Dargues Reef Mine Proposal

Jackie French, author of many books for children and young adults on Australia's history and wildlife is asking for support for a petition demanding that a proper and complete environmental assessment is conductied prior to the approval of
The Dargues Reef Gold Mine Project - Reference Number: 2010/5770
which is directly threatening the gully which is home to the wombats she has written so much about, numerous other endangered plants and animals, and an area identified by the Commonwealth Government as a High Conservation Value Aquatic river system.
A comprehensive submission can be found at
http://www.acr.net.au/~coastwatchers/sub122010darguesreef.html
A list of background material is being compiled at http://www.delicious.com/bimbimbi/DarguesReef
And if you would like to support this call for assitance and common sense, sign the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/dargues-reef-mine-proposal/
And go to Jackie's website and start your own petition - http://www.jackiefrench.com/petition1_darguesreef.html
Why don't we value our wildlife higher than pieces of silver?
The precautionary principle demands that a proper and complete study be done of the area. Let us not drive our native animals to extinction before our children even learn of their existance.

Victoria's Youth Parliament

For all you 16-25s interested in doing more than just talking about how you'd like to change the world, Youth Parliament Applications Open Now 2011
or go direct to http://www.victoria.ymca.org.au/youthparliament
2011 marks the 25th year of Youth Parliament in Victoria.

Libyan Mission to the UN Now Flies the Opposition Flag

This news on February 24, 2011 at 3:05 pm PST

http://www.good.is/post/awesome-photo-libyan-mission-to-the-un-now-flies-the-opposition-flag/

Now for a peaceful end

Quote

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates, in Plato, Dialogues, Apology
Greek philosopher in Athens (469 BC - 399 BC)

Lightbulb statistics

How much fuel does it take to power a lightbulb for a year?
Energy sources are compared in this infographic...
http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1012/lightbulb/flat.html
While you're at this site, have a look at some of the other infographics or go to the main page at http://www.good.is/departments/transparency/
Or go to http://www.good.is/the-energy-issue/ and contemplate what it means to turn on a light bulb!

Reality Check

(Something to ponder)

This is a straightforward article explaining that life on earth will not be exterminated by climate change and anyone who says so is being alarmist.

It’s very tongue in cheek and you need to read between the lines…

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/4090/the-sky-not-falling

For example, it briefly mentions that half the world’s population are living in areas that will be flooded, but it is also quick to reassure us that they’re not the wealthy ones so it won’t really have a great impact on our GDP.

It also mentions biodiversity (in passing) but brushes it off easily.

Interesting how a different perspective (and priority) can change the impact of the same facts – seems we’ve got another 1000 years before we have to worry about the last glacier!

Hattah Kulkyne National Park

It was difficult to choose my favorites from the December trip to Hattah Kulkyne National Park north of Ouyen in North West Victoria.
But here they are on the Flickr link...

Dear Mr Marsden

I dialed your number by mistake a few weeks ago (four weeks ago to be exact). It just happened to be a bit of a co-incidence, but although I’d thought to tell you about it, life got in the way. Until today, when another strange co-incidence indicated that I should relay the story for your amusement…

By way of background, I am a teacher librarian in a secondary boys’ school and promote the Tomorrow series as one I discovered, and enjoyed, when my son brought it home as his year 8 text in 1997. As a family, every December we’d eagerly await publication of the next in the series and frequently the new arrival would have two or three bookmarks as none of us could wait for the others to finish.

So, four weeks ago, when I walked into the video shop and discovered that TWTWB had been released to DVD, there was no contest - it was in my backpack when I arrived home that night.

My dad was in hospital at the time, recovering from heart surgery and my Tassie dwelling uncle had left a message enquiring about his brother. So TWTWB was waiting for me when, returning his call, I dialed 05 instead of 06 and heard your voice.

A good story don’t you think? One I have been telling my classes this past week as I introduce them to a selection of my favorite books in their Wider Reading program.

But today, explaining to the boys the usefulness of encyclopedias (this time in an Information Literacy class), I happened to open the volume in my hand to a random page and guess who was on the bottom right corner of the page!? It was not the John Marsden born in 1950, but it did seem to indicate that I should tell you my tale. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

Best Wishes

Judith Wakeman (Marcellin College Librarian)

PS – Loved the movie and eagerly anticipating release of the soundtrack.

Mining timber resources

After the 2009 fires in Victoria the reeling communities called for tourists to return in order to help restore a sense of normality, as they did after the 2006 fires, and as Queensland and Victorian towns have after the floods. Not once did I hear a call for loggers to resume operations as quickly as possible. Yet tourism and the fire ravaged forest are both threatened by the inflexible forestry industry and its "harvesting operations."
Harvesting is defined as the product of any action, or the outcome of any effort. Vicforest is not harvesting timber. Vicforests is mining timber - extracting the timber from its natural source.

Another timber salvage operation

If Victoria’s hardwoods are so valuable and so highly prized for furniture and furnaces that Victorian tourism opportunities are stifled and critically endangered species are pushed further towards extinction, then why is not more done to salvage timber from demolition sites?

Truckloads of hardwood framing and flooring end up as landfill while so-called green councils turn a blind eye.

Is this another example of knowing the cost but not the value? Or is the developer’s dollar worth more than our natural heritage?

Submitted to The Age 15th February 2011