Microplastics may enter freshwater and soil via compost
Compost is pinpointed as a source of plastic pollution, but environmental fate and effects unknown.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/microplastics-may-enter-freshwater-and-soil-compost?tgt=nr
Today’s Celebration
Birthday of the Sultan of Johor Malaysia
Flower Festival Japan
ASPCA Day United States of America
Orthodox Easter Orthodox Christianity
Draw a Picture of a Bird Day https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/draw-a-picture-of-a-bird-day/
Zoo Lovers Day https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/zoo-lovers-day/
Meet Us On the Street: Anti-Street Harassment Week http://www.meetusonthestreet.org/
More about Apr 8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_8
Climate Change
The dramatic melting of Arctic icebergs – in pictures
Photographer Francesco Bosso travelled to Greenland to capture images of the melting icebergs, which he describes as ‘gems of nature in danger of extinction’
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2018/apr/04/the-dramatic-melting-of-arctic-icebergs-in-pictures
National
Can you recycle a used pizza box?
As China crackdowns on the standard of waste it will import, many Australians are still confused about what can and can’t be recycled.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-08/can-you-recycle-a-used-pizza-boxes/9625498
Why bush tucker should be our national cuisine
Forget meat pies and prawns on the barbie. These bush tucker enthusiasts reckon native food grown and shared locally is our national cuisine and should be celebrated as such.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-07/why-bush-tucker-should-be-our-national-cuisine/9622104
Who nerve-gassed our common sense? [$]
Piers Akerman
In name and deeds, the engineer-general Sir John Monash is precisely the right person to invoke when seeking a solution to the existential energy crisis facing Australia
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/piers-akerman-who-nervegassed-our-common-sense/news-story/66c7a4f8227a4d53f50913609d44eada
Reminder: Nothing Green ever works [$]
Tim Blair
Attention, savvy investors! Want to turn $4.5 million into a pathetic $36.86 worth of electricity?
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/blogs/tim-blair/reminder-nothing-green-ever-works/news-story/65d2b36c55676eb5736dcb06841be380
Abandon coal and the lights go out [$]
Peta Credlin
Paranoia about the motives of the Monash Forum shows how jumpy the Turnbull camp has become. But supplying electricity is the ultimate essential service and renewables won’t meet demand
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rendezview/abandon-coal-and-the-lights-go-out/news-story/ee69dbae37f47e064fb8e0eabc46c402
Victoria
When penguins won and land owners lost
In the 1980s on Victoria’s Phillip Island, a little-known state government decision was made to secure the future of the resident little penguin population. But the decision came with considerable heartache.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-08/phillip-island-when-penguins-won-and-land-owners-lost/9464698
Critters may add $3m to cost of Werribee jail [$]
Striped legless lizards are among the rare animals and plants that may add millions to the cost of a new youth prison at Werribee.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/endangered-critters-cast-3-million-cost-cloud-over-werribee-youth-jail/news-story/4e23c557a219707c77234c6670983d29
Government scrambles as ‘smart’ meters face upgrades [$]
Thousands of “smart” electricity meters which cost Victorian households $2.2 billion to roll out would have to be replaced or upgraded under changes to the national electricity rules.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/victorian-electricity-meters-would-need-to-be-changed-under-new-rules/news-story/c02ce30579053f2554b04015fafdd657
Solar deals made easy [$]
Electricity customers are being encouraged to install solar panels with easier ways to pay, thanks to a new “one-stop” package.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/energyaustralia-launches-trial-to-boost-solar-energy-installations/news-story/00dae683ebc6e20b081792becdbf6251
New South Wales
‘This has been a cock-up’: Sydney light rail contractor sues NSW Government
The firm building Sydney’s light rail is taking the NSW Government to court, claiming it is owed more than $1 billion extra, prompting Labor to call the project a “total embarrassment” for Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-07/light-rail-contractor-sues-nsw-government/9629948
The one thing about commuting that is strangely stable
Matt Wade
Sydney’s average commute is just 37 minutes. Unless you work in the CBD.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-one-thing-about-commuting-that-is-strangely-stable-20180406-p4z88d.html
Queensland
Channel Country rejuvenated by floodwaters heading for Lake Eyre
After months of punishing heat, Queensland’s Channel Country is being rejuvenated by floodwaters heading through Birdsville towards South Australia’s Lake Eyre.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-07/water-brings-new-life-to-channel-country/9626056
Licence renewals set to go form-free as TMR goes paperless
Hate filling out forms? No dramas, with Queensland going paperless for transactions such as driver licence renewals.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/queensland/licence-renewals-set-to-go-form-free-as-tmr-goes-paperless-20180406-p4z88w.html
Better roads essential for safer cycling
A study conducted by QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety — Queensland — has revealed poor road infrastructure is a major factor in cyclist safety, especially during incidents involving them being overtaken by motorists.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/quot-bre040518.php
South Australia
Sanjeev Gupta talks up renewables, not nuclear, after meeting Prince Charles
Whyalla steelworks boss Sanjeev Gupta believes renewables present a cheaper option for electricity generation in Australia than nuclear power, and is pushing ahead with alternative energy plans.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-07/renewables-cheaper-and-easier-than-nuclear-sanjeev-gupta-says/9629680
Prolonged SA heat could break records
South Australia’s Country Fire Service has issued a total fire ban for the Mount Lofty Ranges district ahead of hot and windy conditions.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/heat-wind-leads-to-total-fire-ban-in-sa/news-story/a7446a9b478d413f0c013deb78cf7bbd
Right to light: Neighbour blocks my solar panels [$]
A former council boss says a three-storey development next to his city home will make his $6500 solar panel system ineffective and is calling for mandatory compensation for neighbours affected by “overshadowing”.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/solar-panels-blocked-by-neighbouring-house-homeowner-calls-for-compensation-for-loss-of-power-generation/news-story/f1ee9daaffabdd51418da9e04655a7dd
Tasmania
Taking a knife to a gunfight [$]
Wayne Johnston
Farmers need more firepower, including self-loading rifles and pump-action shotguns, to kill the pests that are taking over their farms
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-taking-a-knife-to-a-gunfight/news-story/710b0d7ae6e6f500f310e66f07df6756
Northern Territory
Cyclone Marcus tree tax [$]
Darwin property owners would be slugged with additional rates to pay for the replanting of trees after Cyclone Marcus, if alderman Simon Niblock had his way
http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/darwin-council-to-consider-introducing-special-rate-to-replant-trees-after-cyclone-marcus/news-story/ca8471bad82533432db7be3b55d351cc
Sustainability
In Britain, Conservatives are leading the charge against coal
As Tony Abbott and other prominent Coalition MPs make the case that Australia should be building more coal-fired power stations, Conservatives in Britain are pushing a very different agenda.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-08/uk-conservatives-are-abandoning-coal-fired-power-stations/9630936
NUS engineers pioneer greener and cheaper technique for biofuel production
A research team led by Associate Professor He Jianzhong from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at NUS Faculty of Engineering has found that a natural bacterium isolated from mushroom crop residue can directly convert cellulose to biobutanol, a biofuel.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/nuos-nep040518.php
Turning food waste into animal feed could take a chunk out of livestock emissions
Using European plant and dairy waste as an alternative to soy-based animal feed could see a big drop in agricultural emissions and prevent deforestation.
https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/turning-food-waste-animal-feed-could-take-chunk-out-livestock-emissions_en.html
Microplastics may enter freshwater and soil via compost
Compost is pinpointed as a source of plastic pollution, but environmental fate and effects unknown.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/microplastics-may-enter-freshwater-and-soil-compost?tgt=nr
Shipping Is Part of the Climate Problem
Bloomberg editorial
Every sector should pull its weight in addressing climate change.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-04-05/greener-shipping-can-help-fight-climate-change
Nature Conservation
How will environmental changes affect western Greenland?
Thirty-one miles north of the Arctic Circle lies Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. It is one of the most studied regions in the Arctic. To highlight environmental change and impacts in the Kangerlussuaq area, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (AAAR),’has released a special issue, to examine how past, present and future climate impacts may affect this landscape. Three of the 10 articles feature lead authors, who are alumni of the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) at Dartmouth.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/dc-hwe033018.php
1C Rise in Atmospheric Temperature Causes Rapid Changes to World’s Largest High Arctic Lake
An interdisciplinary team of scientists examining everything from glaciology to freshwater ecology discovered drastic changes over the past decade to …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180406155402.htm
Climate Change and Recreational Activities at Walden Pond Have Altered Its Ecosystem
Climate change and recreational activity at Walden Pond may have altered the ecology of this iconic lake during the past ..
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180404143418.htm
Maelor Himbury