Daily Links Jun 28

Sea level rise isn’t just happening, it’s getting faster.
Yet another study confirms that the rate of sea level rise is increasing.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2460133000468984867

Melting Greenland ice now source of 25% of sea level rise, researchers say.
Ocean levels rose 50 percent faster in 2014 than in 1993, with meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet now supplying 25 percent of total sea level increase compared with just 5 percent 20 years earlier, researchers reported Monday.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2206158589390241708

How climate change has plagued the health of nations for centuries.
It’s brought down countless empires, as Anthony McMichael’s brilliant history recounts
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2206158589390242234

As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along
A warming climate is not just melting the Arctic’s sea ice; it is stirring the remaining ice faster, increasing the odds that ice-rafted pollution will foul a neighboring country’s waters, says a new …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170627105349.htm

Ozone layer recovery will be delayed by chemical leaks
The healing of the ozone layer could be delayed for 30 years or more by rising emissions of a substance hitherto ignored by environmental regulators. Ironically, its principal use is as a feedstock to make ‘ozone-friendly’ chemicals for air conditioners and refrigerators.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2138753-ozone-layer-recovery-will-be-delayed-by-chemical-leaks/

‘Clean coal’ and other dirty jokes
The Turnbull Government has introduced legislation to enable investment in coal despite the fact that there is just no such thing as ‘clean coal’.
https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/clean-coal-and-other-dirty-jokes,10445

Endangered or just a danger?
The Liberal Party is looking to back the easing of protection for great white sharks.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/great-white-shark-endangered-or-just-a-danger-to-humans/news-story/3063f3fef648e350badb232ed83d642b

Burke says Murray Darling Basin plan ‘not perfect’
Irrigators and farming groups have slammed the Wentworth Group of Scientists for its report suggesting the Murray Darling Basin plan had done little to improve the river’s health. Joining AM to discuss the basin plan is the man who was one of the original architects of the 2012 deal, the Shadow Environment and Water Minister Tony Burke.
http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2016/s4692253.htm?site=indigenous&topic=latest

What does Finkel mean for community power?
Kim Shore
Community energy entrepreneurship could help deliver Finkel’s recommendations — especially distributed and independent power systems.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/finkel-mean-community-power-57280/

Abbott’s death-wish on industry: Freeze RET, ban wind, build coal
Giles Parkinson
On same day as major industrial project goes 100% renewables, Abbott calls for freeze on RET, ban on wind farms, and for government to build a new coal generator.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/abbotts-death-wish-on-industry-freeze-ret-ban-wind-build-coal-43357/

Has Albo really found a congestion hollow log?
Alan Davies
Anthony Albanese gets it wrong on traffic congestion. Australian cities need politicians who’ll tell us what’s really going on and what really needs to be done
https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2017/06/27/albo-really-found-hollow-log/

Religions aspire to the same thing: peace
Julian Porteous
The bonds that unite the people of the world withstand any attempts to sow division.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-the-faithful-of-all-religions-aspire-to-the-same-thing-peace/news-story/7c6be9c3e4273dc9af71946e357c6f8b

Suburban Melbourne a happy hunting ground for foxes
ABC Radio Melbourne is flooded with reports of fox sightings throughout Melbourne, with some people going as far as hand-feeding them.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-27/why-are-there-so-many-foxes-in-melbourne/8654868

Why Victorians don’t do buses
OTHER cities around the world love their buses, but Melburnians have long shunned them in favour of trains and trams. Why don’t we want to get on board?
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/future-melbourne/limited-services-long-waits-and-unreliability-stops-melbourne-from-embracing-buses/news-story/ba8e892d4a235dffc000318613d38e09

Airport rail link ready for take-off
A RAIL link to Melbourne airport could be built without Victorian funding because the Turnbull Government is willing to ­explore all options to kickstart the project.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-airport-rail-link-may-be-built-without-victorian-funding/news-story/2ef855853e494fc9fbd6261611a48085

Push to put a bike rack on every bus in Victoria despite low take-up in trial
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/push-for-external-bicycle-racks-on-victoria-buses-despite-low-takeup-in-trial-20170621-gwvlpb.html

Melbourne set to grow 4000m taller
MELBOURNE is looking up, with the city set to grow 4000m taller, as Victoria remains the employment powerhouse of the nation.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-looking-up-with-the-city-set-to-grow-4000-metres-taller/news-story/e8eb1d25ffd7454bfffcf8505b600123

Big isn’t best if we burst
Herald Sun editorial
ONE day in September 2048, Melbourne will surpass historical rival Sydney as Australia’s most populous city.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-big-isnt-best-if-we-burst/news-story/26d92408831541543ffd5fff1457441b

Is China building turbines of coal?
Terry McCrann.
SILLY Chinese: those ones at Yancoal who are trying so desperately to buy Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley thermal coal mines, that they have now upped their bid to $3.5 billion
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/terry-mccrann/terry-mccrann-is-china-building-turbines-of-coal/news-story/ec38b11750bdd4293663e7771fe5ff31

Re-powering people — one political stunt at a time
Andrew Clennell
LUKE Foley’s announcement he would re-regulate the electricity market just reeks of populist politics.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/andrew-clennell-foley-repowering-the-people-one-political-stunt-at-a-time/news-story/f7ecc792948aa31e8b7f428439e23723

ACT moves closer to reaching renewable energy targets
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/new-windfarm-feeding-act-comes-online-20170627-gwzi4o.html

Challenges facing growing Canberra are not unsurmountable
Canberra Times editorial
The census has revealed the ACT is the fastest growing state or territory in the country, adding 40,175 people to its population between 2011 and 2016. This growth spurt, while good news for the capital, does have its own challenges.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/ct-editorial/challenges-facing-growing-canberra-are-not-unsurmountable-20170627-gwzpd7.html

Fishing change on way
FISHERIES Minister Bill Byrne has talked up the success of net-free zones but stopped short of promising new ones.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/no-promises-on-more-netfree-zones-for-far-north/news-story/4622489d5a0a2efc10295e7df8786f80

Queensland Government fund denies planning to fund Galilee coal mines
A Queensland Government investment vehicle has been in talks about investing in the Galilee Basin coal mining region, raising speculation it may help bankroll infrastructure for the controversial Adani mine.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-27/queensland-government-finance-body-in-talks-fund-galilee-coal/8655786

State leads world power prices
South Australians will be slugged with the highest household electricity prices in the world, an expert says.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/south-australias-power-prices-to-be-highest-in-world/news-story/a3c33d98a68bab39f0609982b174bd13

SA recycling business closes after $100k hike in power bills
South Australia’s sky-high electricity prices have forced an Adelaide plastics recycling business to shut its doors, costing 35 workers their jobs, its managing director says.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-27/sa-recycling-business-power-bills-rise-causing-closure/8654638

SA lags behind in population growth
SOUTH Australia is lagging behind the rest of the mainland in the race to add more residents as Melbourne comes closer to overtaking Sydney and becoming Australia’s largest city.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/census-2016-south-australia-lagging-behind-in-population-growth-as-melbourne-comes-closer-to-becoming-our-largest-city/news-story/3825350a4231f51f8e04f8f0eb7e66e8

Power jolt ‘could destroy SA’s food bowl’
RIVERLAND irrigators face soaring water costs because of surging power bills, which an industry leader says threaten to destroy SA’s horticulture industry and lead to fruit and vegetable imports.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/rising-irrigation-costs-caused-by-surging-power-bills-could-destroy-sa-horticulture-industry-leader-says/news-story/c23886d1a8bf83c579dccea59b970c38

Artificial SA reef taking shape
WORK is under way to create South Australia’s largest restoration reef to provide wild oysters with a new habitat, after it was eradicated from the state’s coastline in the 1800s.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/work-begins-on-4-million-york-peninsula-oyster-reef-near-ardrossan-to-restore-coastal-habitat/news-story/ed277438da2cf3abbd169970cb1d13e4

West Coast wind farm ready to fly
ANOTHER wind farm in Tasmania’s West has moved a step closer to producing energy as the state reinforces its reputation as the nation’s renewable energy capital.
http://www.themercury.com.au/business/power-supply-deal-gives-wings-to-granville-harbour-wind-project/news-story/0389f7df6987ed186b790984b2169ea5

Tiwi Islands community signs 99-year lease with Commonwealth after ‘difficult’ negotiations
Traditional owners in Pirlangimpi hope the lease will lead to jobs and economic development on their land, but not everyone is happy with the agreement.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-27/tiwi-islands-community-signs-99-year-lease-with-commonwealth/8654442?site=indigenous&topic=latest

‘Rewilding’ Australia: Not only do we need the outback, the outback needs us.
Barry Traill and John Woinarski
Even in vast natural ecosystems, the fate and condition of nature lies in the hands of the people who live on, know, respect and manage that land.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/25/rewilding-australia-not-only-do-we-need-the-outback-the-outback-needs-us

More than 30 nuclear experts inhale uranium after radiation alarms at a weapons site are switched off.
Most were not told about it until months later, and other mishaps at the Nevada nuclear test site followed.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2206158589390241714

‘As a carnist I’m conditioned to accept meat-eating is natural.’
In a bid to live more simply – and eat more ethically – does rearing your own livestock for sustenance raise more questions than it answers? A novice farmer responds.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2206158589390241691

Friend or foe? Manganese concentration in drinking water needs attention, researchers say
In the world of heavy metal poisoning, arsenic may have found a sidekick — and it’s one that needs more research to understand its influence on human health, according to Kansas State University researchers.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/ksu-fof062717.php

Regulating the indirect land use carbon emissions imposes high hidden costs on fuel
Farmers earn more profits when there is demand for corn for biofuel instead of for food only. This can lead some to convert grasslands and forests to cropland. This conversion, also called indirect land use change, can have large-scale environmental consequences, including releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/uoic-rt062617.php

‘It’s up to us’: Why business needs to take a stand on palm oil.
Consumers have long been encouraged to shop with sustainability in mind. But when it comes to palm oil, the power to effect industry-wide change is in the hands of business.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2206158589390241693

When wind is the firmest thing.
As officials debate the meaning of ‘baseload,’ two wind operators in the Pacific Northwest are demonstrating how wind power can be as reliable as coal.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2206158589390241683

Renewable energy at a ‘tipping point.’
Christian Science Monitor editorial
Washington may be showing less interest in alternative fuels, but the worldwide picture is dramatically different.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2460133000468984861

Logging in Malaysia’s Ulu Muda forest threatens wildlife and water supplies.
Activists have been alarmed to see old logging roads reopened and new logging tracks created in one of peninsular Malaysia’s last wildernesses.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2206158589390240378

Finland has far fewer wild wolves than previously thought, census shows.
Conservation groups have raised concerns over Finland’s wild wolf population after a new census found numbers far below those regarded as naturally sustainable.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2206158589390241694

Safeguarding Sustainability Through Forest Certification Mapping
How can we ensure forest protection and sustainable forest biomass production at the same time? A first-ever global map of certified forest areas, based on a participatory and collaborative mapping …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170627105416.htm

How grassland management without the loss of species works
The intensive management of grasslands is bad for biodiversity. However, a study by the Terrestrial Ecology Research Group at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has brought a ray of hope: If different forms of management are optimally distributed within a region, this can lead to higher yields without the loss of insect species.
http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/51657

Grand Canyon is our home. Uranium mining has no place here.
Carletta Tilousi
The Havasupai resided in and around Grand Canyon for many centuries. This region is sacred – that is why we oppose the pollution of our land and water.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2206158589390241690