Science & Environment

Financial Tick For SMRC
by Kaitlyn Offer

The Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) has managed a $3.5 m financial turnaround in six months, despite ongoing odour complaints regarding its Canningvale composting plant.....full story

Native Trees In Rapid Decline
by Christine Feary

Scientists at Murdoch University have joined a nation-wide effort to find the causes behind declining numbers of native trees, particularly eucalypts.....full story

Cockburn Boasts Green Credentials
by Deeba V

Local councils should do more to combat climate change than take the easy way out, a Murdoch University academic said today.....full story

AMEC Calls For Rethink on Mt Manning
by Declan Mansfield

The Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) recommendation that the state not allow further mining to proceed at Mount Manning, 500 km north east of Perth, has met with opposition from a key mining lobby group.....full story

No Place For Batteries
by Ilona Crotogino

While Western Australians are most concerned about the state’s water supply, about a third is not sure how to recycle toxic waste such as household batteries, a study of attitudes to recycling shows.....full story

Tree Angels Watch Over Iconic York Tree
by Kate Laurendi

Efforts to save a 104-year-old tree in York have turned sour after the fire brigade was called in to flush out poison from the tree’s trunk.....full story

South Perth Turns To Carbon Neutral
by Cristin Plath

The City of South Perth is the latest convert to the carbon neutral initiative, which offsets CO2 from car fumes with tree planting......full story

Greenhouse Gases Grow in WA
by Linda Cann

Despite widespread public concern about global warming, WA’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased in the past decade, even while the reporting of emissions is not compulsory.....full story

Prehistoric Plants Found In WA
by Brenda Chew

One of the world’s oldest flowering species, believed to have existed during the age of dinosaurs 135 million years ago, has been spotted in WA swamps.....full story

Drilling Starts At North Lake
by Valerie Lim

Drilling works at North Lake by the Department of Water are well on the way with the installation of a watertable monitoring bore on the side of the lake.....full story

New Water Reforms Anger Market Growers
by Brittany Hilhorst

Western Australian growers have questioned the logic behind the State Government’s new water reforms, calling the policy unfair.....full story

Work Incomplete at Champion Lakes
by Cristin Plath

The Armadale Redevelopment Authority (ARA) today said that the new sporting facility Champion Lakes will not be completed for a couple of years, despite the official opening on Sunday.....full story

ACF Opposes Kimberley Pipeline
by Laura Wilson

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) today criticised a proposal by the Opposition leader Paul Omodei, to ease the state’s water shortage.....full story

Public Supports Container Deposit Scheme
by Rita Franchina

Public submissions show overwhelming support for the State Government’s proposed container deposit scheme, the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) said today.....full story

Beef growers push alternative ethanol sources
by Christine Feary

Ethanol producers should look to cellulose, not grain, for the source of their alternative fuel products, beef producers said today.....full story

Geoff Gallop Opens Desalination Plant
by Cate Haynes

Former Western Australian Premier Geoff Gallop today officially opened the $387 million Kwinana desalination plant, commissioned during his time as leader.....full story

Bunbury Residents Keep Eye on Esperance Lead Crisis
by Cate Haynes

Bunbury residents say the lead poisoning crisis at Esperance gives weight to their on going battle with dust and noise from Bunbury port activities.....full story

Survey Shows Up WA Water Users
by Raymond Bohan

Western Australians are not as proactive in saving water as some households in the eastern states, a new report reveals.....full story

Gardening Celebrities Visit Local Primary School
by Alexander Thorpe

Attadale primary school will soon be home to a brand-new edible garden, designed to provide students with food for educational and recreational purposes.....full story

Share a Bike to Uni?
by Linda Cann

Sustainability experts at Murdoch University are keen to promote a bike-sharing scheme similar to those operating in Europe......full story

'Mupod' to be used in military operations
by Carmen Allan

An unmanned aircraft for use in civilian and defence operations is the next brainchild of former Orbital Engine chief executive Kim Schlunke......full story

MUA says no to lead exports
by Megan Cassels-Conway

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) today said it will oppose Magellan Metals’ lead shipments at every WA port, until a thorough review of handling techniques is conducted.....full story

Govt sweet on ethanol proposal
by Freya Arnold

Ethanol produced from Kimberley cane sugar could be competitive with grain-based ethanol producers in other parts of the state, the Agriculture Minister Kim Chance said today.....full story

WA Greens support carbon tax
by Samantha Shafran

Reports the federal government is considering a carbon tax, have the support of the WA Greens.....full story

State Government Launches Tsunami Risk Assessment
by Lydia Brisbout

The Western Australian Government will tomorrow launch its first tsunami risk assessment of the state’s coastline .....full story

Kwinana Residents Reject Air Quality Survey
by Declan Mansfield

Residents in Kwinana have challenged the findings of a report by the Department of Environment and Conservation, which claims that Perth’s air quality is safe.....full story

Murdoch Uni guzzles water
by Rahmond Bohan

Murdoch University has been shown to be one of the highest users of water in the state’s public sector.....full story

Birds Suffer as Lakes Dry Out
by Ivona Gaspar

The number of injured and dehydrated water birds is on the increase, according to wildlife rehabilitation centre Native Arc.....full story

Keeping Carnaby’s Cockatoo on Campus
by Sarah Monaldi

A project to save the endangered Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo is being launched at an education seminar at Murdoch University tomorrow to try and raise awareness of their plight and possible extinction.....full story

Coogee Surf Club Plans Dumped by Local Protest Group
by Craig Stewart

A local protest group says Cockburn Council has ignored public concerns by proceeding with a controversial plan to build a surf life saving club at Poore Grove.....full story

Yarragadee Protestors Voice Anger at Government
by Mohammed Patel

A crowd of over 1500 people rallied out outside parliament house today against government plans to mine the Yarragadee aquifer.....full story

'Greying sand' needs more research, says academic
by Kim Hodgson

Cockburn Sound’s environmental watchdog has rejected claims that the continued greying of beaches will drive people away from the area, in the wake of a new report on the health of Owen Anchorage.....full story

Murdoch Academic voices concerns on Yarragadee
by Adrienne Downes

A Murdoch University academic today joined a chorus of Western Australian scientists opposed to the mining of the south west Yarragadee aquifer.....full story