LABOR must win back voters lost to the Greens by advocating stronger action on climate change and supporting gay marriage, according to a secret internal review of the party’s performance that also urges the government to do more to court votes in immigrant communities. The Australian.
A Real Opportunity for the Australian Greens to Be the Farmers’ Friend
In the lead up to the NSW State Election some Australian Green’s candidates have been claiming they are the farmer’s friend (Wolves’ ain’t so bad, Jeremy Bradley, February 10, The Land, pg. 26). Certainly there is no reason for continued conflict between conservationists and farmers in a land so vast and resource rich as Australia.
However, I have noticed that the Australian Greens have a tendency to demonise farmers – particularly irrigators and particularly over the Murray River.
Most dramatic stories have these three important characters and the Australian Greens tend to tell the story thus: the river is portrayed as the victim of over-extraction by the villain, the greedy farmer. Meanwhile, the Australian Greens paint themselves into the story as the rescuers.
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Aftershocks Continue in New Zealand
The death toll from the earthquake that devastated the New Zealand city of Christchurch now stands at 75, with more than 300 people missing.
New Zealand has a national monitoring and response system in place for earthquake, volcanic and flood disasters called GeoNet.
This website reports:
“The city had been comparatively lucky with both the location and timing of last September’s magnitude 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake; the location of this one within 10 km of the city and at a shallow depth of 5 km during the middle of a working day has resulted in destruction, injuries and deaths.
Environmental Elements that Cause Illness: A Note from Krista Peterson
Pesticides, plastics, and VOCs are some of the numerous chemicals that come to mind when we think about pollutants. However, not all substances that can contaminate our air and water are manmade. Many materials found in nature can become pollutants if we misuse them.
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What to Listen to, and Read, this Week
Consider this an open thread. Let other readers of this blog know what you are listening to, and reading, this week by way of a comment.
And consider donating to the continued operation of this blog. There is an orange button at the top right hand corner of this page.
This blog is about community, and access to information. Information that is not politically correct or even fashionable… But hopefully well considered.
Interim Findings from Water Inquiry
‘INDEPENDENT MP Tony Windsor has raised three interim findings from his House of Representatives Murray Darling Basin inquiry, highlighting the potentially detrimental impacts of the “Swiss cheese effect” of water buy backs on irrigation districts. Mr Windsor, as Chairman of the Regional Australia Committee, which is conducting the inquiry, has written to Water Minister Tony Burke and Regional Australia Minister Simon Crean raising the Committee’s concerns.
‘In doing so, the Committee has asked that more strategic buy back arrangements be considered as a matter of urgency.
‘As well as highlighting the “Swiss cheese effect”, the Committee has also raised unanimous concerns about the impact of the current taxation arrangements on irrigators, resulting from water reform such as grants for investments in water efficiency.
‘Concerns have also been raised about implications of the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s consideration of overbank flows in their modelling of water requirements on environmental icon sites and in consultation with stakeholders, opportunities for engineering alternatives.
And via: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_188277774537703&id=189701537728660
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.