COLD BURNING FORESTS WILL NOT STOP CLIMATE CHANGE
Because Tasmania is over logged, the last remaining forests are the last refuge for many species. It is the systematic logging of forests which has caused this. So all the species of birds and bugs are pushed into the smallest geographic area possible for their survival... And now you want to set fire to it? How about ensuring the animals and insects can relocate first? How about increasing habitat for fauna and fauna? My key point is that forest coverage in Tasmania is not what it should be, so the remaining forests are even more precious as they are home to displaced animals. An old or dead tree may be the home of an animal or bird or fungi.
I'm not disagreeing with cold burns, I'm just saying that ecosystems are compromised by logging. Ecosystems that are already stressed are less resilient. I lived in Tasmania for ten years and I saw the environmental movement at it's lowest ever ebb. I also was shocked that reforestation is not part of public discussion in Tasmania. I do everything I can to promote the protection of the environment. Sometimes that means changing the focus of the discussion. The reason some greenies want to not back burn is because ecosystems are so stressed. Where will a wombat go to eat, the farm next door? Think. The current Tasmanian government is not responsive enough to deep ecology principles to be trusted with back burning forests.
Since Campbell Newman changed Queensland's environmental laws a total area of forest three times the size of Tasmania has been cleared within Queensland. And up here the public debate is all about controlled burns. Controlled burns won't bring back all the forest that is gone. So I'm saying controlled burns are a secondary issue under the main issue which is not preserving, but actually expanding native forests to reverse the current rate of destruction. Grow sustainable forestry. Grow hemp for all it's uses.
The bigger issue is Global Warming and the threat of mass animal extinctions. In Queensland bushfires this summer entered rainforests that have never burnt before. I was in Tasmania when sensitive ecosystems in the centre of the state experienced bushfires that were unprecedented. Unless we tackle the big issue of Global Warming, we can't save Australian ecosystems.
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