The dog was anaemic, weak and unsteady on his feet, and his body was crawling with fleas.

A vet found that Grizzly had the highest score of emaciation (5/5 where 1/5 is healthy), had not been fed properly in at least four weeks, weighed 31.8 kilograms and hadn’t received treatment for the serious flea infestation for a month.

The sentence, a fine, 12-month good behaviour bond and a ban from owning animals for five years, does not in any way reflect the seriousness of this crime. 

Penalties for cases of cruelty and neglect are quite inadequate, and even so are rarely imposed to the full extent of the law. At the very least, cases of serious neglect should lead to a lifetime ban on the offender having animals.

Cruelty to animals is a serious crime that must be taken seriously. If you suspect someone of abusing an animal, report it to authorities right away for the safety of the entire community.

Scientists are realising that deforestation is a main driver of climate change, along with carbon dioxide emissions.

Forests are a continent’s evaporative air cooling installations. They slow winds, preventing tornadoes, and soak up flood rains preventing inland tsunamis.

Forests are also rainmakers. Without them we have self-inflicted droughts. Burnt forests need decades to heal before they can provide these vital climate services once again.

A paper by two Russian physicists, Victor Gorshkov and Anastassia Makarieva, first published in 2007, and concerning the still little-known Biotic Pump Theory, postulates that forests are the driving force behind precipitation over land masses.

According to the Biotic Pump theory it is condensation from forests that drives the wind that brings precipitation over land.

The biotic pump theory explains why natural intact forests, far moreso than plantation monoculture forests, are indispensable if we want to have rainfall, and, consequently, agriculture on the land where we live. 

Houston we have a huge problem. After 228 years of killing trees and forests, Australia is a candidate for the world’s most deforested country. Don’t finger-point at Borneo or the Amazon. Already our summers are becoming unliveable and agriculture is struggling with worsening climatic conditions.

But legions of selfish men who care only about money in their wallet now cannot stop destroying our remaining forests.

Open-cut coalmines, 1950s McMansion sprawl, woodchips to make paper – you name it.

I am not optimistic. I hate 40 degree-plus temperatures. I am considering emigrating to Canada, where brains and hearts are engaged, and the old Trojan Horse cry of ‘jobs’ is less used to excuse endless destruction to materially enrich a few.

Please bring it on!

We regularly visit the beautiful Hunter Valley but bypass Maitland for lack of decent park for our 22-foot van. We have many friends in a similar situation.  

When we stay, we spend on entertainment, food, fuel and the like, and contribute to local economy

There is a need for self-contained vans to be accommodated, as well as older conventional vans and motorhomes in this growing market. I look forward to progress on this proposal.