(mainly why we need to save environment and how can this help to bring people together)

We are so lucky in Australia to have access to our beautiful natural environment, from local parks and urban bushland through to our majestic National Parks. But the most recent State of the Environment Report shows that we are going backwards in environmental protection. The report found that we are continuing to face the same issues: climate change, land clearing, and habitat fragmentation and degradation.

A degraded environment affects everyone, whether we live in rural and regional Australia or the major cities. As a community we need to stand together and take action to protect our environment.

The report showed the real impacts that climate change is starting to have and that many of these are becoming irreversible. Higher temperatures, more heatwaves, more and more intense bushfires and storms are a risk to our health and wellbeing and that of the environment and wildlife, but they will also affect agriculture and the economy.

Specific areas of Australia will be hit hardest – we have already seen widespread coral bleaching on the iconic Great Barrier Reef. People living along the coast will see sea level rise and damage to coastal ecosystems. The report notes that “people who are socially and economically disadvantaged are most sensitive to climate change”.

Australia can and must do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Australia’s per-person carbon dioxide emissions were double the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) average in 2013, primarily due to our reliance on fossil fuels like coal for energy generation. A transition to 100% renewable energy is not only possible – it is essential.

Stopping the clearing of trees and bushland is also essential. The NSW Government passed laws late last year that make it easier to clear trees on rural land which will be devastating for native vegetation. When Queensland passed similar laws several years ago, there was a doubling of land clearing, the removal of almost 300,000 hectares of bushland (20 times the size of the Royal National Park in Sydney) and the release of 35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, further exacerbating climate change.

They have also made it easy for developers and mining companies to destroy endangered species. Previously they had to locate and protect an equivalent amount of endangered species if they wanted to clear land. Now they only have to pay into a fund. Unfortunately, these rules are expected to extended to urban development in the coming months meaning it will be much easier to bulldoze urban bushland and green space. It is crucial to protect trees in urban areas, which provide shade from their canopies and help to reduce the urban heat island effect. Western Sydney will be disproportionally affected as an area that has progressively had its trees removed with new developments. Over the last forty years, Western Sydney weather stations have recorded a rise in annual temperatures above what would be expected through global warming.

There is also much we can do in our communities. As well as reducing our impact on the environment, including by reducing waste, using water more responsibly and reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions, citizen science can be a fun way of getting involved. Citizen science involves members of the public and scientists working together to collect vital data – two examples including the Reef Life Survey and the Great Koala Count. Landcare is another fantastic way to get involved.

What is clear is that we can’t rely on the Government to protect the environment for us. It is time for us to take more action to protect the environment and to demand in louder voices that politicians stop destroying our precious natural heritage.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead