Robin Williams talks environment

From “Earth to America”

Sticks and stones?

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph sounds off about a new breed of green conscious city dweller.

First we had the “metrosexual”  -   and now the “ecosexual”.

Take a look at the article.  It’s stirred some passions in the comments section afterwards.  Add your own.

So long and thanks for all the fish

Ladies and gentleman,

Just a brief pause in your busy lives to say goodbye to the baiji, a white Yangtze river dolphin.  Another victim – extinct at the hands of human kind.   Stuck it out for 20 million years but I guess we humans were just too good on the day.  See you later old mate.

Particularly like this line in a New York Times article:

The Yangtze, Asia’s longest waterway and thought to be akin to the Amazon long ago in its biological richness, now has a dominant species: the 400 million (and counting) people busily plying its waters and industrializing its banks.

Global warming round-up

The SMH covers Australia’s newly cool environmentalists.

Worldchanging gives an insider’s view of what its like to be one of Al Gore’s disciples as a Climate Project volunteer.

Environment pin-up boy Leonardo DiCaprio asks Yahoo users for solutions to Global Warming.  Answer him here.

Our wildflowers 3

Pycnosorus globosus (Billy buttons) – click image to enlarge

Save Santa’s home – time for a freeze on CO2

Disturbing news from the National Snow and Ice Data Centre.  Suggestions that we could see a complete loss of arctic ice much earlier than predicted on current trends. 

Fire strikes at the heart of the mountains

Dear Blue Gum Forest,

I’m sorry about the recent fire through your home.  I know some are saying that it could have been stopped but I guess that’s past history now.  You look so sick, like you’ve lost everything.  I heard stories about your youth, more than seventy years ago when you helped start the conservation movement in Australia.  We almost lost you back then – to grazing and agriculture.  I really enjoyed our visit with you last Winter.   I wish you well and pray for a full recovery.

Sincerely,

Verdurous.

 

Power and the Passion

From Treehugger comes a report of two environment announcements in Australia today.  The first is the somewhat anticipated elevation of ex-Midnight Oil singer Peter Garrett to spokesman for climate change and the environment. Fantastic news.

The second is the establishment of a global carbon-emissions taskforce by the Prime Minister.  Once again its a case of pre-determining an answer and then looking for the best fitting question.

John Howard explained the mission of the panel thus; “Its sole remit will be to tell us what the shape of a global emissions trading system might take. It will be looked at against the background of preserving the natural advantages Australia has in areas like fossil fuels and uranium.” The government’s panel includes reps from one of Australia’s largest coal exporters, and BHP Billiton, the world’s largest resources company who is also owner of Olympic Dam mine, which they note as the world’s largest uranium deposit.

I wonder what conclusions they might possibly reach?  Is the Australian voting public foolish enough to believe the federal government are truly taking action or will they see through this cynical stalling from a do-nothing PM who thinks our future is to dig & burn fossilised forests and radioactive minerals? As for – “to tell us what the shape of a global emissions trading system might take.” – well you’d think he may have heard of a little known global treaty which was painstakingly worked out some years ago called the Kyoto Protocol.

On top of the world

From my good mate Craig comes two Sierra Club online petitions aiming to highlight critical threats to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

Though it receives little media coverage outside the USA, the Sierra Club is the premiere environmental organisation stateside. The petitions are here and here.

 

Our wildflowers 2

Kunzea capitata