Category: Sustainable Settlement and Agriculture

The Generator is founded on the simple premise that we should leave the world in better condition than we found it. The news items in this category outline the attempts people have made to do this. They are mainly concerned with our food supply and settlement patterns. The impact that the human race has on the planet.

Two thirds of farmers already dealing with Climate Chaos

admin /21 September, 2008

From The Land

More than 65pc of Australian agricultural businesses say they have perceived a change in the climate and 62pc say the change is affecting their operations, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

But approximately half (49.5pc) of the agricultural businesses reported a change in the management practices on their holding in response to perceived changes in climate.

The most commonly reported perceived change in climate affecting the holding was a change in rainfall patterns (92.1pc), followed by more extreme weather events (74.2pc) and warmer temperatures (49.6pc).

The most commonly reported impact to the holding was a decreased level of production (88.8pc), followed by an increased frequency or extent of pests, weeds or disease (55.5pc).

Bee kill gets pesticide banned in Germany

admin /31 August, 2008

The German Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has reportedly suspended the approval of eight pesticides after the mass death of bees in one State. The German Research Centre for Cultivated Plants reported that 29 out of 30 dead bees it examined in Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg state had been killed by contact with clothianidin, Continue Reading →

Cats eating into world fish stocks

admin /31 August, 2008

Chee Chee Leung in The Age

GOURMET meals dished up to pampered pets could be threatening world fish supplies, Victorian scientists have warned.

Calculations by Deakin University researchers show an estimated 2.48 million tonnes of forage fish are used each year by the global cat food industry.

Leading this fishy business is the US, where more than 1.1 million tonnes of small forage fish, including sardines, herrings and anchovies, go into cat food.

Bendigo calls for genetic engineering ban

admin /31 August, 2008

From the Bendigo Times BLINDING self-interest is the only motivation behind the Victorian Government’s insistence on pushing genetically modified farming on to central Victoria, Bendigo Mayor David Jones said yesterday. ‘‘The people who think the science is in on genetic engineering are the very same people who think the science is not in on climate Continue Reading →

Economic growth makes climate chaos inevitable

admin /28 August, 2008

By Boyd Kellner The 2007 assessment report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirms that it is virtually certain that human activities (mainly through the use of fossil fuels and land development) have been responsible for the global warming that has taken place since the industrial revolution. Under current economic and Continue Reading →

Low cost, no till farming on show

admin /24 August, 2008

Adopting zero-till technology with controlled traffic farming (CTF) need not be overly expensive, visitors to a recent Queensland field day have been told.

Organised by Conservation Farmers Inc and funded by the Condamine Alliance and the Natural Heritage Trust, the field day was staged on Tim and Narelle Thorne’s “Willowbank” property.

Mr Thorne said the biggest stumbling block to more widespread adoption of the technology in his district lay with its predominantly smaller farms.

«« 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 »»