Around The Web

Agency application on ecological sustainability - comments close 19 September 2014

Comments close 22 September 2014.

The Department of the Environment has released more than 1700 new maps and data that local communities can use to find threatened species in their area.

From 14 September 2014, CITES permits will be required to internationally export or import any part or derivative (e.g. fillets, fins) of the following species: Scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), Smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena)...

Agency application on ecological sustainability - comments close 16 September 2014.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has released the 2014 Outlook Report on the Reef's health, management and likely future.

Wildlife groups demand action over danger from fishing nets to vaquita marina, whose numbers are estimated at under 100

The world's smallest porpoise faces imminent extinction unless the Mexican government eliminates gill-net fishing in its only habitat, the upper Sea of Cortez, scientists have warned.

Recent studies conducted using underwater acoustic technology show that since 2012 the population of the vaquita marina – Spanish for little sea cow – has fallen to fewer than 100.

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Agency application on ecological sustainability - comments close 10 September 2014.

Rise in blocking-patterns – hot or wet weather remaining stuck over regions for weeks – causing frequent heatwaves or floods

Extreme weather like the drought currently scorching the western US and the devastating floods in Pakistan in 2010 is becoming much more common, according to new scientific research.

The work shows so-called “blocking patterns”, where hot or wet weather remains stuck over a region for weeks causing heatwaves or floods, have more than doubled in summers over the last decade. The new study may also demonstrate a link between the UK’s recent flood-drenched winter and climate change.

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Traditionally a symbol of wealth and luxury, public attitidues towards shark fin are changing in China, according to a new report

A popular dish at weddings and banquets in China, shark fin soup is increasingly off the menu due to a government frugality drive and awareness campaigns and by conservationists, according to a new report.

The trade in shark fins, a symbol of wealth in China and other parts of Asia, has led to the decline in some shark populations by up to 98% in the last 15 years. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed each year with up to 73 million used for their fins.

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Muli coalfield is illegally gobbling up a nature reserve, blasting away alpine meadows and destroying the ecosystem of the country’s second largest river, Greenpeace investigation shows

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Allan Savory tells us that increasing livestock can reduce desertification and reverse climate change – but where is the scientific evidence?

It doesn’t matter how often miracles are disproved; our willingness to believe in them remains undiminished. Miracle cures, miracle crops, miracle fuels, miracle financial instruments, miracle profits: the continued enthusiasm for these claims reflects the triumph of hope over experience.

Here’s another one: a miracle technique that allows us to reconcile our insatiable demand for meat with the need to protect the living planet. Better still, it proposes, eating meat could actually save the biosphere. A TED talk which makes this claim has been viewed 2.6m times.

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An Impact Statement, which evaluates the environmental, social and economic costs and benefits of meeting proposed standards for airborne particles, and a draft varied Ambient Air Quality NEPM is now open for public comment.

The Department has recently implemented major changes its compliance and enforcement activities under national environmental law. These changes mean we are a better regulator and can provide better protection for Australia’s environment and...

Corunastylis insignis (Wyong midge orchid 1), Corunastylis sp. Charmhaven (NSW 896673) (Wyong midge orchid 2) and Thelymitra adorata (Wyong sun orchid) listed as critically endangered under the EPBC Act effective 19 July 2014.

The Minister for the Environment has approved the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project, subject to 36 strict conditions.

Draft National Recovery Plan for the Orange-bellied Parrot, Neophema chrysogaster open for public comment. The consultation period closes 7 November 2014.

These documents are now available. The Commonwealth Environmental Water Office welcomes information from the community on how environmental water can best be managed including further suggestions on the water use options.

Study shows red meat dwarfs others for environmental impact, using 28 times more land and 11 times water for pork or chicken

Beef’s environmental impact dwarfs that of other meat including chicken and pork, new research reveals, with one expert saying that eating less red meat would be a better way for people to cut carbon emissions than giving up their cars.

The heavy impact on the environment of meat production was known but the research shows a new scale and scope of damage, particularly for beef. The popular red meat requires 28 times more land to produce than pork or chicken, 11 times more water and results in five times more climate-warming emissions. When compared to staples like potatoes, wheat, and rice, the impact of beef per calorie is even more extreme, requiring 160 times more land and producing 11 times more greenhouse gases.

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