Habitat Australia articles from December 2004

Habitat Australia archives from December 2004

Toxic waste.(green Views)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... * Toxic Waste As futurologist Dr Peter Elyard states: "the journey to an ecologically sustainable or green future is a journey of imagination, design and innovation." It seems therefore quite absurd that this state government can determine...

Fuel consumption.(green Views)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... What is wrong with diesel? I was interested in your article on the hybrid car (Habitat, June 2004) but disappointed that you didn't mention diesel cars. I have been driving a Peugeot 307 HDI (High pressure diesel injection) for a year now. Over...

Water and war.(green Views)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... When you go to war, you go with the intention to kill people. Killing people intentionally is called murder. How is it that our government is spending millions of dollars with the intention to murder people in other countries, but they can't...

Dishwashers.(green Views)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... * Dishwashers I was appalled to read in August habitat that even AAA rated models of dishwashers use about 18 litres of water per load, and that there are 18 models available in Australia. The latter indicates there must be a lot of...

Federal election.(green Views)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... How depressing is it to not have the same beliefs as the majority of our country-men. I am truly shocked and disappointed. Hopefully our day in the sun will come soon, before it is too late, and we are drinking bottled water from overseas and...

ACFonline.org.au discussion boards.(green Views)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... ACF launched its online discussion boards during September and debate is raging on topics from Tasmania, to plastic bags, computer recycling and the free trade agreement. To participate log on to the website at ...

Tasmania.(green Views)(logging's danger)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... I think the Tasmanian government are fools if they think that eradicating unique forests from their state is a good thing for the state and its economy. Don't they know that people visit Tasmania (and even move down there to live) because there...

Plastic bags.(green Views)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Why can't they [plastic bags] just be made illegal? i don't see any reason why any one should need a plastic bag, ever! People are adaptable creatures, if the supermarkets stop providing them, people will grumble for a bit, start bringing their...

Lift GST from environmentally responsible products.(green Views)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The GST should be lifted from products that are 100% environmentally responsible, e.g., certain cleaning products, calico and Hessian bags, retreaded tyres, auto gas(LPG), printer ink cartridge re-fills etc. This will help make prices more...

Geoff Tracey, 1930-2004 rainforest botanist.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... Geoff Tracey, an ACF member since 1975 and leading Australian rainforest botanist, died at his home in Yungaburra on July 30. Born in Cairns in 1930, Mr Tracey studied architecture at Gatton Agricultural College and continued his studies in...

Bottled versus tap water.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2004... I write in response to your article (Habitat, October 2004) entitled "The thirst for bottled water'. The overall thrust of the article appears to be that we should drink tap water because there is 'very little difference between bottled water...

A word from the executive director.
December 1, 2004... Do the recent Australian and US elections with their focus on people's sense of insecurity mean that the environment is off the agenda? Are we entering an age where greed is not only good but right and fear a prime driver of political action?...

Russian parliament ratifies Kyoto.(campaign Trails)
December 1, 2004... In late October the State Duma of the Russian Federation endorsed ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by a vote of 334 to 74. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change executive secretary Joke Waller-Hunter expressed satisfaction at this...

Environmental news a secret weapon.(campaign Trails)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Australian Conservation Foundation went into the federal election campaign with a secret weapon. Not long before the campaign began, the ACF acquired from the Australian media monitoring agency, Rehame, an internet-based newsroom which...

Sydney metro strategy disappoints.(campaign Trails)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The NSW Department of infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources released a disappointing discussion paper on the Sydney Metropolitan Strategy in October. The paper is the result of the Sydney Futures Forum held earlier this year with 360...

Award for stuffed cods.(campaign Trails)
December 1, 2004... Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee, the giant Murray cods which were a feature of Adelaide street life in the last weeks of the election campaign, have at last been given the recognition they deserve. The ABC's 7.30 Report awarded their...

A healthy Murray makes economic sense.(campaign Trails)(Australian Conservation Foundation)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... In September ACF executive director Don Henry was joined by representatives from the boating, fishing, tourism and restaurant sectors to launch a report highlighting the economic value of a healthy Murray River. The report found the capital...

Kenyan environmentalist wins Nobel Peace prize.(campaign Trails)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The environment and women's movements received a boost with the presentation of the 2004 Nobel Peace prize going to Wangari Maathai, an environmentalist and human wrights campaigner from Kenya. Professor Maathai, who is also a government...

Lucas heights nuclear reactor hits new lows.(campaign Trails)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... There are renewed concerns over the safety culture and performance at ANSTO's nuclear reactor in Sydney following revelations of a leak at the plant earlier this year. In March five workers were exposed to radioactive material following a leak...

Kakadu uranium miner to face court over contamination.(campaign Trails)
December 1, 2004... In late September the Northern Territory government announced that it would prosecute Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), operators of the Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu, over a series of contamination incidents at the troubled mine. In...

Government 'all at sea' over radioactive waste.(campaign Trails)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Coalition government has confirmed it is looking at "every island around Australia" as a possible site to dump large amounts of waste from its nuclear reactor in Sydney. The new plan was announced during the federal election campaign in...

Cartoons for climate change.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Humour is a universal form of communication. Climate change is a universal threat. We're putting some fun into one of the most serious issues facing our planet and all of its inhabitants today. IF YOU ARE FRUSTRATED with inaction on global...

Ice watchers.(climate Corner)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A new European space mission should determine whether earth's ice sheets are thinning because of global warming. The European Space Agency (ESA) CryoSat satellite is due to be launched at the end of 2004--the first in the ESA's Living Planet...

Floating homes combat rising water.(climate Corner)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Dutch have traditionally built dykes to protect their homes from the sea, but with predictions of increased flooding in the future due to climate change, a new solution has been found. In the village of Maasbommel in Holland, which sits...

Election reflections: there's no doubt the environment played a more prominent role in the 2004 federal election than any other since 1990. It was all over the media, it was on every politician's lips, but just because it was part of the election buzz doesn't mean it mattered.
December 1, 2004... IT'S TIME TO SIT BACK and reflect and ponder the big questions. Did the Australian Conservation Foundation make a difference during the election campaign? Where does the Government stand on the environment and what are the challenges before it?...

Protecting the environment starts with You ...
December 1, 2004... Everything we do and consume as humans has an impact on the environment. Every DVD player, hamburger, lawn mower and business suit that we buy needs water, energy and materials to create it. So it's important to look at what we're doing in our...

Failing the test: plenty of dollars but little sense--the energy industry fails the climate change test. ACF energy reform campaigner Erwin Jackson reports on the World Energy Congress.
December 1, 2004... AGAINST A BACKDROP of warming temperatures, deepening droughts and the increasingly apparent human, economic and environmental impacts of climate change, a key international energy meeting took place in Sydney in September. The World...

A big blue deal.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... When a group of Australian Conservation Foundation members jumped into the ocean near Sydney Harbour in August and came face to face with Australia's most endangered shark, it hit home the importance of protecting our marine environment. ...

War of the wood: the battle to save Asia Pacific's largest stand of untouched rainforest is a risky business, according to ACF Asia Pacific coordinator Lee Tan.
December 1, 2004... IN OCTOBER A PROMINENT Papua New Guinean NGO leader was shot and is still recovering from the bullet wound. Several months earlier a senior environmental lawyer was abducted and managed to escape. In the last two years lawyers and community...

Flora's Native Plants: the definitive Guide to Australian Plants.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Flora's Native Plants: The definitive Guide to Australian Plants Introduced by Angus Stewart ABC Books RRP: $75 A large format book of coffee table proportions, a quick flick through the 375 pages confirms a top quality production with...

Walking on the Wilder Side ... in the Conondales.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Walking on the Wilder Side... In the Conondales Conondale Range Committee 17 Available at www.exploreconon dales.com Enquiries: (07) 5446 0350 If you are heading toward Queensland's Sunshine Coast this summer, you may want to get hold of...

Are We There Yet? A Journey Around Australia.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Are We There Yet? A Journey Around Australia Alison Lester Viking RRP: $24.95 As a child we said it; as a parent you never stop hearing it--"are we there yet?" is the mantra of the family outing. In this instance, award winning writer and...

Into the Future: the Neglect of the Long Term in Australian Politics.(Book Review)
December 1, 2004... Into the Future: The Neglect of the Long Term in Australian Politics Ian Marsh and David Yencken The Australian Collaboration RRP: $15.95 A new short book from the Australian Collaboration, of which ACF is a member, Into the Future is an...

The fabric of conservation.(ACF Member Profile)(Interview)
December 1, 2004... As someone who cared deeply about the environment, Beth Hatton faced a dilemma. A successful artist, whose woven rugs were gaining wide recognition and had been purchased for museum collections, Beth simply didn't have time to participate in...

The perils of packaging.(consuming Choices)(The DUMP awards)
December 1, 2004... Do you often return from a shopping trip to find you have brought home more packaging than useful product? The recent DUMP Awards highlighted some of the most wasteful brands. Beauty products and confectionary are the worst offenders of...