Environment Victoria’s Healthy Rivers Campaign Director Mark Wakeham has welcomed the new Murray Darling Basin agreement but warned that urgent action is needed on over-allocation of the river. Mr Wakeham argued that a buyback of current water allocations was the best option for a speedy and cost-effective rescue plan for the river system.
posted by patrick on March 27, 2008 at 3:42 pm · filed under 
Federal Water Minister Penny Wong has spoken about the need for the new Murray Darling Basin Authority to come up with a long term solution to achieve true sustainability for the river system. Senator Wong expects a long term plan to be completed by 2011, using the new authority’s power to decide on water allocations for human consumption,irrigation and environmental flows.
posted by patrick on March 27, 2008 at 11:37 am · filed under
An agreement to hand over control of the Murray Darling river system to a national body has been finalised after more than a year of resistance from the Victorian Government. Despite concerns from environmental groups of a lack of detail on targets for restoration of environmental flows, Canberra and the four Murray Darling Basin state governments are claiming that real progress can now be made.
posted by patrick on March 27, 2008 at 10:17 am · filed under
“This reform will not be simple” said Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong, as she announced a timetable for the introduction of emissions trading in Australia. The timetable includes several stages of consultation before legislation is considered and trading commences in 2010.
posted by shaun on March 26, 2008 at 5:09 pm · filed under 
Developing countries such as Colombia, China, Peru, Malaysia and Venezuela have a higher percentage of land classified as a protected area than Australia. The WWF-Australia report, ‘Builiding Nature’s Safety Net 2008′ shows that even though Australia is the richest country for vertebrates, only 10.5% of the land is classified as a protected area. Experts believe at least $50 million is needed over the next 5 years to provide a safety net for Australia’s fauna however the Federal Government spends an average of $8 million annually on extending protected areas.
posted by amelia on March 26, 2008 at 12:56 pm · filed under 
On February 28, a large area of the Wilkins ice shelf broke away from Antarctica. On March 8, another 220 square miles splintered off the Peninsula’s largest ice shelf. Now an area of 5,571 square miles of shelf is threatening to break away, an area about half the size of Scotland. If the Wilkin’s ice shelf does collapse, it will join a list of seven Antarctic ice shelves that have collapsed in the last three decades.
posted by amelia on March 26, 2008 at 12:33 pm · filed under
In order to demonstrate their committment to dealing with climate change, the Victorian Government will switch off lights in government buildings on Saturday. According to Envrionment Minister, Gavin Jennings, black balloons each representing 50 grams of carbon emissions will be saved, 21 million of which are expected to be saved during the one hour demonstration of Victoria’s household committment.
posted by elisabeth on March 26, 2008 at 9:51 am · filed under
| April 21, 2008 | to | April 23, 2008 |
This workshop by Aquifer Storage and Recovery aims to increase participants’ understanding of the issues involved with water discharge into aquifers. It will address the practical steps of siting, designing, and implementing projects, from commissioning to operation and maintenance. The Victoria Hotel, Melbourne.
posted by Chen on March 24, 2008 at 9:06 pm · filed under 
The policy to compensate power producers for the effects of the carbon trading scheme has been reviewed by Rudd Government, and energy producers may no longer be given free emission permits or compensation. Coal-fired Power producers argue that without the government assistance, the value of their assets will plunge and investors will hesitate to build new power plants, resulting in power shortages. The government has declared that no decisions will be taken before further consultations with industry and community groups.
posted by Chen on March 24, 2008 at 8:21 pm · filed under
Whale, penguin, seal, albatross and other Antarctic populations may be at further risk in the future as Krill - a major link in the Antarctic food chain - dwindles. Demand for the tiny crustacean for health supplements and by fish farmers as feed is adding to what some scientists claim has been an 80% drop in krill since the late 70’s, due also, possibly, to climate change. Estimates range as to just how much krill is in the Southern Ocean, from 100 million tonnes by the British Antarctic Survey, to 400-500 million tonnes advocated by krill harvesting companies.
posted by Vinnie on March 23, 2008 at 9:58 pm · filed under
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