Post of the Day
The coming green wave
Tim Egan
This silent majority will no longer stand by as the Trump administration tries to destroy a century of bipartisan love of the land.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/opinion/trump-environment-green-wave.html
Today’s Celebration
Constitution Day – Hungary
National Day – Hungary
National Homeless Animals Day – United States of America
Restoration of Independence Day – Estonia
St. Stephen’s Day – Hungary
The King & People’s Revolution – Morocco
Homeless Animals Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/homeless-animals-day/
World Mosquito Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/world-mosquito-day/
Speech Pathology Week – http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/
Keep Australia Beautiful Week – http://kab.org.au/keep-australia-beautiful-week/
More about Aug 20 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_20
Climate Change
Hothouse Earth: With the world facing a climate change tipping point, how should Christians respond?
Ruth Valerio
In the middle of the estate I live on is a lovely green. It’s a communal area where children play, people walk their dogs and families have picnics. Locals unofficially call it The Green. Today though it would be more appropriate to call it The Yellow. The heatwave is having its impact.
National
Turnbull plans more energy policy changes amid internal pressure
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull outlines further changes to his national energy policy amid increasing pressure from within his own party.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-19/labor-unveils-plan-to-cut-power-prices/10137298
Labor pledges price caps on power bills as Coalition’s Neg woes continue
Bill Shorten to accept ACCC recommendations as PM recalibrates energy deal in attempt to contain conservative-led revolt
Drought funding gets $1.8bn government boost
Sixty affected councils across Queensland and NSW to be handed $1m each
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/19/drought-funding-to-get-18bn-government-boost
Energy operator ramps up security against hacker threat
AEMO is creating a total grid cyber security program to stop potential hackers holding the electricity network to ransom.
Industry signs up for green power as bills soar [$]
Faced with a 100 per cent hike in its $460,000-a-year annual electricity bill, specialist machine maker ANCA Group turned to a rival supplier. Their offer was 200 per cent higher.
PM ‘focused on energy’ [$]
Malcolm Turnbull insists NEG changes are about electricity bills and not his job as Tony Abbott keeps up the pressure.
Nuclear has left its run too late: a response to Ian Hore-Lacy
Robert Farago
Ian Hore-Lacy and I differ in how we see the future unfold, and the technologies that will get us there.
http://www.ethos.org.au/online-resources/Engage-Mail/nuclear-too-late-a-response-to-ian-hore-lacy
Energy policy in a race to the bottom
Matthew Stevens
We are watching a race to the bottom in energy market policy that apparently has a Liberal prime minister contemplating some form of electricity market re-regulation.
Emissions policies stir up strife [$]
Chris Mitchell
The remarkable thing about a decade of energy wars is that emissions reduction policies can still blow up governments.
Poor precedent as Paris looms [$]
Graham Lloyd
History shows action without parliamentary oversight can be the least desirable or durable route to action.
No sympathy for energy giants [$]
Robert Gottliebsen
Big power firms and their shareholders face a dangerous week, as they look set to be targets of moves to save the NEG.
Catch 22 and the NEG [$]
Alan Kohler
Why does Malcolm Turnbull’s energy and leadership crisis have echoes in Joseph Heller’s Catch 22? Let me set the scene.
PM faces moment of truth [$]
Australian editorial
Seeking a bipartisan policy on power a high-risk strategy.
Victoria
Victorians to get half-price solar panels under Government scheme
Victorians will be able to install solar panels on their home for half price under a $1.24 billion plan announced by the Andrews Government ahead of the upcoming state election.
East Brunswick environmental park fights apartments on its doorstep
CERES Environment Park in East Brunswick is objecting to a six-storey apartment block on its doorstep that it says would tower over it.
We did it! Locals board first trains to Mernda in 59 years
It’s hard to imagine today, but in the 1950s, Roslyn Wilson would hail trains to pick her up at Stopping Place Number 9, across the road from her house in Plenty Road, south of Mernda.
Solar plan ‘like pink batts disaster’ [$]
Victoria’s pledge to provide discounted solar panels to households has drawn parallels with the failed home insulation scheme.
Plenty of holes in Andrews’ solar panel policy [$]
Rita Panahi
Too many voters are willing to overlook just about any maleficence from incompetence to downright dodginess if you offer them something seemingly for nothing.
Give up the car? Unthinkable … then wonderful
Steven Lewis
As Melbourne careens towards 8 million people in the next few decades, will it be freeways or rail, steep tolls or subsidised car travel?
New South Wales
‘Never seen anything like this’: How our trains came to a grinding halt
The Premier is sorry but has ruled out refunds for the thousands of affected passengers.
Sydney’s not full, but Berejiklian says some parts might be
Some parts of Sydney “cannot handle extra development”, says the NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian. But she is not saying which.
Gladys to fix climate fund with focus on power bills [$]
Power bills for thousands of NSW families and businesses will be slashed by about $400 as the government overhauls how money collected through a “green tax” on electricity is used.
Queensland
Solar boom ‘bringing hundreds of jobs’ to rural Queensland
A renewable energy boom is reinvigorating the Darling Downs local economy but although some landholders are eager to be involved, not all residents are pleased about the new developments.
Nature’s perfect match is breaking down and the reef is in peril
A relationship formed over 210 million years ago, around the time dinosaurs first appeared on earth, between coral and algae is under strain and it’s transforming the Great Barrier Reef.
Premier asks for report as controversial koala policy is debated in Brisbane
Koala experts will meet on Monday to debate a controversial policy to shift koalas from critical habitat even though it is illegal unless scientific permits are granted.
P&Cs Qld’s plan for schools to win big from recycled bottles and cans
P&Cs Queensland says schools could share in “tens of millions” of dollars in extra funding under its proposal to send money earned from recycling directly to state schools.
‘You should be ashamed of yourselves’ [$]
Karen Brooks
A social media storm kicked off at a photo of rubbish, left by patrons who couldn’t give a toss about cleaning up. It’s part of an epidemic of declining respect, writes Karen Brooks.
South Australia
Insurance fear raised for waste dump sites [$]
The rural community which hosts a national radioactive waste dump could face higher insurance costs and the economic benefits of the project have been exaggerated, a report prepared for environmental groups suggests.
Tasmania
More than just engineering, science and money
Kevin Kiernan
Earlier this year I visited an area in the Grand Canyon where a development akin to our own kunanyi/Mt Wellington cable car proposal was being debated
http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/more-than-just-engineering-science-and-money/
Smoke and mirror madness … Forestry burns legal, yet backyard BBQs could be censured
Ted Mead
Just when you think our bumbling bureaucrats can’t lose the plot any deeper, some public service cuckoo comes up with the loony idea to curb urban smoke. That’s right, unbelievable as it sounds, excessive smoke emissions from the backyard barbeque may soon become a punishable infringement … !
Northern Territory
Chamber cautious on NT growth plan [$]
The Chamber of Commerce is cautious about the Gunner Government’s population plan and wants to see details before it can endorse it
Western Australia
Respect the key to peace between cyclists and drivers
“If we are going to find harmony between all users, we need to change thinking and respect each other.”
https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/time-to-broker-peace-among-all-road-users-ng-b88930363z
Sustainability
Before you flush your contact lenses, you might want to know this
Flushing disposable contacts down the toilet or washing them down the drain may contribute to the problem of microplastic pollution, researchers said.
The Trump administration keeps losing environmental court cases
The Trump administration has lost three separate cases involving environmental rollbacks this week, showing that reversing Obama-era policies is harder than it looks.
Nature Conservation
‘A real-life thriller’: An epic high-seas chase and the hunt for a criminal kingpin
The Thunder, the world’s most notorious poaching ship, raked in millions in illegal profits. Its round-the-world bid to evade capture made history — and exposed a murky web of crime and corruption on land.
Paul Nicklen: ‘If we lose the ice, we lose the entire ecosystem’
The photographer has been documenting life at the poles for years. He is determined to safeguard these fragile habitats
The coming green wave
Tim Egan
This silent majority will no longer stand by as the Trump administration tries to destroy a century of bipartisan love of the land.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/17/opinion/trump-environment-green-wave.html
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