Habitat Australia articles from August 2003

Habitat Australia archives from August 2003

The rice riddle.(green views)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I note with interest your comments on rice in "Consuming Choices" [Habitat, June 2003]. Your response gives what I would think are all the masons why we should not be purchasing rice from Australia, but instead purchasing it from our near Asian...

Post-ulating.(green views)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... I am a long time greenie and used to write letters to ministers all the time. Now I work for a government department, and get to see the down side. Ministers take letters very seriously, so the highest "priority" of all government...

The greening of hate.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... The environment group Friends of the Earth (FOE) recognises that some more extreme right-wing commentators are linking probable environment damage with immigration to Australia. They (the greenies) call it the "the greening of hate". It...

Greywater grey areas.(green views)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... Thank you for the artide about greywater in "Consuming Choices" [Habitat April 2003]. I have been using laundry (only) greywater for several years, as approved by our coundl (Geelong) because of thedrought. I'm sure this has kept our fruit...

Weighty issue.(green views)(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2003... Wouldn't it be preferable to put Habitat magazine into a paper envelope instead of plastic when doing mailouts? That way readers could either re-use or recycle the wrapping instead of just throwing it away. Emily Lawrence Gazal via...

Canberra and Sydney members!(green views)
August 1, 2003... The ACF Canberra and Sydney branches now have their own email addresses. If you want to stay informed of ACF Branch activities, you can now email: canberra.branch@acfonline.org.au sydney.branch@acfonline.org.au Please provide your...

Trees for Life.(green views)(donations to Australian Conservation Foundation)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Looking for a way to welcome a new baby into the world, celebrate a marriage or remember the life of a loved one? Trees for Life offers a long-lasting gift--the planting of a native Australian tree. Each tree is labelled with a code and planted...

A word from the Executive Director.(Australian Conservation Foundation poll shows concern for environment)
August 1, 2003... It's encouraging that Australians are increasingly aware of the need to protect the environment. Recent polling, commissioned by ACF, in suburban Melbourne and the rural Murray basin found that the majority believe Australia should be reducing...

Membership milestones.(green views)(Australian Conservation Foundation)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... ACF wishes to congratulate and sincerely thank the following people from around Australia who, during the months of June and July 2003, reached the milestones of 25 and 30 years of continuous membership. 30 Years Mr P Sutton & Ms K...

QLD takes a big step towards saving its bush.(Land Clearing Campaign)(Queensland and federal governments)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Good news! In May, the federal and Queensland governments announced a joint proposal to protect all threatened ecosystems in rural areas and to phase out the broadscale clearing of previously uncleared bushland by 2006. Although not...

Outstanding SA contributor.(Anti-Nuclear Campaign)(SA Conservation Council award to David Noonan )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The efforts of ACF campaigner David Noonan in the fight to stop national radioactive waste dumping in South Australia were acknowledged recently when he received the SA Conservation Council's annual Jill Hudson Environment Award. The...

Shaky foundations under the spotlight.(Anti-Nuclear Campaign)(nuclear site safety)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Australia's largest construction union has joined with ACF and other groups and called for transparency and scrutiny at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation's (ANSTO) Lucas Heights nuclear site in Sydney. The...

Radioactive recognition.(Peter Rawlinson Award Winner Announced)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... It has been a significant year for the women behind the Irati Wanti ("The poison, leave it'") campaign. The Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta, an Aboriginal women's council comprised of women from across northern South Australia and based in Coober Pedy,...

Hazelwood: past its use-by date.(Climate Change Campaign)(Victorian government's policy on power station)(Environment Effects Statement ignores greenhouse pollution)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Victorian Government wants to extend the lifetime of Hazelwood, Victoria's most polluting power station. Hazelwood's greenhouse pollution increased more than 50 per cent during 1996-1999 and the station was responsible for more than 15 per...

Banksia Award for 60L.(Building Green Campaign)(awards for leadershiip in sustainable buildings)(Spowers Architects, the Green Building Partnership and Lincolne Scott)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Congratulations to Spowers Architects, the Green Building Partnership and Lincolne Scott for winning the 2003 Banksia Award for leadership in sustainable buildings, for their work on 60L Green Building. The Banksia Environmental Awards are...

Commercial buildings need mandatory standards.(Building Green Campaign)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... ACF is calling on governments to introduce mandatory five star energy efficiency standards for all new residential and commercial building developments and mandatory disclosure of the energy costs of existing buildings. ACF applauds the...

Salt: nature in the balance.(Salinity Campaign)(alliance of Australian Conservation Foundation and Southcorp wines )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The ACF-Southcorp Alliance recently launched a new campaign focused on stopping salinity from sending our native plants and animals extinct. Speaking at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, ACF President Peter Garrett said, "Every moment we delay action...

Have your say on the Regional Marine Plan.(Marine Campaign)( Australiain marine diversity threated by shipping, fisheries and oil industry)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Commonwealth Government has just released the South East Regional Marine Plan (SERMP) for public comment (closing 17 October). Australia's southern waters host globally significant levels of marine diversity and uniqueness (85 per cent...

Somerville.(various facts on state of the environment in Australia)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Did you know the major component in our biodiversity crisis is landclearing? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since 1600 A.D. fully one third of the world's mammal extinctions have been in Australia. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Something...

Remote control: it's been two decades since the battle to save a wild, tempestuous river in deepest Tasmania managed to transform the vision of the Australian public and take centre stage in a federal election.(dam on Lower Gordon River would have obliterated Franklin River)
August 1, 2003... THE FRANKLIN BLOCKADE of the early'80s is an episode that most Australians will recall as a defining and inspiring moment for the power of community campaigns. It has been 20 years since this historic conservation victory and its impact on the...

Property development: this little book will help give our beleaguered native animals a chance down on the farm.(Wildlife on Farms--How to Conserve Native Animals)(Book Review)
August 1, 2003... AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE is in real trouble. With around 60 per cent of Australia managed primarily for agricultural production, less than 10 per cent set aside for conservation, and over 1,500 native species on the brink of extinction, it's high...

Mangroves, insects and leaf economics: recent studies reveal that it takes three to do the mangrove tango.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... IT'S A MAD CRAB SCRAMBLE when leaves fall in the mangrove. And it has to be. Mangrove productivity depends on the crabs' ability to collect leaf litter before the tide washes it away. The important role played by leaf-eating crabs in mangrove...

Putting a lid on our greenhouse pollution: once a fertile ground for renewable energy research, Australia now lags behind in this area. How can we effectively shift away from dirty energy sources like burning coal towards clean energy sources like solar and wind?
August 1, 2003... STARING UP INTO BRIGHT SUNLIGHT of a Melbourne springs day, it's hard to believe that we don't better use the sun's abundant warming rays to heat our water, homes and offices. Australia's greenhouse pollution is the highest per person in...

Living on the Brink: while Australia still refuses to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, low-lying Pacific island nations such as Tuvalu are staring at a future without a home.
August 1, 2003... GREENHOUSE POLLUTION COMES mainly from wealthy countries, and the energy debate in Australia has tended to be more about economics than people. But it is the people living in developing nations--particularly small island states--who are feeling...

From greenhouse to a green house: take two simple steps to cut the amount of greenhouse gas pollution attributable to your home.
August 1, 2003... WATER HEATING FOR CLEANING, SHOWERS, washing dishes and clothes is the single biggest greenhouse polluting activity in our homes. Around 30 per cent of the greenhouse pollution from your home comes from water heating but only around 5 per cent...

Wrong way, go back: the nuclear industry sees climate change as a prime opportunity to reinvent itself.
August 1, 2003... THE INDUSTRY THAT ONCE CLAIMED that it would produce energy "too cheap to meter" has been battered by poor economics, serious safety concerns, growing radioactive waste problems, the reality of nuclear weapons proliferation and an increasingly...

Lake Cowal mining lease granted: the granting of a mining lease for the Cowal Gold Project has environmentalists extremely concerned about threats to the highly significant Lake Cowal/Wilbertroy Wetlands and their Aboriginal cultural heritage.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... LAKE COWAL in New South Wales' central west is the seasonal home to thousands of migratory birds from across the globe, including 12 migratory bird species listed in international protection agreements. It is also the state's largest inland...

Two in the bush: meet an Australian pair whose existence rests on the implementation of a highly commendable government proposal in Queensland.(black-throated finches (Peophila cincta))
August 1, 2003... BLACK-THROATED FINCH PAIRS (Peophila cincta) are very devoted. The male and female will hop around all day, chatting, cackling and bobbing their heads to each other, bibs jauntily puffed out. When they've had their fill of grass seeds, small...

Too many cooks: why is it taking so long to get real action on the Murray issue?(Murray River, Australia)
August 1, 2003... THE MURRAY RIVER IS IN TROUBLE. It needs fixing, almost everyone admits it, been saying it for years now. The Mouth is almost dosed, only a quarter of the river's water reaching the sea in an 'average' year. The Coorong, the river's...

Just what the documenter ordered: Keith Bradby didn't make his highly acclaimed documentary, A Million Acres a Year, for his own artistic fulfilment.(ACF Member Profile)
August 1, 2003... WHEN KEITH BRADBY HEARS TALK in the media of the current extinction crisis it makes him see red--and fire up his filmmaking team. Bradby has been campaigning against the loss of biodiversity in southern Western Australia for over 20 years,...

Which fish? Before you next throw a piece of fresh Australian fish on the barbie, you might want to stop and ask if there are any more like him back home.(consuming Choices)
August 1, 2003... While Australia is known for its abundance of quality seafood, the fact is that many marine species are under serious threat of overfishing and/or extinction. We're being encouraged by health professionals to eat more fish, and we are...

Ideas in print.(Book Review)
August 1, 2003... Prehistoric Mammals of Australia and New Guinea: One Hundred Million Years of Evolution Michael Archer, Tim Flannery, Suzanne Hand, John Long UNSW Press RRP $69.95 Meet giant wombats, carnivorous kangaroos, huge diprotodons, bizarre...