Noxious governments are a toxic waste

  Animal species are inextricably woven into the very fabric of their natural habitat, and any change to their environment is going to have a major impact on their numbers and their ability to sustain themselves in the wild. Given time, wildlife is able to adapt to climate change but the current alarming rate of natural habitat loss due to human incursion is already having a profound effect on population numbers of certain species living in wilderness, and some are facing extinction within a matter of years. In a number of cases, natural habitat is being polluted by toxic runoff which is effectively poisoning the environment beyond its ability to regenerate itself. I won an award for best news story by exposing toxic waste being dumped by industry into our natural waterways in and around Sydney, Australia. As a result, the government implemented a polluter pays principle which forced industry to introduce facilities within its plants to treat and contain heavy metal trade waste runoff. Journalists are in a unique position to reveal human induced environmental catastrophes wherever they occur in the world, but ultimately it is the will of the general population that forces the hand of any democratically elected government to take immediate remedial action or face voter backlash at the polling booths. Journalists are given a voice on environmental issues in those countries with elected governments but there are totalitarian states and dictatorships operating in environmentally sensitive locations around the globe who don’t subscribe to any freedom of speech in the press, and therefore the media unfortunately doesn’t hold sway on wildlife conservation issues in those nations.