Thirty years ago, the brown pelican was on the brink of extinction. Thanks to a ban on DDT and preservation of nesting sites, they’re back.
Conservation
Garrett says no to Traveston Dam
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has said no to the construction of the Traveston Crossing Dam near Gympie in south-east Queensland, based on environmental concerns. Conservationists say the dam threatens endangered species such as the Lungfish, Mary River Cod and Mary River Turtle.
How saving the Amazon went out of fashion
Time was, you couldn’t turn on a TV or open a magazine without seeing some do-gooder celebrity ranting about the Amazon rainforest. So why don’t we hear about it anymore? Did we save it? Er, no, says Brendan Borrell, but the issue is about to become fashionable again.
How Forestry Tasmania lost the plot
Forestry Tasmania’s treatment of protesters in the Upper Florentine has failed to stand up in court, reports Andrew Darby. But after a generation of fighting, the bitter battles over trees in Tasmania continues to grow — even if the forests don’t.
Obama’s smalls to get an airing
The founder of Project Laundry List, an effort to get Americans to give up their clothes dryers, hopes the Obamas will hang out their laundry in the White House backyard.
Minister responds to community pressure on black swans
There are smarter solutions that do not kill animals and better protect crops and pasture - and the locals of East Gippsland worked it out for Black Swans, writes Lionel Elmore.
Greens go soft on Dick Smith
Why aren’t Bob Brown and his colleagues in the Tasmanian Greens outraged at the aggressive tactics of millionaire adventurer and developer Dick Smith?, asks Greg Barns.
The Crikey Ethicist: Colin the baby whale and we the people
It’s sentimental to cry for a baby whale. That’s not because it’s sentimental to cry, but because the passion is not finding its real object. Colin was a symbol, writes Crikey ethicist John Armstrong.
Cambodia braces for an Australian mining invasion
Cambodia is in the process of changing from “100 percent conservation” to a system that can accommodate development and the issue of how that transition is handled came to the fore in recent weeks when, through a little-known Australian firm, Indochine Resources, two flamboyant Australians won the right to explore for unnamed minerals in 180,000 hectares, or 54 percent, of Cambodia’s Asean-heritage listed Virachey National Park, writes Douglas Gillison.
