Daily Links Jan 4

Earth will start becoming a desert by 2050 if global warming isn’t stopped, study says
More than 25 percent of Earth will experience serious drought and desertification by the year 2050 if global warming is not curbed, according to a new study by the journal Nature Climate Change.
http://www.newsweek.com/earth-desert-2050-global-warming-768545

New study identifies thermometer for global ocean
Researchers now able to reconstruct past ocean temperatures
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/uoc–nsi010318.php

Predicting the effect of climate change on crop yields
Scientists now have a new tool to predict the future effects of climate change on crop yields.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/uoic-pte010318.php

Nowhere to hide from climate change
The water is nibbling away the beaches of Fiji. Not even the dead are allowed peace of mind.
http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/01/nowhere-hide-climate-change/

Arctic Clouds Highly Sensitive to Air Pollution
A study by atmospheric scientists has found that the air in the Arctic is extraordinarily sensitive to air pollution, and that particulate matter may spur Arctic cloud …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180103101136.htm

Koalas centrestage in debate on protecting the natural environment
There’s a tree change taking place on the frontline of Australian conservation. Images of the Great Barrier Reef and tales of bleaching and troubled waters are fading. Increasingly they are being replaced by pictures of koalas in distress.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/koalas-centrestage-in-debate-on-protecting-the-natural-environment/news-story/53927a326a4a32e57c3f5157175b7427

Businesses ‘desperate’ for options on power
Olam Orchards has become the latest business to sign up for a renewable energy project to protect itself from soaring power bills.
http://www.afr.com/business/energy/wind-energy/olam-orchards-signs-up-for-wind-energy-through-flow-power-20180102-h0ckxh

Business rejects Abbott’s attack on carbon credits
Business groups say access to international permits is crucial to achieving carbon abatement at the lowest cost possible.
http://www.afr.com/news/business-rejects-tony-abbotts-attack-on-foreign-carbon-credits-20180103-h0cvic

Abbott ‘pioneered foreign permits’
International permits were on the table during Tony Abbott’s time as prime minister, Josh Frydenberg said yesterday.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/abbott-pioneered-foreign-permits-says-frydenberg/news-story/397167234ddee57b1c85fcbcd858926c

Abbott ‘on the warpath again’
Tanya Plibersek says Tony Abbott backlash over government’s carbon trading policy heralds another year of Coalition infighting.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/abbott-backlash-over-carbon-trading-police-means-another-year-of-infighting/news-story/c1cf87e3e6f3b499cbabb259b33a925c

Keeping carbon permits option open makes sense
Australian editorial
With so much uncertainty surrounding the global post-2020 climate change response, the Turnbull government wisely has chosen to hasten slowly and keep its options open
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/editorials/keeping-carbon-permits-option-open-makes-sense/news-story/2c292833f4ee0d2396629272f16833f3

Koala extinction: Death by a million cuts
Sue Arnold
The Turnbull Government is overseeing a thoughtless extinction plan, dressed up as conservation, in which the koala will not survive.
https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/koala-extinction-death-by-a-million-cuts,11075

Pressure on NSW as Victoria in line for large-scale battery
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/charge-of-the-batteries-pressure-on-nsw-as-victoria-joins-line-for-largescale-battery-20180103-h0cux7.html

Ocean plastic: Zoos Victoria’s MCG bubble campaign aims to raise awareness of balloon pollution
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/zoos-victorias-mcg-bubble-campaign-aims-to-raise-awareness-of-balloon-pollution/news-story/3aabedd2fd6260d9dc87e16906af9147

Predatory seastar thought eradicated found in marine park
The invasive Northern Pacific seastar is rediscovered in highly protected waters off south-east Victoria despite efforts to purge it four years ago.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-03/predatory-seastar-found-in-victorian-national-marine-park/9300786

Victorians paying big price for no-go, green zones
Oly Oleszek
Victorians are being ripped off over parks.
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/opinion/victorians-paying-big-price-for-nogo-green-zones/news-story/a524e051f0a7db66e42e36aa2b4d93d0

The crane mutiny: how Sydney’s apartment boom spun out of control
Building apartments along transport routes in Sydney was meant to create a more sustainable city. But only developers seem happy with the results
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/04/the-crane-mutiny-how-sydneys-apartment-boom-spun-out-of-control

Weather patterns conspire for turtle ‘baby boom’
There is a predicted ‘baby boom’ for not-often-seen green turtles on central Queensland beaches and it is down to weather patterns.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-03/spike-in-green-turtle-numbers-makes-a-splash-for-volunteers/9292842

Level 2 water restrictions to be enforced across Cassowary Coast
Immediate Level 2 water restrictions have been imposed on all business and domestic customers in the Cassowary Coast region as local rivers and creeks reach record lows.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/level-2-water-restrictions-to-be-enforced-across-cassowary-coast/news-story/ada00d5aace894fb459f5e272c818bff

Indians commit to Galilee
GVK Hancock Coal has reaffirmed its commitment to its Galilee Basin projects.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/gvk-adani-still-committed-to-galilee-basin-coal-projects/news-story/64783cb2d59883fb3810420478d527b2

Taxpayers pay for SA Water to hire potplant waterers
Taxpayers spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for State Government departments to pay people to water their indoor plants.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/sa-environment-department-spent-80000-on-pot-plants/news-story/0ab5881a8d479cec59f5492dad568cfa

Illegal dumping ruins clean-up work
A Bridgewater clean-up group is becoming increasingly frustrated at the amount of rubbish illegally dumped in the suburb and says one area went from clean to a tip site in just five weeks.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/illegal-dumping-ruins-cleanup-work/news-story/711c149b66a37f51abb30f6ad1588714

Air pollution linked to increased risk of premature births, scientists warn
Very fine particles of air pollution caused by burning coal or vehicle exhausts are linked to an increased risk of premature births, scientists warn.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-03/air-pollution-linked-to-higher-risk-of-premature-births/9300936

Laser evaporation technology to create new solar materials
Delicate hybrid organic-inorganic crystals open new possibilities for light-based technologies
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/du-let010318.php

New Desalination Method Offers Low Energy Alternative to Purify Salty Water
Providing safer drinking water to those in need may be a little easier. A new desalination technique is able to remove salt from water using less energy than …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180102171113.htm

China halts production of 500 car models in green move
China is suspending the production of more than 500 car models that do not meet its fuel economy standards, several car makers have confirmed.
http://www.afr.com/news/world/asia/china-halts-production-of-500-car-models-to-cut-emissions-20180103-h0d64y

Why smoking a blunt contributes to climate change
For each kilogram of cannabis grown indoors, 4600 kilograms of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere, which is also the equivalent emission of 3 million average U.S. cars.
http://highschool.latimes.com/west-torrance-high-school/why-smoking-a-blunt-contributes-to-climate-change/

What will it really take to avoid collapse?
Jeremy Lent
Our global systems, which are designed for perpetual growth, need to be fundamentally restructured to avoid the worst-case outcome.
http://www.ehn.org/capitalism-and-our-environmental-collapse-2521833465.html

The population bombers keep on bombing — and 50 years on they keep getting it wrong
Terence Corcoran
Half a century after publication of The Population Bomb, the world is healthier, better fed, less poor, better entertained and generally living fuller lives.
http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/terence-corcoran-population-bombers-keep-on-bombing-and-50-years-on-they-keep-getting-it-wrong

What are forever chemicals? They’re in your body, in the air, and won’t ever go away
Joseph G. Allen
Companies need to work to eliminate these “Forever Chemicals.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/these-toxic-chemicals-are-everywhere-and-they-wont-ever-go-away/2018/01/02/82e7e48a-e4ee-11e7-a65d-1ac0fd7f097e_story.html?utm_term=.92fb763d6d85

Ensuring justice in the era of transformation
Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers
World events ensure major transformations are on the horizon. The movement must ensure that economic, racial and environmental justice and peace are realized in the transformational era.
https://dissidentvoice.org/2018/01/ensuring-justice-in-the-era-of-transformation/

Trump had a field day with the environment while you were on vacation
Alex Lubben
Here’s 5 moves the administration made in the final days of 2017.
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/yw53kx/trump-had-a-field-day-with-the-environment-while-you-were-on-vacation

Vanuatu bans plastic bags in bid to preserve its ocean
The South Pacific Ocean nation of Vanuatu has banned unrecyclable plastic bags and polystyrene takeaway boxes in a bid to address growing pollution concerns affecting the island nation’s surrounding waters.
https://up-lift.theepochtimes.com/vanuatu-bans-plastic-bags-in-bid-to-preserve-its-ocean_2402743.html

Habitat on the Edges: Making Room for Wildlife in an Urbanized World
Richard Conniff
One morning not long ago, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, I traveled with a Wildlife Conservation Society biologist on a switchback route up and over the high ridge of the Western Ghats. Our itinerary loosely followed the corridor connecting Bhadra Tiger Reserve with Kudremakh National Park 30 miles to the south.
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/53563