Daily Links Apr 10

Geoengineering risks losers as well as winners for climate and wildfire risks
Artificially altering the climate system to limit global warming to 1.5C could increase the risks of wildfires in some areas, new research suggests.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/uoe-grl040918.php

Plants are great at storing CO2. Can we make them even better?
Researchers around the world are working to improve plants’ ability to combat climate change.
https://ensia.com/articles/plants-co2/

Scientists accused of being ‘warmist’ feel obliged to downplay [$]
Peter Boyer
Caution has led to reticence on rapid increases in global warming
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-scientists-accused-of-being-warmist-feel-obliged-to-downplay/news-story/dce5f679100dfdeb2b9a7958caf03e80

Fighting back against Big Lies on climate change and the environment — and winning
Amanda Marcotte
Despite the firehose of disinformation, activists are winning by insisting on facts, evidence and science.
https://www.salon.com/2018/04/09/fighting-back-against-big-lies-on-climate-change-and-the-environment-and-winning/

Coalition told to rewrite foreign donations bill in unanimous report
Joint standing committee on electoral matters says Turnbull government should remove contentious elements of bill
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/09/coalition-told-to-rewrite-foreign-donations-bill-in-unanimous-report

Foreign Donations Report Aims to Provide ‘Greater Clarity for Charities’
The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has released its report on the Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform Bill, making 15 recommendations which the committee hopes will “provide greater clarity for charities”.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/04/foreign-donations-report-aims-provide-greater-clarity-charities/

Truth is the first casualty in the coal wars
Truth is the first casualty in war and the coal wars are proving no different. Josh Frydenberg asserts the NEG will extend the life of coal power stations. It could but it might not.
http://www.afr.com/business/energy/truth-is-the-first-casualty-in-the-coal-wars-20180408-h0yi6n

PM must put Abbott war aside [$]
Judith Sloan
Malcolm Turnbull has two ways to win the next election: do something about electricity prices and cut immigration.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/judith-sloan/treasury-needs-to-keep-its-nose-out-of-the-immigration-debate/news-story/d08d0f77ea3fb831bc77bf73e124e6ae

The Monash Forum and energy policy: Making the most of the 30th Newspoll
 Binoy Kampmark
The coal-worshipping Monash Forum is a rearguard guerrilla action against the incumbent Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-monash-forum-and-energy-policy-making-the-most-of-the-30th-newspoll,11378

Our energy farce won’t fix itself [$]
Nick Cater
Only a numbskull would reject the National Energy Guarantee which could help end the biggest public policy failure since Federation.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/nick-cater/liddell-closure-our-energy-farce-wont-fix-itself/news-story/e29b00483f597cd204c18d893cacd9a0

Low-income and disadvantaged households should be priority for clean energy
Kellie Caught
“Energy poverty” is a term most would associate developing countries. Yet there are three million Australians living below the poverty line who do not have access to affordable household energy.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/low-income-and-disadvantaged-households-should-be-priority-for-clean-energy-68313/

Sensors in public spaces can help create cities that are both smart and sociable
Christian Tietz, Christine Steinmetz, Homa Rahmat, Kate Bishop, Linda Corkery, Miles Park, Nancy Marshall and Susan Thompson, UNSW
Researchers are installing sensors to collect data about the use of public spaces. This can improve the management and public amenity of these places, but will users see the technology as intrusive?
https://theconversation.com/sensors-in-public-spaces-can-help-create-cities-that-are-both-smart-and-sociable-93473

A new wave of rock removal could spell disaster for farmland wildlife
Damian R. Michael and David Lindenmayer, Australian National University
Across large ares of Australia, rocky outcrops are being obliterated to open up more land for farming. But many of these “bush rocks” are refuges for fragile ecosystems.
https://theconversation.com/a-new-wave-of-rock-removal-could-spell-disaster-for-farmland-wildlife-94305

Too wet? Too cold? Too hot? This is how weather affects the trips we make
Jonathan Corcoran et al
The relationship between weather and our travel choices is complicated. We can’t change the weather, but, with many other factors in play, good policy and design can reduce its impacts.
https://theconversation.com/too-wet-too-cold-too-hot-this-is-how-weather-affects-the-trips-we-make-93724

War-of-the-roads-plans as both sides push for votes
Mordialloc Bypass will be converted to freeway, under a $75m state government plan as electioneering begins in earnest.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/mordialloc-bypass-now-a-freeway-under-75-million-plan-20180409-p4z8ij.html

No toll pledge for new 9km freeway [$]
Premier Daniel Andrews says there will be no move to toll the Mordialloc Bypass project as multimillion-dollar plans to upgrade the road to a four-lane freeway were unveiled.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/mordialloc-bypass-new-9km-road-upgraded-to-fourlane-freeway/news-story/82da493b01cd0642138e4c7e83149fdb

Abbott’s spruiking coal, not polls [$]
Riding through Victorian coal country, Tony Abbott sent a clear message to Australia: Let’s use our natural resources.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/on-a-roll-tony-abbotts-spruiking-coal-not-polls/news-story/f60441ec65f1fc79be2e6e2c6d24c0d8

Stage set for power powwow [$]
Days after Tony Abbott’s Lycra-clad visit, PM Malcolm Turnbull is off to Victoria’s brown coal-burning Latrobe Valley.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/stage-set-for-malcolm-turnbull-andy-vesey-power-powwow/news-story/c1f2c18853d31db187f9a2639c3e8f9c

New jobs ahead of old reserves [$]
Victoria’s coal hub Latrobe Valley wants zoned coal land made available for new industry.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/latrobe-council-puts-new-coal-jobs-ahead-of-old-reserves/news-story/ceaf7d7002113dc4fff06e4a05ce8e73

Melbourne needs far more investment in rail now
Age editorial
New data shows almost all city train lines are more delayed now than they were 20 years ago.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/melbourne-needs-far-more-investment-in-rail-now-20180409-p4z8lc.html

‘It’s our lifeblood’: the Murray-Darling and the fight for Indigenous water rights
Securing rights to cultural flows would provide employment and skills for Indigenous communities along river system
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/10/its-our-lifeblood-the-murray-darling-and-the-fight-for-indigenous-water-rights

Fears closure of train line will create commuter nightmare
Penny Young has labelled government claims it will only add 10 minutes to travel time ‘laughable’.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/three-buses-and-a-train-to-get-to-school-how-the-epping-line-closure-hits-commuters-20180408-p4z8eu.html

Sydneysiders want shared bikes, but not the $25 million cost
Amid blame shifting on how to control dockless share bikes, any chance of a scheme in Sydney where bicycles are picked up and returned to permanent docking stations appears doomed because of the excessive cost and people’s unwillingness to pay for it.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydneysiders-want-shared-bikes-but-not-the-25-million-cost-20180329-p4z6w9.html

Abbott push ‘betrays Menzies’ [$]
Malcolm Turnbull has slapped down Tony Abbott’s proposal to forcibly acquire AGL’s Liddell coal power station
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/turnbull-slaps-down-abbott-idea-to-forcibly-acquire-agls-liddell/news-story/19381189165ec3297acd151c73efc072

Warning on new solar, wind sites [$]
Renewable energy subsidies are skewing the development of solar and wind farms, the NSW network operator says.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/subsidies-putting-wind-solar-in-all-thewrong-places/news-story/74a66af949aaed76fd0f3fbf54d2f40f

Why Liddell is likely to close in 2022, and why you shouldn’t care
Simon Holmes à Court
It’s best not to get distracted by dead cats thrown on the table and just let AGL get on with its plans
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/09/why-liddell-is-likely-to-close-in-2022-and-why-you-shouldnt-care

AGL’s plan to replace Liddell is cheaper and cleaner than keeping it open
Kriti Nagrath, University of Technology Sydney
Government pressure on AGL to keep its Liddell power plant open past 2022 ignores the sensible, cost-effective plan to replace it.
https://theconversation.com/agls-plan-to-replace-liddell-is-cheaper-and-cleaner-than-keeping-it-open-94651

Container deposit scheme to begin in June, but drinks price rise looms
Canberrans will be able to cash in on their empty drink containers from mid-year, but the refunds on offer could be offset by a rise in the cost of drinks.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/container-deposit-scheme-to-begin-in-june-but-drinks-price-rise-looms-20180409-p4z8ix.html

Half of Canberrans support light rail expansion: union poll
Roughly half of Canberrans support the expansion of the city’s light rail network from Civic to Woden, a new poll commissioned by the trade union movement found.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/half-of-canberrans-support-light-rail-expansion-union-poll-20180408-p4z8hr.html

Tree clearing, not urban sprawl, wiping out koalas in Queensland, WWF says
Analysis shows 94% of the 5,000 estimated koala deaths due to habitat loss from 2012 to 2016 occurred outside the state’s heavily developed south-east
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/10/tree-clearing-not-urban-sprawl-wiping-out-koalas-in-queensland-wwf-says

Water charge could rise by up to $38 in south-east Queensland
Water bills in south-east Queensland would rise by up to $38 a year under a proposal from the Queensland Competition Authority.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/water-charge-could-rise-by-up-to-38-in-south-east-queensland-20180409-p4z8it.html

Shorten doesn’t deny saying he’d rip up Adani’s licence
Opposition Leader faces the same question over and over on 7.30 but had no clear answer on what he would do.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/bill-shorten-doesn-t-deny-saying-he-would-rip-up-adani-s-licence-if-he-becomes-pm-20180409-p4z8my.html

Southeast paying high price for water woes [$]
Courier Mail editorial
The Seqwater grid is an illustrative example of what happens when government turns a blind eye to the basics and the intergenerational costs that such stuff-ups incur.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-southeast-queensland-paying-high-price-for-water-woes/news-story/b256a7a53da9a93dcafb0a38cc6990c9

Risk reduced from SA bushfires
The Country Fire Service has downgraded warnings for two major fires burning in South Australia.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/bushfire-burning-on-sas-yorke-peninsula/news-story/6603bef0cba4462c48c9ae61962bfdac

Longford hosts free Water for Profit irrigation workshop
A statewide research and development workshop aims to teach farmers about irrigation technologies on Tuesday.
http://www.examiner.com.au/story/5328746/longford-hosts-free-water-for-profit-irrigation-workshop/?cs=95

Capital’s traffic needs a proper fix [$]
Mercury editorial
Talk to any Hobartian for more than a few minutes about their biggest frustrations and you can be almost assured traffic will come up in that conversation.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/traffic-needs-proper-fix/news-story/5a2a12940f97db054794ee647482367b

Green waste smoulders amid Marcus clean-up [$]
Another green waste fire took hold in Palmerston yesterday, as the clean up after Cyclone Marcus continues
http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/green-waste-smoulders-in-palmo-amid-marcus-cleanup/news-story/f98550c98e17244de2d692c82e75749d

The edible solutions to the plastic-packaging crisis
A UK startup making water containers from seaweed is one of many businesses thinking of food-based answers to the global problem of plastic. Can they catch on?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2018/apr/09/the-edible-solutions-to-the-plastic-packaging-crisis

“Wheelmageddon” – the rise and stall of shared electric scooters
The latest trend in California’s Silicon Valley – shared electric scooters.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/wheelmageddon-rise-stall-shared-electric-scooters-52194/

North Korea tells US it is prepared to discuss denuclearisation, official says
US and North Korean officials and intelligence officers talk via numerous channels, with word for the first time that Pyongyang is willing to discuss denuclearisation, according to a US official.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-09/north-korea-tells-us-it-is-prepared-to-discuss-denuclearisation/9632726

An Oil-Eating Bacterium That Can Help Clean Up Pollution and Spills
Oil spills occur on a regular basis, leading to messy decontamination challenges. But however widespread and serious the damage may be, the solution could be microscopic — Alcanivorax borkumensis — …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180409144725.htm

Plans for Welsh nuclear power plant delayed by concerns over seabirds
Next stage of planning process for Anglesey site postponed as effect on tern colonies is assessed
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/09/plans-for-welsh-nuclear-power-plant-delayed-concerns-seabirds-anglesey-tern-colonies-wylfa

Elon Musk To Quit Tesla, Jumps On a Bitcoin Tech Startup
Real life ironman – Elon Musk, has just announced that he is about to quit his position in Tesla in order to make room for a new business venture which he believes will change world more than Tesla, SpaceX and Solar City ever could.
https://thefamevault.com/stranger-things-kids-pay-raise/

High efficiency solar power conversion allowed by a novel composite material
A composite thin film developed at INRS improves significantly solar cells’ power conversion efficiency.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/indl-hes040918.php

Workers’ radiation exposure halts nuke plant demolition
Seven decades after making key portions of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are being exposed to radiation as they tear down buildings that helped create the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
https://www.seattlepi.com/news/science/article/Workers-radiation-exposure-halts-nuke-plant-12816034.php

Apple now runs on 100% green energy, and here’s how it got there
The most important thing about the company’s big renewable push might be that it’s bringing everyone–from suppliers to local utilities–along for the ride.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40554151/how-apple-got-to-100-renewable-energy-the-right-way

For every $1 the US put into renewable energy last year, China put in $3
China is churning out renewables like no one can compete.
https://qz.com/1247527/for-every-1-the-us-put-into-renewable-energy-last-year-china-put-in-3/

Baby wipes linked to food allergies: study
Experts claim the use of baby wet wipes is to blame for an increase in food allergies in children
https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/study-finds-baby-wipes-linked-to-food-allergies/3382725/

Our survey found ‘questionable research practices’ by ecologists and biologists – here’s what that means
Fiona Fidler and Hannah Fraser, University of Melbourne
Cherry picking or hiding results, excluding data to meet statistical thresholds and presenting unexpected findings as though they were predicted all along – these are just some of the “questionable research practices” implicated in the replication crisis psychology and medicine have faced over the last half a decade or so.
We recently surveyed more than 800 ecologists and evolutionary biologists and found high rates of many of these practices.
https://theconversation.com/our-survey-found-questionable-research-practices-by-ecologists-and-biologists-heres-what-that-means-94421

Building the world’s largest solar project
Nicholas Cunningham
Yet another uncertainty is what Saudi Arabia wants to do with 200 GW of power when its total electricity capacity only amounted to 77 GW in 2016.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19652

Caught in the crossfire: little dodo nears extinction
Illegal pigeon hunting across Samoa is risking the extinction of the country’s national bird: the little dodo or manumea. Will this little-known island pigeon suffer the same fate as its namesake?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2018/apr/09/little-dodo-manumea-tooth-billed-pigeon-samoa-critically-endangered-hunting

Chasing Coral shows the tangible, devastating effects of our warming planet
The documentary–the winner of the photography and visualization category of Fast Company’s 2018 World Changing Ideas Awards–shows how our warming oceans are killing coral, in the hopes of inspiring audiences to take climate action.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40552876/2018-world-changing-ideas-awards-winners-photography-visualization-chasing-coral

There’s no such thing as oversharing in conservation
Social gadflies in an organization are the new superheroes of conservation, according to a study in this month’s Nature Sustainability.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/msu-tns040618.php

Turning birds into spies against illegal fishing
Could albatrosses wearing trackers be a weapon against illegal fishing?
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/turning-birds-into-spies-against-illegal-fishing/