Post of the Day
Is coal power “dispatchable”?
Mark Diesendorf
We need genuinely dispatchable power stations to complement the growing capacity of wind and solar PV. Coal and other baseload power stations cannot fill that role.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/is-coal-power-dispatchable-71095/
Today’s Celebration
Black Ribbon Day – Lithuania
National Flag Day – Ukraine
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition – http://www.un.org/en/events/slaveryremembranceday/
More about Aug 23 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_23
Climate Change
The victims of climate change are already here
With a new global summit approaching, communities in the southern United States are calling attention to the disaster scenarios they currently face.
Courage and bolt-cutters: meet the next generation of climate activists
Eric Holthaus
My generation is radically remaking climate activism. Will it be enough?
https://grist.org/article/courage-and-bolt-cutters-meet-the-next-generation-of-climate-activists/
Our choice to trade fossil fuels for clean energy
Maloey Jones
The choice is ours: Either heed the scientist and combat global warming, or continue to pay the fossil-fuel industry for the privilege of handing a burning planet to our children.
National
A brief history of seven killings, or how climate policy keeps sinking PMs
Annabel Crabb
The Australian Parliament has proven itself unable to reach consensus on climate change policy, even when the parties are close enough to touch. It’s a familiar tale.
Peter Dutton’s GST plan smells of political desperation and policy stupidity
Greg Jericho
To remove electricity from the GST would only exacerbate the problems we already have.
The trials of Turnbull: under fire in fight he never picked
Paddy Manning
Turnbull did not go into politics to save the planet – but he is once again staring at political oblivion due to climate.
No sharp exits from Paris [$]
Graham Lloyd
No formal decision for Australia to quit the Paris Agreement to can be made until well after the next federal election.
Capping electricity prices: a quick fix with hidden risks
Guy Dundas
Australians are angry about electricity prices and both the federal government and opposition are proposing to cap them. Will this approach work, and what are the risks?
https://theconversation.com/capping-electricity-prices-a-quick-fix-with-hidden-risks-101981
Australia burns while politicians fiddle with the leadership
Sophie Lewis and Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
With New South Wales suffering winter bushfires and temperature records tumbling around the globe, our leaders in Canberra have picked a bad time to jettison climate policy in favour of political bickering.
https://theconversation.com/australia-burns-while-politicians-fiddle-with-the-leadership-101905
Rising seas will displace millions of people – and Australia must be ready
Jane McAdam and John Church
Sea-level rise is already threatening some communities around the world, particularly small island states, as it exacerbates disasters resulting from storm surges and flooding.
Climate doubters keep their coal [$]
David Uren
The fossil fuel has left our politics in ashes as we debate whether it’s vile or a virtue.
Is Snowy Hydro 2.0 Turnbull’s singular environmental achievement? [$]
Chris Woods
The PM’s project was embraced across the political divide, but will it leave a lasting legacy? We go deep on everything you need to know.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2018/08/22/snowy-hydro-turnbull-environment/
Victoria
Phase out open-flue gas heaters, says coroner
Hundreds of thousands of potentially deadly gas heaters across Australia should be phased out, a coroner finds after the death of a 62-year-old Victorian woman in public housing.
Australia’s best performing wind farms in 2018
Two small wind farms in Victoria have had the highest capacity factors in the country, and more than 60% in the last two months.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-best-performing-wind-farms-in-2018-2018/
New South Wales
Men in Islamic guild accused of illegal land clearing skipped court to build shed
ABC footage shows two men accused of illegal land clearing on a rural property in north-west Sydney were building a large shed on the day they were required in court for a hearing about the allegations.
New wildlife sanctuary to reintroduce extinct species to NSW
Ten native mammals that have been extinct in New South Wales for more than a century will be reintroduced to a national park in the state’s south-west.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-22/rewilding-a-sanctuary-for-extinct-animals/10148150
Drought deals the Nationals back into the game
A analysis of election results in NSW shows a correlation between the primary vote of the Nationals and rainfall.
Fire-bug fears: Who lights fires and why?
It has been an early and dramatic start to the bushfire season in New South Wales, with authorities convinced many of the blazes have been deliberately lit — but who lights fires and why?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-23/why-do-people-start-fires/10152462
ACT
‘Hey, it works’: Light rail comes out of the shadows
It’s been sneaking around in the dark for months, but Canberrans were given a rare glimpse of the tram during daylight hours yesterday as transport authorities moved to a new phase of light rail testing.
Record number of kangaroo crashes as animals endure harsh weather
ACT rangers are being called to a record number of crashes involving kangaroos as more of the animals come into Canberra’s suburbs to look for food.
Queensland
The ‘turf war’ threatening the reef
Farming along the Queensland coast is sending harmful runoff down the rivers and out into the ocean, threatening large parts of the reef. But one industry’s experience is providing a model to change that.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-22/the-great-barrier-reef-turf-war/10132226
Staged review of Brisbane’s bus services set to begin
Brisbane City Council is about to start its staged review of Brisbane’s bus services, but is being met with resistance from the state government.
South Australia
Steel city’s solar rush gets a head of steam [$]
Whyalla could soon be home to two major solar farms after Adani Renewables announced it had received pre-construction approval for a 400 hectare project just outside the city.
Dredging up Bay seagrass
Dredging to keep Glenelg Harbour open will begin on Monday because seagrass is partially blocking the channel.
Tasmania
Plan to open more Tasmanian park areas to deer hunting draws fire
The Tasmanian Government’s plan to open up national parks to deer hunting is not a credible way to deal with the harm fallow deer are causing, the Wilderness Society says.
Northern Territory
Questions raised over source of NT Beverages water
A Northern Territory water bottling company that was controversially awarded a $10 million taxpayer investment is extracting water from a different aquifer than the one advertised on its website.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-22/questions-raised-over-nt-beverages-water-source/10149274
Sustainability
UK fracking push could fuel global plastics crisis, say campaigners
Government aim to end plastic pollution undermined by keen support for fracking, says Campaign to Protect Rural England
Don’t make waves: how to be an ethical beachcomber
A holidaymaker has been threatened with a fine for pinching pebbles, but there are some things we are encouraged to take from our beaches
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2018/aug/22/how-to-be-an-ethical-beachcomber
Frustrated by plastic bottles littered around? Pittsburgh company turns them into fabric
Every minute, 1 million plastic bottles fly off store shelves and into the hands of consumers.
Cost of new EPA coal rules: Up to 1,400 more deaths a year
The Trump administration unveiled its overhaul of pollution rules for coal-fired power plants, and its analysis shows an increase of up to 1,400 premature deaths annually.
India coal project cancellations snowballing
Between 2010 and June 2018, India’s coal-fired power station pipeline saw shelved and cancelled projects totalling a staggering 573GW.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/india-coal-project-cancellations-snowballing-77501/
Is coal power “dispatchable”?
Mark Diesendorf
We need genuinely dispatchable power stations to complement the growing capacity of wind and solar PV. Coal and other baseload power stations cannot fill that role.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/is-coal-power-dispatchable-71095/
Nature Conservation
Ethiopia deploys hidden rabies vaccine in bid to protect endangered wolf
Oral vaccination campaign will use goat meat baits to pre-empt outbreaks of rabies among Ethiopian wolves.