Daily Links May 4

Is the climate consensus 97%, 99.9%, or is plate tectonics a hoax?
Dana Nuccitelli
A new study argues the 97% climate consensus estimate is too low, while deniers claim it’s too high
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/may/03/is-the-climate-consensus-97-999-or-is-plate-tectonics-a-hoax

Can India save the warming planet?
Varun Sivaram Scientific American
Energy decisions that India makes in the next few years could profoundly affect how hot the planet becomes this century.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-995200128361638017

Want to protect the climate? Time for carbon pricing.
Naomi Oreskes, Jeremy Jones Boston Globe
Putting a price on carbon will account for the true cost of burning fossil fuels, creating a more competitive market for clean energy sources. And, it can be implemented quickly to begin reducing carbon pollution.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-995200128361638023

New York Times wants to offer diverse opinions. But on climate, facts are facts
Jane Martinson
Facts, truth and opinion, always at the heart of journalism, are now the cause of an existential crisis over why it exists
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/03/new-york-times-diverse-opinions-climate-change

One couple’s mission to live plastic-free
Cleaning up tonnes of marine debris along the Australian coastline has this couple determined to live a plastic-free life.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/one-couple-on-a-mission-to-live-plastic-free/8476222

Australian households to install one million batteries by 2020
Morgan Stanley is still expecting around one million households in Australia will install battery storage by 2020.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/australian-households-install-one-million-batteries-2020/

Record $7.5bn renewables spend puts RET well within reach
Stunning $7.5 billion surge in investment in large scale wind and solar projects means Renewable Energy Target is well within reach, and could be filled by commitments this year.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/record-7-5bn-renewables-spend-puts-ret-well-within-reach-37388/

Tables – large scale renewable energy projects being built, or about to start
A table summarising the large scale renewable energy projects completed, under construction, or about to start in 2017.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/tables-large-scale-renewable-energy-projects-built-start-46760/

AEMO chief says clinging to old energy business models is “insane”
The new head of the Australian Energy Market Operators says the notion that major energy industry players can hold on to their old business models is “insane”, and has described last year’s state-wide blackout in South Australia as a “wake-up” call for all in the industry.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/aemo-chief-says-clinging-to-old-energy-business-models-is-insane-66776/

New solar will be cheaper than old coal by 2032
BNEF says falling solar PV costs mean it will be cheaper to build a new large-scale solar than to burn coal by 2032.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/new-solar-will-cheaper-old-coal-2032/

With gas and hydro plans, the government is looking at the whole picture
Cle-Anne Gabriel, The University of Queensland
Energy security requires both short and long planning. Recent gas and hydro announcements are a promising start towards some proper joined-up thinking.
http://theconversation.com/with-gas-and-hydro-plans-the-government-is-looking-at-the-whole-picture-76976

Report: Near-total renewable energy systems cheaper than gas in 2030
Christian Roselund
Climate Policy Initiative stresses flexibility and shows how energy storage and limited gas generation can support a power system dominated by renewables at a lower cost than conventional generation.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/report-near-total-renewable-energy-systems-cheaper-gas-2030/

Climate crusade a waste of energy
Telegraph editorial
AUSTRALIA generates an inconsequential amount of the world’s climate change emissions. In total, our share is around 1.3 per cent of the Earth’s total.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-lord-mayor-clover-moore-downgrades-nye-party-for-climate-change-funding/news-story/07226fd967a29c82ea727d07692273fe

Adani says sediment levels recorded in holding pond, not nearby water
Miner Adani says it has not made massive releases of sediment into waters off its Abbot Point coal terminal, despite allegations that eight times the authorised level were discharged.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-04/adani-says-high-sediment-levels-in-holding-pond-not-nearby-water/8494842

’We believe market will demand the coal’
NEW life has been breathed back into Glencore’s massive $6 billion Wandoan thermal coal project, east of Roma, as mining companies dust off plans for major developments in the Surat Basin.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/faith-in-coal-breathing-new-life-into-surat-basin-plan/news-story/24c6169bd2603d8744e7a56a5919efb6

Politician slams anti-coal ‘latte sippers’
A QUEENSLAND politician has slammed opponents of coal power, claiming if you don’t support coal, you can “sit under palm trees and weave baskets for a living”.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/gladstone-deputy-mayor-chris-trevor-slams-latte-sippers-who-are-against-coal/news-story/ef369f68cba0f34799928affcadf26e2

The government is swimming against the tide on Westpac’s Adani decision
David Peetz, Griffith University and Georgina Murray, Griffith University
As the cost of renewable energy falls, funding a new mine is a risky investment.
http://theconversation.com/the-government-is-swimming-against-the-tide-on-westpacs-adani-decision-76950

Elitists don’t want us to prosper
George Christensen
Adani will create jobs and save towns, so get out of the way as we build our future.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/adani-coalmine-boon-for-queensland-economy-after-cyclone-debbie/news-story/3a453e18e7bfee1d1b42a1c13c5d2d56

Iron Road project approved for SA’s Eyre Peninsula
A $4.5 billion mining project that will create nearly 2,000 jobs during construction is approved in South Australia.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/iron-road-project-approved-for-sas-eyre-peninsula/8492924

Adani wards off Whyalla wipeout
The proposed $16.5bn Adani Carmichael mine project has thrown a lifeline to South Australia’s steel industry.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/adani-to-ward-off-whyalla-wipeout-with-pledge-to-use-arriums-steel/news-story/ac0acfb6b7d5f51e63417301ce65e1c1

On the right road but long way to go
Advertiser editorial
WHEN it comes to mining projects that promise vast numbers of jobs, South Australians are entitled to be a little wary.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-on-the-right-road-but-a-long-way-to-go/news-story/7b0f1a3dcafdb9f41111c519597d1cf9

EPA halts Tassal’s dredging plan after Huon Aquaculture’s objections
Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority halts salmon giant Tassal’s plan to dredge its polluted Franklin lease in Macquarie Harbour.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/huon-aquaculture-seeks-legal-halt-to-macquarie-harbour-dredge/8493708

Long-distance runner to harness waves to bring electricity to Tasmania
Sydney runner Dr Tom Denniss’s company Wave Swell has created a prototype to harness the power of waves — and it will start providing electricity to Tasmanians.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/sydney-runner-uses-waves-to-bring-electricity-to-tasmania/8494516

Be wary of dam bluster
David Tanner
Grand plans to turn Tasmania into an energy store for national power markets carry risks
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-it-pays-to-be-wary-of-dam-bluster/news-story/6feef3165008b6e04ab1d8e2cea2d815

Playing to our natural advantages
Leanne Minshull
Tasmania is potentially set to become an energy superpower
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-playing-to-our-advantages-in-renewable-energy/news-story/17e537810acfb30ca165b1a45258e38d

Kenya seeks to cure plastic bag addiction with blanket ban.
Can Kenya’s fourth attempt to get rid of plastic bags, spurred by a social media campaign, finally start to reduce pollution?
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-995200128361639671

Can Zimbabwe’s switch to LED bulbs curb power crisis, meet climate goals?
The switch could have a dramatic impact on Zimbabwe’s climate change goals, preventing the equivalent of 1,300 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next 13 years, according to the government’s plan drawn up under the Paris Agreement on climate.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-995200128361639670

Study measures air pollution increase attributable to air conditioning
When summer temperatures rise and people turn to their air conditioners to stay cool, something else also increases: air pollution.
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/51161

Turning chicken poop and weeds into biofuel
Chicken is a favorite, inexpensive meat across the globe. But the bird’s popularity results in a lot of waste that can pollute soil and water. One strategy for dealing with poultry poop is to turn it into biofuel, and now scientists have developed a way to do this by mixing the waste with another environmental scourge, an invasive weed that is affecting agriculture in Africa.
http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/51160

Nuclear industry warns UK must avoid ‘cliff edge’ over Brexit.
The UK nuclear industry has issued its strongest warning yet to ministers on the problems it faces if the government is unable to strike new international atomic power deals during Brexit talks.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-995200128361639700

Stanford researchers analyze what a warming planet means for mosquito-borne diseases
As temperatures rise with climate change, mosquito season extends past the summer months in many parts of the world.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/su-sra050217.php

Mineral Resources: Exhaustion Is Just a Myth, Say Scientists
Recent articles have declared that deposits of mineral raw materials (copper, zinc, etc.) will be exhausted within a few decades. An international team of scientists, …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170502114002.htm

Imagine if your office made you healthier
The building wellness movement — the idea that our homes and offices should improve our health and wellbeing — is gaining momentum.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/building-for-wellness-imagine-if-your-office-made-you-healthier/8490030

Modified soybeans yield more in future climate conditions
Researchers have modified soybeans to yield more when both temperature and carbon dioxide levels increase, which suggests that we might be able to combat heat-related yield loss with genetic engineering.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/crwi-msy050317.php

Controversial microplastics study to be retracted.
The authors of a high-profile paper about the dangers of fish consuming small particles of plastic say that they will retract their study, after an investigation found them “guilty of scientific dishonesty” and raised the possibility that some of the research described “was not conducted.”
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-995200128361639638

The war on wildlife and its protectors.
All of this environmental violence has an end-of-time quality to it. Just as the people protecting natural habitats or certain species of wildlife are coming under attack, whether in Africa or Latin America, so, too, are some of the last great mammals of their species still living in the wild
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-995200128361639676

Saving the most endangered plants in the world.
An interview with botanist Nathalie Nagalingum who studies cycads, the world’s oldest seed plants and one of the rarest organisms on the planet
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-995200128361639677

Neonic Pesticides Threaten Wild Bees’ Spring Breeding: Study
Neonicotinoid pesticides hinder wild queen bumblebee’s reproductive success, according to a new University of Guelph study.
http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/51158

Marine conservation must consider human rights
An appeal for a code of conduct
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/nfp-mc050117.php