Regrow Qld - US implosion - General meeting - BlueSky - Wolves
Gladstone Conservation Council supports policies of diversity, equality, inclusion and accessibility, as well as the rights of First Nations people in Australia and around the world. We will never support fascism in any form and are taking steps to divest from platforms which support it.
EDITORIAL
My friends,
I have struggled to write to you in the last few weeks, primarily because events have moved so fast that it is very difficult to keep up. I have wavered variously between despair, insomnia, and ‘bring on the apocalypse’, Mad Max style. Advantages of this style of apocalypse are that you don’t have to wash your hair, wear pants, or attend meetings which should have been an email.
Alas, it seems a repeat of World War I or II is more likely. I’ll probably be stuck in an office doing logistics and expected to wear a uniform.
I wouldn’t care about the USA imploding, except that it has profound implications for the rest of the world, and in particular, the fight against climate change. The ‘Drill, baby, drill’ philosophy espoused lately from the US is a massive step backwards. The rolling back of women’s rights is even further retrograde.
Other serious concerns are the gutting of the US Environmental Protection Authority, the cutting of staff at National Parks, and the removal of USAID programs which help the poorest people on the planet.
It’s hard to know just how to deal with the collapse of democracy in a country as large and as influential as the US.
I know though, that conservative politicians in Australia (and the Murdoch press) will use this as a playbook for proposals to do a Campbell Newman style gutting of the public service in Australia. We must not let that happen - and if it does, we must be prepared to help our friends and neighbours through some very tough times.
Here are some things that I have done recently which are a start.
We have a new header for our emails to you which sets out very clearly what our position is.
I had the opportunity to set up a sporting club constitution recently - and I added our commitment to diversity, equality, inclusion and accessibility into the objects.
I have always prepared for cyclones, but I am preparing for supply chain disruptions in my personal life.
Opened a BlueSky account for Gladstone Conservation Council. We’ll be focused over there rather than on Facebook.
We hope you’re not too tired from doomscrolling (quality stuff!) to go out there and make a small difference in your own life.
Each of those drops makes an ocean.
Much love,
Anna
General Meeting March 12 - Agnes Water
Join us in person at the Agnes Water Tavern for lunch from 12pm and for a General Meeting from 1pm.
We’ll be talking about Sustainable House Day and DiEM25, a new democracy movement from Europe.
This is an informal social event, and everyone is welcome.
Please RSVP to gladconscouncil@gmail.com so that we can book a table.
Follow us on BlueSky
@gladstonecc.bsky.social
The research, which utilized previously published data from 25 riparian (streamside) sites and collected over a 20 year period, from 2001 to 2020, revealed a remarkable 1,500% increase in willow crown volume along riparian zones in northern Yellowstone National Park, driven by the effects on elk due to a restored large carnivore guild following the reintroduction of wolves in 1995–96, and other factors.
The study was led by Dr. William J. Ripple of Oregon State University and the Conservation Biology Institute in Corvallis, OR, and published in Global Ecology and Conservation.
There’s still plenty to smile about
