Cod stocks collapse in the EU

The Guardian

European Union commissioner for fisheries Maria Damanaki has warned that if the EU do not make moves to reform their fisheries policies and reduce overfishing, only 8% of the 136 fish stocks in EU waters will be at sustainable levels by 2022. Following the collapse of cod stocks in the Irish Sea and off the west coast of Scotland, the European Commission recommended this week that all cod fishing in the area cease.

posted by ruby on October 1, 2011 at 3:24 am · filed under

Fukushima-Daiichi radiation levels still high

New Scientist

Six months after the Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami, radiation levels remain high at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant. It was expected that the radioactive iodine, caesium and plutonium from Fukushima would disperse into the Pacific Ocean, however current levels indicate that contaminated water could still be leaking into the sea from the nuclear plant, or that the contamination is being trapped in the area by ocean currents.

posted by ruby on October 1, 2011 at 3:16 am · filed under

UN report on extreme weather

The Sydney Morning Herald

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that a new report on extreme weather events will be released later this year, which will support previous findings natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity around the world, including bush fires, droughts and floods.  The report finds that Australia is particularly vulnerable, but predicts it will better able to adapt than developing countries like Burma and Bangladesh.

posted by ruby on May 17, 2011 at 8:18 am · filed under

Business leaders want incentives over taxes

The Australian

Some business leaders are calling for the government to dump its carbon tax plan, with Seven Group Holdings chief executive saying that incentivising emissions cuts will work better than a tax.  The Queensland Labor government, meanwhile, has made a submission to the federal government’s multi-party climate change committee in which it calls for support to emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industries and coalminers that’s at least as generous as the approach agreed to under Kevin Rudd’s proposed ETS, which was blocked by the Greens for its leniency.

posted by ruby on May 17, 2011 at 8:14 am · filed under

Abbott calls for carbon election

Sydney Morning Herald

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has called for an election to test the government’s carbon tax proposal at an anti-tax rally in Canberra.

posted by ruby on March 23, 2011 at 12:40 pm · filed under

Bottled water banned on campus

ABC News

The University of Canberra has banned the sale of bottled water on campus after a campaign by students concerned about sustainability.  Organisers estimate the ban could stop 140,000 plastic bottles a year from landfill.

posted by ruby on March 23, 2011 at 12:35 pm · filed under

Friends of the Earth reject MPCCC decision on ETS

Friends of the Earth Australia

Friends of the Earth Australia has condemned the Multi Party Climate Change Committee (MPCCC) announcement of a pathway of an interim price ‘hard-wired’ to become an emissions trading scheme.

Climate justice spokesperson Holly Creenaune has said that FoE is “concerned this is a resurrection of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS), which was rejected in the Senate and failed to win public support because it was worse than doing nothing.”

posted by ruby on March 23, 2011 at 12:27 pm · filed under