How mangroves save Australians billions of dollars every year

Mangroves are protecting about 175,000 Australians from the impacts of natural disasters according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The ABS has just released experimental information on some of the benefits Australia’s oceans provide for the first time and have revealed that mangroves protect about 30 percent of Australia’s coastline, amounting to 85,000 homes around the country, from the ravages of floods and storms.

The National Ocean Account revealed that there was more than one million hectares of mangrove forests and up to three million hectares of seagrass meadows in 2021.

Director of Environment and Satellite Accounts, Jonathan Khoo, said without the benefits that mangroves offer, the cost of protecting the 18,0000km coastline that they cover would be considerable.

“Using means other than mangroves to protect 85,000 homes could cost the community over $200 billion up front and up to $8 billion annually,” said Mr Khoo.

The National Ocean Ecosystem Account is a joint project between the ABS and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is selling his Northern California estate, which was listed Monday for $24.5 million.

Located in Atherton, an extremely affluent town northwest of Palo Alto and about 30 miles south of San Francisco, the 3.36-acre property is made up of three parcels that Schmidt acquired over the years, according to public records and Compass, who has the listing.

Schmidt, 69, and his wife, businesswoman Wendy Schmidt, purchased the main home in 1990 for $2 million, according to public records accessed via PropertyShark. They remodelled the 1969 home in 2007, and at that time, bought a neighbouring parcel of land, allowing an expansion of the main house and the addition of a guest house, according to Compass, who holds the listing. A third parcel was later acquired, on which the Schmidts added an English garden house and landscaped grounds overlooking the Eastern Hills.

“Finding three contiguous parcels in Atherton is rare. Even rarer are those with views of the Eastern hills,” said listing agent Katharine Carroll of the reSolve Group at Compass. “The location of this residence is ultra private, at the back of a cul-de-sac with the main house built into a hillside that provides privacy and very good security.”

Across the estate, there are five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and six half bathrooms.

The 5,265-square-foot main house also offers a number of private outdoor spaces on its upper level, including a large terrace off the primary suite, another large terrace off a secondary bedroom, plus a third smaller terrace and two balconies.

Behind the main house is a patio with a pool and spa. For even more outdoor space, there’s an entertaining pavilion, an open lawn and an outdoor fireplace area near the guest quarters.

The grounds themselves are also a standout feature, with an array of mature plants and specimen trees. The upper portion of the property’s landscaping is designed around an Amdega-designed conservatory, which was imported from the U.K. Around the greenhouse, there is a garden of raised beds and fruit trees, Carroll said.

“From the moment you step onto the grounds, it feels as if you’ve been transported to a private botanical sanctuary,” she said.

Schmidt served as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011, and then became the company’s executive chairman until 2015. He could not be reached for comment.

This article first appeared on Mansion Global