On Sunday, July 19, candidates of Miss Earth Australia, as well as a number of supporters of the cause, joined with members of the Inner West Environment Group (IWEG), a forum of residents of Dulwich Hill, Summer Hill, and other surrounding inner west suburbs. How often is it, when as Sydney residents we find ourselves travelling on the City Rail network, do we note the state of the railway sidings. Too often they are overgrown with rogue weeds, or to take another extreme, they are dry and desolate, as is often the case on the East Hills line on which I travel. The main purpose of IWEG is to act as a contact point for councils, government agencies such as City Rail and Sydney Water, and the general public who reside in the affected areas.

Over a four-year period, the efforts of IWEG volunteers, led by site manager Bruce Ashley, have pooled their labour to establish and maintain these sidings. Two of these are located in Dulwich Hill, in Piggott Street and also in Davis Street.

On Sunday, 19 July, Miss Earth Australia candidates donated their efforts to the Davis Street venture, getting in there, donning the orange rail safety vests and gardening gloves and “getting their hands dirty” for the common cause. The cause involved planting species of native trees, clearing the site of weeds, and also building a series of steps from the stormwater drain to the bushland region. Eucalyptus and Stringybarks are the species of trees that are dominant in this area.

A great spirit of community was present, both within the supporters of Miss Earth and the residents of the district of Marrickville. Residents of inner city districts, with high density housing, often do not give sufficient thought to bush care, because they see so little of it or because they do not see it as relevant to them. As a resident of the city of Campbelltown, more awareness is present because housing is much lower density and there is often greater awareness of the concept of the ecosystem. But by regular working bees of the type participated in on Sunday, it is clear that since 2004, the state of the railway sidings has immensely improved.

When it comes to environmental care, how easy it is to think in terms of big picture issues, such as the relationship between activities such as mining or farming and surrounding regional towns. While it is great to be aware of the effects these activities have in terms of internationally recognised sites such as the Great Barrier Reef or the Red Centre, as these are international tourism hotspots, it is also just as important to pay attention to matters closer to home, such as local bushland and parkland. And this is the great thing about local forums such as IWEG. They look at topics such as bushcare from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, like businesses, state government, local government, and local residents. They do not wait for others to take action, they take action themselves and bring other enthusiastic people with them.

Sunday July 19 was a day when the enthusiastic participants of Miss Earth Australia 2009 lent their collective hands to this energetic local bushland preservation exercise. Trees were planted, weeds were shifted, and the rail sidings which were once an eyesore are now being restored so as to display distinctive Australian tree life and to demonstrate that when it comes to maintaining community bushland, there is the energy and the willpower to make it come about.

These are my thoughts on a tiring yet productive venture

Les Taylor.
 

Did you know?

by Liana Werner Gray

Did you know every time you leave the house without switching off power points, you are contributing to the fact that Australia has the highest carbon footprint in the world?

In 2 days the average Australian uses the same amount of electricity that the average person in China uses in one week.

Australians use more water in one day than people in some African countries use in two months. We are selfish and indulgent.

Did you know that every time you flush the toilet 8L of water is wasted, and you are ruining our Murray Darling basin as it faces extinction.

Did you know that every time you waste instead of recycle you are destroying our iconic areas like the Great Barrier Reef and the Kakadu Wetlands? We are also killing the plant and animal species that live there.

It is time to use less and stop being selfish. Our Earth is undoubtedly the most noble thing to fight for. Start with integrating small things into your life on a daily basis, turning off the lights and power points when not in use, showering under 3 minutes, reduce chemicals in and around your home, there are eco-friendly alternatives, use them, use Miracle Wash Laundry Balls to stop 15 tonnes of washing powder per household being swept into our oceans and rivers, recycle. You don’t have to change your life dramatically, just small steps in the right direction. Every action has a reaction.

Little things everyone can do to help the environment. One by One

by Jasmine Purches

At home:
 

Climate Change Skeptic? No Excuse!

by Rachel LaBlack
BSc, LLB, GradDipLegPrac

Abstract

Although Human-Induced Climate Change has now been generally accepted as an evidenced based scientific phenomenon there still remains many skeptics across all arenas of society - scientific, business and political.  Their claim that ‘Climate Change is a myth,’  however, is inconsequential. This is because even if Climate Change is an utter fallacy, it is a timely warning for humanity who, with or without Climate Change, is rapidly driving this earth to destruction and thus, Climate Change or not, every person has an obligation to preserve their environment.

Introduction

Although there have been vast developments in the understanding of science and weather patterns there continues to be much uncertainty, conflicting information and complicated data surrounding the Climate Change crisis. Thus, whilst there has been a general consensus within the scientific community that human-induced Climate Change is occurring,  there are many grounds for debate regarding the limitations of the science and extent of the causes and consequences of human impact on global weather trends. There are still those who argue that the current environmental era is merely a normal part of the fluctuating weather patterns that have existed since the dawn of time and thus there has been no disruption in the normal cycles of planet earth.  Needless to say, this argument is wholly redundant.  Planet Earth has been disturbed in so many direct ways by the current parasitic human lifestyle that even a plateau in global temperature could not slow the destruction that is being caused by unsustainable living. Problems such as water, land and air pollution, natural resource depletion, land deformation, and flora and fauna disturbance have drastically damaged the natural environment. Of course the issues are inextricably linked as seen in recent reports linking Climate Change with air pollution, water supply and natural resource depletion,  but there are many threats to the natural environment even without Climate Change superimposed on top.

What is Climate Change?

The Australian Government has a Publication entitled “Climate Change – What Does it Mean?” It explains that Climate Change is “changes in our weather patterns because of an increase in the Earth's average temperature.”  
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ascribes to a more comprehensive explanation. In the glossary to their reports Climate Change is defined as a “change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate Change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use.”  

            Rachel LaBlack

Earth girl is out of this world

Naomi Hockins | 25th September 2009

BUNDABERG girl Rachel LaBlack may not have been named Miss Earth Australia this year, but she certainly lived up to her roots by taking the Miss Friendship title and an environment achievement award.

“It was an amazing week and the final night was great,” Ms LaBlack said.

“I was sponsored by one of Sydney's top designers, Jennifer Regan of Embryo, for the night - so the gown was incredible and worth thousands of dollars which I was pretty nervous about.”

Looking stunning in the design as she walked away with the accolades, Ms LaBlack was one of the top 40 for the Miss Earth Australia finals.

She credited her mother, Kepnock resident Lynette LaBlack, for inspiring her entry into the competition.

“She is always talking about the SustainaBundy program that is being run and is just crazy about worm farms, compost and growing vegies,” she said.

When she was not busy studying medicine in Sydney, Ms LaBlack entered the exhausting beauty and conservation competition with participation in clean-ups and tree planting, swimwear photo-shoots and interviews.

The competition was finalised with a coronation ball at Sydney's University of New South Wales at the end of last month.

Ms LaBlack said the winner, Melinda Heffernan from Sydney, would now be off to the world pageant, which goes for three weeks and has about 90 countries represented in it.

The criteria for Miss Earth requires contestants to have a commitment to environmental issues and to have planted a tree.
I was sponsored by one of Sydney's top designers.

Rachel LaBlack

Making the world more beautiful

12th September 2009

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FORGET Jennifer Hawkins, Rachel LaBlack from Bundaberg can combine beauty and conservation - a combination that has landed her in the top 40 for the Miss Earth Australia finals.

Currently studying medicine in Sydney, Ms LaBlack entered the competition, an environmentally-focused version of Miss Universe, as an after thought.

“It was just in a moment of spontaneity that I initially registered for this and then only later worried what I had got myself in to,” she said.

“My passion for the environment is 110%, but I'm not so sure about the glamorous side of it.”

The final concludes with a coronation ball next Saturday night at Sydney's University of New South Wales, but contestants participate in clean-ups and tree planting, swimwear photo shoots and interviews throughout the week.

“I haven't prepared much yet so I'm quite worried, but it should be heaps of fun and a great opportunity to get out there and meet heaps of people and bring attention to the need to preserve our world for the future,” she said.

Rachel credited her mother, Kepnock resident Lynette LaBlack, for inspiring her entry into Miss Earth.

“She is always talking about the SustainaBundy program that is being run and is just crazy about worm farms, compost and growing vegies,” she said.

The winner will represent Australia at the Miss Earth final later this year.
Miss Earth Australia • Beauty pageant promoting environmental conservation • Held from September 14-19 • Six awards including overall winner • 40 finalists Australia-wide “My passion for the environment is 110%”