NationStates Jolt Archive

Hot on the heels of the M6 corridor near the Tebay service station being declared an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...



VICTORIAN Premier Steve Bracks has urged John Howard to review the federal decision to block a wind farm because it threatened the orange-bellied parrot.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Bracks said the decision by Environment Minister Ian Campbell would lead to a "great deal of uncertainty for future investors".

Senator Campbell blocked the $220million Bald Hills project in southeast Victoria last week, saying it had the potential to kill one orange-bellied parrot a year.

The decision was based on a report that says 101 orange-bellied parrots die each year and that one extra death might occur if all proposed wind farms were built in the region.

Mr Bracks told Mr Howard that the state Government had approved the wind farm after finding it would not have a significant impact on threatened species, including the orange-bellied parrot. He said it appeared Senator Campbell's decision did not reflect the scientific advice prepared on behalf of the minister's department.

A spokesman for Mr Howard said the Prime Minister had yet to receive the letter and that a response would be given after it arrived.

The state Government and farm developer are examining legal avenues to fight the ban.

And conservation groups have accused Senator Campbell of hypocrisy for blocking the Victorian windfarm while resisting calls to scuttle a West Australian mine they claim threatens an even rarer bird than the orange-bellied parrot.

Senator Campbell said yesterday mining companies had been "incredibly positive" for the environment in Western Australia's north and he expected a proposed iron ore mine to go ahead about 3km from the sighting of three critically endangered night parrots last April.

Australia's most mysterious bird, the night parrot was presumed extinct for many years until a mummified carcass was found on a Queensland roadside in 1990. Two biologists conducting a fauna survey for Andrew Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group on April 12 last year saw what they believe to be three of the green and brown birds.

Describing the Bald Hills decision as an important precedent, West Australian Greens called on Senator Campbell to take an equally hard line when assessing a proposal by Fortescue to mine at Cloud Break in the Pilbara.

Senator Campbell yesterday indicated the night parrot could survive the mine.


Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18778518-30417,00.html

More at: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18790534-30417,00.html



"They'll think of something", they say.

"Oil and gas will give way to renewable energy technologies", they insist.

Uh, no. We are still screwed if we act like complete dumbasses. :mad:

One.
Fucking.
Parrot?

Gimme a break.

Until that '1' parrot dies....which can be proven to it....build the damn things!

Don't worry. A guy from the energy education thread just told me rockets are going to bring He3 from the moon to save us.

Don't worry. A guy from the energy education thread just told me rockets are going to bring He3 from the moon to save us.
:rolleyes:

Yeah, saw that. Hence my Space: 1999 poster reference. The clue is in the date.

You're calling for the death of a orange-bellied parrot? What kind of monster are you?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-bellied_Parrot
This species has a very small population and, though numbers are stable or increasing at one intensively-managed breeding site in Tasmania, numbers continue to decline at outlying sites, and it is assumed to be declining overall. It is therefore listed on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered. The current population is estimated at 180.

An interesting note is that the Woolnorth windfarm on Tasmania's North-West coast is operating with a license to kill up to 6 Orange-bellied Parrot's every two years. In 2001, then Australian federal environment minister Robert Hill approved the wind farm, along the main migratory flight path for the parrot, with several conditions to protect migrating birds. To date no Orange-bellied Parrots have collided with the turbines.

You're calling for the death of a orange-bellied parrot? What kind of monster are you?

A giant, wind-loving metal energy GOD!

Don't worry. A guy from the energy education thread just told me rockets are going to bring He3 from the moon to save us.

Sure. :D

Same thing's happening in Nantucket; the rich assholes there don't want their precious view "ruined" by the wind farm so that progressive Mitt Romney is going to block any attempt to develop the site.

Fuck them; if they want to be left behind paying a fortune for something that could come from a lot cleaner and secure source then that's their problem. It's as bad as the people who bitch about high gas prices but don't want to give up that run to Starbuck every night in their Chevy Suburban...

Hot on the heels of the M6 corridor near the Tebay service station being declared an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...




Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18778518-30417,00.html

More at: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18790534-30417,00.html



"They'll think of something", they say.

"Oil and gas will give way to renewable energy technologies", they insist.

Uh, no. We are still screwed if we act like complete dumbasses. :mad:

Now, I'm all for environmentalism. Try not to pump smoke into our air, please.

But...

ONE PARROT?

That doesn't even affect their population growth...

What morons.

I was almost trying to care that it would kill 1 endangered bird per year, until I read one hundred and fucking one parrots die every year anyway.

Same thing's happening in Nantucket; the rich assholes there don't want their precious view "ruined" by the wind farm so that progressive Mitt Romney is going to block any attempt to develop the site.

Fuck them; if they want to be left behind paying a fortune for something that could come from a lot cleaner and secure source then that's their problem. It's as bad as the people who bitch about high gas prices but don't want to give up that run to Starbuck every night in their Chevy Suburban...
All very well, but in the meantime the world isn't getting saved, is it? :headbang:

Granted I back nuclear power as well, which puts me into a somewhat contradictory position. But the ridiculous thing is, wind power is increasingly a 'harder sell' than nuclear. I back whatever works, and I would love to see both power generation technologies succeed. But it's a one horse race now, assuming of course the reamining horse doesn't get shot by the crowd.

And of course it has to be posted...

http://www.dailyllama.com/news/2005/images/dead_parrot.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-bellied_Parrot

Meh. Don't bother us with facts. We're having too much fun ranting.

Apart from our conservative federal government being totally head up their arses in respect to the environment, this actually has more to do with political tit for tat.

The Victorian State governement (currently Labour) wants to build the windfarm in a marginal seat it currently holds. The conservative Federal minister is blocking the move with the idea that it will win support in that seat for the conservative candidate in the next Federal election.

Edit: This article refers to what I'm talking about:

Labor environment spokesman Anthony Albanese said Senator Campbell's decision was "absurd" and should be reversed. "I am very concerned the decision to block the Bald Hills wind farm is all about politics and not about parrots."

Yesterday Senator Campbell said claims by Mr Albanese and Victorian Premier Steve Bracks that he was pandering to anti-wind campaigners in the marginal federal seat of McMillan, along with the fossil fuel lobby were outrageous.

Full article. (http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/minister-defensive-over-parrot-hypocrisy/2006/04/07/1143916721706.html)

:rolleyes:

Yeah, saw that. Hence my Space: 1999 poster reference. The clue is in the date.
Yeah, I got that. I don't think it made the trekkies in the thread take off their spock ears, though.

I don't think it made the trekkies in the thread take off their spock ears, though.
Alas. I like sci-fi as much as anyone, but it's never going to be real.

A
Granted I back nuclear power as well, which puts me into a somewhat contradictory position. But the ridiculous thing is, wind power is increasingly a 'harder sell' than nuclear. I back whatever works, and I would love to see both power generation technologies succeed. But it's a one horse race now, assuming of course the reamining horse doesn't get shot by the crowd.

Thankfully, in the US wind/nuclear are both getting easier to build rather than more difficult.

Thankfully, in the US wind/nuclear are both getting easier to build rather than more difficult.
Wind yes. Nuclear no. Its been 20 years since a new reactor has been built. Although that may change soon.

Wind yes. Nuclear no. Its been 20 years since a new reactor has been built. Although that may change soon.

That's what I meant.;)

Nuclear's going to be an easier sell with the new reprocessing technology that will remove some of the problems of storing the radioactive waste; the amount of fuel retrieved will also be a bonus because it will reduce the amount of uranium consumed.

Wind yes. Nuclear no. Its been 20 years since a new reactor has been built. Although that may change soon.

I live down the road from a reactor and I don't see what the big deal about it is. Seems perfectly safe to me and if it does explode I won't have too much time to worry about it. XD As for the waste, we can just convince the really dumb people it is the perfect diet solution! They'd die and the waste would be gone. Perfect solution. =P

With the consideration that reproductive adults likely do not comprise the primary component of the aforementioned 101 deaths, it would be interesting to examine age-bracket attrition breakdown - with emphasis on identification of anthropogenic components for each.

Victoria's Department of Sustainability and Environment (http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dse/nrenpa.nsf/FID/-C2ACE836614257BF4A256989001181C6?OpenDocument), on Neophema chrysogaster:

Historical information suggests that the population of the Orange-bellied Parrot has fluctuated since the first European settlement. There are reports of 'thousands' from the 1830's, 1880's and the 1910's.

The decline appears to have been most dramatic since the 1940's but the population may have stabilised in recent years (1980 -1999) at its present very low level of 150 - 200 birds.

Studies have shown that Orange-bellied Parrot pairs tend to remain together for life, with the same pair occupying a nest for up to five years. At present there are estimated to be 70 - 80 breeding pairs in the wild. As up to six eggs may be laid each season, it may seem surprising that the population is not expanding.

However, natural events take a heavy toll. Of all nests studied in the wild, the average number of young reared is 1.7 per nest. This is a similar fledging rate to that of many more common species. Trials of artificial nest boxes have produced a significantly higher fledging success of 3.6 young per nest.

Then, of course, as a migratory bird, the species has to face the arduous Bass Strait crossing. The juveniles remain at the breeding areas longer than the adults and so must make the journey by themselves.

The mainland habitats of the Orange-bellied Parrot have been dramatically reduced in area since European settlement. Within the remaining habitats, competition for food may have increased because of introduced seed-eating birds such as the House Sparrow, European Goldfinch and European Greenfinch. Predators such as the introduced Red Fox and feral House Cat have also taken their toll. It is also likely that parrot diseases have added to the pressure on the population.



Licence to kill parrots: a wind farm anomaly

A TASMANIAN wind farm is operating with a licence to kill up to six endangered orange-bellied parrots every two years — the same birds that the Federal Government last week declared must be saved at all costs.

...

Even if more than six birds were killed within two years, the company would not be penalised, instead only being obliged to plan for reducing the deaths before the next migration period.

Full article at http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/licence-to-kill-parrots-a-wind-farm-anomaly/2006/04/12/1144521401684.html.

Can you fix the damage done to the thread with your senseless post we already KNEW about?

I live down the road from a reactor and I don't see what the big deal about it is. Seems perfectly safe to me and if it does explode I won't have too much time to worry about it. XD As for the waste, we can just convince the really dumb people it is the perfect diet solution! They'd die and the waste would be gone. Perfect solution. =P

I also live by a reactor (the Perry one a few miles from my house). I can see the steam rising from the towers and hit golf balls at a driving range pretty much right next to it...I can honestly say I've never been concerned about an accident at the plant.

The last time anything related to it occured was in 2002 or so when we got KI tablets in the event of a terror attack.

I was almost trying to care that it would kill 1 endangered bird per year, until I read one hundred and fucking one parrots die every year anyway.

What kills the other 100 parrots?

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/birds/lovebirds/images/bluemaskWBLov_DBird50.jpg
I just bought a specimen of Agapornis Personata Personata today. She looks very much like these fellows.