Global economic crisis won’t help climate talks: PM

ABC News

Looking towards the Copenhagen meeting later this year, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said the current economic crisis will make it even harder for the world to agree on a joint approach to global warming.

posted by seamas on March 27, 2009 at 10:47 pm · filed under

Reef Watch (Noarlunga Reef SA, Mar 29)

Conservation Council of South Australia

The Conservation Council of South Australia’s Reef Watch program invites volunteer divers to join its Fish Count this Sunday, March 29th. This year’s event will focus specifically on conducting a fish census at the Noarlunga Reef Aquatic Reserve.

posted by seamas on March 27, 2009 at 10:40 pm · filed under

CSIRO predicts noxious weed threat from climate change

CSIRO

Australias changing climate may result in an increased environmental threat from the spread southward of both native and introduced weeds, according to a CSIRO study. Weeds cost Australia more than A$4 billion a year either in control or lost production and cause serious damage to the environment.

posted by patrick on March 27, 2009 at 1:03 pm · filed under

Cyclone Hamish hits Great Barrier Reef

ABC News

Southern sections of the Great Barrier Reef have been heavily damaged by Cyclone Hamish, with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority fearing it is the worst damage the reef has sustained from cyclones in the last 30 years.  Industry Associations are calling on the Queensland Government to declare sections of the reef a disaster zone.  The Government is yet to respond.

posted by ruby on March 25, 2009 at 4:11 pm · filed under

Minister Wong in Washington

Department of Climate Change and Water

Climate Change and Water Minister Penny Wong left for the United States today to meet the Obama administration and hold talks on Australian-American strategies for the post-2012 UNFCCC commitment period.

posted by ruby on March 25, 2009 at 4:05 pm · filed under

Victoria’s climate policies could be ineffective

The Age

A Victorian Government assessment obtained by The Age says the State’s climate policies won’t help Australia reach its greenhouse emissions reduction targets and calls for a rethink. According to The Age, the leaked brief also lends more credibility to concerns voiced by some environmentalists and economists that voluntary household actions to reduce carbon emissions will simply take the pressure off big polluters to really cut emissions, due to the restricted industrial scope of the Rudd Government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

posted by seamas on March 23, 2009 at 7:53 am · filed under

Cleaning up Moreton Island oil will take months

ABC News

It will take a minimum of two months work to clean Moreton Island’s oil affected beaches according to Queensland State Premier Anna Bligh. The island has been particularly badly affected by oil spilled from a ship called the Pacific Adventurer, which was breached in heavy seas earlier this month. More than 200,000 litres of oil is believed to have escaped the ship, with the slick reaching long stretches of the Queensland coast. Affected Sunshine Coast beaches have already been cleaned up and reopened.

The Australian Navy is still working to recover missing ammonium nitrate containers believed to have sunk to the ocean floor.

posted by seamas on March 23, 2009 at 7:42 am · filed under