Post of the Day
World on track to fail sustainability goal
Scientists say unless we change our current economic system there is no chance of environmental sustainability if the population continues to grow.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world-track-fail-sustainability-goal-190014897–spt.html
Today’s Celebration
Civil Servant`s Day – Venezuela
Wildlife Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/wildlife-day/
Kids Teaching Kids Week – http://www.kidsteachingkids.com.au/
Idiopathic Hypersomnia Awareness Week – http://www.hypersomnolenceaustralia.com/210919913
National Stroke Week – http://www.strokefoundation.org.au/
National Superhero Week – http://www.superherodaymd.com/
Read A New Book Month – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/read-a-new-book-month/
Suicide Prevention Month – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/suicide-prevention-month/
Hunger Action Month – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/hunger-action-month/
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/childhood-cancer-awareness-month/
Chiari Awareness Month – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/chiari-awareness-month/
More about Sep 4 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_4
Climate Change
Where is the promised money, campaigners ask at climate talks in Bangkok
Faced with mounting costs from climate-linked disasters, poorer nations need help quickly, activists say at Bangkok negotiations.
http://news.trust.org/item/20180903134650-7vtct/
With rising sea levels, Bangkok struggles to stay afloat
As Bangkok prepares to host climate-change talks, the sprawling city of more than 10 million is itself under siege from the environment, with dire forecasts warning it could be partially submerged in just over a decade.
https://www.afp.com/en/news/2265/rising-sea-levels-bangkok-struggles-stay-afloat-doc-18o4x91
Bangkok Climate Talks: time to deliver on Paris rulebook
Yamide Dagnet And Nathan Cogswell
New round of UN climate talks in Bangkok this week will focus on politically and technically complex issues of creating a “rule-book” for the Paris climate treaty.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/bangkok-climate-talks-time-to-deliver-on-paris-rulebook-27557/
National
Australia is having a very dry and hot year
As eastern parts of Australia continue to suffer through drought, the rains haven’t dried up in other parts of the country.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-03/warm-and-dry-winter-for-nsw/10188560
Labor to propose new measures to put downward pressure on gas prices
A Labor government would introduce a permanent gas export control trigger that could be pulled when prices were too high, not just when a shortfall is forecast.
Shorten says Labor would support royal commission into power companies
But opposition leader insists it must investigate whether privatisation has driven up prices
Aust’s report card on UN goals
An analysis of Australia’s progress on meeting goals for a sustainable future has produced mixed results, with only one-third of UN targets on track to be met.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/austs-report-card-un-goals-140122589–spt.html
Renewable energy market report: The ups and downs of political ructions
Concerns around project delays temporarily buoyed renewable certificate market, while concerns the Coalition is intent on abolishing the SRES saw STC prices tumble.
Aussie coal’s ‘last Mohican’ [$]
Matthew Steens
Why Coronado Coal could well be the last of the Mohicans in the Australian coal industry.
https://www.afr.com/business/aussie-coals-last-mohican-20180903-h14vvi
Energy inquiry highlights the Coalition’s policy vacuum
David Crowe
A royal commission cannot fix a fundamental challenge for the Coalition – its proven inability to reach agreement on energy policy.
What’s really the point of Paris?
Judith Sloan
Now that the national energy guarantee is dead, perhaps Australia should formally withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.
Morrison must dump NEG now [$]
Chris Kenny
The PM needs to break from the past. Smart voters know nothing we do affects the environment. Someone should level with them.
https://www.afp.com/en/news/2265/rising-sea-levels-bangkok-struggles-stay-afloat-doc-18o4x91
Energy policy needs a reboot [$]
Australian editorial
Power costs matter more than emissions reduction targets.
Business gives up on Coalition, turns to Labor and states on energy, climate
Giles Parkinson
Here’s the most damning assessment of the Coalition’s energy and climate policy, such as it remains after the crucifixion of Malcolm Turnbull and the elevation of conservatives Scott Morrison as prime minister and Angus Taylor as energy minister: Business has all but given up.
Victoria
Blitz on dangerous chemicals to target city’s inner west
Industrial sites will be investigated after a massive fire tore through a factory in West Footscray last week.
Has Daniel Andrews gone loopy on rail?
Alan Davies
The Andrews government’s planned $50 billion loop rail line around outer suburban Melbourne signals Victorian Labor has joined the other parties in giving up on rational urban policy.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=19924
New South Wales
‘Beautiful and frightening’: Australia’s rivers under threat – in pictures
Photographic artist Paul Harmon visits the floodplains of the drought-stricken Murray-Darling basin in north-west New South Wales to showcase the preciousness of water and the attempts to harness it.
Parrots flock to Sydney amid NSW’s record warmth, deepening drought
Sydney’s driest start to a year since 1968 appears to be encouraging a trend that has nudged large flocks of parrots to set up home in Sydney’s parks.
Angling for a marine park: poll finds support for coastal protection
Backing for a proposed marine park reaches as high as 90 per cent in four coastal electorates, which supporters hope will counter opposition from angler groups.
Taxpayers could foot the bill for delays to WestConnex interchange
Taxpayers will have to pay for any delays or changes to WestConnex’s interchange at Rozelle.
Mountain bike boom could have conservation downsides for unique Mt Canobolas
Central west NSW is stepping it up in the global mountain biking tourism boom with a proposal for a trail in Orange, but it could endanger its natural beauty through a lack of conservation research.
Queensland
Globally endangered hammerheads still caught commercially and accidentally in Qld
The population of the internationally endangered scalloped hammerhead shark is rapidly declining, and getting killed on baited drumlines is only the beginning of the animal’s woes.
Queensland could reap $24bn renewables boom if it phases out coal generators
Analysts say sector could expand sixfold if all planned projects proceed and government focuses on carbon reduction policies
Massive trail of trash at outback party
Piles of plastic waste, tinnies and even camping chairs were found following the event. The aftermath of the biggest racing event in the outback consisted of more than a hangover as the mammoth clean-up gets underway.
Driest August in decades for north Queensland
The same month was relatively rain-free for Brisbane also, but September has arrived with a wet week predicted.
Free fares for transport users as Go Card system fails
Commuters travelled for free on Brisbane’s buses and ferries on Monday owing to a widespread Go Card reader failure.
Reef grant bypassed cabinet [$]
None of the original cabinet submissions on reef funding in this year’s budget concerned the Great Barrier Reef Foundation
Shorten’s gas plan works against us [$]
Courier Mail editorial
Queensland has the most to lose from Labor Leader Bill Shorten’s market plan for gas production.
Tasmania
Tasmanian nature-based tourism numbers jump to 1.4m in 2017-18
Wineglass Bay on the state’s east coast is a key attraction, with tourist numbers up 6 per cent to a record 310,000 people.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-04/tasmania-park-tourism-numbers-rise/10197070
Up market glamping: No federal barrier to Lake Malbena wilderness camp
The tourism operators behind plans for a fly-in, fly-out “luxury standing camp” inside a national park in Tasmania’s remote central highlands welcome the project’s approval by the Federal Government.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-03/lake-malbena-project-gets-federal-go-ahead/10196478
Wil Hodgman: 1.4m visitors to National Parks last year
More than double the population of Tasmania came through the national parks system in the 2017-18 financial year.
https://www.examiner.com.au/news/local-news/5623928/14m-visitors-to-national-parks-last-year/
Pellet mill plan mooted [$]
A leading forestry company is considering a pellet mill in southern Tasmania after plans for a woodchip export facility fell through.
Sustainability
California’s response to record wildfires: shift to 100% clean energy
California’s Democratic leaders are determined to fight the climate change that’s ravaging their state
World on track to fail sustainability goal
Scientists say unless we change our current economic system there is no chance of environmental sustainability if the population continues to grow.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/world-track-fail-sustainability-goal-190014897–spt.html
BP going green but in no rush for electric vehicles at the servo
Global energy company BP is turning green but don’t expect to see electric vehicle chargers at your local petrol station any time soon.
Blue dye shows promise as key renewable energy component
Water polluted with industrial waste could turn out to be the perfect thing for storing energy from renewables, scientists have found.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/physics/blue-dye-shows-promise-as-key-renewable-energy-component
World politics explainer: The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Amy Maguire
When the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, it unleashed one of the most devastating events in history, which still has implications today.
Nature Conservation
Peruvian villagers face murder and intimidation from land traffickers
Invaders continue to seize land within the Chaparrí ecological reserve, one of Peru’s most biodiverse forests
UN set for talks on treaty to protect imperiled high seas
United Nations member states on Tuesday kick off long-awaited talks on a 2020 treaty that would regulate the high seas, which cover half the planet yet lack adequate environmental protection.
https://www.afp.com/en/news/2265/un-set-talks-treaty-protect-imperiled-high-seas-doc-18r3wf2