Days merge, sun is out, cooler nights so sleep is easier.
Media when I get up and 6 at night.
Bonfires, stacking and burning excess dried tree branches, summer started in August 2019.
Clearing turmeric leaves, harvesting pineapples, the sweetest yet, avocados from a tree that has been in the ground for 25 years, drought, smoke, heat and when the rains came its flowered and fruited.
As I watch my garden rebound after the severe drought and fires, I marvel at natures ability to regenerate. My first spinach and avocado for my table, both spiced with abundant chilli.
Media is now limited to Radio National and Norman Swan and the updates on covid-19.
It is far greater now for the global human population where as our scary bush fires was more local although it was daily head lines everywhere around the world.
So after this virus peters out will there be real acknowledgment of how we humans are destroying our planet home. And start to take it seriously?
A tree stands alone in a logged area prepared for plantation near Lapok in Malaysia’s Sarawak State. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
Nature is sending us a message with the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis, according to the UN’s environment chief, Inger Andersen.
Andersen said humanity was placing too many pressures on the natural world with damaging consequences, and warned that failing to take care of the planet meant not taking care of ourselves.
Leading scientists also said the Covid-19 outbreak was a “clear warning shot”, given that far more deadly diseases existed in wildlife, and that today’s civilisation was “playing with fire”. They said it was almost always human behaviour that caused diseases to spill over into humans.
To prevent further outbreaks, the experts said, both global heating and the destruction of the natural world for farming, mining and housing have to end, as both drive wildlife into contact with people.
My admiration goes to all front line workers, especially in our hospitals and paramedics.
This map, created by Australian scientists, shows where soil is contaminated by glyphosate.
Supplied: University of SydneyClose
In a world first, Australian agricultural scientists have created a map that pinpoints global hotspots of glyphosate contamination.
Key points glyphosate map
Key points:
The European Commission is still deciding whether to ban the use of Roundup
In Australia and overseas, there are multiple legal cases underway over claims that Roundup causes cancer
Researchers, who have mapped where glyphosate has been used, say “it’s found nearly everywhere globally” but have identified hotspots
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in weedkiller Roundup, originally produced by Monsanto — a global company now owned by Bayer.
The map identifies environmental risk analysis and determines that Australia’s most affected regions are south-east New South Wales and central-west New South Wales continuing up to north-west Queensland.
Western Australia also shows various regions to have a medium hazard, as well as parts of South Australia and Victoria.
“The reason we produced the database is because there is a lack of understanding of the molecules used and the geographic distribution of the users,” he said.
This comes as international agencies discuss the future of the herbicide.
“The European Commission is investigating whether to extend [Roundup’s] licence, suspend the use of it, or ban it,” Dr Maggi said.
In Australia and overseas, there are multiple legal actions underway against agricultural chemical company Monsanto over claims that Roundup causes cancer.
But Dr Maggi said the jury was still out on whether the chemical was a health risk.
“The scientific literature is very much divided into those who bring evidence that it may have negative impacts, and those who state there are no visible impacts on human health,” he said.
‘It’s everywhere’
The research found that glyphosate and associated by-products of the chemical were detected in the majority of the globe’s soil.
“It’s found nearly everywhere globally, and it is unpreventable because we found that environments that have not been exposed to this molecule before have a very low capability to degrade it,” Dr Maggi said.
By Jane McNaughton Updated 11 minutes ago First posted about an hour ago
This map, created by Australian scientists, shows where soil is contaminated by glyphosate.
Supplied: University of SydneyClose
In a world first, Australian agricultural scientists have created a map that pinpoints global hotspots of glyphosate contamination.
Key points glyphosate map
Key points:
The European Commission is still deciding whether to ban the use of Roundup
In Australia and overseas, there are multiple legal cases underway over claims that Roundup causes cancer
Researchers, who have mapped where glyphosate has been used, say “it’s found nearly everywhere globally” but have identified hotspots
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in weedkiller Roundup, originally produced by Monsanto — a global company now owned by Bayer.
The map identifies environmental risk analysis and determines that Australia’s most affected regions are south-east New South Wales and central-west New South Wales continuing up to north-west Queensland.
Western Australia also shows various regions to have a medium hazard, as well as parts of South Australia and Victoria.
“The reason we produced the database is because there is a lack of understanding of the molecules used and the geographic distribution of the users,” he said.
This comes as international agencies discuss the future of the herbicide.
“The European Commission is investigating whether to extend [Roundup’s] licence, suspend the use of it, or ban it,” Dr Maggi said.
In Australia and overseas, there are multiple legal actions underway against agricultural chemical company Monsanto over claims that Roundup causes cancer.
But Dr Maggi said the jury was still out on whether the chemical was a health risk.
“The scientific literature is very much divided into those who bring evidence that it may have negative impacts, and those who state there are no visible impacts on human health,” he said.
‘It’s everywhere’
The research found that glyphosate and associated by-products of the chemical were detected in the majority of the globe’s soil.
“It’s found nearly everywhere globally, and it is unpreventable because we found that environments that have not been exposed to this molecule before have a very low capability to degrade it,” Dr Maggi said.
“All croplands globally are currently affected by these substances; the intensity of the chemical is variable,” he said.
