The heat is on: BOM launches heatwave forecasting

BOM heatwave forecast

Just as a record-breaking heatwave was moving eastwards from Western Australia last week, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) launched a trial heatwave forecast service. The forecast shows, up to four days in advance, which areas of Australia can anticipate heatwaves. But are heatwave warnings even necessary for “a sunburnt country” with a history of long, hot summers?

The Tarkine: more than just a forest?

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The recent statement by Greens leader Senator Christine Milne at the National Press Club that 'Labor has walked away from its agreement with the Greens…so be it', led to the airing of several government decisions that her party was unhappy with. One of the key issues was Labor’s decision on the Tarkine in Tasmania, which she said was evidence that the government gave priority to mining interests.

The 439,000 hectares (ha) of the Tarkine includes Australia’s largest tract of cool temperate rainforest and is home to many rare species. But on the 8th of February Environment Minister Tony Burke announced that only a small part of the region would receive National Heritage listing. Is the Tarkine now without protection from development? 

Commonwealth legislating to ban large trawler

Image source: AFMA

The Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Tony Burke, has moved amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC) Act. This will give the Government the powers to prevent the trawler, Abel Tasman, from fishing in Australian waters for up to two years while a scientific study on its impacts is carried out. The major issues with the vessel are its large size and fishing capability, which far exceeds any other fishing vessel in Australian waters, and possible impacts on protected species.

New marine reserve proposals

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The Commonwealth is proposing the proclamation of 44 new marine reserves covering a total of 2.34 million square kilometres by the end of the year. The move has drawn criticism from fisheries bodies for excluding fishing in substantial areas of the ocean; at the other end of the spectrum, some conservation bodies were disappointed that the government had not banned oil and gas exploration in areas adjacent to existing marine parks.

Coal seam gas: should the gates be locked?

Coal seam gas! It’s controversial and in the news every day. Why has it suddenly become an issue? What is going on? The exploration for and development of coal seam gas (CSG) is a relatively new and small activity in Australia, but the size of the estimated CSG resource suggests that it could grow to become a major industry, and an important new energy export sector. But only if it can overcome some problems.

 

Proposed Changes to Environmental Protection law

The principal federal environmental legislation over the past eleven years has been the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). In 2008 the then Minister for the Environment Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, commissioned an independent review into the EPBC Act. The review was undertaken by an expert panel led by Dr Allan Hawke, and the report was tabled in Parliament on 21 December 2009. The review put forward 71 recommendations. The Australian Government has now released its response to the review on 24 August 2011. In a speech to the National Press Club, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Tony Burke, outlined some of the more important aspects of this response.

Raising awareness on palm oil

On 23 June 2011, the Coalition joined with the Greens and the independent Senator Nick Xenophon to ensure the Senate passed the Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling—Palm Oil) Bill 2011 (the private members’ Bill has yet to be introduced into the House of Representatives). There are two main issues identified with palm oil: the environmental effects of plantations (including loss of tropical rainforest), and the health effects of palm oil versus other vegetable oils.