What’s the timber industry quietly seeking from government behind closed doors? What happens in these discussions will shape the debate for at least a decade, write Andrew Macintosh and Richard Denniss. The native forest and forest product industries contribute a miniscule amount to the Australian economy (in the order of 0.15% to 0.20% of GDP). …
“Indeed I guess there’ll be more CO2 emissions from these fires than there will be from coal-fired power stations for decades.” – acting Opposition leader, Warren Truss, January 9, 2013 On Wednesday, leader of the National Party and acting Opposition Leader, Warren Truss claimed carbon emissions from the current bushfires are equivalent to decades of …
There is extensive knowledge of how plants respond to fire, but little on how fauna respond. Michael Clarke says blanket recommendations of how much land should be burned as hazard reduction are made without any knowledge of how fauna will respond in local areas. He says more work is being done monitoring fauna and studying …
The Climate Change Authority’s final report on the renewable energy target, which was released yesterday, contains a number of controversial conclusions and recommendations. A standout amongst these is the recommendation that the federal government explore whether making native forest wood waste eligible to participate in the large-scale RET (LRET) would increase the rate of harvesting …
Big old trees, as we know are as rare as hen’s teeth, but far more important for forest ecosystems globally. They are necessary for all sorts of wildlife and processes that have evolved with large old trees. They are now a small part of any forest (if they exist at all) but can account for …
THE federal government will tell business leaders that it is putting on hold plans to devolve to the states power to deal with environmental approvals for major projects. The decision is a major blow to business – which has claimed ”green tape” is jeopardising projects worth many billions of dollars – and a victory for …
DONGWHA Timbers sawmill in Bombala will lead the way in energy efficiency and reducing pollution thanks to an $8.2million Gillard Government grant announced last Friday. Part of the Gillard Government’s Clean Technology Investment Program, the grant will allow Dongwha to consolidate its operations from two sites into one facility, and invest in new equipment and …
The links below take you to excerpts from a longer essay by Tim Flannery on the serious threats to hundreds of our native species. He calls it the ‘second wave of extinctions’ since Europeans arrived. The contempt towards the environment and endangered wildlife, as well as the deliberate lack of action by the federal and …
IN LATE August 2009, a tiny, solitary bat fluttered about in the rainforest near Australia’s infamous Christmas Island detention camp. We don’t know precisely what happened to it. Perhaps it landed on a leaf at dawn after a night feeding on moths and mosquitoes and was torn to pieces by fire ants; perhaps it succumbed …
In late August 2009 a tiny, solitary bat fluttered about in the rainforest near Australia’s infamous Christmas Island detention camp. We don’t know precisely what happened to it. Perhaps it landed on a leaf at dawn after a night feeding on moths and mosquitoes, and was torn to pieces by fire ants; perhaps it succumbed …
