Daily Links Jul 23

California hit its climate goal early – but its largest source of pollution keeps rising
California hit its target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions four years early – a milestone regulators and environmentalists are cheering as more proof that you can cut pollution while growing the economy. But a closer look shows planet-warming emissions aren’t declining across the board.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-adv-california-climate-pollution-20180722-story.html

Trudeau’s tough climate policies face a mounting backlash
Two years ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a set of aggressive policies to reduce his country’s greenhouse gas emissions, centered on a nationwide price on carbon.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-20/canadian-backlash-to-climate-policies-erupts-as-carbon-tax-looms

PODCAST:  30 years of talking (and talking and talking) about climate change
The summer of 1988 featured a heat wave, a drought, wildfires, and the first national discussion about the greenhouse effect and global warming.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/30-years-talking-and-talking-and-talking-about-climate-change/

Deniers club: Meet the people clouding the climate change debate
They’ve stalled action with a campaign of deliberate misinformation. Noted climate scientist Michael Mann and Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist for the Washington Post team up to introduce you to some of the most notorious “cloudifiers.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/09/16/deniers-club-meet-the-people-clouding-the-climate-change-debate/?utm_term=.5717c4300707

Physios shouldering the burden of overloaded reusable shopping bags
Shoppers are warned not to overload their bags at the checkout after reports of an increase in injuries from people trying to carry crammed reusable bags.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-22/overloaded-reusable-bags-causing-injuries-for-shoppers/10017294

Turnbull policy guarantees nothing but the status quo on power and climate
Nicky Ison
Would you support a healthcare policy that made you sicker or a transport policy that meant you would spend more time sitting in traffic? I doubt it.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/turnbull-policy-guarantees-nothing-but-the-status-quo-on-power-and-climate-20180722-p4zsx1.html

Migration questions are getting louder [$]
Jennifer Hewett
The questions about Australia’s immigration levels and approach are becoming much louder.
https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/migration-questions-are-getting-louder-20180721-h12zc1

Australian business and renewable energy are a winning combination
Bryan Payne
Almost half of all major businesses in Australia are switching to clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy in a bid to take control of soaring power bills and tackle intensifying climate change. But for small to medium-size businesses, making a switch isn’t so straightforward.
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5536951/business-renewables-are-a-winning-combo/

‘Complicated’ comparison website stopping customers saving on power, advocacy groups say
Vulnerable consumers are missing out on the benefits of a Victorian Government program offering households a $50 bonus to find a better deal online for cheaper power, consumer groups warn.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-22/victorians-may-be-missing-power-bill-savings-consumer-group-says/10022816

Forgot your reusable coffee cup? Now you can borrow one
You pride yourself on your environmental cred, and usually when you order your daily takeaway coffee, you smugly present your KeepCup to the barista.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/forgot-your-reusable-coffee-cup-now-you-can-borrow-one-20180719-p4zsig.html

Thermal coal sales soar for Yancoal [$]
Chinese-backed Hunter Valley coalminer Yancoal Australia says export sales of thermal coal have soared.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/coal-still-king-as-export-sales-soar-for-yancoal/news-story/def249222a769426d6fabc72d53b7b27

ACT plastic bag ban review behind schedule
A review of Canberra’s plastic bag ban won’t be handed down until August, almost two months past its initial deadline.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/politics/act/act-plastic-bag-ban-review-behind-schedule-20180712-p4zr0x.html

Weighing in at roughly the same as a 10c piece, can this little fighter make a comeback?
After a series of catastrophic wildfires in 2014, the Mallee emu wren became extinct in South Australia. But now the birds are returning with the help of environmentalists.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-22/mallee-emu-wren-makes-comeback-in-south-australia/10021168

‘Bridge over troubled waters’: Mayor dismisses plans for 14km bridge to Kangaroo Island
A bold plan to build a multi-million-dollar bridge to Kangaroo Island from the mainland of South Australia is rubbished by the island’s Mayor, who says residents “will not stand” for the proposal.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-22/kangaroo-island-bridge-plan-dismissed-by-mayor/10022714

Rare white magpie found in Adelaide Parklands
The warbling of magpies is one of the most distinctive sounds of Australia’s cities and bushland. But in Adelaide, that familiar tune is coming from a slightly unfamiliar source.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-22/what-is-a-leucistic-magpie/10019352

Venice floating SA energy answers [$]
Matthew Stevens
The proponent of South Australia’s proposed liquid natural gas terminal finally has a name, and a new plan to speed up its development.
https://www.afr.com/business/venice-energy-is-floating-south-australian-energy-answers-20180722-h12zu7

Faster Tasmanian population growth locked in: Deloitte
Tasmania’s stronger population growth is here to stay, forecaster Deloitte Access Economics believes.
https://www.examiner.com.au/news/local-news/5534342/faster-tasmanian-population-growth-locked-in-deloitte/

Salmon industry expansion has boating community fearful of dangerous debris
With large pieces of fish farming equipment regularly breaking loose and drifting in Tasmanian waters in rough weather, the salmon industry’s expansion into Storm Bay has many in the local boating community worried.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-23/salmon-farming-fish-pen-debris-fears-for-tasmanian-boaties/10020958

Geelong Star … and Basslink
Kelvin Jones
A vital statistic for elimination.
http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/geelong-star-and-basslink-an-inconvenient-truth-pt.two-ia-vital-statistic-f/

The biosecurity threat of Southwood
Arthur Clarke
Southwood (or Reliance Forest) Fibre’s bid to bring foreign woodchip carriers to Strathblane and the biosecurity risks for Port Esperance and adjoining waterways …
http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/the-biosecurity-threat-of-southwood-/

Pilbara looks to sun for new jobs [$]
A Pilbara Aboriginal traditional owner group Hopes to develop its own solar power projects in Western Australia.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/powering-australia/solar-power-offers-new-jobs-in-pilbara-projects/news-story/e05d90318c0d109faf8b4a4fb055cf21

Batteries and energy storage can actually increase carbon emissions
Energy storage is considered a green technology. But it actually increases carbon emissions.
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/4/27/17283830/batteries-energy-storage-carbon-emissions

Corporations’ green promises are often undermined by their lobbying
While companies have gotten better about claiming to care about climate change, the policies they push with their lobbying dollars often tell a different story.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90204527/corporations-green-promises-are-often-undermined-by-their-lobbying

Remembering Antarctica’s nuclear past with ‘Nukey Poo’
Hanne E.F. Nielsen
For just ten years Antarctica was home to a nuclear power station called “Nukey Poo”.
https://theconversation.com/remembering-antarcticas-nuclear-past-with-nukey-poo-99934