Post of the Day
Killing season: Crisis time for Africa’s famed wildlife
The “Big Five” – lions, elephants, rhinoceros, leopards and Cape buffalo – have never been in greater peril.
Today’s Celebration
American Business Women’s Day – United States of America
Birthday of Princess Martha Louise – Norway
Days of Liberation – Bulgaria
Independence Day – Mali
World Car-Free Day – http://www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/
World Rhino Day – http://www.worldrhinoday.org/
Elephant Appreciation Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/elephant-appreciation-day/
Bright Pink Lipstick Day – http://pinkhope.org.au/
Business Women’s Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/business-womens-day/
More about Sep 22 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_22
National
Threat of energy royal commission not helpful [$]
Threats by the Morrison government to call a royal commission or breakup big energy companies if they don’t cut prices are not helpful, Dr Schott said.
Foreign Donations Bill Changes Labelled a Win For Charities
Draft amendments to the foreign donations bill have been labelled a win for the charity sector, with the government backing down on measures that threatened charitable advocacy.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/09/foreign-donations-bill-changes-labelled-win-charities/
Beware ideological coal push [$]
Energy chief Kerry Schott says the industry should be wary of ideological arguments for new coal-fired power plants.
Taylor incurs wrath of community solar groups, including in his own electorate
Federal energy minister upsets two separate solar groups in one week, including the developers of a 1.8MW community-based PV project in his Hume electorate.
Resources 2030 Taskforce: final report
Resources 2030 Taskforce
This report presents the recommendations of the Resources 2030 Taskforce to significantly enhance the performance and competitiveness of Australia’s resources sector. The taskforce’s ambition is to create a successful, technologically advanced, forward-looking sector that is able to attract and cultivate the best and brightest people.
Closing eyes to climate change won’t stop warming
Ebony Bennett
Not even bushfires in winter were enough to budge the Coalition into meaningful action.
From toxic dump to wedding venue — how abandoned mines can be reborn
Mohan Yellishetty
More than 50,000 abandoned mine sites dot Australia, but they can be transformed into valuable assets from solar farms to lakes and even wedding venues.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-22/toxic-dump-to-wedding-venue-mines-reborn/10287506
Coalition exposes its ignorance in anti-renewable stance
Mark Butler
Angus Taylor is a disaster for Australian households and business struggling under skyrocketing power prices because of the Liberals’ energy and climate policy paralysis.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/coalition-exposes-its-ignorance-in-anti-renewable-stance-73147/
There are no winners from Australia’s costly energy chaos
Kane Thornton
Investment in energy generation does not need new subsidies, but it does need certainty. Yet, a small group of vindictive politicians would prefer to block all action on climate…
https://reneweconomy.com.au/there-are-no-winners-from-australias-costly-energy-chaos-25789/
Victoria
Gina Rinehart-backed Lakes Oil loses bid to have Victorian fracking ban overturned
The Victorian company had planned to explore for conventional gas as well as coal seam gas
Melbourne’s insane growth metric
Melbourne is growing at a rapid rate. ONE incredible comparison puts Melbourne’s unrelenting population growth into perspective. New statistics back it up.
Victoria’s renewable insanity [$]
Judith Sloan
You’d think SA’s disastrous energy experiment may have been a lesson. But no, the Andrews government has gone a step further.
New South Wales
Cost over-runs and delays hit more solar projects and contractors
Neoen says it has received more than $22 million in damages from delays to three NSW solar farms, and also has a claim over the Degrussa solar and storage…
https://reneweconomy.com.au/cost-over-runs-and-delays-hit-more-solar-projects-and-contractors-36361/
ACT
Key issues in rural land audit already met, ACT government says
The ACT government has responded to the scathing of the former LDA’s rural land deals.But it is still working on a few issues raised, including land and bushfire management of the properties.
Queensland
Great Barrier Reef inquiry: officials refuse to answer questions over $444m grant
Departmental officials repeatedly claim cabinet and budget confidentiality when asked about the grant process
Wetlands near Adani port to be monitored
Wetlands opposite Adani’s Abbot Point coal port will be monitored by the Queensland government following successful court action by the miner.
Queensland bushfires continue to burn
Revisit this blog and follow the rolling coverage to get the latest on Queensland’s bushfires.
Queensland coal mine evacuated [$]
An evacuation has taken place at a major coal mine after its operators started registering higher gas levels than normal.
Genex secures development approval for Kidston pumped hydro
Genex gets all clear to add 250MW pumped hydro storage to solar – and perhaps wind – at old Kidston gold mine in north Qld.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/genex-secures-development-approval-for-kidston-pumped-hydro-46070/
Solar + flow battery to power Barrier Reef research station
University of Queensland-run research hub to be more than 80% solar powered, via 500kW PV and 600kWh vanadium flow battery system.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/solar-flow-battery-to-power-barrier-reef-research-station-88816/
South Australia
Neoen cites risk of class action against wind farms over South Australia blackout
French-owned renewable energy developer Neoen cites risk that wind farms in South Australia could face class action suit over state-wide blackout in September, 2016.
Revealed: True cost of Tesla big battery, and its government contract
New light has been shed on one of the great mysteries of the Australian electricity sector – the actual cost, contract details and merchant revenues of the most exciting new addition to the main grid in the last decade, the Tesla big battery.
Tasmania
Critically endangered birds hitch ride on plane in last-ditch conservation effort
There are only a few dozen orange-bellied parrots left alive in the wild, so this species will be flown to Tasmania by plane, rather than migrating naturally, in a desperate effort to prevent their extinction.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-22/threatened-orange-bellied-parrots-hitch-ride-on-plane/10281060
Northern Territory
Santos inks Northern Gas Pipeline deal [$]
Santos has become the latest company to sign a gas transport agreement to use the Northern Gas Pipeline
Western Australia
WA’s love affair with solar continues, but hip pocket hurt remains
Synergy has reported a profit despite losing revenue from an increase in solar panel uptake, but don’t expect it to bring down your electricity bill.
Waves of discontent as storm hits Perth-based renewable energy darling
The home-grown technology of Carnegie Clean Energy to harvest the power of waves has, until now, been irresistible to politicians of all stripes and thousands of small investors, but a storm has hit and the wave energy dream appears in doubt.
Sustainability
UN environment chief criticised by UN over frequent flying
Erik Solheim’s huge travel bill is a ‘reputation risk’ and he has ‘no regard’ for rules, says draft internal audit
Coca-Cola, Walmart to cut plastic pollution in oceans
Coca-Cola, Walmart and other big multinationals pledged on Thursday to help reduce plastic pollution in the world’s oceans in support of a campaign by five of the G7 industrialized nations.
https://www.afp.com/en/news/205/coca-cola-walmart-cut-plastic-pollution-oceans-doc-19a3uz5
Research shows wind farms could divert hurricane rains
With enough wind turbines, the rainfall from Hurricane Harvey could have been reduced by 20 percent, according to a new modeling study.
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/research-shows-wind-farms-could-divert-hurricane-rains/
Global waste to pile up by 70 percent in 2050
Global waste growth will outpace population growth by 2050, with most of the trash being generated in urban areas.
https://www.dw.com/en/global-waste-to-pile-up-by-70-percent-in-2050/a-45588580
The world’s first hydrogen-powered train makes almost complete sense
Hydrogen has all the benefits of natural gas, but none of the carbon emissions.
https://qz.com/1396387/the-worlds-first-hydrogen-powered-train-makes-almost-complete-sense/
Electric vehicles tipped to become the smartphone of the future
Electric vehicles will be the new mobile phone, going from where people can’t imagine why they’d want one to being unable to imagine life without them, and China is set to be the driving force.
My Way: the dollars and sense of ethical investing [$]
Mara Bun
Endless surveys show ethical investments outperform standard investments. Why?
Nature Conservation
Disaster declared for German wildfire
A moorland wildfire in Germany has been declared a disaster as firefighters struggle to contain it and consider evacuating a thousand people from two villages.
Doomsday Vault needs to plug leak caused by climate change
Climate change in the Arctic is happening so quickly, the Norwegian Government has been forced to spend $A17 million to fix a subterranean vault that is preserving the world’s seeds.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-22/doomsday-vault-to-plug-leak-caused-by-climate-change/10291928
Killing season: Crisis time for Africa’s famed wildlife
The “Big Five” – lions, elephants, rhinoceros, leopards and Cape buffalo – have never been in greater peril.
Why are beneficial bugs disappearing?
Scientists are noticing fewer flying insects that aren’t really pests, like moths and butterflies. A variety of reasons are suspected but they all lead back to what humans are doing do the environment.
https://www.kqed.org/science/1931569/why-are-beneficial-bugs-disappearing
How to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Hint: the answer isn’t what you think it is.
https://mashable.com/article/garbage-patch-ocean-cleanup-explained/#E1Ob_dEqiuqB
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