Daily Links Mar 16

Large-scale climatic warming could increase persistent haze in Beijing
A recent study demonstrated a significant positive trend of persistent haze events in Beijing for the winters from 1980 to 2016 and its close relationship to an increasing frequency of extreme anomalous southerly episodes in North China, as a result of a weakened East Asian winter monsoon system.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/ioap-lcw031518.php

CEFC backs push for solar and storage in all new-build homes
The shift towards making built-in solar and battery storage the “new normal” for new-build homes in Australia now has the backing of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, in a joint initiative with leading property development group, Mirvac.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/cefc-backs-push-for-solar-and-storage-in-all-new-build-homes-29088/

Kangaroo film is shocking and gruesome – but is the analysis sound?
Luke Buckmaster
The makers of Kangaroo: A Love-Hate Story knew their documentary was going be controversial, just not this controversial
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/16/kangaroo-film-is-shocking-and-gruesome-but-is-the-analysis-sound

Climate wars have cost us the chance to lead
John Hewson
The main tragedy of the carbon wars has been the opportunities we have lost as a nation in not capitalising on our world-class natural assets in wind, sunshine and land.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/climate-wars-have-cost-us-the-chance-to-lead-20180314-p4z4ck.html

Democracy Is The Biggest Victim In Turnbull’s War On Charities
Kyla Tienhaara & John Dryzek
The intent of stalled legislation being pushed by the federal government is clear – to weaken the capacity of charities, particularly environmental groups, to oppose…
https://newmatilda.com/2018/03/15/democracy-biggest-victim-turnbulls-war-charities/

Where is The Sustainable Consumer Heading in 2018?
Georgia Gibson
How do we capture the sustainable market
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/03/sustainable-consumer-heading-2018/

Greens’ electric car policy is pie in the sky [$]
Richard Blackburn
The Greens’ electric car plan is typical of a policy devised by those who know they will never have to implement it
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rendezview/greens-electric-car-policy-is-pie-in-the-sky/news-story/a0dbd94baa0312962829df5606bc18e6

Australia’s draft ‘Strategy for nature’ doesn’t cut it. Here are nine ways to fix it
Euan Ritchie et al
Most of Australia’s plants and animals are found nowhere else on Earth. This remarkable biodiversity requires a bolder, brighter conservation vision.
https://theconversation.com/australias-draft-strategy-for-nature-doesnt-cut-it-here-are-nine-ways-to-fix-it-92345

Connections project a ‘liability’ [$]
A commissioner in charge of an upcoming Murray Darling Basin Plan review has slammed Victoria’s beleaguered Connections project as a “liability” and “bad decision”.
https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/politics/connections-project-slammed-as-a-liability/news-story/bcbd9b2a775441f5b8b10fc72d99d940

Wetland closures ‘unjust’, hunters say [$]
Hunters say they’ve unjustly been kicked off Victorian wetlands this duck season.
https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/national/duck-season-wetland-closures-unjust-hunters-say/news-story/cd9f12f9c47d0e21628bb8a6cd2c0872

Alps open up for deer hunters [$]
Deer hunters will have ­access to an extra 90,000ha of Victoria’s Alpine National Park after one of the biggest changes to park access rules in three decades.
https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/national/deer-hunting-victorias-alpine-national-park-opened-up/news-story/0e595a0c3578439074c0bd9a3358c2e1

Six months overdue, Victoria battery storage tender announcement still “imminent”
The winners of Victoria’s 100MWh battery storage tender were set to be announced “very soon”, the state government has assured, more than six months after the scheme’s original deadline of August 2017.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/six-months-overdue-victoria-battery-storage-tender-announcement-still-imminent-44632/

Shorten scores own goals on tax and Adani with Batman ‘soft’ voters
Michelle Grattan
ALP sources are talking down the chances of their candidate, former ACTU president Ged Kearney, though the party is not writing off the seat.
https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-shorten-scores-own-goals-on-tax-and-adani-with-batman-soft-voters-93438

ICAC should be probed over mine
Chris Merritt
One of the most important reports on corruption presented to the NSW parliament appears so misleading it needs to be pulped.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/chris-merritt-prejudice/icac-sould-be-investigated-over-mine-licence-evidence/news-story/689a2fc967e9ea9b92598823b08af98a

Editorial: It ain’t easy looking Green
Telegraph editorial
The council today has upheld a complaint against The Daily Telegraph by the actual founder — and former longtime national leader — of the Australian Greens Bob Brown that essentially says we were wrong to suggest an appearance by then Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs at an oration for his foundation was a Greens-aligned event.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-it-aint-easy-looking-green/news-story/f7ddfc6c37b45dad1ab7ca314e9c06ee

Debate gets muddied [$]
An inch-thick layer of mud is coating about 25km of reef and seabed along the length of the Far North Queensland coast following last week’s floods.
http://www.cairnspost.com.au/news/cairns/dredging-backers-cry-foul-as-sediment-bursts-onto-reef-from-flooded-rivers/news-story/51fec51cb94fd3c564a0d7ba02e85cc0

‘Out of balance’: Adani fined $12k for pollution, protesters to pay $80k for port action
Protesters who shut down part of Adani’s north Queensland coal port have questioned why they were collectively fined almost $80,000 — more than six times what the mining company faces for dumping coal-polluted water.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-16/adani-fined-12k-for-pollution-protesters-ordered-to-pay-$80k/9553682

Power to the people – at last! [$]
Steven Wardill
A dozen years after Labor deregulated southeast Queensland’s electricity market and infamously promised lower prices it’s finally starting to happen, thanks to the Palaszczuk Government
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-switched-on-by-premier-annastacia-palaszczuk/news-story/61401b67cc8857af89ba097e633c4ff3

Labor’s last-gasp gas plant approval
The State Government quietly gave approval for a 300MW gas-fired power plant on the Adelaide Plains the day before it entered caretaker mode.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sa-election-2018/alinta-energy-gasfired-power-plant-approved-day-before-government-went-to-polls/news-story/dc15a29375f14e2daa8e7a65364d3253

Gupta gets $10 million SA loan to trump Tesla’s big battery
$10 million loan from SA Government to help Sanjeev Gupta steal crown of “world’s biggest lithium ion battery” from Tesla’s Elon Musk.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/gupta-gets-10-million-sa-loan-to-trump-teslas-big-battery-92317/

Land under water: Estimating hydropower’s land use impacts
One of the key ways to combat global climate change is to boost the world’s use of renewable energy. But even green energy has its environmental costs. A new approach describes just how hydropower measures up when it comes to land use effects.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/nuos-luw031318.php

Electrolux seeks to power Adelaide factory with solar and battery storage
Electrolux wants to power its only remaining Australian factory with a combination of 2.5MW of solar PV and 500kW battery storage.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/electrolux-seeks-power-adelaide-factory-solar-battery-storage-84944/

Five myths about South Australia’s renewable energy
The South Australia state election is two days away, so it’s time to debunk some of the favourite renewable energy myths that are doing the rounds.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/five-myths-about-south-australias-renewable-energy-59004/

South Australia’s renewable energy future hanging by a thread
Giles Parkinson
Just two days out from South Australia’s state poll, the result is in the balance, and so too is the fate of its status as a world leader in renewable energy. The outcome will also have huge bearing on the pace of the energy transition for the whole of the country.
http://reneweconomy.com.au/south-australias-renewable-energy-future-hanging-thread-81721/

SA Labor’s renewables madness [$]
Daniel Wild
Jay Weatherill’s government is promising to be even more reckless if re-elected.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/sa-labors-passion-for-renewable-energy-is-madness/news-story/3609d592648054cb9f13ba3b1ef5073a

SA can take lead on nuclear [$]
Adam Creighton
South Australia is crying out for a new industry to replace car manufacturing — it should be nuclear.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/adam-creighton/south-australia-could-lead-nation-with-nuclear-power-development/news-story/9fc131ca6fe5d4fada4dba37bb1ca7a6

Time is right for a change in direction [$]
Advertiser editorial
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/the-advertiser-editorial-march-16-2018-time-is-right-for-a-change-in-direction/news-story/79bb14568d964dd496eda3a7049a8592

Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest loses latest cattle station fight
Billionaire Andrew Forrest has lost his latest court fight against a sand miner operating on his pastoral station in WA’s Pilbara region.
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/andrew-twiggy-forrest-loses-latest-cattle-station-fight-20180315-p4z4ip.html

How many children should you have if you care about the planet?
How do you balance your desire to have kids with concerns about their impact on the environment? We get a range of perspectives on this thorny question.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-16/how-many-children-should-you-have-if-you-care-about-the-planet/9543768

Carol Van Strum, crusader against Agent Orange, wins prestigious environmental award
The longtime environmental activist and author of “A Bitter Fog” was awarded the international David Brower Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding environmental and social justice work.
https://news.mongabay.com/2018/03/carol-van-strum-crusader-against-agent-orange-wins-prestigious-environmental-award/

Bottled water: You could be drinking tiny bits of plastic
A single bottle could have dozens or even thousands of microplastic particles
http://time.com/5200680/microplastic-water-bottle-orb-study/

Water-stressed Beijing exhausts its options
After depleting groundwater reserves, China’s capital is becoming increasingly reliant on water pumped from the country’s flood-prone South.
http://www.circleofblue.org/2018/water-management/infrastructure/water-stressed-beijing-exhausts-its-options/

First wind farm operational in coal-reliant Bosnia
Bosnia’s maiden wind farm began producing electricity on Wednesday as part of the country’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and meet the renewable energy standards of the European Union it aspires to join.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bosnia-energy-windfarm/first-wind-farm-operational-in-coal-reliant-bosnia-idUSKCN1GQ1OB

Study shows lead from hunters in African white-backed vultures’ blood
They suspect hunters are to blame.
https://www.inverse.com/article/42314-is-lead-toxic-to-birds-vultures-extinction

Five major new biodiversity assessments to be launched as 750 world experts and policymakers meet
Leading scientists and other experts from around the world will convene for eight days with policymakers from more than 115 countries to finalize landmark reports on biodiversity, nature’s contributions to people and issues of land degradation and restoration. The sixth session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (#IPBES6), chaired by Sir Robert Watson, begins Saturday at the Intercontinental Hotel, Medellín, Colombia.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/tca-fmn031518.php

Russia’s Arctic nuclear dump may become promising fishing area
Thousands of containers with radioactive waste were dumped in the Kara Sea during Soviet times. Now, Russia’s Federal Agency for Fishing believes it’s a good idea to start fishing.
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/ecology/2018/03/russias-arctic-nuclear-dump-may-become-promising-fishing-area

Scientists expose coral reefs to acidic water and see impaired growth
“It’s a silent killer.”
https://mashable.com/2018/03/14/coral-reef-acidification-experiment-on-great-barrier-reef/#iq22ydMmBmqh

National Parks ‘should be affordable for all’
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is right about one thing. Our national parks may be the last of the true bargains.
http://www.theintelligencer.net/opinion/editorials/2018/03/parks-should-be-affordable-for-all/

Easter Island is eroding
Rising ocean levels are causing waves to break on the statues and platforms built a thousand years ago. The island risks losing its cultural heritage. Again.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/14/climate/easter-island-erosion.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=span-ab-top-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news