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

Humpback Whales Passing Manly Beach

Whales are passing by. Today two Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) swam slowly along Manly Beach. It appeared like mother and calf logging, in close contact. After Shelly Beach they slowly drifted along the shore in the shallow water. Their habitat was free of polluting motors in the air and in the ocean, which is rare.A bit further north in a more protected terrestial area, there are rock engravings by the Eora of a Humpback mother and her calf. The 14 m long petrography depicts them overlapping in close body contact. An engraved person nearby is watching with views of the Pacific. Today the aquatic territory is littered in motorboats. Like measles they clutter up the shorelines. Noise and chemical pollution emanating from their presence interferes today with the large marine mammals pursuing their ancient migratory routes.The place is framed by the Eora shield, lovers and various symbols etched onto the sandstone.

With the unregulated access of mountain bikes these memes from 25000 years ago could disappear from the rocks and human memory. The whales too have to battle a degraded habitat with many human-made dangers.
More on whales and bikes in NPs.

Plundering the Cabbage Tree Bay Marine Reserve again

Again, the "no take" Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve has been vandalised in broad daylight with many people present. 'Protected' fish such as the Blue Gropers and many more were speared. It is sad, that apparently only one person stood up to these people carrying potentially deadly weapons on a busy beach. Regularly, MNLY confronts people taking buckets full, spearfishing, filling big nets of colourful 'protected' fish. Some carers just let their kids collect as much shellfish as they wish. Most of the plunderers know about the illegality of their actions and become very aggressive. It is sad, that the enforcement of a "no take" zone is left up to the arbitrary citizen willing to risk their life.

A phone call to the relevant authorities on weekends and after hours, when most of the 'harvesting' and 'sport' takes place, is usually diverted to an answering machine. Rangers are off duty. MNLY has been documenting some of the vandalising of an aquatic reserve since 2005 and made numerous phone calls. It would be a positive step to hear that vandals, that "could be prosecuted" are actually fined. Effective protection of the marine reserve should be 24/7.

Via Manly Daily 'How can anyone be so bone-headed?' 071008 (Maybe it is has not fallen out of the archives, as the 'red tide' 021008 has.
Images:
Portrait of a male Eastern Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis) with escorts. Shelly Beach, Manly, NSW, Flickr
Eastern Blue Groper (Achoerodus viridis). Fairy Bower, Manly, NSW, Flickr

Report all illegal taking and vandalising in protected aquatic habitats: Ph: 1800 043 536
- Manly Council Rangers Ph.:9976 1630
- Sydney North Fisheries Office Ph.: 8437 4983

Update: The 'Spearoz' community is also discussing the matter here