The ABC Lateline program tonight (23rd October 2008) presented us with confirmation that our Vigil of Lights in January was both timely and valid.
Two segments:
Firstly: the urgency of climate change becoming apparent.
Secondly: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chairman Dr Rajendra Pachauri discusses how the recent financial crisis has impacted on efforts to combat climate change.
Dr Pachauri refers to those who ignore what is occurring as ‘flat earth thinkers’.
The latest news on the Blue Wedges site tells us about the battle now emerging as we request rational investigation of the true nature of the pollutants being dregded up out of the Yarra and deposited in an uncovered container in the Bay. With the warmer weather attracting people to the beaches, and our November (storms) cycle ahead - many people are very concerned.
Time does indeed reveal the truth.
sandbanking
Fisherman’s Beach, Mornington, August 2008.
Here in this pic we see the Mornington Shire’s efforts to shore up and replace the beach so that we can continue to enjoy the benefits of the Bay.
At last the Finance Committee report is available. It is disturbing to read of the limited perspective of those determining the health and well being of our Bay and the surrounding villages, towns, cities and suburbs.
A cursory scan of the report is revealing of the conceptual frameworks - the mindsets - of Corporate entities as they consider the bean counting and money crunching aspects of a major project. the value of such a project to the larger society is NOT included.
As I post this, the news of Cranbourne residents about to be turfed out of their houses because of methane leakage is being broadcast. In Cranbourne, the Council fought the plans for development in the area described. VCAT overrode Council and residents protests and gave the go ahead to build. Another example of what is emerging as a major limitation of the Corporations and Developers’ thinking behind far too many major projects: that of consideration of the consequences of such projects within a context of environment and societal well being.
Whilst it may be evident that legislation is inadequate - these concerns are part of a bigger picture. Considering Tasmania’s Pulp Mill, the sorry state of the Darling river system due to both drought and inconsiderate & insensitive agricultural practices … and so on … we can understand the context of the Bay Channel deepening project.
We humans have been blithely developing and building, creating and destroying for centuries with little consideration of the consequences on people and nature’s plant, animal & mineral kingdoms.
Now, the basic evidence of cause and effect are rising in our personal and social consciousness.
The Bay is definitely a precious asset to Melbourne City and its surrounds. How this asset is treated, perceived and utilised is a reflection of the evolutionary consciousness of the City’s inhabitants. The value placed upon this asset and how that value is calculated - seems to be a difficulty for our current estimators and Planners.
MEDIA RELEASE
10 September 2008
Greens say the Port of Melbourne is polluting Port Phillip Bay
Greens MP Sue Pennicuik says that the latest PoMC quarterly report has indicated that water quality control limits were exceeded on a number of occasions over the last three months. In addition water-quality testing by ACFs Bay Monitor has confirmed that the plume from the dredger has spread further than predicted and the report that the dredger has spilled 1,000 litres of hydraulic fluid at the Entrance to the Bay just show that the Port is not serious about protecting the ecosystem of Port Phillip Bay.
“The plume from the dredger has spread further than the Port had predicted, but many others in the community had predicted that this would happen,” said Ms Pennicuik.
“Arsenic, zinc, copper, nickel and nitrogenous compounds have all been found in concentrations higher than the ‘control limits,’ which is no surprise either due to the weak Environmental Management Plan that the Port is operating to. All of this was foreseen by scientists and others independent of the Port and the state government and sadly are coming to pass.
“The pollution and the spreading dredge plume demonstrates the inability of the PoMC to adhere to even its own watered down environmental standards.”
“I find it deplorable that the response of the PoMC to these breaches is to further weaken them to accommodate the needs of the dredging project rather than the needs of the ecosystem of Port Phillip Bay.”
“This is like removing the canaries from the coal mines when the poison gas levels rise, she said.”
“My question is ‘where is the regulator?’ Which agency is pursuing the dredging company and the Port of Melbourne for polluting Port Phillip Bay?”
For more information call Sue Pennicuik 0407 000 270
Oops! The Bay dredging environmental checks are being revealed as inadequate:
Fails First test
It is wonderful to have the support of the Australian Conservation Foundation.
With only the first of the heads dredging underway - already we are witnessing the disappearance of our much loved beaches. I parked at the marina at the foot of Oliver’s Hill in Frankston yesterday and watched as my car was covered in salt and the waves crashed over the wall. The council has obviously made an effort - new sand can be seen along the remaining beach line towards the pier. It is disappearing rapidly.
This is one of those moments in life when I fervently wish we had been proven incorrect and that it will ‘be alright’. I truly hope this is perceived as a warning signal.
Blessings for the Eclipse in Leo (today 1st august 2008): traditionally such Eclipses bear witness to a time when much is revealed to the public.
Ancient cultures have based artisan works on this jellyfish design. Found at Whitecliffs on friday 30 May. Fascinating.
Thursday 5th June is World Environment Day. May humanity grow in its awareness of how precious this planet truly is.
For those interested in POMc ’s report on their care of the Bay during the Dredging project, there are meetings at Rosebud and this Tuesday (3rd) at Bellarine.
*** ALSO:
On Thursday and Friday, the State finance Committee will be hearing the cases for and against the Dredging continuing. Presentations by various interests and concerned groups. See latest Blue Wedges newsletter.
Meanwhile, across the planet … New Guinea is clearing its forests at an alarming rate, Unilever is ignoring its own policies in devastating the Ivory Coast’s rainforest for palm oil and our own Victorian Farmers have been conned into the GM spin in a last ditch effort to rescue their livelihoods.
We have experienced decades of learning and teaching, lectures and books, films and documentaries, and people still want to ‘do their own thing’ even ‘though they KNOW it is grossly harmful in both short and long term.
That our Bay could soon become a toxic dump that is ILLEGAL in any other part of Australia - is beyond comprehension: It is malevolent and insane.
On World Environment Day - may humanity remember and honour our connection to the planetary world.
_______________________________
BAY WIDE ALLIANCE MEETING
An open invitation to all those concerned about the Bay.
Friday 30th of May
Port Phillip EcoCentre
Cnr of Blessington & Herbert Sts, St Kilda
From 6pm to gather, catch up & eat
Meeting starts 7pm, wind up 9pm
The consciousness of humanity IS expanding and we ARE maturing as a species. The impatience and frustration we are experiencing with those relectant to wake (grow) up is painful. It is part of the learning curve for which we are personally responsible. We know that we are ‘on cue’ with awareness of the pristine beauty of this planetary world and that our role as human guardians is vital.
Contemplate the Bigger Picture: suggest Carolyn Baker’s latest article about America’s need to mature.
”What I want to reinforce for all of us is how imperative it is in the days ahead for us to walk consciously, cautiously, and compassionately through the fires of this long, protracted initiation. Beyond our physical, financial, and logistic preparations, we must continuously work-and it will be work-to open our hearts and minds to the larger purpose behind the ordeals. We must ask ourselves what each particular experience wants to reveal to us, how it comes to us to open our eyes and cleanse the doors of our perception. We will be incessantly reminded that civilization has come to all this-depletion and exhaustion of the earth community and all of the suffering that attends that. In a sense, I believe, we are fortunate to be living in this time and on this planet because something greater than our finite human egos is delivering a message with unmistakable clarity: Living estranged from the earth community as if we are the only and the most important species on earth does not work, and collapse wishes to make certain that we understand unequivocally and irrevocably that our only survival and our only serenity will be found in living as if we and the earth are one. “
We do what we consciously can - while we can …
Blessings,
It has been a powerful weekend with a Full Moon and Australia’s 2020 Summit in Canberra. Lots of good ideas have emerged with issues of Sustainability, the need for a unified approach to Economy and Governance, and improved collaboration between community and Government/ regulatory bodies. These are issues that have arisen with our concern for this Dredging project. We are part of a huge wave of awakening consciousness. Fantastic idea of Australia leading the world in becoming a Green Nation. Victoria’s Premier, John Brumby, is inspired. Hope, folks - the Light dawneth.
The Dredging of the Yarra’s polluting contaminants begins today. Nature seems to be co-operating with mild weather sustaining a calm environment.
Precarious project …
The Age: Dredging project
The Australian Conservation Foundation begins its monitoring project tomorrow.
The Orca sails out into the Bay with students on board to do their own measuring and assessment of the Bay.
I have donated to this project - I like the objectivity. The Orca needs assistance financially. You can also opt to sail out with the team on their trips. Could be an interesting and inspiring experience!
Australian Conservation Foundation.
Cheers !
Hilary
Ocean walk …
Honouring the Feminine at Boonatallung
Sunday 13th April 2008
Boonatallung (Point Nepean) is a traditional women’s birthing place, a dolphin nursery and a place of spectacular beauty and wild feminine energy. Forming one side of the entrance to Port Phillip Bay, she stands as a proud guardian for the fertility of Melbourne. Boonatallung is now under attack from the aggressive ignorance of a large-scale dredging operation in her waters.
With deepest respect for the BoonWurrung women of this land, we are called to gather together at Boonatallung to honour the feminine and bear witness to the suffering of the land, her people and her waters. As women, as children, and as men protecting the feminine, we are all called to stand strong and offer our love and compassion, for the healing of the waters and the sacred feminine, inside and outside.
Plan of the Day:
11am Meet at Gunners Carpark
11.15- 12.40pm Sacred Walk along the beach to the Point
12.40-1pm Lunch at the Point
1.00-3.30pm Gathering at the Point: Honouring the Bay and the Feminine through Music, Song, Story, Dance and Poetry; Healing Meditation; Deep Ecology and Sustaining Our Spirit; Sharing Circle…
3.30-4.45pm Return journey by walk or train.
Logistics: Meet at Gunners carpark by 11am to join the Sacred Walk of 3.5km along the beach and up to the very tip of the Point. If you prefer not to walk, you can catch a tourist train from the Visitor Centre and meet us at the tip of the Point by 1pm (train departs 12.30pm Visitor Centre).
Please Bring: Walking shoes, sun, wind and rain protection, lunch and drinking water, musical instruments, prayers, poems, dances, stories and songs. Wear white or pink.
Entrance Fees: National Park entrance fees are $7.50 adult; $3.70 child and concession. Train fees extra. Please pay at Visitor Centre.
* This is a private gathering and an invitation to you, your family and friends. You have been invited by the Wild Women of the Waters: Sophie, Rose and Meenakshi.
Contact: 040 0 846 012 or 0405 379 223
Flier for printing: boonatallung-gathering.doc
For those who think it is only the feminine that is sensitive to nature:
the-whale.doc
The fury of the storm that wreaked havoc across Melbourne is well matched by the passionate fury expressed by so many at the bull headed devastation of our Bay.
The pic here is of the Bay just after the worst of the storm. The clouds were about to spit muddy rain onto our created world.
I went to the local Blairgowrie beach yesterday (3rd April). As I watched, the dreaded dredger was quietly making its way towards the heads. To think of continuing with this massive project in the wake of such a storm is mind boggling - such stupidity and arrogance plus.
I watched and wept inside myself. A seagull with a fish hook in its mouth sat next to me. Two gulls covered in oil kept shaking their feathers and another was gagging and vomiting nearby.
As if that is not enough, today, the same day the widening of the heads begins, Victorian Government is holding a Climate Change summit. Here, the Premier boasts that Victoria is on cue :
” For nearly nine years the Victorian Government has shown national and international leadership on policy and actions to reduce emissions.” Victoria’s Climate Summit
This is stated with confidence despite all the evidence to the contrary: the Government’s new fleet of expensive petrol-guzzling cars, the decisions on the Goulburn water fiasco, the introduction of GM crops, the dredging of the Bay … and so on. These people seem to truly believe in the their own mythologies. In mental health terms - this is referred to as ‘delusional’. Kenneth Davidson in the Age is kind with his words: he refers to this Victorian Government as “the main residents in La La Land.” Oh dear! Somewhere along the Way, common sense has been swamped by a plethora of pigs at the trough and self promoting experts.
There are the intrepid who truly care.
Today, Judy O’Donnell is out on the Bay with Judy Muir and a group of Bay lovers, on Polperro , showering the dolphins with warnings, protection and love.
Operation Quarantine has organised a protest at the heads for tomorrow.
You can gather at Sorrento to encourage the intrepid warriors, at Point Nepean, and at Point Lonsdale.
Saturday 5th of April
On- Land supporters Meet at:
Point Nepean National Park Carpark at 11 am
Point Lonsdale Pier at 11.30 am
Boats meet at Sorrento Pier at 10 am or at the dredge at 12 noon
Distress signals from land and water 12.30 pm onwards.
The Blue Wedges and Operation Quarantine sites will keep you up to date with activities.
The monitoring of the Bay will be carried out by the POMc team PLUS, the EPA will continue to monitor all beaches all year throught the two year project PLUS the Australian Conservation Foundation will be conducting their own in depth monitoring and reporting.
Whatever damage occurs to our Bay through this arrogant bullying behaviour - will not go unnoticed for long. Continue to campaign in whatever way you can.
The Friends of the Earth petition is awakening global awareness; local petitions and mandates coninue to put the official guardians on notice.
The earth will recover, the Bay will recover, and we shall not forget!
Melbourne and its disinterested folk and insensitive developers, will learn. Minister Garrett will learn. Premier Brumby and POMc will learn.
The Bay hurts and needs our love.
This is a planet of learning, of ‘whoops’ and ‘ouch’ and bumbling errors and patch ups, cover ups and avoidances of responsibility - until we learn. On it goes, generation after generation. There will continue be challenges to be met and problems to be solved. With our creativity, our expressive natures, through innovation and by initiating, we learn.
*pic by Jewelz Bould. [after the storm]
Last night, 29 March, was Earth hour and million of man-made lights went out as people and businesses acknowledged we need to rethink how we live.
The final decision by the Federal Court on friday, declaring Minister Garrett was lawful in his assessment of the Dredging project, is sad for those of us who are deeply concerned about the effects of the dredging on our Bay. My condolences and grateful thoughts go to Blue Wedges for all their diligence and determination for so long.
Melbourne dredging opponents lose case, the Age
Dredging decision vindicated: Garrett, ABC tv news.
Port of Melbourne probes fuel spill, the Age 31 /03/08
We can take solace in that we have contributed enormously to the awakening of our society and humanity generally, to the perils of insensitivity and callous planning when it comes to our environment. We are not alone, there are many who are equally concerned about the various projects undertaken as we speak and more on the drawing board.
As to what we do from here and how we cope with this is largely an individual choice. As humanity and our global civilisations meet the challenges (and there are many) over the decades ahead, people respond to that which fires their spirit. In that, we achieve much for ourselves personally and for our communities.
Take heart then, know that by participating in this Vigil of Lights on January 8th, and the subsequent marathon of rallies and protests, petitions and letters, that much light has indeed been thrown on the murky waters of politics, corporate manipulations and commercial bullying. The truth will always oust. In time, much will surface. We truly hope and pray the Bay will recover from this gross destruction of a precious marine sanctuary. It shall, given time. Ultimately, many people are still money/greed/power oriented. If nature were like this, our species would never have survived as long as it has. Nature gives so much. We have much to learn.
Yet, I must also acknowledge that my own life needs attention. I need to retrieve something of my own time and energies. I shall leave this site here for a while and may post occasionally. My love for this Bay and our oceans, land and forests, fauna and flora is part of me. My deep concern for the caring and careful management of such a beautiful planet - will continue to be something I passionately advocate.
Meanwhile, you can continue to give your love and care to your own environment and do what you will in this gruelling and challenging period of growth and upheaval of humanity’s relationship and interaction with nature.
Blessings and warm wishes to a community of light bearers and strong spirits,
You are cherished in my heart and soul,
Hilary
The Clean Ocean Foundation are monitoring the ocean beach and have issued a pollution alert. Sludgy foam and a dirty line along the shore have been spotted along the back beach from St.Andrew’s beach to Rye. The issue of Gunamatta sewerage outlet continues to rage. Soiling our own nests is unwise for any species.
Blue Wedges has issued an alert re the Bay. Their latest memo is disturbing. See their site for the full story.
“No thanks - the fish are no good here” - thoughts from a blind young seal.
Perhaps it is wisest to realise that pollution and toxicity levels are unsafe. I was amused at the instincts of the blind young seal pup which was transported around from Stony Point in Westernport to Chinaman’s Hat island just inside the entrance to the Bay. Considering the toxicity plume shown here, it was a sensible pup that swam all the way through the heads and back to its original spot. The Mornington Leader has the story. Scroll down these postings to 23 February and see the diver’s pics of the seal colony at Chinaman’s Hat and you will understand the choice the seal pup made.
A reminder for those on the Western side of the Bay - there is the sacred walk to Point Lonsdale this Sunday. [See the previous posting] Good on you Catherine! Enjoy!
It is lovely to have rain again - and cold nights. Had to find my hot water bottle.
Cheers!
It is Easter and families enjoy the Easter break while the Blairgowrie Yacht club hosts a race out on the Bay. The sun has been sparkling on the water. Even ‘though it is not as clear as pre-dredging and there are pockets of silt on the sea floor and uprooted seaweed floating in clumps - people still love it. I realised as I watched these children playing in the Bay that it is so safe for little ones. The ocean is not as safe. Another young man drowned at Blairgowrie back beach on the same day.
Back a few weeks and International Women’s Day (March 8th ) was celebrated down here in Rye. Early morn and a group of women held a meditation on the pier for innocent women and children who have for so long - and are still dying - in atrocious circumstances. We scattered our flowers on the sea in sacred recognition of their sacrifice. We prayed together knowing the water of the Bay would join the ocean and the oceans of the world and circulate our blessings around the globe.
Once again, the Bay has served us well. I honour its role in our lives.
Catherine Jones is organising a Sacred walk to Point Lonsdale next Sunday 30th March. Fliers are here for you to distribute.
sacred-walk-final.pdf
Finally, the Petition organised by a concerned Mentone resident is circulating.
no-toxic-dump-in-our-bay-petition-2008.pdf
One interesting observation which strengthened my faith in the media. I know many journalists have been avidly investigating and researching. The Herald Sun on Saturday, page 9, had an article about the levels of contamination in the Bay being kept at ’safe’ levels:
Toxin tests clear
I am still uneasy about it all - can we trust these ‘experts’ ? It is a lovely characteristic of the Aussie folk to want to to trust in their pollies and corporate folk and our ‘ she’ll be right, mate ‘ characteristic is a noble one.
I am not comfortable with the revolutionary approach - have been beaten and burned by the adversarial system too many times and as I age I am more protective of my vulnerability. This is partly why I personally have chosen the angle I have.
Next Saturday evening is Earth Hour* and during that time, I shall be at the beach with a candle. The template of love and respect we have anchored around the Bay is there for us all to use whenever we feel so inclined. This is a sanctuary. May we continue to treat it as such.
Happy Easter folks!
* Earth hour
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