Date: 19 October 2018 at 09:25:25 AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Oct 19
Post of the Day
The hope at the heart of the apocalyptic climate change report
Along with their latest dire predictions, the world’s leading climate scientists offered a new path forward—but will anyone take it?
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/18/the-hope-at-the-heart-of-the-apocalyptic-climate-change-report/
Today’s Celebration
Constitution Celebrations – Niue
Samora Machel Day – Mozambique
Mother Teresa Day – Albania
Climate Change
‘Singing’ ice shelf could help scientists monitor climate change in Antarctica
Winds blowing across snow dunes on Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf cause the massive slab of ice to ‘sing’.
‘Bad news’: IEA chief says CO2 emissions to rise in 2018
Global CO2 emissions will increase once again, according to the head of the IEA.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/bad-news-iea-chief-says-co2-emissions-to-rise-in-2018
‘Developing nation’ China seeks $260m climate handout [$]
China has asked for money from a UN-backed Green Climate Fund for developing countries that exceeds Australia’s entire $200 million first-round contribution.
The hope at the heart of the apocalyptic climate change report
Along with their latest dire predictions, the world’s leading climate scientists offered a new path forward—but will anyone take it?
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/18/the-hope-at-the-heart-of-the-apocalyptic-climate-change-report/
Immigration opponents should worry about global warming.
The Americans who want to keep immigrants out will be dismayed by the latest climate report.
As the fracking protesters show, a people’s rebellion is the only way to fight climate breakdown
George Monbiot
Our politicians, under the influence of big business, have failed us. As they take the planet to the brink, it’s time for disruptive, nonviolent disobedience
National
Policy fix would lead to coal investment [$]
A stable national energy policy to replace the National Energy Guarantee is needed before investors put their money into next-generation coal technology, coal producers say.
Warning over Australia’s lack of fuel security [$]
A lack of coherent policy for managing Australia’s liquid fuel reserves represents a risk to national security, a Senate select committee heard on Thursday.
FIFO environment minister charges taxpayers thousands to visit electorate
Environment Minister Melissa Price charges the taxpayer travel allowance when she visits her electorate because she lives in Perth.
NAB vows to review its ties to lobby groups after shareholder pressure
National Australia Bank will review the advocacy activities of industrial lobby groups it supports to ensure they align with the bank’s climate change policies after pressure from investor activists.
The Australian company pushing to open PNG’s first coal-fired power plant
An Australian company is pushing ahead with plans to open a coal-fired power plant and coal mine in Papua New Guinea, despite the recent call from the world’s most authoritative climate science body to completely cut greenhouse emissions by 2050
Coal’s future burns bright through its support of Australian prosperity [$]
When the NSW government offloaded its last remaining coal-fired power plant in 2015 for the price of a Sydney suburban home, it appeared the fossil fuel’s glory days were numbered. Vales Point, built in 1978 on the shores of Lake Macquarie, was considered near worthless and part of an ageing coal fleet headed for an early grave.
Yes we cairn or no you can’t? Rocky relationship emerges among bushwalkers
Rock stacks are a familiar site in wilderness areas the world over, but their creation for aesthetic purposes and artistic social media photos is becoming controversial.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-19/rock-cairns-dividing-the-bushwalking-community/10385936
The Morrison government’s biggest economic problem? Climate change denial
Judith Brett
The government’s stubborn commitment to coal is alienating it from its natural supporters in the business community.
Electric cars put energy debate in driving seat
Matt Johnston
With the numbers of electric cars sure to rise sharply, how we power them becomes central to the energy debate.
Victoria
For sale: One massive, still-contaminated Defence site
This chunk of land in inner Melbourne could end up being home to thousands.
Melbourne’s leafy east missing key features, new research suggests
Not traditionally part of how our suburbs are planned, experts say more needs to be done to address the lack of green in many neighbourhoods.
Greens pledge to put train on track to Rowville [$]
A rail line to Rowville would be designed and planned under a $100 million Greens policy to put the project on track, more than half a century after it was first floated.
Why we need to make room for driverless cars [$]
There’s been a push for the State Government to make room for driverless and electric cars on our roads, with figures showing the futuristic cars could help solve traffic snarls.
Forget getting tough on crime, the big election issue is population
Noel Towell
What some were hoping would be a law-and-order election on November 24 now looks like being about this state’s growing pains.
New South Wales
Brown says ignore Greens preferences [$]
Former Greens leader Bob Brown has made a late and controversial intervention into the Wentworth campaign in a bid to help Kerryn Phelps win the seat.
The ‘self-healing’ system designed to keep western Sydney’s lights on
The electricity distributor for Greater Western Sydney is automating parts of its network to stop or reduce the impact of blackouts as the population in the region soars.
Whitehaven next in frame for investor pressure on climate
Investors will soon get the opportunity to tell a big company that its strategy is out of line with stated global climate goals.
Greens warn of ‘Franklin’ campaign against Warragamba dam wall raising
Only a public campaign echoing the successful rescue of Tasmanian rivers from damming in the 1980s can preserve important Indigenous heritage sites and wild rivers on Sydney’s doorstep, Greens say.
Reimagining Sydney: this is what needs to be done to make a Central City CBD work
Tooran Alizadeh
Central City 2048 proposes one new rail line, three metro lines and almost 300,000 extra jobs for the new CBD, one of three proposed for metropolitan Sydney. Clearly, the investment needed is massive.
Queensland
Barramundi fishers feel the pinch with oversupply price drop
Barramundi fishers in northern Australia are feeling the pinch this year with the iconic species dramatically dropping in value.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-18/barramundi-oversupply-sparks-price-drop/10388500
Aurizon fears being ‘public enemy No. 1’ due to Adani [$]
Aurizon chairman Tim Poole told the company’s AGM he was “absolutely concerned” about protests by anti-Adani activists.
Water taxis one step closer as Brisbane’s first river hub opens
A new pontoon has opened at West End, which allows kayakers, jet skis and future water taxi services to easily access the Brisbane River.
Logan residents warned to boil water after E. coli found in water supply
More than 2000 Logan residents have been warned to boil their drinking water after E. coli was detected in their council water supply.
Reef company altered scientist’s critical report on crown-of-thorns program
A company given millions of taxpayer dollars to cull the devastating crown-of-thorns starfish on the Great Barrier Reef altered a scientific report about the “poor management” of its own program, an ABC investigation can reveal.
Reef the main barrier to Adani [$]
In Queensland’s remote Galilee Basin, a decades-long dream to unearth enormous thermal coal deposits hangs in the balance.
South Australia
New power line likely for Eyre Peninsula
Electricity transmission company ElectraNet has recommended building a new transmission line on Eyre Peninsula to secure local supplies.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/new-power-line-likely-for-eyre-peninsula
Abbott’s budget mastermind to helm Marshall’s Infrastructure SA
The man who chaired the former Abbott Government’s ‘razor-gang’ that informed its controversial 2014 federal budget has been appointed to oversee Steven Marshall’s inaugural Infrastructure SA board – but the Premier says his government won’t be bound by its recommendations.
Battery loan scheme gets green light [$]
A $100 million low-interest loan program to help South Australians cut power bills by installing home batteries has been given the green light.
Leasing diesel generators to market defended [$]
Several companies approached the State Government to show interest in taking over SA’s emergency diesel generators before the plan to lease them to the private sector was revealed, it has emerged.
Mining company drops bid for legal costs [$]
Leigh Creek Energy has decided against pursuing legal costs from the Aboriginal group that launched a failed battle to stop a mining project in the state’s Far North.
Tasmania
Forestry chops debt and grows a profit [$]
Tasmania’s state-owned forestry company has turned a profit for the first time in a decade.
Tasmanian tourism concerns following penguin attack at Low Head
Continued attacks on penguin colonies could have far reaching impacts on the state’s tourism industry, according to BirdLife convener Dr Eric Woehler.
Northern Territory
Carbon burning officially recognised as an industry in the NT — and it’s set to grow
A new carbon farming framework could boost job prospects in some of the most far-flung corners of the Northern Territory, where 25 “carbon credit” projects are already underway.
Western Australia
WA’s Kwinana waste to energy development a ‘landmark’ project
Gilbert + Tobin, Norton Rose Fulbright and Ashurst have all advised parties in the development of a landmark Waste to Energy project to divert 400,000 tonnes of waste away from landfill and convert it to electricity in Western Australia.
Network approval paves way for solar and storage at some of Australia’s biggest mines
Approval for a new transmission line in the Pilbara is expected to pave way for a large scale solar farm and a battery storage facility to help power some of the country’s biggest mining operations.
Sustainability
China plans to launch artificial moon bright enough to replace streetlights by 2020
China is reportedly in the process of creating three “artificial moons” that would light up the south-western city of Chengdu, saving $240 million in annual electricity costs.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-18/chinese-city-plans-to-launch-artificial-moon-by-2020/10392862
Harvard researchers say they may have solved mystery of Beijing’s air pollution woes
Harvard scientists say the Chinese government might need to look at a new suspect in the deadly air pollution that clouds Beijing.
Bahrain applies to Green Climate Fund to help clean up waste from fossil fuels
Oil-rich kingdom says money is needed to protect against water scarcity but request sparks strong criticism and fears over the fitness of the public fund
Turkey’s plastic waste imports from the UK are booming – but at what cost?
Uncontrolled imports spark ‘garbage dump of the world’ fears and raise fears over how much is ending up in landfill
UK recycling industry under investigation for fraud and corruption
Exclusive: Watchdog examining claims plastic waste is not being recycled but left to leak into rivers and oceans
William ‘amazed’ on fusion reactor visit
Britain’s Prince William has been left in awe by cutting-edge technology which scientists hope will deliver the holy grail of power production – electricity from fusion.
Lebanon: No Action to Enforce New Waste Law
Open Burning by Municipalities Endangering Health https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/18/lebanon-no-action-enforce-new-waste-law
Iran’s Environmentalists Are Caught Up in a Political Power Struggle
Tara Sepehri Far
The family of Kavous Seyed Emami, a prominent environmentalist and professor at Tehran’s Imam Sadegh University, broke the horrific news on February 10 that he had died under suspicious circumstances while in detention. Iranian authorities claimed he had committed suicide.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/18/irans-environmentalists-are-caught-political-power-struggle
Nature Conservation
French Riviera beaches closed after oil spill
Local authorities are hurrying to clear black pellets of oil from the famed white sands of the French Riviera after a collision between two ships off the island of Corsica caused a spill.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/french-riviera-beaches-closed-after-oil-spill
Extreme botany: The precarious science of endangered rare plants
They don’t make the headlines the way charismatic animals such as rhinos and elephants do. But there are thousands of critically endangered plants in the world, and a determined group of botanists are ready to go to great lengths to save them.
With the right help, bears can recover from the torture of bile farming
Edward Narayan
Bear bile farms, which exist in some Asian countries like Vietnam and China, are a terrible reality for Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus).
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