Daily Links Aug 1

Earth likely to warm more than 2 degrees this century
Warming of the planet by 2 degrees Celsius is often seen as a “tipping point” that people should try to avoid by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. But the Earth is very likely to exceed that change, according to new University of Washington research.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/uow-elt072717.php

Suicides of nearly 60,000 Indian farmers linked to climate change, study claims
Rising temperatures and the resultant stress on India’s agricultural sector may have contributed to increase in suicides over the past 30 years, research shows
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/31/suicides-of-nearly-60000-indian-farmers-linked-to-climate-change-study-claims

2017 is so far the second-hottest year on record thanks to global warming
2017 is behind only El Niño-amplified 2016.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2017/jul/31/2017-is-so-far-the-second-hottest-year-on-record-thanks-to-global-warming

Al Gore: ‘The rich have subverted all reason.’
With the sequel to his blockbuster documentary An Inconvenient Truth about to be released, Al Gore tells Carole Cadwalladr how his role at the forefront of the fight against climate change consumes his life.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2460133000469005203

What’s missing from “An Inconvenient Sequel,” Al Gore’s new climate-change documentary.
Michelle Nijhuis New Yorker
The news, Gore says, has become “like a nature hike through the Book of Revelation.” But is fear enough to spur us to action?
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322351120

Inquiry on temperature data
The BoM has ordered a full review after the agency was caught tampering with cold winter temperature logs.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/bureau-of-meteorology-opens-cold-case-on-temperature-data/news-story/c3bac520af2e81fe05d106290028b783

Media’s silence of the scams
Maurice Newman
There is so much junk passing as climate science, but Australians are waking up.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/medias-silence-of-the-climate-scams/news-story/b124752820c94822915f94917e6566b2

Australians still love buying new cars, even when wage growth is low
Greg Jericho
Since 1995 the price of new cars has barely risen in Australia, which is one of the reasons why, despite stagnant wages, the love affair endures
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/grogonomics/2017/aug/01/australians-still-love-buying-new-cars-even-when-wage-growth-is-low

Coal mine halt will bolster Australia’s influence in crucial Pacific region
Greg Colton
Turning our back on coal is a national security issue.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/coal-mine-halt-will-bolster-australias-influence-in-crucial-pacific-region-20170720-gxexbw.html

Engineering know-how would prevent state energy strife
Jenny Stewart
http://www.smh.com.au/national/public-service/engineering-knowhow-would-prevent-national-electricity-market-strife-20170726-gxj5bi.html

Reclaiming Hazelwood: landslides, pollution and more water than Sydney Harbour
Anica Niepraschk
Hazelwood’s owners plan to fill the coal pits with water, but the challenges are significant and alternatives have been ignored
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/31/reclaiming-hazelwood-landslides-pollution-and-more-water-than-sydney-harbour

Pig-hunting dogs and humans are at risk of a disease that can cause miscarriages and infertility
Richard Malik, University of Sydney and Siobhan Mor, University of Sydney
Swine brucellosis is spreading from Queensland into New South Wales. It’s carried by feral pigs and poses a real risk the people and dogs that hunt them.
http://theconversation.com/pig-hunting-dogs-and-humans-are-at-risk-of-a-disease-that-can-cause-miscarriages-and-infertility-81171

Transport a game changer for the state – and the Premier
SMH editorial
Premier Gladys Berejiklian needs to ensure for Sydney’s sake, as well as her own, that her biggest strength over the next two years remains just that – a strength.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/transport-a-game-changer-for-the-state–and-the-premier-20170730-gxlzhe.html

Police and council crack down on feral cat feeders
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/police-and-council-crack-down-on-feral-cat-feeders-20170731-gxmi4v.html

Defence knew of firefighting foam dangers at Queensland base in 1991, class action alleges
Defence says it became aware of toxic chemicals in soil and groundwater at Oakey in 2010 but Shine Lawyers allege they knew of potential risks much earlier
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/01/defence-knew-of-firefighting-foam-dangers-at-queensland-base-in-1991-class-action-alleges

Plan stumps farmers
DROUGHT-stricken Tablelands farmers, who have put off planting crops due to lower water allocations, are scratching their heads as thousands of megalitres are set to be released from Lake Tinaroo today.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/irrigators-left-fuming-as-precious-water-resource-released-from-lake-tinaroo/news-story/3395dbd3c8032446113b1e6a453cfd64

Residents upset over wind farm site works
TABLELANDS residents have accused the developer of a wind farm of destroying part of a mountain for the $380 million project and turning it into an “eyesore.”
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/walkamin-residents-claim-mountain-turned-into-eyesore-by-wind-farm-construction/news-story/6ddd7a6e79c9fa9c13ce3bc4aa9fc19a

$1 billion Adani loan ‘high risk’ for Australian taxpayers: report
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/adani-loan-too-much-of-a-risk-for-taxpayers-according-to-independent-study-20170731-gxmarj.html

No takers for free wildlife refuge
A WILDLIFE carer is trying to give his Tablelands property away for free, but he is struggling to find anyone worthy to take on the gig.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/wildlife-hospital-struggling-to-find-new-owners-despite-free-offer/news-story/e06f7cae457085158292208272fdc532

Wind output curtailed again in South Australia
Wind output in South Australia was heavily constrained again over the weekend because not enough gas generators were online.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/wind-output-curtailed-again-in-south-australia-65992/

Something fishy about carp cull
RIVER Murray ratepayers may be forced to cover the cost of the carp clean-up if the herpes virus is released, local councils fear.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/sa-councils-fear-ratepayers-will-be-burdened-with-cost-to-clean-up-carp-in-river-murray-after-release-of-herpes-virus/news-story/ee0bb9d02601eaec74d2f5f9f74317af

SA power prices go negative? Blow me down…
Daniel Wills
FOR a short time on this wild and windy day, SA’s power prices collapsed to an unbelievable negative price of $544 per megawatt hour.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/outage-on-the-power-cable-between-sa-and-victoria-plus-strong-winds-send-prices-crashing-briefly-into-negative-territory/news-story/9e2e44b5ba1af92175a5f43f55efd94d

Alphabet Wants to Fix Renewable Energy’s Storage Problem — With Salt
Alphabet Inc.’s secretive X skunk works has another idea that could save the world. This one, code named Malta, involves vats of salt and antifreeze.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-31/alphabet-wants-to-fix-renewable-energy-s-storage-problem-with-salt

Value of water is on the rise.
In the wake of recent water-related disasters in Bangladesh, including water-logging and floods that displaced thousands of families, a high-level consultation in the capital Dhaka on valuing water will look at ways to optimize water use and solutions to water-related problems facing South Asia.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2460133000469005217

Swapping cars for bikes, not diesel for electric, is the best route to clean air
Tim Burns
Cycling can be a huge part of the fight to tackle city air pollution. Tim Burns of Sustrans explains how their Active Travel Toolbox can help us get there
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2017/jul/31/swapping-cars-for-bikes-not-diesel-for-electric-is-the-best-route-to-clean-air

Who are you calling ‘anti-science’? How science serves social and political agendas
Darrin Durant, University of Melbourne
Whether you’re talking about climate change, vaccination or agriculture, the term “anti-science” means different things in different political contexts.
http://theconversation.com/who-are-you-calling-anti-science-how-science-serves-social-and-political-agendas-74755

Explainer: how to extend your phone’s battery life
Jacek Jasieniak
http://theconversation.com/explainer-how-to-extend-your-phones-battery-life-80958

In the age of global warming, do we really need so many new natural gas pipelines?
Los Angeles Times editorial
It seems foolish to weigh the merits of pipeline proposals individually, and without accounting for the entire environmental impact of moving gas to market.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322349828

Politically charged: do you know where your batteries come from?
Ben McLellan
People are excited about batteries are forgetting one important issue: the raw materials needed to build this technology – where they come from and their …
http://reneweconomy.com.au/politically-charged-know-batteries-come-71471/

The Environmental Protection Agency is not the nation’s janitor.
Leif Fredrickson The Guardian
For Scott Pruitt, the primary role of the EPA is janitorial: using taxpayer money to clean up after polluting industries. That’s not what it’s there for
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2460133000469005212

Aardvarks’ tragic fate points to worrying consequences for wildlife as a result of climate change
The aardvark, a highlight for anyone on a game-viewing African safari, will become increasingly rare as the world warms and dries, and the consequences go well beyond a decline in aardvark safari encounters.
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/52008

What Does Trophy Hunting Contribute to Wild Lion Conservation?
Trophy hunting of lions, the killing of selected individual animals for sport, is highly controversial, and there is much debate about what it contributes to conservation. A new article highlights …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170731091049.htm

Ultimate bogs: How saving peatlands could help save the planet.
They are one of the harshest environments on the planet and also one of the most important in terms of carbon storage. New research hopes to reveal the role these threatened bogs could play in the climate change story.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2460133000469005207

Benefits of dikes outweigh costs — effective measures for reducing future flooding
In the first study of its kind, an international team of scientists — including the University of Bristol — has concluded, on a global scale, that the economic and long-term benefits of building dikes to reduce flood damage far outweigh their initial cost.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-07/uob-bod072817.php

Bison returned from the brink just in time for climate change.
The ranchers bringing back the iconic beast have a healthy, trendy, profitable meat—and, some say, an answer for global warming
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322351911

Culling of Scotland’s mountain hares should be banned, says charity
Death rates of hares native to Highlands are not monitored and animals are widely persecuted for sport, OneKind says
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/31/mountain-hares-scotland-culling-highlands-onekind

How farming giant seaweed can feed fish and fix the climate
Tim Flannery
http://theconversation.com/how-farming-giant-seaweed-can-feed-fish-and-fix-the-climate-81761

Saving the world’s wildlife is not just ‘a white person thing’
Kaddu Sebunya
The conservation sector is dominated by white faces, and for many people it looks a bit like colonialism. It’s time for new voices to take up the fight
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/africa-wild/2017/jul/31/saving-wildlife-conservation-africa-colonialism-race