In the high country of Victoria, firefighters are presently battling a large bushfire that is moving through the forests south of Harrietville and past the second highest mountain in Victoria, Mt. Feathertop. It has threatened small communities, hikers, come within 50m of the boundary of the Hotham Heights alpine resort, and – most devastating of …
This is fascinating new research. The idea that forests bring the rain, and cutting them down can affect local weather patterns, is not new. But Russian physicists Makarieva and Gorshkov argue forests also create winds that sweep rain inland, allowing forests to grow far from the coast.The theory runs that Australia is so dry in …
A recurring theme in Australia’s environmental history is the quest for the Grand National Narrative. The desire to create the universal ‘big picture’ story that is everywhere relevant, everywhere important. This theme dominates many popular environmental histories, from Eric Rolls’ A Million Wild Acres to Tim Flannery’s Future Eaters and Bill Gammage’s recent book, The Biggest Estate on Earth. The quest for over-generality …
WA’s endangered Quokka is as precarious as our own Long-footed Potoroo. ‘Find and destroy’ is also the WA govt’s plan. These friendly little characters are known to survive on Rottnest and Bald Islands off the coast of WA (both cat and fox free), but there are also a number of small populations on the mainland …
The red fox may be the most destructive species ever introduced to Australia. For a start, it carries most of the blame for Australia’s appalling record of recent mammal extinctions. Since European settlement, mainland Australia has lost at least 20 mammal species, far more than any other country over‚Ķ The red fox may be the …
A FIREFIGHTERS’ union has called on the Federal Government to take urgent action against climate change, saying that current policy on greenhouse gas emissions would lead to disasters on the scale of the Victorian fires almost every year. In an open letter to the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the Victorian Premier, John Brumby, the …
CSIRO research funds given to logging lobby group We recently asked the CSIRO to cancel its $10,000 membership to Australia’s national logging lobby group, Australian Forests Products Association (formerly NAFI) as it was inappropriate and against the charter for the CSIRO. The CEO refused. We took the issue to the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s office. It also …
Deer are arguably the most charismatic of Australia’s invasive species. Long considered a welcome addition to the Australian environment, primarily as a highly valued hunting resource, deer populations have flourished under legislation providing for their protection. However, perceptions are changing, and deer are now recognised as among Australia’s greatest pest threats. Like rabbits and foxes, …
If VicForests was a private company it’d be financially (as well as morally) bankrupt. VicForests’ 2012-13 Annual Report is out. A small ‘profit’ was made this year – as a result of not having to pay big legal bills they said, but still no dividend paid to the public (government) for their use of, or …
Dr Chris Taylor has analysed the land areas burnt in the Tassie Peninsular Forcett fires. Dr Taylor also easily discredited claims of parks and unburnt bush being the cause of past Victorian mega-fires. His latest assessment of the Forcett fire shows only 7% of the fire was within conservation areas and the majority of the …
