What is Waste that We Should Account for it? A Look Inside Queensland's Ecological Rucksack

While most Australians are conscious of the amount of waste that they place in garbage bins, relatively few would be aware of the waste that is generated in the course of producing the goods and services that they consume. This ‘embodied waste’ makes up a large part of the ‘ecological rucksack’ of those goods and services. This study develops a waste account for Queensland, using the ecological rucksack framework to illustrate patterns of waste production in the Australian economy. It classifies wastes both by type and broad sector of production. The study finds that the Queensland economy generated more than four billion tonnes of waste during the 2006–2007 financial year. The largest waste streams are produced at the resource extraction and distribution stages, and are predominantly materials that are disposed of without being used or are lost through inefficient use. The majority of the waste is produced upstream of the point of consumption and a large part is associated with materials produced for export.     

OBTAINING AN UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE: WENDABAN STEWARDSHIP AUTHORITY

A method for obtaining an understanding of people's environmental knowledge and values and the major findings are discussed. A participatory mental mapping exercise method was used with the Teme-Augama Anishnabai and non-indigenous, government-appointed members of the Wendaban Stewardship Authority in Temagami, Ontario. Analytical categories were permitted to 'emerge' from the data obtained, rather than being imposed by the researchers. The findings demonstrate that the Teme-Augama Anishnabai perceive the land in a more complex, more detailed way than do the non-indigenous people. Both groups, however, are concerned with maintaining the quality of the environment in which they live, but there are differing bases for such concerns0
Une mëthode est présentée id pour la compréhension des valeurs et des connaissances qu'ont les peuples sur leur environnement. Les principales observations sont également présentées. On a demandéà des Teme-Augama Anishnabai et à des membres non-indigénes de la « Wendaban Stewardship Authority de Témagami, en Ontario, de participer à un exercice oú Us dressaient des cartes de mémoire. Les recherchistes ont permis >>ľémergence de catégories analytiques à partir des données obtenues, plutôt que ďimposer ces catégories. Les observations indiquent que les Teme-Augama Anishnabai perçoivent la terre de maniére plus complexe et plus détaillée que ne le font les non-indigénes. Par ailleurs, les deuxgroupes tiennent à maintenir la qualité de ľ enveronnement dans lequel ils évoluent, même si ľimportance qu'ils y accordent ne part pas des mëmes motivations.