Aussie Enviro

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/36765344

The Albanese government overhauled policy and promised significant pollution cuts – but carbon offsets are still being used as an excuse

Wow, one day we may be able to converse with sperm whales!

The Mountain Pygmy-possum lives only in alpine and subalpine areas on the highest mountains of Victoria and NSW. The total population has grown in the last few years but it is still less than one thousand. Adults average 40g (less than one and a half ounces for US folk) but vary from 30 grams in spring up to 80 grams in autumn when they fatten for winter hibernation. They are our only hibernating marsupial and the only Australian mammal to be entirely restricted to the alpine zone above the winter snowline; it is dependent on the insulation provided by snow for its survival.

You say it looks like a mouse? Well, it's a little larger in size, its tail is part furry and coiled, it has 5 (not 4) front toes, and joined (syndactyl) second and third back toes.

The MPP lives on the ground in rocky areas where boulders have accumulated below mountain peaks. It survives winter by fattening in late summer and autumn and hibernating for up to seven months, from autumn until the snow melts in spring. Seventy percent of the diet is invertebrates such as the migratory Bogong Moth, caterpillars, beetles, spiders and millipedes; the remainder comprises fruits and seeds.

One litter of four young are produced in spring; young are independent by late summer; breeds when one year old; average longevity is two to three years but females may live up to thirteen years and males five years.

This is the latest video I've found of the MPP. There are others but they are older so some of the figures given are not up to date. The video shows that recently MPPs have been studied and bred in a sanctuary with the hope of keeping them from extinction. https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/animals/dozen-critically-endangered-mountain-pygmy-possums-successfully-bred/vi-AA1YOTSn

I wouldn't call the decision incomprehensible. I'd call it irresponsible and ecocidal. 😡

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/31732255

It looks like OpenStreetMap has them listed as a garden, which I think makes sense: https://www.openstreetmap.org/query?lat=-33.887330&lon=151.199083

An official South Australian estimate says 5.62 billion plastic produce stickers enter the Australian produce supply chain every year. At an average of just 0.02 grams each, that's more than 112 tonnes of stickers annually...

This is symbolic of a much bigger problem: the creeping, insidious nature of plastic pollution and the way responsibility is shifted away from the companies that create it. These stickers suit supermarkets, packers and automated checkout systems. But the cost is pushed onto composters, councils, gardeners, soil and - eventually - our health.

The evidence is strongest on two things. First, these stickers break down into microplastics, which combined with the forever chemicals in their inks, poison our soils, food systems and health. Second, alternatives already exist. Compostable labels made from cellulose, wood pulp and starch-based materials are technically viable. Laser marking can remove the sticker altogether in some cases. What's missing isn't innovation. It's political will.

So here is what should happen. Governments should legislate a rapid transition away from plastic produce stickers and require certified compostable, non-toxic alternatives wherever labels are still needed. And in the meantime, all of us need to do our best to keep these stickers out of compost and FOGO...

As the weekend draws near I hope you find some time to watch this video of a diverse range of Aussie wildlife that enjoy a creek and its surrounds. Animals filmed by a trail camera over one day include platypus, water dragon, wedge-tailed eagle and more. Look at these unique creatures, listen to the sounds of birds and water. Relax...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3l06KAvQvY

Fast fashion’s environmental toll is being addressed head-on by Australia’s first Textile Recovery Facility in Ipswich, Qld, run by Salvos Stores.

It is capable of processing up to 5,000 tonnes of textile waste annually, and it operates with advanced AI and robotics which sort and decontaminate textiles, separate materials and remove zippers and buttons. Resaleable items are sent to Salvos Stores, while non-wearable textiles are channelled into recycling and recovery.

With Australians buying an average of 27 kilograms of clothing each year (😮 😠), let's hope this $4.97 million Queensland Government-backed initiative is replicated all over the country. Surely there must be others. If you know, let us know.

Human-driven threats facing Antarctic wildlife are many, and cumulative. To respond, we need to better protect Antarctic habitat and the species that live there. We need to reduce the interaction of marine species with industrial fishing. And we must improve how we assess current and suspected threats in Antarctica, when there is growing evidence of impacts.

Defining these animals as endangered is a stark reminder of how quickly Antarctica is changing before our eyes. Without a rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and sustained conservation action, these species may be lost forever.

To the fossil fuel industry, seismic blasting is a standard surveying technique. To marine life, it can be devastating.

A growing body of scientific research shows seismic blasting seriously harms marine ecosystems from the smallest plankton to the largest whales. The impacts are not isolated; they ripple through the entire ocean’s food web...

In 2024, Kooyong independent MP Monique Ryan introduced the Abolition of Special Prospecting Authorities (Ocean Protection) Bill 2024, seconded by Liberal MP Bridget Archer, to end the issuing of seismic blasting Special Prospecting Authority permits. These permits allow speculative and repeated exploration of vast ocean areas. This bill was put forward as part of efforts to declare a moratorium on seismic blasting for fossil fuels, and to put an end to offshore fossil fuel approvals.

Taken together, the inquiry and the bill tell a clear story. The science has been heard. The policy response has been proposed.

What remains is political will.

Australia already possesses decades of geological data from previous surveys, much of it held by Geoscience Australia. Our offshore basins are among the most extensively mapped anywhere in the world.

Continuing to blast vast areas of ocean in search of new fossil fuel reserves is increasingly difficult to justify, particularly as Australia moves toward cleaner energy.

Our oceans are under immense pressure from climate change, warming waters, coral bleaching, overfishing and pollution. Adding relentless underwater explosions to that list only compounds the damage.

Now is the time to act: revive and implement the reforms proposed in Dr Ryan’s bill, heed the warnings of the Senate inquiry and end seismic blasting of our oceans.

The ocean does not need more blasting. It needs protection.

https://thepoint.com.au/opinions/260414-wip-evidence-of-harms-from-seismic-blasting-is-clear-but-policy-has-not-caught-up

For decades, this little lizard was thought to be an isolated population of a widespread skink. However, through a research collaboration between Wiimpatja and scientists we have confirmed it as a distinct species found nowhere else on Earth.

We have been monitoring them for 25 years. We believe there may be only be up to 20 individual kungaka remaining. It may be one of Australia’s rarest reptiles.

As if we needed more reasons to cool down the atmosphere. These conditions affect North Australia and all our neighbours in the tropics and we now have the economic fall out from the West Asian war only increasing.

Spare a thought for tannins, and be surprised, like:

Tannins leached into soil can play an important role in the rate of litter decomposition, which is important to ecosystem function.

When tannin levels are high, they slow down litter decomposition. That means the leaf litter can be a food source for bugs for a long time. It also reduces soil drying and protects soil microbes.

There's much to learn about how helpful tannins can be and according to the article so much more to learn in the future.

There will be parents here who want to protect their children's future in terms of the climate challenges that are ahead.

Parents for Climate say they are Australia’s leading climate advocacy organisation for parents, carers, families and all who care about a safe future for kids. They educate and empower supporters and have 26,000 members across 60 electorates.

Founded in 2019 by six regional, rural and urban mums in four states and territories, we've grown rapidly to fill a critical gap in the climate movement. We are a parent organisation, run by parents for parents.

They are putting on morning and evening interactive online sessions on 21 April, Find Your Role with Parents for Climate , where you can get an overview of their work at both the national and local levels, and ask questions.

https://www.parentsforclimate.org/find_your_role

Until today I didn't know that Sea World on the Gold Coast is breeding polar bears and dolphins in captivity.

Polar bears, you read that right, bred in our sub-tropics in enclosures where they have only a fraction of the space they would have in the wild.

And dolphins, who can cover up to 100 kilometres a day in the wild, are made to live in an artificial lagoon. On top of this, they’re repeatedly exposed to the noise of rollercoasters, helicopter flights and crowds.

Sea World is allowed to continue breeding these intelligent animals for decades in captivity to entertain tourists. The era of animal circuses is still with us. I find this sad, cruel and backward.

If you want the breeding of polar bears and dolphins for entertainment in Australia to stop, want more information, or want to sign a letter to the Qld govt and Sea World please see: https://www.worldanimalprotection.org.au/take-action/stop-breeding-polar-bears-dolphins-australia/#action

At the moment I'm looking to change some wildlife watering spots in the garden that won't attract cane toads and I came across this great little video with different ideas. They may inspire you or you may want to pass the video on to someone who has a garden, or your local school or community centre or aged care place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxa0DaoKZx4

The rise of solar power shows no sign of slowing down, with the International Energy Agency predicting it will overtake coal as the world’s biggest source of electricity next year. Behind its success is a little-known Australian inventor

Are these hipster dolphins?

Further south in Shark Bay, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins use sponges to flush fish out from the coral. They carry a sea sponge on their rostrum or snout to dig around in the seabed to stop their face getting cut up on the rocks and coral.

Australia marks 50 years of monitoring the world's cleanest air in remote northwest Tasmania at Kennaook / Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, supporting global efforts to track human-driven changes to the atmosphere.

Perched above cliff tops in northwest Tasmania, the station plays a critical role in measuring the composition of the atmosphere, including greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane, as well as reactive gases and aerosols, and more than 80 polluting gases including ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Another example of Australian manufacturing rising to meet the climate challenges of our Century.