Daily Links Jul 31

Top Post
‘Global greening’ sounds good. In the long run, it’s terrible
Rising carbon dioxide levels are making the world greener. But that’s nothing to celebrate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/science/climate-change-plants-global-greening.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience

Today’s Celebration
San Ignacio – Peru
Upswing of the Revolution – Congo (Republic of)
La Hae Hawai`i (Flag Day in Hawaii) – United States of America
Imbolc / Oimelc / Brigid (Southern Hemisphere)   – Paganism
Lunasa or Lammas (Northern Hemisphere) – Paganism
National Stepfamily Awareness Day – http://www.stepfamily.org.au/
World Ranger Day – http://www.internationalrangers.org/world-ranger-day/
More about Jul 31 –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ July_31

Climate Change
‘Global greening’ sounds good. In the long run, it’s terrible
Rising carbon dioxide levels are making the world greener. But that’s nothing to celebrate.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/science/climate-change-plants-global-greening.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience

This may be the most overlooked threat of climate change
A new generation of authoritarian leaders are taking advantage of fears of global warming to seize power.
https://newrepublic.com/article/148861/climate-change-authoritarian-leaders

National
Aviation firefighters had up to 20 times normal PFAS levels in blood, documents reveal
Firefighters working at airports across Australia have been found with elevated levels of toxic PFAS chemicals in their blood, with some returning levels 10 to 20 times higher than the general population, documents obtained by the ABC under freedom of information laws reveal.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/pfas-levels-high-in-aviation-firefighters-documents-reveal/10052660

NEG emissions plan is a political fix for a non-problem [$]
The rapid pace of renewables investment means that the National Electricity Guarantee’s emissions plan is largely for political show.
https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/neg-emissions-plan-is-a-political-fix-for-a-nonproblem-20180730-h13c4g

‘Unique and alarming’: Engineers to be tested as rain events intensify
Australia’s rainfall events are already becoming more intense with climate change, raising the risks of flashflooding, a new study finds.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/climate-change/unique-and-alarming-engineers-to-be-tested-as-rain-events-intensify-20180730-p4zuhg.html

‘Anti-coal’: Coalition MPs fume [$]
A group of Coalition backbenchers attack the energy market operator for an “ideological world view” favouring renewables.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/coalition-minister-backbenchers-fired-up-over-anticoal-aemo/news-story/c54a5f2c5c8a7955c5abce5c7f0df68c

Farmers face emissions slug [$]
Mark Butler says the agriculture industry could face targets of up to 45 per cent under Labor’s proposed emission reduction plans.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/mark-butler-says-agriculture-industry-could-face-targets-of-up-to-45-per-cent-under-labor/news-story/a2df4da6b3b6cee26fab0d7da84bc6ce

Major solar, wind projects stumble in front of new grid hurdles
Giles Parkinson
Forget the NEG. The limitations of Australia’s ageing grid are threatening to hobble the rapid rollout of new wind and solar projects. It’s probably the biggest issue facing the renewable energy industry right now.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/major-solar-wind-projects-stumble-in-front-of-new-grid-hurdles-71104/

Call on energy plan a test of Shorten’s integrity
Age editorial
Bill Shorten is being forced by circumstance to show whether he actually has got the message on national interest.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/call-on-energy-plan-a-test-of-shorten-s-integrity-20180730-p4zuhx.html

The National Energy Guarantee is a flagship policy. So why hasn’t the modelling been made public?
Bruce Mountain
Taking the long view is difficult when it comes to something as complex as energy policy.
https://theconversation.com/the-national-energy-guarantee-is-a-flagship-policy-so-why-hasnt-the-modelling-been-made-public-100754

Power still hits family pocket [$]
Telegraph editorial
Everything has a cost. Sometimes this cost is so tiny as to be unnoticeable. Sometimes costs are enormous and unexpected. A recently study has found rising costs has resulted in financial stress being “quite high” — with energy and childcare costs hitting Aussies hardest.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-power-still-hits-family-pocket/news-story/91ab903c04428b71b8fc4f4e099bd3bf

How the everyday commute is changing who we are
David Bissell
Commuting has become such a routine part of our daily lives that we don’t stop to think about what it may offer us.
https://theconversation.com/how-the-everyday-commute-is-changing-who-we-are-100323

Victoria
Logging that kills gliders done so intensively ‘it may have breached law’
A logging company owned by the Victorian Government may have broken the law during the controversial clearing of forest that’s home to a threatened species, according to a formal complaint.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/vicforests-greater-glider-logging-may-have-breached-law-claim/10052612

Greater glider ‘at risk’ from Victoria logging
“VicForests admits it is killing endangered greater gliders when it logs its habitat so it can work out how many will survive,” the Wilderness Society says.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/sustainability/greater-glider-at-risk-from-victoria-logging-20180730-p4zude.html

‘They’re all starving to death’: Koalas in crisis on overcrowded island
Growing numbers of koalas are being handed in to wildlife carers on a small island in Victoria’s east as food availability becomes an issue.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/raymond-island-koalas-starving-to-death/10048848

Victoria’s ‘major’ concerns may prevent it signing national energy guarantee
‘Turnbull is trying to get us to sign something that hasn’t gone to his own party room – a place full of climate sceptics,’ says Victoria’s energy minister
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/31/victorias-major-concerns-may-prevent-it-signing-national-energy-guarantee

New South Wales
Bush recordings and technology reveal higher koala occupancy rate
Scientists uses bush recordings and technology similar to apps that identify music to show the rate of koala occupancy in the New South Wales hinterland is up to 10 times higher than previously thought.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-30/koala-tech-reveals-higher-occupancy-than-expected-in-nsw/10052274

Mining expansion under Sydney water catchment approved without full data
Independent panel warned state government there was insufficient data to support an approval
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/31/mining-expansion-under-sydney-water-catchment-approved-without-full-data

NSW 132MW Nevertire solar farm begins construction
Elliott Green Power says 132MW Nevertire Solar Farm, in NSW north-west, in early stages of construction.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/nsw-132mw-nevertire-solar-farm-begins-construction-85789/

Hidden power: Sydney dump to turn plastic into fuel
A recycling factory in Sydney will turn garbage into fuel, replacing 100,000 tonnes of coal power and taking the equivalent of 20,000 cars off the road.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/sustainability/hidden-power-sydney-dump-to-turn-plastic-into-fuel-20180730-p4zuga.html

Sydney’s new on-demand buses test the public’s appetite
After taking his first trip on the new on-demand buses in Sydney’s inner west, Breakfast Point resident Michael Ward is keen to ride on them again.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/sydney-s-new-on-demand-buses-test-the-public-s-appetite-20180718-p4zs5d.html

Tasmanian devils in the Barrington Tops at Devil Ark
Up in the remote and isolated high country of the Barrington Tops, only a three and a half hour drive from Sydney and amidst the subalpine flora of snow gums, mountain gums, grass trees and lomandra, is a project that is helping save one of Australia’s most beloved native animals from extinction.
https://www.examiner.com.au/news/local-news/5555635/devil-ark-tasmanian-devils-acting-wild-in-the-barrington-tops/

ACT
Kangaroos invadeCanberra
Thousands of kangaroos have descended on suburbs just a few kilometres from the CBD, causing a surprising amount of trouble for its residents.
https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/nsw-act/kangaroos-are-taking-over-an-aussie-city/news-story/e8fa735169a2d77e529ca545e370b7b0

Queensland
‘Our hands were saturated in it’: Workers angry contamination risks not explained at Gold Coast Airport site
Workers who found themselves wading through groundwater contaminated by PFAS chemicals at the Gold Coast Airport say they were not fully informed about the risks to their health.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-31/pfas-toxic-chemical-contamination-at-gold-coast-airport/10052982

PM personally approved $443m fund for tiny Barrier Reef foundation
Head of Great Barrier Reef Foundation tells Senate inquiry money was offered at meeting with Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jul/30/malcolm-turnbull-present-when-443-million-dollars-offered-to-small-group-without-tender-inquiry-hears

Galilee gas begins to flow [$]
Queensland’s Galilee Basin, best known for Adani’s coal mine plans, is showing potential to be a new east coast gas province.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/high-hopes-for-galilee-as-gas-begins-to-flow/news-story/78e3b6454374ad8732ac9dbcd0fe7aee

Fossil fuel backers ‘deeply aligned’ with reef rescue efforts
The head of a Great Barrier Reef charity awarded a controversial federal government grant was unaware a corporate partner had funded climate denial groups and says companies involved in the charity are deeply committed to rescuing the natural wonder.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/fossil-fuel-backers-deeply-aligned-with-reef-rescue-efforts-20180730-p4zufs.html

South Australia
What climate change means for rain [$]
Harder. Faster. More. Climate change is going to mess with how our rain falls, and it means more flash floods. That will have a big effect on our houses and roads — but we’re not ready.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/technology/intense-rainfall-worse-than-expected-under-climate-change-modelling-meaning-flash-floods/news-story/3140d07f359bcc0d1d90588afcb4fde9

Tasmania
Campaign launched to reduce Tasmanian roadkill
Less than seven months into the year Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary has already taken more than 30 orphaned wombat joeys into their care. This number was only expected to increase as winter progresses and more wild animals are killed on Tasmanian roads.
https://www.examiner.com.au/news/local-news/5555953/wildlife-advocates-urge-drivers-to-slow-down-look-out-for-animals/

Tasmania’s growing waste issue demands tough action [$]
Katrena Stephenson
Tasmania lags other states in resource recovery
https://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-growing-waste-issue-demands-tough-action/news-story/60b26763c26f9b078e99f0d7289f54cc

Western Australia
Wyatt hints at end to solar subsidies
WA Energy Minister Ben Wyatt has hinted there will no longer be subsidies for rooftop solar panels and wants a focus on battery storage options instead.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/wyatt-hints-end-solar-subsidies-193246651–spt.html

Sustainability
Across India, high levels of toxins in groundwater
Discharge of toxic elements from industries and landfills and diffused sources of pollution like fertilisers and pesticides over the years has resulted in high levels of contamination of groundwater with the levels of contamination of groundwater with the level of nitrates exceeding permissible limits in 50% of Indian districts.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-body-finds-high-levels-of-groundwater-contamination-across-india/articleshow/65204273.cms

The world’s largest solar farm rises in the remote Egyptian desert
The prospects for green energy have never been better in Egypt, where the government is scaling back fossil-fuel subsidies.
http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-egypt-green-power-20180730-story.html

Loading of nuclear fuel has started at floating power plant in Murmansk
Russia’s first floating nuclear power plant will be thoroughly tested before towing to the north Siberian port of Pevek.
https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/industry-and-energy/2018/07/loading-nuclear-fuel-has-started-floating-power-plant-murmansk

The island of Samoa is going 100% renewable – with Tesla’s help
With a new automated software system to manage the grid, the island nation is ending the blackouts that were marring its transition to clean energy.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90209339/the-island-of-samoa-is-going-100-renewable-with-teslas-help

Green upgrade: How California is pioneering ‘energy justice’
California has the world’s fourth largest greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, which raises billions of dollars for the state. An innovative project is directing some of that revenue to bringing renewable power and energy efficiency to some of the state’s most disadvantaged communities.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/green-upgrade-how-california-is-pioneering-renewable-energy-justice-cap-and-trade

Is Africa becoming the world’s dumping ground for dirty diesel vehicles?
As emission regulations become stronger for new vehicles in industrialized countries, cars as old as 25 years no longer able to meet emission standards are being exported to Africa.
https://www.dw.com/en/is-africa-becoming-the-worlds-dumping-ground-for-dirty-diesel-vehicles/a-44833036

How should businesses tackle risks posed by the shift away from plastics?
Solving for plastic doesn’t solve for climate change. Here’s how to address both.
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-should-businesses-tackle-risks-posed-shift-away-plastics

We know single-use plastics are bad. Why can’t we stop using them?
The public is increasingly aware of the harm that single-use plastic products do to wildlife and the environment. So why can’t we stop using them?
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/07/29/plastic-waste-pollution-people-cant-resits/818703002/

America spends over $20bn per year on fossil fuel subsidies. Abolish them
Dana Nuccitelli
While we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground, America is giving the fossil fuel industry billions to extract more
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/jul/30/america-spends-over-20bn-per-year-on-fossil-fuel-subsidies-abolish-them

The Laos disaster reminds us that local people are too often victims of dam development
Jason von Meding, Giuseppe Forino and Tien Le Thuy Du
Images of the aftermath of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy dam collapse in Laos went around the world. But many other dam projects harm locals and the environment in less visible ways.
https://theconversation.com/the-laos-disaster-reminds-us-that-local-people-are-too-often-victims-of-dam-development-100588

Can We Really Make the World a Better Place?
Adam Blanch
Psychologist Adam Blanch questions whether we could, or should, change the world.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/07/can-really-make-world-better-place/

Nature Conservation
World’s largest king penguin colony has declined by 90%
Number of king penguins on the remote Île aux Cochons has fallen from 2m to 200,000, warn scientists.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/30/worlds-largest-king-penguin-colony-has-declined-by-90

What will make us care enough to save endangered species?
A photographer and a scientist hope that evocative photos will ignite a passion for protecting threatened animals.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/08/proof-endangered-birds-photography/

Trump’s next target? The endangered species that define America
Andrew Rosenberg
To weaken protections for our unique animals in favor of industry is short-term thinking at its very worst.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/30/trump-administration-endangered-species-rollbacks-threat

Now for something completely different …
Trust Me, I’m An Expert: what the huge HILDA survey reveals about your economic well-being, health and family life
Justin Bergman and  Sunanda Creagh
The enormous Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey tells the stories of the same group of Australians over the course of their lives.
https://theconversation.com/trust-me-im-an-expert-what-the-huge-hilda-survey-reveals-about-your-economic-well-being-health-and-family-life-100751

Maelor Himbury