habitat July 2012 - Australian Conservation Foundation

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Volume 40 Number 3 July 2012 6 10 19 Spark! Energy for change 21 Little Veggie Patch Co 22 Top energy tips 23 Electricity charges our bills 9 24 3 Opportunity in crisis: Don Henry 4 If you’ve got a trumpet, blow it for biodiversity 6 Tim Winton sea change 9 The bearable lightness of being a koala 10 Bilbies on burrowed time in the Kimberley 11 Fight or flight for Carnaby Cockatoo 12 Climate changer we have a price on pollution 14 Fair go Swan how to save $2 billion 17 Green events 17 Come visit ACF! 18 Act local, think global ACF member story 24 Tinder sticks biodiversity in the north 26 A cosy Climate Reality Project 27 Ask the Economist 29 Eco travel: travel blogs 30 Campaign updates 21 23 16 16 15 dirtgirlworld 16 Great outdoors disco! 16 Future sparks competition 16 Green Lane Diary habitat Australia is published by the Australian Conservation Foundation, authorised by Don Henry CEO. Inc. ABN 22 007 498 482 Melbourne (Head Office) Floor 1, 60 Leicester St, Carlton VIC 3053 Ph: 03 9345 1111 Freecall 1800 332 510 Fax: 03 9345 1166 Sydney Suite 3, Level 7, 222 Pitt St Sydney NSW 2000 Ph: 02 8270 9900 Fax: 02 8270 9988 Canberra PO Box 2699, Canberra City, ACT 2601 Ph: 02 6247 2472 Cairns Suite 1/Level 1, 96 – 98 Lake St, Cairns QLD 4870 Ph: 07 4031 5760 Fax: 07 4031 3610 Broome PO Box 1868 (Lotteries House) Broome WA 6725 Ph: 08 9192 1936 Fax: 08 9192 1936 www.acfonline.org.au ACF membership membership@acfonline.org.au President Professor Ian Lowe Chief Executive Officer Don Henry Editor Tabatha Fulker habitat@acfonline.org.au Subeditor Jessie Borrelle Advertising Angie Leben Ph: 0407 087 040 angie@mediamecca.com.au Design Pang & Haig Design Copyright Reproduction in whole or in part may only occur with the written permission of the editor. Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily views of the Australian Conservation Foundation. ISSN 0310-2939 Cover image: Offshoot of the Fitzroy River where the river spills into the Coral Sea, near Bajool, south of Rockhampton. Photo: Leo Farrell www.leofarrell.com habitat is printed on FSC ® certified paper. 2 habitat July 2012
Letters and tweets to the editor Dear Editor, Remember the terrible nuclear disasters of the Three Mile Island meltdown in the USA in 1979 and the Chernobyl disaster in Russia? With the continuing Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan, the worry and threat of nuclear reactors still exists. In Japan, 150,00 people still cannot return to their homes. Your April issue of habitat was timely. It is worrying that our government sells uranium to various countries with ‘a shaky track record.’ German Chancellor Angela Merkel has decided to phase out nuclear power by 2022. It will be replaced with renewable energy. Even this decision is not fast enough for some Germans. Australia should be the envy of European countries, with our great source of sunlight. So what are we doing about reducing the threat of nuclear? We are prepared to sell uranium to countries not signatories to the Non Proliferation Treaty. We are not introducing much use of wind-power and not making it easy enough to convert our homes and businesses to solar. Even our precious oldgrowth forests are logged to supply energy. Can I urge readers to write to their MPs at once, especially in Victoria where Mr Baillieu seems to be the very opposite of environmentally conscious. Wendy Hebbard VIC Viva Jeffrey Lee an Order of Australia tonight for his efforts to protect Koongarra from uranium mining. Great work and thanks @ NukeDaveSweeney Electricity prices projected to head [wait for it] down from 2013/14! So says AEMO. #carbonprice armaggedon? @ EconOConnor To transform your world, fi rst you have to transform your thoughts. It’s an idea factory here! #aceacf @AusConservation Why are smartphones, the smart technology, powered on the oldest fuel we know, dirty coal? Smart phones = green power. That’s smart @tabful Join the habitat twitter conversation: @AusConservation or tweet habitat editor Tabatha Fulker @tabful Wildflower Country: Discovering Biodiversity in Australia’s Southwest Award-winning photographers Stanley and Kaisa Breeden journey into the southwest of WA. Part fine art photography, part travelogue, this book will delight nature lovers everywhere. We have one copy to giveaway to the best letter to the editor published in the October issue of habitat. WIN Please email letters to the editor to habitat@acfonline.org.au and include your name and address. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Letter from the CEO Opportunity in crisis The Chinese symbol for crisis means both threat and opportunity. Australia’s environment is at that crossroad. This is highlighted by the recent UNESCO report to the World Heritage Committee recommending the Great Barrier Reef is at risk of an ‘in danger’ World Heritage listing. Rapid development pressures on the Reef from coal and gas shipping, and port construction alarm the committee. Some big businesses and miners are also pushing for our national environmental laws to be handed back to state control. If states had been in charge of final decisions about the Franklin River, the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu, and the Wet Tropical Rainforests they would not be our great World Heritage natural areas today. Because of our fine efforts together, we are also facing great opportunity. The federal government has the opportunity this year to protect major areas of the Coral Sea, the oceans off Northern Australia and the Kimberley, and the unique temperate ocean environments from Adelaide around past Perth to Geraldton. We can deliver a worldclass system of marine national parks. The future of the Murray-Darling is also at stake, along with protection of Cape York, the Kimberley and Tasmania’s forests. There is a real opportunity to lock in the return of water needed to deliver our Murray-Darling to health, stop the bad development proposal at James Price Point in the Kimberley, and advance World Heritage listing for magnificent areas of Cape York with the consent of Traditional Owners. The government can also lock in forest conservation and a more sustainable future for Tasmania out of our unique efforts working with unions, industry, and communities. At this time of threat and opportunity for our environment, together, we need to secure the great legacy of protecting our greatest natural areas that is now within our nation’s grasp, and stand strong and determined to defend our national environment laws. Don Henry, ACF CEO habitat July 2012 3
Page 1: Australia Includes GreenHome and Ea
Page 5 and 6: Finally, with public pressure and e
Page 7 and 8: ©Newspix. Photo: Ross Swanborough
Page 9 and 10: Biodiversity The bearable lightness
Page 11 and 12: Fight or fl ight for Carnaby Cockat
Page 13 and 14: Since 1 July, every tonne of carbon
Page 15 and 16: Hi Earthkids! Energy is amazing. We
Page 17 and 18: Green events JULY NAIDOC Week July
Page 19 and 20: sustainability environment communit
Page 21 and 22: PLUS 2011/12 Ol man Nonno Fabian Ca
Page 23 and 24: Electricity charges our bills Cost
Page 25 and 26: provides much needed environmental
Page 27 and 28: Ask the Economist Simon O’Connor
Page 29 and 30: Best of the best Travel blogs Eco t
Page 31 and 32: How do we promote the idea that peo

habitat July 2012 - Australian Conservation Foundation

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?