Predicting a sunrise

November 2023 

Regarding Trevor Farrant’s letter, it is all too easy to criticise weather predictions. 

The Bureau of Meteorology has to deal with ageing and insufficient data gathering stations along with rapidly changing conditions because of climate change. 

There are no precedents of today’s weather conditions to draw on and form the basis of forecasts. 

To predict what the weather may be like in 100 years from now is from current observations of the trends. 

Extrapolations of these trends are mathematically sound. 

The “cult of global warming” is supported by an overwhelming number of the world’s most expert climate scientists who embrace the disastrous modelling that shows a bleak future for the planet. 

Denying global warming is akin to believing the sun won’t rise tomorrow. 

Phil Cornelius

No shade on solar 

September 2023

I challenge Rob Cheeseman’s letter and I maintain that during days or periods of reduced sunlight, modern solar panels by design, can still generate electricity, albeit at a lower efficiency compared to sunny days. 

They do not rely on a continuous, uninterrupted source of sunlight. Modern energy systems will be interconnected and will incorporate multiple sources of power to ensure a reliable energy supply. 

Of course, in the event of an ice age from a meteor collision or runaway global warming causing a burnt-up planet, power won’t be needed. 

Phil Cornelius

Remove the gases 

September 2023

In reference to the articles and the editorial  of The Advertiser, "Gas a vital part of our energy future." 

The inference that gas is essential to keep electricity prices down is misleading. 

The lever to a price reduction is the availability of a product. 

Let us keep in mind that Australia exports about 74 per cent of its natural gas production for profitable reasons. 

It’s keeping domestic gas availability in short supply that helps keep the price of electricity rising, not the “Utopian” renewables. 

If gas cooking and heating is needed it must be hydrogen gas, for the cessation of dangerous greenhouse gas emissions. 

Net zero targets equal status quo and a damaged climate. 

The aim, with the aid of carbon capture and storage, needs to be towards zero emissions and removal of the damaging gases. 

Phil Cornelius

Walk the talk  

September 2023  

The SA government talks the talk and walks a very slow walk on the very high priority needed for renewable energy. 

Minister Tom Koutsantonis’s reticence to “tell it like it is” hides the fact that not enough is being done to assist and contribute to the urgently required and reliable sustainable wind, solar energy or whatever it takes to take greenhouse gas-producing systems out of the picture. 

If the government requires more assistance from householders, higher subsidies for panels and batteries are required. 

Phil Cornelius

Nuclear option      

June 2023

Craig Wilkins is right that SA has led the way on renewables. 

This is precisely why so many South Australians have changed their minds and are now supporting nuclear power.  

It is an absolute disgrace that the Conservation Council of SA should prefer the most environmentally destructive low-carbon energy source we have.

A recent UN Economic Commission for Europe report found nuclear power was environmentally more benign than renewables on virtually every measure. It isn’t just faster and cheaper, it’s far more eco-friendly. 

Many other Australians have worked this out. It’s time the Conservation Council started looking at the evidence.  

Geoff Russell

Less plastic use

June 2023

I strongly agree with R.A. Lee on the plastic issue
But shouldn’t we all be taking greater responsibility by reducing the amount of plastic packaging we buy?
And manufacturers have to work harder to pack in compostable packages.
It is disheartening in the supermarket to see people ripping off dozens of plastic bags for fresh produce.
Reusable or compostable is a much better option.
Janine Clipstone

Nuclear call

May 2023
Peter Dutton’s calls for nuclear power have been met with infantile dismissals from the ALP.
Meanwhile, the rest of the planet, other than Germany, is just getting on with it. The UAE’s four reactors, the first in the country, have been socially transformative. The UAE now leads the world in the rate of women in their nuclear industry.
While we sit and dream about making steel with hydrogen, the UAE can use its reactors to supply clean aluminium to Europe. Germany, stuck in its ideological rut, gets as much electricity from coal as her reactors used to generate.
Wake up Australia. Romania, Estonia, Poland, Bangladesh, Slovakia, Iran, Turkey and Egypt have worked out that nuclear isn’t expensive when you factor in all the Band-aids needed to cover cracks in on-again off-again renewables.
It’s time to stop making decisions based on historical party allegiances and start thinking rationally.

Geoff Russell

No denying

August 2022
There is a 97 percent consensus among scientists that humans are the cause of global warming, which is causing dangerous climate change.
I believe that deniers are emotionally attached to misleading misinformation of a few.
Sure, there is money to be made from new fuel and energy sources. Fighting anthropogenic climate change is an opportunity for invention, investment, and increased employment.
Gloom and doom is an outcome of denying the need for action.
Phil Cornelius

Save the trees

May 2022
If our new Climate Environment and Water Minister Susan Close is so keen to declare a “climate emergency” in state parliament, perhaps she could do something to save the 75,000 trees that are now being cut down in Adelaide every year.
This net tree loss right across Adelaide is making us even hotter every summer.
E Moore

Water purity

April 2022
I am pleased new Water Minister Susan Close is following up on residents’ complaints of human health concerns since reservoirs have been open to the public (“Fresh looks at reservoir health links”).
And also the addition of chloramine – ammonia added to chlorine – to the water treatment.
SA Water senior manager of water expertise and research, Dr Daniel Hoefel, confirmed the switch to chloramine was to “safely manage” chemicals called trihalomethanes, which build up when chlorine reacts with leaves, soil and sediment stirred up by human activity.
Dangerous trihalomethanes have been linked to cancer.

Former water minister David Speirs said in February “the number of complaints claiming such a cause and effect is exaggerated and has been fuelled by armchair chemists on social media”. Really?

Diane Cornelius

In the drink

January 2022
We learn that about 50,000 people have come to fish and kayak on our drinking water storage since the Happy Valley reservoir was opened on December 11.
A fishing competition was held at the reservoir on December 29 when 1000 fish were released into the water and anglers were offered a $500 reward to catch a tagged Murray cod.
Carp or redfin caught had to be taken home. No wonder SA Water has had to increase the purification of our drinking water at great expense.
Fay Mathews

There’s a catch

January 2022
I agree that fishing and kayaking in our reservoirs does not need to be promoted as silt sediment and organic matter is stirred up.
Fay Mathews in her letter offered by residents, who are connected to the Myponga reservoir, due to the chemical chloramine required to “safety manage” trihalomethane affecting the water quality.
Happy Valley reservoir supports the majority of the metropolitan area and another health outbreak would be catastrophic.
The prized Murray cod that was hooked and handled in this reservoir had to be returned to the water, causing a high mortality rate and more pollution.
Reservoirs are for our precious drinking water, not recreation for people.
Eric Phillips

We’re the pest

January 2022

Responding to “Feral crackdown” Brian D.Teakle lists his top feral pests but I note he missed the biggest and most destructive feral pest species of all – the human one.
We are an introduced species and we have slaughtered millions of our native kangaroos, massacred and maimed billions of native waterbirds, buried alive thousands of wombats, destroyed trillions of sea creatures, killed countless koalas, possums, and nesting birds with tree felling, bulldozed immeasurable numbers of lizards, stripped the forests, decimated the habitat, polluted the air, contaminated the land and poisoned the waterways.
Totaling all the damage done by Mr. Teakle’s list of feral animals in Australia would be minuscule compared with the devastation caused by our human species.

JAMES M. RICHARDSON

Parks for wildlife

January 2022
The Adelaide Parklands need water for the wildlife that inhabits them.
Especially now when the creeks are dry.
But they don’t need a summer carnival, ice skating, pop-up bars, restaurants and retail spaces
Many of these things are available within a short distance of the CBD, and most are struggling to survive. With or without a pandemic.
Green Adelaide deputy chairwoman Dr. Felicity-ann Lewis can go help these.
Retail spaces in the parklands? What is she thinking? That Dr Lewis thinks the parklands are an “empty spot” shows she has a lot to learn about trees. There is a whole natural world there providing habitat for wildlife. And just waiting to be appreciated for what it is.
There is an abundance of green parks with flowerbeds and playgrounds, probably next door to a cafe, in adjacent council areas.
Dr. Lewis can take a walk through these after she has had a coffee at a cafe in the East End.
And please leave our parklands alone.

W. Parsons

Precious water

December 2021

After reading Colin James’ article “Golden catch for reservoir angler", I am not surprised a large amount of taxpayers’ money had to be spent on increasing the treatment plant’s water-quality efficiency.

As we are having great difficulty containing viruses already, we certainly don’t want to compound it with drinking-water contagion.
What is Environment Minister David Speirs thinking by opening reservoirs? With the introduction of hundreds of fish for anglers to receive large cash rewards for catching them, surely our limited water is too precious to be jeopardized.
Diane Cornelius

Protect animals

December 2021
I disagree profusely with the article “New park a refuge for at-risk animals.” Where humans go, there is no refuge for animals because waste, damage and pollution follow.
To allow a car park, picnic areas and mountain-biking trails in a refuge area is ludicrous. This may threaten any resident endangered species.
Just leave the animals and park alone. Please, keep the human species out.
We have already ruined enough of our parks and reservoirs with people.
Christine Pierson

Green suburbs

December 2021
Amanda Lohrey’s award-winning book The Labyrinth has a passage expressing a feeling of a tree sustaining her.
“The tree and I entered into a relationship of looking.
“I gazed at the tree and the tree looked back at me, a living thing personal both in its proximity and its loveliness.”
For me this encapsulates how important it is to value trees in our surroundings.
All of us, and not just nature lovers, need the benefits of trees flourishing in our suburbs.
No capital city in Australia has lost and is continuing to lose, mature trees at the rate Adelaide is.
We need a turnaround, with all hands on deck advocating to planning and development decision-makers that our big old trees are essential.
Trees are necessary mitigators against the impact of global warming.
Simone Hunter

Coastline seagrass

July 2021

Regarding Sea grass aquaculture research by CSIRO. Reducing Methane emissions by including sea grass in feedlot food for beef cattle is made to sound financially and ecologically advantageous, however there are serious downsides to consider.

Harvesting disturbs the sand which suffocates sea creatures living among and nearby the seaweed and kills the beneficial organisms living on the plants. It is noteworthy that to produce one kilogram of beef actually requires 15,415 litres of water. Water scarcity is a most serious planet wide issue.

All cattle used for meat and dairy are not essential food sources and can easily be replaced by less water consuming plant based sources.

Planting sea grasses is a good idea, but it should be left in the ocean as an environmental plus.

Phil Cornelius

Reservoir fines

March 2021

Well, what did Water Minister David Speirs expect (“Reservoir hogs: fines for illegal activities .")
The human species pollutes, destroys and devastates wherever it goes. Humans should never be allowed in sensitive areas, especially where our drinking water is stored.
Christine Pierson

Water for wildlife

March 2021

I agree wholeheartedly with Greg Trenowden about bringing water to the parklands (“ Grass will be greener on all sides of the parklands.") In summer I fill bowls with water for the wildlife in a small number of locations in the south parklands. But this is just a drop in the ocean when compared with what is needed. I know from the behaviour of birds that they suffer for long periods before finding a drink. They often fly down to a fresh bowl of water before I am but a few paces away. Magpies have never swooped me because they know I am no threat. They instead come at arm’s length and wait patiently for me to provide what they so desperately need.
Even koalas are coming into the eastern edges of the parklands in summer looking for water but there is nothing for them.
I have contacted Adelaide City Council multiple times during the past 10 years but nothing seems to change.
W. Parsons

Trees ripped

April 2021

Responding to Jessie Mac-Gillivray’s letter “Tree removal,” people have for years been expressing outrage to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport and David Speirs, Environment Minister over the felling of old-growth trees for development.
My suburb of Hove has an action group opposing the DIT plan to remove 30 70-year-old Norfolk Island pines and many gardens to make way for a massive concrete overpass.
The Conservation Council of SA had a display of 891 young saplings spread out on the steps of Parliament House beside a piece of the trunk of an uprooted 140-year-old tree.
This demonstrated the number of new young trees needed to be planted to compensate for the loss of eco-services and human benefits when a grand old tree is removed from our environment.
Simone Hunter

Seaspiracy shock

April 2021

I just watched an overwhelming documentary on Netflix - Seaspiracy.
It is one man’s investigation into the terrible havoc we are wreaking on our oceans and our planet.
Lots of powerful information from Sea Shepherd’s Captain Peter Hammerstedt and Captain Paul Watson, and oceanographer Sylvia Earle.
Everyone should watch this especially those so-called conservationists and environmentalists who continue to consume seafood.
And more horrifying was the promotion on 7News encouraging people to take advantage of cheaper seafood prices for Easter. At what cost?
Janine Clipstone

Land-use changes

February 2021
I am deeply concerned that the State Government is now looking to interfere in the management of pastoral-lease land.
Especially those areas which are being maintained for conservation.
As the management of pastoral lands would, no doubt, involve native-title issues, why has Regional Development Minister David Basham not included any traditional owners on the board which is currently looking at this matter?
In my opinion, to potentially undermine decades of crucial conservation work by many volunteer groups and others by allowing grazing on fragile lands, leaving them vulnerable to desertification, is shortsighted and deeply disappointing.
Has this government no interest at all in the maintenance of biodiversity? Or is the priority short-term economics?
Alex Hodges

Plastic Pollution

October 2020
Australia's funding-boost plan to massively increase our recycling capacity, preventing 600,000 tonnes of waste from going to landfills, is one part of the solution to the plastic-pollution crisis (“ $350m to manage our waste, The Advertiser, yesterday ).
So is our state’s Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Bill 2020, to be implemented in a staged approach – the first legislation in the nation for plastic waste.
Managing waste while it is still on land will prevent it from adding to the 14 million tonnes of microplastic particles on the ocean floor, which is more than double the amount on the sea surface, according to CSIRO research.
These microplastics consist of particles of broken-down, degraded plastic bottles and plastic bags, sometimes with microorganisms attached, making them heavy enough to sink thousands of metres below the surface.
They have been discovered by robotic submarines hundreds of kilometres offshore in the Great Australian Bight.
Plastic-free lifestyle changes are helping turn the tide.
Simone Hunter

Tough decisions

November 2020

In one week, Premier Steven Marshall and Primary Industries Minister David Basham have chosen to ignore and deeply anger hundreds of thousands of car-racing enthusiasts and also people who live in council areas who wish to remain GM-free.
Why would they commit political suicide like this? Who, or what will benefit from these decisions?
Why were councils and ratepayers set up in a time and resource-wasting GM survey exercise when it is clearly a decision had already been made?
Regarding GM crops, I believe powerful biotech corporations are standing over our governments to the detriment of biodiversity viability and freedom of choice to eat and grow non-GM products.
Not to mention the unethical practice of patenting food staples, putting them out of the reach of subsistence Third World farmers who can no longer save seed.
Organic and traditional farming will now be under huge threat of cross-contamination. This is an insane risk to take just for mega-profits. I, for one, am outraged at the way this state is being run at the moment. I did not vote for this State Government, either.
I cannot see them surviving the next election.
Alex Hodges

Trees needed

November 2020

I heartily agree with the comments made by Professor Chris Daniels (“ Tree trouble”).
He notes the many benefits provided by tree cover for both humans and wildlife. Yet the State Government continues to cut down established trees, often to make way for even more vehicles.
This lack of care for trees is particularly worrying given the ever-increasing urban infill and loss of traditional gardens.
Last week was National Bird Week, incorporating the backyard bird count. How can we continue to enjoy the presence of birds if we destroy the little remaining habitat?
How can the government on the one hand charge an organisation such as Green Australia with expanding green cover, but at the same time continue to cut down trees?
Dr Suzanne Pope

Plastic pollution

October 2020
Australia's funding-boost plan to massively increase our recycling capacity, preventing 600,000 tonnes of waste from going to landfills, is one part of the solution to the plastic-pollution crisis (“ $350m to manage our waste, The Advertiser, yesterday ).
So is our state’s Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Bill 2020, to be implemented in a staged approach – the first legislation in the nation for plastic waste.
Managing waste while it is still on land will prevent it from adding to the 14 million tonnes of microplastic particles on the ocean floor, which is more than double the amount on the sea surface, according to CSIRO research.
These microplastics consist of particles of broken-down, degraded plastic bottles and plastic bags, sometimes with microorganisms attached, making them heavy enough to sink thousands of metres below the surface.
They have been discovered by robotic submarines hundreds of kilometres offshore in the Great Australian Bight.
Plastic-free lifestyle changes are helping turn the tide.
Simone Hunter

Virus warning

August 2020

Overcrowded towers are virus incubators, say headlines in relation to residents in Melbourne’s tightly-packed apartment blocks in public housing towers.
They are forced into hard lockdown to hopefully stop coronavirus spread. It raises the question of whether their human rights of freedom of movement are impinged.
But the key question to be tackled is: Are the Australian and other world governments paying attention to the new UN report that tells us the novel virus was predicted?
And that worse pandemics are likely unless humankind comes to the necessary reckoning that it is its interference with the natural world and its creatures that are the root cause of the devastating emergency we are experiencing?
We know zoonotic viruses in animals are capable of jumping species, infecting humans and becoming pandemics.
Intensive animal farming, habitat destruction and ever-increasing encroachment on the environment to support population growth cannot be ignored.
Consider the millions of animals permanently and cruelly confined in close quarters in meat markets and factory farms.

It is necessary for Homo sapiens to make transformational changes to our interactions with nature for our survival on the vulnerable planet Earth.
Simone Hunter

What a waste

August 2020
The South Australian Government’s target for zero avoidable waste going to landfill by 2030 will only happen when everything people throw away is transformed into recyclable, reusable products in a circular economy (“ Don’t let all that rubbish go to waste”, The Advertiser, 22/6/20).
This is a standard worth achieving for both the environment and job creation.
Managing household waste by sorting and using bins correctly, plus council and state government educational support, is something every single person can surely do with a little effort.
Food waste in landfills creates methane gas.
Plastic is made from fossil fuels. It lasts forever and pollutes soil, waterways and the ocean, and kills wildlife.
We should learn from our first nations indigenous people’s respect for the country and mindful use of nature’s resources across 40,000 years.
Simone Hunter

Lifestyle choices 

June 2020

Two suitably juxtaposed articles, "Change Our Ways So We Can Save The World" and "Deliver Us From Evil," explore twin themes of terrible wrongs committed and a humane, forward-thinking vision for a better world. 

Bill Smith’s recount of becoming a United Nations lawyer investigating and prosecuting war criminals offers a solution. He urges building strong, healthy communities, fostering intergenerational collaboration for peace.

Ian Henschke’s stirring recall of rescued Borneo orang-utans encourages us to do what is necessary to reverse the tragic, perverse destruction of the natural world toward planetary healing. We can opt-out of environmental ruin and animal exploitation by informed lifestyle choices
Simone Hunter

Firecracker fears

January 2020

THE $100,000 spent on, and the appropriateness of, the CBD fireworks will be discussed at the first Adelaide City Council meeting on January 28.
While the fireworks argument is so topical, fireworks as fundraisers in the country and metropolitan areas need to be addressed. For example, Mylor Primary School conducts a bonfire and fireworks in a wildlife corridor every year.
The “Online” talk in 'for and against fireworks' was revealing  Those 'against' pointed out the detrimental impact on the environment of pollution and debris and the terrifying and harmful effect on native and domestic animals birdlife.
And then there is the offhanded disrespect that lighting fireworks show to firefighters and people who have lost everything. But Peter took the cake for the most ludicrous 'for' argument by claiming children would need to go to a museum to learn what a firecracker looked like.
Eric Phillips

Clear on climate

January 2019
Mary-Anne Higgins made some assumptions in her letter about people who understand the consequences of climate change that need clarification (“ Ignore zealots” ).
Of course, arsonists need to be more severely dealt with.
And jail time is surely a minimum requirement.
But the ongoing national drought and fire threat to our “Lucky Country”, its people, homes, and animals, calls for the immediate notice being taken by politicians to climate scientists’ and fire chiefs’ warnings of worse to come.
Ms Higgins, name-calling and slinging remarks such as climate-change advocates need a “job” is ridiculously demeaning to people who know our country’s economy can’t benefit when it is being destroyed by ignorance and the dire consequences we are all facing.
 Phil Cornelius

Scientists agree

January 2019
I agree with David McLeod’s letter that we need to help people and animals who are the innocent victims of the fires (“ Shift the blame”).
Yet an overwhelming number of climate scientists agree on anthropogenic climate change and fire chiefs have been warning that, due to the extended drought, the bushfires would be catastrophic.
So, Mr McLeod, I disagree with your argument about the cause being “natural.”
Government policies such as stopping the Adani coal mine going ahead and not allowing Norwegian exploration for oil in the Great Australian Bight would be a good start.
Also, rather than restocking with unsustainable sheep and cattle, help farmers who have lost their animals in the fires to diversify into hydroponically grown vertical vegetables and droughtproof crops.
Our country is becoming a desert due to millions of hard hoofed animals compacting the already dry land so nothing grows.
Diane Cornelius

 Ban fireworks for animals’ sake

January 2019

On the Queensland Government website, we read, “noise from fireworks can cause distress, especially as fireworks can sound like gunfire. The noise can also cause tinnitus and deafness or aggravate a nervous condition. “People who suffer from asthma can experience discomfort and epileptics can experience seizures following fireworks displays.

“When frightened by fireworks, horses and dogs have been known to injure themselves and others by running away, potentially causing accidents and damage to property.”

If all these detrimental effects of fireworks are clearly recognised by the Queensland Government, why on earth isn’t it acting responsibly and banning all fireworks?

If fireworks were banned, we wouldn’t need the RSPCA to warn us, each year, to tightly secure our pets so they are not run over by cars, impaled on fences, or strangled on chains.

We wouldn’t need to be warned to relocate our horses so they are not killed or injured trying while attempting to flee.

And, no longer would the New Year start, as it does now, with countless numbers of traumatised and injured dogs in our shelters.  

Jenny Moxham

A scandalous waste

December 2019

I agree with Marianne Macartney that we should end New Year's Eve fireworks extravaganzas.

These shows are a scandalous waste of money that could be better spent helping the needy. Fireworks also pollute our environment, harm our health and terrify all animals.

So many negatives for 20 minutes of pretty lights. How much more satisfying it would be if the money spent on these New Year's Eve displays was instead used for something worthwhile, such as providing accommodation for the homeless.

 Jenny Moxham

Songs take a hit

October 2019

Perhaps fellow Australians might agree we need to look at our national songs in a new light.
With our statistics on anxiety and depression, the swagman is no longer jolly. The billabong is drought-affected and dry. Jumbucks are cruelly shoved in live export ships braving the seas that our land is girt by.
Retrenchments mean the troopers are reduced from three to two, one of whom delights in running across our golden soil to stone a wombat which in our country, after all, are nature’s gift.
If television offerings are anything to go by, it’s hip-hop Matilda, you’ll come a dirty dancing with me after we’ve married off the swaggie, regardless of in-law disapproval.
Time to lift our game, methinks .
Pamela Tyler

Torrens Park Protect Murray

December 2019
Re “Speirs attacks chest beating", referring to NSW’s public threats to tear up the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
The Murray-Darling Basin is one of the largest river systems in the world.
Now Australia is in the grip of drought, surely it is our most important issue.
The Murray-Darling Authority, Federal Water Minister David Littleproud, and state water ministers, need to consolidate and work for the whole country.
Threats don’t bring necessary results. For all states involved there must be equal water allocation for irrigators, the environment and communities.
Across decades bitter factions and greedy stakeholders have brought the river system to this precarious position.
Diane Cornelius

Belief in science

December 2019
Philip Matthews’ letter “Righteous stance” belittles Greta Thunberg’s claims that it is possible to live a sustainable life and he also agrees with Andrew Bolt’s opinions.
I would rather listen to and read about scientific evidence, as Greta has, than take on board Bolt’s personal opinions.
Rather than taking people “to task," Greta is wanting people to act responsibly, and leave a future for her generation and beyond.
So, Philip, we do need to make changes, such as adopting a vegan diet to stop ecosystem damage and overuse of precious water and arable land.
Remember environmental damage and species loss have occurred on our watch.
Fay Mathews

Talking for trees

November 2019
Urban tree-canopy loss, a major issue in our rapidly warming and drier climate, is not being solved by current rules and protections.
The audience at two “Who speaks for the trees?” community forums expressed the view that protection of nature must be enshrined in law.
Trees provide absolutely essential services for environmental and human health and wellbeing. An economic value assigned to mature and significant trees was recommended.
Public space for tree planting is not sufficient to compensate arboreal loss from private property higher-density living.
The State Planning Commission is tasked with balancing competing stakeholder interests in regard to development and sustainability of trees and native vegetation.
New mechanisms to protect trees and reverse ongoing loss by re-creating substantial urban tree cover is a challenge that state and local government, as well as community, must seriously invest in for our own good.
The current draft planning and design code, 3000 pages, is able to be changed by the planning-reform process and is open for public submissions.
Simone Hunter

Native animals graze

November 2019
I agree with Bryan Lock’s suggestion that, during winter and spring, livestock could graze on undergrowth in high-risk bushfire areas to reduce the combustible fuel load of those areas.
I also think that native animals such as kangaroos could do that same job, so instead of gunning these animals down in their millions every year, leave them in peace and let them graze on this abundant fuel load.
W. Parsons

Dump the dump

November 2019
“Dump in decades” raises some frightening issues.
In my opinion, anyone who is greedy enough to vote for a nuclear dump for financial gain is a traitor to South Australia .
Let’s keep our state as nuclear free as we possibly can and fight against being Australia’s waste dump.
Christine Peirson

Today is World Kindness Day

November 2019

And kindness is something we always need more of, especially as catastrophic weather events increase with climate change.
Many people need assistance after the terrible bush fires and drought but let’s not forget the suffering of animals affected by such catastrophes.
I was reminded of this when I saw footage of koalas being treated for burns by wildlife carers.
The work of such organisations is greatly admired and appreciated by the public.
However, many wildlife charities operate without any government support and survive on a shoestring through the generosity of members and supporters. An exception is the Victorian Government, which allocated $500,000 to Wildlife Victoria.
In SA, we have a looming crisis with the bat colony in Botanic Park. A hot, dry summer is predicted and we are likely to see more of the catastrophic heat events that killed 3000 of the endangered animals earlier this year.
Dedicated volunteers do what they can but need more support. So come on, Premier Steven Marshall, use World Kindness Day to support wildlife care.
Dr Suzanne Pope

How do we feed the world’s population

November 2019

JOHN Bednarz's posed the question of how we feed the world’s population of more than 11 billion by 2100 (“ Need more crops”)
It is essential that vegetable farming grows up rather than out.
In huge sheds commercial vertical farms are blazing the trail for more sustainable and healthier production of food crops such as beans, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and melons, without the need for pesticides. This is done on poles, frames, trellises and stakes, using hydroponics and solar power.
Greens are grown in tiered vertical layers. As plants use CO2 to grow this innovation, and the use of drought-resistant crops, will contribute to the reduction of our climate emergency.
Fay Mathews

Victory on beach

October 2019
Good on you, protesters at Semaphore Beach (“ Residents win in major sand carting backflip”).
This is people power at work. Great to see. You have stopped the environmental vandalism of the sand dunes and the animals that live there.
After all, the politicians in our Parliament are there to serve us. And they should listen to us, the people who pay their wages. Never just give up and let them get away with it or we will lose our right to know and our right to protest.
Christine Pierson

Fireworks off the program

October 2019

I applaud the Mt Barker Council for refusing to support an event that lets off fireworks. The sad fact is that there will always be negligent people who don’t care if their animals are terrified by fireworks, and cannot be bothered thinking about the animals’ welfare.

There are also wild animals and birds nesting and roosting in bushes and trees, that are severely impacted by fireworks. In my view, the latter are just a noisy, polluting, selfish human indulgence and are not necessary to make a community event a success.

Why can’t the Mylor Primary School just have a bonfire, which most people enjoy? I hope the Adelaide Hills Council will follow Mt Barker’s example.

Alex Hodges

S.A. moratorium on GM crops

October 2019

In response to Grain Producers’ SA CEO Caroline Rhodes, I would like to know what “science” and “weight of evidence from extensive public consultation” she is alluding to in regards to what is clearly  corporate pressure  being applied to the government in order to get the ban on GM crops lifted, particularly canola ?

I have spoken to dozens of people about this issue and none are in favour of giving a handful of clearly mislead farmers, the choice to contaminate someone else’s property with a patented product for which royalties need to be paid ?

Who conducted the science she has mentioned ? The vested interests that are obviously seeking to patent and make huge profits from food staples ?

In order to make an “informed” decision on this issue, people and politicians need to read the independent science revealed in such books as “Genetic Roulette”, “Edging towards Bio-Utopia”, “Changing the nature of Nature” and “Seeds of Concern”. The truth particularly in relation to very negative results in animal feeding studies, is confronting to say the least.

The contamination of roadsides around Horsham, with escaped GM canola, that cannot be eradicated with glyphosate, should be enough to make Councils think long and hard about declaring their own districts, a GM-Free zone.

I applaud the Greens in their attempt to stop this irreversible contamination of our state. GM seeds cannot be successfully contained and pose a hazard to the natural environment.

Alex Hodges

What are we doing

September 2019

Well said Diana Palmer, “Protect our heritage” It should be a crime to kill trees and also the animals that live in them. &The resident possums are evicted and then face injury and death from other possums, when forced to find new homes. The birds fly away but there are fewer and fewer trees now for them as well, and the fledglings are smashed to the ground when the trees are destroyed. What are we doing to our once beautiful Australia?

Christine Pierson, President, Cats Assistance To Sterilise Inc

Verges natural

September 2019

GIVE me an “overgrown paddock” of weeds on street verges over concrete, fake plastic, grass or impacted dolomite, which some councils are fond of (“ Weeds verging on a disgrace”).
Yes, weeds need mowing, but they are fresh, green and living.
They create oxygen and allow rain to soak in the soil, unlike impermeable surfaces.
Weeds are not an urban environmental disaster.
Simone Hunter

World must help Brazil 

September 2019

I’m finding it hard to get my head around the satellite image depicting 74,155 fires burning out of control in a place known as the lungs of the earth, Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.

Editor Bill North’s excellent article stated: “The latest spate of fires I fear is sadly the tipping point. The beginning of the end.”

Its natural state will not be regenerated as the newly accessible land will be used for crops to feed more animals, leaving our fragile earth in a very precarious predicament. Governments worldwide should be extending help to Brazil to extinguish them. 

Diane Cornelius

Indigenous thinking

July 2019

I agree with the excellent letter by S. Severin, “Trees for our wildlife” in regard to Marion Council planting exotic Manchurian pear trees next to Oaklands Wetlands.

It is a no-brainer when what is needed is indigenous trees and vegetation to create natural connected habitat for wildlife.

Our urban landscapes are sadly lacking an abundance of many fascinating species in a once bio-diverse region prior to ever-expanding urbanisation and consequent loss of native flora and fauna.

Councils and residents have a role in growing local indigenous plants to help the original relationship between plants and native wildlife.

 Simone Hunter

Precious water 

June 2019

Patricia Rogers’ letter “Swim at Beach” highlights the lack of thought State Conservation Minister David Speirs has given the promotion of recreational uses for our reservoirs and our precious sparse water supply. 
There are man-made waterways in many suburbs and the pollution from plastics blocks drains. Food scraps contaminate and bring unwanted rats and foxes that harm native wildlife. 
Who will monitor the use of boating, fishing, bike trails and walkways to ensure wildlife is protected? 
As Patricia says, we have beautiful beaches, parks, lakes and trails already. 
The risk to our water supply need not be so unnecessarily threatened. 
Phil Cornelius

Activists advocates for the planet

May 2019

Undeniable scientific evidence proves the world is in dire straits due to climate change.

This requires dramatic action which some of the population of the planet are resisting.

Animal agriculture is an acknowledged large contributor to climate change, as well as being responsible for the horrendous cruelty to thousands of animals in intensive factory farming and the slaughter process.

In response to the editorial (QT 24/5), protesters are exposing the facts in an enlightening and compassionate way to effect necessary change.

Therefore publicity given to the eight animal activists, who are bringing to light the reasons behind their actions, are not given the type of media attention they deserve. They are carers and advocates for animals and ultimately the planet.

Phil Cornelius 

Eat more plants 

May 2019
As a tree lover, I agree with Fred Goldstone’s letter “Plant more trees” (The Advertiser, yesterday) to help restore the habitat for our native wildlife. We do need to come together as a nation to fight climate change and this is a good first step. 
But an even more imperative issue is to reduce the millions of animals caught up in the industrial factory farming that has burgeoned since World War II. 
Destructive methane belched out by animals, land impaction and degradation by hard hoofed animals, ecosystem damage, and excessive water use are issues that must be addressed . 
Scientists agree a transition to plant food is a positive answer and farmers can assist by working towards sustainable farming, using groundwater and solar power. 

 Fay Mathews

Seeds of hope 

April 2019
I read the article “Sowing seeds of hope” and couldn’t help thinking of the people in developing countries who are supplying grain to feed the world’s hungry farmed animals. 
Surely, in our particularly arid land, the “seeds of hope” could be fed directly to people rather than second hand through hard-hoofed animals that compact our already depleted soil. 
Diane Cornelius

Basin plea 

January 2019
The communities of Alexandrina , Coorong and Murray Bridge express our dismay at recent fish kills in the Darling River and offer our solidarity to those working for the return of a healthy, connected Northern Basin. 
The Lower Murray, Lakes and Coorong communities understand the environmental, economic and social devastation wrought by a combination of drought and poor upstream water management, and we are deeply saddened to see communities in western NSW experience the same kind of trauma as we did during the Millennium drought. 
These terrible fish kill events reinforce the need for all Basin states to remain focused on further environmental water recovery as required by the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. In a changing climate, protecting environmental flows will provide resilience in times of drought. 
Drought, however, is just one of a number of factors contributing to the current ecological disaster in the Darling River. 
While the complexities still need to be unravelled, it seems clear that ineffective upstream water management has also played a part. 
We know it will take many years of concerted effort to bring about ecological recovery in the Darling. We know this because the Coorong is still suffering from the effects of the Millennium drought. 
We are thankful the South Australian Government recently secured $70 million in funding for the Coorong’s recovery , but urge that efforts now turn to ensuring NSW, in particular, does all it can to make good on their Basin Plan commitments. Water-resource planning in NSW is well behind schedule and it is critical that future water-sharing rules in the Barwon-Darling system factor in a higher level of downstream flows. 
Did you know that native fish populations in SA such as golden perch rely on recruitment in the Menindee Lakes and Lower Darling? 
The Menindee Lakes system is a critical fish nursery that helps stock the entire river system. For this and many other reasons, the ecological health of the Barwon-Darling should matter to South Australians in the same way that we expect the health of the Coorong and Lower Lakes to matter to upstream river communities . 
We all drink water. We all live upstream and downstream from each other. We all want future generations to enjoy the bounty of a healthy Murray-Darling Basin. 
Alexandrina Council 
Mayor Keith Parkes, Rural City of Murray Bridge Mayor Brenton Lewis and Coorong District Council Mayor Paul Simmons 

We've got this

January 2019

Congratulations to the SA Minister for Conservation, David Speirs, for making his desire clear to prohibit single-use plastic items such as bags, coffee cups, cutlery and more. 

Let’s hope all of us get behind him and keep SA in the forefront with sustainable-living firsts. If 1.37 billion Indians make changes so can we, for our oceans and future generations. 
Diane Cornelius 

Pet training 

January 2019
By the wording of his letter, M.A. Fiolic has little regard for pets, not caring if fireworks terrify them. 
Sadly it is not the pets at fault for issues such as barking and “befouling properties."
Rather it’s the people who are responsible for their care who often leave them without stimulation or companionship day after day, in boring, enclosed concreted backyards. 
Animals are not inanimate objects. They have needs, as we do, and if potential buyers cannot meet them they should not consider taking guardianship for the life of animals. 
Cats provided with sand trays will defecate at home. They should never be an impulse buy from pet shops or the internet, as is often the case. 
Fay Mathews

Better uses for our land

January 2019

In answer to Jim Derrick's comments on my letter, it is an intriguing fact that, when objectively analysed, animal rights issues and environmental issues always end up being on the same side.Derrick asks what would be wrong with harvesting kangaroos on resumed livestock pastures provided this is done at sustainable levels. The answer, leaving aside the ethical issues, is that no one since European settlement has yet determined a sustainable way of harvesting kangaroos.In fact, even without the wildlife extinctions attributable to habitat loss, human hunting everywhere on Earth since the Age of Exploration and the Industrial Revolution has been nothing short of catastrophic.Derrick notes that some of Australia's livestock pastureland is not suitable for cropping.The same observation obviously does not apply to the vast tracts of land that are currently used exclusively to grow crops to feed livestock. Crops from that land alone would easily take up the shortfall in food for human consumption left by ending animal agriculture.The rest of the resumed land could be revegetated as wildlife habitat and greenhouse gas sinks.The most degraded land could be used for solar and wind farms.

Frankie Seymour 

Live with nature

January 2019

Monica Neie’s excellent letter (“Price of progress” ) highlighted how many of us are now “living in and between concrete” in the name of progress.Without shady trees, our environment heats up to the extent that more air conditioning is required to be utilised, making our bills higher.As she said, the Kaurna people live with nature, not against it; why don’t we learn from them?

The long list of catastrophes includes weather conditions out of control, loss of wildlife, eco-system destruction, burgeoning human populations, overfishing of our oceans, overuse of plastics and unsustainable animal agriculture.The way we are destroying our environment, we definitely will need a Planet B.I agree with Monika that there’s lots to do.We are guests and caretakers of this fragile earth for future generations, and we need to step up and make our governments listen.If we don’t, who will?The recent rallies and marches by students, worldwide, against climate change were inspirational. 

Diane Cornelius

Change must begin

January 2019

It is obviously not practical to expect the entire human species to turn vegan overnight. Not every human has yet had the opportunity to grasp how urgently the earth needs us to make this change. But ultimately, nothing less than the complete abolition of animal agriculture will turn the trick, and the sooner we all we accept this, the better our chances of survival.

Jenny Goldie suggests that we can address the impacts of livestock grazing on earth's climate simply by reducing the amount of methane sheep and cattle belch during rumination. The public should understand that greenhouse gas emissions from ruminants are less than half the problem posed for earth's climate by animal agriculture. The bigger issue is the land used for raising livestock, not just the land used to pasture them but also the cropland where crops are grown exclusively to feed livestock.

Every bit of this land that is not needed to grow plant crops to feed humans (and any animals who remain in our care once we stop exploiting them), needs to be revegetated to restore greenhouse gas sinks and wildlife habitat.

Even land that is so badly abused by human overuse that it will no longer grow anything, can be used for generation of electricity from the sun and wind. All this is necessary, and it is doable. All it needs is the public and political will.

Frankie Seymour

Ban Fireworks

December 2018

On the Queensland Government website we read, "Noise from fireworks can cause distress, especially as fireworks can sound like gunfire. The noise can also cause tinnitus and deafness or aggravate a nervous condition. People who suffer from asthma can experience discomfort and epileptics can experience seizures following fireworks displays. 

When frightened by fireworks, horses and dogs have been known to injure themselves and others by running away, potentially causing accidents and damage to property."

If all these detrimental effects of fireworks are clearly recognized by the Queensland Government why on Earth isn't it acting responsibly and banning all fireworks? If fireworks were banned we wouldn't need the RSPCA to warn us, each year,  to tightly secure our pets so they are not run over by cars, impaled on fences, or strangled on chains. We wouldn't need to be warned to relocate our horses so they are not killed or injured trying to flee. And, no longer would the New Year start, as it does now, with countless numbers of traumatised and injured dogs in our shelters.

Jenny Moxham

Fireworks dangers

December 2018

Fireworks harm human health, pollute the environment and terrify all animals.

In past years, dogs seeking to escape from fireworks have been found impaled on fences and strangled by their chains and our animal shelters are invariably filled with traumatised dogs on New Year’s Day.

When are we going to start behaving like grown-ups by finding other ways to amuse ourselves on New Year’s Eve?  

Jenny Moxham

Garden suburbs

December 2018
I certainly agree with Peter Crammond that Adelaide is turning into “shoebox living”  and it is against our Australian suburban life. 
Adelaide was originally made up of garden suburbs which gave us a high quality of life with better mental and physical health. If we continue this appalling infill, where developers are building concrete jungles over our gardens, Adelaide will become hotter and drier and our lifestyles will continue to deteriorate. 
These two-storey shoeboxes are not suited to our climate, so airconditioners are becoming almost essential for survival . 
These devices are increasing on a massive scale, belching more heat into the environment. The whole planning system needs to be overhauled and changed before it is too late. 
 Christine Pierson

Sir David no fool

December 2018 
Sometimes I agree with Andrew Bolt. 
But I cannot sit back and permit him to refer to the wonderful Sir David Attenborough, as a “fool.” 

How dare you, Andrew. There is absolutely no doubt at all that the cancer of the unsustainable and out-of-control human population, on our beautiful planet, is plundering more than it can provide. 
And destroying the only place where we, and all biodiversity, can survive. 
Anyone who seemingly has their head in the sand on this issue because it is perhaps too awful to think about, is in fact, the fool. 
Alex Hodges 

Green Space

 November 2018

Protesters keep up your stand and shout “You can’t take our little piece of green space” as loudly and strongly as you can.

Don’t let the bureaucrats get away with this appalling action to take away your last little bit of freedom from the infill that the government is forcing upon you.

I am a former councillor and have seen how the government and the councils work together to “acquire” open space by what they call legal means, but not what I call acceptable means. 

Firstly they try and keep it pretty quiet while they virtually work out a deal and then do pretty well the minimum notification they are required by law to do, and most residents have no idea of what is going to happen. Then they slip it through a council meeting and it is a “done deal”.

From a quick look at the election results it would appear that more than half the council will now be made up of new elected members. If the council has already voted on this item and it was passed then here is your chance to work for a rescission motion.

Make sure that you all request to make a deputation to the council and speak up in the chamber where you will have a captive audience. 

The government is hell bent on using up every single bit of open space that it can get its hands on and works with councils to get it. Some councils fight against this but others don’t, and it depends on the elected members as to what happens.

Don’t give up. No doubt the trees will be felled, the wildlife injured, killed or evicted and the ground dwellers bulldozed, so fight for them as well as yourselves and your children.

Wishing you all the best.

 Christine Pierson

Balloons popped

 November 2018

Great to see that Peter Van the Party Man owner Mark Van has joined the Pro Environmental Balloon Alliance to stop selling helium filled balloons for mass release. ”Party over for balloon  releases.”

Every time I see these terrible balloon releases on TV I cringe, thinking of all the animals that are going to die and suffer from ingesting the remains of the balloons.

I also know the damage that the attached strings do to all creatures, but particularly birds, who use them for their nests where they and their babies become entangled.

Regarding funerals, who would want to pass on from this world leaving behind a trail of death and misery as their final act?

Surely nobody who really thought about the consequences.

It is also pleasing to read that “most of the balloon shops that are members of the Balloon Artist and Suppliers Association of Australia have already stopped releases.

Let us get this message spread world-wide and save countless animals from suffering and death.

Christine Pierson.  President, Cats Assistance to sterilise

Coorong vision 

November 2018
ERIN Jones made excellent points in her article “Coorong hasn’t recovered from Millennium drought,” concerning the nation’s largest concentration of waterbirds, including migratory birds from Alaska. 
Our state and federal ministers who are responsible for water and conservation, David Speirs and David Littleproud, must work together on recommendations. 
The report from the Coorong summit was one of two that came out in June this year, with scientific experts, government officials and indigenous leaders making several short to-long-term recommendations to rehabilitate the wetland. These included increasing waterbird populations by creating nurseries of aquatic plants and trialling the effectiveness of mechanical removal of algae. 
The reports provided a working vision to restore the Coorong and a strong basis to secure federal funding as now is time for action. 
Fay Mathews

Restoring nature 

November 2018
The beautiful wildlife photographs and article “Future of wildlife in the palm of our hands” (The Advertiser) were inspirational. 
In the desert, a 130-year-old sheep station was bought by Bush Heritage and renamed Bon Bon Reserve in 2008. Now arid rangeland ecologist Dr Graeme Finlayson marvels at the diversity of unique, fascinating small mammals in a harsh environment. 
Painstakingly restoring the landscape of the traditional owners, and monitoring the plants and the health of the animals that used to be in the region, helps to assess how the reserve is responding. This proves, with infinite patience, our country’s ecological balance could be re-established. 

 Fay Mathews

Weed killer concerns

October 2018

I was in Brighton on October 3 when I saw the “Green Life Group” workmen spraying the verges near Jetty Rd. I enquired as to what they were spraying and was told that it was Roundup (glysophate, a non-selective herbicide).

The worker commented, “hardly a green thing to be doing”. He said that they were under contract to Holdfast Bay Council.

I went into the council chambers and was told that it was standard practice for all councils to spray the verges and paving for weeds with Roundup.

My major concern is for any animals or birds that may eat the grass, as birds particularly love the tiny seeds that are appearing in spring and dogs eat grass when on walks.

I considered the whole process completely unnecessary, and with the onset of more hot weather, they would die anyway.

Our country uses far too many hazardous chemicals, such as Roundup, 1080 and 2,4-D (agent orange) near crops for weed and animal control.

Our oceans have toxins that are found in fish flesh. In fact, pregnant women and children are advised not to eat fish; why add to the problem so unnecessarily?

Another question is, are the workers supposed to put up signs to say that poison is being used, to stop passers-by from being sprayed – or would that be too controversial?

Diane Cornelius

Show some kindness

October 2018

October 1-7 was “Kindness to Animals Week” and October 4 was “World Animal Day”, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

Overfishing and pollution are resulting in the acidification of our oceans and large marine mammal and species loss, causing massive ecosystem damage.

Diane Cornelius

Developments

October 2018

REGARDING “We’re watching you” some clarification is necessary.

Replacing one dwelling with multiple housing is not always the fault of the councillors.

Elected members are under enormous pressure from State Government to increase infill, to such an extent that there is virtually no genuine open space left.

Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council has been fighting for years to save their heritage-listed areas, and yet some lovely old houses have been bulldozed, against the wishes of councillors.

Campbelltown Council is being turned into a concrete jungle, and there is a battle there to try to stop this appalling overruling from the State Government.

We must be careful not to blame councillors for something that is out of their control.

With regard to animals, there are some genuine cases where an elderly person has to move into restricted living, or those who are financially deprived lose their homes, and have to take their pets with them to flats and units.

This is not an ideal lifestyle for an animal, but alternatives can be worse.

Where people already live in these situations, it is much better for occupants not to get animals, and I agree that it is miserable for dogs and cats to be shut in units and runs. The council is, however, best-suited to encourage and assist, rather than to make blanket laws.

 Christine Pierson

Trees sacrificed for development

October 2018 

When are developers going to find some moral compass, foresight and imagination, and realise that it is not trees that are impacting on their developments, it is the developments that are impacting on the trees ?  

Trees are crucial to the survival of every living thing on this planet, and with worldwide deforestation and vegetation clearance due to unsustainable population growth, now reaching critical impact levels, we have to rethink tree protection. 

It should be illegal to create a small allotment with a significant tree on it, when the tree then becomes a problem. 

I applaud the stance taken by the Adelaide Hills Council to protect two beautiful huge trees at a Mt Torrens development. One of these trees, provides the preferred leaves of our iconic and critically threatened koala, an animal found nowhere else in the world.  I sincerely hope that the State Commission Assessment Panel agrees with the Council.

Alex Hodges

Parklands plan

September 2018

I was horrified to read that Adelaide City Council is asking the Adelaide Parklands Authority to begin community engagement on a plan for Golden Wattle Park, on the corner of South Terrace and Sir Lewis Cohen Drive.

It states “A two-level community sports pavilion and multi-purpose sports fields that can accommodate three football/cricket, four to six soccer fields and up to six ultimate frisbee fields” is planned for the site.

It also includes lighting for all playing fields, a 150-space car park, picnic facilities, shelters, grassed mounding and a ‘biodiversity interpretative education hub’”.

The dictionary meaning of “biodiversity interpretive” is “The variey of living things found in an ecosystem”.

Where does this proposal help any creatures who presently call this space their home?

Ironically in my opinion, they will also be putting an “information hub” in the middle of a lost ecosystem.

These lovely areas surrounding our city are for parks, trees and wildlife, not more sports fields.

Diane Cornelius

Plastic bag ban

September 2018

Banning single-use plastic products for food is a logical and necessary step in waging war against the global problem of plastic pollution.

Cleaning up our use of plastics, which contaminate soil, farmland and marine ecology, is critical for our future on planet earth.

Councils, governments and big companies together must pioneer the change that we need to fully biodegradable materials: leading by example, playing an educative, ethical role, and setting the standard that we expect of them.

The very survival of the natural environment and the life that it supports hangs in the balance. Many people have made a commitment to a plastic-free personal lifestyle.

Simone Hunter

Talk about double standards.

August 2018

Here we have Onkaparinga Council calling for a report on confining cats because they are a perceived threat to native birds and wildlife, and yet this same council allows motorbikes to rip up Silver Sands Beach with a race (“Bike return a blow for birds.”)

I couldn’t agree more with Peter Laffan, who stated that “holding motorcycle races on our beaches is a throwback to an earlier time”.

We now know the damage that the human species is doing to our environment and our animals, and we should do all that we can to stop it.

There should be no dilemma for the councillors as to when the motorcycle race should be held on Silver Sands Beach, because it should not be held at all.

There are a lot more animals that are affected by motorcycle races on beaches than the hooded plovers, so we need to consider all of these creatures, not just the plovers.

Christine Pierson,

President, Cats Assistance To Sterilise

Plastic Bags 

August 2018

Regarding Lainie Anderson's column "Plastic bag hysterics just a load of baggage," I couldn't agree more.

Anyone caught complaining about the inconvenience of not being allowed to use plastic bags should be made to sit and watch videos of the agonising deaths that plastic causes animals - both marine and land animals. 

What is a little inconvenience compared with the suffering and death of our fellow creatures?

Look after non-plastic carry bags and keep them clean. So what if you have to wash them if they get soiled.  

It's so much better than causing torture to animals with the millions of tonnes of discarded plastic.

Christine Pierson

Poor livestock suffer most in drought

August 2018
This HOT, DRY LAND IS NOT A GOOD PLACE TO RAISE VAST NUMBERS OF SHEEP AND CATTLE.

WE’RE being called on to help the “poor” drought stricken farmers.

But what about the poor sheep and cattle who are physically suffering through lack of food? What have they ever done to us to deserve this pain?

One farmer in NSW says his sheep are living skeletons and the cattle are so hungry they are scraping dried moss off rocks and chasing leaves.

He says, around 10 of his sheep are dying from starvation each day

Drought is “part and parcel” of Australia.

Always has been and always will be. Clearly this hot, dry land is not a good place to raise vast numbers of sheep and cattle.

Despite this, farmers continue to fill the land with livestock and when drought comes our government rushes to keep them afloat with multi million dollar handouts.

This is a ridiculous state of affairs. It’s time to phase out industries that are not sustainable – and the livestock industry is one of them.

Jenny Moxham

No more plastic

August 2018

I absolutely agree with “It’s the last straw for plastic straws.” That is a small step in the right direction but what about all the other plastic killers?

Anyone caught complaining about the inconvenience of not being allowed to use plastic bags and other plastic items should be made to sit and watch videos of the deaths that these lethal killers cause when ingested by animals, both sea creatures and land based.

What is a little convenience compared with the suffering and death of our fellow creatures? Look after non-plastic carry bags and keep them clean and so what if you have to wash them if they get soiled.

Better than causing torture to an animal with plastic ones.

Good to see Mayor Spear putting forward constructive ways to reduce the use of plastic water bottles and it is also great to see supermarkets that are phasing out plastic bags.

We need a lot more support, however, from our State Government, which seems to have little respect for animals as we haven’t yet had any changes to laws to help our fellow creatures.

Christine Pierson.

President, Cats Assistance To Sterilise

Bravo, Andrew

August 2018

THANK you, Andrew Faulkner, for “My top 10 trees”  

It made me think of the trees in the South Parkland on the corner of Greenhill Rd and Unley Rd, now being transformed into TreeClimb, an aerial “adventure park.”

It is described as innovative, progressive and creative, even though this stretch of trees and those that border TreeClimb, are now lost to all the wildlife who lived amongst them.

Tree-Climb claims to include nature-based education, ignoring the habitat destruction it has caused. How many birds, possums and ground-dwellers like lizards, could tolerate “groups of up to 20 climbers harnessed, secured and ready to go every 20 minutes seven days a week?” They must look elsewhere in an ever dwindling Parkland.

W. Parsons

Statoil name change to softer Equinor

August 2018

Given that your own company's modelling shows that an oil spill would spread oil across the whole of southern Australia causing destruction on a scale that could normally only be done by invasion and warfare I think it is outrageous of Equinor to be planning to do this. 
Go back to Norway and leave Australia alone!!!

Helen Dowland

Understanding ‘lacking’

July 2018

R. Ryan’s letter highlighted a lack of understanding that industrial animal agriculture is completely unsustainable, it is the major source of land and water degradation and native animal species extinction.

Forests are cleared for new pastures and Australians are the largest consumers of all animal products in the world; 33 per cent of arable land is used to feed livestock, this land could be used for food for human consumption.

Reducing the number of farmed animals from our landscape would have a huge environmental impact, including land revegetation, which provides our native animal and bird habitats.

Planting alternate crops could be used for green manure in place of animal manure.

A quick way to reverse global warming can be achieved by reducing rearing and killing animals for food.

We don’t have a planet B.

 Diane Cornelius  

We don’t have a planet B to fall back on

July 2018

R. Ryan’s letter highlighted a lack of understanding that industrial animal agriculture is completely unsustainable, it is the major source of land and water degradation and native animal species extinction.

Forests are cleared for new pastures and Australians are the largest consumers of all animal products in the world.

33% of arable land is used to feed livestock, this land could be used for food for human consumption.

Reducing the number of farmed animals from our landscape would have a huge environmental impact, including land revegetation, which provides our native animal and bird habitats. We don't have a planet B to fall back on.

Diane Cornelius

Protect Planet

July 2018
THE environment is the biggest issue of the coming Federal election. 
Tax cuts etcetera are merely rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. 
It doesn’t matter whether you believe in climate change or not, it is happening anyway and all the indications are that it will continue to happen. 
It is the biggest thing on the planet that is happening and affecting us. 
Where will we move to when we need to get out of this planet because it is totally wrecked? 
How will we get there? Bearing in mind that this is reality not a science-fiction show. 
Are there things we can do to slow down this catastrophe and make the best of things? Of course there are. 
And which party is going to do more of those important things is the question we should be asking ourselves and voting on. 
There definitely are things we can do but we need to vote for the people who are willing to do them. 
The people who are ready to do them. Ready to do the things that need doing to save everyone. 

 Helen Dowland

No To Fireworks

July 2018

Why does the Mylor Primary School choose to have a bonfire event for fundraising and "fun"? The noise from  the music and fireworks won't be "fun" for the animals nearby. I believe last year a neighbouring horse and a dog panicked because of the noise and were killed. What about nearby kangaroos?'

Fireworks are polluting, dangerous, noisy and , literally, money wasters: hardly suited to education aimed at developing a protective and caring attitude to our planet and her life forms. May the principal and her staff find a kinder, a more nurturing and less violent way of fundraising and "fun" next year.

Alice Shore

Rank destruction

June 2018

Article “Give me a home without the gumtrees, please” (The Advertiser, 12 6/18)  strikes a painful note as I have long campaigned against the destruction of our trees and the gross infill promoted by the previous Labor Government.

When a Councillor with Norwood Payneham and St Peters Council I was a member of the Tree Committee, which spent long and arduous meetings, listing significant trees, to protect them against developers and owners who wanted to destroy them.

I also voted against inappropriate development applications to save trees, heritage buildings and open space; particularly where lovely homes and gardens were to be bulldozed so that two or three storey dwellings could replace them.

Every year since, I watched as more of what we fought for on Council was over-ruled by the Labor Government and our hard work undermined.

These magnificent trees, so important for the birds, possums and environment are being stripped and felled, all in the name of cramming increasing numbers of residents onto increasingly smaller blocks. This means there is nowhere for animals and children to play, leading to neighbourly feuds and mental ill-health.

Building under these irreplaceable trees, some 100 years old, should never be permitted and I remain strongly opposed to State Government interference in local government decision making regarding trees and infill.

Christine Pierson

School Fireworks

June 2018

I am extremely concerned about the proposed annual fireworks and bonfire to be held in one of this state's densest wildlife corridors and surrounded by conservation parks. I cannot understand how such an outmoded, archaic and potentially dangerous activity can possibly be permitted in this day and age. School children from the Mylor PrimarySchool should be taught to respect wildlife, people's pets and the environment, not cause harm. The pollution alone is a reason for stopping this unnecessary activity. Schools have creative potential to raise money in positive, safe ways. I am hoping many caring people will join me in demanding that this unnecessary event be stopped.

Phil Cornelius

Stop poison use 

June 2018

Reading the article "Poisoned birds in front Yard "NorthEastern Weekly 13 June", presumably poisoned with rat bait, horrified me.

In a country like Australia you would not expect that anybody could just go to the shop and buy dangerous poisons and risk the lives of all animals, birds and children.

There is no need for using rat baits, which also poison the environment, because we have cats and cats are the safest and most effective means of rat control yet known to man.

Cats have protected us through the ages by controlling rodents.

Although I do not like to see any animal killed, it is still far better for a rodent to be eaten by a hungry cat, which kills its prey quickly to eat it, than dying in agony for up to 8 days from rat poison.

Let us hope that our new Minister for Environment, David Speirs, has a lot more sense and compassion for animals.

Lisa Roberts

Longer chimneys

June 2018

Given the number of people who are adversely affected by wood burning fires, I can only think that there are many that have not been installed properly. When I had a wood burning fire installed nearly 30 years ago, I was taken aback when I saw how tall the flue was on my roof.

I asked the contractor if it could be made shorter, and he gave me a resounding “no”. He explained that the flue must be high enough to allow the smoke to be caught in the air flow above, and so carried well away from my house and those of my neighbours. I have just had a new flue installed, and yes, it is just as tall as the old one. I don’t know what the legal requirements are, but perhaps another length of flue could solve many problems.

W. Parsons

Well done, Matilda

June 2018

WHAT a beautiful story in the Southern Times Messenger:

I congratulate 11-year-old Matilda Channing for making a difference for wildlife and sea creatures by collecting rubbish from Christies Beach.

Eighty per cent of rubbish in our oceans is washed down from the land. Albatross and other birds feed plastic to their chicks, mistaking it for food.

Fish ingest microbeads of plastic, which finish up in their flesh, which people eat.

By encouraging others to help by meeting at the Rotary Park, on the corner of Beach St and the Esplanade, at 4pm each Friday, Matilda is indeed helping her community.

Diane Cornelius

Aluta continua

June 2018

The fight for water allocations for SA from the Murray Darling Basin has been going on for decades. Scientific reports have already shown what water requirements are needed for a healthy river. 

The river’s mouth happens to be in SA, and the fact that rivers die from the mouth up makes SA’s 450 gigalitre environmental share vital, and not an “optional extra” . 

SA’s Minister for the Environment and Water, David Speirs, needs the support of federal ministers, SA MPs Christopher Pyne, Nicolle Flint, Rowan Ramsay and Tony Pasin, when taking on the upstream states in a battle he desperately needs to win. 

Phil Cornelius

Vegans and Frank on same page, almost

June 2018

I am compelled to reply to Frank Brown’s letter in the QT, June 6, “Human population should be number one priority.”

I applaud the fact that he obviously cares about the brumbies, but he has the wrong end of the stick about vegetarians or vegans.

We actually agree that the human population growth is a great concern, but so is the proliferation of animals used for food, especially cattle and sheep.

Our country is being converted to a huge animal product producer, attempting to feed unhealthy meat to other countries’ massive burgeoning populations.

Vegans live healthily and kinder without causing suffering.

We are raising billions of methane producing animals to the detriment of our native fauna, ecosystems and atmosphere. Large portions of our country are water and vegetation poor, so this is a looming environmental catastrophe. 

Diane Cornelius

Drown in plastic

June 2018

Tuesday, June 5th, is International Environment Day. Our planet is drowning in plastic. We are addicted to single use plastic, with devastating consequences. Albatros and other birds are feeding it to their young as they mistake it for fish. The chicks suffer and die. Fish eat plastic 'beads' that get into their flesh. We produce the equivalent to the weight of the human population every year. Only 9% of plastic waste is ever recycled. As economies grow consumption booms and so does the use of plastic goods. We all need to do more for the health of our planet.   

Diane Cornelius

Fracking in the South East

May 2018

You have acted quickly on your promise to make a 10 year ban on Fracking in the South East if you were elected but it's disappointing that you haven't made it law.

You probably know better than I do that local industry can't plan and build for the future, building the prosperity of the region unless they have certainty. Farmers, winemakers, and tourism businesses cannot invest and build for the future without knowing they are safe from unconventional gas fracking, for at least 10 years. We really do need a legal10 year ban.

Now, Troy Bell, the independent member for Mt Gambier, has listened to their concerns and is planning to move his own bill to enshrine the ban in law. But to get that bill passed, we need the Liberal Government to vote with it.  

The future of our state is dependent on the future of the Limestone Coast.  We depend on it for food, wine, agriculture and tourism. 

It’s clear that there is no social licence for fracking and that South Australian communities support a shift towards renewable energy sources. In this regard SA is a model setting an example world wide.
Thank you for your attention and for acting on this matter as soon as possible.

Helen Dowland

Toxic approach

May 2018

I was surprised and pleased to receive snail mail from people who read our letter and were concerned about the poisons being spread by Port Adelaide Enfield Council to control so-called “pests.”

One stated: “I agree it is environmentally better with your approach (using desexed, fed and managed cats to control rodents) than laying baits all around the place”.

Also: “It is worse still that they, through their contractors, poison mosquitoes, wasps and bees with pyrethrum. It is a contact insecticide; the cats touch it, groom themselves, ingest the poison which affects their nervous system, then they die.”

I consider that this information is vital to readers, as I also have information that pyrethrum is poisonous to cats. In fact, an article in the Sunday Mail on June 25, 2017 states that “Exelpet Fleaban contains pyrethrum” and the owners had pulled the products from shelves after cats died.

Fish eat mosquitoes and bees can be rehomed to pollinate our food crops and, as I have stressed, cats should be protected, as they control the rats and mice.

Let us stop persecuting our animals and poisoning our earth any further, or we won’t have a living planet at all.

Christine Pierson

President, Cats Assistance To Sterilise

Wood burning fires

May 2018

I cannot understand why wood-burning heaters and fires have not been banned when the pollution is increasing at a rapid rate.

Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council has been wonderful regarding the banning of cigarette smoking in many public places, so I am calling on this council to set the lead and ban these polluting devices.

Residents who are causing this pollution have no consideration for their neighbours, who have to put up with this smoke which gets into homes, even with the doors and windows closed, making breathing difficult.

Please, owners of wood burning heaters, stop being so selfish, and consider those who live near you.

Christine Pierson

Poll calls for Parties to Show Hands

March  2018

The important headline in The Advertiser, March 16th, "Poll call for parties to show hands on KI oil," supports previous exploration opposition calls by the Wilderness and Conservation Societies, the public for whom politicians are accountable and Kangaroo Island's Mayor, Peter Clements, who said, "I don't know of anyone who supports seismic testing in the Bight...and it would have a big impact on the vote on KI..," and statewide.

There is no way off insuring catastrophic spills will not devastate the entire coastline, spread by the massive currents of the ocean. Whales are a vital part of the oceans' ecology and make it possible for life in our oceans to exist.

The Great Australian Bight is their breeding ground and seismic explosions will deafen, interfere with their navigation, and ultimately kill them. Voters must be heard.

Phil Cornelius

Gifting animals is madness

Dec 2017

Caleb Bond's article is about goats being trapped and shot because they are causing damage to native vegetation. Instead of removal before their numbers increased, o

once again killing is the 'solution.' Major charities such as Oxfam and are wanting people to buy goats, cows, sheep, chickens and pigs as gifts for hungry people in 3rd world countries  According to World Land Trust, farm animal gifting is madness, environmentally unsound and economically disastrous. 

Farmed  animals need copious amounts of water, correct nourishment, fencing, shelter from climate extremes, all of which are in short supply in semi-arid countries. Animals cannot "just live off the land." Feeding crops indirectly to billions of animals is the cause of world hunger, as those same crops could be fed directly to humans. 

Water wells, environmentally suitable fruit trees, soil improvement and land care equipment are much better gift options.

Diane Cornelius