Bellingen shire favours roaming cats over biodiversity
The council is too poor to manage the overpopulation of cats

"Management of wandering cats was in the spotlight at the Bellingen Shire Council’s Ordinary meeting last week. That caution stems from a lack of council resources and the results of a NSW parliamentary inquiry into management of pet cats held last year. "

"While the inquiry found “there is an urgent need to implement cat management strategies in NSW to address the overpopulation of cats, both in urban environments and in the wild”, they also found NSW “may not be ready to adopt mandatory cat containment laws”.

"Cr King said management of wandering cats should be a “top of the list” issue for Council. “It feels like it’s a do nothing, too hard basket response to a really concerning issue we have in our shire,” Cr King said." >>
https://bellingenshirenews.com.au/2026/03/26/council-favors-education-over-cat-curfews-in-bellingen/

"Domestic cats are estimated to kill many of our native animals each year, including an estimated 53 million reptiles, 61 million birds, and 67 million mammals. Keeping cats home and wildlife safe " >>
https://www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases/keeping-cats-home-and-wildlife-safe
#cats #CatCurfews #Bellingen #InvasiveSpecies #pets #biodiversity #Wildlife #BellingenShire #NSW

Image: 'Missing cat' roamed too far, Bellingen poster

Roads cutting through mountain ranges and waterfalls
Do they cause landslides and reactivate old ones?

Temporary fix for Waterfall Way at Gordonville slip site
"Waterfall Way has reopened between Bellingen and Dorrigo after temporary repairs to the Gordonville slip site. The temporary fix consists of a gravel filled shipping container wall, two containers high and eight containers long, attached to the rockface using nine high-strength steel anchors drilled deep into the rockface." >>
https://insidelocalgovernment.com.au/temporary-fix-for-waterfall-way-at-gordonville-slip-site/

Video of landslide: Waterfall Way, Gordonville Crossing Landslip >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGymAVc1u8g

Do roads mean landslides are more likely? >>
https://blogs.egu.eu/geolog/2015/01/16/geosciences-column-do-roads-mean-landslides-are-more-likely/

Could road constructions be more hazardous than an earthquake in terms of mass movement?

"In this study, we report a distinct correlation of mass movements and major road constructions that explicitly shows human impact on mountainous environments which are under anthropogenic disturbance recently. Our results further suggest that slope instabilities increased drastically after major service road constructions for hydroelectric power plants and as well as other road extension works."

"We also stress that the impact of road construction can disturb the natural slope equilibrium to an extent comparable with moderate (larger than 6 Mw) earthquakes."

"Such an observation implies that human activities can have a large, if not even dominant, impact on landscape evolution and the natural regime of surface processes. This is part of the definition of “Anthropocene,” an age where our society shapes nature for our purposes, frequently at the risk of damaging ourselves."
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-021-05199-2

Image: Sisyphus, Franz von Stuck, 1920

#roads #WaterFallWay #mountains #ecosystem #denudation #overloading #waterfalls #Bellingenshire #Dorrigo #landslides #landslips #infrastructure #cars #engineering #Sisyphus #mindsets #Anthropocene

Addressing overtourism

"Experts and operators say overtourism isn't just a matter of overcrowding, but also change to local areas in ways that disadvantage residents. The biggest impact of overtourism is the loss of a region's original value and character."

"When too many tourists concentrate in one area, the focus of the town gradually shifts from daily life to tourism."

"Businesses naturally begin prioritising tourists over local residents because it becomes more profitable. As a result, everyday convenience for residents decreases, and the unique local identity can slowly disappear."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-07/japan-addressing-overtourism-as-travel-booms/106390090
#tourism #Bellingenshire #culture #overtourism #NeverNeverRiver #rivers #TourismIndustry

Smoulderscape

Still suffocating in smoke pollution
from the 'agricultural activity' of
post-harvest burning by the cellulose 'plantations'
of the NSW government's Forestry Corporation.

Déjà vu
* " “Rome Plows,” massive bulldozers with an armor-fortified cutting blade, could clear 1,000 acres a day. Enormous concussive bombs, known as “daisy cutters”, flattened forests and set off shock waves killing everything within a 3,000-foot (900-meter) radius, down to earthworms in the soil. " >>
https://theconversation.com/50-years-later-vietnams-environment-still-bears-the-scars-of-war-and-signals-a-dark-future-for-gaza-and-ukraine-254971

* Ecocide and the history of herbicidal warfare in the Vietnam War >>
https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/vietnam-war-1962-1975/events/aftermath/agent-orange

#Pollution #Smoke #pollution #HealthHazards #FCNSW #forestry #harm #Bellingenshire #Gleniffer #BellingenLogging #NSW #COPD #AirQuality #breathing #soot #PineCreekStateForest #TuckersNobSF #PostHarvestBurning #agriculture #PileBurning #NSW #EPA #AirQuality #CleanAir #SacrificeZone #extractivism #LoggingIndustry #NegativeExternalities #governance #care #StructuralViolence

Suffocating in smoke pollution
from the 'agricultural activity' of
post-harvest pile burning by the cellulose 'plantations'
of the NSW government's Forestry Corporation.

"You can kill a person with post-harvest burning just as well as with an axe”.
(Bertolt Brech, slightly altered)

"Structural violence
is a form of violence wherein some social structure or social institution may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs or rights."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_violence

When residents express their concerns about the prolonged toxic pollution to the relevant state institutions, the response is along the lines of 'close up your house, stay indoors or move away and shut up.'

Toxic smoke pollution maximising harm >>
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/116146034632404631

(The original quote: "You can kill a person with an apartment just as well as with an axe”. Heinrich Zille/ B. Brecht)

#Pollution #Smoke #HealthHazards #FCNSW #forestry #harm #Bellingenshire #Gleniffer #NSW #COPD #AirQuality #breathing #soot #PineCreekStateForest #TuckersNobSF #PostHarvestBurning #agriculture #PileBurning #NSW #EPA #AirQuality #CleanAir #SacrificeZone #extractivism #LoggingIndustry #NegativeExternalities #governance #care #StructuralViolence

Forestry - The production of toxic pollution to get a few woodchips out of complex biodiversity

Before the leftovers of the cellulose factory (forest 'plantations') in this area are incinerated, a copious cocktail of pesticides is applied.

#pesticides #air #SprayDrift #water #soil #health #crucial #starane #AssociatePulse #PileBurning #biodiversity #wildlife #FCNSW #TuckersNobSF #Bellingenshire #BellingenLogging ##Gleniffer #LoggingIndustry #NegativeExternalities

Toxic smoke pollution maximising harm

The government's Forestry Corporation of NSW is still polluting the Bellingen, Gleniffer and Repton area with toxic smoke. Wet piles and the green timber piles are smouldering. After a cocktail of pesticides was applied, the wet piles with green timber were set alight and are left smouldering for days, maximising the toxic smoke pollution over a wide area.

These negative externalities occur when the consumption or production of a commodity (cellulose) causes a harmful effect to a third party.

It appears that the Forestry Corporation and EPA evade or pass responsibility and the many concerned residents ring 000 and overburden the small Gleniffer Bushfire Brigade now...

Fire-induced health impacts by the Forestry Corporation of NSW Pt 1 >
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/116134685710504402
Fire-induced health impacts by the Forestry Corporation of NSW Pt 2 >
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/116134917857123855

#Pollution #Smoke #HealthHazards #FCNSW #forestry #harm #Bellingenshire #Gleniffer #NSW #COPD #AirQuality #breathing #PineCreekStateForest #TuckersNobSF #NSW #EPA #AirQuality #SacrificeZone #extractivism #LoggingIndustry #NegativeExternalities #governance #care

Image: Tuckers Nob SF smouldering after pesticide applications

Fire-induced health impacts by the Forestry Corporation of NSW Pt 2

Negative externalities occur when the consumption or production of a commodity causes a harmful effect to a third party.

Bushfire smoke: There is no safe level of exposure. >
https://theconversation.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-bushfire-smoke-272065

Hundreds died from the effects of smoke inhalation caused by Australia’s 2019-2020 black summer bushfires and many more are likely to have long-term health issues." >
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/22/smoke-pollution-from-wildfires-may-be-killing-an-extra-12000-people-a-year-new-research-suggests

"Breathing polluted air may do more than harm your lungs — it could also increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease." >
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260220010836.htm

Fire-induced health impacts by the Forestry Corporation of NSW Pt 1 >
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/116134685710504402

#Pollution #Smoke #HealthHazards #FCNSW #forestry #harm #TheGreatkoalaNationalPark #PineCreekStateForest #TuckersNobSF #Bellingenshire #Gleniffer #NSW #EPA #COPD #AirQuality #SacrificeZone #extractivism #LoggingIndustry #NegativeExternalities #governance

Image: Forestry Corporation signage: Smoke Hazard, Roses Rd., Gleniffer

Fire-induced health impacts by the Forestry Corporation of NSW Pt 1

The state-owned Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) is doing ‘Planned Burns’ to the unwanted left-overs after logging and clear felling Tuckers Nob State Forests. The so-called ‘plantations’ or cellulose factory is or was a rich bio-diverse ecosystem before the destruction.

Many residents live in the area and wildlife has moved back into the sprouting desert.The area has been declared a ‘hazard’ and 36 ha are being incinerated. They call it ‘Hazard Reduction’ because they have dried out the microclimate and increased the bushfire risk.

Through a government decision and outmoded management practices every living being with a lung is now being wilfully exposed to toxic smoke from incineration.
It is not bushfire smoke from climate disruption, but an intentional collateral to extracting cellulose from bio-diversity which has to be subsidised by tax payers. This is turning the area and the breathing beings into a sacrifice zone.

The air-filled sacs in the lungs, the alveoli are forced to act as a cost-effective vacuum cleaner for forestry’s “Hazard Reduction” fallout, cleaning up their ‘debris’.

There are no health warnings issued. The reduced air quality leads to exposure to bushfire smoke. Fire-induced health impacts lead to mortalities from particulate matter, increased cardio-respiratory hospital admissions and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Roses Road 5km NW of Bellingen, Planned Burn, Forestry HR Tuckers Nob Plantation 26 & 27 > https://www.abc.net.au/emergency/warning/AUREMER-f880330fe06f0b24d8c50d27faf116c1

"Fine particles, often described as PM2.5 (particles of 2.5 micrometres in diameter or less). These particles can remain suspended in the air for extended periods and, owing to their tiny size, can penetrate deep into the lungs when inhaled." > https://theconversation.com/bushfires-in-victoria-how-to-protect-yourself-if-the-air-is-smoky-where-you-live-215789

#Pollution #Smoke #HealthHazards #FCNSW #forestry #harm #Bellingenshire #Gleniffer #NSW #COPD #AirQuality #breathing
Image: Respiratory system, Wikipedia Commons

Bayer agrees to pay $7.25bn to settle Roundup weedkiller cancer lawsuits

"The agrochemical maker Bayer and attorneys for cancer patients announced a proposed $7.25bn settlement on Tuesday to resolve thousands of US lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/17/bayer-proposed-settlement-roundup-cancer-lawsuits
#weeds #herbicide #Roundup #Bellingenshire #weedkiller #glyphosate #cancer