Big Scrub Environment Centre e-journal - Edition 7
Hi there and welcome to this edition of the Big Scrub Environment Centre e-journal.
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This edition:
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDER'S OFFICE OPENS IN LISMORE
BEYOND NUKES: LISMORE
ENVIRONMENTAL DIGITAL ARCHIVE PROJECT UNDERWAY
HIGHWAY UPGRADE - RIVER DEGRADE
STUDENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS (SUSS) FORUM
PEAK BODY FOR STATE'S WILDLIFE REHABILITATORS
NEW NR ENVIRONMENTAL DISCUSSION FORUM
COAL MINE EXPANSION IN GUNNEDAH BASIN
TELL ANZ TO SAY NO TO GUNNS DESTRUCTIVE PULP MILL!
MILITARISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND JUSTICE
SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS
**ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDER'S OFFICE OPENS IN LISMORE
The Environmental Defender's Office (NSW) Ltd opened a Northern Rivers office in Lismore on 3 July 2006 to service the Northern Rivers Region. The new office, EDO Northern Rivers, will provide free environmental legal advice and will provide community education services throughout the Northern Rivers region.
The office will staffed by two lawyers, Jessica Wood and Sue Higginson, and will be co-located with the Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre in Lismore. The contact details for the new office are as follows:
Address: EDO Northern Rivers, 10 Club Lane, PO Box 212, Lismore NSW 2480
Phone: 1300 369 791
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** BEYOND NUKES: LISMORE
Please join us for a discussion on "Nuclear Power: No Solution to Climate Change" and join the Lismore Beyond Nukes Collective. The nuclear industry has launched a desperate attempt to paint itself as 'climate friendly'. The federal government is fully behind this campaign and there are moves within the ALP to over turn its long standing 'no new mines' policy. But its not over yet! Come along and hear the latest developments in the campaigns to defeat the radioactive waste dump and plans to expand Australia's involvement in the nuclear cycle. Does nuclear power offer a solution to global warming?
TUESDAY AUGUST 1, 5:30-7:00PM
Rainforest Information Centre, 13 Wotherspoon Street, North Lismore
For more info, contact Ruth on 66897519
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**ENVIRONMENTAL DIGITAL ARCHIVE PROJECT PLANNED
A large collection of 'ephemera' documenting the past 30 years of environmental activism in Northern NSW has been earmarked to become a digitised educational resource. Some materials donated by the North East Forest Alliance and the Big Scrub Environment Centre are currently housed in the SCU library, awaiting transition to the digital medium.
A recent Regional Archives meeting brought together interested parties including local councils, Southern Cross University, state libraries, environmental groups and representatives of communities in the NR region to work towards beginning the cataloguing and digitisation process. Currently, funding and resources are being sought to initiate the project.
The project's aims include creating a comprehensive digital historical collection, which will include the 'Aquarian Archive' - documenting the formation of intentional communities in the Northern Rivers region following the 1973 Aquarius festival.
Anyone with an interest in this project, or who wishes to donate archive materials can contact Justin St Vincent on 6626 9250 or email justin.stvincentwelch@scu.edu.au
**HIGHWAY UPGRADE - RIVER DEGRADE
A number of Byron Shire conservation reserves are confronted by an environmental catastrophe as a result of the current construction of the Northern NSW Brunswick River to Yelgun Pacific Highway Upgrade. The reserves threatened are the Brunswick River Estuary/ Cape Byron Marine Park; the Billinudgel Nature Reserve; the Marshalls Creek Nature Reserve/ Cape Byron Marine Park; the Brunswick River Nature Reserve; plus surrounding environments.
These marine, estuarine and terrestrial conservation reserves are being subjected to unprecedented levels of sediment contained in runoff from the expansive 8.6km construction site of the NSW RTA Pacific Highway upgrade: the Brunswick River to Yelgun section. This increase will impact on the Threatened Flora and Fauna existing in these environmental reserves.
One small action by readers will help our campaign enormously: please ring the EPA Pollution hotline on 131555 and report your concern about sediment runoff into the aquatic environments of the Brunswick River conservation reserve.
Prepared by a Coalition of NSW groups: July 2006
North Coast Environment Council Tel.: 92792466
Conservation of North Ocean Shores Tel/Fax (02) 6680 1276
South Golden Beach Progress Assoc. Inc. Tel. 66803561
New Brighton Progress Assoc. Inc. Tel. 66801465
**STUDENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS (SUSS) FORUM
by Tony Gleeson, Alstonville High School
A very exciting initiative is starting to take shape on the Far North Coast - the Students for Sustainable Solutions (SUSS) Forum. A steering committee, consisting of the following groups: Discovery Rangers from National Parks, Dorroughby Field Studies Centre, Southern Cross University, Lismore Shire Council, Rous Water, North East Waste Forum, high school students and teachers, has been formed to plan the forum. They have met 3 times so far. Discussion has been wide ranging, positive and dynamic.
The following decisions have been made:
- It will be held over 2 days in March next year, and be residential.
- It will have a positive focus and empower kids to make a difference - to be part of the solution;
- Each participant will leave with an achievable action plan on how to live more sustainably at school and/or at home, and will given support after the forum to help implement their action plans
- High Schools from Byron Bay to Grafton will be invited, as well as local businesses which have sustainable living as their core business
- There will be a variety of activities of workshops, topics and activities which focus on how we can live more sustainably
Further details will be revealed as they are finalized. We are asking for support from our community. If anyone has any suggestions for workshops or other activities, please let me know by email: teegeetoo@ yahoo.com
**PEAK BODY FOR STATE'S WILDLIFE REHABILITATORS
by Lorraine Vass, Secretary
The New South Wales Wildlife Council, Inc. is now 9 months old. It is the initiative of the State's voluntary wildlife rehabilitators who are licensed under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 to rescue, rehabilitate and release sick, injured and orphaned native fauna. Over the past 20 years the vast majority of licences have been issued to groups rather than individuals. 26 groups covering an estimated 4,000 rehabilitators across NSW are licensed. Individual licences of which there are about a dozen, are usually issued because of geographic isolation. Nineteen groups have joined the Council. Reps meet quarterly at the Department of Environment and Conservation in Hurstville.
As well as being the peak representative body for licensed wildlife rehabilitators in NSW, the Council will:
The wildlife rehabilitation community has been seriously disadvantaged by not having an appropriately united means of communicating with government. Some groups have traditionally been very protective of their autonomy, while others have restricted their focus to the rehabilitation of individual animals.
The Council's formation represents increasing awareness by wildlife rehabilitators that wider alliances and partnerships will achieve better outcomes for the State's wildlife.
For more information visit www.nwc.org.au or email secretary@nwc.org.au
**NR ENVIRONMENTAL DISCUSSION FORUM
A NEW ONLINE ENVIRONMENTAL DISCUSSION FORUM HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR THE NORTHERN RIVERS COMMUNITY. The eCommunity Forum is open to everyone in the community who has an interest in the environment of the Northern Rivers region. For more information go to:
www.croakingenvironment.com.au/eCommunity/forum/index.php
**COAL MINE EXPANSION IN GUNNEDAH BASIN
The Gunnedah Basin is being opened up as part of massive expansion in coal mines in NSW. And right in the firing line is a precious and irreplaceable remnant woodland called Leard State Forest.
About 1,000 hectares of Leard State Forest has been cleared-felled in the last two months for the Idemitsu open-cut coal mine, just north of Boggabri. A further 5,000 hectares of Leard is earmarked for coal mining, most of it open-cut. This means that about 80% of the entire forest is destined to be razed to the ground.
Leard is the largest patch of remnant vegetation left on the Liverpool Plains. It alone represents 5% of all remaining woody vegetation in this heavily cleared region. It is known habitat for almost 400 plants and animals, at least 10 threatened species, up to 4 endangered ecological communities, and 7 poorly reserved vegetation communities.
Big coal is busy turning this extraordinary remnant woodland, the environmental lynch-pin of this highly threatened region, into a gaping hole in the ground and Leard is part of a much bigger problem. There are now six open-cut coal mines and several underground mines either planned or commenced in the Gunnedah Basin. Many of these mines will destroy mature woodland ecosystems and together they will produce at least 1.3 billion tonnes of coal and make a massive contribution to global warming.
The result of global warming will be more frequent droughts, lower rainfall and more severe weather events in western NSW, harming both the environment and the communities which depend on it.
For more information, photos and maps of Leard, go to www.npansw.org.au/wca-bbs/
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Send an email to Premier Iemma, the Planning Minister (Frank Sartor), and the Minister for Mineral Resources (Ian MacDonald) and tell them that the destruction of the irreplaceable Leard State Forest is a disgrace and that the climate change consequences of the coal mines at Leard are totally unacceptable.
Urge them to:
1. Prevent any further mining or destruction of the irreplaceable Leard State Forest
2. Stop the massive expansion of new coal mines in NSW, and immediately reject the Anvil Hill mine proposal which would destroy a unique Hunter Valley remnant
3. Prevent the building of a new coal loader at Newcastle
4. And introduce a legislated state-based renewable energy target to kick-start a clean energy future for NSW
Email addresses:
thepremier@www.nsw.gov.au
office@sartor.minister.nsw.gov.au
macdonald.office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au
Western Conservation Alliance
carmelflint@tpg.com.au
042909197
**TELL ANZ TO SAY NO TO GUNNS DESTRUCTIVE PULP MILL!
Dear Friends:
ANZ is currently Australia's leading financier of destructive projects: from toxic mines in Laos to rampant clear-cutting in Indonesia, ANZ has often banked upon irresponsible lending practices. Now ANZ is considering funding a huge pulp mill project for one of its most controversial clients: logging giant Gunns Limited.
Gunns is Australia's largest logging company and logs roughly 44 football fields of native forests every day in Tasmania; these include some of oldest and tallest trees in the world. Gunns' is also known for using napalm to firebomb clearfells and then using a poison banned in many countries called 1080 to kill all surrounding native wildlife. Now Gunns is planning to build a chlorine-bleaching PULP MILL that would greatly accelerate the destruction of Tasmania's native forests while also polluting the atmosphere and local marine environment. What kind of bank would even consider funding such a destructive project? The company's bank: ANZ.
Now is the time for ANZ to decide whether it is really going to adopt more ethical lending practices or continue financing the Earth's destruction. Tell CEO John McFarlane that ANZ should do the right thing and commit to not funding the horrible pulp mill project proposed by Gunns!
Tell ANZ to Drop Destructive Pulp Mill Project! http://ga3.org/campaign/taz_anz
Sincerely,
Michael Brune, Executive Director, Rainforest Action Network www.treesnotgunns.org
**MILITARISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND JUSTICE
This article is excerpted from a speech given at this years Students of Sustainability conference 2006, held in Brisbane.
You might be wondering how militarism could be one of Australia's big environmental issues. I guess in one sense our contribution to the war on Iraq and wars in general are possibly the most thorough environmental devastations possible.
But I want to be more specific: The Howard government has in mind the kind of collaboration with the US that will mean that military bases will be having even more affect on our environment than ever before. Howard last week said he would welcome US bases here. We've already experienced the widespread contamination of the British governments nuclear weapons testing in South Australia and the indigenous owners of that land still pay the price. In June 2007 the Taliman-Sabre joint war games will see at least 30,000 US troops visit our shores and possibly twice as many Australian soldiers will also be involved. And we are now seeing increased US military vehicles visiting our ports and airports.
Military bases and war games put at risk our rights to a clean, safe and just environment to live in and the preservation of that environment for future generations. And they increase the publics acceptance of violence and force as a means to an end. The military pose many risks to environmental health: toxic contamination, noise pollution, sonar water pollution, and social upheaval including increased crimes, rapes and violence. We will also see increased nuclear traffic: nuclear power vessels potentially carrying nuclear and depleted uranium munitions. All part of Howard's wider plans for both strategic domination in our region and increased interoperability between Australian and US forces.
The US has around 2000 bases in worldwide. Military bases engage in major industrial operations - testing and use of munitions, fuelling and maintainence of vehicles, use of nuclear materials - creating a lethal cocktail of toxic substances including heavy metals, dioxins, and PCBs. Military bases are a vast and unaccountable multinational activity, generating an estimated (imperial) ton of toxic waste every minute. The military, especially the US, are thus one of the world's largest polluters - larger than the biggest five US chemical corporations combined.
DISCLAIMER: The Big Scrub Environment Centre and its officers accept no responsibility or liability for claims or statements made within articles published in this e-journal. The purpose of this e-journal is to provide a forum within which debate and discourse may occur. Articles published here represent the views and opinions of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of The Big Scrub Environment Centre.
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The Big Scrub Environment Centre
www.bigscrub.org.au
email: info@bigscrub.org.au
Postal: PO Box 816
Lismore 2480