Australian greenhouse protester ends lengthy hunger strike

CANBERRA, Australia: A hunger striker who became a champion of farmers who complain that they pay the price for Australia's climate change policy ended his 52-day fast yesterday, his supporters say.

Sheep farmer Peter Spencer, 61, said he consumed only water mixed with a little lemon juice since Nov 23, in protest of state laws introduced throughout Australia since 1995 that restrict the amount of land farmers can clear of vegetation that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Slowing land clearing is equivalent to reducing a country's greenhouse gas emissions in calculations under the UN's Kyoto Protocol.