Inside this edition
- World Environment Day Festival news
- Outrage over Sustainable Planning Bill
- Latest Group Profile – PAGE
- Eco Adventures – A tale of two mountains
- Carbon, climate and koalas
- Eco watch – clean coal
- Exploring the past – climbing Mount Coolum in 1927
- Whales and eco tourism
- Other articles
- How to contribute
- The latest print edition
- Past print edition downloads
- Help promote Eco online
For our Queensland readers: Catch up on all the latest news on the Sunshine Coast’s World Environment Day Festival.
Outrage over Sustainable Planning Bill
“Major amendments to the Integrated Planning Act 1997, carrying implications for local planning powers and the critical assessment of applications, have become yet another hallmark of the Bligh Government’s mantra of growth at all costs.
Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, Stirling Hinchliffe said the Sustainable Planning Bill 2009, approved by Cabinet on June 9, will result in the biggest reform to planning approvals in over a decade.” Sunshine Coast Environment Council Manager, Narelle McCarthy reports. Read the full story.
Group profile
PAGE – the useful acronym doubling for the Powerline Action Group Eumundi and People Advocating Green Energy – was formed in 2007 in response to a proposal which threatens the communities west of Eumundi with high voltage powerlines and pylons marching across an idyllic landscape. Read all about their struggle to protect their local environment.
Eco adventures
Mount Coolum and Mount Ninderry are two very striking peaks visible from many parts of the Sunshine Coast, close to each other – only 10 kilometres as the crow flies – but very different in character and offering very different experiences for the eco adventurer. Read more about John Burrows’ latest adventure.
Carbon, climate and koalas
Recent findings by the Australian National University show that the Eucalypt forests of Australia are some of the richest carbon sinks in the world. The greater the size and density of these koala food trees and the forests they are found in, the greater the carbon sink and the more carbon dioxide that is absorbed. Read the full article by Sophia Walter.
Eco watch
Federal Environment and Climate Change Ministers jointly announced that there was less than 8 hours to submit solar rebate applications before they were stopped 3 weeks before schedule. Environment Minister, Peter Garrett is now clearly in the running as the most disappointing and underachieving environment minister in recent years. Guest writer Lindsay Holt reports.
Exploring the past
Climbing Mount Coolum in 1927. In this breezy account of a clamber up Mount Coolum, Vance Palmer, one of Australia’s most significant writers of the time shares his experience. The story is selected by Dr Deborah Jordan, and is taken from a newspaper cutting held in the Palmer Papers.
Whales and eco tourism
Sunshine Coast Environment Council President, Dr Valerie Lewis takes a look at the growing tourism industry built around whales.
Other articles …
Other articles are available to read online,with more being added in the coming weeks. Read the latest stories from our wildlife carers, green loans and more.
Contribute
If you would like to contribute a story, an image, or a story idea, then feel free to contact us. Contributor’s guidelines are available online.
The latest print edition
The mid-winter print edition, Eco news Issue 12, is now out on the streets. For our readers living outside the distribution area, the digital version will be available for download in July.
Past print edition archives
We are constantly adding more print edition archives for download.
Available for download now are: Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3 and Issue 11. Visit our Past Print Editions page for details and download links. If you have any problems with downloads please let us know.
Help promote Eco online
Have your own website or blog? Perhaps you would like to promote Eco online? We have now provided some graphics for you to download and use on your site.
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