G’day I’m Steve Truman the Editor and founder of Agmates.
I have lived and worked in rural Australia with our farmers all of my life. Raised on a Wheat, Sheep and Cattle property on the banks of the Gwydir River in Northern New South Wales my career has taken me across the Agricultural landscape in four States.
My work in the rural industry over 2 decades has taken me to some of the most beautiful places not only in Australia but I believe the world. Australia has a pristine environment and I like every farmer in the country want it to stay that way.
Unlike Urban dwelling Australians, to farmers the weather / climate is the most critical external factor in all farming enterprises. Farmers monitor and work with and in the weather and nature everyday. Urban dwellers check the weather to find out if they need to dress warmly or take a umbrella before they leave the house.
Farmers monitor the weather and climate because they’re very financial and in some cases physical survival depends on it.
So it is from that practical hands on background that I will be bringing you no nonsense commentary on environment issues in Crikey’s Enviro blog. The views I express on “Rooted” will always be biased 100% towards the nine million Australians that live outside of the state capital cities in rural & regional Australia. I make no apologies about that.
A bit about Agmates.
Agmates blog launched 20 months ago (Feb 2007) has grown quickly to become Australia’s leading online Rural and Regional community. Like Crikey, Agmates was conceived out of a need to address issues in Rural & Regional Australia that are missed or not covered by the mainstream media.
Steve Truman
Agmates
email: news@agmates.com
Phone: 0428 966819
Anna Rose is Co-Director of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. The coalition unites a diversity of youth organisations to build a generation wide movement to solve climate change. Anna was National Environment Officer for the Australian National Union of Students in 2005 and is past National Convenor of the Australian Student Environment Network.
She is a former editor of the Sydney University student paper Honi Soit and a frequent speaker and writer on climate justice issues in Australia and overseas. In 2005 Anna was a youth representative to the Kyoto Protocol negotiations in Montreal and in 2007 was a youth delegate to the UN Secretary General’s Meeting on Climate Change in New York.
She is a contributing editor to the blog ItsGettingHotinHere.org, and has spent seven months working with the progressive movement in the United States, including on the Obama campaign and for the Energy Action Coalition. Anna holds a Global Youth Action Net Fellowship from the International Youth Foundation for 2007-2008, is part of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, and holds an Australian Leadership Award from the Australian-Davos Connection.
