In debates about climate change and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, there is a widely-held belief that market mechanisms, like the Labor government’s carbon pricing scheme, will reduce emissions in the cheapest possible way. As a matter of pure theory, this is correct but, in practice, it depends on what is included and excluded …
It makes better financial sense for the native forests of southern NSW to remain un-logged and left to generate carbon credits, a new report suggests. NSW taxpayers would be able to generate carbon abatement, conservatively valued at about $222 million over the next 2¬Ω decades, and use some of the money to fully compensate timber …
Australia’s once common digging mammals that played an important role in ecosystem function, have been largely lost from our landscape. Around half of digging mammal species are now extinct or under conservation threat, and those that still exist have very contracted ranges. Bioturbation (digging and scratching) significantly alters soil processes, altering the chemical and structural …
The four wildlife species that EEG has used to test the governments adherence to the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act are detailed below. The FFGA states that when a species is listed as threatened, it must have a protection plan, called an Action Statement, written up “as soon as possible”. The legal challenge looks at …
Once again, government pyromaniacs destroyed extremely valuable ecosystems and a wildlife corridor in the Kirth Kiln Regional Park near Hoddles Creek (March 2013). This was two days before a total fire ban when rainfall for the prior 6 months had been the lowest ever recorded. The fire managers called it an ‘ecological burn’, but had …
The future of the woodchipping industry in NSW is in doubt, following a decision by timber company Boral to sell its export arm and wood processing plant.Decades of native forest woodchip exports from Newcastle to Japan now seem set to come to an end. “Boral will exit the residue and woodchip export business and sell …
There is significant risk in establishing native forest-based bioenergy projects to substitute for Australia’s ailing woodchip export trade, including adverse climate impacts, according to a new report by environment group Markets For Change. The report, released to coincide with an industry conference in Melbourne called ‘Residues to Revenues’, questions the push to use forest wood …
Another small community group, Healesville Environment Watch commissioned an economic assessment of VicForests economic performance, since its beginnings in 2004-5. VicForests has racked up a loss of $22 million since it was formed – that means it costs us $1.50 for every cubic metre of wood it has logged. VicForests self-righteously argues a net profit …
The bushfires of 2012-13 in Victoria covered around 130,000 ha. The government has just proudly announced they have now burnt 250,000 ha of forest this Autumn (May 2013)! As well they have pumped about 18.3 million tonnes of C02 into the atmosphere. So what does this mean?Besides this being one massive unscientific experiment based on …
The woodchip piles are just about at capacity at Eden. If the chipmill doesn’t sell some woodchips soon they will have to stop chipping (and hopefully logging!)
