Crikey

Here are some of the recent highlights of Crikey’s group environment, Rooted. Click here to read a variety of news and views on the environment. Go ahead. Play your part in nourishing the national environment debate.

Australian farmers, walking the walk, by Natalie Williams: While policy makers sit in ivory towers and maybe plant a tree on the weekend, their net contribution to carbon sequestration would be a negative now and probably will be for the rest of their natural life. The ETS would be far better served charging urbanites and do-gooders who are negative carbon sequesters, and leave the real fixers of the environment to do what they do best.

Commenter Charlie said: Whatever the attitude of individual ‘urbanites’ they continue to support decision makers that treat Farmers as environmental vandals when most are not. That treatment is not a myth ! For too long we have been the victims of “environment protection on the cheap”

The people plan, by Tim Hollo: The Victorian Greens have done us all a huge favour by setting out not only what this future would look like for Melbourne, but also how to get there! By 2020, everybody in Melbourne would have access to a fast, convenient and publicly-owned network of trams, buses and trains if a plan launched yesterday by Greg Barber MLC and Greens Lord Mayoral candidate, Adam Bandt, were adopted and delivered.

Commenter mexicanbeemer said: I would go as far as to suggest replacing at least a third of Melbourne’s bus routes with Trams, yes that sounds radical but lets recall the Tram and Train network have remained basically unchained since the 1890s when Melbourne had its own Property bust. 

Why do we let them stay?, by John Hepburn. Australian businesses have known about climate change for nearly twenty years. If they still haven’t put in place a plan to deal with it, and they still want to be allowed to continue to pollute without paying any of the environmental costs then they simply do not deserve to enjoy public support any longer. What kind of responsible corporate citizen is it that threatens to pack up their bat and ball and head overseas as soon as the Australian community demands decent environmental regulation?

Commenter Twobob said: Here is a suggestion. Any business that shuts up shop in Australia and starts polluting elsewhere should have their name put on a list, and this list should be widely circulated and advertised as the list of businesses who want to destroy the planet. Try to get all nations to black ban the goods produced by these companies (or did the coalition get the law against that passed?).