Ecology

‘Every year in Australian cities there are more deaths caused by air pollution than car accidents.’ (E2)

You wear a seatbelt in the car, what are you doing to affect the air pollution?

Ecology is the responsibility and actions you take toward the bird, the bees, the plants, the trees, the land, the water and the atmosphere.  It all keeps the EARTH going and without it, you won’t last long.

There are plenty of topics surrounding ecology including acid rain, air pollution, aquaculture, biodiversity, el nino, energy, extinction, climate change, deforestation, over consumption, pollution, salinity, sustainability, waste and water quality.  When you hear statistics like ‘every year in Australian cities there are more deaths caused by air pollution than car accidents’ (E2), you realise things of habit need to change and rapidly.

Australia is blessed with a mega-diverse continent and seas. Increasingly, our attention is directed towards managing and sustaining it but this needs to improve greatly. The ‘Australia: State of the Environment Report 2006′ (E3),  identified the biggest improvement in condition of the environment in the five preceding years in relation to atmosphere.  Despite this, there are still concerns regarding air quality in some cities where serious air pollution episodes still occur.  Many other pressures though have intensified including significant increases in use of energy, land, water and other materials, particularly because of individual consumption  of most resources increasing to support the Australian lifestyle.  Recent advances in recycling some forms of urban waste (ie. paper and glass), are positive but they do not offset the environmental costs of net consumption. Basically Australia has to improve in recycling and in the reuse of critical resources such as water, energy, construction materials and organic waste from gardens, sewage, residual food, industrial and livestock sources.  Urban environmental progress can be achieved by adopting strategies that reduce the harmful impacts of unsustainable consumption on the environment and nationally recognising that urban form and liveability have a powerful influence on human settlements.

Studies (E4) have shown 20% of the world’s population, including Australia, consumes 80% of the world’s resources.  75% of this environmental damage comes from just three areas of our life (in order of priority) – the food we eat, how we travel and the water and energy efficiency of our houses and gardens.

You can start to implement change everyday through being water efficient, energy efficient, green gardening (including pest control and native plants), low water gardens, taking out what ever you take in to Public Places, alerting National Parks if you find injured animals, sticking to designated paths, removing litter, obeying local fire bans and supporting companies (via product purchases) who encourage and behave in an environmentally and socially responsibe manner.

At the end of the day it comes down to supply and demand.  By increasing your awareness, taking responsibility and action, you can make a huge impact on the future ecology of the planet.

Suggestions and information are updated regularly to the site, if you Subscribe to the right, you’ll receive updates to your email.  If is other information you know of and would like to bring to our attention, please CONTACT us, to let us know.

————————————————————————————————————————

INTERESTED IN MORE?  Then check these out…
(for more Books or Websites just click the link)

The Weather Makers: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change

www.ecofoot.org
www.environment.gov.au

Back2Basics…become aware of the issues and what’s going on around you. Look at the food you eat, how you travel and the water and energy efficiency of you house and garden and find one thing to start with you can change to reduce the impact it has on the planet.