Global Financial Crisis - another opportunity?

In a previous post I voiced the opinion that the recent high oil prices could be seen as an incentive, or an opportunity to do something to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels - and to do something to reduce our carbon footprint. Naturally this point was completely lost on our visionary Federal Government, who couldn't see beyond the populist appeal of the proposed Fuel Watch scheme.

How long ago that seems.

Oil that was near $150 a barrel, is now trading for less than $70, and the focus of the media has shifted on to the Global Financial Crisis.

But, I'll argue that this new crisis presents another sort of opportunity for us to do something to reduce our collective carbon footprint. The impact of a widespread recession is likely to be to reduce carbon generation anyway, but the real opportunity is for the likes of our government to show leadership and to help weather the recession through some intelligent investment in the future.

Rather than just throwing billions of dollars at individuals in (yet another) populist move to seed the electorate with cash, why not look to the (much) longer term, and to infrastructure investments that go directly to our 2050 carbon reduction targets? If we want to invest in infrastructure, why invest in yet more roads to carry yet more carbon-producing cars. Instead, now is the time to think of low-carbon infrastructure investment like public transport, hybrid vehicles, geothermal energy etc.

It's not the time to be contemplating rolling back some of the hard-won gains, like delaying the 2010 start to carbon trading in Australia, as has been suggested by the Climate Deniers in the Federal Opposition.

Strong leadership is needed to pursue these paths and, unfortunately, I'm preparing myself to be disappointed.

Orchids, Orchids everywhere

It's been a good year for Orchids here at Wirra Birra - to my untrained eye at least. This has been the first year that I've taken the time to seek out these tiny botanical wonders, and what a feast it's been. Seeing some of these little guys for the first time has been a wonderful experience, and slowing down (something I'm not the best at doing) seems to be the key to finding them.....

I'll post a complete list of those I've stumbled across over the past few months, but for now, here are three species that I photographed earlier this week - all of them in close proximity to the house.

Blue Spotted Sun Orchid (Thelymitra ixioides)

Common Pink Sun Orchid (Thelymitra rubra)






Pink Fingers (Caladenia carnea)

Bushland Blitzkrieg!!

Tomorrow promises to be a big day. With no other social or work commitments, its going to be a full day's work out in the scrub. Problem weeds right now are erica, and broom - both in flower, as well as the fumitory that's threatening to over-run the creek.

As the topsoil is still a little damp (despite a very dry September) I reckon we can get away still with hand-pulling all but the largest broom and erica, though will need to restort to herbicide for most of the fumitory.

Monadenia orchid (another escapee from South Africa) is also popping its head up at the present. Another bushcarer shared a tip this week - that modadenia can be sprayed with a small funnel attachment to a spray bottle. Just pop the funnel over the nasty South African interloper, and squeeze the trigger. It gives the weed a nasty jolt of glyphosate, without any undesired spray drift elsewhere. Worth a go, I reckon!