Daily Links Aug 10

Leak of climate change report could do damage, scientists say.
Several authors of an important, as-yet-unpublished climate change report say that a leak of the document could impede the upcoming approval process.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/2460133000469005240

2016 Was Another Warm Year, Report Confirms
A new report confirms that 2016 was another exceptionally warm year, with global temperature having reached 0.77± 0.09 degrees C above its level between 1961 and ..
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170809073301.htm

To stop global warming, should humanity dim the sky?
The world’s top geoengineering researchers met off the record to discuss the possibility in Maine last month.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-3246038150322334480

Read the draft of the climate change report.
A draft report by scientists from 13 federal agencies, which has not yet been made public but was obtained by The New York Times, concludes that Americans are feeling the effects of climate change right now
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-3246038150322334490

Super-heatwaves of 55°C to emerge if global warming continues
Heatwaves amplified by high humidity can reach above 40°C and may occur as often as every two years, leading to serious risks for human health. If global temperatures rise with 4°C, a new super heatwave of 55°C can hit regularly many parts of the world, including Europe.
http://www.enn.com/climate/article/52119

This is how bad things could get if Trump denies the reality of climate change.
Washington Post editorial
Recent studies provide a glimpse at the dangerous future ahead.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-how-bad-things-could-get-if-trump-denies-the-reality-of-climate-change/2017/08/08/087b8bb0-7bae-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?utm_term=.8782bc8da371

Make climate great again, Mr. President.
Pam Sohn Chattanooga Times Free Press
President Donald Trump and his band of climate deniers are stealing our time. They are, quite literally, snuffing out our world and our children’s future.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322332181

In leaking a federal climate change report, scientists send a message to Trump: Global warming is real.
Los Angeles Times editorial
In leaking the report, scientists within the government ensured that their work would reach the public, serving as a check on the administration in case it did indeed try to trump science with politics
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/2460133000469005239

Climate gloom and doom? Bring it on. But we need stories about taking action, too
Jon Christensen, University of California, Los Angeles
An experiment in getting people to care about climate change uses slick videos, charismatic scientists and calls to action.
http://theconversation.com/climate-gloom-and-doom-bring-it-on-but-we-need-stories-about-taking-action-too-79464

Australia’s biggest solar retailer forced to replace non-compliant panels
Euro Solar – the biggest seller of solar panels in Australia – has been forced by the Clean Energy Regulator to surrender small-scale technology certificates (STCs) or replace modules after being found to have installed non-compliant solar panels.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-biggest-solar-retailer-forced-to-replace-non-compliant-panels-77355/

Energy executives tell Turnbull they aren’t interested in prolonging life of coal plants
Executives also tell prime minister that policy uncertainty is contributing to rise in power prices
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/09/energy-chiefs-tell-turnbull-they-arent-interested-in-prolonging-life-of-coal-plants

Warning on solar battery rules
A move to impose tough rules on batteries storing energy from solar panels would kill the industry, suppliers warn.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/solar-battery-overregulation-could-kill-industry-suppliers-warn/news-story/9a856faf7012d05783fe1e3cbb76d88a

Your electricity bill: what are you paying for and why is it skyrocketing?
There’s been a lot of confusion – and disinformation – around power prices. We break down the hit to the average Australian household
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/10/your-electricity-bill-what-are-you-paying-for-and-why-is-it-skyrocketing

To heat or eat? Households battle ‘energy poverty’ as power prices soar
Some families face “energy poverty” so severe they are forced to choose between heating their homes and buying food, while others shower at charities to reduce their bills, a study finds.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-09/high-energy-bills-heat-or-eat-depression-living-standards/8789574

How you can actually save money on your power bill
Power bills are expensive. Real expensive. So we’ve compiled some of the tried and tested methods to help cut down your bill.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-09/power-bill-practical-ways-to-save-money/8788554

How can we get control over our electricity prices?
Christopher Zinn
Turnbull has directed the power companies to help people lowering their bills. Only an empowered consumer is able to navigate market options effectively
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/09/how-can-we-get-control-over-our-electricity-prices

Turnbull “eyeballs” energy bosses, kids himself on solution
Giles Parkinson
Big energy retailers didn’t so much blink, as wink in face of Turnbull’s “eyeballing” episode. Here’s why they will be high fiving each other in the Qantas lounge at Canberra airport.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/turnbull-eyeballs-energy-bosses-kids-himself-on-solution-35198/

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Ending The Culture Of Waste
Kathryn Lewis
While the battle to reduce landfill rages on, so does the fight to raise awareness about what we’re putting in there, and shouldn’t be
https://newmatilda.com/2017/08/09/reduce-reuse-recycle-ending-the-culture-of-waste/

How I saved hundreds on my power bill – probably
Jennifer Hewett
http://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/power-prices-complexity-of-supplier-discount-benefit-offers-is-energy-draining-20170809-gxsmoe

Chance to end bush plagues deserves debate
Ed Gannon
GENETIC modification gets a bad rap but we should consider it if it means an end plagues of mice and rabbits
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/ed-gannon-chance-to-end-plagues-in-the-bush-deserves-debate/news-story/ac4a1e5f67a9970b5d83cda829e66f43

Coming clean on power prices
Telegraph editorial
Deciphering power bills is one of the most frustrating tasks a consumer can face, so it is welcome news fat cat energy bosses have agreed to come clean about what they are charging and warn when discount deals expire.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-coming-clean-on-power-prices/news-story/1be513c4a77e8a87bcfb8294655417c6

Vic tyre yard dismantled over fire risk
A used tyre stockpile in regional Victoria is being dismantled amid fire hazard concerns after the site’s owners ignored multiple notices to clean up
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/vic-tyre-yard-dismantled-over-fire-risk/news-story/5dc331d352ddae290c4478945a16c845

Is the “20-minute city” mostly spin?
Alan Davies
It seems an attractive idea, but the 20-minute city is more about marketing than substantive policy. Of course politicians love it; the rest of us have no excuse for being gullible
https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2017/08/09/20-minute-city-mostly-spin/

Time to take hard line on feral pig hunters
Leonard Vallance
FARMERS and hunting professionals have, for generations, maintained a close and respectful working relationship.
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-leonard-vallance-time-to-take-hard-line-on-feral-pig-hunters/news-story/e6cc5b31ed3f84334377a251f674aa8e

‘Flushable’ dog poo bags pose hazard to sewerage system
Soluble dog poo bags are causing big problems for Sydney Water, who say they don’t dissolve fast enough to avoid blockages.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-09/soluble-dog-poo-bags-prove-a-flushing-hazard/8776184

Border checks to stop waste ‘crooks and cowboys’
Inspectors will target truck drivers on the New South Wales-Queensland border after the ABC’s Four Corners program revealed companies were sending large amounts of unregulated waste to Queensland.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-09/crackdown-stop-waste-crooks-cowboys-queensland-government-says/8790322

Sky-high power bills threaten economy
CRIPPLING power bills are now a direct threat to the Australian economy, in the biggest whack since the Global Financial Crisis and forcing Queensland businesses to sack workers.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/high-power-bills-threaten-australian-economy/news-story/5b17c69e421759613b04c2e397226804

Qld premier rules out levy as NSW rubbish keeps coming
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-premier-rules-out-waste-levy-as-nsw-rubbish-keeps-coming-20170809-gxsd9g.html

‘I’d love to send rubbish back to NSW’
PREMIER Annastacia Palaszczuk will host a meeting with the waste and recycling industry to try and put an end to Queensland being used as a dumping ground.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government/annastacia-palaszczuk-wont-rule-out-reintroduction-of-waste-levy/news-story/372167f502a1c08eb30e75cdc19af6fd

Brisbane’s CityCycle scheme gains momentum
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbanes-citycycle-scheme-gains-momentum-20170809-gxsrtb.html

Monsanto was its own ghostwriter for some safety reviews.
Academic papers vindicating its Roundup herbicide were written with the help of its employees.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322332194

Turning Homes Into Power Stations Could Cut Household Fuel Bills by More Than 60 Percent
Energy bills could be cut by more than 60 percent — saving the average household over £600 a year — if homes were …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170809073344.htm

Power-to-Liquid: 200 Liters of Fuel from Solar Power and the Air’s Carbon Dioxide
Production of fuels from regenerative electric power is a component of the energy turnaround. The first 200 l of synthetic fuel have now been produced from solar energy and the air’s carbon …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170808182423.htm

Cooking up new ways to clean up our planet
In a win-win for a cleaner planet, scientists have devised a way to use waste cooking oil and sulphur to extract the neurotoxin mercury from the environment.
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/52102

The path to armageddon
With the US threatening ‘fire and fury’, here’s how a nuclear war may start — and end — in the Koreas.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/korean-missile-crisis-the-path-to-armageddon/news-story/abeb24b73728cfa1ef34dddac1df1d1b

A battery-inspired strategy for carbon fixation
Scientists working toward the elusive lithium-air battery discovered an unexpected approach to capturing and storing carbon dioxide away from the atmosphere.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-08/cp-abs080317.php

Indian appetite for coal waning
As Adani pushes ahead with its giant Australian mine, India’s coal consumption has slowed to its lowest level in two decades.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/indias-appetite-for-coal-is-waning/news-story/f9b78e50ec8cd754a273eaad8776e757

Nuclear not the answer, as consumers pay for abandoned reactors
Giles Parkinson
The nuclear “renaissance” in the US is now over, after another two reactors abandoned, leaving consumers holding the bill.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/nuclear-not-answer-consumers-pay-abandoned-reactors-38863/

When optimism spells disaster…
Julian Cribb MAHB
One of the most dangerous threats to the human future in this, the Age of Perils, is … optimism
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322332180

Plastic – from wastelands to waistlines.
June H.L. Wong Petaling Jaya Star
Not only are we eating plastic toxics in our seafood, we are breathing in, absorbing them in our house dust.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322332182

Why a North Korean miniaturised bomb would be a game changer
Anne Barker
If North Korea has mastered the technology to build a Hydrogen bomb that is exponentially more powerful than an atomic bomb and could feasibly fit onto the end of an intercontinental ballistic missile, their nuclear program is far more serious than thought
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-09/why-a-north-korean-miniaturised-bomb-would-be-a-game-changer/8790998

Soy and the Cerrado: Exports, ecology collide in Brazil’s savanna.
Soybean cultivation cutting deep into the Cerrado is turning Brazil’s vast wooded savanna into farmland, a transformation so swift that endemic species are being pushed to extinction and even the country’s water supply could be affected, scientists and environmental groups warn
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322330578

Climate Change May Confuse Plant Dormancy Cycles
Perennial plants in the Midwest are well attuned to their surroundings. They hunker down all winter in a dormant state, just waiting for a sign that it’s safe to unfurl …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170808085157.htm

Environmentalists are urging the USDA to reject this genetically engineered eucalyptus tree.
A genetically engineered, freeze-tolerant eucalyptus tree is moving closer to receiving approval from the USDA.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-3246038150322332691

The benefits — and potential pitfalls — of urban green spaces
Writing in BioScience, Christopher Lepczyk, a biologist working at Auburn University, and his colleagues discuss the future of urban biodiversity, highlighting trends and raising questions whose answers will be crucial for successful “green” management.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-08/aiob-tbp080917.php