forests

Soil Carbon sequestration limited in mitigating fossil fuel emissions say scientists

Rebuilding soils through carbon sequestration and mitigating fossil fuel emissions sounds like a win-win solution all around. A reason the Liberal and National Parties in Australia adopted it as a major part of their 2010 Direct Action climate change policy. But a new international study by Australian and UK scientists said soil carbon programs while important, have many limitations, and provide too much false hope in mitigating emissions from fossil fuels.

Premier Campbell Newman opens up logging destruction in Queensland native forests

The Queensland Premier and Government have reopened logging in native forests with 2 million hectares of state forest being made initially available for environmental destruction. This will impact on habitat for endangered species, biodiversity and the huge carbon stores locked up in mature forests. Mature forests also tend to hold more moisture and are less susceptible to bushfire, and absorb more water during floods - providing a natural flood mitigation service, a natural service that is all the more needed with the increase in rainfall and extreme whether events with climate change. See Leaked Document (PDF).

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Two sides to the debate on logging forests and the issues that concern us all

What are the issues affecting forestry, timber harvesting, the loss of habitats? Environmental Scientist, Dr Beth Schulz says logging is a crime against nature. Forester and Chair of the WA division of Foresters of Australia, John Clarke says anti-logging protestors have got it wrong and that Western Australia's regrowth forests are thriving. Read the full article as the two sides of the forestry debate are presented

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Harvey Norman furniture tagged as destructive to at-risk native forests

This week, Harvey Norman stores across Australia have been visited as part of an innovative marketing campaign to give customers the real story of where their new native forest furniture is sourced.

The Last Stand has been campaigning to highlight the role Harvey Norman plays in the destruction of our native forests. Their native Australian furniture and flooring is sourced from high conservation value forests at risk in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania.

“If Harvey Norman won’t tell the truth to their customers we will” said Nicola Paris from the Last Stand.

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Tell me lies... Pinocchio joins campaign against Tassie forest destruction

Bryan Green got a surprise this morning - the Deputy Premier of Tasmania was fresh off the plane from his much vaunted trade mission to China and Japan, selling out Tasmania's forests, and he was confronted with a huge walking, talking Pinocchio. The Last Stand crew got together with the Huon Valley Environment Centre and Code Green to give him a warm welcome back to Oz.

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Campaign launch: Stop Ta Ann from destroying Tasmania's forests

TAKING THE ACTION ONLINE - http://taann.com.au/take-action-now/

A new campaign targeting Ta Ann Tasmania and their ongoing use of Tasmanian high conservation value (HCV) forests launches today. Taan.com.au is a partnership between Markets for Change, Huon Valley Environment Centre and The Last Stand.

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Save the forests - Save Warrup, Arcadia, the Amazon, all of them

By Gerry Georgatos

Bridgetown-Greenbushes Friends of the Forest (BGFF) are worried that the end is near for Warrup Forest. BGFF coordinated a Warrup Forest twilight rally - more of an information tour - on Saturday, 10 December for interested residents.

70 people coalesced at the old Bridgetown railway station and then by a bus and car pools went into Warrup for the twilight event. Representatives of the Western Australian Forest Alliance (WAFA) and the Conservation Council (CC) were present.

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Logging East Gippsland old growth forests destroys wildlife refugia in a warming climate

Environmental activists have been out in old growth Forests in East Gippsland this week attempting to stop more rape of our natural environment and protecting important refugia habitats for endangered species. Logging operations on Survey Rd on the Errinundra Plateau were halted by a tree-sit attached to five logging machines and suspended 40 metres up in the tree canopy.

"In the face of recent Baillieu government moves to weaken the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, conservationists have again taken their message to logging sites where important wildlife habitat continues to be logged for woodchips", said Ms Amelia Young, spokesperson for the conservationists of the Goongerah Environment Centre (GECO) (Facebook).

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Call for immediate native forest protection in protest outside state labour conference

15 members of the community based direct action group Code Green have today staged a dramatic protest outside the state labour conference in Launceston. Two activists scaled 12m high flagpoles outside the Country Club Casino and unfurled a banner calling for the immediate placement of 572 000 ha of high conservation value native forest into formal reserves.

“The current Heads of Agreement deal does nothing to ensure the formal protection of Tasmania’s unique native forests and only delivers a short term band-aid for a failed forest industry,”* Code Green spokesperson Ali Alishah said.

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Two protestors arrested in Artec woodchip mill shutdown

Two female protesters from CODE GREEN have been released on bail from the George Town police station this afternoon after shutting down the Artec ancient forest woodchip mill facility at Bell Bay.

Sarah Doornbusch 28, a veterinary support officer in Launceston and Dinah Too,21 studying furniture design at UTAS in Launceston were acting as environmental advocates for Tasmania's ancient forests.

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