Fresh green links

Want to help the Murray-Darling river? Buy some water back with the Australian Conservation Foundation – I’ve already chipped in a bit of money. The idea is to buy back some of the irrigation allocations to put it back into the eco-system.

Black marks on health chart and Life in the shadow of coal central and Locals brace against a looming coal front – coal mining in the Hunter Valley is affecting the health and jobs of people who live and work there. The Sydney Morning Herald has had a handful of good articles on the impact of coal mining lately.

Geothermal energy trials begin near Geelong – clean energy compared to coal, although you’ve still got to be careful about where you site these things. ABC’s Lateline had a quick report on the trial town, video available at their site.

Stop Nestle from using palm oil in KitKats – you can send a letter to Nestle from the Greenpeace Australia website. Warning: the video on that page is a little bit disturbing (not more disturbing than what’s happening to orangutans in Indonesia, but maybe not something you want to watch while you’re having a snack). The Greenpeace International website for the KitKat campaign has an informative slideshow also, well worth a look.

International group votes to keep fishing bluefin tuna to extinction – Japan was the ringleader here, but Australia was also keen to allow everyone to overfish without worrying about tuna population levels.

How sustainable is your canned tuna? – another Greenpeace effort, this time rating the sustainability of your canned tuna. Check and see if your favourite brand is listed (via Greenfoot).

Treefrog we thought was extinct is back again! – a yellow-spotted bell frog was hiding in someone’s backyard, but is now going to be part of a breeding program at Taronga Zoo.