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1 CHINA STEPS UP COAL CAPACITY EVEN AS POLLUTION MOUNTS Sydney Morning Herald, January 9, 2014 China approved the construction of more than 100 million tonnes of new coal production capacity in 2013 - six times more than a year earlier and equal to 10 per cent of U.S. annual usage - flying in the face of plans to tackle choking air pollution. The scale of the increase, which only includes major mines, reflects Beijing's aim to put 860 million tonnes of new coal production capacity into operation over the five years to 2015, more than the entire annual output of India. While efforts to curb pollution mean coal's share of the country's energy mix is set to dip, the total amount of the cheap and plentiful fuel burned will still rise. According to data compiled by Reuters, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top planning authority, approved the construction of 15 new large-scale coal mines with 101.3 million tonnes of annual capacity in 2013. "Given that China's total energy consumption is still growing along with the economy, then coal production will continue to grow," said Helen Lau, senior commodities analyst with UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong. "While China is trying to foster consumption from other sources like hydro and nuclear, we expect actual coal production to grow 2-3 per cent a year in the next five years." Chinese coal production of 3.66 billion tonnes at the end of 2012 already accounts for nearly half the global total, according to official data. The figure dwarves production rates of just over 1 billion tonnes each in Europe and the United States. Much of China's new capacity is in regions like Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, reflecting a strategy to close small mines in marginal locations like Beijing and consolidate output in a series of huge "coal industry bases" that will deliver thermal power to markets via the grid. For more on this story visit: www.smh.com.au PLANETLIFE 9 January 2014 Hottest Year on Record in Australia Page 6 Emergency Management Lets Plan Together Page 9 OceanLife: Japanese Whaling Page 2

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2014 and before the party poppers have dropped Australian's just went through their hottest year in recored history. Ouch! China ramps up its coal production while breathing through with face masks and the eastern states of the U.S.A freezes with temps as much as 20 degees celcius out of whack!Games continue in the world's oceans with the Sea Shepherd notifying the Australian government about an incoming Japanese Harpoon ship and the Ex Canadian Defense Minister lets it rip on UFO's flying in our atmosphere on Serbian State TV! Go Mr Hellyer let it fly. Great artcle even better video footage on Youtube.Enjoy the read, Great work team!Danny

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Page 1: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

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CHINA STEPS UP COAL CAPACITY EVEN AS POLLUTION MOUNTS Sydney Morning Herald, January 9, 2014

C h i n a a p p r o v e d t h e construction of more than 100 million tonnes of new coal production capacity in 2013 - six times more than a year earlier and equal to 10 per cent of U.S. annual usage - flying in the face of plans to tackle choking air pollution.

The scale of the increase, which only includes major mines, reflects Beijing's aim to put 860 million tonnes of new coal production capacity into operation over the five years to 2015, more than the entire annual output of India.

Whi le e f for t s to curb pollution mean coal's share of the country's energy mix is set to dip, the total amount of the

cheap and plentiful fuel burned will still rise.

According to data compiled by Reuter s, the Nat iona l Development and Refor m Commission (NDRC), China's top planning authority, approved the construction of 15 new large-scale coal mines with 101.3 mi l l ion tonnes o f annual capacity in 2013.

"Given that China's total energy consumption is still growing along with the economy, then coal production wil l continue to grow," said Helen Lau, senior commodities analyst with UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong.

"While China is trying to foster consumption from other sources like hydro and nuclear, we expect actual coal production

to grow 2-3 per cent a year in the next five years."

Chinese coal production of 3.66 billion tonnes at the end of 2012 already accounts for nearly half the global total, according to official data. The figure dwarves production rates of just over 1 billion tonnes each in Europe and the United States.

Much of China's new capacity is in regions like Inner M o n g o l i a a n d S h a a n x i , reflecting a strategy to close s m a l l m i n e s i n m a rg i n a l locations l ike Beij ing and consolidate output in a series of huge "coal industry bases" that will deliver thermal power to markets via the grid.

For more on this story visit: www.smh.com.au

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Hottest Year on Record in Australia

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Emergency ManagementLets Plan Together

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OceanLife: Japanese Whaling

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Page 2: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

The Yushin Maru No. 3, one of three harpoon ships of the Japanese whaling fleet, is currently approaching the 200 nautical mile limit of the Austral ian Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding Macquarie Island, and entering the Australian Whale Sanctuary. The ship is tailing the Sea Shepherd long-range vessel, The Bob Barker.

If the harpoon ship enters the Australian Whale Sanctuary, it runs the risk of contempt proceedings as a result of the Japanese whaling fleet’s continued breach of the 2008 Australian Federal Court injunction, handed down in the case instigated by Humane Society International.

In its decision, the Federal Court found that the Japanese whaling operation had contravened Australian Federal Law, and had “killed, injured, taken and interfered with Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and injured, taken and interfered w i t h h u m p b a c k wh a l e s ( M e g a p t e r a novaeangliae) in the Australian Whale Sanctuary in contravention of sections 229, 229A, 229B and 229C of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).”

Sea Shepherd Australia has notified the Australian Environment Minister, Greg Hunt, of the approaching harpoon ship, calling for

the Australian government’s intervention. Sea Shepherd Australia Managing Director Jeff Hansen has stated, "Sea Shepherd is asking Greg Hunt and the Abbott government to have the guts to stand up to these whale poachers and send a clear message to Tokyo, that they are not welcome in the Australian Whale Sanctuary."

As yet, Mr. Hunt has not released a public response to Sea Shepherd’s request.

In January 2013, Shonan Maru No. 2, the security vessel of the Japanese whaling fleet, entered Australia’s EEZ in contempt of Australian Federal Law. The then-Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, ordered the Japanese government to remove their vessel from Australian waters.

Capta in o f The Bob Barker, Pe ter Hammarstedt, stated, “Just days ago, we collected undeniable proof that the Japanese whaling fleet is illegally slaughtering whales in an international whale sanctuary. These callous killers, who were captured on film with the butchered remains of a slain whale on the i r b lood- s ta ined decks , a re now approaching the Australian Whale Sanctuary. Their presence here is illegal, their actions are immoral, and they need to be turned away immediately.”

For more visit: seashepherd.org.au

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4 OCEANLIFEJAPANESE HARPOON SHIP CLOSING IN ON AUSTRALIAN WHALE SANCTUARY

Page 3: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

A deadly blast of arctic air has shattered decades-old temperature records as it envelops the US, creating chaos with freezing conditions that have affected almost 200 million people.

The below-freezing conditions are being carried from the arctic by a phenomenon known as a polar vortex, which is being blamed for at least 16 deaths.

The big chill has created weather that has paralysed transport, overwhelmed homeless shelters and closed schools and businesses.

Authorities have put about half of the United States under a wind chill warning or cold weather advisory, the icy conditions snarling air, road and rail travel.

New York's Central Park hit a record low temperature for the date of minus 16 degrees Celsius - but with winds gusting to 32 kilometres per hour conditions felt far colder, the National Weather Service said.

The National Weather Service said temperatures were expected to be 14C to 19C below normal from the Midwest to the Southeast.

Major US cities were in the grip of temperatures well below freezing, with Chicago seeing temperatures of -20C, Detroit -21C, Pittsburgh -17C and Boston -9C.

In the normally mild south, Atlanta recorded its coldest weather on this date in 44 years, when the temperature dropped to -14C, while temperatures in northern Florida also briefly dropped below freezing, though the state's citrus crop was unharmed, according to a major growers' group.

Among the deaths reported was a 51-year-old homeless man in Columbus, Georgia, whose body was found in an empty lot after spending the night outdoors.

Four cold and storm-related deaths were reported around Chicago, and an elderly woman was found dead outside her Indianapolis home early on Monday.

The remainder are mostly a result of collisions in traffic, but they also include four men who died of heart attacks while shovelling snow in Illinois.

For more on this story visit: www.abc.net.au

RECORD FREEZE SETTLES INTO EASTERN USA:AFFECTS 200 MILLION PEOPLE

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WHAT IS A POLAR VORTEX?

Arctic air is normally penned in over the Arctic by a powerful circular wind called the polar

vortex.The bitter chill gripping North America is a

result of Arctic air that has spilled southwards.When the vortex weakens, the air starts

heading southwards, bringing exceptional snow and chill to middle latitudes.

The polar vortex is the driven by the difference in air temperature between the Arctic and mid

latitudes.

Page 4: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

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By Peter Burdon, Australian Broadcasting Corporation - The DrumJanuary 1, 2014

If you have been left disillusioned by Australia's recent actions on environmental and social issues, there are plenty of things you can do on your own to make a difference, writes Dr Peter D Burdon.

Recently I was sitting in my office when the phone rang. "You will probably think I am crazy..." said the voice on the end of the line. I hadn't yet made my mind up but decided to give my caller the benefit of the doubt.

The caller was Brian, a 75-year-old retired accountant and life-long Liberal voter. He had just read my op-ed piece on federal funding cuts to the nation's nine environmental defenders offices (EDO). Evidently something I wrote had resonated with him.

"I am worried that there is not going to be anything left for my grandchi ldren," Brian told me. Alongside the funding cuts to the EDOs, he s eemed par t i cu la r l y concerned about the loss of old growth forest in Tasmania.

I could only agree with Brian. Indeed, it has been over 20 years since 1,700 senior scientists (including 104 Nobel Prize winners) signed a document called 'World Scientist's Warning to Humanity'. The opening words are worth reading at length:

Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at risk the future that we wish for human society ... and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.

We all know the rest of the story. The warning has not been heeded and as the 2005 Millennial Ecosystem Assessment stated, every single living system on the planet is in a state of decline and the rate of decline is increasing.

Today the great fear is not that human civilisation is approaching a cliff. Rather, it is that we have shot right over the edge and like Wile E Coyote chasing the Road Runner, we are gradually coming to the realisation that there is no ground beneath our feet.

The fear that I could detect in Brian's voice is not unknown to me. But I am not used to having these kinds of conversations with life-long Liberal voters. I suspected that our discussion was uncharted territory for Brian as well.

As our conversation progressed Brian told me that he felt alienated from current Liberal party policies regarding the environment and spending cuts to the community sector. This made sense to me because while the Liberal party is a "broad church", there is nothing traditionally "liberal" about many of the Governments policies.

The Abbott Government has done a remarkable job resurrecting a rhetoric of "freedom" and the "individual" which Australian politics has not seen since the Howard years. More broadly, it is reminiscent of Thatcher and her famous quip that "there is no such thing as society", only a collection of individuals.

According to th i s ideo logy, individual freedom is more important than the common good of society.

Moreover, the individual is seen as separate from and superior to the ecological community. Two recent actions from the Commonwealth Attorney General George Brandis illustrate this perspective.

The first is Brandis's decision to appoint right-wing policy director Tim Wilson to the likely position of 'freedom commissioner' within the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). This is the same Mr Wilson who recently applauded Government moves t o r e p e a l s 1 8 c o f t h e R a c i a l Discrimination Act 1975, which makes it unlawful to "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" on the basis of race.

The second is Brandis's broad direction to the Australian Law Reform C o m m i s s i o n t o r e v i e w a l l Commonwealth laws (with a particular focus on environmental regulation) to assess the extent to which they impinge upon individual freedom. With respect to this task, Brandis commented: "For too long we have seen freedoms of the individual diminish and become devalued. The Coalition Government will strive to protect and restore them."

For more on this story visit:http://www.abc.net.au/news/

2014-01-01/

OPINION: DON’T LEAVE IT TO POLITICIANS TO CHANGE THE WORLD

Page 5: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

Australian Broadcasting Corporation, January 3, 2014

Australia has just sweltered through its hottest year on record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Average temperatures were 1.20 degrees Celsius above the long-term average of 21.8C, breaking the previous record set in 2005 by 0.17C, the bureau said in its Annual Climate Statement.

All states and territories recorded above average temperatures in 2013, with Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia all breaking annual average temperature records.

And every month of 2013 had national average temperatures at least 0.5C above normal, according to the statement.

The country recorded its hottest day on January 7 - a month which also saw the hottest week and hottest month since records began in 1910.

A new record was set for the number of consecutive days the national average temperature exceeded 39C – seven days between January 2 and 8, 2013, almost doubling the previous record of four consecutive days in 1973.

The highest temperature recorded during 2013 was 49.6C at Moomba in South Australia on January 12, which was the highest temperature in Australia since 1998.

Further, with mean temperatures across Australia generally well above average since September 2012, long periods of warmer-than-average days have been common, with a distinct lack of cold weather, the statement says.

Nights have also been warmer than average, but less so than days.

The country has experienced just one cooler-than-average year in the last decade - 2011.

Australian temperatures have warmed approximately 1C since 1950, consistent with global climate trends.

Globally, each of the past 13 years since 2001 have ranked among the 14 warmest on record.

The bureau's Neil Plummer told News 24 that as a predictor of climate in Australia, the statistics "speak for themselves", and that a "consistent body of evidence" gathered globally pointed to a "warming trend".

"All Australian records go back to 1910. The trend over that period is a little short of a degree warming over that period,  where most of the warming has occurred since around about 1950, and that's consistent with  the global pattern," he said.

"It's not just us at the bureau doing the number crunching, it is all the bureaus around the world, and it  is that body of evidence that we're all seeing a warming over Australia and a warming world."

For more on this story visit: www.abc.net.au

BOM: 2013 WAS HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD IN AUSTRALIA

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Page 6: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

TIME TO GET COAL OUT OF OUR STOCKINGS

We all know we need a price on carbon pollution to accelerate a rapid decline in emissions and growth in clean energy. Just how badly was underscored by a new report indicating that global carbon pollution levels are on track to set a new world record of 36 billion metric tons in 2013, an increase of 2.1 percent from 2012.

SUNNY OUTLOOK FOR CLEAN ENERGY

In a year when the reality of climate change became even clearer, so did the practical path to solving it. Renewables as a percentage of overall power sources are growing—fast. Between 2000—2012, wind generated electricity grew over 2,400 percent while solar grew over 800 percent (full figures for 2013 are not yet available, but monthly numbers point to another year of continued growth).[PDF]

Already, the U.S. solar industry is installing a new system every four minutes and, if current growth rates continue, will be installing a new system every 90 seconds by 2016. Costs are falling for renewables and becoming increasingly competitive with dirty fossil fuels. With more renewables and less carbon pollution: the future starts looking a little brighter.

THE SOCIAL COST OF CARBON RISES

For years, the federal government has measured the economic impact of carbon pollution with a figure known as the social cost of carbon (SCC). The SCC gives an estimate of the economic damage produced by a single metric ton of carbon pollution, through its contribution to increased extreme weather events, health impacts, declining agricultural productivity, among others. The government then uses this number to help determine the social benefits of projects and programs that reduce carbon emissions.

In 2013, the Obama Administration announced it was revising the SCC up to $37/ton for 2015. The move makes sense: after all, with each year, the costs we’re paying for carbon pollution and climate change just keep rising as wildfires burn more often and longer and floods sweep through plains they’ve never hit before, each with serious economic consequences. The SCC offers a succinct way to capture what these impacts mean for all of us in a way that anyone can understand.

The usual suspects—the Heartland Institute, Wall Street Journal, congressional deniers, etc.—were quick to denounce the move because it makes clear the big-picture costs we’re paying for carbon pollution that they’d much prefer to keep hidden. The administration has opened the revised SCC up for public comments through January 27, 2014 and it’s a battle worth fighting.

CHINA IMPLEMENTING PILOT CAP-AND-TRADE PROGRAMS

With both the world’s largest population and highest levels of carbon pollution, China has the most to lose from a changing climate and the most to do to address it. Reassuringly, the Chinese leadership sees this threat and has initiated a pilot cap-and-trade program to curb carbon pollution in seven different regions and cities. The country aims to follow the limited program with a nationwide strategy by around 2016.

NEW LEADERSHIP IN AUSTRALIA DISMANTLING CLIMATE CHANGE LEGISLATION

Meanwhile, Down Under, it’s been a case of one step forward, two steps back for the climate in 2013. After introducing a landmark carbon tax to global acclaim in July 2012, the Australian government began steps to repeal the measure this fall and dismantle its commitments to emissions reduction following the election of Tony Abbot as prime minister.

These moves came even as the first eight months of the tax saw a 6 percent decline in emissions from the power plant sector primarily affected, coupled with a 25 percent growth in renewable energy use.

These moves came also as the nation has continued to suffer month after month of above-average—and in some, record-breaking—temperatures. And as the repeal debate raged in Parliament, violent bush fires exacerbated by these conditions raged for nearly 1,000 miles across New South Wales in October, destroying hundreds of homes and creeping dangerously close to Sydney.

What’s in store for 2014?  Subscribe to our email updates  to stay in the loop.

MORE WEATHER ON STEROIDS

In 2013, extreme weather events picked up right where they left off in 2012, and the resulting picture wasn’t pretty.

It wasn’t just  Super Typhoon Haiyan  leveling the city of Tacloban and other communities in the Philippines, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and struggling to find food and water. It wasn’t just the 500-year floods inundating the cobbled streets and historic buildings of centuries-old towns in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Or the biblical rains—and infernal floods—that rewrote the map and destroyed thousands of homes in Colorado’s Front Range. Or another year of record-breaking temperatures in Australia and bushfires devouring thousands of acres. Or the floods in India. Or the wildfires in the American West. It was that this list only begins to cover the many human and financial costs of carbon pollution we saw this year.

And with climate change continuing, these kinds of devastating events are only becoming more common, frequent, and extreme.

For more top stories visit: climaterealityproject.org

THE CLIMATE REALITY PROJECTTHE TOP STORIES FROM 2013

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Page 7: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

By Arjun Walia, Collective Evolution, January 6, 2014

I am well aware that just because somebody (no matter what their ‘position’) says something to be true, does not mean it’s true. Exceptions, however can be made if there is evidence that goes beyond their words and correlates with what they say. At the end of the day, you have to listen to what your heart tells you.

Paul Hellyer was the Canadian Minister of National Defense in the 1960ʹ′s during the cold war. He was responsible for combining the Canadian Air Force, Navy and Army into what is known today as the Canadian Forces. He was the highest ranking person (on paper) inside of the Department of Defence for Canada.  The Honorable Paul Hellyer   is the highest ranking person among all g8 countries to openly speak about UFOs and extraterrestrials.

He has been speaking about UFOs and extraterrestrials for quite some time now, and he recently made an appearance on RT news stating that there are at least 4 known alien species that have been visiting Earth for thousands of years.

Upon retirement, Hellyer began to blow the whistle on UFOs and extraterrestrials. His testimony is backed up by hundreds of other high ranking military and political personnel all over the world, including official documents released by dozens of governments worldwide that have officially acknowledged the presence of UFOs.

I think it’s also important to point out that the Canadian government recently acknowledged the fact that various federal agencies, including Transport Canada, the RCMP and the Department of National Defence used to track and investigate UFO sightings. (1) They claim to have stopped those programs, but that contradicts the defence minister’s (Hellyer) claims. There is good reason to believe, and a lot of evidence to suggest that some of these UFOs are indeed extraterrestrial space craft (not all military), and the activities of the agencies responsible for these programs goes far beyond just tracking of UFOs, but into contact with various extraterrestrial races, other classified technological developments and more.

To read what Paul Hellyer has said visit: www.collective-evolution.com/2014/01/06/

SPACELIFEAT LEAST FOUR ALIEN SPECIES HAVE BEEN VISITING EARTH FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS

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X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE EJECTION MAY HIT EARTH WITH SOLAR STORM

Giant sunspot AR1944 erupted on Jan 7th at approximately 1832 UT, producing a powerful X1-class solar flare. First-look coronagraph images from the STEREO-Ahead spacecraft appear to show a coronal mass ejection (CME) emerging from the blast site. If so, the CME is almost certainly heading for Earth.

One of the biggest sunspots in years is crossing the center of the solar disk, putting Earth in the way of potential eruptions.

The sprawling sunspot contains dozens of dark cores, the largest big enough to swallow Earth three times over.

For more on the AR1944 visit www.spaceweather,com

Page 8: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

By Tracey Bowden, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, January 8, 2014

An Australian man is on a mission to put an end to the practice of extracting bile from captive live bears. 

Bear bile is a traditional component of Chinese medicine, said to cure everything from liver and digestive problems to heart conditions and even cancer.

Luke Nicholson, the project manager for the World Society for the Protection of Animals, says its use has got to stop.

"It is a cruel and barbaric practice. It is not necessary for us to use bear bile because there are many effective alternatives," he told 7.30.

Going back well over a thousand years, wild bears were killed for their bile.

These days, farmers keep the animals in cages and extract the bile in an invasive and painful process.

The bear is removed from its cage and laid on its back.

Ultrasound is used to locate the gall bladder, then a catheter or syringe is inserted through the body cavity to extract the bile.

It is estimated that across Asia as many as 20,000 bears are kept in cramped cages, only able to take two or three paces, and often unable to stand up to their full height. With a poor diet,

limited water and often in filthy conditions, the animals are bored and stressed.

Mr Nicholson recently travelled to Vietnam to document the conditions in bear farms there.

"It is a horrific scene, it really is," he said."You have got one of the most majestic

animals, a very large mammal, trapped inside a cage that is literally in most cases no bigger than an old telephone booth.

"The welfare conditions are atrocious. The bears can just seem broken, have absolutely no spirit and sit looking vacantly out into the distance."

Keeping bears in cages is legal in Vietnam, but live bear bile extraction was outlawed in 2005.

But as Mr Nicholson discovered, many farmers are flouting the law.

"We were offered bear bile which could be produced on demand at any volume," he said.

In Australia over the past five years, Customs has seized 270 consignments containing bear bile.

These include bear bile capsules, vials of bear bile, bear gall powder, bear pills and haemorrhoid ointments.

Chinese herbal medicine practitioner Ngaio Richards has never used bear bile and points out there are effective herbal and pharmaceutical alternatives.

"Bear bile might be prescribed for conditions such as serous conjunctivitis, for eye disorders that involve a lot of inflammation or infection," she said.

"The question is not does bear bile work, but what can be effectively used to replace it? And there are a lot of effective ways of replacing it."

Mr Nicholson has returned to Australia with his footage from Vietnam.

For more on this story visit: www.abc.net.au

ANIMALLIFEINSIDE THE BEAR BILE INDUSTRY

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Page 9: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

By Sustainable Living Australia

Sustainable Food Sustainable living includes eating sustainably grown or

manufactured food. Industrial food production not only uses a lot of energy unnecessarily, but most agricultural systems use environmentally damaging pesticides and fertilizers. In addition, agricultural methods are often employed that destroy the local environment through excess tilling and heavy irrigation. In many instances, only one crop is grown, which further damages the soil and ecosystem, requiring artificial nutrient replenishment. All of these factors lead to such environmental damage as soil erosion, soil degradation, shrinking water tables, and chemical runoff. This environmental damage, in turn, leads to a disrupted ecosystem and loss of biodiversity.

Long-distance food distribution and transportation requires even further energy to be expended. Exhausts from motorized vehicles lead to damaging carbon emissions and the extensive use of non-renewable fuels.

Local Food ProductionAlthough the most sustainable food production is that

done on-premises, very few people have enough land and resources to accomplish the task alone. Growing all of the fruits, vegetables, and grains and raising the livestock to accommodate a wholesome, nutritious diet is next to impossible for most people. The next best thing is buying local foods from organic and sustainable farms. Buying local foods drastically reduces the carbon footprint created through transportation and distribution. In general, local small-scale farms use more sustainable food production methods because their client-base is seeking quality over quantity. In addition, there is no carbon footprint and waste from packaging materials.

Eating only locally produced food products can be a difficult adjustment for some people because it means having a diet based on seasonal foods. It also creates a need to buy excess foods and preserve them for the off-season. Sustainable food production limits the diet because it eliminates the

energy-intensive methods required to grow non-seasonal foods in greenhouse environments.

In many areas, local community organizations exist to help promote localised food production. Local markets are set up and information is exchanged about where different foods can be purchased or traded. Some local organizations schedule weekly pickups of various foods from nearby farms.

Those who practice sustainable living also argue that locally produced foods are more nutritious than mass-produced foods. This is because more care is taken to grow them organically and there is a larger focus on quality.

Sustainable MeatMany people who practice sustainable living are

vegetarians or vegans. Others eat meat but in strictly limited quantities. Raising livestock is very energy-intensive and can deplete natural resources quickly. Buying locally raised organic and free range meat is a definite possibility, but this meat can be expensive, so it is limited out of financial necessity. Putting meat on the table two or three times per week is plenty for most sustainable living enthusiasts. This limit makes the meal more special and allows respect for the lives of animals to grow. In contrast, regular people tend to eat meat only out of habit with no thought as to what chemicals the animals ingest during life, how inhumanely they are slaughtered, or how unsanitary the production methods are.

Organic Fruits and VegetablesEating only organic fruits and vegetables is a very

important aspect of sustainable living. Luckily, each year, the scope of organic foods is growing. Ecological farming completely reduces the carbon footprint and ecological damage of agriculture when used in conjunction with such practices as regular crop rotation, composting, natural fertilizers, and biologic pest control methods are.

For more on eating sustainably visit the Sustainable Living website!!

SUSTAINABLE LIVING: AN INTRODUCTION TO EATING SUSTAINABLY

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Page 10: PlanetLife - 9 January 2014

Emergency Management Long-Term Food SupplyWith a shelf life of up to 25 years, Wise Company’s ready-made foodsare high-quality and easy to use if a disaster strikes.

For more information or to purchase these great packages, contact Daniel Falzon at the Earth Sanctuary (NT) on +61 (0)412 933 352.

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