Yesterday (Sunday 15th) was yet another day in paradise. A cracker of an autumn day we wheeled west from Lonnie for a day at Penguin and surrounds.
What should have been clear crisp skies with spectacular vision to the Western Tiers and glorious countryside was just a thick hazy pall of stinking smoke.
When will these 18th Century terrorists be brought to justice?
This abomination continues year in year out. Those with Asthma are subjected to punishment for no crime.
A report today lists tourism light years ahead of any other “industry” in Tassie, yet our government leaves it to its own devices and throws millions of taxpayer dollars to prop up the ragged bones of archaic forestry practices.
Fact is, who would want to visit Tassie in Autumn?
I know for me it is the best time of the year here, but also the worst when the lunatics set fire to massive piles of dozed up timber that they waste in their haste to grab more land as the “Queenie” style mining goes on relentlessly.
I am more than angry that we are ritually subjected to this insult to our health, but of course as we all no money talks and shit walks…leastways where I come from.

Yesterday on the North West coast (15th April), again, the ubiquitous smoke.  The plannedburnstas website failed to show any forestry burnoffs.  So I went to the Tasmanian Fire Service site to find that there were several bushfires in the region.  At Forest, Cradle Mountain and Mount Roland with others in the Tamar and further afield.

Incredible that permits are being issued for deliberate burns when the state is experiencing conditions of very high fire danger.  Unthinkable that we are expected to breath in the smoke not just from hundreds of industrial infernos but a large number of natural ones at the same time!

The toxicity from the air we breath is much higher than that of contaminated water. We inhale 10,000 – 20,000 litres of air. As each breath contains 10 billion trillion molecules, even light doses of smoky air will add up to a sizeable daily dose.

It’s worth watching the behaviour of smoke drift because it is mimmicking the behaviour of the invisible pesticide molecules repeatedly emitted by the same perpetrators. Hundreds of miles with concentrations heavy in the valleys of major towns, most notably.

Still no response from the Tasmanian Fire Service or the Minister for Health.

Brenda, I know what you say, insignificant as it may sound, some months go, Devonport, Spreyton Tip, caught on fire, ( possibly through lack of OH&S legislation sprinkler system not adhered to) Many people in Devonport and surrounding areas suffered ill-effects, even the Spreyton Primary School was closed down due to smoke pollution, and that was not through precautionary recommendation!!!  as Spreyton Tip is notorious for toxic waste,  yet the powers that be at Devonport Council assured residents all is under control, and neither Council nor local media pusued publicly WHY it got to that point in the first place, there was never an investigation/outcome/  explanation that reached the residents. Reminds me of recent St. Helens Council and State Govt re:chemicals in water reports. and Burnie Council is same. Perhaps, rather than go head first and attack the state govt., concerned residents need to be more proactive when voting at a council election, as there are some in Councils throughout Tasmania who have dreams of representing a Lib/Labor/Greens in State Govt election one day,so seek out their responses, for what good it will bring who knows,  but we all know, come Council elections they walk the talk and are more open to listen to voters than normal.

More images of a mere one day (of many) this Autumn burnoff season at:
http://www.geocities.com/rosserbj/BurnOffs_12April07.html

The response from the Minister for Health and Human Services, Lara Giddings, arrived today:

“MTS No: 35059
16th May 2007

Thank you for your letter of 12 April 2007…I understand that although air pollution can affect a person’s health, the regulation of such pollution is the responsibility of the Department of Tourism, Arts and Environment (DTAE). In this regard the Director of Public Health, Dr Roscoe Taylor has advised that the Department of Health and Human Services Regional Environmental Health Officer (North West), Mr Kim Gale immediately contacted the relevant DTAE Office and the Forest Practices Authority on 12 April 2007, after receiving a number of complaints from concerned residents.

Dr Taylor has subsequently advised that the same incident is currently under investigation by the above mentioned authorities.  The Public and Environmental Health Service is developing health advice intended to be accessible via the website or delivered via public warnings, and will be discussing this with the relevant authorities over the next few months…”

Interesting that the Department of Environment can also say that it’s not their responsibility. See:
http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php/weblog/comments/your-say1/
Quoting Chris Eden:
“The instruction given to the Environment Division of the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment for public notification is as follows, quote:

“When a fire permit period has been declared by the Tasmania Fire Service, the holder of a fire permit (and I confirm that both Forestry Tasmania and Gunns Ltd are holders of current fire permits) is exempt from the provisions of the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994..”

4 Therein lies the rub!
If the actions - and effects produced- of certain industry groups are outwith EMPCA, who then is responsible for the environmental and human health problems caused by said actions?
Who does carry the can?
Which Government authorities are adhereing to their mission statements, goals and objectives, let alone their statutory obligations?

Tragedy writes: Brenda, I am not sure you really understand basic ecology and the realities of life on earth. The issue you raise boils down to this simple issue.  Either we have fires we want or nature imposes fires on us we don’t want. cont’d ..”

Actually, Gunns and the State Government don’t understand basic ecology.  Here’s today’s lesson:

*  People and animals need to breath;
*  Smoke from industrial ‘forestry’ burnoffs are unnecessary because nature makes it possible for paper to be made from the residues of sugar cane and other crops and using cleaner technology;
*  Smoke from these huge bonfires is full of heavy metals and a whole range of dangerous carcinogens that damage lungs permanently;
*  Nitrous oxides are emitted from these burns and they combine with the excessive volatile organic compounds from huge tree monocultures to create excess ozone in the lower atmosphere.  This ozone is very damaging to lungs;
*  Corporations are a creature of habit.  Monster mulcher machines exist to avoid burnoffs even in these atrocious cut and burn operations. But because the Government doesn’t penalise them for the assault and murder of people and others they have no financial incentive to try other techniques of production.