Date: 14 October 2018 at 08:21:31 AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Oct 14
Post of the Day
Dear progressives: Craig Kelly, Abbott and Trump are making you their stooge
Simon Black
Don’t amplify the views of those who want to diminish serious issues like climate change – even if it feels good
Today’s Celebration
Day of Formation of the Tajik Republic – Tajikistan
Founder’s Day – Zaire (Democratic Congo)
Peace Corps Birthday – United States of America
Petkouden – Bulgaria
Santa Fortunata – Peru
The October Revolution – Yemen
Youth Day – Zaire (Democratic Congo)
Nyerere Day – Tanzania
Day of Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (in Mtskheta) – Georgia
Climate Change
‘Jaw dropping’: New Zealand offers lessons in tackling climate change
Scott Simpson, New Zealand’s opposition environment spokesman, stunned a trans-Tasman investment meeting last week by stating that climate action was “too important to be playing politics with”.
Does climate vary more from century to century when it is warmer?
Century-scale climate variability was enhanced when the Earth was warmer during the Last Interglacial period (129,000-116,000 years ago) compared to the current interglacial (the last 11,700 years), according to a new UCL-led study.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/ucl-dcv101018.php
Dear progressives: Craig Kelly, Abbott and Trump are making you their stooge
Simon Black
Don’t amplify the views of those who want to diminish serious issues like climate change – even if it feels good
National
Bill Shorten: ‘We’ve got to end the climate change war’
Marking five years as opposition leader, Shorten tackles thorny topics – energy, offshore detention and trade
Babies born today will be 22 when warming hits 1.5C. What will life be like?
Nick Kilvert
Meet Casey X. The year is 2040, and she is 22 years old. The town where she lives is in the middle of a heatwave — and she’s been thinking more and more about leaving.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-10-13/climate-change-ipcc-life-in-2040/10359104
Breaking news: government does what it’s meant to do
Peter Hartcher
There has been very little effort to manage the settlement patterns of new immigrants. Three-quarters of new arrivals flock to Sydney, Melbourne and south-east Queensland.
Why has God spat his almighty dummy?
Ian Warden
The dire warnings of climate change have been instantly dismissed by our coal-besotted government. Is it this that is leaving God quite irate?
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/why-has-god-spat-his-almighty-dummy-20181012-p5098a.html
Victoria
Vic Libs promise park at St Kilda Triangle
The beachside car park site known as the St Kilda Triangle would be transformed into a green park under a Liberal Nationals Victorian government.
Geelong recycling plant on fire
A recycling plant fire in South Geelong is now under control but continues to burn, as firefighters remove plastic bales in danger of catching fire.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/geelong-recycling-plant-fire-090359274–spt.html
The butterfly effect has ants playing defence
A wonder of nature is playing out in the sleepy suburbs of Melbourne’s north, where a rare butterfly has found an unlikely protector.
Shorten pledges $300m on rail loop [$]
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will pour $300 million into Victorian Labor’s suburban rail loop project if Labor wins the next federal election.
Mebourne can thrive as a city of 8 million, but…
Steven Lewis
But it won’t be the same Melbourne.
New South Wales
Berejiklian pulls up the drawbridge
Her call for a cut in the immigration intake has much greater ramifications for Sydney than whether the Opera House is splashed with racing colours.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/berejiklian-pulls-up-the-drawbridge-20181012-p509ce.html
ACT
Lake’s lag time
Canberra Times editorial
To most observers, the level (or presence) of water in Lake George doesn’t appear to be linked to annual rainfall.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/lake-s-lag-time-20181013-p509if.html
Queensland
Blue agave crop to be burnt at sugar mill for power generation
A sugar producer in Queensland plans to plant 4,000 hectares of blue agave on the Atherton Tablelands as part of a biomass refinery project.
Brisbane Metro forces relocation of sewage pump to park near Labor HQ
An inner-Brisbane sewage pump may have to be moved to make way for a proposed $315 million Brisbane Metro station.
SEQ’s new train timetable not ready until after February 2019
Trains in south-east Queensland will not have a new timetable until well after a new staff roster in February 2019, according to Queensland Rail’s Fixing the Trains report released in July.
‘Grey wave’ will pose planning challenges [$]
Terry Sweetman
People are rubbing their hands at the prospect of a so-called ‘grey wave’ of retirees set to turn Queensland into Florida Down Under. But perhaps we should be thinking of ways to encourage people to stay put.
South Australia
Surprise start for Adelaide’s long-delayed tram extension
The first tram travels on Adelaide’s North Terrace line, seven months after the line was originally meant to open and two and a half months after the second “set in stone” opening date.
Tasmania
Petuna to remove ‘environment-friendly’ branding due to low oxygen levels in Macquarie Harbour
Fish farmer Petuna Aquaculture will remove its much-prized Aquaculture Stewardship Council branding from products sourced from Macquarie Harbour because of low oxygen levels.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-13/petuna-to-remove-asc-logo-from-products/10371532
Climate right for solar plan: Reynolds
Hobart residents and businesses would be able to install solar energy systems with no upfront costs under an initiative proposed by mayoral candidate Anna Reynolds.
Speed dating at the Tamar Sustainable Living Expo, part one
Speed dating may not be the first activity that comes to mind at a sustainable living expo, but organisers of an event on Saturday believe the format has some merits.
Western Australia
WA jobs in the pipeline as kingfish farm tipped for Abrolhos waters
Major aquaculture company Huon has secured a lease to operate a big yellowtail kingfish farm off Geraldton, in what’s been touted as a game-changer for WA’s underperforming aquaculture sector.
Snakes are beautiful animals: expert
More than 80 per cent of snake bites come as a result of people trying to kill a snake, and to avoid contributing to that statistic, Adam has a simple set of instructions.
https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/snake-season-hits-as-warmer-weather-approaches-ng-b88985756z
Plastics packaging overkill irks minister
WA could unilaterally impose regulations on retailers such as supermarkets to prevent the use of “unnecessary” packaging in a bid to improve the State’s low recycling rate.
Sustainability
Activist dies after 15-week hunger strike over state of Ganges River
One of India’s most prominent environmental activists goes without food for 111 days in order to promote the cleaning up of the Ganges — the increasingly polluted river sacred to Hindus which provides water for 400 million people.
Top climate scientist blasts UK’s fracking plans as ‘aping Trump’
James Hansen, ‘father of climate science’, accuses Britain of ignoring science
Irrigating vegetables with wastewater in African cities may spread disease
Urban farmers growing vegetables to feed millions of people in Africa’s ever-growing cities could unwittingly be helping to spread disease by irrigating crops with wastewater, a new study reveals.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/uob-ivw101218.php
Innovative tool allows continental-scale water, energy, and land system modeling
A new large-scale hydroeconomic model will allow researchers to study water systems across whole continents, looking at sustainability of supply and the impacts of water management on the energy and agricultural sectors.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181012092952.htm
New catalyst opens door to CO2 capture in conversion of coal to liquid fuels
World energy consumption projections expect coal to stay one of the world’s main energy sources in the coming decades, and a growing share of it will be used in CTL, the conversion of coal to liquid fuels. Researchers from Beijing and Eindhoven have developed iron-based catalysts that substantially reduce operating costs and open the door to capturing the large amounts of CO2 that are generated by CTL.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/euot-nco100518.php
Novel catalyst for high-energy aluminum-air flow batteries
A recent study, affiliated with South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has introduced a novel electric vehicle (EV) battery technology that is more energy-efficient than gasoline-powered engines.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/unio-ncf101118.php
‘It’s a big deal for us’: the Magic Kingdom is going green
“Our guests tell us the environment is important, so it’s a big deal for us,” said a Disney executive.
Nature Conservation
Reusable coffee cups are just a drop in the ocean for efforts to save our seas
Overfishing and climate change harm the marine environment at least as much as plastic pollution
Turtles have ’22 per cent chance of dying’ if they eat just one piece of plastic
Death is certain for a sea turtle once 100 pieces are ingested, a study concluded, as balloons, lolly wrappers and single-use shopping bags were found in one turtle’s stomach.
Habitat loss: the elephant in the room
Claire Miller
Even if we could wave a magic wand and put an end to poaching forever, elephants may still not live happily ever after.
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