Ecos articles from April 2007

Ecos archives from April 2007

The pace of change.(Editorial)
April 1, 2007... Since our last issue, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has met again and followed through with some significant decisions on climate change adaptation measures, most of which were under-reported in the general media. These moves not...

Reconnecting country at a landscape scale.
April 1, 2007... Celebrations on either side of the continent have marked impressive developments for two visionary Australian landscape reconnection projects. Gondwana Link in south-west Western Australia and Kosciusko to Coast in New South Wales are vast...

Mercury threat from fluorescents prompts call for recycling laws.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... While the Australian Government's move to phase out incandescent light bulbs in favour of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) by 2010 has been welcomed as an important initiative against global warming, concern has been raised that discarded...

Long-range climate prediction help for Pacific islands.
April 1, 2007... The Australian Bureau of Meteorology and AusAID have collaborated on a $3 million, three-year project to help 10 Pacific island countries improve their long-range climate predictions for planning in areas that may be affected by climate shift,...

El Nino, Indonesian fires and pollution.
April 1, 2007... While the link between El Nino and drought in eastern Australia is well established, recent NASA satellite and rainfall data suggest El Nino may also have boosted wildfire activity in Indonesia, adding to pollution levels over the Indian Ocean....

Off-the-shelf disinfectants kill devastating frog fungus.
April 1, 2007... James Cook University scientists have discovered that a commercially available disinfectant can kill the deadly chytrid fungus, which has wiped out several Australian frog species. Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) causes...

Cane toads may spread beyond their 'natural' limits.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... The introduced cane toad, currently impacting Australia's northern ecosystems, may migrate further south than previously thought because of its ability to rapidly adapt to climatic conditions. Mathematical modelling of future cane toad...

New Zealand to be carbon neutral by 2020.
April 1, 2007... New Zealand's Prime Minister, Helen Clarke, has announced that New Zealand is aiming to be the first country to be carbon neutral by 2020, with zero net carbon emissions across all sectors. The program will begin with six of the...

Would you pay to offset your air travel emissions? Australians can now offset the environmental impacts of their air travel--but how many will want to? Gillian Kendall asks the question of airline carbon levies.(Progress)
April 1, 2007... With more affordable fares on offer because of competition, more Australians than ever are flying. But until recently, most may never have considered their travel impacts on the environment. Now, awareness and attitudes are changing. As...

Council achievers have a global reach: through a range of international campaigns and remarkably effective support programs, ICLEI has empowered local governments in 67 countries to engage business, industry, residents and wider levels of government to seize the sustainability initiative. Wendy Pyper reports on the outstanding success of this visionary organisation.(Profile)(International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives)(Organization overview)
April 1, 2007... Since 1997, local governments across Australia have saved the equivalent of 8.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide through local actions--comparable to taking 2 million cars off the road for one year. As part of this effort, one, the City of...

The lapse of luxury: with luxury hotels booming around the world. Matthew Brace reviews what this rapidly growing sector of the Australian tourism industry is doing to reduce its appreciable environmental impact, and educate its guests.(Progress)
April 1, 2007... International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), the global exhibition that monitors and promotes the top end of the travel market, says the luxury sector is growing at 'more than 10 per cent per annum, more than double that of the mainstream travel...

Winning nature photography.
April 1, 2007... While many Australians will be familiar with the UK-based Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition and touring exhibition, few will have heard of the annual ANZANG (Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea) Nature photographic...

Politics adds to Macquarie Island's pest problem.(Progress)
April 1, 2007... A comprehensive eradication program to rid Macquarie Island of rabbits, rats and mice is being delayed by a dispute between the Tasmanian and Federal governments over who will foot the bill. The delay has concerned UNESCO's World Heritage...

Aquaculture advances: in the past decade, aquaculture has become a $100 billion global industry--the fastest growing food-production sector since the advent of intensive agriculture in the 1950s. Australia's industry, while still relatively small, is setting high standards for quality, environmental rigour and innovative research.(Focus: AQUACULTURE)
April 1, 2007... Ten years ago, farmed species provided only 35 per cent of the world's fish consumption. Recently the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimated that aquaculture now produces almost 50 per cent of the world's food...

Salt of the earth.(Focus: AQUACULTURE)
April 1, 2007... Could one man's problem provide another man's meat? If the Australian fish supply's future lies with aquaculture, why not exploit the continent's unwanted, saline groundwaters to grow marine or salt-tolerant fish inland? In New South...

Climate leaders: the new corporate standard.(Progress)
April 1, 2007... Being 'climate neutral' is rapidly becoming the new corporate standard and part of a broader movement to become more efficient and less polluting. Numerous organisations in Australia, large and small, have recently committed to this emergent...

The nappy changers: breaking down the impact of a billion nappies.(Progress)
April 1, 2007... This year, Australian parents will throw away one billion used disposable nappies, each taking up to 300 years to decompose.With a life cycle that involves considerable environmental impact, it was inevitable that an eco-friendly solution to...

'Not the flake, thanks': choosing seafood wisely.
April 1, 2007... The pocket-sized Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide, published by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, is an easy-to-use reference that lists the sustainability status of 60 seafood species available in supermarkets, restaurants and...

Reviewing the organic farming phenomenon.(Organic Agriculture: A Global Perspective)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... Organic agriculture by definition implies the idea of appropriate farming based on an understanding of the local environment. So why a book with a 'global perspective'? 'Global' here refers to the diverse knowledge and views of scientists...

A community airs its views about water access.(Research)(area around Lake Mulwala)
April 1, 2007... While federal and state governments battle for 'ownership' of the Murray River, there is at least one place along the watercourse where the local community is able to register its concerns about access to water. Unlike many bodies of water...

Ocean management goes global.(Research)
April 1, 2007... As climate change and overfishing take their toll on ocean ecosystems, an ambitious new project is underway to monitor physical ocean changes and track the movement and behaviour of sea creatures, on a global scale. The Ocean Tracking...

Events calendar.(Calendar)
April 1, 2007... 5th Australian Stream Management Conference Albury-Wodonga, 21-25 May www.csu.edu.au/research/ilws/news/conference.html EcoSummit 2007 Beijing, China, 22-27 May www.ecosummit2007.elsevier.com/index.htm GREX 07: 2nd...