Perhaps it is a pity that so many Australians think of our parks, gardens, streetscapes and urban landscapes only in terms of their aesthetics. While green spaces are beautiful and decorative, these attributes can mask the many functions vegetation serves in cities, to the point where its economic, social and environmental benefits are overlooked. Yes, …
As $45 million of your taxes is about to be divvied up for broke loggers, a worrying precedent has come to light that raises serious questions about this bailout of a struggling industry. Attempts by successive federal governments to pay businesses out of the native forest industry in Tasmania have failed to meet basic benchmarks …
French botanist Francis Hall makes a case for the defence of trees as a powerful ally in saving the Earth’s ecosystems Give me a tree and I’ll save the world ? that is the message that comes across from a book just published by the French botanist Francis Hall?, Du bon usage des arbres (Making …
Park Protection Officer Phil Ingamells reports on the Fire and Biodiversity symposium, which was organised jointly by the Victorian National Parks Association and the Royal Society of Victoria and held on 24-25 October, 2011. Victoria is currently performing the largest ecological experiment ever carried out in the state. Over the past decade, more than three …
LOGGERS can seek exemptions from state environment laws protecting endangered species under proposed changes quietly released by the state government. The proposed amendments to the code for timber production – outlined in a document posted on a government website – hands power to the Secretary of the Department of Sustainability and Environment. The secretary would …
Logging the forests of south east Australia releases three per cent of our carbon dioxide emissions, and destroys precious biodiversity. Yet this activity is subsidised by our governments. FORTY YEARS AGO, the NSW Government agreed to supply 5,000 tons of waste from saw logs to the newly established export woodchip mill at Eden. A Japanese …
DOLPHIN colonies in Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes have been formally recognised as a new species, researchers say. The dolphins, named Tursiops australis, have a combined population of about 150 and were originally thought to be one of the two existing bottlenose dolphin species. Monash University PhD researcher Kate Charlton-Robb discovered they …
There is a massive re-rating of native forest going on, even as world resolve to tackle climate change crumbles. Deforestation accounts for roughly 20 per cent of our greenhouse problem, on the ”sink” side of the ledger (because it’s not just about how much gas we pump up into the atmosphere – by clearing trees …
VICTORIA’S old-growth forests could be opened to more logging under a state government plan to dilute environmental laws designed to protect threatened species. The Age has learnt that the Department of Sustainability and Environment is quietly examining Victoria’s 23-year-old Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act so that the existence of animals deemed threatened or endangered is …
Burning Trees for Energy Increases Carbon Pollution and Destroys Our Forests Forests cover 30 percent of the Earth’s surface. They purify our air and water, control soil erosion, foster biodiversity, serve as habitat for wildlife, and provide us with places to hike, fish, hunt, camp, and enjoy undisturbed environments. Forests also serve as carbon …
