Daily Links Jul 6

Reconciling predictions of climate change
New framework accounts for conflicting estimates of global temperature increases
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/hjap-rpo070517.php

Hopes of mild climate change dashed by new research
Planet could heat up far more than hoped as new work shows temperature rises measured over recent decades don’t fully reflect global warming already in the pipeline
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/05/hopes-of-mild-climate-change-dashed-by-new-research

Theresa May to discuss Paris accord with Donald Trump at G20
PM will use summit meeting with US president to say climate change agreement doesn’t need renegotiation
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/05/theresa-may-to-discuss-paris-accord-with-donald-trump-at-g20

Information is investment power in climate change era
Julien Vincent
http://www.theage.com.au/business/information-is-power-in-climate-change-era-20170705-gx55s1.html

Coal won’t be ruled out: PM
Malcolm Turnbull has refused to rule out federal government support for new “clean” coal-fired power stations.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/coal-will-not-be-rule-out-says-malcolm-turnbull/news-story/05fde1188e443ae01db623bac60ae8a0

Outlook dim for thermal coal
Growing investor backlash is making it harder for miners to stay in thermal coal, says South32 chief Graham Kerr.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/south32-chief-graham-kerr-thermal-coal-outlook-dim/news-story/78882c5cbf1a4e9b453d4c9e9d10a75c

Siemens supports hydrogen role
Hydrogen-powered gas turbines could help bridge the gap in Australia’s push for clean, reliable, economic power.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/siemens-supports-role-for-hydrogen/news-story/c02445ebcdfeddf87742dcb56ba321c4

Disrupter’s ‘free power’ offer
Sonnen offers free electricity to homes that install its battery system and give it the right to draw power as needed.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/german-disrupter-sonnen-offers-free-power-deals/news-story/562dc13a788fb53534d6a92ef92b5794

Macca comes out as a closet greenie
Hold the phone! Former federal resources minister Ian Macfarlane is a closet greenie.
http://www.afr.com/brand/rear-window/macca-comes-out-as-a-closet-greenie-20170705-gx53o8

Wind turbine syndrome debate
Graham Lloyd
When Janet Hetherington went to a Melbourne hospital for a minor procedure she had an odd experience. She was unable to sleep in the bed she was given.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/wind-turbine-syndrome-infrasound-and-fury/news-story/e37355190a3c4c262f78ec166582cf02

How the far Right have hijacked Australia’s energy policy
Giles Parkinson
Last week’s speech by NSW energy minister Don Harwin was exactly the sort of thing Malcolm Turnbull used to say about climate and energy policies, before he became master of all he surveyed – apart from his own climate and energy policies.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/far-right-hijacked-australias-energy-policy-11836/

Energy Efficiency market report: Predictably unpredictable
Marco Stella
Things are becoming predictable in the Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificate market, even if that is supply side’s ability to surprise. Meanwhile, in NSW, a stunning development.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/energy-efficiency-market-report-predictably-unpredictable-94345/

Transmission: We need to start building now to deal with wind and solar boom
David Leitch
With renewable investment accelerating way faster than most anticipated a year ago, it’s likely parts of the transmission grid will become constrained. We need action, not more analysis.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/transmission-we-need-to-start-building-now-to-deal-with-wind-and-solar-boom-13411/

Are outer growth suburbs dystopian?
Alan Davies
The media loves to portray fringe growth suburbs as hell on earth and suggest they should be done away with. But they’re neither optional nor dystopian
https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2017/07/05/outer-growth-suburbs-dystopian/

City planning suffers growth pains of Australia’s population boom
Glen Searle, University of Sydney
Financial benefits are behind the development industry’s push for a continuous rapid population growth. But our poorly planned cities are ill-prepared and already struggling.
http://theconversation.com/city-planning-suffers-growth-pains-of-australias-population-boom-75930

Land clearing isn’t just about trees – it’s an animal welfare issue too
Hugh Finn, Curtin University
More than 50 million birds, mammals and reptiles are thought to be killed each year in New South Wales and Queensland by the removal of native vegetation, and planning laws are failing to protect them.
http://theconversation.com/land-clearing-isnt-just-about-trees-its-an-animal-welfare-issue-too-80398

Sydney’s next toll road priced at $18 billion
Confidential documents reveal the F6 freeway extension through southern Sydney would cost about $18 billion, and recommend a new road through the Royal National Park.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-05/f6-freeway-extension-priced-at-18-billion/8677914

‘I’ll say it again, Sydney light rail is on time and on budget’
The NSW Opposition Leader accuses Transport Minister Andrew Constance of misleading Parliament, after leaked confidential documents appear to contradict his claims the multi-billion-dollar Sydney light rail project is on time and on budget.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-05/nsw-transport-minister-accused-of-misleading-parliament/8680694

Adani anti-coal activists ‘crossed a line’ in bank protest actions
A group of anti-coal activists protesting against Adani’s proposed Carmichael mine “crossed a line” by forcing the closure of 11 branches of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Newcastle, the federal government says.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/adani-anticoal-activists-crossed-a-line-in-bank-protest-actions/news-story/9ec55965663480ca95feb69a6280dca6

Big enough to power 150,000 homes: Solar power plant planned for southern NSW
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/new-600hectare-solar-power-plant-planned-for-southern-nsw-20170705-gx4ybx.html

Sydney’s transport and land use blunders
Robert Gibbons
Perrottet found that same well-worn track and failed his first test – as custodian of Treasury’s economics and finance Guidelines, does he know what they mean?
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19138

Loan to Adani by infrastructure fund could be unlawful, says former clean energy head
Oliver Yates says any taxpayer money facilitating the proposed Carmichael coalmine carry reputational risks for the government
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/06/loan-to-adani-by-infrastructure-fund-could-be-unlawful-says-former-clean-energy-head

Galilee Basin mining project will reduce coal output, jobs: research
Jobs and exports from existing coal regions will be decimated if the Galilee Basin is developed for coal mining, according to new research.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-06/galilee-basin-mining-project-will-reduce-coal-output:-research/8682164

We’re helping to create a monster
THE cane toad is mutating into a deadlier creature thanks to a common household item.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/cane-toad-is-mutating-into-deadly-creature-thanks-to-common-household-weedkiller/news-story/069141f92fc3a85087387392c2de5b6a

Labor hopefuls give Reef quick once-over
A TRIO of federal Labor Party heavyweights will board ship for Green Island today to learn about the Great Barrier Reef from people in the know.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/labors-albanese-burke-and-butler-talk-up-party-credentials-on-reef/news-story/a0ce2bc128318c4ac04986d83fd32782

Brisbane’s Cross River Rail will feed the centre at the expense of people in the suburbs
Brian Feeney
http://theconversation.com/brisbanes-cross-river-rail-will-feed-the-centre-at-the-expense-of-people-in-the-suburbs-79418

Gas users warned of major price spike
THE owners of the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline have written to major industrial users flagging a 95 per cent rise in gas transmission prices.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/gas-users-warned-of-major-cost-spike-with-a-near-doubling-of-transmission-prices/news-story/3a2602607568f90103a0ce4ae5221d74

Query on sale of plantations
THE State Government and the state-owned company formerly known as Forestry Tasmania are remaining tight-lipped on the sale of the state’s public forest plantations.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/sustainable-timber-tasmania-formerly-forestry-tasmania-is-yet-to-sell-its-plantations-more-than-two-years-after-the-sale-was-flagged-by-the-government/news-story/dbd622ac91ac181680c0ba5648c860fe

Home sewerage charges too high: Wyatt
Treasurer Ben Wyatt has admitted that households could be paying too much for sewerage services as he flagged a potential shake-up in the way water bills are calculated.
https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/home-sewerage-charges-too-high-wyatt-ng-b88528034z

Sulfide-Producing Bacteria Dominate Hydraulically Fractured Oil, Gas Wells
The microbes inhabiting a hydraulically fractured shale formation produce toxic, corrosive sulfide through a poorly understood pathway, researchers report.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170705133043.htm

First battery-free cellphone makes calls by harvesting ambient power
University of Washington researchers have invented a cellphone that requires no batteries — a major leap forward in moving beyond chargers, cords and dying phones. Instead, the phone harvests the few microwatts of power it requires from either ambient radio signals or light
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/uow-fbc070517.php

Global Use of Wastewater to Irrigate Agriculture at Least 50 Percent Greater Than Thought
The use of untreated wastewater from cities to irrigate crops downstream is 50 percent more widespread than previously …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170705104135.htm

Cutting the cost of ethanol, other biofuels and gasoline
Researchers at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Michigan State University devise way to reduce the amount of enzymes needed to convert biomass into biofuels
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/ru-ctc070517.php

Remote Amazonian Cities More Vulnerable to Climate Change
Roadless cities have been found to be more vulnerable to the effects of flooding, because they tend to be less-developed and have inadequate sanitation, exposing inhabitants …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170705104126.htm

Coal giant Vattenfall creates solar plus storage business unit
Swedish power utility ramps renewable energy activity in recent weeks, spinning out a new photovoltaics & battery business unit from its business area wind.Coal giant Vattenfall creates solar plus storage business unit
http://reneweconomy.com.au/coal-giant-vattenfall-creates-solar-plus-storage-business-unit-36098/

Engineers Find Way to Evaluate Green Roofs
Green infrastructure is an attractive concept, but there is concern surrounding its effectiveness. Researchers are using a mathematical technique traditionally used in earthquake engineering to …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170705133017.htm

Why tiny particles of pollution increase the risk of premature death in older Americans.
Long-term exposure to certain kinds of air pollution increases the risk of premature death in Americans over 65 years old. That finding holds true even at levels of air pollution below national standards.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-2621786372544282075

Global ocean health relatively stable over past 5 years
Harvest, fisheries management, protected areas may affect ocean health near some countries
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/p-goh062817.php

Synthetic horns may save rhinos if they are not like the real thing
Every eight hours, a rhinoceros is slaughtered in South Africa. Rhino poaching in South Africa surged from 83 in 2008 to a record 1,215 in 2014 to meet demands by newly-affluent Asian countries, where the horn is a key ingredient in traditional medicines.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/wfu-shm070517.php