Eco online: environmental news, features and opinion from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
Environmental news from Eco online, Sunshine Coast and Queensland environmental news, with indepth sections including interviews, sustainable business, eco adventures, green living and wildlife
By Sharon Green The South East Queensland Regional Plan has predicted that the population of the region will grow from 2.8 million in 2006 to 4.4 million by 2031. The Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning claims that this rapid growth will create the need for an additional 754,000 new homes. As the state government … [Read more...]
Cob builders use their hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with clay, straw and sand. It is a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay. Cob is very easy to learn and inexpensive to build. Because there are no forms, ramming, cement or rectilinear bricks, cob lends itself to organic shapes: curved walls, arches and … [Read more...]
The mainstream media excites their readers and listeners with many things. Fall under their spell and you would almost be forgiven for thinking that the biggest threat from climate change, if you still believe the scientific facts as opposed to columnists’ opinions, will be upon the size of your wallet. Professor Roger Kitching reminds us of … [Read more...]
With Ian Christesen A recent opinion poll commissioned by WWF of 4000 residents showed that 79 per cent of respondents believe Australia should either begin reducing carbon pollution before other countries, or start reducing regardless of when other countries choose to act. Rudd has duped the electors by refusing to take action on … [Read more...]
Reflecting on World Environment Day, what have we done for the environment in the past year? Our Wildlife Volunteers Association, can be proud of its achievements this year, once again providing a 24-hour hotline for injured and orphaned wildlife. So often, callers are just so grateful that they reach an actual person instead of the ubiquitous … [Read more...]
It’s hard to resist the beach at Noosa, but for an adventure off the beaten track you must travel west a little way into the hinterland. Exploring here has become a lot easier with the establishment of the Noosa Trail Network. It offers 106 kilometres of trail through a smorgasbord of landscapes – rolling hills and mountain peaks, bushland … [Read more...]
If it weren't for the scientific data, meticulously documented case studies, analysis of legislative and political machinations and the honest, personal narrative, one would prefer this book to be a work of fiction. Sadly, it is not. This stuff of nightmares is real – and getting worse. Unless we urgently do something about it. Dr Markus has … [Read more...]
The Sunshine Coast Environmental Council (SCEC) is the umbrella organisation of more than 50 community groups. In this issue of ECO, we feature a group and its role in resisting the tsunami of development that threatens the Sunshine Coast. Survey after survey has confirmed the sentiment of most Sunshine Coast residents -- “We … [Read more...]
Take a walk in August from Maroochydoore to Caloundra? Along the beach at low tide? While we no longer call it ‘tramping’, read between the lines here and it is still a fair distance to hike. When Vance and Nettie Palmer walked this southward route about ninety years ago, they encountered all kinds of creatures and plants we might not see … [Read more...]
Phil Moran is so passionate about the environment that he admits to hugging every tree he can. In his youth he had ideas of pursuing a career in the legal profession, but it wouldn’t have been as satisfying for this man who instead grew to love the bush. Phil is the natural resource manager for Noosa and District Landcare Group which is … [Read more...]
Recent Comments