Daily Links Jun 5

Limiting global warming to 2 degrees now ‘aspirational’: scientists
The chances of limiting dangerous climate change to less than 2 degrees are rapidly disappearing as carbon emissions again ramp up in China, scientists say.
https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/limiting-global-warming-to-2-degrees-now-aspirational-scientists-20180604-p4zjeb.html

‘Carbon bubble’ could spark global financial crisis, study warns
Advances in clean energy expected to cause a sudden drop in demand for fossil fuels, leaving companies with trillions in stranded assets
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/04/carbon-bubble-could-spark-global-financial-crisis-study-warns

What is the carbon bubble and what will happen if it bursts?
As the world moves towards a low-carbon economy, fossil fuel investments worth trillions of dollars, from oil wells to cars, will lose their value
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/04/what-is-the-carbon-bubble-and-what-will-happen-if-it-bursts

What has changed and what has not since Paris withdrawal announcement
Fossil fuels are a bigger part of the climate conversation, though the coal industry is unlikely to be saved
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-has-changed-mdash-and-what-has-not-mdash-since-paris-withdrawal-announcement/

Global warming can be limited to 1.5°C by changing how we travel, heat homes, use devices
Global warming can be limited to 1.5°C by unprecedented improvements in the energy efficiency of everyday activities, according to new research from an international team of scientists at IIASA.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-06/iifa-gwc060118.php

Rich nations spend $100 bln a year on fossil fuels despite climate pledges
The world’s major industrial democracies spend at least $100 billion each year to prop up oil, gas and coal consumption, despite vows to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, a report said on Monday ahead of the G7 summit in Canada.
http://news.trust.org//item/20180604000222-a4hxn/

Climate change won’t heat the planet equally
Who will feel the impacts of rising temperatures first? Not the wealthy.
http://www.ehn.org/climate-change-wont-heat-the-planet-equally-bulletin-of-the-atomic-scientists-2575054848.html

New Zealand’s productivity commission charts course to low-emission future
Robert McLachlan, Massey University
New Zealand has set itself a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, and a recent report by the Productivity Commission lays out how it could hit that target.
https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-productivity-commission-charts-course-to-low-emission-future-96281

Loss of hollows endangers birds but wheelie bins could be the answer
Reject wheelie bins are being trialled as super-sized nesting boxes in an attempt to solve a habitat crisis for some of Australia’s largest threatened bird species.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-04/wheelie-bins-used-as-habitat-boxes-threatened-bird-species/9819054

‘No doubt our climate is getting warmer,’ Malcolm Turnbull says
Despite the PM’s declaration, it is unclear how current climate policy will ensure Australia reaches its Paris commitment
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/04/no-doubt-our-climate-is-getting-warmer-malcolm-turnbull-says

Record year for solar and renewables, but still not fast enough
REN21 report says record 98GW of solar capacity added globally in 2018, 52GW of wind, and 178GW total of all renewables. But other sectors – including transport, heating, and cooling – coasting along “as if we had all the time in the world.”
https://reneweconomy.com.au/record-year-solar-renewables-still-not-fast-enough-94253/

Tesla owners roll out Australia-wide charging network – for all EVs
Tesla owners club installs Round Australia Electric Highway, providing all EV drivers with usable charging route – while governments and industry catch up.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-owners-roll-australia-wide-charging-network-evs-87935/

Renewable Energy Market Report: Mission accomplished?
With the Clean Energy Regulator announcing ‘mission accomplished’ on the LRET during May, it was a mixed outcome for the LGC forward curve as ongoing scepticism surrounding the timing of project commissioning dates and the supply/demand balance over the coming 2-3 years.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/renewable-energy-market-report-mission-accomplished-61493/

Flow Power adds solar to the mix
Business power retailer Flow Power can now offer corporate customers long-term deals involving solar power as well as wind.
https://www.afr.com/business/energy/electricity/flow-power-expands-to-solar-as-corporates-hunt-cheaper-energy-deals-20180601-h10vat

Aussies challenged to ditch plastics
On World Environment Day, Australians have been urged to ditch plastics which end up in landfill or choking our oceans.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/aussies-challenged-ditch-plastics-150020640–spt.html

Know your NEM: Why a business customer might buy a battery
David Leitch
Fascinating insight into electricity bills for business, and why they should, or shouldn’t buy a battery. Meanwhile, futures price fell across the board.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/know-your-nem-why-a-business-customer-might-buy-a-battery-11018/

Miners to harvest a secret resources boom [$]
Matthew Stevens
Big mining has entered harvest time and this time around shareholders will get more than their fair share of the spoils.
https://www.afr.com/business/miners-to-harvest-a-secret-resources-boom-20180604-h10y6d

Day of judgment on power prices nears
Rosemary Sinclair
Supply chain costs are falling – but will energy retailers pass the savings on to long-suffering consumers?
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/day-of-judgment-on-power-prices-nears-20180604-p4zjbk.html

Time for trash talk to spark some electricity
Age editorial
The push to burn waste to generate electricity looks economically and environmentally sensible.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/time-for-trash-talk-to-spark-some-electricity-20180604-p4zjfs.html

Party-room politics fuel battle over carbon pollution action [$]
Peter Boyer
It was Malcolm Turnbull who warned that direct subsidies were a slippery slope
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-partyroom-politics-fuel-battle-over-carbon-pollution-action/news-story/f2a5ed6fbcfd20485c3ecf356724b0bc

War on waste launched in city [$]
Melbourne’s newly elected lord mayor has declared war on waste and the way it is collected, aiming to reduce smell, noise and congestion in the CBD.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/melbourne-lord-mayor-sally-capp-launches-war-on-waste-to-streamline-cbd-rubbish-collection/news-story/979a3f33d9e9d17fd5fab7fba86f5ada

‘It’s just plastic, plastic, plastic’: Fears for marine life as debris washes up on NSW beaches
There are fears whales, dolphins and other marine life could be hurt as debris from a shipping container continues to wash up on beaches north of Newcastle.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/it-s-just-plastic-plastic-plastic-fears-for-marine-life-as-debris-washes-up-on-nsw-beaches-20180604-p4zjeg.html

NSW brumby plan makes Kosciuszko conservation ‘impossible’, RSPCA says
RSPCA says Berejiklian government’s plan ignores evidence and should be reconsidered
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/04/nsw-brumby-plan-makes-kosciusko-conservation-impossible-rspca-says

NSW brumbies plan ‘recipe for disaster’
Victoria’s Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio has criticised the NSW government’s decision to save brumbies in the Kosciuszko National Park.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/nsw-brumbies-plan-recipe-for-disaster/news-story/8316c7f2b3dfe5fd80bb2b5a26653da0

Committee for Sydney report says fast rail will create 40,000 new dwellings across NSW [$]
Fast rail is the solution to Sydney’s growing pains, according to an independent think tank report that argues an additional 40,000 homes could be built across NSW by opening up land around rail corridors.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/committee-for-sydney-report-says-fast-rail-will-create-40000-new-dwellings-across-nsw/news-story/71529fc706868ae1b4834c43f82a427a

Plan to cull Snowy Mountains brumbies makes sense
Don Driscoll
They are feral animals in a national park and claims made about their role in Australian history are exaggerated.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/plan-to-cull-snowy-mountains-brumbies-makes-sense-20180528-p4zi1v.html

Sydney’s west paying up for planning failures [$]
Jennifer Sexton
 the second airport is up and running major road and rail corridors like the M9 will be essential to its success but it’s the semirural residents who chose to escape the city who will pay for the successive failure of governments and planners.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/semirural-residents-pay-now-for-past-mistakes-of-governments-to-plan-for-population-growth/news-story/0b54eaadaf17b57aed63734d48a88c66

‘The thrill is the chase’: A look inside Australia’s largest hunting competition
Pig hunters converge on central Queensland for Australia’s largest hunting competition, catching hundreds of feral pigs, the largest weighing more than 138kg.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-04/hundreds-feral-pigs-caught-in-aust-biggest-hunting-competition/9829360Qld approves $1b wind farm

Qld approves $1b wind farm [$]
The Queensland government has approved a $1 billion wind farm near Rockhampton as part of its ambitious renewable energy push.
https://www.afr.com/news/politics/qld-approves-1b-wind-farm-as-part-of-energy-infrastructure-boom-20180604-h10xjj

Government investigates toxic firefighting foam used to feed compost
Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch has confirmed the Queensland government is investigating allegations a major compost manufacturer at Swanbank used contaminated water from the Amberley RAAF Base containing toxic firefighting chemicals to feed its compost.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/government-investigates-toxic-firefighting-foam-used-to-feed-compost-20180604-p4zjfn.html

Moreton Island’s Tangalooma Resort could be pokie machine haven [$]
Poker machines could outnumber residents on Moreton Island under a proposal for hundreds of slot machines at Tangalooma Resort.
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/moreton-islands-tangalooma-resort-could-be-pokie-machine-haven/news-story/3907c42f77f2da92946568e91cbbdc71

Please don’t sell our green space to supermarket giant [$]
A wave  of community angst is gathering momentum over a northeast Adelaide council’s potential sell-off of 3.4 hectares of green space to supermarket giant Kaufland.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/north-northeast/hundreds-of-wynn-vale-residents-oppose-green-space-sale-for-supermarket-giant-kaufland/news-story/acbdbd7c49d6360d7f64f49ce4dbde06

South Australia rides renewables boom to become electricity exporter
Giles Parkinson
State reverses decades of importing power, while solar continues to grow nationally and emissions fall, audit shows
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/05/south-australia-rides-renewables-boom-to-become-electricity-exporter

Five things we learnt about Tasmania’s animals from David Attenborough
Renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough has shown Tasmania to the world. Here’s what we learnt about its animals.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-04/david-attenborough-five-things-we-learned-about-tasmania/9831250

Tamar NRM to host World Environment Day event at Tailrace Park
It will be all about the green and gold at Tamar Estuary on Tuesday for World Environment Day.
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5446121/green-and-gold-frog-focus-for-environment-day/?cs=95

Mount Lyell restart doubts grow as Tamil Nadu orders Tuticorin smelter shutdown
Doubts about whether the Mount Lyell Mine will reopen are growing after a state government ordered the closure of a copper smelter in India.
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5447071/mount-lyell-restart-doubts-grow-as-indian-state-orders-smelter-shutdown/?cs=95

Tasmanian mineral exploration ramping up
Tasmania’s mineral exploration sector has pulled clear of a deep slump. An estimated $22.5 million was spent on exploration for minerals other than petroleum in the year to March in trend terms, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5446895/mineral-hunt-ramping-up-in-tasmania/?cs=95

Search for Cradle alpine village developers [$]
An international search has begun for investors to partner with the Tasmanian Government in the creation of an alpine village precinct at Cradle Mountain.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/search-for-cradle-mountain-alpine-village-developers/news-story/cf038165b6d8ecb73324f5e794d8fcd5

Seeing it is key to protection [$]
Mercury editorial
Sometimes it takes an outsider to remind us what we have in our backyard.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/seeing-it-is-key-to-protection/news-story/d52af5d8d2b4cbef1c909e600da96a5f

Yucca Mountain: Congress works to revive dormant nuclear waste dump
The long-delayed plan to store nuclear waste in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain is showing signs of life, but many challenges remain on the horizon.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/03/yucca-mountain-congress-works-revive-dormant-nuclear-waste-dump/664153002/

Germany targets the atom
Berlin is getting rid of its own nuclear plants – the last is supposed to shut down by the end of 2022 – and is turning its attention to the danger posed by rickety reactors in Belgium and France.
https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-nuclear-energy-belgium-doel-tihange-targets-the-atom/

No More Disposable Coffee Cups in Scottish Government Buildings
Scotland’s government is leading the way against throw-away culture by banning single use disposable coffee cups in its main buildings.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/06/no-disposable-coffee-cups-scottish-government-buildings/

Germany’s mining communities brace themselves for post-coal era
In the east German city of Zeitz, people fear for their jobs and demand concrete plans for their future once the climate-killing fuel is phased out.
http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-mining-communities-brace-themselves-for-post-coal-era/a-44037149

Fossil fuel electricity, without pollution: Texas has a new power plant
The carbon-capture game is about to change.
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/6/1/17416444/net-power-natural-gas-carbon-air-pollution-allam-cycle

Reminder: Plastic doesn’t go in the compost bin
Plastic placed in organic waste bins is a sizable source of environmental plastic pollution.
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/reminder-plastic-doesnt-go-in-the-compost-bin/

World Environment Day 2018: The planet’s pernicious plastic plague peril
Thanks to the wonders of modern industrial technology we are now producing 20 times as much plastic as we were doing in 1964.
https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/world-environment-day-2018-the-planets-pernicious-plastic-plague-peril/1192993/

Unlikely trio wage war on plastic as India set to host World Environment Day
In India, a trio of unlikely heroes are waging war against the tsunami of plastic threatening to engulf India.For more than 25 years, Ram Nath has lived on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi under a 19th-century iron bridge.
http://www.itv.com/news/2018-06-04/unlikely-trio-wage-war-on-plastic-as-india-set-to-host-world-environment-day/

A reparations map for farmers of color may help right historical wrongs
In an effort to address centuries of systemic racism, a new online tool seeks to connect Black, brown, and Indigenous farmers with land and resources.
https://civileats.com/2018/06/04/a-reparations-map-for-farmers-may-help-right-historical-wrongs/

The Health Effect of Air Pollution from Traffic
What would happen if all petrol and diesel-powered vehicles were removed from a smaller European city? Up to 4% of all premature deaths could be prevented, according to a new study.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180604112505.htm

The latest weak attacks on EVs and solar panels
Dana Nuccitelli
The powerful few who benefit from the fossil fuel status quo are exerting their influence
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jun/04/the-latest-weak-attacks-on-evs-and-solar-panels

Americans will pay a high price to save coal
Bloomberg editorial
An interesting question raised by President Donald Trump’s misguided order to prop up uneconomical coal and nuclear power plants in the name of national security is: How much is this going to cost?
https://www.bloombergquint.com/view/2018/06/03/americans-will-pay-a-high-price-to-save-coal

This refuge may be the most contested land in the US
Congress voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Here’s what’s at stake for America’s wild frontier.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-america-oil-risk/

Ecuador: Tribe sees how oil industry affects forest on ‘Toxic Tour’
“The land is dead,” says Camilo Pauche as he surveys with consternation the devastation that the oil industry has left in Pacayacu, a village in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/ecuador-tribe-sees-how-oil-industry-affects-forest-on-toxic-tour/

Are corrupt politicians behind Peru’s palm oil plantations?
In recent years, Peru’s sprawling jungle has been cleared for palm oil and cocoa plantations. Conservationists say the land is controlled by private companies who acquired it through corrupt means.
http://www.dw.com/en/are-corrupt-politicians-behind-perus-palm-oil-plantations/a-44018184