent devastating …
Land at low risk of bushfires has been set alight to fulfil the target of a state program while high-risk areas have been missed, expert says. In a submission to the Andrews government’s review of the state’s program, La Trobe University professor Mike Clarke said the current “blanket” approach to burning 5 per cent of …
Soil plays a big role in the global carbon cycle, but how much or how quickly forest soil carbon pools decline after logging is poorly understood. This may have serious implications for how carbon emissions from deforestation are accounted for. The U.S. Forest Service, for example, currently operates under the assumption that forest soil carbon …
Naturalist Tim Low says Australian birds are noisier, more aggressive and more intelligent than any other birds in the world. Tim is a biologist, environmentalist and prize-winning writer, and co-editor of Wildlife Australia magazine. His latest book reveals some startling facts about the unique nature of Australian birds – they are distinctive and powerful, and …
Bill Gammage has become a cult figure for many people who believe we need to burn the bush ‘as Aborigines did’. He has even convinced quite a few environmentally concerned people through his book The Biggest Estate on Earth that regular burning is needed. However, what we rarely hear above the unquestioning accolades are the …
Once the landscape was well endowed with mature large trees and the wildlife that evolved to make use of these trees were numerous. Now they are extremely rare and becoming more threatened with every burn, with every logging operation and a government fearful that a falling tree could mean litigation. We all know that rare …
Victoria’s forests have an unlikely fire warden: the superb lyrebird. “Lyrebirds are reducing the chance of fires occurring in the areas where they forage … and unburnt patches within large wildfires are really important sites for animals to survive.” New research has revealed the iconic songbird reduces the risk of bushfire by spreading dry leaf …
