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We gather and publish a wide range of links to nature related news from 400 sources, including government, councils, environmental groups, companies and media outlets. We cover many nature related topics including; conservation, rejuvenation, wildlife, agriculture and food, energy and mining, climate change, business, politics, transport, weather, technology, science, health, education, art and more. You can 'Follow by Email' to receive a daily update in your inbox, or 'Like' us on Facebook. If you have an idea for a story please let us know. johnrm26466@hotmail.com
WEDNESDAY, 13TH MARCH 2013

 SOUTH AUSTRALIA

 Protect sea lions, sharks, dolphins and whales off Kangaroo Island.

A group of dedicated wildlife volunteers in South Australia has taken on the huge task of rescuing and caring for a growing number of sick and injured koalas.

Tiger Pipefish (Filicampus tigris) recorded in False Bay by Cuttlefish Country crew.

A bus powered by electricity and diesel fuel is on trial in the Adelaide CBD.

Nature Foundation SA welcomes Ian Atkinson as their new Chief Executive Officer. Ian Atkinson has over thirty years’ experience in agriculture and natural resource management.

Combining chicken poo with biochar could be the next up and coming alternative fertiliser for farmers. Biochar is a type of charcoal which is made out of agricultural residue or organic waste and can be used as a slow release fertiliser.

Biosecurity SA is urging South Australian sheep and cattle owners or managers to make their opinions known on improved national on-farm animal welfare standards which were released yesterday for consultation.

SARDI Sustainable Systems has received funding to look at ways to reduce sheep and cow "burps," the source of much of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

Mount Gambier City Council has flagged the immediate removal of 23 towering mature trees in the Valley Lake and Vansittart Park playground recreational areas to reduce the risk of heavy limbs falling on children or vehicles.

PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture is urging fishers to brush up on the rules related to Rocklobster fishing, after Limestone Coast Fisheries Officers detected several serious offences in recent weeks.

A report has been released into an assessment of four River Murray sites considered to be at high risk of riverbank collapse.

The Alwin Clements Prize in Natural History grant is available for students wishing to undertake PhD studies in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide in research directly related to the conservation, preservation or ecology of Australian native flora or fauna.

Eyre Peninsula’s land, water, coast and marine managers are now being invited to submit NRM project proposals to access funding opportunities should they become available. This includes individuals as well as local government, community, volunteer and agricultural groups.

Upper Eyre Peninsula farmers have reported an outbreak of one of agriculture's worst noxious weeds.

Read the latest beautiful edition of ReLeaf from Trees For Life


AUSTRALIA
About a dozen objections to Tasmania's World Heritage Area nomination have been sent to the UNESCO committee in Paris.

The chairman of a Central West Farmers Association council has told the Premier Barry O'Farrell to stay out of pest management issues. The state government has put on a hold a plan to allow hunting in nearly 80 parks across New South Wales.

Vaccine for Tasmanian Devil facial tumour one step closer.

Australia could be fuelling aeroplanes with waste from crops and plantation timber within three to five years according to a key research institute.

Senator Waters spoke to the media in response to Minister Burke's announcement for reforms to the environment laws around CSG.

THE federal government's expert scientific panel has raised the alarm about the cumulative impact of Queensland's $40 billion coal-seam gas developments on underground water supplies.

Right now, all around this mighty continent, the people are rising. We have united together in the greatest social movement this country has ever seen, and we are ready to stand up and fight for the future of this great big backyard of ours.

Upper Plenty (Victoria) residents offer reward in hunt for hillbilly kangaroo killers.

A watering hole in the Murray Sunset National Park has been restored several months after environmental authorities filled it in.

Rare plants and sea-birds are starting to re-establish on a remote island off the coast of Port Stephens NSW, after a successful long-term pest eradication program.

A risk assessment of erosion-control measures in Byron Bay has identified privately constructed walls on the Belongil Spit as having the greatest impact on coastal processes.

Turtles are among the most endangered vertebrates on Earth: roughly half of the world's 300 species are threatened with extinction.

The Rainbow Warrior is an icon of non-violent direct action for a green and peaceful future -- a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world. She’ll be here within days to help save the Great Barrier Reef from the reckless expansion of the coal industry.

Why Do People Commit To Behavior Which Consistently Lacks Moral or Ethical Principles

A giant exotic snail has been humanely destroyed after being found crawling across the concrete at a Brisbane container yard.

South west Queensland graziers taking part in a new pig baiting trial say they have had disappointing results.
www.abc.net.au
INTERNATIONAL
Scientists say they have discovered one of the wonders of the natural world in Papua New Guinea. The scientists spent four weeks surveying the Hindenburg Wall - a 50-kilometre stretch of spectacular limestone escarpments in the far west.

Lemon sharks are able to make and maintain social networks, despite the lack of Facebook and Twitter—and learn from their interactions, according to recent research.

Five shark species win protection against finning trade

Radiation from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant disaster in Japan is now actively in the ecosystem all along the North American west coast.

Indian coal power plants kill 120,000 people a year and could cause a staggering 20 million new asthma cases.

The Associated Press has a breaking investigative story out today revealing that the Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency censored a smoking gun scientific report in March 2012 that ... would have explicitly linked methane migration to hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in Weatherford, a city with 25,000+ citizens.

The atmospheric observation station at Mauna Loa in Hawaii has recorded the highest ever amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, and the evidence suggests that the rate of CO2 input is increasing

Japan says it has successfully extracted methane hydrate, known as "fire ice", from its seabed, possibly unlocking many years worth of gas for the country.

The small, landlocked country of Bhutan is aiming to increase its national happiness by becoming the first country in the world to completely shift to organic farming. About 80 per cent of Bhutan's 800,000 residents depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

The United States government's US Agency for International Development has launched a series of climate change projects in the Pacific.

A UK cycling expert says city planners need to consider more than car commuters when solving transport problems.

Experts from the University of Lincoln and the University of Exeter have warned that climate change could cause dozens of lizard species to become extinct within the next 50 years.




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SATURDAY, 9TH MARCH 2013

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The Wilderness Society South Australia; ACTION STATION: Do you want to have your say on Bight Petroleum's plans to test and drill in the waters off of Kangaroo Island? Follow the link and sign the online referral response submission petition.

Unprecedented change in the global energy market will have deep-reaching economic, political and environmental effects, an Adelaide forum has heard.

Primary Industries has concluded a fish die-off on Eyre Peninsula was likely to have resulted from unusual weather.

Southern Elephant Seal Rescued

A controversial super trawler docked at Port Lincoln since September has set sail. Legislation was announced in September to ban the ship from fishing in Australia for two years while more scientific work is completed.

Today Patrick from BZE, Philippa from 100percent and Dan from AYCC presented to the select enquiry on solar thermal in state parliament.

Balancing environmental protection with tourism and commercial activities can be a difficult task. The recently-approved Kangaroo Island Fly Neighbourly Advice (FNA) aims to achieve a balance between aviation activities and environmental and conservation interests.

The South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management (SA MDB NRM) Board has sponsored ten places for dryland Mallee farmers to attend Managing Farms in a Changing Climate Conference.

Invasive weeds and overgrazing are being blamed for a rising number of sick and malnourished southern hairy-nosed wombats in the Murraylands region of eastern South Australia.

As the weather starts to cool down, and it is becoming darker earlier in the evening, tours of the Arid Recovery Reserve will begin again for the year.

Out on our southern beaches this long, hot weekend? Flag your support for Hooded Plovers by reporting sightings!

Parks Week ends today with a salute to the Friends of Belair National Park. Roll up your sleeves and pitch in on their next working bee on Tue Mar 12

Adelaide Activist Skillshare 2013

AUSTRALIA

A suspicious bushfire has ended an epic tree sit-in in a remote southern Tasmanian forest. Miranda Gibson spent 457 days living up a tree in protest at the logging of old growth forests.

To commemorate 2 years since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, people directly affected will visit Australia (Melbourne) TODAY to share their stories of radiation and resilience and see where uranium is mined and exported to Japan. Speakers:Akira Kawasaki, Peace Boat Organisation, Tokyo Hasegawa Kenichi, a farmer from the Iitate Village, Fukushima Tomohiro Matsuoka, Japanese for Peace, Melbourne

Green groups say the Queensland Government's decision to re-open state forests to logging is a devastating blow for the environment but the timber industry is backing the decision.

Recent news the State Government intends to allow logging in two million hectares of "protected" area is one of several recent decisions to dismay people who love Queensland's natural environment.

Coal seam gas (CSG) wells in Queensland’s Darling Downs are leaking at a greater rate than first thought, potentially proving to farmers, businesses and homeowners that their fears have been justified.

Drew Hutton of Lock the Gate launches 'Call to Country'

The battle over coal seam gas mining has reached Victoria. The industry there has just started to explore. Victorian landholders are following farmers in New South Wales and Queensland and starting to protest against any moves to explore and mine coal seam gas.

The Northern Territory Environment Centre is calling on federal politicians to consider stronger laws on coal seam and shoal gas mining.

The federal independent MP Tony Windsor says politicians should be considering a move straight from a carbon tax to an emissions trading scheme as soon as possible.

NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker has not met the state's climate change council - a group set up to advise the government - for more than a year, despite repeated pleas during the recent heatwaves and floods.

Allowing the Lower Hunter's air quality to deteriorate would expose the entire community to an unacceptable health risk that would cost the health system millions of dollars extra each year, a Newcastle doctor warned on Thursday night.

Some said extra dams were the answer. Others said water shouldn't be given away too freely to mining companies. These were just two of the ideas raised this week at an open forum on the future of water in Mount Isa.

Australia's only freshwater research centre focussed on the Murray Darling basin will close if it doesn't get ongoing funding from State and Federal Governments.

"If turtles are getting sick and if they are dying, then we know there is something seriously wrong with the water... Turtles are suffering because the Reef is suffering."

Supporters of the bilby are vowing to keep fighting in the wake of the deaths of scores of the threatened marsupials and serious charity funding woes.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) says divers have killed more than 60,000 coral-eating starfish in less than eight months.

Apart from the weather, Tasmanians - and visitors to the state are talking about the higher than normal number of roadkill they are seeing.

Around 10,000 signatures have been collected by the National Parks Association in an effort to reverse the NSW Government's decision to allow hunting in parks as part of a pest eradication program.

Tasmania's Tarkine region has been ranked number one in a collection of the world's great wilderness areas by an American news channel.

Scientists from the University of Western Australia say they have been surprised by the impact of Cyclone Rusty on the sea off the Pilbara coast.

Researchers have discovered the fossil of a giant sea predator that lived 360 million years ago off New South Wales.

Rubber vine 'canaries' help eradicate weed

An Australian winery is aiming to be the first in the world to produce enough carbon credits to cover its emissions.

Check out the judges award and people's choice award winner of the 30 second film category for the Love Food Film Comp

Kathryn Hansen is a 35-year-old, stay-at-home mum from Palmerston in the Northern Territory ... and she farms flies.

Postcards from Booderee 

INTERNATIONAL

Reynaldo - Rainforest Hero 

The 16th CITES conference in Bangkok...Thailand is one of the hubs of the world's illegal wildlife trade, particularly ivory.

Earth is on track to becoming the hottest it has been at any time in the past 11.3 millennia, a period spanning the history of human civilisation, a new study says.

The Scariest Climate Change Graph Just Got Scarier

The potential risks and benefits of high volume hydraulic fracturing, also called “hydrofracking” or “fracking,” have been a source of ongoing debate among physicians, politicians, the oil and gas industry and the general public. The debate is about American self-sufficiency in energy supply, and issues surrounding the American economy, ecology and public health.

Tens of thousands of 'frenzied' sharks gather off coast of Sunshine State South Florida

An energy group working to revitalise the coconut industry in the Federated States of Micronesia says it could have far reaching implications for the rest of the Pacific region.

Rainbow Eucalyptus trees on Maui, Hawaii



 
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Environmental Minister Tony Burke: Stop the Seismic Surveys and Oil Drilling near Kangaroo Island.

Seismic testing shoots extremely loud blasts of compressed air through the oceans and deep into the bedrock under the seafloor to help locate oil and gas deposits. Research has shown that this greatly interferes with normal marine life and can cause deafness and even death in mammals and fish. Exploration companies state that 'fish and other marine life will survive because they will leave the blasting area.' The waters of Kangaroo Island are one of only three known feeding areas for the endangered blue whale, and are a key feeding and breeding area for many other whale species.

Bight Petroleum has lodged an application to conduct seismic surveying for future oil and gas exploration around the waters of Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

An oil spill would devastate the ecology of Kangaroo Island and destroy the tourism and fishing industries of Kangaroo Island, and other parts of South Australia.




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Thursday, 7th March 2013

 SOUTH AUSTRALIA

 People of Adelaide have again brought Port Augusta’s push for solar thermal to the attention of government ministers, however this time Prime Minister Julia Gillard was the target audience.


A few weeks after becoming the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Mr Ian Hunter has visited the Natural Resources Centre in Murray Bridge.

Today South Australians will join a national call to federal MPs to control the reckless fossil fuel expansion taking place across the country. 

Australia's mining exploration industry is now officially in decline.

The Civil Contractors Federation has welcomed a forestry study designed to stimulate the south-east South Australian economy but says action is needed.

History is in the process of being made at the Adelaide University. More than $50 million is being invested into a new animal research centre at the university's Roseworthy campus.

In a move to further safeguard snapper stocks, PIRSA Fisheries and Aquaculture has released a proposal to introduce snapper special closures for public consultation.

Murray's death by a thousand cuts.
Arid Recovery is opening up the reserve for members of the public to see the environment the organisation protects. The first tour will be held next month when the reserve officially opens to the public.

SARDI Sustainable Systems has received funding to look at ways to reduce sheep and cow "burps," the source of much of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.

Industry groups, the RSPCA and Government have highlighted the importance of animal welfare standards in giving consumers greater confidence in the livestock industry.

Environmental & Biodiversity Services (EBS) is pleased to announce the launch of a new service - EBS Heritage. EBS Heritage provides cultural heritage services incorporating Indigenous, European and built heritage.

Eyre Peninsula’s land, water, coast and marine managers are now being invited to submit. NRM project proposals to access funding opportunities should they become available.

Here is a list of Adelaide restaurants currently with shark fin soup on their menu.

Petition to the South Australian Government: Stop the closure of Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary in South Australia.

"Joy" - one of the many wombats rescued and brought back to health by Wombat Awareness Organisation. Brigitte Stevens will be bringing two wombats to our AGM for you to meet.

Hairy Nosed Day is on the 11th of May each year. Following a successful launch in 2012, The Wombat Foundation is urging all Australians to Wear Whiskers for Wildlife next Hairy Nosed Day.

FOOD SA ENEWS, MARCH 2013


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Tuesday, 5th March 2013

 SOUTH AUSTRALIA

 The chief economist of international oil giant BP, says there needs to more discussion about the implications of coal seam gas drilling and extraction. Christof Ruhl says the natural gas energy source is too plentiful and too precious not to use. He also says BP has to do things better after the disastrous oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

123 records set in 90 days. Climate change is putting our weather on steroids.

Kangaroo Island Council has rejected a proposal to create more conservation parks on the island. The South Australian Environment Department wants to proclaim two new parks and increase the size of five others, over a total area of 580 hectares.

Authorities hope to establish within a day or two why thousands of fish were found dead on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Thousands of young leather jackets washed up in the Port Neill area.

Fisheries officers are investigating the discovery of a shark corpse with the jaws removed. The four-metre great white was found at September Beach in Lincoln National Park on lower Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.

THE Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary says it will take legal action against people found attacking the Port River dolphins, and is encouraging people to report dangerous behaviour.

The quality of drinking water in South Australia is now covered by new regulations.

A push by Coles to reshape the free-range egg market through a dramatic reduction in space for hens has come under fire, after two animal welfare groups questioned whether the eggs are genuinely free-range.

One of the world's rarest birds has had its best breeding season in years. There were fears for the Orange Bellied Parrot after only one bird was spotted during the winter conservation counts across South Australia and Victoria.

Catastrophic bushfires, damaging rain and the most intense heatwave on record this summer are just a taste of what climate change will bring, a new report says.

Restrictions have been imposed on fishing in the Lake Eyre Basin. A new management plan includes a framework for the commercial, recreational and traditional Aboriginal fishing sectors.

Sending goats to market has now become easier and more cost effective for landholders in the Flinders Ranges.

Out of sight and out of mind for most people, thousands of horses are slaughtered in Australian abattoirs and knackeries each year — with many exported for human consumption.

A great day was had by all at Cleland Wildlife Park for Parks Week. Hundreds of families turned out to get amongst the celebrations.

Trees For Life has a new bushcare site at Flinders University. If you want to be involved in caring for the site - and learning about biodiversity and bush regeneration - a one day workshop is being held at the campus on April 6. If you just want to visit the site for a few hours to see what bush regeneration involves, we're holding a Come n Try day at the Flinders Uni.

Would you love to get outdoors and celebrate the start of Autumn by doing some hands-on environmental conservation? We invite you to join our Lochiel Park team this Saturday.

Come down to Henley Square on Friday 15th March to see this fantastic movie: Described as An 'Inconvenient Truth' meets 'Super Size Me'; The Clean Bin Project

FREE field day - RABBITS and FOXES: a common pest; Wasleys, Mid North; 9 March

An Echidna takes a dip

Visit Adelaide Zoo’s Zoomobile at the Kid’s Fringe for a fun, hands-on experience where children will see, touch and learn about some of the unique creatures at Adelaide Zoo.

Help care for the Port River and its dolphins by joining the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Volunteer Group Steering Committee.

Clean Up Australia Day

AUSTRALIA

 Seafish Tasmania, the operator of a super trawler that has been banned from fishing in Australian waters, has surrendered the ship's Australian registration.

The Sun Laurel has now turned around and is heading south again and this can only indicate that the Nisshin Maru has also turned and is heading south. Although there are very few days left in the whaling season, there is still the possibility that the Nisshin Maru can refuel and return for a few days of whaling.

A Federal Court judge has ruled the Northern Territory's container deposit scheme is illegal under Commonwealth law.

Environmentalists say the Federal Government's decision to approve seismic testing off Victoria's south-west coast could endanger blue whale populations.

Victorian Senator Richard Di Natale of the Australian Greens has defended the role of science in policymaking during the debate on the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Excessive Noise from Wind Farms) Bill.

According to recent research conducted by the Clean Energy Council, wind farming has reportedly generated more than $4 billion in investment in Australia since its introduction. Much of this investment has been in rural and regional towns.

Conservationists have warned against moves to weaken environmental protections for NSW’s forests, in the wake of a controversial decision by the Queensland Government [1] to open more than a million hectares of protected forests to logging.

Wildlife campaigner Bob Irwin has made a rare public appeal, calling for a stop to the killing of dugongs and turtles by Aborigines.

Wildlife carers on the Fraser Coast are worried many endangered animals were severely affected in the recent floods in south-east Queensland.

Last year a young green turtle was found washed up and in agony on a lonely stretch of beach on the Great Barrier Reef. Too weak to swim or feed the turtle was not far from death. She was just one of an estimated 1,800 turtles that have suffered the same fate in the past year. Something is wrong on the Reef and turtles are paying the price.

Narrabri's sixth annual Carp Muster has hauled in over half-a-tonne of the exotic pest.

Are environmental impact assessments (EIAs) achieving what they were designed to achieve? Do they do a good job of protecting Australia’s diverse environments and their inhabitants for future generations? If not, what can be done to improve them?

North Queensland manta rays - the angels of the ocean - are in boom numbers feeding on a post-flood surge in plankton on the Great Barrier Reef.

A female southern elephant seal has been delighting Maria Island staff and visitors since it arrived last Wednesday.

A conservation enclosure for an endangered nocturnal species of wallaby, the mala, has been rebuilt at Kings Canyon in central Australia.

On a perfect autumn day, The Age newspaper hired a seaplane to fly Bob Brown down to the Gordon River, along with journalist Adam Morton and a photographer from The Age.

The NSW Department of Planning & Infrastructure is reviewing the future of our natural areas - protect for the future or erase for development? Our wider community treasures its natural environment, and together we need to let them know that we want our natural areas protected from inappropriate development.

WetlandCare Australia partners, BirdLife Australia and Byron Bird Buddies are holding a workshop about the Conservation of Beach-nesting Birds in Byron Bay, 3rd April 

Katherine locals were out in force in Nitmiluk National Park for Parks Week 2013 celebrations

Clean Up Australia Day

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