G o n e R e a d i n g

Check out Manly Blog on regular twitter update

Vandals of the Commons

Roads soaked in fossil fuel leaks, toxic surface runoff and throwaway junk will now become safe from young criminals that vandalise the hot cooking bitumen and footpaths with their chalk.

Since the 17th century children who 'go and play outside' have been engaging together with equals in the game of 'scotch-hop'.

Proposed new anti-graffiti laws in New South Wales will make it an offence to intentionally mark any premises...That means it will technically outlaw things like chalk hopscotch squares or handball courts drawn on footpaths or bitumen...Unless the kids get the consent of the local council they're committing an offence" abc.

Obese and attention deficient young people have to navigate a visual cacophony of solid state spam (advertising) on walls or all the other surfaces in their ever shrinking public spaces.

Are they really the 'criminal vandals' that deprive all living beings of a habitable planet?
Their guardians would do well to provide Intergenerational Justice and Intergenerational Equity for their offspring or the writing will be on the wall...


Related:
Investing in public art and young people in Manly 2007
Power and Attention Hogs in Social Spaces, 2008

Manly Cemetery Doubles Up as a Dog Loo

There are few cultures in the world where a public space such as a cemetery doubles up as a dog loo.

There appears to be no land-use conflict between the "sleeping place" of dead people and pet owners liberating their canines off leash into the Manly Cemetery Heritage.

Mourners probably do not want to linger amongst the tree-less and unkept burial grounds full of dog poop.

Maybe it is a new cultural convention of pet society where dog deities as protectors of the deceased fertilise the public green space with their feces and urine. Once locals have emptied their pets they get chauffeured back into the manicured back gardens with the help of a lot of fossil fuel.

On the connection of the living and the dead

Egyptian dog-headed god Anubis attending the deceased.

The Ocean - Manly Beach Blog Tweets

Tweets from @MnlyBeach 01.2013
OCEAN, BEACH & SHORES
"Everyone gets this preconception that the ocean and beaches are backyard swimming pools"
via @BeachwatchNSW marine wildlife habitat ocean @MnlyBeach, source

Of tidy pools, chlorine, algicide and dead marine life Sydney toxins pesticide ocean  @MnlyBeach, source

Immersing in foam of sewage and toxins on Australia's eastern beaches? ocean eutrophication @MnlyBeach, source

Turf wars for the seashore: Sprawling people, their fossil fuel vessels and dogs OR marine wildlife  RT @WHALES_org #habitat,@MnlyBeach,  source


INDUSTRIALISING THE OCEAN
New maps detail excessive shipping noise in Puget Sound, BC #whales @MnlyBeach ,source

Particles emitted by ships on the Pacific #Ocean CO2 fossil fuel exhaust marine habitat clouds @MnlyBeach, source

Warship ran aground on the world heritage Tubbataha Reef, Philippines. UNESCO World Heritage ocean @MnlyBeach, source

Giant sperm whale checking out its newly industrialised landscape. habitat ocean clutter ROV tethered underwater vehicle @MnlyBeach, source

Offshore oil and gas structures in marine habitat  #ocean clutter wildlife @MnlyBeach, source

When will Australia's coast look like this? ocean habitat wildlife oil/gas infrastructure Pacific industrialisation @MnlyBeach, source

Record high radiation level found in fish  Fukushima radioactive contamination #ocean atmosphere @MnlyBeach, source

Bob Pressey @jcu explains why Australia's new marine parks network won't work   @MnlyBeach, source


OCEAN AS A TIP - THE PLASTIC LIFE STYLE
The #ocean as tip for #plastic garbage toxins legacy toys consuming beach wildlife food   @MnlyBeach, source

Fish have a gutful of plastic food marine debris throw-away culture synthetic polymers microplastics @MnlyBeach, source

Plastics Suck Up Other Toxins: Double Whammy for Marine Life, Gross for Seafood RT ‏@MotherJones, source

 Unilever bans plastic microbeads from facial scrubs RT @Earth_News, source

Australian Darter at Manly Wharf

Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) at Manly Wharf. Dobroyd Head (Sydney Harbour National Park) in the background

Report illegal fishing at Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, Manly

Illegal fishing, take & chuck Watch Phone Line at Cabbage Tree Bay ‘No-Take’ Aquatic Reserve
Unlawful fishing activities can be reported 24/7 on the hotline

Pacific Black Ducks

Pacific Black Ducks Anas superciliosa in Manly

Fossil Fuel Beach Rake and Beach Vegetation

Fossil fuel machinery ensuring no beach stabilising vegetation takes hold of the eroding beach. The tractor-drawn beach rake destroys the endemic flora/habitat, but leaves most of the plastic and cement rubble behind. A tidy event space!Carpobrotus glaucescens, (Pigface)
See also
Anxious settlers awaiting tool supplies brought in by ships from the motherland 0611

World Oceans Day at Manly Beach

Fossil fuel footprint on Manly Beach. More CO2 vessels on the horizon, large polluting ships going for the harbour
Plastic debris left by careless people to kill marine life

Sooty Oystercatcher

A rare visit from a Sooty Oystercatcher at Shelly Beach headland Off leash dog got rid of shorebird. 31052011

Four Sooty Oystercatchers foraging at Manly Beach today http://tinyurl.com/3ne9de2 birds shorebirds habitat Haematopus No-Take zones Rain wild, rising ocean 01062011

Long-nosed Bandicoots of North Head Manly

2010 8 killed, May 2011 7 known bandicoots killed
Vehicles rush in 'to get a view' on North Head 'Scenic Drive'. They park for free or take their dogs for walks. Pet rabbits are also being 'freed' and mingle with the giant rabbit population denuding the National Park. Free range pets, motor vehicles and urban intensification contribute to the declining populations of this endangered species.

Ban Fishing on Crowded Urban Beaches - Marine Reserves

Each year there are fewer Crested Terns visiting Manly Beach.

More and more fishermen line up along the urban beach. Booze-free zone. Stinking garbage, dead fish, dangerous hooks and plastic junk are left behind.
A Crested Tern mother had a chick which she hid amongst the Seagulls. Returning from her feeding trip, she was in distress, trying unsuccessfully to regurgitate - a fishing hook and nylon string. Various phone calls were made to volunteer organisations with long waiting loops. Had it been a precious dog, there would have been a swift service. It is unknown if the dependent chick or the mother survived. But then it's all about beach as a tidy and profitable playground for humans. Wildlife, especially shorebirds, are not granted a habitat.

More birds killed by fishing hooks and fishing lines at Manly Beach

Ban fishing on urban beaches. Make Manly beach and the Northern beaches a marine park.