Stop Trashing Australia

Even though this bird’s stomach was full, it starved to death. It was full of plastic waste.

Scientists estimate that between a quarter and a third of marine plastic pollution comes from the drinks industry. The problem is so severe that up to 85% of Australian marine birds are are estimated to be affected by plastics. Many of them die as a result.

This needn’t be the case. By adding a refundable 10c to each bottle we can dramatically increase recycling and reduce plastic waste. South Australia and the Northern Territory already have schemes which work. Over 80% of bottles are recycled in SA, more than twice the rate of other states.

Despite this, beverage and packaging producers led by Coca Cola have stopped effective government action across Australia and have even taken the Northern Territory Government to court over their system which has already seen increased recycling rates. In the coming weeks Environment Ministers will decide whether to make a recycling refund scheme national. Help make this possible. Sign and spread this petition. — [Stop Trashing Australia | Greenpeace Australia Pacific]

Death knell for the Victorian faunal emblem?

Leadbeater’s possum Gymnobelideus leadbeateri – this possum is a shy small nocturnal marsupial, highly agile and living only in Victoria and habitats within the tall eucalypt forests within Central Victoria. This possum is regarded as one of the rare members of our fauna species.

THE top scientific authority on the endangered Leadbeater’s possum has quit from a team trying to save it, in protest over policies he argues will ”lock in” the animal’s extinction.
David Lindenmayer, who has studied the possum for 30 years, said he could no longer work with ”the most environmentally bankrupt administration” and would resign from the recovery team after more than a decade.
In a resignation letter to Environment Minister Ryan Smith, Professor Lindenmayer described current policies as ”unable to appropriately protect” the animal. As a result, he could no longer be part of ”such a highly ineffective body”.
…
”We know that almost half of Leadbeater’s possum’s habitat was fried in 2009 yet there’s been absolutely no change to the amount of logging that is going on in those forests,” he said. ”Locking in 20-year contracts for the forests in Victoria will lock in the extinction of Leadbeater’s possum and I can’t be involved in a recovery team that has no effect on environmentally bankrupt policy.”

– Making himself extinct: ‘absolute disgrace’ prompts Leadbeater’s possum scientist to quit (2012-Sep-12) [the Age]

Seriously; having worked on Flora & Fauna Guarantee action plans in my past I’d have to agree with the bankrupt administration line. An Environment Minister who ignores the action plans for endangered species is both morally and ethically bankrupt.

Instant Oil Spill

Instant Oil Spill - http://instantoilspill.com/

That’s right, now you can have all the same disregard for the environment (albeit virtual) that big oil does everyday! Why should they get to have all the fun?
– http://instantoilspill.com/

Have a break, have an orang-utan?

Nestlé, maker of Kit Kat, uses palm oil from companies that are trashing Indonesian rainforests, threatening the livelihoods of local people and pushing orang-utans towards extinction.
We all deserve to have a break – but having one shouldn’t involve taking a bite out of Indonesia’s precious rainforests. We’re asking Nestlé to give rainforests and orang-utans a break and stop buying palm oil from destroyed forests.
– Ask Nestle to give rainforests a break [Greenpeace]

So how does it play out on the social media sites? Nestlé did not manage it very well at all;

The company (Nestlé) is now facing a boycott of its products in the lead-up to Easter and has been forced into an about turn.
A day after the video was posted Nestle cancelled its contract to take palm oil directly from Sinar Mas, but to Greenpeace’s disappointment it will continue receive palm oil from the firm through its supplier Cargill.
Belinda Fletcher a Greenpeace campaigner said Nestle’s own goals of censorship had helped fan the flames of the campaign not douse them. “We have been so amazed by how this has taken on a life of its own. It’s clear it is an issue that people really care about,” she said.
– Handling bad PR turns sticky for Nestle [The Age]

I wonder if the video producer was a Goons fan?

Grytpype-Thynne: Have a gorilla.
Seagoon: No thanks… I’m trying to give them up.
..
Seagoon: Now… have a gorilla.
Eidelburger: No thanks – I only smoke baboons.
– The Goon Show, “Napoleon’s Piano”
Series 6, Episode 4)

Earth Hour this Saturday (2010-Mar-27)

In 2009 hundreds of millions of people around the world showed their support by turning off their lights for one hour.
Earth Hour 2010 will continue to be a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to show leadership and be responsible for our future. — http://www.earthhour.org/

Earth Hour, 8.30pm, Saturday 27th March 2010 :: Pledge your support and turn off your lights for one hour!

Earth Hour this Saturday (2009-Mar-28)

Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming. — http://www.earthhour.org/

8:30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. Saturday 28 March 2009

At 8.30pm on 28 March 2009, Earth Hour aims to inspire 1 billion people in 1,000 cities around the world to take part in turning off all non-essential lighting and appliances.
Earth Hour 2009 has a theme of Vote Earth, and invites people of all ages, nationalities, race and background to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. — http://www.earthhour.org/

Eating our native fauna (BigIdeas 2009-Jan-11)

We were discussing this broadcast over the weekend over a long lunch, and yes we were eating kangaroo. I have just discovered that it is on the RN podcast;

Feast or famine: eating our native fauna
The future of bush tucker: should Australians cultivate our native bush food — kangaroo steaks, crocodile kebabs, emu prosciutto, Kakadu plum jam — will they ever hit the big time or will they remain a kind of novelty act?
To discuss this controversial topic ABC’s Bernie Hobbs and Paul Willis host a public forum with guests Les Hiddens, the Bush Tucker Man, Jim Gruber from Food and Consumer Science at the University of Canberra, and George Wilson from the Australian Wildlife Service.
The event was recorded at the 2008 Australian Science Festival in Canberra.
– (2009-Jan-11) Feast or famine: eating our native fauna
[BigIdeas : Radio National]

Feast or famine: eating our native fauna [MP3]

Drummers, the endangered musicians.

Cadbury’s Gorilla Advert

GORILLA CRITICAL REMIX
The famous drumming gorilla like you’ve never seen him.

One of the UK’s favourite ads just got a bold new makeover by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
You might recognise the purple-walled studio and the silver drum kit, but something is missing…
IFAW’s message – a world without gorillas is closer than you think – is intended to highlight the deadly threats that endangered species face and to invite the public to join our global effort to save the world’s most threatened species. — www.ifaw.org

Ecofont

Looking for a font to reduce your toner usage? Give Ecofont a trial.

Appealing ideas are often simple: how much of a letter can be removed while maintaining readability? After extensive testing with all kinds of shapes, the best results were achieved using small circles. After lots of late hours (and coffee) this resulted in a font that uses up to 20% less ink.
– Ecofont

In the picture you can see how the Ecofont is created by omitting parts of the letter. At the shown size, this obviously is not very nice, but at a regular font size it is actually very usable. Naturally, the results vary depending on your software and the quality of your screen. The Ecofonts works best for OpenOffice, AppleWorks and MS Office 2007. Printing with a laser printer will give the best printing results.
…
The Ecofont is based on the Vera Sans, an Open Source letter, and is available for both PC and MAC.
– View the Ecofont

Once you have downloaded Ecofont you can install the font into your local fonts folder. The Ecofont is based on an Open Source font and is free to use. If you no longer want to use the Ecofont, you can remove it from your fonts folder without any problems. Please note: The font is called Spranq_eco_sans_regular.ttf.
– Download

hot pink coloured cyanide-producing “dragon millipede”

If you were to mention a hot pink coloured cyanide-producing “dragon millipede” in a story, people would think you were just taking things a bit too far. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction and today’s “First Contact in the Greater Mekong ” report from the WWF contains such a beast.

Dragon millipede Desmoxytes purpurosea (2007)
from Lansak district Uthaithani Province Thailand
(C) Somsak Panha

First Contact in the Greater Mekong reports that among the 1068 species newly identified by science, between 1997 and 2007, were the world’s largest huntsman spider, with a leg span of 30 centimetres, and the startlingly hot pink coloured cyanide-producing “dragon millipede”.

How long before one of these beauties (a) become the pet of the year? or (b) is used in a James Bond film?

[1] Greater Mekong a biological treasure trove: more than 1000 new species discovered in a decade (2008-Dec-15) [WWF]
[2] Greater Mekong treasure trove of new species (2008-Dec-15) [WWF]