The Impacts of Land Use Change on Biodiversity in Australia

Abstract

Given increasing energy needs related to global development, and the spectre of climate change related to carbon dioxide (Co2 ) emissions from fossil fuels, there is an urgent need for large-scale energy production that does not involve the production of greenhouse gases . Nuclear energy is one possible solution that has been embraced by developing and developed countries alike (for example, China and the uS) . But the accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and most recently Fukushima have demonstrated the vulnerability of this technology to human error, design flaws, and natural disasters, and these accidents have resulted in enormous health, environmental, and economic costs that must be factored into any energy policy that includes nuclear as an option . In the past, such analyses have largely ignored the potential costs of accidents for ecological systems in affected regions. Studies of natural systems are essential since they provide a bellwether for the potential long- term consequences for human populations that by necessity and government policy continue to inhabit contaminated regions . In this chapter, we discuss studies of the non-human biota living in Chernobyl and Fukushima . Extensive research on birds, insects, rodents, microbes, and trees has demonstrated potentially significant injury to individuals, species, and ecosystem functioning related to radiation exposure that has previously been underappreciated . We present an overview of the effects of radiation on DNA, birth defects, infertility, cancer, and longevity, and its consequences for the health and long-term prospects of wildlife living in radioactive regions of the world.