EcoRadio

Category: General news

Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on

  • Breaking news: historic partnership with NSW Government AWC set to return extinct mammals to NSW national parks

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    Breaking news: historic partnership with NSW Government – AWC set to return extinct mammals to NSW National Parks

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    Atticus Fleming atticus.fleming@australianwildlife.org via 27746.netcommunity1.com
    		11:03 AM (7 minutes ago)
    to me
    5 June 2015
    Breaking news: historic partnership with NSW Government
     AWC set to return extinct mammals to NSW national parks
    Dear Mrs Gillmore
    “The return of extinct mammals to NSW National Parks will be one of the greatest mammal conservation initiatives ever undertaken in Australia … a powerful demonstration of our commitment to reverse Australia’s mammal extinction crisis.” 
    Professor Tim Flannery (AWC Director)
    Bilbies, Numbats and other mammal species which have not been recorded in NSW for over 100 years are set to be returned to the State’s National Parks under an historic partnership between Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) and the NSW Government.

    Following an exhaustive tender process, the NSW Environment Minister, the Hon Mark Speakman MP, today announced that the Government will enter into negotiations with AWC to establish large fox and cat-free areas in selected NSW National Parks.  AWC is also set to deliver broader land management and science activities across these National Parks.

    Within the feral-free areas – large areas protected by specially designed conservation fences – wild populations of mammal species that are extinct in NSW including the Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, the Brush-tailed Bettong, the Western Barred Bandicoot, the Western Quoll, the Bilby and the Numbat, will be reintroduced.
    Click the image to see rare video footage of a Numbat at Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary
    This single initiative will play a critical role in saving at least 10 Australian mammals from extinction.  It represents a large-scale response to the impact of feral cats and foxes – feral cats kill tens of millions of native animals every night across Australia.  Under AWC’s proposed projects:

    • 2 species (Bridled Nailtail Wallaby and Western Barred Bandicoot) will have their remaining global populations increased by more than 100%.
    • At least 6 other species (including the Bilby, Brush-tailed Bettong, Numbat and Greater Stick-nest Rat) will have their remaining populations increased by more than 15%.

    This will be the first partnership of its kind in Australia, highlighting both AWC’s leadership in the conservation sector and the importance of developing new models for collaboration between Government and the non-profit sector.
    Feral cat and fox-proof fences are the only option for restoring many endangered mammal populations  |  Burrowing Bettong
    Please help AWC return 10 extinct mammals to NSW National Parks

    AWC is committed to co-investing with the NSW Government, which will invest several million dollars in this initiative, to secure the return of at least 10 extinct mammals to National Parks.  Your tax deductible donation to AWC will help us roll-out this ground-breaking initiative, building our capacity to deliver the on-ground feral animal control and world class science which underpins AWC’s unique approach to conservation.
    Stay tuned for further details – including an announcement identifying the National Parks where the initiative will be delivered – as AWC and NSW work together to finalise details of this historic partnership.  In the meantime, thank you for your support which is greatly appreciated by all of us at AWC.

    Yours sincerely

    Atticus Fleming
    Chief Executive

  • Today’s a day to be really proud of: WWF Australia
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    Today’s a day to be really proud of:

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    Louise Matthiesson, WWF-Australia noreply@act.wwf.org.au via server8839.e-activist.com 
    11:42 AM (6 hours ago)
    to me
    Under water coral, Great Barrier Reef © Troy Mayne

    Dear NEVILLE,

    I’ve got some exciting news:

    Last night in Queensland, the Government announced a new Sustainable Ports Bill that makes crucial progress on their promise to rein-in industrial dredging and dumping in the Reef’s World Heritage Area. The Bill will ensure that magnificent parts of the Reef coastline like the Fitzroy Delta and Cape York Peninsula are protected from massive industrial expansion.

    It’s a huge step in the right direction for the reef, for tourism operators, for fishers and for the snubfin dolphins who call the Delta home.

    Today’s a day to be really proud of: this wouldn’t have happened without you.

    There are still some loopholes that must be closed – like the ones that allow trans-shipping and dumping for big marina developments to continue.  Also, these new laws won’t stop all port expansions, like the new coal megaport planned for Abbot Point, but they make other parts of the coast much safer.

    And the Australian Government have taken an important step forward this week too.

    On Tuesday, the new regulations that ban dredge spoil dumping in the Marine Park Area came into effect, finally bringing the law in line with community expectations.

    That means that together, this week, we’ve made massive progress to protect the Reef.

    But we’re not done yet.  Stay tuned for an important update tonight about the next step in the campaign to ensure the World Heritage Committee stands strong and holds the Government to account when it meets in Bonn in less than four weeks time.

    You’ve helped us make change happen, and with your help we can – and we will – win the protection we need for our Great Barrier Reef.

    Louise Matthiesson
    Great Barrier Reef Campaigner
    WWF-Australia

    P.S. There’s a lot going on at the moment, if you want more details, you can read WWFs full statements on UNESCOs decision to put the Government on probation here, our statement on the Australian Government’s ban on Marine Park dumping here, and the news about the Queensland Bill here.

  • Is Labor letting our native forests burn?

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    Is Labor letting our native forests burn?

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    Senator Janet Rice
    1:11 PM (1 hour ago)
    to me
    Dear Neville,

    Late last night, Labor joined the Abbott government and passed damaging changes to the Renewable Energy Target through the lower house.Bill Shorten cannot let Labor do a deal with the government and pass these changes to the RET — changes that would see us cut investment in renewable energy, lose sustainable jobs and send our native forests up in flames.

    Share our petition with your friends now and ask them to join you in calling on the two old parties to protect our native forests.

    Keep burning native forests out of the RET
    We must continue to build pressure on Bill Shorten and Labor so they do not support the government’s push to include cutting down and burning up our native forests as so-called ‘renewable energy’.

    If the burning of wood from native forests is included in the RET, Labor must stand with the community and vote this legislation down in the Senate. Click here to ask your friends to join you and over 5,600 others and call on Bill Shorten and Tony Abbott to not burn up our native forests and cut investment in real renewable energy.

    With Labor’s move last night, the fight to protect our native forests now moves to the Senate. I, with your other Greens Senators, will do everything I can in the Senate to stop this dirty deal between Labor and the government.

    Thanks for standing with us,

    Janet, with Adam Bandt

    Senator Janet Rice
    Greens Senator for Victoria
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    Make the call for Bulga

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    John Krey, Bulga savebulga@fastmail.fm via sendgrid.info 
    9:41 AM (8 minutes ago)
    to me
    Neville —

    Rob Stokes may only have a few weeks left to intervene and stop the Warkworth coal mine expansion getting approved, or it will be too late. Can you give the Planning Minister a call now and ask him to save Bulga?

    My community has already beaten Rio Tinto’s proposed coal mine in court, twice. The judges found that it would be against the public interest for the mine to go ahead. It would kill our town, Bulga, and it would destroy an irreplaceable endangered bush ecosystem. But after our win in court, the NSW Government changed mine approval rules to make money trump the public interest. Then Rio Tinto resubmitted their mining application. Because of the unfair new rules, Rio’s new application is expected to be approved.

    The new Planning Minister, Rob Stokes, has indicated publicly that he thinks balance should be restored to mining assessments. But unless he acts soon, it will be too late, and the Warkworth coal mine expansion will be approved. Time is running out, can you pick up the phone today and urge Rob Stokes to save Bulga? Click here to get his phone number and some dot points to help you make your call.

    There’s a lot going on at the moment, and lots of ways you can get involved in the campaign to save our town from Rio’s coal mine:

    • Check out this great new video featuring one of the heroes of Bulga, AnneMarie McLaughlin. Share AnneMarie’s story on Facebook, and spread the word about our great community and our determination to beat Rio Tinto.
    • The Bulga Beats Festival is coming up on 20th June! It’s an exciting locally-organised event to celebrate our community, from the heritage Church to the wondrous mountains of the Wollemi National Park. The festival will showcase local music and arts, plus there’ll be vintage cars, market stalls, and food. This is your chance to be part of the epic battle to save Bulga… and have a fantastic time!
    • The NSW Planning Assessment Commission is accepting more public submissions about Rio’s proposed mine expansion. Please use this quick and easy guide to register your objection (again).

    Thanks for taking a stand with Bulga as we fight for justice and our community’s future. We can’t win this fight on our own.

    Sincerely,
    John Krey
    Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association

  • The Courier Mail says you “waged a jihad against Queensland”

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    The Courier Mail says you “waged a jihad against Queensland”

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    Sam R – GetUp!
    4:38 PM (1 hour ago)
    to me
    This is unbelievable, NEVILLE.

    In an extraordinary attack yesterday, the Courier Mail named GetUp amongst the “kings of deceit and lies” with “cult-like zealotry” for our efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef.1

    It’s part of the Murdoch press’ ongoing transparent and desperate bid to convince investors to finance Adani’s huge new coal expansion on the Reef coast.

    On Friday the UNESCO World Heritage Committee handed down it’s report card for the Reef. Althought the Reef wasn’t classified as ‘in-danger’, it’s so far from the “clean bill of health” the Courier Mail writes of. UNESCO makes clear the Reef’s health is poor, and declining because of climate change, water quality and coastal development.2

    Simply put, the Murdoch press is trying to hijack UNESCO’s report and mislead investors to believe the Abbot Point coal terminal will be harmless for the Reef.

    With the Courier Mail in all-out attack mode, there’s a real threat they will convince key investors to fund Abbot Point and the devastating destruction it will cause.

    We can’t let them get away with it.

    We’ve designed a huge full-page ad with UNESCO’s own words to run in the financial press to set the record straight. Can you chip in to run the ad as soon as possible?

    The Courier Mail and Enviornment Minister Greg Hunt seem to be conveniently forgetting that the report names “climate change, poor water quality and impacts from coastal development” as major threats to our Reef.

    Climate change. Water quality. Coastal development. Doesn’t sound like much of a reason to dredge in Reef waters so hundreds of ships can load coal from a huge port on the Reef coast to make way for Australia’s biggest coal mine, does it?

    But if the Murdoch press and Minister Hunt get their way, key investors could believe that all is well with the Reef, taking the Abbot Point disaster one step closer to devastating our Reef and climate.

    We know Minister Hunt is desperate to control this message. That’s why he spent over $100,000 travelling to 15 countries to plead with UNESCO delegates not to list the Reef as ‘in-danger’.

    But we can fight back against the Government and Murdoch’s spin by using our combined power to run a powerful message targeting key investors.

    Click here to see the design and chip-in so we can run this ad in Australia’s financial press: https://www.getup.org.au/unesco

    Together we’ve fought so hard to protect the Reef from Abbot Point and Adani. We’ve funded legal challenges, exposed Adani’s track record, we’ve challenged three Environment Ministers and we’ve changed the course of a State Election. Now, we’re up against an angry Murdoch press.

    Let’s do this.

    Sam R and Adam – for the GetUp team

    [1] Editorial: The green movement’s role in the sorry Reef debacle exposes them as frauds, Courier Mail, May 31st 2015
    [2] Great Barrier Reef kept off UNESCO ‘danger’ list for now, Reuters, May 29th 2015

  • Consumption and Consumerism — Global Issues

    1. Consumption and Consumerism — Global Issues

      This section on the globalissues.org web site provides an insight into deeper issues of consumption and consumerism. … societal and life-style factors all have an …