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

A yearning for the idyllic forest scene and cellulose factories

When they want to ‘get away from it all’ and ‘go for a drive’ through nature, the idyllic forest scene, they are in denial that the romantic craving for the bush turns out to be industrial plantations.

“Nature ... is a planned product of the forestry industry, a purely wisely placed storehouse for cellulose production, which is readily apparent.”
- The Man Without Qualities, Robert Musil, 1930

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Without_Qualities
#forests #forestryCorporation #forestry #CelluloseFactories #LoggingIndustry #landscapes #TheBush #plantations #monoculture #RawMaterials #extractivism #biodiversity #nature #book #literature

Large-scale mechanical thinning of biodiversity
Forests as machine-accessible landscapes

""Large-scale mechanical thinning operations are essentially a waste of money. At worst, they degrade forests, making them more flammable, eroding habitat, compromising water security and compacting soils."
>>
https://theconversation.com/victorias-mountain-ash-forests-naturally-thin-their-trees-so-why-do-it-with-machines-268201
#loggingImpacts #NSWLogging #thinning #Biodiversity #wildlife #machines #FossilFuel #climate #nativeforests #destruction #loggingIndustry #extractivism

Australia has new laws to protect nature. Do they signal an end to native forest logging?

"There is a straightforward way to avoid the ecological, administrative, and financial problems created by native forest logging – stop it altogether. The evidence shows ending native forest logging would deliver significant benefits for biodiversity, forest ecosystems, and reduce fire risks."
>>
https://theconversation.com/australia-has-new-laws-to-protect-nature-do-they-signal-an-end-to-native-forest-logging-271203
#NativeForests #LoggingImpacts #BAU #EPBCact #Biodiversity #conservation #governance #PoliticsOfUnsustainability #harm #thinning #LoggingIndustry #bushfires #risks

An intact Great Koala National Park reduces fire risks

Some mainstream media, politicians and the logging industry see Australian flora and fauna as one big ' firebomb' that needs logging urgently.

"...A logged forest is at much greater risk of burning at higher severity than intact forests that have not been logged. Logged forests are at significantly greater risk of high-severity wildfire than intact (unlogged) forests." David Lindenmayer, Ecologist
>> (paywall)
https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-great-national-koala-park-is-not-a-firebomb-it-s-the-opposite-20251113-p5nf1u.html
#BushFires #deforestation #landclearing #biodiversity #ThegreatKoalaNationalPark #NSWLogging #LoggingImpacts #fires #VestedInterests #LoggingIndustry #BellingenLogging #BellingenShire #risks

NSW Forestry born-again as eco-forestry looking for new markets

"The forestry industry in northern NSW is considering new financial opportunities in eco-forestry and environmental markets."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-16/great-koala-national-park-forestry-future-carbon-market/105954932
#Biodiversity #wildlife #NSWLogging #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #LoggingIndustry #MidNorthCoast #GKNP #KoalaTouristPark #firebreaks #LoggingAndLandclearing #extractivism #MinisterialDiscretion #EPBCAct

Image: The Bongil Bongil National Park has been included in the new Great Koala National Park, but the logging monster is always lurking... (Art by 'Danka')