MORE than 900 workers in the Latrobe Valley could give up at least $100 a week to ensure Maryvale paper mill keeps its doors open. Just weeks after 700 workers at Hazelwood power plant were told they would lose their jobs next March, staff at the 80-year-old mill are considering a 5 per cent pay …
Victoria has taken the dubious title of being the largest logger of Australian native forest by volume, accounting for around a third of all native forest logged in the country over the past year. The state government agency VicForests logged more than 1.3 million cubic metres of wood from Victoria’s native forests, almost 100,000 cubic …
You’ve got to be joking, right? VicForests are spruiking the importance of firewood as a sustainable product from Parlour’s Creek coupe. Is firewood really such an important part of their business model? Which kind of means that they’re logging Powerful Owl and Greater Glider habitat for firewood! Minister d’Ambrosio – can you and your Department …
Europe’s bioenergy plants are burning trees felled from protected conservation areas rather than using forest waste, new report shows Protected forests are being indiscriminately felled across Europe to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets, according to an investigation by the conservation group Birdlife. Up to 65% of Europe’s renewable output currently comes from bioenergy, involving …
Aren’t we told planned burns are done to save lives? How come so many people are dying and suffering from the smoke they generate then? In November, 14 people died from the burns smoke that blanketed Sydney. Many more suffered asthma attacks and were hospitalised. How long has this been hidden from the public, with …
The Eden chip mill is buzzing with activity again, as repairs finish up on the main jetty wharf conveyor system, now back in action after five months. The conveyor was rendered inoperable by June’s monster storm event, necessitating the chip mill to downsize operations and dispatch only smaller loads via the multi-purpose wharf. On Monday, the first full …
He had been looking for his lady for six years. Six long years of fruitless searching upon a muddy mountaintop. Sometimes it was so cold, snow was underfoot and on the mountain ash branches above. When Deon Gilbert eventually found her, his heart skipped a beat. She was everything he had hoped for: voluptuous, mature …
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost been 10 years to the day since the Victorian Liberals had a comprehensive environment policy. While that might sound ridiculous in the context of global warming and other environmental woes, the sad reality is that an entire decade has passed since the state Liberals offered voters a detailed vision to tackle …
Echidnas may not seem the most active of animals. Waddling around, they spend much of their time dozing and hiding. But in research published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology, we show that echidnas dig huge amounts of soil, and play a crucial role in Australia’s ecosystems. By attaching miniature GPSs and accelerometers to …
October 19th is the International Day of Action on Bioenergy, a day to raise awareness about the impacts of the growing bioenergy industry driven by unwisely designed renewable energy policies. As we know, in many cases bioenergy hasn’t exactly lived up to the promises of renewable energy such as emission reductions and environmental protection – …
