Wetland

• Most Australians (97%) want more action to protect nature, even if they don’t know the full extent of the biodiversity crisis.
• So we wanted to find out what Australians think about these issues and the potential solutions.
• We hope the results in our Biodiversity Council report released today will galvanise support for greater conservation action.
• Read more:
  If the budget ditched the Stage 3 tax cuts, Australia could save every threatened species – and lots more

Understanding the biodiversity crisis

• Biodiversity refers to the richness and diversity of plants, animals and other living things in nature.
• For example, biodiversity loss reduces the availability of clean water and air, and may limit future discoveries of potential treatments for many diseases and health problems.
• This has led the World Economic Forum to declare biodiversity loss as the third most severe threat humanity will face in the next ten years.

Australians want action

• Encouragingly, almost everyone (97%) wanted more action to conserve biodiversity.
• More than half wanted “a lot” or “a great deal” more action (58%).
• This shows that even when awareness is limited, people value nature and recognise the importance of protecting our natural environment.
• More than half already engaged in actions to protect nature, such as being a sustainable consumer and managing pets or gardens for nature.

What about policy solutions?

Most of our survey respondents also believe all levels of government are responsible for taking action. Around three-quarters (72%) said more money should be spent on the environment. Only about one in 20 (6%) said less should be spent. Most Australians were supportive of introducing new policies that could help protect biodiversity. The vast majority of people (80% or higher) support or strongly support:
More than 70% of people also support:
• Significantly, very few people opposed these policies (between 3% and 9% across the suite of policy options).
• The remainder neither supported nor opposed policy action.

What now?

• Now is the time to start strengthening environmental laws, ceasing native forest logging, and increasing investment in biodiversity protection and restoration.
• Around seven in ten Australians in our survey also indicated that nature conservation issues could influence their vote in future elections.
• Australia has a lot to gain from engaging everyone in nature conservation and restoration, and much to lose if we fail.

• So my thing is, let’s go and rephrase this and communicate differently about it and really tell people we’re talking about pollution.
• As long as they keep talking about global climate change, they are not gonna go anywhere.
• So my thing is, let’s go and rephrase this and communicate differently about it and really tell people we’re talking about pollution.
• But what exactly is awe and how can emotions help us save the planet?

The science of emotions

• It wasn’t until the 1980s that scientists and psychologists came to appreciate the importance of emotions to understanding the secrets of the mind.
• American psychologist Paul Ekman would lead this paradigm-shift with his study of facial expressions and their relationship to emotions.
• Strides were soon being made in research examining the hidden side of the brain and a new understanding of emotions emerged.
• Some of the first emotions to be charted scientifically included anger, disgust, fear, sadness, surprise and joy.

Rule breaking emotions

• “What was missing from this understanding of human nature was emotion,” he writes.
• To sense that the boundaries between our individual selves and others readily dissolve, that our true nature is collective.
• Awe, by contrast, seems to orient us to devote ourselves to things outside of our individual selves.
• To sense that the boundaries between our individual selves and others readily dissolve, that our true nature is collective.
• Experiencing a sense of awe alters our sense of self and opens us to the possibility of collaboration and a sense of community.

Systems thinking

• Applied to different contexts like biology, technology, organisational theory and culture, systems thinking takes a holistic view of the many parts that make up the world and the interdependent relationships between them.
• When we look at life through this systems lens, we perceive things in terms of relations rather than separate objects.
• Instead of observing and analysing entities and processes individually, systems thinking leads to a greater awareness of the fragile interdependencies that constitute all life on earth.
• Keltner observes that many Indigenous civilisations have long operated with a systems-thinking approach:
  Systems thinking, it is worth noting, is at the heart of an Indigenous science now thousands of years old.
• Systems thinking, it is worth noting, is at the heart of an Indigenous science now thousands of years old.

Cultivating awe

• Many of the examples he gives emphasise the importance of discovery:
  In musical awe we hear the voices and feel the sounds of our culture.
• In musical awe we hear the voices and feel the sounds of our culture.
• Cultivating awe leads to an awareness of interconnectedness.
• In awe we understand we are part of many things that are much larger than the self.

• 's Environmental Practice will present at the Florida Chamber Foundation's 37th Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School July 18-21 in Marco Island, Florida.
• 's Environmental Practice will present at the Florida Chamber Foundation's 37th Annual Environmental Permitting Summer School July 18-21 in Marco Island, Florida.
• The annual event aims to keep Florida Chamber members and organizations informed of environmental and growth management laws and regulations affecting Florida.
• Greenberg Traurig is also serving as a sponsor of the event, which is organized by the Florida Chamber's Florida Environmental Network, Inc.

• Melbourne’s major river, the Maribyrnong, was full of waste from abattoirs, tanneries and factories.
• I live near Darebin Creek in Melbourne’s north, which was next to a tip and often polluted until cleanup efforts began in the 70s.
• Here’s what the restoration of Darebin Creek shows us about the successes and challenges of bringing life back to our urban waterways.

Rivers or rubbish dumps?

• European settlement had a big effect on creeks and rivers, we’ve often used them as convenient waste dumps.
• Treating rivers as dumps can (unsurprisingly) damage or even wipe out the life in it.
• Read more:
  A tale of 2 rivers: is it safer to swim in the Yarra in Victoria, or the Nepean in NSW?
• The group spent decades removing weeds and rubbish and planting trees.
• Rivers such as the Ovens and the Murray, and even the Yarra in places, are in poorer condition with low flows and high sediment and salt levels major issues.

How do we fully restore our city waterways?

Native species reliant on our city waterways still face threats. These include:

How can we help bring life back?

• If there’s a lesson in the restoration work done so far, it’s that we can’t expect life just to bounce back.
• Join a local Waterwatch program to monitor river health, or join the national waterbug blitz to learn more about invertebrate life.