Land & water
Microplastics in Water
by Professor Alfred Poulos
One of the most important properties of water is its capacity to dissolve, transport, or carry, a greatvariety of substances- solids, liquids, or even gases. Rivers and lakes, a major source of drinkingwater for many people, contain varying amounts of dissolved substances, as well as sedimentderived from rocks and soil. Sediment is formed by the physical action of water as it flows over asurface and can include particles of clay, sand, and minerals. In addition to the organic matter that isderived from natural sources, water can carry waste, chemicals associated with agricultural,industrial, and other human activities, as well as organisms that cause disease. Over the last fewyears it has become apparent that water from many different natural sources also contains tinyplastic particles, referred to as microplastics (1, 2)
Image Source: https://avadaenvironmental.com/2019/04/18/microplastics/
Land & water
Q: What do synthetic clothing and the food we eat have in common? A: Micro Plastics
Plastics and synthetic textiles that are allowed to indefinitely degrade in the environment, gradually break down into smaller and smaller fragments. These breakdown products are called micro plastics and increasingly they are being detected across the world, even in rain.
Image Source: https://wwtonline.co.uk/news/effects-of-microplastics-in-sewage-sludge-on-soils-overlooked-
Land & water
Take Action: East Gippsland food bowl at risk from mining
Kalbar Operations Pty Ltd, a company with no experience operating a mine, is proposing a massive open-cut mineral sands mine at the Fingerboards, 20km north west of Bairnsdale in East Gippsland.
This proposal will come with a large environmental cost, huge impact on local farmland and the local economy, and is strongly opposed by the majority of locals.
The state government has opened up the opportunity to express your opposition to the mine. You can send a submission in response to the Environment Effects Statement (EES) for the project. Submissions must be lodged by 5pm on 29 October 2020.
Land & water
Crunch Time Looming for Maryvale Pulp Mill Supply
In late 2019, the Daniel Andrews Labor Victorian Government announced that by 2030 there would be no more native forest logging in Victoria. The Government said there would be a transition to plantations and as a “sweetener”, the Government would invest $110m to grow the new plantations. (Note, that this marks the first re-entry of the State Government into plantation management since privatisation in the 1990’s.)
Recent logging of native forest in the Snobs Creek catchment, Central Highlands
Land & water
Quantifying community concerns over drinking water quality in Australia
The Australian Drinking Water Map was created by Friends of the Earth (FoE) in November 2017 as an attempt to determine which communities around Australia are most concerned about the quality of their drinking water and which substances dominate drinking water problems across the country.
Land & water
The significance of Strzelecki koalas in relation to the translocated koala populations of Victoria and South Australia.
The are two distinct koala populations in Victoria and South Australia. One is the endemic Strzelecki koala of South Gippsland Victoria and the other being koalas translocated from Victorian island populations throughout Victoria and South Australia.
Land & water
Clearfell "insanity" threatens Victoria's most important fish hatchery
Snobs Creek Fish Hatchery plays a vital role in ensuring the long term survival of vulnerable native species such as Murray Cod, and the endangered Trout Cod and Macquarie Perch. All face an uncertain future as inland fish populations in Australia face innumerable threats such as water scarcity and climate change.
Land & water
Rinehart's Mining Camp Burnt Down in Ecuador
News is filtering through about the destruction of a mining camp owned by Hanrine Exploration in Ecuador on August 25. Hanrine is a subsidiary of Australian Billionaire Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting. Hanrine has been operating in Ecuador since 2017 and the company has encountered a number of very serious problems during that time.
Photo: https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2020/08/26/nota/7955737/incendian-campamento-empresa-minera-buenos-aires-imbabura
Land & water
New Report shows that the Strzelecki Koala Faces an Uncertain Future
Between December 2019 and July 2020, Environmental group, Friends of the Earth, carried out 200 koala surveys in the Strzelecki Ranges and Gippsland Region. The surveys hoped to better understand habitat utilisation by koalas in the region. The surveys add to other survey work conducted in the region between 2013-16.
Land & water
Forest under threat and a free pass for illegal logging
Friends of the Earth member group, GECO, have released shocking footage of renewed logging activity in Victoria's fire ravaged forests.