Now out from under the paywall… a farewell.
Environment
QCC: A 50 year history of Queensland Conservation Council
In 2019, Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) celebrated a milestone — Queensland’s peak environment body turned 50. To commemorate the event, I researched and wrote a (reasonably brief) QCC history. It took a lot of willpower not to let the research take over! Fascinating information is hidden in the hundreds of boxes of documents held at […]
Plastic bag ban backflip backflip: Coles the supermarket gymnast.
*** As I wrote my way through this rant earlier today, Coles doubled down in backflip town. NOW they will cease handing out free bags at the end of August. While this will be, eventually, good news, I thought I’d set this piece free anyway. Because, honestly, some of you bloody whingers need to get […]
Mourning trees
At risk of being outed as a tragic old hippy, I’m mourning a tree. Again. This tree-mourning, I’ve only just realised it even happens. This time, this tree. It wasn’t even a significant tree, or a pretty tree, or even my tree. Just a big, old tree. My neighbours, I like them, and I think they […]
The common mango
There’s this guy who lives in my street. Called Dutch. Rides a motorbike. Looks like the type of cat who’s already gone through a few of his nine lives. Lives in the front half of a rented place at the bottom of the hill. Dutch, of course, is not his actual name. I don’t know […]
Releasing pretty balloon litter
With current “big issue” blows hitting our environment both north and south (dredging spoils in the Great Barrier Reef, winding back Tasmania’s World Heritage areas), talking about litter may appear trivial. Yet our planet suffers from the cumulative effect of discarded waste: items like plastic bags and balloons. And we can do something about it. […]
The balloon rant
These first leisurely days of 2012 have seen a few leftovers from coastal New Year’s Eve celebrations washing up on the beach. While walking, I’ve collected balloons in various states: from printed “HNY!” remnants with tendrils like a jellyfish to the full (deflated) monty. I’m suprised more coastal councils don’t follow the Sunshine Coast Regional […]