Kariz I have been up to Byron Bay and Nimbin and it has some of the most
beautiful coast line on earth. Tourism is taking over at an incredible
speed and as on the Gold Coast is turning into a concrete jungle... so
sad.There is also a beautiful waterfall nearby. I am delegating you to
see they dont destroy that.I want to spend more beautiful moments
there.

Byron Bay, Kyogle, Ballina, Nimbin, Mullumbimbee...The Northern River
area rocks...

But for how long??

And I hear you got rain there at Byron over Easter,
Kariz...

hi jess i live in a little village called Halfway Creek about 1 and a
half hours away from all thoes beaut places you mentioned and yes cement
clay and glass is starting to blight the skyline.i cant be to
judgemental butt it would be great if the development and growth was
sustainable and not all about makin fast bucks.we have to learn to live
with not destroy our environment.there is enough for us all if only we
all new how to share and care for mother earth and every thing
liveing.bob dylan said in a song were on the eve of destruction .im
hopping common sence will prevail and we drop all our defences and work
as one with love to make all the changes to make this planet a
beautifull place for all. peace n goodvibes.

We have the same challenge here KariZ even the developers seem to go
back on their word.

We had a development go in here at The Springs, named after a fresh
water spring that used to be here..

The way they 'sold' their development to the council and the townsfolk
was with a minimal 'footprint' on the eco- system here..until most of
the land was sole, and houses built, etc, etc, (it's kind of what one
would call millionaire row)..after the dust had settled and the
'feelgood' warm and fuzzies passed...stuff that was written into their
building approvals, have changed.

The beach/cove this development overlooks is a sensitive nesting area
for turtles, and the low sodium lighting that was supposed to be
utilised, has changed...there were to be no exterior lighting on
dwellings unless low sodium..didn't happen.

And when complaints were made, with an environment justification and
breach of contract...basically the response was, "So what, do turtles
have lawyers now? Because we do.."

I see it everywhere, here, the 'chrome and glass' investment properties
that sit idle most of the year...lights on timers, fridges and hot water
systems still running...with empty houses...automated sprinklers..on and
on...a pool system of three interlocking pools, tennis courts, in a
gated estate.. and yet no users..seems a waste of power and water..

In Lamont County we have a huge debate going on about proposed land use.
The government and the county are trying to fast track new bylaws and a
municipal development plan.
Nobody is telling us why. Very secretive.
The area is crazy with development right now and there are a lot of
dollar signs in people's eyes.

There's a lot going on this province at the moment. A lot of it
happening right in my county or directly affecting my county and the
neighboring ones. We're in an area that has been named "The Industrial
Heartland".
Hazco, a multinational company wants to use good farmland to store
sulfur. Sulfer is a by product of mining and oil and gas upgrading. This
proposed site is 6 kms north of the town of Lamont. The area residents
are largely opposed to this. Major concerns are the smell, ground water
contamination and the possibility of a sulfer fire. When sulfer is
burning it produces sulfer dioxide. If there were to be a fire this
could kill the entire population of the town I live in.
I really don't like the sound of this!

i think you should pack up and head for the the hills kidatheart sounds
like a pretty doggee environment to be living in.i think the people
responsible for all these rediculous ventures are on drugs s
most likely.

It's just simply greed.

We also have 5 or more oil upgraders that are to be built north and west
of me. The pipelines for the oil have been started a couple years ago.
They start in Ft.MacMurray 500kms north of me. Suncor, Syncrude and a
few others are extracting bitumen and taking the oil out of it and then
sending it via pipeline to various upgraders.
Ft.MacMurray is another BIG can of worms. A lot of employment and money
there. There's talk of building a nuclear power plant to feed the area.
They use an awful lot of electricity there.
All of this will happen regardless of whatever the people of Alberta
actually want. It's big business. Our new Premier, Ed Stelmach is
reviewing all of this and will likely have little choice but approve it
all. He doesn't want to be unemployed.

How does this turn around?

How can these situations be arrested?

Is there no 'watchdog' committee, Harry?

We are visitors on this planet, well, it is my feelings anyway, and this
whole attitude of owning the land, who really owns it?

It seems out every window is similar stories.

There is beauty too, in a sunset, a sunrise, in the way snow sits just
so on a tree, a deer grazes quietly in a meadow, a young joey takes her
first 'big wallaby' steps outside her mother's pouch....all of it.

There is beauty all around us..how do we bring that back, into every
backyard, for all to see it?

Lee, I could write pages on things I've seen here.
Ft.Saskatchewan is 20 minutes west down the highway from me. Sherritt
Gordon liquify H2S there and put it rail cars which go down the tracks
not far from my house. It gets shipped out east for making heavy water
for nuclear power plants and to pharmecuetical companies. One rail car
could easily kill an entire large city.
There are commitees and boards that are keeping an eye on what goes on
here but they're comprised mostly of the right people that keep it
rolling in the right direction. There have been complaints in the past
and they're still looking into it. Very little happens if anything.
Dow Chemical, Marsulux, Shell Oil and a bunch of other companies are all
in Ft.Saskatchewan as well. It's a lovely place. It looks rather medival
at night with everything lit up and all the flares stacks burning.
Dow have a flarestack for burning off acetylene. When it's lit the flame
is over 50 metres high. It's blinding. Acetylene was used for lights
years ago because it burns so bright. It's only a half a km from the
highway.
One night when it's clear I'll take a few photos so you can see what it
looks like.

Thanks to this thread I watch my back yard in hopes of finding awesome
animals, and this morning I found some! A momma cat jumped over my
wooden fence with a kitten in her mouth and she dropped it off in our
yard. Then she jumped over the fence again and brought another kitten!
The kittens tried to climb the tree in the back yard but were too little
to even get a foot off the ground. Momma cat took the kittens over
another fence and disappeared from my sight. The weather sucks, but at
least nature itself is still alive and well.

Here in GA most everything is controlled by developers. Most county
commissions, city councils, etc are made up of developers or real estate
people. Anything for a short term dollar is their motto.

What can we do? Vote, but the course is hard as W. Virginia and
Kentucky residents have found for the last 40 years as they have
attempted to stop coal mining co. from strip mining practices. Here is
what one coal co. exec. said when residents were fighting the practice:

Coal industry executives often reacted with undisguised

bitterness at the citizen complaints. James Reilly, vice- president of

Consolidation Coal Company, drew loud applause from an audience of

coal operators when he declared "These conserva tionists who demand a

better job of land reclamation are stupid idiots, socialists and
commies

who don't know what they're talk ing about. I think it's our bounden

duty to knock them down and subject them to the ridicule they deserve.

We cant quit trying that is the important thing, you are going to be
attacked for your efforts. attacks designed to make us look like fools.
That was said in the early 70's, but is still happening today.

I watched a documentary on strip mining not long ago, and when they
asked an official what about the enviornmental impact he said: We
operate on the needs of today and hope future generations can solve the
problems we create, right now he said there are no answers to fix the
enviornmental problems, but we have always operated that way, and so far
it has worked.

I could not help thinking what if the next generation is unable to fix
it, then what?

Here is a link to the history of efforts to stop this practice of strip
mining, if you are interested:

http://webpages.marshall.edu/~bady/envi/CHSTRPMN.TXT

I love this thread jess...
Nice job...

thats the best photo jess you are a trimmer without ya sunnies on

We have had the most beautiful rain over the last few days....the grass
is greener and the ants have stopped scurrying into my electric kettle
for a drink.

Unfortunately it has done little to help raise the water level of our
dams.The reason for this....the government never built one in a proven
rain belt area. Saddest thing is we pay their wages for being total
incompetents.

Hi~

Look out your window and wish on a star.

Believe

Good Morning!!!

Gumboots on Riva??

That is such wonderful breakfast news, I hope the Gippsland and
Dandenongs got some rain as well, Euroa is carting their water, the
whole town is being supplied by the tankerload...