Climate change promotes the spread of mosquito and tick-borne viruses
Scientists at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, find that global warming has allowed disease-bearing insects to proliferate, increasing exposure to viral infections.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/ecjr-ccp031618.php
Today’s Celebration
Anniversary of the death of President Said Mohamed Cheikh Comoros
Marien Ngouabi Day Congo (Republic of)
Men’s Day Mongolia
National Flag & Anthem Day Aruba
Soldier’s Day Mongolia
Cultural Diversity Week http://www.multicultural.vic.gov.au/projects-and-initiatives/cultural-diversity-week/blank
World Naked Bike Ride http://www.asbareasyoudare.com/
Run for the Kids http://www.r4k.com.au/
More about Mar 18 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_18
Climate Change
Soot transported from elsewhere in world contributes little to melting of some Antarctic glaciers
Airborne soot produced by wildfires and fossil-fuel combustion and transported to the remote McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica contains levels of black carbon too low to contribute significantly to the melting of local glaciers, according to a new study by researchers supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/nsf-stf031618.php
Climate change promotes the spread of mosquito and tick-borne viruses
Scientists at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, find that global warming has allowed disease-bearing insects to proliferate, increasing exposure to viral infections.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/ecjr-ccp031618.php
National
Offsets for emissions breaches prove Australia has a carbon market, Labor says
Industrial sites have spent millions on carbon credits under Direct Action’s ‘safeguard mechanism’
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/17/offsets-for-emissions-breaches-prove-australia-has-a-carbon-market-labor-says
Victoria
Bushfires spark evacuation alerts in Victoria’s south-west
Emergency services issue warnings to residents in a number of towns, where in the early hours of Sunday morning bushfires were burning out of control.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-17/grassfire-in-victorias-south-west-prompts-emergency-warning/9559534
Batman byelection: Labor’s Ged Kearney defeats Greens’ Alex Bhathal
Small swing towards ALP secures inner-city Melbourne seat for the former ACTU president
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/17/batman-byelection-labor-declares-victory-for-ged-kearney
Massive Melbourne transport shake-up to come [$]
Thousands of commuters will have their train commute cut short, with the Metro Tunnel also prompting the diversion of trams from the heart of the city in a major transport shake-up.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-public-transport-shakeup-to-come-when-metro-rail-tunnel-opens/news-story/c6c6f8d76e46924e42a0fc764d684bcd
Activists outnumber shooters at duck hunt [$]
Shooters and protesters have converged on wetlands for the opening weekend of another controversial duck-shooting season.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/protesters-outnumber-shooters-at-first-duck-hunt-of-the-season/news-story/28a23a503a01bb452fd6c41595a285ff
New South Wales
Voters fear for the character of their suburbs as Sydney grows
Schools and hospitals will be key election issues, but voters also fear for their suburbs as the city grows.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/voters-fear-for-the-character-of-their-suburbs-as-sydney-grows-20180317-p4z4v8.html
‘Motorway madness’ named main threat to Sydney residents
Sydney is in the grips of “motorway madness” and needs a planning overhaul if it’s to become a healthier city, experts say.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/carcentric-plans-wasteful-roads-like-westconnex-threaten-sydney-experts-say-20180317-h0xitv/
ACT
Total Fire Ban declared for ACT ahead of hot and windy conditions
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/total-fire-ban-declared-for-act-and-region-on-sunday-march-18-2018-ahead-of-hot-windy-conditions-20180317-h0xlye.html
Queensland
Sniffer dogs help protect quolls at wind farm construction site
Dogs Lilly and Sparky have been trained to sniff out endangered quolls, and are being used at a renewable energy construction site in far north Queensland in a project that could pave the way more wildlife detection dogs.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-17/sniffer-dogs-could-be-new-frontline-defence-protecting-wildlife/9524674
Regional voters back Adani… to a point [$]
Regional Queenslanders are strong backers of the state’s coal industry and want the proposed Adani mine to go ahead, new polling has found. But they draw the line at one thing.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/regional-queenslanders-want-adani-coal-mine-to-proceed-poll-finds/news-story/cd5a1b2cb1b8e5c182ff063568a7604b
South Australia
Strong winds fan bushfires south of Adelaide
Bushfires sparked by lightning are fanned by strong winds as they burn through the Inman Valley and Bald Hills areas of the southern Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-17/inman-valley-bald-hills-bushfire/9559108
Turnbull’s national energy guarantee a step closer after Jay Weatherill’s exit
Departing South Australian premier led resistance to Coalition’s policy
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/mar/18/turnbulls-national-energy-guarantee-a-step-closer-after-jay-weatherills-exit
Tasmania
How Tasmania’s bees are keeping the world’s stocks alive
They’re not watching for White Walkers, but the sentinel towers (hives) posted around Tasmania’s ports could help save the world — or the world’s bees at least.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-17/protecting-tasmanian-bees-to-help-the-worlds-population/9554514
These birds make a perfect hatch [$]
The future of their species remains uncertain but, for now, these baby orange-bellied parrots are in good hands.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/these-birds-make-a-perfect-hatch/news-story/d0527d91a492f70afbe647d396ecbc93
Northern Territory
Cyclone Marcus ‘a real wake-up call’ for Darwin, police say
Cyclone Marcus may have been on the “lower end” of the scale, but the destruction wrought by the category two storm should serve as a reminder to Top End residents about the importance of being prepared, emergency services say.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-17/tropical-cyclone-marcus-real-wake-up-call-territorians-police/9558706
Sustainability
Russian hackers accused of attacking power grid but nuclear plants not compromised, US says
The Trump administration accuses Russia of engineering a series of cyberattacks targeting American and European nuclear power plants, and water and electric systems.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-17/russian-hackers-attack-us-power-plants/9558624
New solution to harmful algal blooms raises hope of economic and environmental benefits
A cheap, safe and effective method of dealing with harmful algal blooms is on the verge of being introduced following successful field and lab tests.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/jic-nst031618.php
Long-term monitoring is essential to effective environmental policy
Environmental policy guided by science saves lives, money, and ecosystems. So reports a team of eleven senior researchers in Environmental Science and Policy. Using air pollution in the United States as a case study, they highlight the success of cleanup strategies backed by long-term environmental monitoring.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/cioe-lmi031518.php
Monocrystalline silicon thin film for cost-cutting solar cells with 10-times faster growth rate fabricated
A research team from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and Waseda University have successfully produced high-quality thin film monocrystalline silicon with a reduced crystal defect density down to the silicon wafer level at a growth rate that is more than 10 times higher than before. In principle, this method can improve the raw material yield to nearly 100 percent.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/tiot-mst031518.php
Nature Conservation
Reefs help protect vulnerable Caribbean fish from climate change
New research from UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries suggests that larger reef areas may help protect the Caribbean’s coral reef fish communities from the impacts of ocean warming.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-03/uobc-rhp031518.php
Maelor Himbury