Another overwhelming moment

This week I listened to Nicole Foss and her writing partner at my local permaculture meeting. It brought me to a point of concern, which quickly spiralled into a overwhelming feeling of no hope (for the environment).

My concern was raised because Nicole's position is that the future (and this is really in the short to medium term) is bleak! It is Nicole's thought that the global economy will spiral out of control in the next 10 years and result in no money/economy left to fund things that are considered fundamental to our modern lifestyle. According to Nicole, there will be no funds available for things such as future mining exploration, continuation of large-scale industry, maintenance of existing infrastructure (such as electricity grids, roads, etc) and that unemployment will be a norm.

This apparently will all occur in the next 10 years! Oh my goodness! My mortgage has another 29 years life on it and if I don't have a job, then how do I pay for my home?

During this question and answer session with Nicole I asked "is there any hope to avoid economic and environmental collapse"? The answer was, "no, for economic collapse, but environmental collapse will be slowed because people won't have money to undertake major environmentally devastating activities". Not exactly the positive glimmer that I was hoping to hear. I was thinking that maybe our society would wake up to itself before it is predicted to "implode", but apparently according to Nicole, we won't!

So, this sent me into a gloom and doom mood and gave me some realisation of how many people must feel when they receive many of these dooms-day environmental messages. Anyway, after a little bit of, 'then I may as well not try and stuff being good to the earth' attitude, I snapped out of it and realised we are all masters of our own destiny and I needed to pull up my socks, so to speak. I need to make myself more resilient if such scenarios are to eventuate. I also should not loose faith in people that have initiative, spark, drive and commitment to make the world a better place. We might still end up in the black hole, but I may as well go down fighting.

So, my outcome is, we should all encourage people that want to make a difference, share their knowledge and experiences, become educated, prepare yourself and your family for things that you consider will happen in the future and re-ignite community spirit in your area. Personally, I think this will make a difference to our attitudes, moods and ability to 'ride the storm'.   Pin It

CERES Autumn Festival 2012

If you're in Melbourne here is a outing for you on the 31 March 2012. The CERES Autumn Festival. Oh how I wish I was in the area!

CERES stands for Community Education and Research in Environmental Strategies and amongst the many things that this group of enthusiastic community members do, is run a community garden and environment park and provide a hub where communities of like-minded people can gather and learn. It has a great program of environmental education!

The Autumn Festival has so many wonderful activities and show-cases, including the chance to get up close and personal with farm animals, enter a cake baking competition (theme: CERES 30th birthday...so make a birthday cake) and a chance to hear from Matthew Evans (of Gourmet Farmer fame). If you're keen enough you can also volunteer on the day to help out around the place and make the event particularly special.

The CERES environment and education centre is located by Merri Creek, East Brunswick in Melbourne. Their website is full of fabulous ideas, education seminars and so much more. Drop into their website or their centre and be exposed to some brilliant ideas and inspirations. Pin It

Clean Up Australia Day

4 March 2012 is another environmental awareness day, with the Clean Up Australia Day initiative once again being run. You can either participate in an already arranged Clean Up Australia Day site (which you can find on their website) or set up your own site.

What is involved?

Take a pair of gloves and clean up a nominated site of its rubbish for as long as the allocated site is "open" or as long as you have to offer.

Some of the more unusual sites have been dive locations, beaches and rivers. This year sites really could be anywhere! Just as far as your imagination can stretch and as far as willing volunteers will go.

If you want to set up a site, it is important to register your site asap, as the Clean Up Australia Day organising committee requires about 2 weeks prior to the day to send out bags and supporting information to you.

Go on, give it a go. Originally I was going to create a clean up site on my street, but unfortunately I don't think I would get many volunteers and my street really isn't a rubbish hot spot. So, as an alternative, I'm thinking of going along to my local site, which I found on the official website.

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Another useful blog...development watch

I came across an interesting blog today which is providing residents of the Redland Shire Council area (in Brisbane city, Queensland) information on development occurring within their shire and giving them a useful and easy reference point to link in with the development process. The blog is called "Development Watch - Redlands" and is located at: http://devwatchredlands.wordpress.com/.

I think this is a fantastic idea, allowing the average Jo to access relevant information about developments in their area and also provides useful links to things that can affect or impact development and development applications in their early planning and approval stages.

My philosophy has always been to get connected and make a difference in this process. This is certainly a useful tool that could be applied anywhere. Maybe you might be interested in creating something like this for your local area. Pin It

Transition Town documentary - SBS

Friday night (7:30pm) on SBS, "Town with Nicholas Crane" visits Totnes in the United Kingdom. This is a community which has significantly adapted their town to follow "environmentally sustainable" principles that are sometimes grouped under the banner of "Transition Towns".

What is a Transition Town?

Basically, a community group or town determines they will work together to build resilience in their economy and general community in light of the peak oil, climate change, reduced happiness and economic instability.

A lot of it relates to people re-connecting with other members and skills within their community, bringing their economy back to the local or regional scale (by supporting businesses within this geographic area) and attempting to reduce their reliance on oil. Some websites also link this concept in with permaculture.

Anyway, back to the subject of the documentary. Totnes has undertakes numerous activities under the banner of Transition Towns, including co-housing, cycling, eco-construction, gardening, skill shares, seed saving and a solar thermal challenge just to name a few. It also has its own Transition Town website, which can be found at: http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/.

Further information on Transition Towns generally can be found at: http://www.transitionnetwork.org/. This webpage also includes useful resources for people and communities starting out!


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Reclaim your rights!

In a previous post, "Don't sit back", I discuss the requirement about the requirement for people to participate in public comment periods and become involved in shaping their communities. I just attended a conference which not only confirmed this thought pattern but took it one step further and discussed the requirement that people within the community need to start to participate as citizens.

What does this mean? Surely, by just occupying space within a community you are considered a citizen. I'm afraid not. We need people to start to participate in the political process to re-engage the politicians with their constituents and actually act on their (our) behalf rather than the large corporations that are currently hijacking the political process and our rights.

Stand up and be counted!

What can you do?

• Contact your local political representative, at all levels of government (local, state and federal), and discuss your interests and express that as your elected representative (no matter what their party lines are) they should be representing you and your community! Bring your ideals, values and beliefs to the front and allow them to be counted and considered.  
• Another thing to do is join up with some of the internet groups that represent your values (perhaps groups like GetUp, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, Avaaz, etc) and sign their petitions. Politicians are beginning to take notice of these group actions and make decisions based on these groups'/peoples' interests. 
• Engage with people in your community and make them aware of your concerns/beliefs. Your beliefs may seem a little different to many that you share them with, but eventually you will link up with like-minded people and all these individual voices together will add up and be heard. 
• Stand up for your convictions. Don't be scared to rebut other people's opinions and create useful debate. With such dialogue, learnings can be made and challenges can be explored.  

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Moving Planet Day.....24 September 2011

On the 24 September this year, there will be numerous events around the world attempting to highlight the  current climate crisis we face and demand action by people and politicians. If you're interested in showing your support you might like to attend one of organised events. You can find more information at: http://www.moving-planet.org/.

Here in Australia, the group 350.org is organising a rally at Bondi Beach, New South Wales (8-9am). This event would like to get 500 people to fly white kites to indicate their support on a price on carbon. I live in Queensland and there are a number of events, including an ocean walk, a general activity and another kite flying event, organised. Alternatively, if there isn't an event which suits you or none in your town, you could start your own. If you then register your event at the above website you might end up attracting other like-minded people to join you in your public statement on the climate crisis or your particular angle or issue.

Enjoy the lovely spring weather on 24 September and take some time out to show your support for this action day.
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Endangered frog stops roadworks

Just came across an article from a North Queensland newspaper explaining that a colony of endangered frogs has just stopped a roadworks project in Far North Queensland. A local conservationist discovered two frog species, the common mist frog (which isn't so common) and the Australian lacelid frog, within the footprint of the construction works resulting in a stop works situation.

The Council now has to undertake a re-design and submit their proposal to the Commonwealth government's environment department for assessment and approval. This is expected to delay the project by at least six months, with local residents expecting that such a delay will result in their isolation again during another wet season. Interesting scenario. Let's see what designs the council can come up with to protect these species.

Original article available from the Cairns Post. Pin It

Bring new equipment to the Australian Wildlife Hospital

SunSuper is running a competition where someone's dream will be granted. You can submit your own, but there are some already worthy "dreams" available to vote for. The idea is the dream with the highest vote wins their dream.

The Australian Wildlife Hospital at Australia Zoo, here on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, has been entered to win $5000 worth of orthopaedic equipment. This provision of this vital surgical equipment would mean that many more injured Australian wildlife patients admitted to the Australian Wildlife Hospital could be treated and eventually returned to the wild.

To vote for this worthy cause just click on the following link: http://sunsuperdreams.com.au/dream/view/help-give-our-native-wildlife-a-fighting-chance. You can only vote once for one dream and apparently voting from multiple email addresses is against the terms of conditions, so don't ruin their chances! But remember, be active and help out this good cause. Pin It

Save the Cassowary Campaign

Save the Cassowary campaign website is requesting people sign their letter to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities requesting federal government action to save the cassowary in northern Queensland.

If you're happy to share you details and put your name towards this campaign, you can add your name at: http://www.savethecassowary.org.au/take-action.php.

More information about the campaign and the cause can be found at the Save the Cassowary website. Pin It

Quandamooka people successful in achieving Native Title recognition

The Quandamooka people were today recognised as the native title custodians of "4,408 hectares of land and water on and surrounding North Stradbroke Island, including areas of national parks, reserves, unallocated State land and other leases." The Native Title Tribunal (NNT) has additional information on the determination in a media release on their website. According to the NNT, this determination recognises the Quandamooka peoples' exclusive rights to 2,264 hectares and non-exclusive rights to 22,639 hectares. The recognition of Native Title rights to the Quandamooka people does not however extend onto freehold land or many types of leasehold tenures.

The Native Title claim was over the Quandamooka people's traditional land and seas, known as Minjerribah on North Stradbroke Island. The recognition of the "rights" to these lands is an amazing step forward and one that has been a long-time coming.

The determination also extends to the inclusion of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement, which provides the Quandamooka with economic and employment opportunities. Overall, the agreement recognises the Quandamooka's rights as custodians and managers and protects environmental and cultural values.  The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) has additional information about the agreement and the custodian role that the Quandamooka people on their website.

Congratulations to all those that participated in the negotiation of this outcome and I am so glad that there is finally recognition of the Quandamooka peoples' land rights. Pin It

Unique clothing/Hand-made things

Last year I did a post on sewing your own clothes. I realise that most people don't have the time, patience, interest, machinery or skill to do this, including me on most days. So how can you can avoid mass produced clothing, household "luxury" items or gifts? Look on-line for websites and groups that support individuals that produce such items in a manner that supports their individual talent, unique products, excellent working conditions and low carbon footprint distribution (if made local to you). Alternatively, look for boutiques or designers within your area and support these people and this form of trade.

A couple of well known hand-made websites are Made It and Etsy. The latter is an international site, but does have Australian designers/producers on it. I am also lucky in my local town (which is a hinterland town in south-east Queensland) to have a designer/dress-maker boutique shop which always has very unique clothing pieces. If you're not lucky enough to have such people within your town just do a internet search for the product you are looking for and the region you live within and you will definitely be surprised who is located in your broader region. Just look out and make sure the people you find aren't just distributors for products mass-produced in a sweat shop somewhere overseas.

Support your local talent and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time. Pin It

Historic Tasmania forest protection agreement

Recently (22 June 2011) Environment Tasmania and the Australian Conservation Foundation signed an agreement to move towards greater protection for Tasmania's old growth forests. The idea behind the agreement seems to be greater protection for native vegetation forests, in the form of additional areas of Tasmania dedicated into conservation reserves and a transition approach to a sustainable forestry industry.

I believe all environmental movements/protests that directly impact on people's economic well-being have to address these economic and welfare situations in the solution. It certainly appears that these two environment groups are proposing sensible options to provide transition and adjustment for the industries that currently rely on these resources.

The agreement does however rely on the government to provide backing to this agreement and these groups are requesting people indicate their support to the local members of parliament. The GetUp website has an automated message generator indicating people's support for this agreement and provides you either with the name of your local member of parliament if you're in the area or provides a list of relevant members of parliament in the area that you can direct an email to.

Go on, show your support for the Tassie forests and some sensible transition strategies that will in turn support environmental outcomes. Pin It

Large supermarkets are soul-less

Weekly grocery shopping today really brought home to me how commercial and soul-less the large supermarket chains have become.

Since moving to our new area, about 6 months ago, I have been shopping at the local independent grocery store and the local farmers' markets. For convenience today I chose to shop at one of the two major supermarket chains here in Queensland. After moving through the fruit and vegetable section and then the meat section without much incident and not many products placed into my gigantic shopping trolley, I moved into the pre-packaged and processed sections.

Oh so soul destroying. The lack of variety in products and brands shocked me. Standard brands that I use to buy from these supermarkets chains have either disappeared from the shelves or are well hidden. The chain branded products are everywhere and the amount of processed foods catering for the rush of modern life are dominant. Local products are difficult to find and I felt that much of the food is choosing the buyer not the buyer choosing the product.

I was just mortified. I don't think despite the moves that these chains are doing in an attempt to improve their reputations by stocking appropriately sourced seafood, having only phosphate free detergents, etc will induce me to shopping in their aisles, except for the oddly unavailable products at my local store.

Some of the reasons I will continue to shop at my local grocery store are:

• locally owned;
• some profits being channelled back into my local community and community-oriented initiatives;
• employment of local people at all levels in the business;
• support for other local businesses and community members;
• direct response to requests (eg. direct responses to suggestions by customers for products, ranges or stocking products within a industry - local, organic, etc);
• broader range of suppliers; and
• encourage/support and utilisation of local products.

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Don't sit back, make a difference

An issue with the modern generations is their inactivity in decision-making in either their neighbourhood, the political environment, their workplace, their family or anywhere decisions are required.

In discussion with some friends this morning we were chatting about some infrastructure development in their neighbourhood and the options that have been put forward by the infrastructure provider.  My friends were passionate about the option that was proposed through one of the last remaining patches of bushland/wetland in their area. That is, they don't want it to go through that area.

There are a number of options the infrastructure provider has put forward for comment and many others that have not been raised to the public. At present, placing the infrastructure through the environmental reserve is the easiest option and therefore one the project manager would definitely prefer. You may ask, why is the environmental reserve option the easiest option? Well, without any public outcry, the infrastructure provider would only have to deal with the local government, as the current custodian of this land, and this does not pose much restraint when community infrastructure is seeking an easement or land. It is certainly much easier to deal with than a commercial entity who is looking at lost profit and therefore potentially significant compensation or a number of home-owners who feel passionately about their home that they have lived in for the last X number of years. All the infrastructure developer would need to do is come up with a suitable compensatory package and certainly in my experience and many project managers' experience this is much cheaper and more politically stable option than dealing with the other landholders and economic interests.

I know that many people have concerns for the retention of environmental spaces and parks within their local neighbourhoods, but without communication of this concern to the decision makers and project managers these intact, environmental area will always end up having the conflicting landuse placed in them or being sacrificed to. They don't have a voice, they don't have traditional economic value and they certainly don't have anyone putting up significant or costly barriers to their resumption and/or development. There isn't anyone else but the general public and caring souls to defend these areas. Commercial activities/industries, schools, churches, recreation facilities all have significant groups of interested people attached to them and thus will always have a voice and someone defending their interests till the last battle. This doesn't seem to be the case for most environmental areas.

It is important to realise we are the voice of the environmental reserves, national parks, conservation reserves, wildlife, threatened plants and animals, marine parks, remote locations, environmental water allocations, groundwater quality, etc, etc. If we don't stand up and put our voice forward and express our concerns about particular developments within these area, the developments will also win and the environment will continue to lose. Economic interests will always prevail and our land will end up being over-developed, over-utilised, degraded, without recognition of the public's concerns for these areas and values.

Speak up! If there is a chance to put your view forward it is important to do so. And if there isn't an invited comment period take the first step and engage in the process. You can contact your local politicians, the infrastructure developers, the general land developer or the agent of land use change. Stand up and be heard! Take action now or it will be too late! Pin It

How to shape your neighbourhood?

If you plan on making a difference in your local neighbourhood, it is important to participate in local, State (or Territory) or Federal government development assessment processes. The are many stages set up during these planning and approval phases that allow for public comment and your comments can in fact create or stop developments.

Local governments, for example, will have sections of their websites indicating what development applications and planning processes they currently have 'on their books' and which ones you can provide comments on. Also here in Queensland you may notice large noticeboards (public notice) on the side of the road adjacent to open land, old houses, etc. These signs indicate an applicant is interested in either changing the type or intensity of development allowed on that land. This public notice is basically an advertisement seeking public comment on the development application and this is an opportune time to participate.

To make a difference in this process it is important to know how to make your comments really count. There isn't much point in just saying that you don't want the development, but rather have a look at the planning scheme, regional documents and other relevant information and providing justifications against these documents why the development should or should not be approved.

As I said there are numerous development approval processes where public comment are sought and to make a difference you should be engaged in all of these. Some sources where you may find public comment opportunities include:

• The Commonwealth government's referral process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999;
• local government development processes under Queensland's Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (likely to be advertised on your local government's website);
• State government planning policy documents (often distributed across a number of government agencies, but inclusive of the Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning and the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management); 
• Infrastructure providers' websites, such as Energex, Powerlink, Queensland Rail, Ergon, Origin, as they will be required to have their environmental impact assessments available for comment; 
• large scale development agents' websites, for example Stocklands; and
• local environment and legal groups, such as Environmental Defender's Office. 

So don't complain about what is happening to your neighbourhood but rather participate in the process. Don't wait till someone is building something you don't like because you will have no leg to stand on and the process will continue no matter how much you complain. Give yourself and your views a fighting chance and participate early. Pin It

Community Gardens

If you don't have enough room in your backyard to dedicate to your own veggie patch, you need to supplement your veggie patch or you just don't want a veggie patch in your yard, a community garden might suit you. They also provide great opportunities to link with like-minded people in your community.

A useful website listing some of the locations of Community Gardens here in Australia is the Australian City Farms & Community Gardens website. If you'd like to know where some of the Queensland community gardens are, just visit this link. Pin It

Fairtrade Fortnight 2011

Currently we are in the middle of Fairtrade Fortnight (7-22 May 2011) aimed at bringing awareness about fair trade products and the associated ethics and benefits. This week also recognises the effort and rewards that result out of people in developed countries buying fairtrade products.

You might ask what are fairtrade products?

These are products that assist in providing appropriate work and trade conditions, including fair prices, to producers and associated businesses and families in developing countries. 

What type of fairtrade products are available in Australia?

• coffee
• chocolate
• clothing
• fabrics
• rice
• grains
• tea
• sugar
• oil
• jams & spreads
• herbs & spices

Another useful tip is where to find these products here in Australia. The Fairly Local website has a list of sellers that stock fair-trade products. This is not an exhaustive list, as I have even noted some fair-trade products in the big supermarket chains. So keep your eye out for them. 

There is also additional information available at the Fair Trade Organisation of Australia and New Zealand's website. 

It is important to remember that a little action either during your grocery shopping or becoming aware of the conditions in which your food and clothing are made can result in not only better outcomes and products for you but also great change for people on the other side of the world. 

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Refugee Tutoring

In Brisbane St Vincent de Paul has developed a special volunteer program where individuals can assist refugees in the Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich areas. The idea is to provide them with educational, social and vocational opportunities within the community with your assistance.

I had learnt about this type of program being run a couple of years back and have been trying to keep my ear out for something similar. So finally I have got around to looking into such a program and found this specific one.

If people want to know more about the program or would like to volunteer then refer to the official website: http://www.refugeetutoring.org/index.php.

Presently this particularly program only caters for those areas mentioned above. Perhaps there are other similar programs available in your area, feel free to add these as a comment to this post. Pin It

No Impact Man

Just watched a 'documentary' on a family's journey to live with no environmental impact in New York, USA for a year. What an amazing journey, particularly for the wife who is just coming along for the ride (at least to start with) and works in the high flying world of an international business magazine that doesn't usually follow the environmentally sustainable footpath.

The insights into family life, struggles with some of the challenges and the desires to lead a normal consumptive existence is very interesting. It was also revealing for the critics, where Colin addresses (or at least acknowledged) some of the 'backlash' from people considering them extreme greens to others who considered them to be superficial.

Colin Beavan, the lead instigator of this 'experiment', is still seemingly treading some of the modifications that they made during their year long voyage and he maintains his blog: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/. I look forward to reading some more of their adventures and seeing whether any of Colin's suggestions can be incorporated into our lives.

I also, by the way, appreciate Colin's commentary on the fact that much of the consumptive behaviours in modern society results from the lack of community. I am only really just starting to explore this but I think it is completely true and even I, the ever introvert, is looking to connect with some form of community.

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