[Peakoil] Fwd: World-renowned owl expert to talk at STR meeting 1/9/05

[Alex P]

Save The Ridge is advocating Light Rail as an alternative to the GDE.

Alex
O4O4873828

ACT Peak Oil discussion list
http://act-peakoil.org


------------- Forwarded message follows -------------

Dear Members and Supporters,

A last-minute reminder about a presentation by Jerry Olsen on owls (STR
Meeting on Monday 1 August).  Please come along!


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1. Where's Whitey? Boobook Owl ecology and the GDE

On Monday 1 August, Jerry Olsen (Applied Ecology Research Group, University
of Canberra) will present his studies on the ecology and conservation of
owls to Save the Ridge members and friends.

Jerry Olsen has published extensively on the Southern Boobook owl that is
found in the Canberra region.  His study site is the Aranda bushland and
Black Mountain Reserve areas of Canberra Nature Park and represents the
longest continuous study of owls in Australia.

Some of the birds Jerry has been studying feature on the cards STR sells as
a fundraising activity.  If you fell in love with those beautiful owls, or
have been hearing a strange ³booo-boook² sound near your home, or have
simply wondered ³Where¹s Whitey?² ­ come along to hear about the impact of
the destruction of the owls¹ habitat by the ACT Government in building the
Gungahlin Drive Extension.

Place:  O'Connor Uniting Church meeting hall
Time:  7:30 pm
Date:  Monday 1 August
Cost:  Non-members $10 waged/$5 student, Members (suggested donation) $5
waged/$2.50 students
Refreshments (tea, coffee, biscuits) available free.  For sale:  Cards and
other interesting Save the Ridge products.

2. Letters to the Canberra Times needed

Members may have noticed a lot of debate in recent editions of the Canberra
Times about light rail and monorail and public transport.

It is in Save the Ridge¹s strategic interest to keep this debate going: the
GDE would not be needed if we had a good light rail system.  We encourage
all members to write letters to the Canberra Times in support of light rail
and better public transport.

Points to make include:
-   ACT Planning Minister Mr Corbell should convene a public forum on public
transport in the ACT.  Buses have been chosen over light rail for Canberra's
future rapid transit system, but where was the public debate?

-   Australian and world expert on transport, Professor Peter Newman, has
refuted Mr Corbell¹s claim that light rail is more expensive than busways,
and Dr Paul Mees states that Canberra's population is already large enough
to support light rail.  When noted transport planners like these contradict
the Minister the public may well question whether such important decisions
should be made by a Minister accepting a report of consultants whom he
himself selected.

-   Talk to anyone regarding light rail and their eyes light up when told
they could travel from Gungahlin to Civic in about 10 minutes by light rail,
and that light rail would cost less to build than Gungahlin Drive Extension
(now $150 million and rising).

-   There is never much interest in buses or busways as a transport
solution, no matter how high-tech.

Remember that Save the Ridge, in association with the Conservation Council,
has previously done a lot of work to promote light rail and other more
sensible transport alternatives to the GDE.  See for example
http://www.savetheridge.org.au/documents/20040522-ConservationCouncil-Gungah
lin_Transport_Options.pdf



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