betterfuture

Climate change is causing bigger fires

A major CSIRO study has found that forest fires in Australia have been getting bigger, and the main reason is human-caused climate change.

Forests, fires & carbon

The United Nations has analysed 257 World Heritage forest sites (some in Australasia) and found that overall this forest network has played a vital role in mitigating climate change, by absorbing 190 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year.

Burning books

Two recent books- Currowan and Firestorm – offer important contributions to the bushfire discussion, but by very different authors and from quite different perspectives.

Rural boundary clearing

The NSW Government has released the Rural Boundary Clearing Code which allows rural landholders to clear vegetation up to 25 metres inside their property boundaries for the purpose of bushfire protection.

Assets of Intergenerational Significance

On National Threatened Species Day (7 September) the NSW Government announced a ‘zero extinction’ target for NSW national parks, along with 221 ‘assets of intergenerational significance’ (AIS) covering the locations of 92 threatened species across 110 conservation reserves1. These follow the initial declaration under new legislation of the iconic Wollemi Pine as the first AISContinue reading “Assets of Intergenerational Significance”

2nd progress report on NSW Bushfire Inquiry

ecommendations of the NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry. The second progress report was released by Resilience NSW at the end of August, covering the period April to June 2021.

Dixie fire, California

According to official sources the Dixie Fire in California (USA) has been burning since 14 July, across Plumas National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Lassen Volcanic National Park and five counties. It merged with the Fly Fire and as of 5 September had reached a burnt area of 360,000 hectares with 3,820 personnel deployed1. Fuel moistures are ‘historically low’ with light winds and relative humidity falling to 10% in the afternoons

NSW bushfire coronials start

The State Coroner is conducting a series of coronial inquests and inquiries relating to the 2019-20 NSW bushfire season (Black Summer). Public proceedings began on 25 August with an opening address from Counsel Assisting

Bushfire Survivors win historic legal case on climate

On 26 August the NSW Land and Environment Court handed down an historic ruling. Chief Justice of the Court Brian Preston found that the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has a duty to take serious action on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. The case was mounted by Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action (BSCA), represented by the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO).

Fraser Island bushfire review

The bushfire that burnt more than half of Queensland’s world heritage listed K’gari (Fraser Island) in 2020 has been the subject of much media comment and public debate, as well as a review by the state’s Inspector General of Emergency Management (IGEM).