What took up my time?

The photo shows my scientist husband Dr. David Jones. David and I have long conversations about the environment. We have a small consultancy. I do the books these days and David does all the work. David is a geochemist with particular expertise in mining and water quality. He began his career with the CSIRO in the Coal and Energy Division, worked for mining companies as an Environmental Scientist and finished full time work as the Research Director for the Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist. We met each other on opposite sides of the table at a technical meeting about Ranger Uranium Mine a few years before I retired. David is an invited speaker on mining issues internationally. He was a member of the panel that produced the Pepper Report on the Technical Evaluation of Gas Extraction in the Northern Territory.

I gave a number of presentations on nuclear energy last year, including meetings to inform the public about wind farm projects proposed for far north Queensland. I even did my very first TV interview.

Then the Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Chalumbin wind farm was made public for “positive comments” (word used in local newspapers by the developer). Under our current system, comments can only be sent to the project proponent, that is the developer. The Australian tax-payer heavily subsidises the project proponents who in the majority of cases are foreign entities. The project proponent then has to change their document and it is sent to the Federal Environment Minister with the comments. This process is triggered if species are at risk of extinction. The Minister then makes a decision about the project.

I spent months reading, evaluating and commenting on the massive document for this crazy project. I will write some of my next blogs on some of our findings. The Rainforest Reserves group has been tireless in its endeavours to save our precious tropical forests. Special mention should be made of Carolyn Emms and Steven Nowakowski. At this time we still don’t know the outcome, the decision has been put off for months time and again.

I ended up in hospital a couple of times this year threatened with blindness. Hopefully the worst is over. My mobility and independence is more limited. David has been wonderful with constant emotional and physical support.

I have never stopped caring about our future. The possibility of becoming blind was so threatening as I never stop investigating. I read various viewpoints on many issues at every level of detail. An abstract of a scientific paper is never enough. A sense of urgency has grown. I should be sharing my insights so that they are accessible to all who wish to know more. I need to learn more about ways to communicate technical ideas in ways that are more easily understood.

I want to express my immense gratitude to Dr Gus Yip for helping me overcome my periods of blindness. I continue to live in hope that I will retain enough sight for years and years of serving our environment.

I plan to share some of the insights my journey has given me over the last year in a variety of formats over the coming months.