 Image Courtesy - - Wilderness Society | WA jarrah forests To maintain the ecosystem of the Jarrah forest is paramount to the livelihood of not just us, as a species, but to that of thousands of animal species that live and contribute greatly to our survival. As soon as we - as a considered superior species, starts taking away the right to live as nature intended, we not only displace and destroy valuable creatures, we take away the history of indigenous people, and people as settlers to this land; we degrade it to such an extent that we feel mankind can do anything and everything, as just cause for so called progress. But what is progress? Progress is development and advancement, which has been acquired through sound, wise and considered learning ~ reasoning that is to the benefit of all.  Image: Lewis Burnett I am sorry to say, this does not benefit all. Destroying WA Jarrah Forest benefits no one and only compounds the imbalance that sits between mankind, and the rest of the voiceless world. It is easy to take away something that has existed since time in memorial, but to replace what presently exists for the benefit of all species, will never - come again. How does one justify, forest denigration for the sake of $$$dollars. Are we such an evolved species that we can no longer see what is and is not, beneficial to all? We all attended a school of sorts in our childhood, and every teacher who has ever existed, has taught our children to protect nature, its inhabitants and the land it sits on. We tell our kids, paper is important, because a tree has died for our sake, so that we may learn and understand what is important in the world...that trees sacrifice their lives selflessly for us - always. We tell kids do not break a branch or destroy the tree upon which they play – because it lives - it breaths - it feels - just as we do. We just do not know, its language.  Image: Lyn Alcock We tell kids to not destroy the gardens, which are planted for the benefit of all, to enjoy. Do we tell them, "sure run and cycle through the gardens, break everything, kill the trees, destroy the forest, pollute it so that it does not breathe?" Of course not. We all want to set an example. We all want to be loved and appreciated, respected and revered in our child’s eyes. But what will we be teaching our kids if this forest or others, are destroyed recklessly? We teach them, life is not important. We teach them nothing else is more important, than survival of the human species. …But who are just as fleeting, as we all are. Technically, we are just tourists to this land. And now if this forest goes - we teach them to disrespect everything and anything. Yes, we teach them life is not worth fighting for! At Sketa Oz, we believe in learning and finding our feet in the world. We believe everyone is important and worthy in this world. Worthy of life and the right to appreciate Nature’s gifts. And when we choose to publish children’s books, we do so carefully. Our publishing house - ELK Publishing makes sure we print only what is needed. We realise trees are gifted to us for the benefit of knowledge, understanding and the development of young minds; we understand the gravity of how tragic a decision it would be, to obliterate the Jarrah forest. Every decision Sketa Oz makes as an entity – has and will always consider the planet first – on every level. For without such consideration, we as a species do not exist. So, we must always think about the impact of destroying, polluting and decimating our land. We believe, there is always a solution available to one’s access that will prevent such destructive behaviours toward our planet. We must all think of this. We are talking of an entire eco-system that exists for the benefit of many species - not just ours! Take away the forest, and you take away the filtering system for the water supply - you uproot the land and increase erosion, and the possibility of intense windstorms that will carry soil far across the state and into other neighbouring states; and you will increase the prevalence of respiratory diseases. The forest filters the air, so that we are not touched by incoming viruses and the like, such as CoVid. This will not be the last viral epidemic, and they will become more prevalent. What do we do without such protection – we die.  Image: Jean and Fred Hort Destruction of the Jarrah Forests will increase the temperatures across the land and burden our society with further heat-related occurrences such as: demands on electricity to use air-conditioning for air-filtering and to cool our homes as temperatures will start to soar, during the summer months. You will destroy the moisture balance that exists in this area, and it will, impact every other eco-system that relies on it. We are not just talking about one area - we are talking of hundreds of areas that are linked to the survival of the Jarrah Forest.
Not to mention, the species that you will exterminate and eradicate with the bringing in - of mining. It is not just an eye-soar on the land, but our children will never get to see the forest, experience its beauty and importance in the great scheme things for the species that depend on it, and they will never learn the importance of preservation – for it will die away with the forests. We will teach them nothing, but how to be greedy and destroy everything that is not to one's commercial and personal benefit - that it is okay to disrespect everything on this planet and never be held accountable for one's actions, because Government backs the proposal - so of course that makes it okay…doesn’t it? But this is not okay. Who gives one the right, to pick and choose what lives and what does not? Learn more about protecting the Jarrah Forests and more at: Wilderness Society | Get Involved | Northern Jarrah Forests - WA Forest Alliance | Wilderness Society | WA jarrah forests
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 Ever thought of adopting a dolphin?
Well, here is your chance, and your chance to make a real difference in the world. Every year, hundreds of dolphins are rescued from dangerous situations, unsavory captivity and cruelty delivered at the hands of humans and not so nice - fishing practices. Rocky and Rambo are victims of such practices and are being cared for, by the 'Dolphin Project'. They need assistance in maintaining the dolphins' health and dietary requirements. When you adopt one of these beautiful creatures, you ensure the life of something truly magnificent and treasured by those who want to keep them safe. You ensure that generations of people get to see these creatures live out a fair and rewarding life - free from cruelty. Pop over to: Adopt A Dolphin | Dolphin Project and you will be literally a life saver! You will get updates on your symbolic adoption of a dolphin and will get to learn about how Ric O'Barry and his team are saving and protecting these wondrous creatures!  I am sure many of you will have read and viewed a myriad of posts, articles and seen videos like the one I have posted below, telling us about how spectacular and wonderful the demolition of the Las Vegas - Hotel Tropicana was to witness. I too, was blown away - that a company of such stature, could flagrantly flaunt their presence like this, in the eyes of the world. Not for the sake of its beauty or care, but for the sake of what it says to the world. I found this showcase - the biggest waste of money on the planet 🌏 and although beautiful fireworks 🧨 were evident - one can not help but wonder about the millions of dollars that went into to putting on this obscene, in-your-face display; not to mention - the $307 million the property is worth, and the millions of dollars it would have cost to explode the Tropicana buildings - I am totally 💯 💯 ashamed of the human race that this even went ahead - or was approved! I am ashamed for the sake - a building filled with tonnes of asbestos was allowed by government/council to be put to demolition - no protection for the hundreds of businesses or the area that will breathe asbestos for months if not years; the waste of money that could have fed and comforted MILLIONS of people either in the USA or abroad where human beings have nothing, but the road they walk on; where a drink of water 💦 or a mouthful of food is considered a luxury. I am ashamed that a company of this worth, stature, presence and obvious ability to contribute to the human race - chose not to! This is why, the world is the way it is - because you care only for you; money has no worth to you…and people even less. TOTALLY DISGUSTING 🤮 TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE TOTALLY THOUGHTLESS and UNCOMPASSIONATE You could have done all this - with less in-your-face and fed MILLIONS! Now that would have gone down in history and been remembered for all the right reasons!  Featured image: Hvaldimir swimming amongst fishing boats, Norway. Credit: Ric O’Barry - Dolphin Project To capture an innocent, water bound creature mistakenly is one thing, but to intentionally take hold of these creatures for the benefit of military or nefarious societal practices, should be outlawed ~ put to the wind for all governments, and their officials. Every day, we see dolphins and Beluga whales, like that of ‘Hvalimir’ who are confined to pens with no available, natural habitat – we see them shred themselves against the wall of pens that contain them. And if it is not this, then such creatures’ lives, lay in the hands of hunters. Fortunately, thanks to the Russian Government, ‘Hvaldimir’ has been living a better life than many because of a law put in place, by ‘Valdimir Putin that prohibits the capture of such sentient, cetacean beings. However, this law is not 100% foolproof, and it means military trainers and savvy entrepreneurs can apply for an exemption permit that gives them the right, to ignore the 2019 law that was passed to protect such sea creatures; so that the business of culling and capture, goes down as usual. Yes, I know what you are thinking, which is the same question I put forward, “Why put in place a ghost law, in the first place?” Because on the outside – governments appease the people; the rallying groups opposed to the capture of dolphins and whales – so as to present a clean image to the public and appear to be considerate, caring and with empathy for their fellow, planetary species. In doing so, the ghost law enables the maintenance and continued use of water themed fun parks, zoos and government testing of these gentle and unsuspecting species that have come to squelch their own curiosity of human beings. And, in return, human beings get to flaunt the laws of common and natural decency, in order to satisfy a personal, capitalist agenda.  Helene O’Barry with Hvaldimir, the Beluga whale. Credit: Ric O’Barry - Dolphin Project Today, to my dismay, I have come to learn that indeed this passed protection law is indeed flawed beyond belief, as we find dead our beloved Beluga whale, ‘Hvaldimir’ on Saturday, August 31st, 2024.
According to the Veterinary Institute, who conducts independent autopsies of whales on behalf of the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, it was reported to NOAH and OneWhale that it was suspected the Beluga whale, ‘Hvaldimir’ had been illegally shot. The Veterinary Institute’s investigations concluded that although ‘Hvaldimir was found dead, it appears a stick had been lodged in its mouth/throat, which prevented the Beluga from feeding, and it was more than likely, the whale’s cause of death was lack of sustenance and bacterial infection from the stick injury. According to the Institutes findings, there was no evidence of ‘Hvaldimir’ having been shot, illegally by hunters. However, ‘Hvaldimir’ has come to an untimely and painful death, and it is essential we remain vigilant in the protection of these helpless creatures; keep them from the likes of unsavoury human beings whose entire aim is to rid them off the planet, while in pursuit of capitalist rewards and downright cruel practices that appear to entertain small minds. To our knowledge, ‘Hvalimir’ swam into one of the largest whaling areas on the planet and like so many of these beautiful, highly intelligent creatures they are offered little or no direct protection from the likes of the Norwegian and Russian Governments because they remain part of the cultural food chain, and the delicacy of eating whale flesh is still on the societal menu for so many individuals. The work of the Dolphin Project – brought into being by Ric O’Barry, is dedicated to the fine welfare and protection of dolphins, globally. As a charitable organisation, it educates the public on the exploitation and senseless slaughter of dolphins and whales. The Dolphin Project gives such creatures a voice - protection from cruel practices and offers education to schools and society, to permanently end the slaughter and captivity of dolphins and whales. This is not an easy task and requires constant attention and maintenance of the Dolphin Sanctuary Project – established to rehabilitate and release captive dolphins back into the wild where possible. Sea guardians such as Ric and his team of volunteers, need your help to continue to offer safe havens for these innocent, beautiful creatures. And whether assistance occurs in the form of compassion, empathy and support for their invaluable work – be that financially or through educating others on why we need to protect such sea creatures - you can be part of the ‘fight for justice’.
Meet Joe. He is a nature lover and former paramedic turned climbing team activist, with Greenpeace. He was born in England, and moved to Australia, at the age of nine. He loved the ocean then and still feels exactly the same, today. However, the sea has changed compared to when he first started to enjoy its pleasures. To be exact, his love has now become his fierce interest, given what he grew to love - is now in mortal danger. Australia stands to lose everything of beauty in the sea, due to excessive mining and destruction of the seabed. This means that not only the seabed wildlife dies, so too does the SeaLife creatures around it. And this, it not just for the immediate area; the danger exists for miles around. So, when Joe got the chance to hang from a massive crane, to protest Woodside’s seismic blasting of the ocean, he jumped at it. Protests like these have become much more needed of late, because large conglomerates take liberties they should not, in the quest for large financial gains. Unfortunately, nature always pays the price - so the collective power of the people is needed. Teamwork such as this, unites us on a common cause that at the end of the day, affects everyone. Joe went to incredible lengths to make known the seriousness of this issue - an issue that has not yet be resolved because the ears of politicians, are not open to hearing the voice of the people. So Joe, climbed a 140m crane outside Woodside Headquarters, to get his point across. To be honest, when we all heard that Woodside had received approval to begin seismic testing for the Burrup Hub, everyone was devasted. We all asked, "how this could ever happen, in Australia?" How can any company, get away with opening up new gas wells, in one the most beautiful places in the world - one that is supposed to be protected by law? Especially, when all Australians realise the seriousness of climate change and pollution affecting all of us; we see more bushfires, droughts and floods than half the world. This issue is serious. If change does not happen now - we will lose everything dear to us. There will be nothing left for future generations to enjoy. It is up to us. Seismic blasting is the first part of Woodside’s massive Burrup Hub, a strategically planned project that would see up to 80 new gas wells drilled off the coast, of Western Australia. Woodside is working full steam ahead, but if we come together, we there is still time to stop further destruction. For years now, Greenpeace has been taking on the biggest companies and winning. When aggressive deep-water oil drilling threatened the Great Australian Bight, it won. When Shell wanted to drill for oil in the Arctic, we stopped them. And when The Metals Company tried to mine our deep oceans we resisted, and the courts upheld our right to peaceful protest. When the going gets tough, Greenpeace does not backdown. We know what is right and are prepared to stand up for all those without a voice. We step up to the plate, do what must be done - so that companies, politicians and investors hear our voice - making sure they all act with integrity. There will always be a cause to stand up for - these sorts of things never go away, unfortunately. And it will take committed people to stand up for what is right - you can get involved in climate activism and protecting our oceans, so easily. We need your help. Find out what people are doing in your area and lend a hand. We all need to start somewhere and if you are ready to bite the bullet - are in the WA region - come join us! Across Australia, there is always something to do for everyone. You will meet passionate people, who truly believe in making a difference. They put their words into action and know that activism and policing of our national treasures - is needed. You will enjoy the work - there is never a dull day, and you will stand side by side, like-minded individuals who are friendly, fun, kind and willing to do what it takes, to beat big giants, like Woodside. Find out what has been happening at: 1 - New report into Woodside’s troubling history of environmental neglect, risk of an oil spill: Greenpeace urges Premier to “follow the facts” - Greenpeace Australia Pacific 2 - The campaign against Woodside’s Burrup Hub hits new heights - Greenpeace Australia Pacific 3 - Greenpeace AP brings 440,000 signatures against Woodside’s Burrup Hub to Parliament - Greenpeace Australia Pacific |
