When the 'Australians dream of home ownership' becomes a nightmare for Australian biodiversity.

Put new mass housing on completely degraded land with no biodiversity values or in the middle of a last biodiversity hotspot? South-east Queensland sprawl, Ipswich, Woogaroo Forest, Lot 9999

There are "plans to sculpt and flatten this land to make way for about 1,800 houses for south-east Queensland’s booming population."

“There is plenty of completely degraded land with no biodiversity values at all to put those houses on...here’s degraded agricultural land, there’s abandoned land, there’s abandoned mines … south-east Queensland is 6m hectares."
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/25/woogaroo-forest-ipswich-queensland-housing-development-wildlife-ntwnfb
#biodiversity #degradation #sprawl #housing #EndangeredHabitats #WoogarooForest #LandTenure #wildlife #koalas #birds #extinction #Australia #SEQ

Wildlife-unfriendly suburbia
The 70-kilometre-long agricultural irrigation channel is a wildlife graveyard.

"Birds, kangaroos, wallabies, possums, you name it. Various animals [are] getting trapped in the channel... More and more native animals are being hit on our roads...It's because our areas are growing and our government hasn't considered how we can build the infrastructure that we need while also considering the needs of native animals and how we can protect them."
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-14/drowning-kangaroos-open-water-channel-wildlife-rescue-coliban/105289548
#housing #sprawl #wildlife #habitat #irrigation #infrastructure #cars #traps #biodiversity #WildlifeUnfriendly #Australia

Cassowary banishment from tropical forests
Urban sprawl and wildlife translocation

"Only around 4,000 southern cassowaries are thought to remain in Australia, and the species is threatened by habitat destruction, vehicle strikes, dog attacks and climate change."

An "endangered southern cassowary was discovered underweight and with a belly full of tomato seeds and fruits scavenged from compost bins. Several reports indicated the bird had been wandering along roads close to cane fields and was in danger of being hit by a car or truck."
>>
https://au.news.yahoo.com/tense-moment-rare-35kg-creature-lowered-into-remote-aussie-forest-022020386.html
#Birds #SouthernCassowary #wildlife #biodiversity #conservation #tropics #ecosystems #Wildlife #habitat #translocation #Banishment #Sprawl #cars #dogs #DogsAttacks #roads #plantations #monocultures

"We're a biodiversity hotspot, but we won't be if we cover the whole of it in suburbia."

"If you're putting roads through koala habitat, you see more car strikes.

If you're building houses in there, you get more dog attacks,

and ultimately also the more koalas are compressed, you see higher stress in the population, and that results in less resilience and greater disease."

"The science is clear. We need to [be building] up, not out. The most important thing councils can do is protect the habitat that's there and be involved in restoring areas."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-12/drone-survey-researching-koala-populations-endangered-animals/105279284
#biodiversity #koalas #EndangeredSpecies #RemnantVegetation #NativeForests #sprawl #roads #dogs #BellingenShire #suburbia #SettlerSociety

Groundwater Pumping Is Contributing To The Subsidence Of Major U.S. Cities
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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/05/08/climate/sinking-cities-us-causes-groundwater.html <-- shared media article
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00240-y <-- shared paper
--
#water #groundwater #subsidence #city #cities #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #engineeringgeology #engineering #risk #hazard #pumping #overpumping #waterresources #USA #America #sinking #infrastructure #damage #cost #economics #repais #mitigation #sealevelrise #flood #flooding #foundations #urban #remotesensing #earthobservation #satellite #elevation #measurement #change #vertical #movement #geology #soils #model #modeling #prediction #waterresources #farming #agriculture #watersupply #industry #well #riskassessment #landuse #monitoring #management #utilities #growth #population #demographics #construction #sprawl

Coastal erosion and human intervention
A rapidly escalating volume of traffic on ocean beaches

"In the absence of the Bribie buffer and without the dune system on the surf coast, they would suddenly be exposed to storm surge and inundation."

"Morton says the previous government long ignored the erosion under the assumption this was “mother nature” at work. But the new MP says the review will consider the impacts of human intervention, from dredging and wake from the offshore shipping channel to widespread coastal development."

"Bribie Island resident, retired engineer and environmental volunteer John Oxenford agrees human intervention has fuelled the erosion – but he points to the 2007 opening of the beach to four-wheel drives as “opening a real Pandora’s box”."

"The pressure of tens of thousands of vehicles and associated foot traffic since had prevented the natural regrowth of dunes during the winter period, and further exposed them to erosion during the summer months, he says.“Year over year over year, we’ve seen rapidly escalating volume of traffic on the ocean beach,” he says. “The end result of that is erosion.” "
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/07/sunshine-coast-residents-fear-storm-surges-bribie-island-buffer
#erosion #coast #beach #coastaldevelopment #traffic #DIY #Gold Coast #wildlife #SUVs #cars #FossilFuels #CarsOnBeaches #sprawl #Caloundra #BribieIsland

More wildlife hospitals and care
for native animals having to exist in fragmented marginal habitats

More native animals are being brought into vet clinics and wildlife shelters than ever before.,, Wildlife carers and volunteers "do incredible work in helping to respond, rehabilitate and care for our sick, injured and orphaned wildlife".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-22/wildlife-carers-funding-needed-increasing-injured-animals/104881812
#wildlife #care #AnimalWelfare #WildlifeCarers #volunteers #biodiversity #sprawl #cars #pets

Australia is in an extinction crisis – why isn’t it an issue at this election?

"Over the past decade, more than 550 Australian species have been either newly recognised as at risk of extinction or moved a step closer to being erased from the planet."

"Analysis shows 1,964,200 hectares of koala habitat was cleared between 2012 and 2021 – 81% of that in Queensland."

"Australia tops global rankings for mammal extinction – at least 33 species have died out since European invasion and colonisation – and is number two behind Indonesia for loss of biodiversity. The challenge is not only to stop the loss of habitat but to restore the environment in places it has been lost in 250 years of European-driven clearing."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/07/australia-is-in-an-extinction-crisis-why-isnt-it-an-issue-at-this-election
#biodiversity #ecosystems #loss #nature #wildlife #koalas #care #biosphere #laws #deforestation #extractivism #SettlerSociety #destruction #extinction #pollution #sprawl #housing #governance #ExtinctionCrisis #FossilFuels

Koala habitat

"A lone koala walking through a three-lane tunnel, right in the path of a semi-trailer. The image is a grim sign of the times as Australia’s koala habitat continues to be destroyed. "

"We're moving into their habitat and their corridors, and they're being forced into suburbia... A lot of them are being hit by cars and there are a lot of dog attacks."

"Koalas are listed as endangered across NSW, ACT and Queensland."
>>
https://au.news.yahoo.com/grim-reality-behind-image-of-lost-koala-the-saddest-photo-ive-seen-in-a-long-time-051430371.html
#biodiversity #koalas #habitat #destruction #suburbia #sprawl #roads #cars #dogs #extinction

#scifi is about possible futures, for the reader to imagine. One particular genre is #Cyberpunk, maybe best known by #TheMatrix (Film). #BurningChrome by #WilliamGibson is a prequel to #Neuromancer , consisting of several short stories setting up Gibson‘s #Sprawl . #JohnnyMnemonic “… We are an information society …“ (1981) is one of them. You‘ll see where society may go from a different angle, not elevated utopia, but accessible dystopia

YES! VICTORY! Public pushback makes a difference!

#MaineTurnpikeAuthority drops controversial #GorhamConnector project

by WGME Staff Thu, March 6th 2025 at 7:56 PM

GORHAM (WGME) – "The Maine Turnpike Authority is now dropping its controversial Gorham connector project.

"The project would have built a new highway from South Portland to Gorham, with the goal of easing heavy road congestion.

"The MTA paused the project last year after receiving backlash from local residents.

"The project would have required the demolition of nearly a dozen homes and confiscation of #farmland."

"'There was a lot of concern, and people wondered if it's the right-sized tool for the job, a lot of people have concerns that, building another highway, there's concerns that it will just fill up,' MTA Director of Communications Erin Courtney said.

The MTA says it's heading back to the drawing board to re-examine traffic conditions and review past mobility studies to find better ways to ease congestion in the area." [Like #LightRail, #RapidTransitBusLines and more #BikeLanes!]

https://wgme.com/news/local/maine-turnpike-authority-drops-controversial-gorham-connector-project-south-portland
#Maine #SaveSmilingHillFarm #SmilingHillFarm #InducedSprawl #GorhamConnector #MainersForSmarterTransportation #Maine #MaineNews #GorhamBypass #GorhamSpur #Maine #RapidTransit #SaveTheFarms #ProtectTheForest #InducedDemand #Sprawl #SaveRedBrook #ProtectTheWetlands #BrookTrout #SaveTheForest #Wildlife #HuskyLine #RapidBusTransit

Australian farmers push for "right to farm" legislation in a bid to push back against suburban sprawl: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2025-03-03/qld-right-to-farm-push-as-urban-growth-extends-to-farm-areas/104998330 #auspol #farming #urbanism #UrbanPlanning #sprawl

Logging machinery and other combustion machines are driving koalas out of their habitat at Bellingen/ Gleniffer's Tuckers Nob forests.
#biodiversity #dispersal #bellingen #gleniffer #GlenifferRoad #NSWLogging #cars #sprawl #FCNSW #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #SaveTuckersNob

Provide habitat and fund wildlife hospitals!

"The WA Wildlife Hospital has seen a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in patient admissions over the past 15 years."
Reasons?
"These include increasing urban sprawl, with suburbs encroaching on natural habitats as the population grows, and attacks from introduced predators such as wandering cats, foxes and dogs."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-20/wa-wildlife-hospital-buckling-under-surging-animal-admissions/104923496
#Biodiversity #wildlife #birds #carers #sprawl #FishingHooks #roads #drivers #IntroducedSpecies #pets #dogs #ExtinctionCrisis #SettlerSociety

The snakes belong here

"Years-long research project finds snakes become 'very disoriented', lose weight and get sick when relocated.The snakes belong here. They have always been here and it's us humans coming in needing to learn how to live better with snakes."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-09/research-project-canberra-snake-tracking-discoveries/104904398
#native #wildlife #habitat #HomeRange #snakes #possums #relocation #translocation #sprawl #pets #HWI #HumanWildlifeInteractions

This is what "growth paying for growth" gets us. The constant push by developers and the construction companies for sprawl has gotten us to this point #yqr #Regina #taxes #sprawl
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/city-budget-sees-proposed-tax-increase-of-27-a-month-or-320-a-year-1.7450176

The last yellow-tailed black cockatoos on Eyre Peninsula

"National Parks and Wildlife Service SA conservation ecologist Katrina Pobke said the loss of habitat through settlement and land clearing had impacted flocks that would have numbered in the hundreds of thousands across southern Australia's woodlands more than 10,000 years ago."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-28/saving-yellow-tailed-black-cockatoos-eyre-peninsula/104845668
#birds #Biodiversity #sprawl #cockatoos

HOME UNSETTLED

Settlers are detached from the land and mostly mistake "Little boxes made of ticky tacky" as 'home.' But now
"Climate change is forcing us to rethink our sense of ‘home’ – and what it means to lose it."

Val Plumwood ... "argues that, under capitalism, the idea of personal belonging to a particular place or dwelling is often framed as being more important than many other vital attachments to place, such as connection to land. She uses the term “shadow places” to describe the ecosystems we exclude and exploit – including our forests and waterways – even though they are fundamental to our existence. These places provide essential labour, nourishment and the conditions we need to survive and flourish. For Plumwood, an expanded sense of “home” would encompass the broader ecological context we exist within."

" Indigenous Australian law scholar Irene Watson explains colonisers were already alienated from a sense of connection to land when they came to “Australia”. This disconnection led them to plunder the land, treating it as a commodity rather than a living, complex ecosystem that nurtures and is nurtured by First Nations peoples."
>>
https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-forcing-us-to-rethink-our-sense-of-home-and-what-it-means-to-lose-it-247234

Malvina Reynolds - Little boxes on the hillside, Full Version with Lyrics >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUoXtddNPAM
#Country #IndigenousPeoples #care #displacement #land #privatisation #commodification #LandSpeculation #landlordism #rentierisation #SettlerSociety #suburbia #housing #sprawl #homeplace #ClimateBreakdown #values #australia #NativeForests #plunder #ecosystems #biodiversity #ExtinctionCrisis #FossilFuels #extractivism #loss #home

Road and dog density contribute to the extinction of koalas

Road and highway density (road length per square kilometer) and an aggregation of domestic dogs leads to the demise of the marsupial through vehicle crashes and mauling by pets.

Dissanayake, R.B., Stevenson, M., Astudillo, V.G. et al. Anthropogenic and environmental factors associated with koala deaths due to dog attacks and vehicle collisions in South-East Queensland, Australia, 2009–2013. Sci Rep 13, 14275 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40827-w
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40827-w

Koalas and Dogs Don’t Mix
https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/pa-fact-koalasdogsdontmix.pdf
Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Managing dog and koala/wildlife co-habitation. Why does leashing matter? Bellingen Council
https://www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au/Development/Public-health-and-safety-services-and-approvals/Ranger-Services/Animal-care-and-control

Major Roads. Australian Openstreetmap
https://eatlas.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/df464abf-59be-41cc-a271-d17035582c4c
#koalas #wildlife #Biodiversity #habitat #sprawl #cars #roads #vehicles #crashes #Roadkill #dogs #roaming #pets #DogOwnership #extinction #GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #Bellingen #BellingenShire