Post of the Day
Not enough fruits, vegetables grown to feed the planet
Study results show that the global agriculture system currently overproduces grains, fats and sugars, while production of fruits and vegetables and, to a smaller degree, protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the current population. The researchers also found that shifting production to match nutritional dietary guidelines would require 50 million fewer hectares of arable land, because fruits and vegetables take less land to grow than grain, sugar and fat.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181025151042.htm
Today’s Celebration
Independence Day – Czech Republic
OHI Day – Cyprus, Greece
Climate Change
Wind speeds over land are slowing down and researchers don’t know why
It sounds like the title of a horror movie, but “the stilling” is very real. It was discovered by an Australian, and there is still an air of mystery swirling around why land wind speeds are slowing down.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-27/land-wind-speeds-slowing-down-over-land-the-stilling/10392980
First study on climate change impact in Mediterranean
As the Mediterranean Basin is experiencing the impact of climate change more than ever, an international network of scientists has worked together to synthesize the effects of climate change and environmental problems, as well as the incurred risks, in the region, to facilitate decision-making in addressing the issues. This first-ever synthesis of multiple environmental changes and risks affecting the livelihoods of people in the entire region has just been published in the latest issue of Nature Climate Change.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/cuoh-fso102618.php
Location of large mystery source of banned ozone depleting substance uncovered
Researchers from the University of Bristol have found significant ongoing emissions of a potent ozone-depleting substance from eastern China.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181026102600.htm
Meteorologist expects severe drought and heavy rain events to worsen globally
Meteorologists expect severe drought and long-lasting rainfall events to worsen in the future. Researchers have determined how frequent, intense and long lasting these types of events will be in the future.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181025141009.htm
Can we limit global warming to 1.5 °C?
Efforts to combat climate change tend to focus on supply-side changes, such as shifting to renewable or cleaner energy. In a Special Issue in the Energy Efficiency Journal that follows the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees C, researchers argue that demand-side approaches can play a crucial role given the aspirational target outlined in the Paris Agreement.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/lu-cwl102518.php
From the frontlines of climate change resistance
Hoda Baraka on the climate action movements working to end fossil fuel extraction.
https://newint.org/features/2018/11/26/frontlines-climate-change-resistance
National
No NDIS money will go to drought fund: PM
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has dismissed concerns any NDIS funds would be used for the government’s drought fund.
‘First thing’: Phelps set sights on reviving fortunes of climate body
Kerryn Phelps, the likely new member for Wentworth, will push for the revival of the near-defunct Climate Change Authority as part of her efforts to advance action on global warming at a federal level.
China and Russia are eyeing up Antarctica — and experts say Australia should be more concerned
As the climate warms and sea ice melts, China and Russia are moving into the southern polar region. But where does this leave Australia’s interests in the icy continent?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-28/china-and-russia-are-eyeing-up-antarctica/10433024
Fair bunkum
Saturday Paper editorial
The condescension in this video is not just to the Avrils and Colins who people Morrison’s Australia, whose bills and service records he uses as props. The condescension is to climate change and to energy policy. The price control is a fiddle: some bills will go down, others will go up. The cost to the environment is the cost of a country with no policy on climate change, willing to destroy the Earth for politics. “Renewables are great,” Morrison says, his expression unchanged, as if calibrating a polygraph. “But we’re also needing the reliable power when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.”
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2018/10/27/fair-bunkum/15405588007045
Spinifex grass would like us to stop putting out bushfires, please
Kristian Bell
Spinifex grass: it’s spiky, dominates a quarter of the continent, and has no recognised grazing value. To top it all off, people have reportedly experienced anaphylactic shock from being pricked by its sharp leaf tips.
https://theconversation.com/spinifex-grass-would-like-us-to-stop-putting-out-bushfires-please-105651
Victoria
A Baw Baw frog he would a-wooing go
After seven years trying, Damian Goodall, amphibian specialist with the recovery program at Melbourne Zoo, has finally bred the Baw Baw frog in captivity
Premier’s bizarre dump on waste plan
Age editorial
Councils that have made the change find it effective and efficient and are urging other local governments to adopt.
Queensland
Fight brewing over plan to lease Queensland world heritage sites
World heritage areas could be leased for 60 years under a State Government proposal to allow private companies to commercialise and build accommodation in three Queensland national parks.
Would you fly on an electric plane powered by batteries?
A Gold Coast aviation technology company believes the first commercial all-electric-powered plane could be just four years away.
South Australia
SA couple’s huge donation to help protect frogs [$]
A South Australian couple have pledged a staggering amount of money to help save a vulnerable frog population in the Lower Murray.
Tasmania
Fruit fly bill tops $10m [$]
New figures show the fight against fruit fly has cost Tasmania more than $10 million — including more than $3 million in staff overtime.
Sustainability
Air pollution is the ‘new tobacco’, warns WHO head
Simple act of breathing is killing 7 million people a year and harming billions more, but ‘a smog of complacency pervades the planet’, says Dr Tedros Adhanom
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/27/air-pollution-is-the-new-tobacco-warns-who-head
New driverless car technology could make traffic lights and speeding tickets obsolete
New driverless car technologies developed at a University of Delaware lab could lead to a world without traffic lights and speeding tickets. Researchers also hope the innovations will bring about the development of driverless cars that use 19 to 22 percent less fuel.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/uod-ndc102618.php
Whiskers, surface growth and dendrites in lithium batteries
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis take a closer look at lithium metal plating and make some surprising findings that might lead to the next generation of batteries.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/wuis-wsg102518.php
Not enough fruits, vegetables grown to feed the planet
Study results show that the global agriculture system currently overproduces grains, fats and sugars, while production of fruits and vegetables and, to a smaller degree, protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the current population. The researchers also found that shifting production to match nutritional dietary guidelines would require 50 million fewer hectares of arable land, because fruits and vegetables take less land to grow than grain, sugar and fat.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181025151042.htm
Nature Conservation
Meet ‘the brave ones’: The armed, Australian-trained female fighters taking on poachers
In Zimbabwe, where wildlife conservation is increasingly a battlefield, the Akashinga are on the frontlines. The women, who were recruited and trained by a former Australian sniper, say poachers are “scared of us”.
Ecologists ask: Should we be more transparent with data?
Researchers highlight the importance of adapting to, providing, and using data sets that are open to and usable by the public and investigators in ecology and other field research.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181026102617.htm
Do neonicotinoids inhibit the development of anti-predatory behaviors in wood frogs?
Wood frogs are a bit more sluggish when exposed to neonicotinoids. This small behavioral change could have an impact on wood frog populations.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181025141104.htm
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