Daily Links Jul 18

4 bacteria capable of reversing climate change by eating pollution.
Such bacteria might not only be able to take care of the 300 million tons of plastic produced around the world but even heavy metals such as Cadmium, which is used in nuclear reactors.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2946413885455655765

In Chile, many regard climate change as the greatest external threat.
For Chile, the possible impact of climate change has now become an issue of profound concern on numerous fronts, from melting glaciers to conflicts over water rights between big agricultural businesses and small farmers.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2946413885455653536

Al Gore: Crusader against the climate crisis.
Al Gore, who is featured in a new documentary, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, talks about his efforts to sway President Donald Trump to maintain America’s participation in the landmark Paris Climate Agreement.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2946413885455653534

Key to speeding up carbon sequestration discovered
Scientists at Caltech and USC identify how to encourage the chemical reaction by which carbon dioxide is locked away in the ocean
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/ciot-kts071717.php

Defining power of climate change
Terry McCrann
CLIMATE change has become the defining question of our age, with a very broad umbrella of stupidity where all the other global warming stupidities sprout and flourish
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/terry-mccrann/defining-power-of-climate-change-and-al-gore-effect/news-story/a886b4658e437fb8b6ac9bcf161767b7

Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals
Martin Lukacs
Stop obsessing with how personally green you live – and start collectively taking on corporate power
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/true-north/2017/jul/17/neoliberalism-has-conned-us-into-fighting-climate-change-as-individuals

Surrendering to fear brought us climate change denial and President Trump
John Abraham
I propose that people take indefensible positions like climate denial and Trump support simply out of fear
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/jul/17/surrendering-to-fear-brought-us-climate-change-denial-and-president-trump

The Fakel Report: Finkel’s fake Economics 2.0
Darren Nelson
This is not surprising given that only when ‘hell freezes over’ will a CET result in
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19163

Mr Kelly and Mr Turnbull, people will die this winter, but not due to renewables
John Passant
Skyrocketing heating costs have nothing to do with renewables and everything to do with the Coalition’s ineffectual energy policies.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/mr-kelly-and-mr-turnbull-people-will-die-this-winter-but-not-due-to-renewables,10507

Old Liberal Thinking Betrays Australia’s Seniors
Tom Allen
Renewables could cut pensioners’ energy bills if the government had the ticker. Instead, Craig Kelly scapegoats them for the Liberals’ seniors policy failures
https://newmatilda.com/2017/07/17/old-thinking-betrays-australias-seniors/

Getting rid of plastic bags: a windfall for supermarkets but it won’t do much for the environment
Gary Mortimer
http://theconversation.com/getting-rid-of-plastic-bags-a-windfall-for-supermarkets-but-it-wont-do-much-for-the-environment-81083

Get a grip, people – we’ll learn to cope with the plastic bag ban
Carolyn Cage
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/well-learn-to-cope-with-plastic-bag-ban-by-coles-and-woolworths-20170717-gxco2x.html

What should be in store for plastic bags
SMH editorial
The once-recalcitrant giant supermarket chains have handed Australian environment ministers a golden opportunity to get rid of lightweight plastic bags from all stores once and for all.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/what-should-be-in-store-for-plastic-bags-20170717-gxcu5q.html

Turnbull’s coal delusions as COAG ‘changes course’ on energy
Giles Parkinson
If COAG did change the course of energy in Australia, it is not immediately obvious, given Turnbull’s coal delusion comments. Much will depend on how Finkel recommendations are put in place, and the storage equation and the make-up of the energy security board are critical.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/turnbulls-coal-delusions-as-coag-changes-course-on-energy-55856/

Know your NEM: Generator Reliability Option might be dumb idea
David Leitch
The COAG endorsement of the Finkel Review (apart from the CET) won’t mean much in the short term, but the generator reliability option might be a dumb idea. Meantime, smart companies are showing how to save costs with solar and storage.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/know-your-nem-generator-reliability-option-might-be-dumb-idea-57883/

National Electricity Market has served its purpose – it’s time to move on
Alan Pears
The NEM has failed. Its very narrow economic objective was to provide low prices, reliable and safe energy, and to act in the long term interests of consumers. It hasn’t.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/national-electricity-market-served-purpose-time-move-78480/

Do we want population of 40m?
Judith Sloan
Mass migration is not an unalloyed good and brings with it a range of costs.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/judith-sloan/lets-test-the-bombastic-claims-of-multiculturalism/news-story/50dbc65dbbceb7f9936ac9bcb6f8984c

Victorian tip fees in the dumps
FOR just $7.50, you can dispose of an alpaca, kangaroo, sheep or goat at one Victorian tip, but waste disposal costs vary greatly across the state.
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/national/what-victorian-regional-councils-charge-for-waste-disposal/news-story/ba3166d8b124f8c2c438ff634ab7684a

How your commute will look when the Metro Tunnel is finished
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/in-timber-sandstone-and-steel-metros-building-us-a-brave-new-world-underground-20170717-gxcpfp.html

Tunnel vision not the way forward
Daniel Andrews’ West Gate Tunnel vision for Melbourne not the way forward
Clay Lucas
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/daniel-andrews-west-gate-tunnel-vision-for-melbourne-not-the-way-forward-20170717-gxcrx2.html

How many fires before recycling reform ignites?
Age editorial
There is, rightly, widespread concern and anger following the Coolaroo blaze.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/coolaroo-fire-how-many-blazes-needed-before-recycling-reform-ignites-20170717-gxcras.html

Leaked planning document identifies stack sites in Sydney
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian moves to quell concerns over a leaked planning document identifying locations for pollution ventilation shafts for the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link project.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/leaked-planning-document-identifies-stack-sites-in-sydney/8716192

Revealed. The $14 billion Beaches Link price tag
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/revealed-the-14-billion-western-harbour-tunnel-beaches-link-price-tag-20170717-gxcy6a.html

Queensland must wean itself off coal, says Jackie Trad – but not yet
Deputy premier says the state’s coal-fired power stations will be among the last to close in the nation, despite 2050 zero emissions target
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/17/queensland-must-wean-itself-off-coal-says-jackie-trad-but-not-yet

LNP put Cross River Rail in doubt
THE LNP is refusing to commit to funding the Cross River Rail project, throwing the future of the $5.4 billion train link into doubt if Tim Nicholls wins the next election.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/lnp-refuse-to-pledge-rail-link-funds/news-story/bc53a9e36f9f56cd949cd0c1029f7416

Rare reptiles taken from outback, men charged
More than 30 protected wild animals including rare frogs and snakes worth more than $160,000 are found in the car of two men in outback Queensland.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/rare-reptiles-taken-from-queensland-outback/8715500

Request for regulator to probe Queensland’s power prices part of ‘political petty games’
The Australian Energy Regulator is asked to investigate Queensland power prices by Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg, in a move slammed as blatantly political by the State Government.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/australian-energy-regulator-asked-to-probe-qld-power-prices/8714282

Biting back on croc policy
RANGERS are being urged to remove saltwater crocodiles from a Far North waterway before the it is too late.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/rangers-urged-to-remove-saltwater-crocodiles-from-mareeba-creek-following-attack-on-farm-worker/news-story/9411ef5989979acaccf57e22a2283e0e

Where’s the noisiest part of the CBD?
OUTSIDE a pub? North Tce? The Mall? The Adelaide CBD’s loudest spot has been revealed in a noise survey that surprised those behind it.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/city/noise-testing-in-adelaide-cbd-shows-the-loudest-spots/news-story/b99394babdfe6d5dbcc6397b2769812e

Cradle warning as 2000 hikers book in
MORE than 2000 walkers have already booked to complete Tasmania’s Overland track next summer, but rangers have issued a warning.
http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/walkers-urged-to-take-care-on-tasmanias-overland-track/news-story/b217e0ec7ef4060f90227c2f9b427d83

Aquaculture exposed
Marine heatwaves pose a significant threat to an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4793979/aquaculture-exposed/?cs=5312

Wind farms to blow energy into Tassie
About 92 new wind turbines, $640 million in projects, could be up-and-running within five years.
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4793939/wind-farms-to-blow-energy-into-tassie/?cs=5312

Bid to secure landowner consent
Mount Wellington Cableway Company in ongoing discussions with Cascade Brewery owner, MWCC chairwoman Jude Franks says.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/mount-wellington-cableway-company-in-talks-with-cascade-brewery-owner/news-story/593551d22b9e92936d32bbf7b6f23df5

France must define possible scenarios to reduce nuclear: Minister.
France should define a clear roadmap to fulfill its pledge to cut the share of nuclear power in its electricity generation to 50 percent by 2025, French ecology minister said in an interview in the Sunday edition of regional daily Ouest-France
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2946413885455653527

Natural gas building boom fuels climate worries, enrages landowners.
Companies have asked a federal regulator to approve thousands of miles of pipeline from Appalachia. They almost always get their way.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2460133000469001086

Unbalanced Wind Farm Planning Exacerbates Fluctuations
If European countries cooperated better in the field of wind energy, wind power output would fluctuate less. This is the conclusion reached by a group of energy and climate researchers who, for the …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170717115343.htm

In coal-focused Pakistan, a wind power breeze is blowing.
But Chinese funding is still pushing a huge expansion in coal use, with wind and solar a secondary focus.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2946413885455656246

Rooftop concentrating photovoltaics win big over silicon in outdoor testing
A concentrating photovoltaic system with embedded microtracking can produce over 50 percent more energy per day than standard silicon solar cells in a head-to-head competition, according to a team of engineers who field tested a prototype unit over two sunny days last fall.
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/51857

Treated Fracking Wastewater Contaminated Watershed with Radium and Endocrine Disrupters, Study Finds
A study in the Marcellus Shale region of western Pennsylvania has shown that even after being treated, wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations left significant contamination in a waterway downstream of treatment plants.
http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/51856

Diesel is now better than gas
Modern diesel cars emit less pollution generally than cars that run on gasoline, says a new six-nation study published today in Scientific Reports whose groundwork was laid in part by an American chemist now working at Université de Montréal.
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/51860

Fracking activists have a right to protest. We must support them.
Jonathan Bartley The Guardian
Across the world, environmental protesters, like those in Lancashire, are putting their bodies on the line. In the future we will remember them as heroes .
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2946413885455653521

Staving off the coming global collapse.
William E. Rees Vancouver Tyee
‘Overshoot’ is when a species uses resources faster than can be replenished. We’re already there. And show no signs of changing
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2946413885455656248

Low-energy homes don’t just save money, they improve lives
Stephen Berry et al
http://theconversation.com/low-energy-homes-dont-just-save-money-they-improve-lives-81084

My week without plastic: ‘I found a toothbrush made of pig hair’
Nicola Davis, Alan Evans and Emily Wilson
We produce 300m tonnes of plastic a year – 5m tonnes of which ends up in the oceans. How easy is it to ditch the excess packaging and learn to love shampoo in solid bars?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/17/my-week-without-plastic-i-found-a-toothbrush-made-of-pig-hair

Forest bathing: A retreat to nature can boost immunity and mood.
If hiking is about a destination, forest bathing is about an immersion of the senses into the natural world. It’s the newest wellness trend, and studies suggest several health benefits.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2460133000469001089

Amphibians Can Become Tolerant to Pesticides, but at a Cost
Amphibians can develop tolerance to pesticides, but this tolerance can lead to increased susceptibility to parasites, according to …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170717151043.htm

In the Grand Canyon, uranium mining threatens a tribe’s survival.
The Havasupai are attempting to fight back against the operation of a uranium mine that they say could contaminate their sole water source.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2946413885455653539

Mow before you spray, and other tips for protecting pollinators in grassy landscapes
New pest-management guide shows how lawncare and pollinator protection can coexist
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/esoa-mby071717.php

‘More valuable than gold’: Yellowstone businesses prepare to fight mining
Around Yellowstone national park, mining companies anticipate the end of the Obama-era moratorium, but local businesses are fighting back
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/16/yellowstone-mining-montana-public-lands