Reportage Enviro - Latest Comments

Re: Surcharge tip-offs

M Hofer — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:08:00 -0000

The surcharge is now legal again the government has done a backflip on this decision.

Re: Growing quinoa in Australia

ReportageEditor — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:05:50 -0000

They would be gluten free. They would need to be kept in the same silos as wheat to be cross-contaminated (like oats). Furthermore they have a bitter coating that must be removed with thorough washing and that would protect them from contamination.

Re: Growing quinoa in Australia

Tammi Kibler — Thu, 26 May 2011 01:00:28 -0000

Are these quinoas gluten free or do native species cross contaminate the crops? I am curious because I believe demand will continue to rise in the West and more sources will be needed to meet the demand.

Re: Thames river a health hazard says teens

Emmi Bances — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 02:29:18 -0000

2012....here we wait.....come soon......show us the new past, remove the technology and create the beautiful nature.

Re: Major solar energy developer forced to shut down

Solar Power For Homes — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:32:39 -0000

Sad to see. Hopefully they will be able to pull everything together and keep their doors open.

Re: The caged puppy crisis

Suzanne Cass — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:51:05 -0000

As absolutely deplorable as battery puppy farming is, there is some speciesism going on here. It's not okay do do it to pigs, chickens and sheep for ultra-fine wool either.

Re: Live export versus Australian halal meat

Suzanne Cass — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:27:29 -0000

LEAWG’s claims are disingenuous at best. There can be no possible welfare concessions to transporting animals crammed tightly into pens for up to a month, then subjecting them to possible further transport under atrocious conditions, only to slaughter them in a hideous, unspeakable manner at the end. This trade is one which brings international condemnation upon Australia and rightly so.

Re: Live export versus Australian halal meat

Suzanne Cass — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:17:48 -0000

That is an excellent and insightful piece. Animal welfare is NEVER a priority for the millions of animals used in farming in Australia, and at the worst end of the spectrum is the live export trade. As for the 'industry' being worth $1.2 billion annually, one only needs to refer to the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the FACTS of the matter. Furthermore, the number of deaths is a wholly inaccurate measure of the suffering endured by these hundreds of thousands of animals, before they even leave Australia, in transit, and worst of all, in importing countries. This trade in wretched animal suffering is a shocking blight on the collective Australian conscience.

Re: Boris’ bicycles to take over London?

Dana — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:33:31 -0000

Let's hope they iron out the kinks, there's a similar system in Montreal, Canada that works brilliantly.

Re: Rare but everywhere

Kirch Kearly — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:50:11 -0000

I guess the Chinese will not dump REE again. I think even they realize they can make better profit and extend their supplies by increasing prices and reducing supply

Re: Live export versus Australian halal meat

WSPA's Sharon Troy — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 23:26:22 -0000

Thanks for such a great article, Michael. It is unfortunate that the MLA and LEAWG continue to purport the same excuses. We recently wrote a piece about it on our campaign blog: http://blog.humanechain.org/20...

Re: The caged puppy crisis

Jo — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 07:35:16 -0000

Go vegan...well, it's actually not as simple as that. No animal should be forced to endure cruelty, be they pets, working animals or animal raised for food.
If livestock are raised in the way they used to (rather than in large-scale commercial feedlots and the like) it would be more environmentally friendly - cattle reared on grass, rather than grain (which would go back to being for human consumption), pigs kept in paddocks with shelter and room to move and socialise with other pigs, chickens allowed to be properly free-range, with unimpeded access to pasture during the day.
Then these animals would be healthier, happier and they would have to endure unnatural conditions. Don't go vegan - go organic!

Re: The caged puppy crisis

Addisonjudy — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:44:38 -0000

Thank you for again highlighting this depicable practice.I have written to councils and parliamentarians in the past but get little if no response from them.Any response is in the form of a generic letter written to anyone who contacts them so I felt it was all rather futile.
I do my best to support animal welfare agencies and by talking to friends and people I meet about puppy farming.I still see fat too many dogs that I just know have come from pet shops, however I keep pushing the message.

Re: The caged puppy crisis

EDNA CAMPBELL — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 11:29:14 -0000

Yes I feel for other animals especially pigs as they are so intelligent. But that doesnt make it ok to do this to dogs and puppies who are our much loved companions to most of us vegan or otherwise. And if we were really serious about saving the planet the animal that has to be stopped from breeding is US

Re: The caged puppy crisis

Stuart — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:05:43 -0000

I'm not saying these conditions are right for any animal - I also oppose battery hens, feedlots, intensive piggeries etc - but the products of puppy mills are intended to live in our homes with us as family members. Pigs may be as intelligent as dogs, but I have no intention of inviting a couple of Landrace sows into my living room to share my sofa. The fact these puppies are bred without consideration for congenital issues, are not socialised etc ADDED to the the basicly inhumane conditions they and their parents are kept in make companion animals a priority case. As for going vegan, that's your choice and all the best to you with that - but it's not what I choose to be. If you consider me "morally wrong" for that, you're welcome to your opinion - I'll file it alongside the billions of religious people in the world who consider me morally wrong for not believing as THEY do... ever added together all the christians, muslims, hindus and buddhists who can't ALL be right ;-)

Re: The caged puppy crisis

renée feikema — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:45:53 -0000

So True! The 'How much is that doggie in the window ?' syndrome has to stop!! The puppy farms are disgraceful and disgusting and this appalling situation must stop. It has fast become a money spinner, as there has been a marked rise in people wanting to own a dog, in particular the -oodle breeds.

Re: The caged puppy crisis

banpuppyfactories — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:20:24 -0000

Good article - though it just as awful & revolting that other animals are also factory farmed.
All intensive factory farming should be abolished - we need to respect & live with animals not exploit them.

Puppy farmers will tell you they love their dogs - 'modern day dogs' I've even heard them referred to - the Oodles....labradoodles, cavoodles.
This is shameful, these poor animals are bred needlessly to satisfy consumer fads, meanwhile an animal in a shelter loses it's life.

Or years down the track a puppy farm dog is surrendered to a shelter because of potential health & psychological problems due to to spending their most critical months either at a puppy factory or in a glass box in a pet shop.
It is so very sad.

Puppy farmers should be made to work for one day in rescue to see first had the severe & horrific consequences of their actions.
Always make adoption your first option.

Re: The caged puppy crisis

Pbeach — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:24:51 -0000

It is terrible to hear about the conditions that these dogs have to endure. But it is no worse than the conditions that pigs, cows, chickens and other animals endure.
Why do we think it is OK for pigs and cows, but not OK for dogs? Pigs are just as intelligent as dogs, and all animals feel pain and want to live their life, not be used as a resource.
Go vegan, it's better for your health, better for the planet and most importantly it's the morally right and just thing to do. And adopt a homeless animal, we have a responsibility to look after the animals that are already here, and to stop breeding more into a life of being used as a product.

Re: Damming the Mekong

Michael — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:17:59 -0000

In my personal view only, the plans for any dams on major rivers in the world, such as the Mekong, should be carefully studied and considered according to internationally accepted best practices which safeguard the environment, have reasonable economic returns, including those for the local people. Great care should be taken to protect the world's precious natural resources including the triibutaries of the major river systems and downstream effects. As an ASEAN diplomat remarked some years ago at a meeting I attended at a country along the Mekong River, "the fish in the Mekong River have no nationality, they belong to the world".

Re: Damming the Mekong

Josh — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 03:47:11 -0000

Thanks for this story. Very important exposure of this issue and great to have work on this site from Laos.

Re: Greenwashing the palm oil industry

Pauldada — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:51:36 -0000

My son and I took a bus trip through southern Malaysia a week ago. As far as we could see along the route from Johor to Mersing, everything had been clearcut for palm plantations, the hillsides crudely terraced by bulldozers for planting oil palms, and the rivers an opaque brown from the silt runoff. You don't need to be a scientist to perceive environmental degradation on this scale.

And this week in Singapore, the air is unbreathable from the haze of the burnoff of indigenous vegetation for new palm plantations in Sumatra. Nothing strange about that: it happens every year. The odd thing is that Singapore's sovereign wealth funds are heavily invested in palm oil. One might have hoped for some proactive control of the burnoff on their part to allow citizens to breathe.

Re: Eating for a better future

Avleen — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:26:31 -0000

Thanks- glad you like it :)

Re: Sydney suburbs left in bicycle dust

Rob Kennedy — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 20:29:00 -0000

A very good article well researched and well written. As a Sydney bicycleite, I can see the improvements, but some of them need to go a lot further, some seem to stop and start just anywhere.

Re: Deepwater Horizons not so bright

Yanni — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:48:47 -0000

Not to forget the potential conflict between tourism and drilling for oil....

Re: Greenwashing the palm oil industry

millhill — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 07:23:11 -0000

millhillpalm manufactures and installs Small Scale Palm Oil Processing Mini Mills (POPMs) capable of processing from 1 - 4 tonnes of Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) per hour.

While the POPMs may be used anywhere in the world, they have been designed specifically for the palm oil sectors and environment of west and central Africa. The POPMs are the design of a British engineer with over 12 years of experience of the palm oil industry. They are manufactured under license by a Polish engineering firm. While the equipment has been designed to be durable, simple to operate and low maintenance scotp will provide ongoing support and maintenance where necessary after the units are commissioned in the field. The POPMs are available for outright purchase or may be supplied by way of some form of finance lease arrangement.

scotpalm aims to promote ‘Sustainable Development’ through the manufacture and installation of carbon-neutral Palm Oil Processing Mini-Mills for the more efficient extraction of Palm Oil derived from sustainable sources of wild and cultivated Oil Palms throughout west and central Africa. As a result, the socio-economic welfare of communities throughout the regions will be enhanced through the creation of