Daily Links Oct 5

China will meet 2020 carbon reduction target, Xie Zhenhua says.
China is on track to fulfil or possibly surpass its commitment of cutting its carbon intensity by 40 to 45 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020, the country’s chief negotiator at the Paris Agreement has said.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/1251925125133575595

The most powerful evidence climate scientists have of global warming.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/1195107355338416672

Climate change creating food shortages across the Pacific, says support agency.
Food shortages and eroding coastlines are an increasingly urgent problem across the Pacific, thanks to climate change.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/1251925125133575603

To Predict How Climate Change Will Affect Disease, Researchers Must Fuse Climate Science and Biology
Predicting how climate change will affect the incidence of infectious diseases would have great public health benefits
http://www.enn.com/health/article/52751

Mid-air turbulence set to triple due to climate change, scientists warn.
Commercial airliners will be buffeted by up to three times more turbulence in future decades, according to a new report.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/1251925125133575602

Consumers ‘gouged’ by gas companies, ACCC launches price crackdown
The competition watchdog will attempt to avert an ‘energy crisis’ by cracking down on the prices that gas companies are charging customers.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-04/accc-crackdown-on-high-energy-prices/9013926

NSW, Vic to raise gas threat at COAG
Gladys Berejiklian may use the COAG meeting to take on Malcolm Turnbull over threats to dock NSW GST revenue over gas development.
http://www.afr.com/news/nsw-vic-to-raise-gas-threat-with-malcolm-turnbull-at-coag-20171003-gytsrm

Call for funds to replenish native fish
The Australian Conservation Foundation and the Murray-Darling Basin Recreational Fishing Council will today condemn the sudden culling of the Native Fish Strategy and call on Canberra to fund a replacement.
http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/1132355/call-for-funds-to-replenish-native-fish/?cs=4063

Questions over Snowy Hydro 2.0 as firm banned over corruption allegations
An arm of the company tasked with advising the Turnbull government on its signature infrastructure project, Snowy Hydro ..
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4967649/questions-over-snowy-hydro-20-as-firm-banned-over-corruption-allegations/?cs=7

Australia’s politics only barrier to clean energy system, report finds
Climate Council finds agreement among experts and authorities that there are no technological or economic obstacles to a grid powered by renewables
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/oct/05/australias-politics-only-barrier-to-clean-energy-system-report-finds

The oil and gas sector needs to diversify if it wants to prosper
Jerad A Ford
https://theconversation.com/the-oil-and-gas-sector-needs-to-diversify-if-it-wants-to-prosper-85176

Turnbull, Frydenberg can still weave a coherent energy policy
Tony Wood
Australian governments need to set clear, stable energy and climate-change policy. Australia’s energy industry needs to invest efficiently and shttp://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/turnbull-frydenberg-can-still-weave-a-coherent-energy-policy-20171003-gytvy1

Time for some leadership on renewables
Lauren Peterson
POLITICIANS need to stop point-scoring and fix this mess
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/opinion/time-for-some-leadership-on-renewable-energy/news-story/f501b64bcf623bcada7bb5ef5b49c734

A lack of action on climate change is putting people’s lives at risk
Mark Monaghan
In the 2014 Melbourne heatwave, 167 people died. Emergency departments can’t deal with this problem alone
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/04/a-lack-of-action-on-climate-change-is-putting-peoples-lives-at-risk

GST fairness smothered in coal seam gas
SMH editorial
There are good reasons why some states and territories have clamped down on fracking.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/gst-fairness-smothered-in-coal-seam-gas-20171004-gyu9d4.html

Fight over cull plan for 400 trapped roos
“WILDLIFE warriors” have taken their kangaroo cull fight to the Supreme Court after unveiling plans to shoot hundreds of kangaroos trapped in a fenced-in Epping site.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/epping-kangaroo-cull-sparks-fight-between-wildlife-advocates-state-government/news-story/36c2db31ebb8ffea85e7712d7813bb54

Dumped oBikes turned to scrap metal
THIRTY of Melbourne’s controversial share bikes that were dumped around the city have been carted away for recycling.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/thirty-confiscated-obikes-to-be-turned-into-scrap-metal/news-story/cf6db7b156d5ab9e2b5f8a3f39cca945

Pressure rises on power bills
Victoria’s biggest electricity distributors are planning to hit customers with further price rises next year.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/pressure-rises-on-power-bills/news-story/49099daeaa20b323f498760ea996c950

Talk of ecotourism riches just an empty promise
Ed Gannon
PROMISES of ecotourism riches are usually made by governments who want to close an industry but still look caring.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/ed-gannon-talk-of-ecotourism-riches-is-just-an-empty-promise/news-story/e8a60e5bd801b70d5b29f81b2f5bddad

Sydney waste-power incinerator plans halved amid pollution and health fears
Plant’s operator seeks approval for a phased development in the face of residents’ opposition and concerns over air quality
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/04/sydney-waste-power-incinerator-plans-halved-amid-pollution-and-health-fears

Anglo keen to bulk up on coal
Anglo chief Mark Cutifani says the miner is looking to invest more money into its Queensland coking coal mines.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/angloamerican-keen-to-bulk-up-on-coking-coal-assets/news-story/cf8e2d6e5335ab76ede111adc5eee693

Don’t help Adani: Cutifani
AngloAmerican CEO Mark Cutifani says Adani shouldn’t get government assistance unless its competitors also do.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/adani-colamine-shouldnt-get-special-assistance-cutifani/news-story/7c455c0346bfdbc8c45e7a9de7fd15a0

One Nation fires up on power fix
Steve Dickson
ONE Nation wants a state-of-the-art coal fired power station built in Queensland so we can benefit from our abundant high quality fossil fuels
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-gas-supplies-will-rise-and-energy-prices-fall-if-one-nation-holds-balance-of-power/news-story/443356ede003586b951fa229a5da6d3f

Australia’s $1 billion loan to Adani is ripe for a High Court challenge
Brendan Gogarty, University of Tasmania
The proposed loan of Commonwealth money to Adani is on shaky constitutional ground, potentially paving the way for High Court challenge which could change the dynamics of federal-state funding.
http://theconversation.com/australias-1-billion-loan-to-adani-is-ripe-for-a-high-court-challenge-85077

Why are we still pursuing the Adani Carmichael mine?
Michael West, University of Sydney
Following the ABC’s Four Corners program ‘Digging into Adani’, the question that remains is: why is the project still being pursued at all?
http://theconversation.com/why-are-we-still-pursuing-the-adani-carmichael-mine-85100

Adani Carmichael Mine: The numbers don’t stack up
Arthur Marusevich
The proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine has been touted as the economic saviour of North Queensland but the numbers say otherwise.
https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/adani-carmichael-mine-moving-forward-into-the-past,10787

Bailing out Adani with $900m loan is the definition of absurd
Julien Vincent
http://www.theage.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/adani-could-be-derailed-if-900m-loan-denied-20171004-gyu4iv.html

Tasmania to be first in new energy policy
THE State Government will pursue a “Tasmania-first” energy policy to keep prices down and secure reliable power supplies, says new Energy Minister Guy Barnett.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/politics/new-energy-minister-guy-barnett-says-lowest-possible-power-prices-for-tasmanians-top-priority/news-story/02d96bd8f4b4c692f40906d388739b52

Green city living
THE first carbon-positive apartment complex in Australia — to be built in Hobart — will hit the market later this month.
http://www.themercury.com.au/real-estate/tasmania/hobart/cutting-edge-environmentally-focused-design-without-the-hefty-price-tag/news-story/0f326a304a60f15a10add6f5c0f4fd3d?rsf=syn:news:nca:tm:spa

A new way to produce clean hydrogen fuel from water using sunlight
Osaka University-led researchers develop new metal-free photocatalyst and show visible and near infrared light-driven production of hydrogen from water.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/ou-anw100317.php

Milwaukee is showing how urban gardening can heal a city.
The city is taking on hunger, poverty, and blight through a vibrant network of urban ag efforts and more farmers’ markets per capita than any other U.S. city.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/1195107355338416679

Fukushima operator can restart nuclear reactors at world’s biggest plant
Tepco, still struggling to decommission Fukushima Daiichi, gets initial approval to start two reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/04/fukushima-operator-tepco-restart-nuclear-reactors-kashiwazaki-kariwa

Solar exceeds coal investment
Renewable energy sources provided two-thirds of the new electricity generating capacity worldwide last year.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/solar-exceeds-new-investment-in-coal/news-story/cdde93d6c7e6a5645f9a69d25c0485d2

Undermining the rule of law at the EPA.
David M. Uhlmann New York Times
What good are laws without enforcement? Scott Pruitt wants to stop paying the Justice Department for hazardous waste litigation.
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/1195107355338416669

Is congestion charging too inequitable?
Alan Davies
Congestion charging shouldn’t be peremptorily written off as inequitable without examining closely how it would work and who the likely winners and losers would be
https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2017/10/04/congestion-charging-inequitable/

An idea to help save the world
Nicholas Maxwell
But then it dawned on me that Popper had failed to solve his fundamental problem – the problem of understanding how science makes progress.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19325

They migrate 800 miles a year. Now it’s getting tougher.
The Nenets, reindeer herders in Russia’s Arctic, face modern obstacles in their long journey: climate change and a giant natural gas field.
http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/1195107355338416661

A Stinging Report: FSU Research Shows Climate Change a Major Threat to Bumble Bees
New research from a team of Florida State University scientists and their collaborators is helping to explain the link between a changing global climate and a dramatic decline in bumble bee populations worldwide.
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/52743

Fish shrinking as ocean temperatures rise
One of the most economically important fish is shrinking in body weight, length and overall physical size as ocean temperatures rise, according to new research by LSU Boyd Professor R. Eugene Turner published today.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/lsu-fsa100417.php

Trophy hunting is unlikely to affect evolution
An article published in the Journal of Wildlife Management explains why the removal of males possessing large horns and antlers does not inevitably cause harmful artificial selection.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/w-thi100217.php

Livestock Grazing Harming Giant Panda Habitat
One third of the giant panda habitat in China’s Wanglang National Nature Reserve has been degraded and lost to livestock grazing, a new study finds. Livestock numbers in the park have increased …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171003125449.htm

Slow and steady, a tortoise is winning its race with extinction.
The Burmese Star Tortoise was called functionally extinct by ecologists, but a captive breeding program in Myanmar has saved them, a study says
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/1195107355338416680

The overwhelming value of trees
http://alert-conservation.org/issues-research-highlights/2017/10/3/the-overwhelming-value-of-trees