Drone deployed in whaling fight

The Age

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has announced it is using a donated military-style remote controlled drone to track the Japanese whaling fleet. The new technology gives the protest group a new edge in its campaign of direct interventions to stop whaling.

Earlier this month it was revealed that the Japanese Government is using $29 million from its tsunami reconstruction fund to support the whaling industry. Greenpeace has questioned whether this money is being siphoned away from real victims of the disaster.

posted by seamas on December 28, 2011 at 7:22 am · filed under

Call for intervention over fatal crackdown on Indonesian mine protest

EngageMedia

Friends of the Earth is calling on the Australian Government to intervene after the reported death of three and critical wounding of nine more protesters by Indonesian Police on the island of Sumbawa. FoE says the community was protesting against the opening of the Bima Gold Mine due to environmental concerns when police opened fire. The mine is a joint venture by Indonesia’s Sumber Mineral Nusantara and Australian owned Arc Exploration.

posted by seamas on December 27, 2011 at 3:52 pm · filed under

Greenpeace opposes nation’s largest coal mine

Greenpeace Australia Pacific

Greenpeace is calling on the Queensland Government to reject an application by mining company Waratah Coal to create Australia’s biggest ever coal mine in the Galilee Basin. The group claims the proposed “China First” mine will see open cut mining in the 8000-hectare Bimblebox Nature reserve and result in millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions.

posted by seamas on December 26, 2011 at 3:15 pm · filed under

Forest clearing spikes in New South Wales

Sydney Morning Herald

A concerning spike in forest clearing in New South Wales is revealed in a newly released government report. A total of 42,700 hectares of trees were cleared for forestry, farming or infrastructure in 2010; that’s 38% more than the previous year and almost double the average seen over recent decades. About half of the forest was cleared for crops and grazing, SMH’s Ben Cubby reports. The spike means logging is closing in on bushfires as the biggest cause of forest destruction in the state. Although the government claims no net loss of forest when accounting for regrowth, conservation groups are concerned it is not doing enough to prevent clearing of habitat and watersheds.

posted by seamas on December 23, 2011 at 7:02 am · filed under

Lake Eyre Basin rivers and wetlands protected

The Wilderness Society

The Wilderness Society reports that a whopping 4.5 million hectares of land around the pristine rivers, lakes and wetlands of the Lake Eyre Basin will now be kept safe from coal seam gas and petroleum mining, irrigated agriculture and other destructive industrial activities, thanks to a decision by the Queensland Government. Ten additional Indigenous Wild River Ranger jobs will be created to help ensure the protection of these rivers.

posted by seamas on December 20, 2011 at 7:14 am · filed under

Asia Pulp & Paper greenwash exposed

WWF

Indonesian NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest and WWF are drawing attention to the hollowness of claims by Asia Pulp & Paper that it is working to protect Sumatran tiger. The company fails to acknowledge in it’s blatant greenwashing, that it has been responsible for logging more than two million hectares of Indonesia’s tropical forests in recent decades, including elephant, tiger and orang-utan habitat; and, most shockingly, even clear-cutting inside the “Senepis Tiger Sanctuary” that it claims to have helped create in Sumatra. The company had also previously tried to halt a government-proposed national park in the area.

posted by seamas on December 15, 2011 at 7:28 am · filed under

Global agreement targets climate action by 2020

ABC News

The 190 nations that participated in extended UN climate change talks in Durban, South Africa, agreed to deal on Sunday that commits them to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within a decade. The result of over two weeks of discussions is a commitment period that effectively extends the Kyoto Protocol and maps out a path to a legally binding global agreement in 2015 to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a deadline of 2020 for all countries to begin taking action.

Although Greenpeace called the deal a win for polluters and many were dismayed at the lengthy timeline for action, the deal (which now includes key players China, India and the United States) was broadly welcomed. ABC News / Reuters provides a good summary of the key measures agreed in Durban.

posted by seamas on December 12, 2011 at 7:33 am · filed under