State of the Environment Report for the City of Blue Mountains

Introduction
Biodiversity, land
and atmosphere are
natural assets that are
fundamental to the
quality of life on earth.
Reviewing the State of
the Environment reports
for the Blue Mountains
over a number of years
highlights that there have
been consistent pressures
on these assets, including
urban development,
stormwater runoff,
weed invasion and
our increasingly high
dependence on cars.
These pressures have
a negative impact on
the condition of these
important assets, which
are outlined throughout
the Report.
Human actions that rely on
the burning of fossil fuels
(coal, oil and natural gas) and
activities like land clearing are
increasing the concentrations
of greenhouse gases in our
atmosphere, which means
more heat is trapped around
the earth leading to changes
in climate. This is known
as the greenhouse effect
which contributes to global
warming. Global warming is
widely perceived as one of the
most significant international
environmental concerns.
A discussion about climate
change and effective local
responses are outlined in
Sections 3 and 4 of this Report.
2005–2006 was the first year
of the Environmental Levy
Program. In recognition of
the significant pressures on
the unique Blue Mountains
environment, Council
introduced an Environmental
Levy, which raised an additional
$1.2 million dollars annually
through rate payments. These
additional funds allow the
implementation of a 10-year
remediation and restoration
program in addition to existing
environmental programs and
projects. Tracking the resulting
positive environmental
outcomes of the Environmental
Levy Program will be an
important component of
State of Environment reporting
into the future.
We still have much to learn
about complex ecosystems.
However, we do know that
the way in which we look
after our essential natural
resources affects the
quantity and quality of the
environment we and our
children will have to survive
as healthy human beings.
2005–2006 Supplementary State of the Environment Report for the City of Blue Mountains