Post of the Day
Let’s talk immigration and population, hold the hysteria
Royce Millar & Ben Schneiders
Rachel Ray is one of many daily grappling with the reality of the unprecedented population growth that has seen Australia’s population hit 25 million, decades ahead of earlier projections. More than half that growth has been in Sydney and Melbourne. But in our public debate, such frustrations about population and planning tend to get conflated with arguments about race, religion and refugees.
Today’s Celebration
Apple Spas – Russia
Day of the Failed August, 1991 Coup – Russia
Independence Day – Afghanistan
National Aviation Day – United States of America
Revolution of 1945 – Vietnam
Birth of Crown Princess Mette Marit – Norway
World Humanitarian Day – http://www.un.org/en/events/humanitarianday/
International Orangutan Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/international-orangutan-day/
More about Aug 19 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_19
Climate Change
Unexpected future boost of methane possible from Arctic permafrost
New NASA-funded research has discovered that Arctic permafrost’s expected gradual thawing and the associated release of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere may actually be sped up by instances of a relatively little known process called abrupt thawing.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/nsfc-ufb081718.php
National
Turnbull’s backdown on energy fails to appease Coalition detractors
Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to dump a plan to legislate Paris emissions targets fails to placate some rebels in the Coalition party room who are concerned the target could be ramped up “with a stroke of a pen” in a change of government.
Nationals generate support for coal power
The Nationals have passed a motion at the party’s federal council calling on the government to scrap rules banning nuclear power generation.
PM risks coalition spat on energy backflip
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has polarised his party but may win over Labor with a reported change to his landmark national energy policy.
‘PM has my support’: Dutton backs Turnbull as Abbott renews NEG attack
Abbott says new plan to regulate rather than legislate energy emissions is ‘no way to run a government’
All eyes on Dutton as conservatives fuel Coalition’s crisis of confidence
Katharine Murphy
Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott and Peter Dutton are all trialling alternative election strategies
In Australian politics, energy policy is an orgasmic orb
Peter Hartcher
The political parties get such intense gratification from touching it that they may just refuse to let it go.
Turnbull: the best PM Labor’s ever had [$]
Peta Credlin
For years now, Malcolm Turnbull has been peddling the energy ambitions of another party. And now with Peter Dutton circling, time might finally be up.
Ego must not rule the energy debate [$]
Miranda Devine
When it comes to driving electricity prices down, politicians should put aside selfishness and do what works to help people who are feeling the pain.
Turnbull’s emissions plan will see him lose power [$]
Piers Akerman
It almost beggars belief but Malcolm Turnbull is trying to make his colleagues and the public believe that he has backed away from his commitment to the nation’s Paris Agreement 26 per cent emissions reduction target.
Let’s talk immigration and population, hold the hysteria
Royce Millar & Ben Schneiders
Rachel Ray is one of many daily grappling with the reality of the unprecedented population growth that has seen Australia’s population hit 25 million, decades ahead of earlier projections. More than half that growth has been in Sydney and Melbourne. But in our public debate, such frustrations about population and planning tend to get conflated with arguments about race, religion and refugees.
Victoria
How to save $890 on power bills next year [$]
Victorians will save hundreds a year on their power bills under a $1.2 billion Andrews Government plan to install solar panels on 650,000 homes. Here’s how it’ll work.
Garbage tipping point within reach
Age editorial
Victorians have a crucial tipping point to reach if the state is to win its war on waste.
New South Wales
Relief as bushfire burning north of Newcastle downgraded from emergency
Residents warned to seek shelter ahead of an approaching fire front breathe a sigh of relief as the blaze is downgraded thanks to easing weather conditions.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-18/nsw-bushfires:-strong-winds-cause-blazes-to-flare-up/10135858
Islamic leader accused of illegal land clearing says his group is exempt from Australian law
A religious leader accused of illegal land clearing on a rural property used for religious prayer claims a western Sydney council is infringing on his group’s religious freedoms by pursuing him over the allegations.
Farmers accuse government of ‘hoarding’ water [$]
Farmers are demanding the State government hand over thousands of megalitres litres of water they claim is being “hoarded” instead of being used to produce desperately needed feed.
ACT
How a farmer went from ‘the moron approach’ to a farm full of water
As farm dams dry up during the drought, Martin Royds’ new one is filling up with groundwater. His 14 weirs are also nearly full.
Queensland
‘Clearly wrong’: Labor says new documents show Coalition’s reef grant failure
Government’s claims that it did extensive due diligence for funding to foundation don’t add up, says opposition.
‘No justice’: Huge Reef Foundation grant stuns charity sector
The government’s $444 million grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation slammed as ‘ludicrous’ and ‘unfair’ by the country’s $135 billion charity sector.
Brisbane on brink of a major transformation [$]
Courier Mail editorial
Brisbane is on the brink of something big. Very big. A generational investment in infrastructure will transform Queensland’s capital over the coming decade.
South Australia
$10m to create new national park [$]
Bold plans to create a 1500ha national park in Adelaide’s southern suburbs will be given a $10 million boost to turn the promise into reality.
Promise of $37 power saving — what an insult [$]
Matthew Abraham
It’s a pocket-money power bill cut that barely pays for lunch but in the uncertain world of energy policy, nothing is guaranteed.
Airport rail link should be given all-clear for takeoff [$]
Advertiser editorial
Some people might be dismissive of an airport tram link, given the latest saga in the city’s trouble-plagued North Tce extension.
Tasmania
‘Come see the pressure we’re under’: Farmers lament gun law backflip
Tasmanian farmers urge people in Sandy Bay to witness the impact of browsing animals on agricultural land, in light of the State Government’s decision to scrap plans to provide farm workers with greater access to guns.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-18/farmers-want-others-to-understand-their-gun-needs/10136004
‘Zero-waste’ household hoping to dispose of kerbside bin collection fee
One Tasmanian family hasn’t used their wheelie bin for three years and they don’t want to pay for rubbish collection.
Northern Territory
Tide turning as fishing permits get closer [$]
Compulsory fishing permits are getting closer for Top End anglers. But Aboriginal leaders say there’s nothing to be afraid of.
Western Australia
Where to find amazing wildflowers around WA
Blooming success: Bushland is flourishing across the State — just add water and the country blossoms.
Sustainability
UK public backs tough action on plastic waste in record numbers
Size of consultation response could lead to ‘latte levy’ and other fiscal measures in budget
Scientists identify enzyme that could help accelerate biofuel production
Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology have honed in on an enzyme belonging to the glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) family as a promising target for increasing biofuel production from the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/tiot-sie081618.php
Scientists find titanium dioxide from sunscreen is polluting beaches
Scientists have found that sunscreen from bathers releases significant quantities of polluting TiO2 (titanium dioxide) into the sea. This has the potential to harm marine life.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/gc-sft081618.php
Making aquafeed more sustainable: Scientists develop feeds using a marine microalga co-product
Scientists have created a more sustainable feed for aquaculture by using a marine microalga co-product as a feed ingredient. The study is the first of its kind to evaluate replacing fishmeal with a co-product in feed designed specifically for Nile tilapia.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180818115645.htm
Human wastewater valuable to global agriculture, economics
It may seem off-putting to some, but human waste is full of nutrients that can be recycled into valuable products that could promote agricultural sustainability and better economic independence for some developing countries, says a new study.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180816153137.htm
Nature Conservation
‘We’ve been warned’: Swelling Northern Hemisphere heatwaves bring unprecedented fires
Firefighters in Sweden and California are dealing with record bushfires on the back of a sweltering northern summer, with foreign reinforcements being brought in to assist overwhelmed local authorities. Those on the ground say changes need to be made to adapt to the new reality.
‘We have not caught up with reality’: the Marshlands of Mesopotamia are drying out again
Hailed by many as the location of the biblical Garden of Eden, the marshlands once covered some 20,000 square kilometres. They were almost completely drained by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s and now, after more than a decade of reflooding efforts, they are drying out again.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-18/iraqi-marshlands-drying-out-again/10096074
RSPB boss: Britain has one last chance to save endangered species
Chief executive warns of a devastating loss of wildlife if three new parliamentary bills do not rein in UK farming practices
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/18/endangered-birds-farming-uk-brexit
Acid Coastal Seas Off US Putting Common Fish Species at Risk
Scientists have shown that coastal waters and river estuaries can exhibit unique vulnerabilities to acidification than offshore waters.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180818115810.htm
Ants, acorns and climate change
The relatively swift adaptability of tiny, acorn-dwelling ants to warmer environments could help scientists predict how other species might evolve in the crucible of global climate change, according to Case Western Reserve biologists.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/cwru-aaa081718.php
Invasive plants: Scientists examine the relative impact of proximity to seed sources
A new study tackles an important, unresolved question in the biology of invasive plants. Which is most important to the establishment of new invasive communities — proximity to seed sources, canopy disturbance, or soil disturbance?
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180817125357.htm