In this issue


ECOS ECOS
Issue 180



Features

Devil of a disease
It's difficult to imagine how anyone involved with saving the Tasmanian devil could find much cause for optimism. Devil numbers are plummeting so drastically that if nothing is done, they could become extinct in the wild within two decades. But conservation efforts recently reached a significant milestone that may yet snatch the devil from the jaws of extinction.
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In south-western Australia, water shortages will only worsen
While the rest of Australia has had a reprieve from the millennium drought, and floods have recently affected many areas along the north eastern Australian coast, the extended dry period that has affected south-western Australia since about 1975 continues unabated.
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Do environmental assessments protect the environment?
Are environmental impact assessments (EIAs) achieving what they were designed to achieve? Do they do a good job of protecting Australia's diverse environments and their inhabitants for future generations? If not, what can be done to improve them?
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Environmental law reform: how much is too much?
Would reform of Australia's key environmental law – referred to by industry as ‘cutting green tape'– safeguard our natural resources for current and future generations, or put them at higher risk?
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Love what they do: Science with a Heart
A legendary humanitarian, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, is a great fan of modern science. ‘I personally like to imagine all human activities, including science,' he has said, ‘as individual fingers of a palm. So long as each of these fingers is connected with the palm of basic human empathy and altruism, they will continue to serve the well-being of humanity.'
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Sea turtles caught up in ghostnets’ random harvest
Each year around 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear is lost or thrown overboard by the fisheries around the world. These ‘ghostnets' drift through the oceans and can continue fishing for many years. They kill huge numbers of marine mammals, sea turtles and sea birds, and cause significant loss of biodiversity.
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Supporting tourism and nature all in a day’s work
Research based at the Great Barrier Reef shows that nature-based tourism operators not only strengthen the resilience of the local tourist industry, but also contribute to conservation.
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Unlocking bamboo’s potential to alleviate poverty
Easy to grow, even on steep, marginal land unsuitable for other crops, bamboo has the potential to lift people in rural communities out of poverty – but only with improvements in farmer education and thus crop management, according to a recent project in southwestern China led by an Australian scientist.
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A best-seller’s enduring scientific legacy
In 2012, the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the revolutionary book, Silent Spring, written by marine biologist and environmental advocate, Rachel Carson. Today this bestseller is still regarded as the foundation of the environmental advocacy movement.
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In Brief - Round-up of sustainability news

Leafy green a key to urban cool
 
 
Coal exports, trees and the nation’s carbon balance
 
 
Australia needs to improve energy resilience: report
 
 
‘Ningaloo Niño’ and WA’s 2011 marine heatwave
 
 
Food bowl could disadvantage many in the North
 
 
Did extinction, rather than natural selection, shape our plant diversity?
 
 
Genetic advance to ensure future of high-protein crop
 
 
Queensland rainforest ‘supersite’ to track climate change impacts
 
 
World expert appointed to head hot renewables initiative
 
 
Plant that was presumed extinct turns up on SA roadside
 
 
Timor Leste protects marine resources with first No Take Zones
 
 
Tadpoles may play key role in freshwater ecosystems
 
 
Report clarifies concept of carbon neutrality for biomass energy
 
 
River salinity: the problem that has not gone away
 
 
Humans, not disease, responsible for Tassie Tiger extinction
 
 
Long-term research underway to unravel dingo dilemma
 
 

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