Daily Links Oct 28

Climate change and the human mind: A noted psychiatrist weighs in.
Author Robert Jay Lifton has probed the psyches of barbaric Nazi doctors and Hiroshima survivors. Now, he is focusing on how people respond to the mounting evidence of climate change and is finding some reasons for hope.
http://e360.yale.edu/features/climate-change-and-the-human-mind-a-noted-psychiatrist-weighs-in

Tropical forest reserves slow down global warming
National parks and nature reserves in South America, Africa and Asia, created to protect wildlife, heritage sites and the territory of indigenous people, are reducing carbon emissions from tropical deforestation by a third, and so are slowing the rate of global warming, a new study shows.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uoe-tfr102617.php

Are Antarctica’s ice sheets near a climate tipping point?
Nearly all coal emissions need to stop by 2050 to avoid accelerating ice loss that could lead to 4 feet of sea level rise this century, scientists say.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26102017/antarctica-sea-level-rise-ice-sheet-tipping-point-climate-change-study

What does some Republicans’ anti-Trump courage mean for climate change?
Rosemary Westwood
If Trump has a magician’s touch for pulling lies from thin air, he couldn’t have had a better teacher than the Republican party’s pursuit of the greatest lie of our time: Climate change denial.
http://www.metronews.ca/views/opinion/2017/10/26/what-some-republicans-anti-trump-courage-mean-climate-change.html

Joyce out, Canavan in, Roberts out – What High Court ruling means for climate, renewables
Sophie Vorrath
High Court decision removes Australia’s deputy PM, and leaves Turnbull government with a minority government. But what does it mean for clean energy and climate policy?
http://reneweconomy.com.au/updated-joyce-out-canavan-in-roberts-out-what-high-court-ruling-means-for-climate-renewables-20175/

Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott on a national energy plan
Podcast
Kerry Schott says the states and territories will have a degree of flexibility in how they legislate on emissions reduction targets.
http://theconversation.com/politics-podcast-energy-security-board-chair-kerry-schott-on-a-national-energy-plan-86462

Why we can’t rely on corporations to save us from climate change
Christopher Wright, University of Sydney and Daniel Nyberg, University of Newcastle
Climate change may be a business opportunity, but research shows that market forces serve to systematically undermine climate change programs.
https://theconversation.com/why-we-cant-rely-on-corporations-to-save-us-from-climate-change-86309

The packaging industry is waging a war against humanity
Richard Glover
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/richard-glover-the-packaging-industry-is-waging-a-war-against-humanity-20171024-gz6z1d.html

The NEG: No guarantee of success
Allan O’Neill
The NEM and its associated – but quite separate – contract markets are a complex physical and economic system, and since commencement nearly two decades ago changes to either have been incremental, long in gestation, and actively debated.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/the-neg-no-guarantee-of-success-21611/

Climate peace in our time?
Barry Ladbrook
On October 17, Australia’s federal government announced the bones of a new energy policy – the National Energy Guarantee – which seeks to (i) ensure reliability in the National Electricity Market and (ii) provide a credible approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/climate-peace-time-95110/

Report throws book at ‘energy mess’ saying governments must get serious on carbon emissions
Paul Syvret
The Australian Productivity Commission – the Federal Government’s economic advisory body that recommended cuts to weekend penalty rates – is not renowned as a hotbed of left-wing activism.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-report-throws-book-at-energy-mess-saying-governments-must-get-serious-on-carbon-emissions/news-story/b121d3e13e10d74cfce74b8816de2e88

Growing unpopularity of growing population
Crispin Hull
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/malcolm-turnbull-falling-into-trumplike-politics-20171027-gz9fkq.html

Solar panels now powering large parts of Western Sydney
Sydney’s western suburbs are enjoying their moment in the sun — with new figures showing they are home to six of the top 10 areas for solar panel installation in NSW.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/solar-panels-now-powering-large-parts-of-western-sydney/news-story/8d4aeca60d837629f22562d4847521e6

ACT urged to consider electric vehicle targets: report
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/act-urged-to-consider-electric-vehicle-targets-report-20171025-gz8fpg.html

Waste-to-power plant proposal delayed
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/wastetopower-plant-proposal-delayed-20171027-gz9gc9.html

Turning back the clock — old-fashioned diesel the solution to modern energy problems
Old-fashioned diesel generators scattered over Eyre Peninsula are the solution to the notoriously unreliable supply in the region, an expert study has found.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/turning-back-the-clock-oldfashioned-diesel-the-solution-to-modern-energy-problems/news-story/e487971068dfc81c8795f0eba3451b21

SA Power Networks may face prosecution after River Torrens oil spill from Thebarton substation — as ducks die from effects of contamination
Four wood ducks rescued from an oil spill in the River Torrens have died while SA Power Networks may face prosecution for their role in the environmental crisis.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/ducks-succumb-to-effects-of-contamination-after-thebarton-substation-fire-causes-oil-spill-in-river-torrens/news-story/a3232f8d2ddc925ae697f143fd2a4f38

CFS and MFS launch new bushfire awareness TV commercial as grassfires burn across South Australia
A HARD hitting advertising campaign is warning residents in suburbs on the fringes of Adelaide and larger towns to not be complacent of the risks posed by bushfires.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/cfs-and-mfs-launch-new-bushfire-awareness-tv-commercial-as-grassfires-burn-across-south-australia/news-story/f4a9ef3ceb249d44d553fbe4279486b3

Algal blooms threaten lobster seasons
Scientists will know in a fortnight whether the East Coast rock lobster season is safe to open, with flesh samples to be examined for paralytic shellfish toxins.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/algal-blooms-creating-high-paralytic-shellfish-toxin-levels-threatening-the-opening-of-lobster-seasons/news-story/790dae06ebe2eb5e01288b3a6635e2d5

Three Capes Track nears completion
The Three Capes Track is close to living up to its name, with the tourism drawcard’s third stage finally nearing completion.
http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/finishing-touches-on-three-capes-track-with-work-on-cape-raoul-leg-75-per-cent-completed/news-story/586cd9dc31238b1ea7256843d9a0985c

Tampons, pads, cups: Which period product is best for the environment?
The average Australian woman uses around 10,000-12,000 disposable menstrual products in their lifetime. But what impact does that have on the environment?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-27/which-period-product-is-best-for-the-environment/9090658

A growing problem: Water at 45 military bases now contaminated by foam
The U.S. military’s firefighting foam problem is growing, with some form of drinking water contamination now found at 37 bases across the country and eight more overseas.
http://www.ehn.org/a-growing-problem-water-at-45-military-bases-now-contaminated-by-foam-pfos-pfoa-water-contamination-burlingtoncountytimes-com-2502064388.html

New technology capable of converting waste into bio-energy coming to University of Alberta
A shipping container-sized pilot plant that can process a variety of wastes into valuable biofuels will be shipped from Germany to Edmonton thanks to a new future energy research collaboration between the University of Alberta and Germany’s Fraunhofer Society.
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/52969

New research findings could lead to safer and more powerful lithium-ion batteries
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers are working to improve conductivity and safety in lithium-ion batteries, which are used to power many electronic devices around the world, including laptops, iPods, satellites, artificial hearts and cell phones.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/vcu-nrf102717.php

Subsidy plan for coal and nuclear plants ‘will cost US taxpayers $10.6bn a year’
Non-partisan analysis reveals the cost of energy secretary Rick Perry’s proposal to give handouts to some of the country’s oldest and dirtiest power plants
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/27/subsidize-coal-nuclear-plants-taxpayer-cost-rick-perry

We have to roll back the tide of pesticide use before it’s too late
Colin Todhunter
The blatant disregard over the use of these substances by regulatory agencies around the world is apparent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/colin-todhunter/we-have-to-roll-back-the-tide-of-pesticide-use-to-stop-mass-extinction_a_23253362/

Nestlé, Mars and Hershey ‘breaking promises over palm oil use’
This year’s Halloween confectionery will contain palm oil grown on land that should lawfully be habitat to orangutans, rhinos and clouded leopards, despite commitment to clean up supply chains
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/27/nestle-mars-and-hershey-breaking-promises-over-palm-oil-use-say-campaigners

Peatland plants adapting well to climate change, suggests study
They account for just three per cent of the Earth’s surface but play a major role in offsetting carbon dioxide emissions – and now a team of scientists led by the universities of Southampton and Utrecht has discovered that the plants that make up peat bogs adapt exceptionally well to climate change.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/uos-ppa102617.php