Bluecray.org » Environment http://bluecray.org Environmental Advocacy Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:00:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 b is for biodiversity http://bluecray.org/environment/b-is-for-biodiversity-11.09.2010 http://bluecray.org/environment/b-is-for-biodiversity-11.09.2010#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:57:46 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=4871 ...»»]]> A short poem for biodiversity, and a koala poem about KOALAS and developers, created by bluecray, to remind us that Biodiversity is to be honoured as necessary for our childrens’ futures. Biodiversity is disappearing from our earth due to the greed, ignorance and selfishness of  mankind.  Australian biodiversity is disappearing at an increasing rate within the Mt Warning Caldera Region of NE NSW & SE QLD, Australia.

Qld State of Environment Reporting .

NSW State of Environment Report 2009 .

Australian Government State of the Environment Reporting

North Coast Bioregion (NE NSW and SE QLD, Australia)

Ongoing habitat clearing is a main cause of biodiversity loss in the Northern Rivers of NSW and in SE QLD. Habitat clearing, on large scale,  is done by wealthy corporations, individuals and governments that seek to create growth in the name of  “SUSTAINABILITY”. The habitat destroying infrastructures, developments and industries that are created by greedy, selfish people are usually created under the guise of  “Sustainable Enterprise“, Social wellbeing and more recently, saving the world.

B is for beauty,  wild bounty blessed
I is for insects, not seen as a pest
O only treads with respect on the ground
D dreams of nature’s deep secrets  and sounds
I is for instinct, information, ideas
V is variety, birds voices you hear
E is for earth, as it welcomes each day
R  respects  nature and its complex way
S is for  simple life, to use less is more
I instructs industry to respect nature’s law
T takes the time to heal our earth’s health
Y is young futures that share nature’s wealth

environmental advocacy collage showing Biodiversity, Bioenergy, Biofuels and Wisdom thereof, concerning the Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia approach to Camphor Laurel Habitat harvesting

The people who condone, support and profit from habitat destroying  infrastructures, industries and developments are seen to be holding money, power and prestige as their “God”. In the light of eternity, these moneybag people are the destroyers of earth’s biodiversity. They create lies and deceptions, social myths and fear agendas in an attempt to control the populations of Australia.

Bluecray calls these people “moneybags“.  They are often mean spirited people who pretend to be caring, loving and supporting of the future world for our youth. They are far from that.  The moneybag people are takers and userers. They act without honour. The moneybag people usually hold more possessions, land and monetary assets than others. Moneybag people support unequal distribution of wealth. Moneybag people create, support and profit from the insanity that is called war. Not all wealthy people are “moneybags”. Not all people fighting wars are “moneybags”.

The moneybag people are often hidden from public scrutiny or behind overwhelmingly complex  man made laws, technologies and physical barriers. The “LAWS” that the moneybag people create and support, on close scrutiny, are either against the founding laws of our Australian Nation or against International laws agreed upon to preserve the human rights of our innocent youth .

These moneybag people work against the Law of God and the Law of Nature. Often these moneybag people are seen to exhibit great religious self righteousness and Socially accepted responsibility. Often they have friends, associates  and colleagues who are also corrupt and greedy. These moneybag people profit from the victimisation, propaganda and powerplay of the average Australian citizen. They are often sociopaths. They often operate under the guise of being “needed” for the well being of the Australian people.

Moneybag people like to be “in CONTROL”…………of everything they can see, hear, feel, and think of. Moneybag people have been on earth for a long time, through many generations. They feed off  the “depowering” of individuals. They create people power structures and values via indoctrination, fear, propaganda and other manipulative human tools. Moneybag people create wars, insanity, suffering, co-dependent social structures, market based “realities” and toxic wastes to help with their survival.

The moneybag people are destroying our beautiful biodiverse world. In the end, all that they will destroy is their souls. Mostly, moneybag people know that what they are doing is wrong, evil, unfair, without honour. Mostly they have sociopathic sickness, that creates a false reality in their minds. They work hard to ignore that they are heading down the path towards their soul’s destruction. The harder they work to cover up their lies and false realities, the more others see them. Little children and animals see them for what they are, increasingly, these days. God always saw them, and always will see them for what they are.

said the “Powerful” moneybag………..

Peaceful koala asleep in your tree
can you find a new home?
‘cos I want this for ME!
My smart homes of luxury,
devices and cars
Can you find a new place please?
we’re beginning to tar
the roads to our golf courses, shops and afar
dear Koala, please move
‘cos I want this for me!

Iconic koala, so high in your tree
can you find a new home, cos your home pleases ME!
I know that since owning your home many years
my promise to plant more has gone in arrears
But my bank balance thins, and development’s slow
so dearest Koala – could you please go?
My token tree plantings show ALL that I care
My bulldozer mates made a nursery with flair
cleared ground, sterile landscape, is full of gum trees
waiting to plant out in near coming years

so, Koala please go
‘cos I want this for ME!

Maaate, Koala, climbing slowly, to tree top so high
could you please come down quickly, my bulldozer’s nigh
My authority’s sanctioned, I’ve owned this land years
So Koala, please come down, and please disappear

Hey Koala, dear icon, I’ve found a great zoo
I can put you in bars, charge a fortune to view
Now my lots are all ready, the buyers are here
So Koala, please answer – you’ve nothing to fear

I see that you’re ill, fevered, trembling and scarred
relocators are here, so don’t make this hard
How can you stay, when I’ve planned all my life
to get rich from your home. Stop giving ME strife!

Koala in MY tree, My lots worth much more
Please come down, I promise to plant trees – lots more
I promise, I will, though I know it takes time
my bank balance dwindles – it’s no longer PRIME
I need this development to help me spend more
on energy rich lifestyle that opens the door
To boys’ clubs, and honour, as I sponsor the host
to gaming, recreation, shopping centres and most
of the god given pleasures that make me prestige
I’m rich, and your poor – you’re out of my league

So Koala, marsupial, dwindling here
I’ve made millions from your home – and much more through next year
yes, Koala, I ignore that your sick, threatened, ill
cos this home is ALL MINE and the money’s a thrill

I’m hidden from scrutiny, my buddies back all
I’ve invested in infrastructures, parks and a mall
So, Koala – please leave here, and live by the road
While I wait at heaven’s gate, with my life soul’s great load

Oh koala – what’s this, you’ve escaped – now you’re here
In god’s arms, oh so peaceful now ’tis i have the fear
And god’s angels tell me, the gate here is closed
and my goods and great doings are ALL now MY LOAD
Dear god, can I pay you, my hotels, and shops,
my real estate legacies – though they’re all at a stop
But I promise, the trees, that I never got round
to planting – well, god, can I offer bare ground?

I see that the gates to the heavens stay shut
Oh god, please tell me why, I’m in purgatory’s rut?
My chattels and cargo, are heavy and bleak,
I am grand! I WANT heaven! what’s that? I’m not meek?

said the Koala……
w’ell you were warned, Maaaate

Concreting the Coastal 2003 : Clearing and Development Pressures on the NSW Coast 2003 Total Environment Centre PDF – this compiled resource by the TOTAL ENVIRONMENT CENTRE show problematic development, land clearing activity, approvals and proposals in coastal nsw 2002 -2003. It looks at the larger, more controversial, uncompleted developments at that time – (not the smaller, under the radar ones, nor the already completed ones). This is an excellent recent historic resource.

Incoming Searches: biorregion neartica, BIOREGION PALEÁRTICA, bioregion australiana, flora de la bioregion paleartica, poems on biodiversity, flora de la bioregion neotropical, bioregion neotropical, flora de la bioregion neartica, flora de biorregion neartica, fauna del la bioregion etiopica

]]> http://bluecray.org/environment/b-is-for-biodiversity-11.09.2010/feed 2 Biodiversity, Bioenergy, Biofuels and Wisdom http://bluecray.org/advocacy/biodiversity-bioenergy-biofuels-and-wisdom-31.08.2010 http://bluecray.org/advocacy/biodiversity-bioenergy-biofuels-and-wisdom-31.08.2010#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:11:38 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=4686 ...»»]]> Condong Mill, Sunshine Electricity, Delta energy, individual land owners and other Bioenergy consortiums, providers, merchants and “tradespeople” are currently conducting a war on biodiversity in the Northern rivers of NSW, Australia.  How?

By working with Forests NSW to destructively harvesting Camphor Laurels as biofuels to create GREEN ENERGY. They are currently doing this in the TWEED SHIRE, NE NSW, Australia. The NSW Government and the Tweed Shire Council supports and approves of this “WAR on BIODIVERSITY”.

Note from Author:- I first wrote this article when the Bioenergy Habitat destruction was coming into full swing in Burringbar, NSW. Upon talking to locals recently (December 2011), what I had feared appears to be occurring. Those local machine operators who were contracted by the  ENTREPRENEURS  of this BIOENERGY MOVEMENT have apparently  been left high and dry with machinery that they have now limited use for, as the BIOENERGY clearfelling appears to have ceased, with funding withdrawn.

The local people, who were possibly promised much work, and may have been misled into investing heavily in machines for this failing enterprise now are without the envisaged work. Where does this leave them. ? Is it fair to have roped local people into such a disgraceful, unscientific and wastefully destructive enterprise?  Over-capitalizing in machinery for ignorant CARBON FARMING, CARBON MANAGEMENT, CARBON TRADING – CREDITS and OFFSETS etc is just one example of how this new “GREEN INDUSTRY” is potentially harmful in the long run. This can be particularly so for the little investor, the average local man or woman who is misled by ENTREPRENEURIAL HYPE.

Were these people adequately informed that this venture was based on highly  ignorant Land and Water Stewardship? Where do these locals sub-contractors go to from here? Is there support for them, given that they have probably been misinformed about the nature of the enterprise right from the start? Why weren’t these subcontractors and landholders adequately informed about the current LANDCARE information concerning gentle remedial approach to CAMPHOR forest management and native vegetation /habitat restoration and revegetation. If the camphor clear felling by bulldozers resulted in more agricultural land for cattle, where was the net benefit in CARBON MANAGEMENT? and WHERE was the follow up AUTHENTIC LAND AND WATER grazing land management promoted – improved pastures, appropriate fencing, native “vegetation corridors”, seed bank management (both for weeds and native vegetation), creek line restoration following the destruction of camphors along creek lines, sedimentation in creeks by bare soils created by the camphor clear felling. This list is pretty long. I shall stop here.

Some answers need to be given here. Who contracted who? Who spearheaded this waste of money, misuse of people’s  time, energy and local subcontractors’ and landholders’ investments? What happens to the landholders who were so badly informed as to  how to manage the Camphor Laurels on their land?

Perhaps the NSW Labour Party individuals, the Tweed Shire Councillors who supported and signed off on this venture, the Australian Government’s advisors and associated ENTREPRENEURS of this venture can give answers? Perhaps the Senator the Hon.  Penny Wong could find it in her heart to ask some questions as to why this venture was ever allowed to occur in the first place? We are all on a steep learning curve, here in Australia, concerning our LAND and WATER management skills. However, while we, as a country, can hopefully learn from our mistakes, it may be a good thing to at least honour those who have been severely misled, concerning the green harvest opportunities of clearfelling  Camphor Laurel forests with heavy machinery. This is especially so, when science and local knowledge pointed to it being a big mistake, right from the very beginning.

AND NOW.. back to the older 2010 articles:-

Forests NSW :- and their Sustainable Forestry Management statements including  their voluntary certification under the Australian Forestry Standard – AS 4708:2007 (AFS)

When this Australian Forestry Standard is agreed to, it means that the operations of the industry support SUSTAINABLE Forestry Management.

DISHONOUR:-  legal meaning of dishonour – this can include breach of faith, shame, nonadherence, noncompliance and LACK of PRINCIPLE

HOW does this Australian Forestry Standard stand with the environmental non-sustainability of destroying habitat -largely a key threatening process (in a region where many Australian native wildlife animals are already undergoing habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss pressures)?

ComLaw Act Compilations – Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 -      “The objects of this Act are:

  • (a)    to encourage the additional generation of electricity from renewable sources; and
  • (b)    to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the electricity sector; and
  • (c)    to ensure that renewable energy sources are ecologically sustainable.“

Ecologically sustainable is defined in this above act as:-

  • “ecologically sustainable means that an action is consistent with the following principles of ecologically sustainable development:
    (a)    decision?making processes should effectively integrate both long?term and short?term economic, environmental, social and equitable considerations;
    (b)    if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation;
    (c)    the principle of inter?generational equity, which is that the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity of the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations;
    (d)    the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity should be a fundamental consideration in decision?making;
    (e)    improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms should be promoted.    “

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

This “War on Biodiversity” is being carried out by clear felling native  (including endangered) wildlife habitats -  using many bulldozers, heavy machinery, trucks and other vehicles -  working  10 hours  per day, up to 6 days per week on private land. They have caused the habitats that they are clearing and demolishing,  to become bare, steep sloped exposed soil.

Environmental advocacy collage showing BIOENERGY (green energy) habitat destruction where the endangered Rufous Bettong lives, in Upper Burringbar, Tweed Shire, NE NSW (Mt Warning Caldera Region), AUSTRALIA. The Wallaby and Joey (to right) actually live in the “bioenergy” area you see being cleared. That is their home being destroyed in August/September 2010. The frog and snake also live only 500m away.  There are many snakes, frogs, birds, lizards, small marsupials, insects that lived and are still trying to survive in this clearing of habitat that is going on all about them. Three Richmond Birdwing Butterflies were seen 100m from the sites being cleared by bulldozers.

  • Regional Development Australia – Northern Rivers :- and their Timber and Forestry Information for the Northern Rivers, NSW. This information includes the PDF :-  From Pest to Profit. Prospectus for the commercial utilisation of camphor laurel in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
  • “Power Energy From Renewable Energy Sources” – article at Sunshine Sugar stating that  “The project is one of the largest renewable electricity generation projects currently underway in Australia and from mid-2007 at Condong and late 2007 at Broadwater, these two generators will supply the total electricity needs of the towns of Lismore, Casino, Ballina, Byron Bay and Murwillumbah – all from accredited renewable fuel sources.“
  • “Green Power” Landline 28th November 2008 (Pip Courtney)
  • “Tree Harvests not so Sweet” article at the Northern Star by Dominic Feain 11th January 2010 – Lorraine Vass (President of  Friends of the Koala) was quoted as saying that the Camphor Laurel clearing was increasingly happening and ““It’s becoming very obvious driving around the region, and we are deeply concerned about damage to biodiversity, habitat for significant species, soil erosion and the risk of further weed infestation.”" The article goes on to state that there was an urgent need to reassess Camphor Laurel management and clearing due to the Ecological and habitat issues surrounding the increased clearing rates.

IN CONTRAST to Authentic Land and Water Stewardship and authentic ecologically sustainable land management, the following has been observed concerning the Bioenergy, Green Fuel  and NSW Forestry approach to Camphor Laurel management:-

Very little native wildlife HABITAT is left, where they have carried out their destructive work. They then, prepare the vegetation they have  taken, (via habitat destruction of endangered species habitats), into vaste piles of  “BIOFUEL” – or camphor laurel chip/dust, which is then trucked away to their storage areas for conversion to GREEN FUEL.  This work has been going on for some time now, under the umbrellas of  “save the world from greenhouse gases” and “lessen the Mining of non renewable resources” pressures.

Burning of vegetation is also occurring onsite, with the smell of Camphour Laurel burning weeks on end. Camphour Laurel is known to produce TOXINS that may cause  illnesses and health problems in humans, and probably animals as well. This is a disputed scientific agenda that has become somewhat of a red herring in the case of the management of Camphor Laurel.

Bluecray reminds anyone that is experiencing health issues due to dust, smoke and related water contamination from this War on Biodiversity to consult their Doctor, and register their situation. Native wildlife that experience health problems, including death of their family members, unfortunately, have no one to tell – no one to go to for help – and indeed, no home either. Bluecray suggests that the benefits of current Camphor Laurel populations for native wildlife habitat survival outway the “toxins” considerations, when taken into the context of having either Camphor laurel stands that are regenerating habitat areas in highly disturbed landscapes or clear felled, bare landscapes, with limited habitat value, and disturbed soils immediately vulnerable to increased weed emergence and growth.

The Broadwater Action Group Ltd bravely took the Richmond Valley Council, and the NSW Suger Milling Co-operative Limited to the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2003, attempting to contain this destructive, toxic and high energy form of harvesting biofuels.

Many – most- conservation groups in NSW will be aware of this issue, and some will have documents concerning the issues of clearfelling native wildlife habitat, under the guise of “green energy” and “weed management”.

BIOENERGY AUSTRALIA -  and its  MEMBERS .

National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development at Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts :-Objective 16.2 is “to incorporate ESD principles as a fundamental objective of relevant government authorities involved in economic, environmental and social decision making” . By this objective,  Governments   WILL “incorporate ESD principles into the objectives of relevant legislation as appropriate, particularly for legislation concerning natural resource use and management”

Energy and Water at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre .

biofuelsaustralasia.com.au :- “Farmers welcome move to turn noxious weed into biofuel”

thinkgrowsustain.com :- Future Focus – current information on green tech and green technology projects in Australia:-

  • 9. Innovation in harvesting, processing and transporting camphor laurel “It is proposed to harvest and deliver at least the equivalent of 40,000 green tonnes of camphor laurel over a two-year trial period. If successful, the system will be expanded in an endeavour to control the several million tonnes of camphor laurel estimated to be standing on the north coast of New South Wales.“   “With the assistance of a $500,000 grant under the Renewable Energy Commercialisation Program, camphor laurel will be harvested to supply efficient year-round energy production for the power station at Condong sugar mill. The project stems from an innovative idea put forward by State Forests of NSW and is co-funded by the NSW Wales Sugar Milling Co-operative and Delta Electricity.“
  • 11. Factory- based “cane trash” separation system .

DISHONOUR:-  legal meaning of dishonour – this can include breach of faith, shame, nonadherence, noncompliance and LACK of PRINCIPLE

The Wallaby in the above photo has been seen living in the area where the work is being done for BIOENERGY. There are many birds that use the area  being cleared. The Spangled Drongos have just arrived, the wrens and scrub birds are building nests. I see these birds each day, and they used the area being cleared as habitat…many species fauna flora, being killed and moved away, stressed, surviving. I have seen at least two Rufous Bettongs 500m from the Bioenergy extraction and processing work. Wompoo and Rose-crowned Fruit Doves have also been seen in the areas being cleared, prior to clearing.

AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY . Programs at the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism . They said ontheir ENERGY page:-

“The Australian Government is committed to the provision of adequate, reliable and affordable energy to meet future energy consumption needs and to underpin strong economic growth, consistent with the principles of environmental responsibility and sustainable development. “

BIODIVERSITY THREAT + HABITAT CLEARING  =   ??

Soil Degradation  + Habitat Loss  =  ??

BIODIVERSITY LOSS  + CARBON STORAGE LOSS  =  ???

THREATENING PROCESS  + DECREASING CARBON STORAGE   = ?????

  • Your “GREEN ENERGY” money that you pay is going into NOT WHAT YOU THINK . You Green energy money may  be going into HABITAT CLEARING, BIODIVERSITY LOSS and IMMEDIATE release of Carbon via bulldozers, machinery, habitat clearing and biodiversity loss. This is because of?
  • What about the Law. Where is the contract here?  There are farmers, landholders and heavy machinery local contracters who have been very ill advised, concerning this method of “green energy harvests”. There is a certain shame attached to those who have ill advised these local landholders and contracters/subcontractors. Perhaps some of these people should examine the basis of their contract. Especially in the light that this industry will eventually prove to be environmentally harmful. It may prove to be socially and regionally economically harmful to those who, as local individuals, have invested in this form of harvest, under the ill-advised guidance of corporate (overseas and Australian) opportunistic green energy “entities”. These “entities”  have clearly carried and acted out a lack of due regard and care  for those locals,  who have invested in heavy machinery and land clearing, following advise from these opportunistic CORPORATE ENTITIES. Not to mention the lack of care to the environment, wildlife habitats and ecosystems of the TWEED SHIRE.
  • Who contracted WHO to do this work? The NSW Government and the Tweed Shire Government have answers here.  The Land and Environment Court could possibly see this type of work in a very clear way? Judges working with contract /common law areas?  How would they view this? I am not a lawyer, but it would seem that there is something not honourable in this approach to BIOENERGY. Somewhere, the process has become NOT what it should be.

Camphor Laurel Abundance in the Tweed Shire 2004:- (map3A.pdf) -

Northern Rivers Invasive Plants Action Strategy 2009-2013 for the use of all public and private land managers

NSW Industry and Investment/ NSW DPI  fact sheet 733 – Camphor Laurel PDF and Noxious Weed Declarations showing an extract of the LEGAL REQUIREMENTS from the Noxious Weeds Declaration Data base (This web page provides access to the details of weeds declared in New South Wales, Australia under the Noxious Weeds Act 1993. The information is taken from the Orders published in the Government Gazette. The Order lists the weed, the control class and the control requirements for each species declared in a Local Control Area.)

CLEARING VEGETATION – EDO Fact Sheet 5.3

Native Vegetation Management and Clearing at NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water.

Native Vegetation Act 2003 – Public Register – what is it? NSW Government

the DECCW’s Public Register LINK is HERE .

Many semi trailers of Camphor Laurel “dusty ground fibres” taken away to the Green Energy Storage, each day  – at Condong Mill?? Murwillumbah

In bluecray’s article “Weeds, Biodiversity and Australia’s Land and Water Stewardship Practices (17th November, 2009), you will find some of the principles of Weed Management that are largely ignored by mainstream land and water custodians. There is reference to:-

“Converting stands of camphor laurel to rainforest” – here you will find some excellent information about “Current approaches to Camphor Control” and management-  (John Kanowski and Carla P.Catterall – Griffith University’s Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies and the Northern Rivers CMA)

The Tweed Shire and NSW Government is allowing mass clearing of Camphor Laurel Vegetation communities and Native wildlife HABITATS across the Tweed Shire, in the name of “GREEN ENERGY”.  The immediate results are bare lands, native flora and fauna losses, multiple localised biodiversity losses, loss of seedbank containing native vegetation, loss of the humus layer that is essential for soil health and loss of ( carbon storing) soil holding tree root systems across steep sloping land, in the foothills of the Burringbar Range.

Some of this destructive habitat loss, being engineered by local land owners, eco clearing consultants, machine operators, the Tweed Shire Council, Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, National Parks and Wildlife NSW, Condong Mill, Sunshine Electricity, Delta Energy, the NSW Government and the Australian Government (to name some of the groups involved in this mass biodiversity and native wildlife habitat destruction)  includes HABITATS of ENDANGERED SPECIES.

As far as I know, ground trials for this type of work began over ten years ago, at least, if not further back. (Still gathering information here). Also, regulation of this type of INDUSTRY (Bioenergy) possibly operates against  the laws concerning destruction of habitats that relate to the well being of endangered species in NSW.

Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator .

Land and Environment Court NSW .

You can access the Vegetation pages for Tweed Shire here, and download the Camphor Laurel Abundance PDF for the Tweed Shire  at  Tweed Shire Council Flora and Fauna Management : Includes PDF’s on Vegetation Management Strategy ; Vegetation Types and Communities ; Camphor Laurel Abundance ; Koala Sightings ; Soil Landscapes, Steep Land and Drainage Lines ; Ecological Values and Rehabilitation Priorities

  • “Fence jumping weeds kill NSW’s natural biodiversity” article at WWF – Garden plants that have escaped into the wild make up 69 per cent of Australia’s population of threatening weeds. Of the 127 individual weed species identified as threatening NSW biodiversity, 82 were deliberately introduced as ornamental plants and 56 of these are still available for purchase in Australia“   The editor of WWF article reminds us “The threat posed by weeds to Australia flora and fauna as a single factor is second only to land clearing.”

Camphor Laurel is a CLASS 4 Noxious Weed. More info about Class 4 Noxious Weeds can be found in the bluecray environmental search .

Bluecray has commenced a new campaign concerning this type of approach to ENERGY CONSUMPTION, Marketing and production, due to perceived destructive consequences on local habitat and biodiversity within the Mt Warning Caldera Region of NE NSW and SE QLD.

This article has been written to help explain Biodiversity, Bioenergy, Biofuels the Wisdom therein – and how this all relates to the Mt Warning Caldera Region of NE NSW and SE QLD.  Bluecray will endeavour to show how the current approach to harvesting certain biofuels will promote net increased atmospheric carbon release, net carbon storage loss, on a local level, and direct loss of biodiversity in the immediate and possibly short & long term future.

Bluecray also QUESTIONS the FOLLOWING ways

  • that the current, above “green energy” extraction of Camphor Laurel demonstrates an illegal act,
  • that the way some land holders in the Tweed shire have permitted these actions, demonstrates either an illegal act, or has been done following professional consultation that has advised illegal acts
  • that way that the Tweed Shire Council and the NSW Government has permitted and endorsed these Camphor Laurel Extraction Industries could be shown to be  illegal. Bluecray believes that the extraction process for Camphor Laurels, as done in the Tweed Shire, for BIOENERGY contravenes current laws and agreements in place, within Australia and Internationally.

Bluecray will welcome any discussion about these matters, as many minds make a greater “wit”, and it is With Intelligent Thought, that perhaps the perceivable outcomes of this current “War on Biodiversity” can be led to armistice.

Firstly, to help you with some ecological and environmental background:-

“potential value of weedy regrowth for rainforest restoration” -

Loss of Biodiversity – at bluecray environmental search engine.

Evolution and Development of a Code for Private Native Forestry in New South Wales, Australia – search results at bluecray environmental search engine – some of these links may help you understand the current, evolving state of play concerning Private Forestry practices

It is hoped, that with this series of articles, the people who have been affected  by or advocated against this habitat destroying activity by bioenergy entities, will become better informed as to the legal venues which they can use to create a legal argument that will lead to a moratorium and injunction on this form of Camphor Laurel habitat clearing, until it is further understood within the full scope of BIODIVERSITY and ENERGY use in NE NSW and SE QLD (and beyond).

Some of the people who are operating in this industry could lose  income through this action, and so it should be seen as important that decisions to halt this Camphor Laurel extraction not be taken lightly. In fact, in preference to injunction and moratorium, these people who are engaged in this industry should be employed, rather, to work towards habitat restoration in a legal, and environmentally sustainable way. However, the “might is right” tendencies of the Corporate energy groups may chose not to agree, as their profits, projected agreed quotas and economic viability may be at risk. Corporations and agencies need to think outside the square and work within Authentic Land and Water Stewardship Principles. They could perhaps do some sums and work out a more cost effective, environmentally sustainable way to create fuel from biowaste and living organic matter.

NSW Constitution : about the Land and Environment Court – extract from a Chief Judge (Mahla Pearlman) Land and Environment Court of New South Wales Paper entitled “The Role and Operation of  The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales”

“The Forgotten Forests the environmental regulation of forestry on private land in NSW between 1997 and 2002 by James Prest,  University  of Wollongong 2003:- the paper can be found at Research Online http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/413 .

The Pursuit of Practical Wisdom by vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz, of Macquarie University. (August 25th 2010).  ”Wise up: Restoring wisdom to Universities” .

A final word here, for this first article of bluecrays’ journey into the world of BIODIVERSITY, BIOENERGY, BIOFUELS and WISDOM:-

Court Cases, Lawyers, Corporations, individual workers, politicians, beaurocratic representatives can all be tied up , very expensively, in COURT ROOM SCENARIOS. Bluecray believes that it is better to educate, advocate, honour individuals’ Constitutional rights and the rights of individuals, under the LAWS of GOD and NATURE, over the seemingly endlessly increasing LAWS of COMMERCE and ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.

It is better to change our ways, accept that we have done wrong, and move ahead speedily, in a creative and harmonious way, than to stop, argue, debate endlessly and waste valuable resources of the people of Australia.

Bluecray also believes, however, that one of the most powerful and important resources available to the people of Australia, is its BIODIVERSITY and WISDOM thereof.

tread lightly, my friends. Alison Polistchuk

……..about 17 years ago, I was invited to be part of a steering committee for developing protocols re clearing under powerlines in Queensland – the big powerlines that you see transversing the landscape, bringing power to your locality. Back then, environmental considerations were deemed of minimum importance, when it came to electricity, power generation, and land and water stewardship management issues. I suggested back then that heavy machinery operators should be given training in a national standards approach to habitat management issues and understanding of soil/natural vegetation dynamics. The idea fell on deaf ears, and today, the idea is still, apparently considered non essential for heavy machinery operators within the elctricity/power industries. As I write this, the bulldozers are still relentlessly killing and destroying poor Rufous Bettongs’ habitat, and the habitats, homes and food sources of our other precious little native animals. Shame on you, NSW Government. Shame on you, Tweed Shire Council, Shame on you Bioenergy providers.  Mammals – marsupials, are disappearing at an unprecedented rate in Australia, and still the emperors of power play their tunes of glory.

The above picture of habitat destruction in the Tweed Shire, by the extraction of Camphor Laurel creates immediate loss of carbon storage that may take many years to replace. THIS form of harvesting habitat trees under the name of “weed management” is based on high energy inputs with immediate habitat, wildlife and native emergent flora losses. There are documented scientific research articles, as well as in principle demonstrations that show this to be a destructive and wasteful, non sustainable approach to energy resource management.

Conservation of Australia’s BIODIVERSITY at Australian DEWHA

The Precautionary Principle . OnlyOnePlanet

The Rainforest Information Centre .

Australian Government State of the Environment Reporting . and BIODIVERSITY .

Habitat advocate – Habitatadvocate.com.au

Public Interest Advocacy Centre :- “The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is an independent, non-profit law and policy organisation that works for a fair, just and democratic society, empowering citizens, consumers and communities by taking strategic action on public interest issues. ”

Total Environment Centre .

a balance of faeries :- you will find bluecray’s story “A Balance of Faeries” here – telling the true story of how bulldozers and fuels, powered together with mankind’s lack of WISDOM, results in loss of the smaller, essential biological components of our wonderful Australian landscapes. This makes the degraded landscapes lose their biodiversity, and lessens the landscape’s ability to withstand the greater forces of nature- wind, sun, heat, cold, fire, rain, flood etc.

Loss of Hollow-bearing Trees – key threatening process determination:-

(a) it adversely affects threatened species, populations or ecological communities, or
(b) could cause species, populations or ecological communities that are not threatened to become threatened.

“Trees retained during harvest are susceptible to damage from logging operations and post-harvest burning, or can suffer poor health owing to changes in abiotic conditions (Gibbons and Lindenmayer 2002). Consequently, retained trees are prone to early mortality, especially with repeated exposure to harvesting events over their lifespan. Prescriptions for forestry operations also stipulate that young trees are retained for long-term replacement of hollow-bearing trees, typically with one recruit for every hollow-bearing tree. The age structure in natural forests, where recruitment and loss of mature trees is at equilibrium, indicates that only a small proportion of younger trees survive to reach maturity. A ratio of one-to-one will be inadequate in itself to sustain the stipulated minimum densities of hollow-bearing trees in harvested areas. In addition, the average age of hollow-bearing trees in harvested areas will continue to decrease as the few remaining very old trees die. Trees are also retained in areas excluded from harvesting, such as along drainage lines, with the aim of creating a matrix of harvested and non-harvested areas. In the longer term as trees mature in exclusion zones they will help to provide hollows across production forest landscapes, yet their usefulness to fauna is affected by the reduction in hollows and the quality of foraging habitat in the surrounding forest.” from http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/determinations/lossofhollowtreesktp.htm

DISHONOUR:-  legal meaning of dishonour – this can include breach of faith, shame, nonadherence, noncompliance and LACK of PRINCIPLE

“Ecologically Sustainable Development: Legal Principles “  a paper by Justice Peter Biscoe, Land and Environment Court of New South Wales delivered on 15 April 2009 to the postgraduate course in Environmental Law and Policy conducted by the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales .

NSW  Sugar Industry Renewable Electricity Generation : a case study presented by the University of Ballarat. This Case Study explains the processes involved in creating the NSW Sugar Industry Renewable Electricity Generation.

  • It shows timelines and technical information that is easy to understand. It is well presented and worth a read. Unfortunately, it does not indicate the ecological significance of clearing Camphor Laurel on a large and lengthy scale, as is being done in the Northern Rivers Shires in NE NSW, Australia for renewable electricity generation. There is a link to the environmental impact statement for the Broadwater Biomass Cogeneration Proposal (I couldn’t get it to work, though).
  • It also does not show the calculations concerning the energy that is required to create the “green fuel” from Camphor Laurels and the “energy calculations” for the loss of biodiversity and ecological sustainability  from systems being destroyed by camphor extraction.
  • It does not show calculations for biodiversity and carbon storage losses such as carbon storage in root systems, trunks, stems etc , soil and seed bank sustainability factors and calculations relating to individual habitat threatening processes, the loss of native flora and fauna in the extraction process and soil degradation calculations.  These calculations, when compared to the time and energy that it will take to repair the camphor extraction sites, once the machinery and trees have gone, would be interesting to see.

EDO Scientific advice and fact sheets : here you will find helpful info regarding “how to review an air quality assessment & how to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with development proposals, with a focus on coal mines.”

photo of  how your green energy is made by NSW  Sugar Industry Renewable Electricity Generation – Burringbar, Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia

WAKE UP!!!

Wilderness Society “Would you burn their homes to power yours?” “An absurd loophole in the federal legislation means that burning forests is eligible for the same Renewable Energy Certificates as power generated from the sun and wind.” All over the world, people are beginning to realise that the use of Bioenergy, Biofuels and Habitat Clearing for Energy Consumption is causing mass destruction of BIODIVERSITY.

The Australian Federal Government will eventually come to realise – and already SHOULD KNOW – that this type of Habitat Clearing will have net biodiversity loss in the near and far future. The “credentialled” advisors and consultants, eco clearing “tradespeople” and environmental advisors who recommend such Habitat Clearing carry with them liability that will eventually lead them to having to rectify and compensate for the damage that they have profited by.

Profits from misleading the general public and landholders about the biofuel industry, under the guise of clearing rubbish vegetation, noxious weeds and providing clean green fuel will not be enough to pay for the eventual regeneration works that will be required to remediate the habitat destruction that has been promoted by their unscientific, adhoc industry. Once a habitat, that has taken over thirty years to evolve,  is cleared it cannot be repaired in a few years. It can take a lifetime. In the case of clearing endangered species habitat, complete repair may never occur again, ever, as the endangered species may have disappear forever before the repair is done. This is part of the precautionary principle’s essence. Taking due care.

Incoming Searches: loss of biodiversity, biodiversity loss, pictures of land degradation biodiversity loss air pollution, habitat destruction, habitat loss, collage on biodiversity, habitat destruction in australia, a collage of affected biodiversity, bioregion neártica, koala habitat

]]> http://bluecray.org/advocacy/biodiversity-bioenergy-biofuels-and-wisdom-31.08.2010/feed 0 Cross – Cultural Environmental Education and the evolution of Australia’s Cultural Policy http://bluecray.org/advocacy/cross-cultural-environmental-education-and-the-evolution-of-australias-cultural-policy-03.11.2009 http://bluecray.org/advocacy/cross-cultural-environmental-education-and-the-evolution-of-australias-cultural-policy-03.11.2009#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:57:17 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=3183 ...»»]]> PK_and_the_planner_talk_all_nightMinister for the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts, Peter Garrett, has opened a National dialogue on National Cultural Policy (October 2009).  There is both a FORUM for discussion, ideas and comment , and opportunity for making a FORMAL SUBMISSION on our future National Cultural Policy.

The website page at this link:-  http://nationalculturalpolicy.com.au/ , but now appears to be offline (November 2011) This includes (did include)  a short, one page discussion outline. The three key themes for this discussion are

  • keeping culture strong
  • engaging the community
  • powering the young

Bluecray is currently putting together a Formal Submission.  The submission has a largely Environmental Educational and Advocacy agenda.  WHY?

Because  ENVIRONMENT encompasses all. Cultural interactions of our many different communities do not preclude  our diverse and wonderful Environment.

City_life_lismore_ne_nsw_and_heritage_diversity

##Australian Centre for Cultural Environmental Research – “The Australian Centre for Cultural Environmental Research (AUSCCER) is an exciting new research initiative commencing in 2009, funded by the University of Wollongong and the Australian Research Council (ARC).“##

AND SO……………..

ENVIRONMENT gives us the breath of life, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the energy we use and the waters we share. Our unique Australian Environment  inspires our Art,  Stories, Music, Architecture, Lifestyles and Visions.

Culturally, Australia IS a distinctly diverse continent. Our Heritage is unique & complex – both its social and  natural components.

“Reading the Constitution out Loud”  by Marcia Langton at Meanjin.com.au  .

Cross-Cultural Environmental Education & Australia’s Cultural Policy

Cross-Cultural Environmental Education in Australia does not  only mean Aboriginal cultures interfacing with other non-indigenous cultures. It is about all cultures interfacing, in a pluralistic #(see below) sense. And all Cultures, including Aboriginal CULTURES have stories, art, crafts, foods, plants,  animals and heritage that have woven their way into our unique pluralistic Australian Nation.

However, the Traditional,  long time Custodians of Australia, with their widespread Cultural Heritage, are to be treasured and respected. Our Indigenous Peoples have a UNIQUE HERITAGE and are immensely precious, as is their contribution to our  National Natural and Cultural Heritage.  Within Aboriginal Cultures,  the Environment and the Culture of their country & people are intrinsically linked. This is a basis for Australian Indigenous LAND CLAIMS.

Cross-Cultural Environmental Education has much to offer. Cross-Cultural Environmental Education can show us the way, when it comes to understanding our Land and Water Stewardship processes and responsibilities.

wisdom_in_engineering

Cross-Cultural Environmental Education can help the young in the cities, increasing urban and semi-rural developments,  re connect with natural processes at a fundamental level. It can help awaken a more basic understanding of our Natural Environmental Heritage. It can help foster Regional Environmental Sustainability by facilitating  Cultural activities,  teachings, stories, dance, music and information that help our young choose a way of respect for Nature.

caldera picsEnvironmental Advocacy Collage : CHOICES for Australians

Now, below is the basis of bluecray’s FORMAL SUBMISSION to the Department of the Environment, Heritage, Water & the Arts:-

“TOTEM” based Cross-Cultural Environmental Education at a Catchment, Regional and Local level via the School “House” System.

  • The word “TOTEM”, is used, for lack of any better word. I mean it in a very loose sense here, not in the strict sense of a personal, clan or inherited indigenous TOTEM.
  • The word “TOTEM”  is used to encompass a  practical understanding  and care of a particular LOCALLY or REGIONALLY SIGNIFICANT native plant or animal species or genus. Caring for a specific component of the local natural environment, when commenced in the early formative and schooling years of a child, provides opportunity for that child, when an adult, to more fully grasp the concept of Nature.
  • BY this, I mean a “TOTEM” caring that is integrated into a student’s schooling, through exposure and interaction with teachers, artists, community workers, scientific workers, wildlife and environmental volunteers and experts, cross-cultural educators, musicians, story tellers.
  • A caring that, through continued exposure to an understanding of that “TOTEM” over time, brings with it increased awareness and understanding of the habitat necessary for it’s survival and well being. An understanding, that when carried into adulthood, will foster in many, more informed decision making, as Australian youth become active community members and leaders.

Collages13

Choice of  “TOTEM” could include a particular plant or animal that is currently :-

1. endangered or threatened (at risk) within the area of the school’s “Catchment”. eg Koala, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Powerful Owl, Richmond Birdwing Butterfly – the list can be seen by looking at individual bioregions and their threatened species lists

2. particularly relevant to the  environmental & ecological well being of the catchment area about the school. This includes ecosystem health. I am talking here about a key signature species, that  if looked after, can be instrumental in helping the biodiversity of  habitats, ecological communities and ecosystems naturally occurring within that “Catchment”. This type of list may include frogs, insects, mammals, plants that whilst not threatened under legislation, are still key indicators for health within the school’s region.

3. easily identifiable, able to be learnt about, incorporated into a variety of syllabi content across the schools’ curriculum, as well as in sport and cultural experiential learning programs. This type of list may include more common animals and plants that already have  significance to large groups of people – Koala, Wallaby, Cockatoo, Crow, Python – the list is again very long.

4. specifically identified by Australian Indigenous peoples as an animal or plant that they feel deserves more understanding and respect.

Why Chose a TOTEM based cross-cultural environmental educational approach?

  • To encompass a holistic caring  and Stewardship approach toward a particular native plant and/or animal species  or genus and its HABITAT, through continued and diverse cultural exposure via all types of cross-cultural experiences, at a basic level of an individual’s schooling life.
  • To foster  greater understanding and Stewardship responses in a youth, for when that individual later becomes an active, functioning adult member of the Australian Community at large.

Why chose a School “HOUSE” system by which to deliver such an innovation?

  • I have chosen the school “HOUSE” system as this is often the basis for many activities within a school and one that often unites students on a number of different levels. It can be the basis for group learning, sport, achievement and exchange. It has CONTINUITY. Some schools already use native animal names for their “houses”. For new schools, this is an opportunity to engage Cross-Cultural learning, should their house system be formed about a “TOTEM”.
  • To engage Students, via continuity, throughout a region, catchment or local area. To create a vehicle for an ongoing cultural dialogue,  via cross-cultural learning, with a  “SIGNIFICANT ” animal or plant, ( its history, habitat requirements and interactions, ecological contributions). This can help the students, over time, to more fully appreciate, understand and learn to live with a particular animal and/or plant species or genus.

18-06-2008

Cross-Cultural Environmental Education and the Murray Darling Catchment System:-

Whilst some Australian Schools already have animals, and possible even plants as the “SYMBOL” for their “HOUSE” system, I am suggesting here that this concept can be encouraged Australia wide, especially in a Catchment or Regional context. New Schools could be encouraged to adopt this strategy, as they have less historical ties to other “HOUSE” names and house naming heritage.

However, my main idea, of “TOTEMS” and the School “HOUSE” system has the MURRAY-DARLING Catchment System in mind. This idea could prove to be valuable, culturally and environmentally significant.  I perceive it as workeable for a Cross-Cultural Environmental Education framework, if implemented as a Cross-Cultural Education Innovation along the Catchments of the Murray-Darling Rivers.

And so, in response to the three key themes for a National Cultural Policy

1. Keeping culture strong:-

All types of cultural heritage come under the umbrella of our unique Australian Environmental Heritage that is the setting for future Australian Cultural Exchange.

  • National identity with our native wildlife and landscapes is already very strong, but based mainly on superficial understanding in the way of how to engage in meaningful Land & Water Stewardship.  Cross- Cultural Environmental Education can strengthen our National Identity, whilst keeping our pluralistic cultural identity.
  • To maintain an ongoing dialogue with the country. This has often been associated with Aboriginal use of art and other cultural activities – in the form of painting, singing, dancing, celebrations and  stories.
  • However, as well as Aboriginal Cultural exchange, there other valuable community members who have been practicing land custodians, Land and Water Stewards, Wildlife Carers and Vegetation specialists. Their stories, practical work, art, visions, music, photography, literature and creativity are part of our Cultural Environmental fabric.
  • There are a number of other cultural experiences, concerning our native wildlife and habitats that can also be shared, for heritage purposes, in a “TOTEM” based Environmental Education initiative. For example building and architecture, gardening and landscaping, engineering and earthmoving, farming and livestock management, entertainment and recreational activities. These things all have cultural components in our diverse Australian Culture

2. Engaging the community:-

  • The concept of Totem based Cross-Cultural Environmental Education within schools can be encompassed via ARTS, ENVIRONMENT, HERITAGE and many other forms of CROSS-CULTURAL exchange.
  • As  a Regionalized and Catchment concept, this can only be a good thing, for our future as an environmentally sustainable nation of many identities, all caring for the Country.
  • WATER CATCHMENTS, as a geographical and environmental reality, provide a basis by which localised and Regional cultural identity can be fostered, via linking with native wildlife habitat, and Land and Water Stewardship.
  • Along any particular stretch of an Australian River or Creek System, there is always some animal/plant that needs mentorship, needs more habitat, needs help from threatening processes. In short:- a key signature animal or plant, that can act as an indicator for the Total Catchment Health.
  • If Schools are encouraged to create vision with a “TOTEM” based environmental educational “HOUSE” system, leaving all types of “religious” implications out of it, cross-cultural outreaching may work for well with this  Vision.
  • The word “totem” may work to ostracize some religious groupings,or more orthodox communities. Implementation of  this concept of a “TOTEM” based environmental educational initiative may need to look further into the meaning of the concept “TOTEM” , perhaps coming up with another “WORD” that satisfies the overall general meaning of the word “TOTEM”. It is important not to ostracise people who may be offended by the word, due to religious beliefs.
  • At the heart of this idea of  the  word and concept -  “totem” -  is caring and fostering the future of our Australian Environment. The idea of linking one back to the environment, fostering a more harmonious life with one’s natural heritage. Using a signature animal or plant as a focus for creating environmental wellbeing , at a catchment or regional basis would involve Integrating the Cultural and Cross- Cultural components of Art, Music, Storytelling and Caring.
  • Communities about many schools already have the information, or can locate the information for any number of native wildlife or plants that are undergoing habitat loss or threatening processes:- linkage with that part of the Community and the Student – this is what is important. It is important, in this day of a largely urbanised Australian Identity, to pass on information, using the process of CONTINUITY and a vision of CARE,  for the Land, Water and Habitats of our Natural Heritage. Continuity is important for community.
  • The life cycle of the animal, the environmental and ecological contribution, the local carers experiences,  the science, the art, the stories, the songs etc: –   These, if combined into cohesive education and carried, at an all encompassing level through the School housing system, will engage many young people into understanding their local environment at a basic educational level. It will create opportunity for youth to be part of meaningful cross-cultural exchange via art, environment, sport, education and community.

3. Powering the young:-

  • Vision leads us forward. Cohesion and continuity in the Vision, from elders to the younger creates strength in outcomes. The young, if educated in ways of the environment via cross-cultural exchange, creates a stronger future, and a powerful base for future, cultural discernment, tolerance, understanding and empathy via  many levels.
  • Continuity, especially in times of great change, can be a useful tool. Continuity, with Cultural exchange can provide our Australian youth with practical skills, enhanced by increased awareness and understanding for vision building. This can help the Australian Nation’s young obtain the discernment necessary to help create  an Environmentally Sustainable Future

Some links (whilst not anywhere near exhaustive or comprehensive, these links are to give  you a taste of what is available currently), as an example of  resources for Cross-Cultural Environmental Education:

Negotiating Diversity – A Field Guide to the Convention on Biological Diversity -  and REFERENCES .

Department of Education and Child Development South Australia : there is a great resource library here for teachers, concerning Australian Indigenous Stories

Bangarra Dance Theatre , Laura Aboriginal Dance & Cultural Festival ,  Arts in  Queensland, Stories of the Dreaming at Australian Museum, Koomurri : Australian Aboriginal Dance Connections.

National Sustainability Initiatives at the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts. This website page includes links to the related areas of :-  EPBC Reporting, Indicators & Local Agenda 21, as well as to  Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS .

“Nature and society: anthropological perspectives” By Philippe Descola, Gísli Pálsson (at Australian Library collections) ISBN:  0415132169 (pbk.)

Griffith University : Centre for Public Culture and Ideas – “its central brief is to encourage greater collaboration between these areas, while articulating with contemporary debates in public culture and ideas.”  This centre promotes seminars, public lectures and events.

Queensland Stories : these include – “A collection of 11 digital stories made by Year 11 and 12 Modern History students at Park Ridge State High School. These stories explore the local history of the Park Ridge and Logan areas – from the Indigenous history of the area, to its volunteer organisations and small businesses.”

“How the Murray River was made” a story from the Bangerang Aboriginal Community, as told by Irene Thomas. A story for young children

The etymology of the words culture, cultural, environment and education.

The Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS page includes :-

  • Conferences and Events
  • Sustainability Networks and Discussion Groups
  • State Government Sites
  • Australian Government Environment Sites
  • Local Government Sites
  • Non-Government Organisations

Environmental Education for a Sustainable Future: National Action Plan
Environment Australia, July 2000 ISBN 0 642 546 665 (9 years on, where are we now?)

**A pedantic note:

In his speech to the National Press Club (27th October 2009), three main themes were identified and outlined by the Minister, Peter Garrett:-

Keeping culture strong, engaging the community and powering **the young.

It is interesting  that the words “Powering the young” were chosen. I would guess, that with the scope of professional bearing that Peter Garrett brings to his portfolio, his understanding of the etymology and definition of the word “POWERING” is enough for him not to make a typographical or ideological mistake with regard to this choice of word.

I, personally, would have preferred to have seen the word “EMPOWERING”.

There IS a difference, you see, although in some contexts the word may be seen as similar.

from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary – POWERING definition

etymology for POWERING from wiktionary

from the Free Online Dictionary – POWERING definition & EMPOWERING definition

etymology for EMPOWERING from wiktionary

# pluralism – definition

pluralism – etymology (“toleration of  diversity within a state or society“)

Collages21-2The above poem ‘by my’  Crow friend, Benoit, illustrates how simply a totem can explain environmental stewardship.

other bluecray “totem” stories at bluecray blog “Journey for Wisdom in the Land” .

Philosophy LINKS at bluecray.org

Biodiversity LINKS at bluecray.org

Cross-Cultural blog - A blog for students and teachers participating in the Cross-Cultural Rhetoric project. (Stanford University)

Warlpiri Media Association – Central Australian Media – and  PAW Media .

Incoming Searches: environmental collages, crow totem, collage using indigenous materials, etymological meaning of environment, environmental education, cultural collage, crow friend, cross cultural education, education for sustainability in high schools, cultural environment

]]> http://bluecray.org/advocacy/cross-cultural-environmental-education-and-the-evolution-of-australias-cultural-policy-03.11.2009/feed 0 Our Coastal Zone, Engineering for Climate Change and our childrens’ future http://bluecray.org/philosophy/our-coastal-zone-engineering-for-climate-change-and-our-childrens-future-27.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/philosophy/our-coastal-zone-engineering-for-climate-change-and-our-childrens-future-27.10.2009#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:45:41 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2959 ...»»]]> Engineers have a critical role to play in the management of our Coastal Zones for projected climate change scenarios. Here are some search results at google for coastal zone management and Climate Change . Here are some bluecray environmental search engine results for the same. You can find the CSIRO and BOM CLIMATE SNAPSHOT (15th March 2010) at these search results HERE .

PK_visits_the_gold_coast_queensland_australiaThe above photo is of PK, looking out from the Hinterland, over the Gold Coast, SE QLD, Australia

The creation of an environment that is both sustainable for our Childrens’ Future and yet high in life quality is often deemed to be the domain of Engineers, Scientists & Politicians.  And, these days, Science, Politics and Engineering appear to be intrinsically linked.

Coastal Development & Sea Levels – some Australian Links:-

  • National Sea Change Taskforce: Link to – Conference at Byron Bay 2-3 March 2010 “The program will focus on the complex issues currently facing coastal LGAs including sea level rise, the legal implications of climate change and ageing populations………Byron Bay has been selected to host the event because of its relevance in terms of coastal hazards, development pressures and issues associated with climate change impacts”

Belongil_beach_byron_bay_ne_nsw_australia_late_2009This is a photo for environmental advocacy : showing how coastal development and infrastructure is still going ahead, near the beachfront, at Byron Bay. The houses on the beach side of the photo have already lost their dune frontage to the encroaching sea, and the Council and Landcare are spraying the vegetation (albeit Bitou Bush!) with herbicide, for future regeneration, thus facilitating more habitat destruction in the name of healing.

The TWEED COAST is also experiencing engineered non sustainable development:-

Maps for the Tweed Coast Area near Casuarina, Kings Forest, Cudgen, Cudgen Creek , Wooyung – in fact much of the coastal area of the Tweed Shire!

Meanwhile, at Kingscliff,NE NSW:-  large developments (that will further fragment our native wildlife habitats) are planned nearby (Kings Forest, Cobaki Lakes ) and the sea is moving inwards – “Hungry Mother Nature bares her teeth” -  infrastructure damage at Kingscliff on the NSW North Coast -  by coastal erosion (2010): SMH article by Saffron Howden

Kingscliff battles beach erosion (story 11th august 2010):- at ABC local + other local beach coastal erosion stories from NE NSW (Tweed and Byron shires)

Here are some more google search results for NEWS about Coastal Zone Management and Climate Change - remembering that much of Australia’s Population is centred on or about our Coastline. And now, back to

ENGINEERS…..

Engineers! Do you think that the word comes from building engines? oops… wrong.
the etymology of the word engineer has the word coming from…………………go ahead, guess first, then look and see if you were close!

Definitions and etymology of the word “ENGINEER”

Article at Sydney Morning Herald about the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia’s ideas to abolish councils, make drivers pay and transform public transport subsidies (October 23rd 2009 – SMH Paul Bibby, Urban Affairs)

hinze_dam_and_the_gold_coast_se_qld_water_grid_gets_an_engineering_helpPhoto of Engineering the Hinze Dam Catchment for the SE QLD Water Grid – or, as I like to call it “Stream Stealing“ 2009**(see below)

google search results for Association of Consulting Engineers Australia .

e - earth
n – noise
g – grandeur
i – illogical
n- non-sustainable
e – every day
e – easy
r – repeating
s – stuff

Now, thanks to the world engineers, and the ancestral contribution of engineers long gone, we have fantastic and celebrated networks of “stuff” all over the world.

Stuff that is slowly making our world a sick place.

  • Petro chemical bi-products that do god knows what to our ecosystems and food chain, when combined in their ever increasing lethal dose combinations.
  • Climate change, monoculture to the n’th degree, genetic engineering that is making our planet dependent on food sources that have no true genetic source from adaption and selection processes but rather laboratory type “births” and “heritage”.
  • This list is endless. Always behind the grand schemes in humanities slow slide into extinction, are engineers. Planning and engineers often go together.

Now, again, as I am sure bluecray has confronted some of your more intrinsic values, I do not want to target engineers, who are after all people like you and me, with some kind of  “let’s get rid of the engineers” post.

october_2009_byron_bay_belongil_beach_engineering_non_sustainable_styleCollage of Engineering & Biodiversity – Byron Bay Style (October 2009)

Far from it. why, My uncle was a well known, highly regarded engineer and I admired and respected him greatly.  Some of my best friends are technical and computer engineers. I love to ride my motorcycle, which is itself an engineering wonder, along roadways engineered by many people. This ancient computer that I use here is an engineering wonder, as is the internet connection and associated satellite and electrical paraphenalia that is required to put my words onto the screen that you are currently watching and reading.

I have also met engineers who have transformed great stretches of waterways from past mistakes, by bringing in earth movers to recreate riffles and bends where once, engineers had created straight stretches of water flow, that needed constant upgrading and earthworks. It wasn’t until they came back, decades later and recreated the natural meanders and riffles, that the streams  began to “breath” and work as a sustainable  ecosystem.
The purpose of this article is just to get you thinking, like all other bluecray articles that I have written. And to help you make decisions to change the way you live, so that our Childrens’ future is brighter and happier.

grasses and sabian symbolsEnvironmental Advocacy Collage : “Choices – Discernment-Integrity – Love“

Just a few thoughts that may help you get back to some more basic loving principles for improved life quality on the planet. And to help you to inspire others to do the same, by setting an example,  slowing down your life, and trying to get some honest love back into your modern day engineered intellectual capacities.

People tend to hand over power readily to engineers. Their brilliance, their contraptions,the ease that their inventions appear to give our lives. Their ever increasing powerful technologies can eventually overwhelm us to thepoint where our simple life values of food, shelter, companionship, love, clothing etc become a massive encumberance that chains the whole planet down to doom.
And so, why target ENGINEERS?

Because everywhere I look these days, they appear to hold a much greater sway over the way things go in life, compared to the other necessary, more basic natural relationships in life.

its_all_upsidedown“It’s All Upsidedown“

Earth moving equipment – a massive industry

Agricultural and Horticultural machinery and chemicals – a massive industry
Telecommunications – a massive industry
Mining - a massive industry
Medical  technology – a massive industry
Genetics - a masssive industry
Transport – a massive industry
Building construction – a massive industry
Military and arms production – a massive industry

and lets not forget the movies, the music industry and entertainment industries in general…..
endless endless lists…..endless endless “stuff”

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Just how much stuff do we need to feed ourselves, clothe ourselves, protect ourselves and create a quality life?
Just how much stuff do we need to create out of toxic processes to prove to ourselves that our collective wisdom is still in the dark ages???

Modern thought,  with its electric lights and enthusiastic middle men selling more and more products,  is still in the dark ages.

  • We misdirect our personal egos towards an ever increasing consumption whilst millions starve elsewhere.
  • We are surrounded by climatic, geological, idealogical and industrial disasters. Habitat Clearing and toxic food chains are just the tip of the “iceberg”.
  • Do you care to take some personal responsibility for this, and question your personal wisdom?
  • Maybe you would prefer to shop, talk and justify your way out of it. If you get really good at this, you can enter politics!!

The engineers will help you. They are, as you read, designing new machines, building new war state of the art contraptions to fill our skies with. They are, as you read, creating new fangled better than the business oppositions’ blackberries, rasberries, tokenberries and genetically engineered betterberries for your healthy berries.
All of this stuff – you and I may benefit from, no doubt, in some way or another. All of this stuff will also, in some way or another, cause untold problems in yours and mine lives, and in the lives of others – all over the planet.
Engineers are largely responsible for the way in which cities have been formed all over the planet:-

  • Great dams, irrigation pumping and now water grids that alter our water catchment flows;
  • long pipes, roads and electronic networks that, in the end, never DID make our lives that much easier; but alot faster, more complex, more stressful, and more toxic.
  • and now, make your own list…..for those in NSW, why not start at…

………………..well, Part 3A of the NSW Planning law?

Now of course, some of this science and grand engineering has its benefits – IF USED WISELY. Moderation is a wonderful word. Moderate use of many substances and technologies is a most amazing thing. However, to keep up with the “Jones’s” – our technologically savvy “neighbours” with their engineered enhanced lifestyles and ahead in the sands of  modern enlightenment, we think we must go faster, harder, smarter, “cooler”.

It is this simple (!!) :- Moderation is a tricky quality to embrace. My Father was a master at it. He led by example. I am not so good at it. I tend to be a bit complex. Nature and nature’s needs in nature shift amazingly slow, complex though they are.. There are some “rushes” of activity depending on natural cycles, but in general, our needs in nature are the same as they were before we created, with the assistance of our engineers and their ideas, grand cities, buildings and infrastructures. Now, caught in the “City of Light”, we no longer see our shadow selves. Our egos, meanwhile, are still running rampant!

Collectively? We lack DISCERNMENT. We lack INTEGRITY. We lack GENEROSITY. We lack VISION. Collectively, I always felt that if enough people wanted war, then WAR we would have. If enough people wanted more than we can eat or carry on our backs, then that is how we would feast and travel. AND, engineers have just kept giving us answers to these requests.

wisdom_in_engineering“Wisdom in Engineering“

What about LOVE engineers? The philosophers, the musicians, the artists, the writers?  The engineers that do amazing engineering works, but do it for humanity and have a holistic approach to their work. The little guy down the road who lives a simple life in his organic garden, sharing the food with others, and quietly planting out trees and shrubs for the native wildlife. OR, does he even really exist anymore? Well, yes he DOES! Mainly “he” is living below or just above the poverty level, and his quality of life is just fine, thank you!
Collectively, we are sliding back into a time of “the beast”. Ego driven want,  un-enlightenment and hedonism all appear to be alive and well. And engineers have contributed to our false sense of securities and fantasy that it is ok to continue supporting clever regimes that lack transperancy, integrity, statesmanship and the vision of a loving future for our children.
And so, where do I stand in all of this, after displaying how I see this trend of sanitized, but in reality, toxic engineered insanity?
Like Fukuoka, I believe that the spirit holds the key. That engineering is in essence – like science- a wonderful thing, and has much use. But not ALL of it – just SOME of it. Discernment is not a luxury. It has now become a necessity. Good luck!!

Oh, and just one more thing – imagine a world without all this stuff – except some beautiful basics, with a moderate amount of engineered assistance? Like hand grown and hand crafted textiles, hand crafted buildings, hand crafted vehicles, hand crafted musical instruments, hand grown and prepared foods. Simplified energy use and requirements – add just a few engineers, with discernment, and LOTS of LOVEand everyone will be gainfully employed, sheltered, clothed and fed, and entertained. I know this sounds like I am oversimplifying things.  Perhaps I am….And  the world turns to a new day, and life is most likely, is as it is meant to be……

and, Collectively, we still haven’t found our way back to the GARDEN.

Now something else to look at:-

Dale Jamieson at google search

“A Companion to Environmental Philosophy” by Dale Jamieson ISBN       1557869103

Natural Sequence Farming : search results at bluecray ENVIRONMENT SEARCH

National Sustainability Initiatives at the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts. This website page includes links to the related areas of :-  EPBC Reporting, Indicators & Local Agenda 21, as well as to  Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS .

The Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS page includes (as at November 2009) :-

  • Conferences and Events
  • Sustainability Networks and Discussion Groups
  • State Government Sites
  • Australian Government Environment Sites
  • Local Government Sites
  • Non-Government Organisations

Coastal Design Guidelines for NSW (from 2003 ): at NSW Department of Planning (Coastal Protection).

The Sea Level Rise  Policy Statement  by the NSW Government 2009 & and Draft Policy information- :

** Regarding my term “stream stealing”:- the concept of Stream Capturing, as per the geological process that was created causing the Rhine River to take the waters of the Danube River, via a slow and gradual centuries long process, thus diverting waters away from one catchment to another has implications for how the water of these two Catchments is distributed throughout parts of Europe.

“Stream Stealing”, or taking the water from the catchment and removing it to another catchment is akin to diversion that may have future consequences for that catchment later on. The Murray-Darling system attests to this on a grand scale. The water was purloined (see etymology HERE), and the consequences in the future are already here, to see – in black and white. The Government is now having to rethink where and how this Murray Darling Water actually goes, over time. This is for the sake of future generations and future environmental habitats. Much damage has already be done.

The concept of altering catchment water flows, taking water from one series of catchment ecosystems to completely different catchment systems, can have consequences further down stream.

Many engineers and scientist show, via quantitative and qualitative measures, that Dam Building and altering Catchment flows can be managed in an environmentally sustainable way. However, there are still serious doubts, in my mind,  as to water flows for a catchment’s well being down stream, and ecosystem health when water is removed from one catchment to serve a purpose in another.

The Qld Water Grid of South East Queensland is doing this. Dams and irrigation networks do this. Construction and earthworks within developments can do this. Altering water flows from one catchment, to provide another catchment with that water has historical implications. Only time will tell, and as the benchmarks can keep changing, the ecosystem health consequences further down the catchment, and into the sea may not show up for many decades. “Stream Stealing” is an insidious form of Habitat destruction by “clearing the habitat” via habitat water theft.

This type of activity is stealing from natural ecosystems and habitats (that have little voice in the matter), to serve human consumption and industry.

Capture:-definition and etymology .

Stealing:-definition and etymology .

“Clearing the Habit of Habitat Clearing” – at Journey for Wisdom in the Land

Incoming Searches: gold coast queensland, toxic mine water queensland, australia climate change coastal, kingscliff beach history, google pk search, eastern brown snake scats, cray zone, analysis of northern river by judith wright, collage on climate change europe, future gold coast

]]> http://bluecray.org/philosophy/our-coastal-zone-engineering-for-climate-change-and-our-childrens-future-27.10.2009/feed 0 Australia’s environmental vandalism heritage :the Tweed Coast developers and our childrens’ future http://bluecray.org/education/australias-environmental-vandalism-heritage-the-tweed-coast-developers-and-our-childrens-future-23.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/education/australias-environmental-vandalism-heritage-the-tweed-coast-developers-and-our-childrens-future-23.10.2009#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:24:48 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2772 ...»»]]> benoit_et_fiftyOur Children’s Future, when it comes to environmental vandalism is not only OUR concern, but Their concern. The Greens  have given out their Bad  Developer Awards recently. The Tweed Shire Council and the NSW Department of Planning have received dishonourable awards for the worst Government Department and the worst Council.

Perhaps you would like to see  other recipients of these developer awards? Try Sylvia Hale’s website – it has all the details. And while you are there, why not give them some support for their work in trying to make our children’s earth environment a little safer, and more secure.

Environmental Advocacy collage reminding us that Caring for our Country is also about Caring for Our Children

Environmental Advocacy collage reminding us that Caring for our Country is also about Caring for Our Children

And now, a poem about an innocent child, and the questions she asks of some developers,  who are environmental vandals, and who are taking away her future safety by their actions,  perceived intentions and lack of integrity.

Phantom Koala and the Crow
An earthmover grinding the earth to a pulp
ignored the quiet pleas of wildlife it gulped
A single white gum tree alone bare and frail
did little to stop it with it’s lonely wail
Phantom Koala had run to escape
the metal equipment that made the earth shake.

And the Crow flew above seeing real from the fake……..

The grey suited gentlemen clothed in their greed
surveyed the bare landscape – “We’ll spray all THAT weed!”

“We’ll build a great golf course, – town centre or two
we’ve got the approval – it’s from (YOU KNOW WHO)
We’ll plant it with trees from our nursery stand
The Tweed Folk will pay us back tenfold our grand”

Then suddenly out of the dust and the fray
A small child came playing – she was heading their way.
The crow looked on smiling – Pk laughed on too
THEY knew what would happen-what that small child would do!
She fronted the grey suited money men then,
she took out a notebook and proceeded with pen
“My classmates and I wondered why you all lie?
My classmate are asking which drugs make you high?
My classmates and me see you just as you are
takers, deceivers, your game’s ‘below par‘!!”
“My classmates are young yet our lives pay for you,
so my classmates are wondering WHAT IS it you do
with this fortune you take from our years, from our life?
Do you mean to keep taking and give the young strife?”
The grey suited gentlemen, now covered in dust
from the earthmovers’ rampage and their lives filled with lust
puffed up their fat cheeks to start lies afresh
but by now it was out and they’d been caught in a mesh
of innocence asking WHAT WAS IT they did?
and WHY where they hiding – WHAT WAS IT THEY HID?

Then as the grey men tooted plans, power, law, the child ran off laughing saying , “you are a bore!”

and Phantom Koala, who’d found a good tree,laughed at the grey guys, and gave the child cheer!
The Crow flew off with her, to her classmates in school
and they all got together to write a new rule
Let the freedom of children and life for the young
be respected by those with power far flung
let the food land and animals waken
each day to loving and caring- a more
honest way.

Links:-

NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water : Summaries of Legislation (ACTS) that the Department operates under

“Administrative Law in an Environmental Context” search results at bluecray Environmental search engine

NSW Department of Planning : … and the legislation and planning instruments associated with it. Including Part 3A of the Planning Law and State Significant Sites.

The EDO (Environmental Defenders Office) has created a Major Projects Toolkit for the people of NSW, Australia. The Toolkit can be found at the EDO website. It is easy to read and understand.

Cumbersome Laws relating to Environment and Planning in NSW reflect a
complicated, alienated and basically not easy to understand environmental planning process.

The EDO  Major Projects Toolkit is a simply presented 21 page downloadable PDF that outlines how people in NSW can interact and become involved in Major Project applications.

Duty of care and the precautionary principle : search results at bluecray environmental search engine.

Coastal Development & Sea Levels – some Australian Links:-

  • National Sea Change Taskforce: Link to – Conference at Byron Bay 2-3 March 2010 “The program will focus on the complex issues currently facing coastal LGAs including sea level rise, the legal implications of climate change and ageing populations………Byron Bay has been selected to host the event because of its relevance in terms of coastal hazards, development pressures and issues associated with climate change impacts”

The TWEED COAST is also experiencing engineered non sustainable development:-

Maps for the Tweed Coast Area near Casuarina, Kings Forest, Cudgen, Cudgen Creek , Wooyung – in fact much of the coastal area of the Tweed Shire!

Koala planning habitat loss se qld - search results environmental search engine at bluecray

Koala planning habitat loss ne nsw – search results environmental search engine at bluecray

“A Balance of Faeries” 1989 by Alison Polistchuk :- a story about Koala Habitat destruction west of Brisbane, SE QLD :- Why the Koalas’ Habitats, when slowly taken from them, over time, piece by piece, leads to increased biodiversity loss on a much larger scale for many of the other Australian Native Wildlife and Vegetation Communities AND why it is important to respect the “LITTLE THINGS” in life.

Land and Water Stewardship : Rescuing Remnants .

  • The Hinterland of the Gold Coast, SE QLD and the Scenic Rim Region of SE QLD  adjoin NE NSW. The Mt Warning Caldera Region contains important habitat areas that are at risk to native wildlife. This Region is under increasing pressure from development and infrastructure implementation, as well as exceedingly poor land & water stewardship.
  • The Koala is just one of many native Australian marsupials at risk by over clearing and fragmentation of habitat, largely due poor planning on the part of the Qld & NSW Governments.
  • The concept of rescuing remnants and degraded landscape enhancement via participation of school educational systems, community involvement and dedication of State Planning Authorities lacks integration with developers of land, infrastructure and townships.
  • The native Australian plant nursery and seed bank distribution industry for local endemic (provincial) native plants is largely  unsupported by all sectors of Australian Society. Reliance is on volunteers and government funding for programs such as Remnant to Remnant to succeed.
  • Developers of towns, urban and regional centres, infrastructure and recreational facilities rarely support authentic Land and Water Stewardship on a scale that is meaningful to lasting and real outcomes. This needs to change, and State and Federal Government planning is responsible, in a large part for implementing the change.

National Sustainability Initiatives at the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts. This website page includes links to the related areas of :-  EPBC Reporting, Indicators & Local Agenda 21, as well as to  Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS .

The Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS page includes :-

  • Conferences and Events
  • Sustainability Networks and Discussion Groups
  • State Government Sites
  • Australian Government Environment Sites
  • Local Government Sites
  • Non-Government Organisations

Coastal Development : search reslults at Environmental Search Engine

Planned retreat, climate change & biodiversity – Byron Bay :- this is a workshop by the EDO Northern Rivers on 3rd December 2009. Whilst this is for Byron Bay, you may find some interesting information at the EDO website

Giri and the 22 Arrows of Truth – Myths for a Modern Age Part 3 A bluecray story about integrity and honesty and the machiavellian nature of a person who was once a key political “behind the scenes” player.

Kings Forest Project Development – sleepless days & nights to come for endangered species at Balance of Faeries bluecray blog

“Kings Forest and the future Tweed” – search results at Bluecray ENVIRONMENTAL SEARCH ENGINE – a search engine designed mainly for the Mt Warning Caldera Region, NE NSW and SE QLD. It’s up the top of the page, on the RHS – ENVIRONMENT SEARCH – can you see it? you may like to try your own “keywords” search. We are still improving it, to make it even more useful.

Syrma – Al Ghafar – a fixed star – relating ASAD, stenography and great fortunes and much more than meets the eye. The Sun is currently, as I write this, at approx. 1-2 degrees Scorpio. In a few days, it will reach a conjunction with this Fixed Star.

National Toxics Network .

Incoming Searches: environmental story collage, for our childrens future, protection of the environment collage, australia environmental vandals

]]> http://bluecray.org/education/australias-environmental-vandalism-heritage-the-tweed-coast-developers-and-our-childrens-future-23.10.2009/feed 0 Corporate Giant Woolworths and the Northern Rivers Town of Mullumbimby http://bluecray.org/advocacy/corporate-giant-woolworths-and-the-northern-rivers-town-of-mullumbimby-21.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/advocacy/corporate-giant-woolworths-and-the-northern-rivers-town-of-mullumbimby-21.10.2009#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:49:26 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2716 ...»»]]> Mullumbimby is a beautiful town in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Australia.  The people of Mullumbimby have gathered together for a long time now to take on the Corporate giant, Woolworths. WHY?

Because the NSW Department of Planning has approved a Woolworths Development in their beautiful little township, and the towns folk are still determined to have their valid arguments, for why this is not OK ,to be heard. A court case is pending, and the township of Mullumbimby needs your support!

Try these links to understand just why.

Firstly:-

Mullumaction.org : the Mullum Community Action Network that has formed to work to preserve the rural identity of the little township from being over-run by one of the two corporate giants (duopoly) in the Australian Grocery supply industry. Issues such as inadequate groundwater management, unfair competition against small local businesses, visual and physical impacts from the building of a large woolworths shopping centre in the township are just a few.

Mullumbimby at google maps.

bluecray Environmental Search Engine results for:-

Woolworths Mullumbimby .

Woolworths Gambling Poker Machines .

Mullumbimby Action Woolworths Court Appeal .(Woolworths Vs Byron Shire Council at NSW Land and Environment Court – possibly November 2009 hearing)

Woolworths hardware giant .

cultural_biodiverse_communities_and_non_sustainable_development_mullumbimbyPhantom Koala sees that small regional communities can offer sustainable resources in a variety of ways, and large corporate developments offer sameness, blandness, non renewable resource dependency and the”rich get richer while the poor get poorer” scenarios

There are a number of small rural towns about the area of Mullumbimby. Many of them have small shops, local and regionalised industries  that offer community focus and community values far beyond what the woolworths corporate giant and its development has to offer.

Rural_centres_northern_rivers_collage_threats_from_corporate_giants

Mullumbimby is a regional resource centre  to many of these small communities, and the issues at stake here, should woolworths gain the upper hand in retail grocery supplies (and possibly hardware as well?) could be against the basic principles of local and regional sustainability, as promoted and supposedly supported by the Governments of NSW and Australia.

The move by Woolworths, supported by the NSW Department of Planning,  to develop in this small rural township is an example of the rush of non sustainable developments that are now in the pipeline. These non sustainable developments have the potential of  overwhelming the coastal strip of NE NSW. Corporate leadership,  when it comes to Northern Rivers of NSW, appears to be based about non sustainable development, species and habitat destruction and land development at all costs to the environment. It is entirely out of step with the Global Vision for local environmentally friendly sustainable vision.

biodiversity_is_subtleBiodiversity is subtle, and can offer resilience in times of Climatic Change. Regional and local sustainable community diversity can also offer resilience in times of climate change.

other bluecray articles for this topic:-

Mullumbimby Woolworths Approved by NSW Department of Planning 28.01.2009

The Long and Short of Corporate Vision 5.10.2009

Gambling can come in many forms, including throwing money into poker machines, coastal property development and large scale clearing of habitat in the name of habitat restoration

Gambling can come in many forms, including throwing money into poker machines, coastal property development and large scale clearing of habitat in the name of habitat restoration

Bluecray experience is that whilst Governments can be elected by people and supportive of people who elect them, there are many voices making up the communities within the Mt Warning Caldera Region. One of the biggest pressures on both governments and communities is the need to make decisions when large corporations and businesses move to develop in a way that does not serve environmental sustainability or regional well being.

There is a current, highly obvious dichotomy within government where some non environmentally sustainable developments are considered “ok” and others are not. Some times it appears like rolling a dice as to what the outcomes will be, but often, there are also deeper undercurrents at play.

National Toxics Network:

Ross Gittens on Gambling, happiness and economic pursuits at the Sydney Morning Herald

Incoming Searches: identify animal droppings australia, biodiversity collage, property development images, Biodiversity land, land biodiversity, pictures of the new woolies in mullum, biodiversity articles, community diversity, google maps Mullumbimby nsw, habitats|

]]> http://bluecray.org/advocacy/corporate-giant-woolworths-and-the-northern-rivers-town-of-mullumbimby-21.10.2009/feed 0 Endangered ecological community and Kings Forest Development, Tweed Coast, NE NSW. http://bluecray.org/education/endangered-ecological-community-and-kings-forest-development-tweed-coast-ne-nsw-07.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/education/endangered-ecological-community-and-kings-forest-development-tweed-coast-ne-nsw-07.10.2009#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:57:55 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2477 ...»»]]> Endangered ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY : Coastal Cypress Pine Forest (Callitris columellaris Forest). This ecological community was once widespread along the coast of Australia in various forms. It is  threatened and very much at risk(*see below) and is listed by the NSW Government.  The LEDA development (Leda Group owned by Bob Ell) at Kings Forest and other nearby potential URBAN and INFRASTRUCTURE developments pose serious threat to these sparse Ecological Communities that are now scattered through the Tweed Coast of NE NSW.

I have struggled to complete this article, so sorry if it has seemed abit over the place. Have been in hospital having an operation and the internet has been not working.   However, from what I can glean,   this Ecological Community HAS been listed as endangered by the NSW Government, – as of 2008. I have just updated this on the 14th October, 2009. And  to echo Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.‘s words of Kilgore Trout in Timequake – I have been sick, now I’m well and there’s work to be done……….And so it goes:-

7-10-2009(1)Callitris columellaris and some of the native grass species found in association with it

  • Threatened species  recorded in Coastal Cypress “Pine” Forest or associated vegetation, including Acronychia littoralis (scented acronychia), Archidendron hendersonii (white lace flower), Geodorum densiflorum (pink nodding orchid) and Drynaria rigidula (basket fern)

Let us look at what job the Callitris columellaris Forest does for the Coastal Ecosystems of Australia. In particular, NE NSW and the Tweed Coast.

  • Firstly, the Ecological Community of this “Cypress” has largely disappeared from the Northern NSW Coastal Region. Accounting for 2% of Australia’s Forest cover (at about the year 2008), the Genus of Callitris was revised in 2006. The species Callitris columellaris and its associated ecological community has disappeared by almost 80% in the North Coast Bioregion of NSW.
  • Secondly, Callitris columellaris is being currently studied as one of the Significant Projects in the Australian Government’s $100 million Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF) initiative for understanding  and preparing for Climate Change. I guess that means that this plant is somewhat special!
  • Thirdly, Callitris columellaris Forests and their Ecological Communties have withstood the changing dunal system of our Coastal Landscapes for eons – as the sea levels have risen and fallen over time.
  • Fourthly:-The Ecological Communities associated with Callitris columellaris are now so fragmented and sparsley populating the coast of NE NSW that enhancement, re-establishment and re-connection of these communities is essential to help the North Coast of NSW withstand the pressures of Climate Change, sea level rise and native habitat survival:-  Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Coast Bioregion – endangered ecological community listing :- In NSW, Coastal Cypress Pine Forest is currently known from the local government areas of Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley, but may occur elsewhere within the NE Coastal NSW bioregion.

This Conifer – (Pinophyta) -  is from a very old – ancient group of plants.  It’s seed is protected in a cone. It has been around longer than the flowering plants of more modern millenia. The Callitris genus is found only in Australia & New Caledonia. That’s right – NO WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD! At some stage in Australia’s history they have formed GREAT forests across our continent. ***

  • Fifthly, Callitris columellaris grows primarily on sedimentary soils of a sandy nature. Seed banks of these soils are  easily altered by clearing, fire, water table changes, environmental weeds, machine and other human traffic disturbance. The resilience by sandy soil seed banks to recreate their native vegetation cover is lessened by continual disturbance, weed infestation and over cultivation.(see below #)
  • The above dangers to an already fragile seed bank will increase with Bob Ell’s proposed INTENSE urban development and associated infrastrutures, industries and traffic.  The Tweed Coast has been pressured enough by development of housing estates, shopping centres, transport corridors and habitat fragmention / clearing.
  • There is the looming threat of climate change and rising sea levels to consider also. Gold Coast coastal developments are testimony to this. Habitats and ecological communities have totally disappeared with intense non sustainable developement. The sea is moving inland, and the dunal systems are, and have already been disappearing over the past thirty years. The fragmented remnants of time tested ecological communities that inhabited coastal areas – wetlands, old dunal systems, estuarine areas – require rescuing, rather than surrounding and over-running by non sustainable development.
  • Threats that will affect the Endangered Ecological Community (still awaits listing?) of the Callitris columellaris Forest include weed invasion, human interference such as trampling, fragmentation, easement maintenance and illegal rubbish dumping. Fire is a great threat to this Ecological Community

Recently Updated2Phantom Koala (PK) and Benoit look at coastal development further south of Kings Forest, on the Tweed Coast. They see that fences, roads, bare earth, fires, cars, people, cats, dogs, fences, mown land, rubbish, noise, cleared land and building after building present many challenges to the native wildlife that rely on  the remnant Callitris trees and their associated ecological communities.

Find out more about the Endangered Ecological Community of the Callitris columellaris Forest at bluecray environmental search.  The PDF “Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Bioregion” should be  available at the NSW Department of Environment Climate Change & Water. You will be able to find out more about what other plants grow in this endangered Ecological Community and its associated vegetation.

Look up threatened species & ecological communities at the NSW Government’s Threatened Species Website

North Coast Bioregion of NSW -

Look up Callitris collumellaris at the Australian Government Department of  Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry – Bureau of Rural Sciences : Australian Forest Profiles – Callitris.

FIRE : the more people – the more fires are lit. This is a reasonable consideration when bringing urban populations close to Significant State Sites and Endangered Ecological Communities . Especially where that Endangered Ecological Community contains species that do not recover well from fire. This year (2009) quite a few fires have been fought on the Tweed Coast:- a number of them have been thought to be suspiciously lit.

* A note here about the listing of this community and the endangered status. I had thought that at  the time of writing this post, the list was yet to be implemented by the  Government. I had thought that listing wouldn’t occur, due to technicalities, politics, insufficient urgency… etc etc…perhaps like the KOALA, it never does get listed, and just disappears from the area/North Coast NSW Region all together. Pedantics can be an interesting feature of rationalising destruction and non sustainable development. The reality of endangered and the “legals” of endangered can be two very different things.

***The great Callitris Ecological Communities have withstood just about everything that nature can throw at them. These great forest cycles can be upwards of 500 years. As a human lifetime is nowhere near that, we are unable to grasp just what this means, unless we look carefully at the GREAT CYCLES.  These precious CONIFERS have kept ecological communities and habitats going, thriving, changing, maintaining biodiversity in times of stress from climatic and geological changes.  Should climatic change and stress occur in Australia, one of the tried and tested species of plants, that can probably recreate ecological communities is Callitris columellaris.

# Whilst wetland sedimentary soils can have a high seed bank percentage and longevity, sandy soils that are well drained tend to have much less seed held in the soil. Due to the nature of the overclearing and disturbance of  Tweed Coast Soils, many weed seeds now inhabit the seed bank, both below and above ground. These form strong competition for the Callitris species and the  associated native vegetation that is critical for the survival of this ecological community.

Phantom Koala and Part3A of the Planning Law .

Koala Sagas : “When Phantom Koala was Young”   and “There is a Way”- two poems about how Phantom Koala lost his mother, and then found her in trapped in Kings Forest, thus becoming a “Hero”.

For more about some of the Wildlife and Plant Species threatened by Leda’s  Kings Forest development try Kings Forest Development threatens 21 Threatened Species of Fauna . Some of these species are also known to be found in Callitris columellaris forests – I have made a note beside some of these species in the Kings Forest threatened species list below, but others on the list may also be present in Callitris Forests and ecological communities as well. It is hard to say, as the Callitris columellaris Forests have been so badly destroyed in recent decades, and historical scientific evidence is extremely scattered.

And NOW, some of the threatened Kings Forest species:-

the Koala

Rose-crowned Fruit- Dove (Ptilinopus regina) – and images .

Grass Owl (Tyto capensis) -

Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) – known to inhabit Callitris forests

Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis) –

Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus ) -

Bush stone-curlew  (Burhinus grallarius) (Aust. Govt) and at NSW Govt- and images .

Bush-hen (Amaurornis olivaceus) -

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) – known to inhabit Callitris forests

Eastern False Pipistrelle (Falsistrellus tasmaniensis) -

Yellow-bellied sheathtail Bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris) -

Common blossom Bat (Syconycteris australis) - and images . known to inhabit Callitris forests

Common Planigale (Planigale maculata) -  and images . known to inhabit Callitris forests

Long-nosed Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) – and images .

Red-legged Pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica) – and images .

Little Bent-Wing Bat (Miniopteris australis) - and images .known to inhabit Callitris forests

Grey-headed flying-fox(Pteropus poliocephalus) and images .

Olongburra Frog (Litoria olongburensis) and images .

Wallum Froglet (Crinia tinnula) and images .

Glossy Black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami) and images .

Archidendron hendersonii (white lace flower) – a species of threatened flora that is found at Kings Forest

  • search for  Aboriginal  (Indigenous peoples) research literature for the North Coast of NSW at the Libraries Australia Search
  • I had the opportunity to speak with a young Indigenous Australian a number of years back. She told me how her “totem” animal was no longer living on the planet. It was EXTINCT. She described how it felt to go to a museum, and see an exhibit of this dead totem. She told me that it felt very strange indeed. This made me feel sad for her.  I grew up spending many hours sitting under these trees and listening to stories, learning about nature. Back then, there were many more of these trees along the coastal strip, together with their biodiverse ecological communities. Back then, people were already speaking out about the clearing of forests, and our precious habitats. The facts were already there, the data, the knowledge. That was three generations ago.
  • Reforestation of Degraded Lands at http://www.agroforestry.net/ .
  • Search results (Google search) for Managing Our Coastal Zone in a Changing Climate .

The Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS page includes (as at November 2009):-

  • Conferences and Events
  • Sustainability Networks and Discussion Groups
  • State Government Sites
  • Australian Government Environment Sites
  • Local Government Sites
  • Non-Government Organisations

“Clearing the Habit of Habitat Clearing” – at Journey for Wisdom in the Land

Incoming Searches: ecological community, bioregion australiana flora, callitris columellaris, endangered animals and plants from tweed area, phantom coast endangered animals, mt lamington etymology, goannafood chain in ecosystem, leda illegal clearing, la fauna de la biorregion paleartica, fauna de australis y collage

]]> http://bluecray.org/education/endangered-ecological-community-and-kings-forest-development-tweed-coast-ne-nsw-07.10.2009/feed 2 Some Friends in my Garden http://bluecray.org/education/some-friends-in-my-garden-06.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/education/some-friends-in-my-garden-06.10.2009#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:07:46 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2361 ...»»]]> It is mid spring, and after a little rain, the animals are all on the move  in Upper Burringbar, NE NSW, Australia. Here is a collage of photos – some of the animals that share my home environment with me. Some are to be very respected, like the eastern brown snake (bottom RHS) and the white- tail spider (mid RHS).

some_friends_in_my_garden_early_oct_09(1)Friends in my garden October 2009

The Striated Pardalot (top RHS) is a frequent visitor these days. His beautiful “tchip tchip” call can be heard through the bush, as I write this.

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The Python, which is in the background?   I almost stood on him as I walked outside. Both the Python and the Brown Snake were sunning themselves and waiting for the small marsupials that abound here, to run along their pathways.

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The White-Tail Spider was inside the house. He was nestled between the black keys of my piano, when I went to play, so I took a small brush, and brushed him into a glass, then took him outside. I like to take the “biting/hunting” spiders (wolf, white-tail, funnel-web spiders) outside. Firstly by putting a tall glass over them, then gently sliding some hard paper to cover the top of the glass, so that they can’t run or jump out of the glass, until I have emptied them out into the garden, close to where they can run for protection.

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The Crow is the Father Crow of Benoit, my Crow friend (who has now grown up and left the Crow Nursery). I still put out water every day for the birds, and the parent Crows have their own water container. The Father Crow had just had a bath, in this photo. He is out there now splashing in his bath… he LOVES it!!!

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The Goanna is also a frequent visitor. There are a number of these living nearby – of different sizes. This one is the largest one here – about four foot in length. I have, however, met one that was much much larger – over six foot in length, on the Marburg Range, west of Brisbane, many years back now.

DSC07214The Skink – look hard in the collage – its there – is a common sight, both inside and outside the house.

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The Honey Bee? Well they are constant visitors, although, since it has been so dry here, they do not seem as pollen loaded as usual, and I haven’t seen any native Black Bees for some months now.

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Me trying to be very quiet and hidden in the garden

A note about taking photos for education and environmental advocacy purposes:-

Many animals do not like to have their photo taken, particularly birds. It is important when taking photos not to disturb them, as they are busy with their lives. These days, the lives of Australian wildlife can be somewhat stressful, so try not to stress wildlife by needlessly pursuing them, just for the sake of “capturing” their image. If you wish to photograph them or learn more by watching them, move slowly, preferably staying or sitting very still. And try not to focus too much attention on them – native wildlife are usually very very AWARE of their surroundings.

Eastern Brown Snake

Eastern Brown Snake

Links:

Birds in Backyards – Birdfinder .

Honey Bee – bluecray environmental search

Native Black Bees – bluecray environmental search

Spiders at spiders.com.au

Snake Identification at wildlifeqld.com.au

Goanna – bluecray environmental search

Australian Lizards and Skinks – bluecray environmental search

Look carefully at this Ladybird Beetle... does it have an extra leg? NO! That is an ANT behind it!!

Look carefully at this Ladybird Beetle... does it have an extra leg? NO! That is an ANT behind it!!

Honey Bees (introduced) in the Passionfruit Vine flowers, in the dry before the Spring rain came.

Honey Bees (introduced) in the Passionfruit Vine flowers, in the dry before the Spring rain came.

Incoming Searches: baby brown snake pictures, baby white tail spider, white tail spider, fauna neártica collage, baby brown snake identification, babywhitetailspider co nz, white tail spider baby, interesting facts about richmond birdwing, baby brown snake picture, baby brown snake images

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