Daily Links Jun 19

Global warming cooks up ‘a different world’ over 3 decades
We were warned. In June ’88 James Hansen said global warming was here & would worsen. It did. First in a series.
https://www.apnews.com/dbd81ca2a7244ea088a8208bab1c87e2

Meeting Paris Climate Targets Will Require a Substantial Reallocation of Global Investment
A new analysis by an international team of scientists shows that low carbon investments will need to markedly increase if the world is to achieve the …
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180618113033.htm

Should we be worried about surging Antarctic ice melt and sea level rise?
Dana Nuccitelli
Short answer: maybe
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jun/18/should-we-be-worried-about-surging-antarctic-ice-melt-and-sea-level-rise

Drought and population decline adding to job losses in southern Murray-Darling Basin communities
Murray-Darling report finds drought and population decline leading to more southern job losses than the Basin Plan.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-06-19/murray-darling-basin-plan-southern-jobs/9881132

Govt facing fight over energy legislation
The government is dealing with opposition from not only Labor but its own MPs over the National Energy Guarantee, with doubts it will get it across the line.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/govt-facing-fight-over-energy-legislation-182211636–spt.html

Cheaper wind and solar will ease NEG burden
Labor’s Left is cranky at the CFMMEU for engineering Wayne Swan’s victory as ALP president.
https://www.afr.com/news/plummeting-wind-and-solar-costs-will-ease-neg-burden-says-expert-20180617-h11i4s

Australia starts slow on EVs, but could overtake global market
BNEF says EV sales in Australia have started slowly but will finish quick and will beat the global average by 2040, after passing tipping points on affordability in 2025. More intriguingly, the EV fleet will create a “behind the motor” storage market as big as Snowy 2.0.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/australia-starts-slow-evs-overtake-global-market-53680/

ASIC warns on climate risk as heat turns on directors
An ASIC commissioner has urged company directors to take seriously a leading barrister’s opinion that they could face lawsuits for failing to consider risks related to climate change.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/asic-warns-on-climate-risk-as-heat-turns-on-directors-20180618-p4zm7j.html

NEG puts onus on big customers [$]
Plans to make Australia’s biggest energy consumers responsible for the reliability of electricity supply are a concern for business.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/neg-puts-reliability-onus-on-big-power-customers/news-story/98f6716019970e5aebffc4d0a7003f9c

‘More coal needed to power Asia’ [$]
Strengthening demand in Asia for thermal coal justifies the opening up of new mines in Australia, new analysis says.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/asia-demand-for-coal-justifies-new-mines-in-australia/news-story/38c84e06b1b228d4e36fe648c4a2e43c

Toxic wedding weeds on the biosecurity radar
Australian brides have moved on from carnations of the 1980s to an obsession with native flowers, but are inadvertently spreading noxious weeds in the process.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-19/biosecurity-experts-warn-on-wedding-weeds/9880110

Maintaining Australia’s national interests in Antarctica: Inquiry into Australia’s Antarctic Territory
Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories
This report’s recommendations provide the Australian government with an opportunity to strengthen its work with respect to Antarctica and build on already impressive foundations.
http://apo.org.au/node/176731

Australia must embrace transformation for a sustainable future
Shirin Malekpour, Monash University
Australia’s business-as-usual plan will not be enough to achieve our 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
http://theconversation.com/australia-must-embrace-transformation-for-a-sustainable-future-98457

The privacy problem with camera traps: you don’t know who else could be watching
Paul D Meek, Greg Falzon and James Bishop, University of New England
Remote cameras used to track wildlife in Australia could pose a privacy risk, especially if the images they capture fall into the wrong hands.
http://theconversation.com/the-privacy-problem-with-camera-traps-you-dont-know-who-else-could-be-watching-97695

Frydenberg energy plan merits support
SMH editorial
Australia’s energy policy has until recent months reflected limited artistry and an insufficient regard for science.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/frydenberg-energy-plan-merits-support-20180618-p4zm7w.html

Focus on putting out fires [$]
Simon Benson
Likening the National Energy Guarantee to a carbon tax was a naked attempt by Tony Abbott to raise the stakes.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/liberals-must-focus-their-energies-on-putting-out-fires/news-story/6a12a6157c107cf8bc518f5f2d8a65cb

Renewables beat common sense [$]
Judith Sloan
Businesses will move offshore as our power becomes unreliable and expensive.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/judith-sloan/frydenberg-caves-in-renewables-have-beaten-common-sense/news-story/871f58cfdb774a0745065b4174ec8cbf

Banking on nature: inside a world-first conservation reserve
Turning a partially cleared parcel of land into a thriving environment for threatened species is part of a long-term sustainability plan for the customer-owned Bank Australia Conservation Reserve
https://www.theguardian.com/bank-australia-protecting-our-future/2018/may/25/banking-on-nature-inside-a-world-first-conservation-reserve

800-year-old tree could put $660m Western Highway project up a stump
An 800-year-old tree could bring a $660-million highway project to a standstill over Aboriginal heritage claims.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/800-year-old-tree-could-put-660m-western-highway-project-up-a-stump-20180618-p4zm6u.html

Premier launches huge wind farm project [$]
Construction on what is set to become Australia’s largest wind farm has officially started near Beaufort.
https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/victoria/premier-daniel-andrews-launches-stockyard-hill-wind-farm-project/news-story/4938d7a634d7d0f5c8281090704da144

Great Ocean Road town ‘eaten away’ [$]
The weekend’s wild weather has worsened a Great Ocean Road town’s ongoing erosion issues, with about a carpark and walking track crumbling onto the beach after being battered by waves.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/apollo-bay-walking-track-car-park-damaged-by-erosion-in-wild-weather/news-story/cd9cff0738e418e841276b3c723ef665

What can we learn from oBike’s demise?
Alan Davies
It promised a lot, but this month oBike walked away from Melbourne after just one year. The key problem was the same one faced by all forms of cycling in Australian cities
https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2018/06/18/learn-obikes-demise/

Protected Manuka tree could stand in way of Liangis ‘legacy’ hotel
Well-known Canberra developer Sotiria Liangis has proposed a seven-storey hotel for a prominent block of land in Manuka, but a protected tree that stands on the block still stands in the way.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/canberra-news/protected-manuka-tree-could-stand-in-way-of-liangis-legacy-hotel-20180618-p4zm3p.html

Brisbane’s most and least popular bus routes
There is a difference of more than 3 million trips a year between Brisbane’s most and least popular bus routes.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/brisbane-s-most-and-least-popular-bus-routes-20180618-p4zm61.html

New electricity deal ticks many boxes [$]
Mike Heard
Whyalla steelworks owner Sanjeev Gupta’s recent electricity supply deal for South Australian businesses ticks many important boxes
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/mike-heard-whyalla-steelworks-owner-sanjeev-guptas-electricity-deal-good-news-for-sa-businesses/news-story/0c0f15ab901197876f726035dada9750

Free camping back on Meander Valley Councils agenda
Free camping at Bracknell was back on one Meander Valley councillor’s radar at last week’s meeting.
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5469695/free-camping-back-on-councils-agenda-after-bollard-installed-blocks-fire-brigades-access/?cs=95

Endangered Australian parrot relies on government deal with German charity
Western ground parrot needs millions spent on it, but volunteers say the Coalition is trying to shift costs to not-for-profits
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/19/endangered-australian-parrot-relies-on-government-deal-with-german-charity

WA’s capital told to stop the urban sprawl
A report commissioned by the Property Council has urged Western Australia’s capital city to tighten its belt on urban sprawl and diversify its economy.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/capital-told-stop-urban-sprawl-173139101–spt.htm

Coal has the same share of global power generation it had 20 years ago
Coal has got to go.
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/6/15/17467164/energy-chart-renewables-coal-climate-change

The ocean is getting more acidic – what that actually means
Thanks to carbon emissions, the ocean is changing, and that is putting a whole host of marine organisms at risk. These scientists are on the front lines.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/ocean-acidification-underwater-drones-gliders-science-environment/

Deadly tensions rise as India’s water supply runs dangerously low
Some 600 million Indians, about half the population, face high to extreme water scarcity conditions, with about 200,000 dying every year from inadequate access to safe water, says a government report.
http://www.ehn.org/deadly-tensions-rise-as-indias-water-supply-runs-dangerously-low-the-new-york-times-2579134938.html

Overuse of agricultural chemicals on China’s small farms harms health and environment
The size of farms in China is a key contributor to the overuse of agricultural chemicals, and as a result they may be too small to be environmentally sustainable, a new study has found.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/uom-ooa061818.php

Study finds reduction in sulfur emissions from power plants in China
Air pollution has smothered China’s cities in recent decades. In response, the Chinese government has implemented measures to clean up its skies. But are those policies effective? Now an innovative study co-authored by an MIT scholar shows that one of China’s key antipollution laws is indeed working — but unevenly, with one particular set of polluters most readily adapting to it.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/miot-sfr061818.php

Large outdoor study shows biodiversity improves stability of algal biofuel systems
A diverse mix of species improves the stability and fuel-oil yield of algal biofuel systems, as well as their resistance to invasion by outsiders, according to the findings of a federally funded outdoor study by University of Michigan researchers.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/uom-los061218.php

Cementless fly ash binder makes concrete ‘green’
Rice University engineers have developed a composite binder made primarily of fly ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants, that can replace Portland cement in concrete.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/ru-cfa061818.php

Flooded Valleys And Burning Forests: The Global Face Of Renewable Energy (Part III)
Geoff Russell brings you the final story in a three-part series on the global renewable energy revolution.
https://newmatilda.com/2018/06/18/flooded-valleys-burning-forests-global-face-renewable-energy-part-iii/

Pesticide bans raise question: Can we manage garden pests without chemicals?
It’s more than just swapping out a chemical for an organic compound, experts say. You need to develop healthy soil – and to change your thinking.
https://www.pressherald.com/2018/06/17/pesticide-bans-in-south-portland-and-portland-are-bringing-attention-to-ways-to-manage-lawn-and-garden-pests-without-chemicals/

Marine protected areas – what you need to know
The world won’t meet international ocean conservation targets by 2020, so a team of scientists is looking at what’s next for saving our seas.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/marine-protected-areas-ocean-conservation-environment/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=social::src=twitter::cmp=editorial::add=tw20180618env-marineareas::urid=&sf192064012=1

Bees get stressed at work too (and it might be causing colony collapse)
Amélie Cabirol, University of Trento and Andrew Barron, Macquarie University
The work honey bees do is critical for our ecosystems, but it comes at a high personal cost.
http://theconversation.com/bees-get-stressed-at-work-too-and-it-might-be-causing-colony-collapse-96412