Daily Links May 26

Global climate projections help civil engineers plan.
John Abraham The Guardian
Climate scientists tell us what is happening to the planet. Engineers are helping us prepare
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-1786170265303039864

China to partly fund new CSIRO climate research centre.
CSIRO’s re-embracing of climate change research will be underlined on Monday when the national science agency announces a new centre partly funded by Chinese interests.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-1786170265303041508

Alumina begs for energy rethink
Alumina chairman John Pizzey says Australia’s energy-intensive industry will go under without a policy rethink.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/alumina-chair-pizzey-begs-for-energy-policy-rethink/news-story/7019d830eec3fdf0f28eaee0d0338255

Tips to cut electricity spending
ENERGY experts will come together in Cairns next week for a free seminar helping businesses to save on energy costs.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/business/energy-experts-converge-on-cairns-for-energysaving-business-seminar/news-story/18e9336506c8c63d20863bac28403b93

Is all that plastic on our fruit and veg necessary?
A national petition for the reduction of plastic wrapping on fresh food and vegetables has newfound support across the country two years after it was first sent to supermarkets.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-25/petition-to-reduce-plastic-in-supermarkets-war-on-waste/8557658

Wind, solar cheaper than coal and gas, so let’s get on with it
ARENA CEO tells Senate Committee new wind and solar power generation is already, on average, cheaper than existing fossil fuel generation on the NEM.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/video-wind-solar-cheaper-than-coal-and-gas-so-lets-get-on-with-it-67093/

Marine fisheries and aquaculture: Productivity Commission inquiry report
Productivity Commission
http://apo.org.au/node/90786

Why we must urgently depoliticise climate
John Hewson
This is too important to leave to our short-sighted politicians
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/we-cant-leave-climate-policy-to-our-shortsighted-politicians-20170524-gwcm1c.html

Are we choosing the right transport projects?
Tony Morton
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/are-we-choosing-the-right-transport-projects-20170519-gw8k2l.html

Biggest threat to utilities is not solar + storage, it’s their own greed
Giles Parkinson
The plunging cost of solar and storage present a huge threat to the business models of incumbent utilities. But the biggest threat to their future is their own greed, and the invitation to consumers to look at alternatives.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/biggest-threat-utilities-not-solar-storage-greed-65126/

Renewable energy investment is booming but there are clouds ahead
Tristan Edis
It is now clear there are enough projects ready to go to sail past the 2020 renewable energy target. But just because we can doesn’t mean that we will. There are still some major hurdles.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/renewable-energy-investment-is-booming-but-there-are-clouds-ahead-89993/

Networks: Bad news for consumers is good news for renewables
David Leitch
The move to decarbonisation will benefit from the rising price of fossil fueled, grid delivered electricity because higher prices will encourage investment in efficiency and lower consumption ,and incentivise alternatives such as distributed renewables.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/networks-bad-news-consumers-good-news-renewables-88322/

Shark attack survivors promote surfboard fin aimed at stopping shark culls
A group of surfers, including two who lost limbs in shark attacks, are promoting a surfboard fin aimed at stopping shark culls.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-25/shark-attack-survivors-behind-surfboard-fin-to-stop-culls/8555680

Privatise public transport and reap the benefits, Infrastructure Australia says
Victoria could save about $1 billion – enough money to buy 80 new E-Class trams – by putting its struggling bus network out to competitive tender, the Turnbull government’s infrastructure adviser says.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/privatise-public-transport-and-reap-the-benefits-infrastructure-australia-says-20170525-gwcymv.html

Sydney’s rapidly unfolding ‘public transport disaster’
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/green-square-is-sydneys-public-transport-disaster-even-before-apartments-built-20170523-gwazy9.html

Sale of entire WestConnex motorway on the table
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sale-of-entire-westconnex-motorway-project-on-table-for-government-20170524-gwc2n2.html

The plan to protect wildlife displaced by the Hume Highway has failed
David Lindenmayer et al
When the Hume Highway was widened, hundreds of nest boxes were installed to replace habitat for three threatened species. Four years of monitoring has concluded the program is entirely unsuccessful.
http://theconversation.com/the-plan-to-protect-wildlife-displaced-by-the-hume-highway-has-failed-78087

Protesters fight ‘invisible displacement’ by mine
Amy Maguire and Hedda Haugen Askland
http://theconversation.com/protesters-fight-invisible-displacement-by-mine-77311

Canberra’s future should be planned by professionals for the common good, not individuals’ desires
Karen Wright
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/canberras-future-should-be-planned-by-professionals-for-the-common-good-not-individuals-desires-20170525-gwcps9.html

Most Queensland voters oppose taxpayer support for Adani coalmine – poll
59% give thumbs down to state or federal assistance for Carmichael mine as state government faces factional fight over whether to give project a royalties holiday
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/25/most-queensland-voters-oppose-taxpayer-support-for-adani-coalmine-poll

Public transport ‘franchising’ could ‘fund Cross River Rail’
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/public-transport-franchising-could-fund-cross-river-rail-report-20170525-gwdf4x.html

‘Pro-coal’ Newman and Palaszczuk regimes blamed for $45 million solar failure
The Newman and Palaszczuk Queensland governments and their “pro-coal” policies are to blame for the failure of the Kogan Creek Solar Boost project, scrapped last year at a cost to taxpayers of at least $45 million, the technology’s inventor says.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/procoal-newman-and-palaszczuk-regimes-blamed-for-45-million-solar-failure-20170525-gwct6k.html

Forestry fate ‘now rests in Labor’s hands’
THE State Government’s forestry legislation is on a knife edge in Tasmania’s Upper House as debate continues today.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/politics/forestry-bills-fate-now-rests-in-labors-hands-says-resources-minister-guy-barnett/news-story/15c971cb9effaa6044feacbd2ae68be5

Forestry future direction funded
Community awareness and a National Institute for Forest Products Innovation among key initiatives.
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4687809/forestry-future-direction-funded/?cs=5312

Windfall for state tourism experiences
The state budget features a $37 million funding boost to the industry.
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4687792/windfall-for-state-tourism-experiences/?cs=5312

At over 300 sites across India hazardous waste is part of the landscape and life.
India is set to issue guidelines for dealing with hazardous waste dumps that occur across the country
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-1786170265303041461

How New York is building the renewable energy grid of the future.
New York State is making a $5 billion bet that by making its power cleaner, it can become a magnet for the clean energy jobs of the future.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-1786170265303041489

There’s Way Less Coal Than We Thought
A young researcher’s discovery about fossil fuels and climate change was so troubling, he wondered, “Oh man, am I really right about this?”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-24/misleading-coal-estimates-may-have-skewed-climate-projections

Why Don’t Green Buildings Live Up to Hype on Energy Efficiency?
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/51350

Electric cars becoming popular as the grid gets greener
With the rising number of plug-in models available in the U.S., many at increasingly affordable prices, the climate benefits of electric cars are growing.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/electric-cars-becoming-popular-grid-gets-greener-83123/

Firm behind Dakota Access pipeline faces intense scrutiny for series of leaks
Documents suggest that a major spill from the Rover pipeline in Ohio described as 2m gallons of ‘drilling fluids’ might now be more than twice as large
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/25/energy-transfer-partners-dakota-access-oil-leaks-ohio

Tiny island off Singapore may hold answers to energy’s future
http://www.theage.com.au/business/energy/frances-engie-says-hydrogen-has-massive-longterm-potential-for-power-storage-20170525-gwcqse.html

Hanford nuclear cleanup budget slashed in energy proposal.
Washington state’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation, scene of a recent collapse of a tunnel containing nuclear waste, would see its funding slashed under President Donald Trump’s new budget proposal.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-1786170265303041449

US nuclear regulators greatly underestimate potential for nuclear disaster
Nuclear spent fuel fire could force millions of people to relocate
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/puww-unr052317.php

Power markets need a redesign – here’s why
Albert Cheung
Is the rise of subsidized clean energy causing power markets to misfire?
http://reneweconomy.com.au/power-markets-need-redesign-heres-21474/

Green space – how much is enough, and what’s the best way to deliver it?
Anne Cleary, Griffith University and Ruth Hunter, Queen’s University Belfast
Urban green spaces are most effective at delivering their full range of health, social and environmental benefits when physical improvement of the space is coupled with social engagement.
http://theconversation.com/green-space-how-much-is-enough-and-whats-the-best-way-to-deliver-it-77393

The perils of publishing location data for endangered species
While the increasing accessibility of data from scientific studies creates many benefits – and represents a process that should be broadly embraced – in the context of conserving endangered species it can actually be problematic
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/aaft-tpo052217.php

Disappointment, anger in Ogoniland over Nigerian govt’s delay to clean up oil spills.
Ogoniland is a minefield of environmental disaster and a public health catastrophe. Ten months after the official flag-off by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, not a single drop of oil has been cleaned up.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-1786170265303039855

New approach predicts threats to rainforests
With rain forests at risk the world over, a new collaboration is equipping conservationists with the tools to predict and plan for future forest loss.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/uoo-nap052517.php

Targeted conservation could protect more of Earth’s biodiversity
A new study finds that major gains in global biodiversity can be achieved if an additional 5% of land is set aside to protect key species.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/yu-tcc052517.php