Mohammed VI’s Birthday Morocco
Cupcake Day http://www.rspcacupcakeday.com.au/
Keep Australia Beautiful Week http://kab.org.au/keep-australia-beautiful-week/
Speech Pathology Week http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/
Hearing Awareness Week http://www.hearingawarenessweek.org.au/
Poet’s Day https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/poets-day/
Senior Citizens Day https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/senior-citizens-day/
More about Aug 21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_21
National
Minister’s decisions not up for legal challenge, as citizenship toll mounts
Executive decisions, including a possible loan to the Adani coal project, made by ministers now subject to the High Court citizenship challenge, would not be at legal risk if the Court finds the ministers ineligible to be elected, according to the federal government.
http://www.afr.com/news/ministers-decisions-not-up-for-legal-challenge-as-citizenship-toll-mounts-20170820-gy0a8k
Yancoal cuts loss as coal prices rise
Chinese-controlled miner Yancoal Australia, which agreed to buy Rio Tinto’s Hunter Valley coalmines for $US2.69 billion ($3.4bn), has recorded a first-half loss amid surging coal prices as finance costs on its hefty debt pile kept it in the red.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/yancoal-cuts-loss-as-coal-prices-rise/news-story/192ec2d3ec4efeac1d00779e97641abf
Where to take refuge in your home during a bushfire
Douglas Brown
http://theconversation.com/where-to-take-refuge-in-your-home-during-a-bushfire-72370
Energy no place for ideology
Josh Frydenberg
From networks to green schemes, the government is working to cut power costs.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/frydenberg-were-reforming-the-energy-markets-with-ideas-not-ideology/news-story/b6748499d01201d2d6308331527ffe95
Rescuers may need saving from climate changes
Sophie Welsh
Rising sea levels and warming oceans are putting Australian surf life-saving clubs under increasing pressure, creating dangerous surf conditions and hindering the ability of life-savers to provide supervision and safety to beachgoers.
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4847249/rescuers-may-need-saving-from-climate-changes/?cs=97
Victoria
Tips raising fees for rubbish dumpers
MELBOURNE rubbish tip users have been dumped with fee hikes of up to 60 per cent. The state government landfill levy and other cost increases are blamed.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-rubbish-tips-increase-fees-for-users/news-story/57780eb28aa473e750cc3c4560494e88
New South Wales
Toxic water entering Sydney’s drinking catchment, research warns
One of Australia’s leading water scientists says the contamination from millions of litres of highly toxic water is “internationally significant”, with heavy metals in the Wingecarribee River far exceeding safe environmental levels.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-21/toxic-water-entering-sydneys-drinking-catchment-warning/8824650
Anti-litter scheme could cost Coke $100m
Adele Ferguson
NSW’s anti-litter “exchange for change” scheme set to kick off on December 1, could increase costs by $100 million a year for Coca-Cola Amat…
http://www.afr.com/business/retail/antilitter-scheme-comes-at-a-bad-time-for-cocacola-and-the-beverage-industry-20170820-gy05r1
Dry winter primes Sydney Basin for early start of bushfire season
Matthias Boer et al
http://theconversation.com/dry-winter-primes-sydney-basin-for-early-start-of-bushfire-season-82641
ACT
Recycling revolution: How empty wine and beer bottles could be used to build roads
An $8 million upgrade to Canberra’s recycling plant could see throwaway glass turned into construction materials, but only if there are enough buyers for the experimental material.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-20/canberra-recycling-plant-upgrade-could-turn-bottles-into-roads/8823874
Hume recycling centre can make your glass bottles into concrete
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/multimillion-dollar-upgrade-of-hume-recycling-centre-unveiled-to-the-public-20170819-gxzvdv.html
Investing in a brighter energy future for Australia
David and Lainie Shorthouse
We’re backers, not bystanders. Like many, we’re concerned about climate change – and want to play our part. That’s why we’re among the 867 people who invested in what will be Australia’s largest, community-owned solar farm.
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4860382/investing-in-a-brighter-energy-future-for-australia/?cs=97
Queensland
NSW medical waste ‘being dumped’ on Darling Downs
Queensland residents raise concerns about the possible dumping of medical waste from New South Wales hospitals on a Darling Downs waste facility which has been approved for a massive expansion.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-20/nsw-medical-waste-being-dumped-on-darling-downs/8821160
Fears of wipeout as koalas put to death
MOST injured koalas taken to this Brisbane RSPCA wildlife hospital don’t make it out alive and there are new fears the marsupial may be wiped out in the region.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/fears-of-koala-wipeout-as-hundreds-face-lethal-injection/news-story/f2e038f168757331b2edbc1f08bf6484
Volunteer work force lightens rubbish load
THESE volunteers deserve a huge shout out. Last week they recorded the largest amount of marine debris removed during a single clean-up event at a remote Far Northern beach.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/volunteers-break-rubbish-record-with-giant-cleanup-on-cape-york-beach/news-story/9de0300861aad9b133b74401208aa435
‘Vital element’ finalised
THE developer of a large-scale Far North renewable energy hub has struck a “critical” new agreement as the project powers towards production.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/renewable-energy-project-secures-key-agreement/news-story/9f8845dc86c139effc611a7ef5abfbf1
Northern Territory
The Indigital app explains the stories of Indigenous people around Kakadu
A new phone app allows people visiting Kakadu to better learn the Indigenous stories connected with particular areas.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-20/the-indigital-app-explains-the-stories-of-indigenous-people/8796258
Meet an Arnhem Land crew catching feral buffalo
Catching feral buffalo in remote central Arnhem Land is not a job for the faint-hearted.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-08-21/meet-top-end-crew-catching-feral-buffalo-in-arnhem-land/8820008
Sustainability
The perils of pesticide drift.
Chemical spraying misses its mark with alarming frequency, and neighboring farms—especially organic ones—often pay the price. Luckily, hope is in the air.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322311498
The eco guide to Electric Vehicle hype
Don’t get spooked by the pro-fossil fuel lobby: when we abandon petrol and diesel, our whole world is going to change
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/20/the-eco-guide-to-electric-vehicle-hype
‘Super nuke’: US’s worst weapon
THEY’RE 20 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. And in 30 minutes, they can reach anywhere on Earth.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/world/a-rare-glimpse-at-americas-super-nukes-hell-and-fury-that-can-reach-north-korea-in-30-minutes/news-story/6df639dbf206aec223957490cd177b5d
Trump’s attack on science isn’t going very well.
Robert B. Richardson Washington Post
The first 200 days of the Trump administration have been marked by direct and consistent confrontations with the scientific community, and no area of science has been targeted more explicitly than climate science.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3246038150322311492
Cars crash: the end of the combustion engine
SMH editorial
The issue is not whether the internal combustion engine is set for extinction, but how fast and how well the transition to electricity happens.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/cars-crash-the-end-of–the-combustion-engine-20170819-gxzycw.html
Now for something completely different …
The modern cult of the management KPI doesn’t measure up
Ross Gittins
http://www.theage.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/metrics-obsessed-managers-should-be-careful-what-they-wish-for-unlike-the-banks-20170820-gy03je.html
Maelor Himbury