Daily Links Jun 8

China is now looking to California – not Trump – to help lead the fight against climate change.
Gov. Jerry Brown met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in a rare diplomatic coup that catapults California into quasi-national status as a negotiator with China
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2460133000468972930

Global Warming May Cause Spike in Asthma, Allergy Symptoms
Exposure to a widespread outdoor fungus can increase cell damage (oxidative stress) in the airways, research shows
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170606123423.htm

Caring about climate change: it’s time to build a bridge between data and emotion
Ketan Joshi
Seeing the span of our children’s lives laid over a climate projection graph slices through the boredom that comes with climate apathy
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/07/caring-about-climate-change-its-time-to-build-a-bridge-between-data-and-emotion

What’s the big deal about Paris?
Garrison Keillor Washington Post
People love the chance to get all apocalyptic: The right wing has enjoyed this for years and now it was everyone else’s turn.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18530169838846588

Meeting Paris pledges would prevent at least 1C of global warming.
Zeke Hausfather The Carbon Brief
President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change has raised questions about the effectiveness of the accord, and how that will change without the US.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2460133000468972915

Conservatives backtrack on LET after discovering wind and solar so cheap
Conservative support for LET evaporates with realisation it will do little to support new coal generation.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/conservatives-backtrack-on-let-after-discovering-wind-and-solar-so-cheap-89503/

Steel giant backs clean energy plan
Steel giant BlueScope has controversially backed a clean energy target for the electricity sector.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/steel-giant-bluescope-backs-coalitions-clean-energy-target/news-story/0b72549083878fd72d195bd288d300de

ATO wants $1 billion from Chevron in massive tax case
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-taxation-office-chasing-1-billion-from-energy-giant-chevron-in-massive-tax-case-20170607-gwm6wl.html

Bar higher for wind, solar farms
Wind and solar farms will be forced to meet tougher standards to guarantee reliable energy.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/wind-solar-farms-face-tougher-rules-to-guarantee-power/news-story/8e0b26767dd383cffeb32ea9cf2af231

‘Somewhat surprising’ survey on Australian attitudes to renewables
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/australians-want-focus-on-renewables-not-coal-lowy-poll-finds-20170607-gwmake.html

Australia’s carbon emissions rise in off-season for first time in a decade
On the eve of the long-awaited Finkel review, analysis shows Australia’s emissions rose sharply in the first quarter of 2017
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/08/australias-carbon-emissions-rise-in-off-season-for-first-time-in-a-decade

Cutting through the haze of emission schemes
Peter Martin
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/low-emissions-target-on-emissions-schemes-no-one-says-the-same-thing-for-long-20170606-gwl8b0.html

Households in dark on energy policy again
Courier Mail editorial
WHILE its policy cupboard may be empty in other areas, the Palaszczuk Government has attempted to tackle the issue of energy. Yet it has chosen a path that is both incongruous and comes with costs.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-households-in-dark-on-energy-policy-again/news-story/ad5ce828fdc696f105934012dada205a

Channel Nine reporter racially abused in Geelong
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/channel-nine-reporter-neary-ty-racially-abused-in-geelong-20170607-gwmp19.html

The WestConnex challenge: public summary report – June 2017 (draft)
City of Sydney
http://apo.org.au/node/93211

Protesting councillor warned to ‘get out of the way’ of $115 million Wynnum Road project
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/protesting-councillor-warned-to-get-out-of-the-way-of-115-million-wynnum-road-project-20170607-gwmcfh.html

IEA climate scenarios make mockery of Australia’s defence of Adani coal
Giles Parkinson
International Energy Agency says, at current rate, unabated coal generation would have to stop within 14 years, undermining claims Adani coal mine is a climate win. IEA also says low emissions target must be set at a fraction of that contemplated by Canberra.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/iea-climate-scenarios-make-mockery-of-australias-defence-of-adani-coal-95639/

How much you’re paying for Adani’s polluting mine to save Turnbull and Palaszczuk’s jobs
Bernard Keane
It wasn’t so long ago we were told it would cost too much to save jobs in car manufacturing, now we’re spending even more per job on a mine that will damage the Great Barrier Reef.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/06/07/how-much-youre-paying-for-adanis-polluting-mine-to-save-turnbull-and-palaszczuks-jobs/

Why Qld Labor backed Adani’s coal mine despite voter backlash
William Bowe
Adani’s wildly controversial $16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine project in central Queensland is the latest in a long line of issues putting Labor at risk of dividing two key supporter bases.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/06/07/poll-bludger-why-qld-labor-backed-adanis-coal-mine-despite-voter-backlash/

Extremists ‘hijacking’ Indigenous cause
Matthew Stevens
Indigenous leader Marcia Langton has slammed cashed-up green groups for putting her people’s future at risk.
http://www.afr.com/business/marcia-langton-green-extremists-hijacking-indigenous-cause-20170607-gwmgfl

Nuclear dump idea dead in SA
Conservation groups have welcomed a move by the South Australian premier to declare the idea of a nuclear waste dump a dead issue
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/nuclear-dump-idea-dead-in-sa/news-story/c4c10d44ab0ac71056efd337cfbb0244

Govt not backing down on power plan
THE State Government has refused to delay plans to purchase a new gas generator, despite AGL’s announcement it will build a new $295 million power station.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/sa-government-wont-delay-plans-to-purchase-new-gas-generator-despite-agl-building-new-power-station/news-story/62417923b759c789277b69d59034e8be

Space for more wind farms in Tassie
TASMANIA has the capacity to support two or three more wind farms before it needs to invest in its electricity transmission infrastructure, energy analysts say.
http://www.themercury.com.au/business/space-for-more-wind-farms-in-tasmania-before-infrastructure-investment-is-needed/news-story/2bfaec7ca841b5a2ca274aa0758984c3

Questions over future of forestry
FORESTRY Tasmania has three weeks of operation left in its current form, with questions raised about how it will continue to operate as promised without help from the State Government.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/politics/labor-mp-david-llewellyn-logs-concerns-over-forestrys-future-as-sustainable-timbers-tasmania/news-story/04af7845f29671059e074f1adcd63a7a

Fringe event highlights logging
An unofficial Dark Mofo event was launched tonight in opposition to the government’s forestry policy
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4716017/fringe-event-highlights-logging/?cs=5312

‘The worst example of dumping I have seen’
AN automotive graveyard on Hobart’s Eastern Shore where stolen and clapped-out cars have been dumped en masse is finally being cleaned up.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/cleanup-at-clarendon-vale-aims-to-close-down-car-graveyard-for-good/news-story/dbef62b3227b53e7dacf6d8f395408e8

Sooner councils out of TasWater the better
Mervin  C Reed
Tasmanian councils should forget about the tethered goat that is TasWater and get on with business.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-the-sooner-councils-get-out-of-taswater-the-better/news-story/97697f26fc5ec33745dec4a002f08973

Electric cars accelerate past 2m mark globally
China, US and Europe accounted for more than 90% of electric vehicle sales last year with decreasing costs driving demand
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/07/electric-cars-sales-2-million-worldwide-global-sales

National governments are failing on clean energy, IEA says.
Only wind and solar, electric vehicles and energy storage are on track, a new report says. A lack of strong national climate change policies is part of the problem
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/18530169838846572

Winds of change: gusts across Europe help set renewable power record
Nuclear, wind and solar power in UK generate more electricity than gas and coal combined for first time ever
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/07/winds-gusts-europe-enewable-power-record

Trump’s EPA actually seems to be doing a pretty good job regulating new chemicals.
Chemicals already on the market? Not so much.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2460133000468972911

India’s toxic trail of tears.
An unending legacy of poisoning, pollution, and chemical pain.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18530169838847544

WHO creates controversial ‘reserve’ list of antibiotics for superbug threats.
The WHO’s move aims to drastically reduce the use of some antibiotics
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18530169838846587

Offshore wind turbines vulnerable to Category 5 hurricane gusts
Offshore wind turbines built according to current standards may not be able to withstand the powerful gusts of a Category 5 hurricane, creating potential risk for any such turbines built in hurricane-prone areas, new University of Colorado Boulder-led research shows.
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/51460

Coal waste fuel may reduce anthropogenic emissions, TPU study reveals
Scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University are developing a technology for fuel production from coal processing wastes.
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/51453

Turning car plastics into foams with coconut oil
End-of-life vehicles, with their plastic, metal and rubber components, are responsible for millions of tons of waste around the world each year. Now, one team reports in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering that the plastic components in these vehicles can be recycled with coconut oil and re-used as foams for the construction, packaging and automotive industries.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/acs-tcp060717.php

While nations play politics, cities and states are taking up the climate challenge
Michael Mintrom
http://theconversation.com/while-nations-play-politics-cities-and-states-are-taking-up-the-climate-challenge-78839

Greens would ditch Hinkley Point C – an expert view on the manifestos
Damian Carrington
Guardian experts give their view on the main parties’ public service manifesto pledges. Here, our environment editor looks at energy, pollution and recycling
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/07/general-election-public-service-manifesto-pledges-environment

EPA scientists said ban chlorpyrifos. Scott Pruitt said no.
Carl F. Cranor Los Angeles Times
Miners carried canaries into coal mines to warn them of deadly danger. The Trump administration has decided to use children and farmworkers as 21st century canaries, continuing their exposure to a pesticide named chlorpyrifos that has been linked to serious health concerns
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/18530169838847559

Demand for elephant skin, trunk and penis drives rapid rise in poaching in Myanmar
A growth in demand for elephant parts to be used in traditional medicine in Asia means the number of elephants being killed in Myanmar is rising
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/07/demand-elephant-products-drives-dramatic-rise-poaching-myanmar

Bee buzzes could help determine how to save their decreasing population
According to recent studies, declines in wild and managed bee populations threaten the pollination of flowers in more than 85 percent of flowering plants and 75 percent of agricultural crops worldwide.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-06/uom-bbc060717.php