Post of the Day
To save the planet we need a treaty – and to consider rationing
Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein, Caroline Lucas, John Sauven, Craig Bennett, Ann Pettifor and Leo Murray add their voices to calls for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.
Today’s Celebration
Reformation Day – Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia, United States of America
Chiang Kai-shek’s Birthday – Taiwan
King’s Birthday – Cambodia
National Flag Day – Ecuador
National Magic Day (for Houdini) – United States of America
Nevada Day – United States of America
Beltane (Southern Hemisphere) – Paganism
Climate Change
To save the planet we need a treaty – and to consider rationing
Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein, Caroline Lucas, John Sauven, Craig Bennett, Ann Pettifor and Leo Murray add their voices to calls for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.
‘We’ve never seen this’: massive Canadian glaciers shrinking rapidly
Glaciers in the Yukon territory are retreating even faster than expected in a warming climate, scientists warn.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/30/canada-glaciers-yukon-shrinking
National
Billionaire throws down clean energy challenge to Government
The British billionaire who rescued the Whyalla steelworks from administration calls on the Australian Government to do more to make it easier for big companies to access finance to make grand investments in renewable energy.
The new electric vehicle highway is a welcome gear shift, but other countries are still streets ahead
Motorists and governments have each been waiting for the other to take the plunge on electric cars.
Australia’s east coast named as ‘deforestation front’ in WWF Living Planet report
Assessment underscores threat to koalas and other native species
Murray plan marred by maladministration
Counsel assisting the royal commission into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan Richard Beasley says its implementation has been hit by a lack of transparency.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/murray-plan-marred-by-maladministration
In world first, all of Australia’s buildings have now been mapped
Leading company takes on the mammoth task of mapping every single structure of more than nine square metres. And some of the finds were surprising.
Prepare workers for coal closures: report
The CFMEU has proposed a new national authority to prepare for Australia to transition away from coal-fired power generation by 2050. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/prepare-workers-for-coal-closures-report
Conservationists to target ‘middle Australia’ in election climate push
ACF aims to pour resources into three marginal seats to inflict electoral pain on major parties for policy failures
‘Big change’: Miners face investor pressure on sustainability
Mining companies unable to demonstrate a clear commitment to environmental and social responsibility will run the risk of losing access to financing, a mining industry conference in Melbourne has heard.
Is Australia on the verge of having too much solar energy?
Tristan Edis
Solar will represent a very substantial part of our power supply, but we’re hardly at risk of generating too much. Here’s why
Drought: a choice between sympathy or lasting help
Ross Gittins
Scott Morrison’s new fund could be something that improves our farmers’ resilience to future droughts, or it could be just another slush fund for spending in National Party electorates.
Drought summit farce [$]
Natalie Kotsios
The national drought summit was kinda a waste of time
Victoria
Electric cars set to bring hundreds of jobs to Latrobe Valley
Hundreds of jobs are set to be created in the Latrobe Valley, with the Victorian Government announcing a deal to manufacture electric vehicles in a new factory in the region.
Owner of massive Victorian tyre dump ordered to pay $4.5m clearing bill
The Supreme Court has ordered a Panama-based company to cough up millions in costs to Victoria’s environment watchdog over a huge tyre dump in the state’s west.
Your power provider will soon have to tell you if you’re paying too much
Energy companies will be required to tell Victorian customers if they are on the cheapest deal, or if there are better offers available, under rules being introduced next year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-30/electricity-companies-price-rules-victoria/10445558
A $1b country roads diversion for Vic Libs
Victoria’s Liberal-Nationals opposition hopes an election promise of $1 billion for country roadworks will shift attention away from bleak poll results.
Greens float plan to make the Yarra River swimmable again
The lower reaches of the Yarra River are severely degraded, but the Greens wants Melburnians to be able to swim there again like they did 50 years ago.
Gippsland safari park on offer for those who are game [$]
It may be a long way from Africa, but a private safari game resort exists in Victoria. And it could be yours for $3.3 million.
Internal brawl threatens to distract Liberal campaign [$]
The treasurer of the Victorian Liberals has launched a stinging attack on party president Michael Kroger, accusing him of wasting $1.1 million on a failed court case against a key benefactor.
How much it cost to clear one million tyres [$]
It took months for Victoria’s environmental watchdog to remove a massive stockpile of tyres amid fire concerns — but it’s now time for the property owner to pay up. This is how much it will cost them.
Greens’ push to ban trucks on residential roads [$]
B-double trucks would be banished from dozens of city roads, under a Greens push to stop the “rat run” through residential streets. Here’s the roads the Greens will target.
New South Wales
Sydney makes the list of global pollution ‘hotspots’
Sydney has ranked 40th on a list of global nitrogen dioxide emission hotspots which uses new satellite data to measure NO2 levels in the atmosphere.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/sydney-makes-the-list-of-global-pollution-hotspots
Cliefden Caves spared as government finds ‘better alternative’ for dam
A heritage-listed cave complex in central west NSW has been spared from inundation after the Berejiklian government chose an alternative water-security project.
Glencore sees strong coal demand [$]
Glencore chief executive Ivan Glasenberg will get a view today of the Hunter Valley coal assets he bought from Rio Tinto this year.
Case for lower immigration [$]
Gladys Berejiklian is setting up an ‘expert panel’ to present a case for NSW to accept fewer migrants.
Overcrowding in Sydney is a big issue
Telegraph editorial
Under various governments, we have not been building and improving infrastructure at anywhere near the required rate. Yet at the same time we have been maintaining migration intakes that are way ahead of our city’s ability to absorb those new arrivals.
Queensland
What will Brisbane’s transport look like in 25 years?
Car-free days, bikeways for electronic bikes and delivery of freight by drones could be operating in Brisbane within two years, says Brisbane’s Transport Plan.
Greens bid to ban coal mining
An inner-city Brisbane MP says it is “time to hit the climate emergency button” and stop mining coal in the Galilee Basin. While his new bill stands little chance of success, it could put other anti-Adani MPs in an awkward position.
South Australia
Packed trams leave commuters stranded
Soccer fans and city workers have been unable to get on trams packed to capacity because of new timetabling. Dozens of people were left watching as packed trams passed them on the way to the Entertainment Centre.
Tasmania
Wind farm monitors to warn of approaching wedge-tailed eagles in bid to prevent bird deaths
A wind farm in Tasmania will be the first in Australia to trial a new wedge-tailed eagle monitoring system, which will be able identify whether the endangered bird’s flight path is on track to collide with a turbine.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-30/wind-farm-trial-to-prevent-wedge-tailed-eagle-deaths/10446380
Tasmanian heritage forests at risk of ‘catastrophic’ bushfires, study finds
Researchers say amount of vegetation burnt by fires caused by lightning strikes rose dramatically this century
Government ‘can’t be trusted’, say Greens [$]
The Greens will push for federal assessment of plans to expand salmon farming in Storm Bay, but the State Government says its processes are independent and rigorous.
Appeal begins against Okehampton fish farm [$]
Former Greens leader Bob Brown and tourism operators are appealing against a court decision that backed approval for fish farms near a World Heritage site.
Northern Territory
Mystery slick worries Nightcliff fishermen
A thik, smelly layer of ‘slick’ has forced Nightcliff fishos to abandon their rods, worried the pungent substance may impact their catch
Sustainability
Two billion people hit by natural disasters in the past decade: Red Cross
Australia is in the world’s most disaster-prone region
Laser technique may open door to more efficient clean fuels
Electrocatalysts have shown promise as a way to efficiently convert waste CO2 into clean fuels, but the mechanisms by which they operate are often unknown making it hard for researchers to design new ones in a rational manner. New University of Liverpool research published in Nature Catalysis demonstrates a laser-based spectroscopy technique that can be used to study the electrochemical reduction of CO2 in-situ and provide much-needed insights into these complex chemical pathways.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/uol-ltm103018.php
Prenatal exposure to phthalates linked to language delays in children, study says
Pediatricians have previously warned about reducing children’s exposure to the chemicals commonly found in products such as nail polish and food packaging.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/29/health/phthalate-prenatal-language-development-study/index.html
New technologies in the ocean energy sector
Analysis of ten future emerging technologies to generate energy from the ocean tides and waves.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/ecjr-nti103018.php
We need a complete change in agriculture 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 protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the future global population.
Nature Conservation
More than half the world’s wildlife has disappeared since 1970, WWF says
The world’s wildlife continues to decline, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s latest Living Planet Report, which shows we’ve lost nearly 60 per cent of vertebrate animal populations since 1970.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-10-30/wwf-species-loss-living-planet/10434956
Wildlife conservationists condemn China’s reversal of ban on rhino, tiger products
Wildlife conservationists fear China’s decision to allow limited trade of rhino and tiger goods could have “devastating consequences”.
Commercial shellfish landings decline likely linked to environmental factors
Researchers studying the sharp decline between 1980 and 2010 in documented landings of the four most commercially-important bivalve mollusks — eastern oysters, northern quahogs, softshell clams and northern bay scallops — have identified the causes. Warming ocean temperatures associated with a positive shift in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which led to habitat degradation including increased predation, are the key reasons for the decline of these four species in estuaries and bays from Maine to North Carolina.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/nnfs-csl103018.php
Study: Increasing frequency of ocean storms could alter kelp forest ecosystems
A future with stormier seas may bring strong changes to the biodiversity of coastal sea life.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/uov-sif102918.php
The Native Americans suing Trump over their sacred national parks
Two members of the Navajo people are running for office at the US midterms amid the fight to save the Bears Ears monument.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-native-americans-suing-trump-over-their-sacred-national-parks
Brazil: Experts warn of Bolsonaro threat to the Amazon
Brazil’s president-elect Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to close environment agencies and throw open indigenous territories to development.
https://www.dw.com/en/brazil-experts-warn-of-bolsonaro-threat-to-the-amazon/a-46068377
Is planting trees the best thing you can do for your health and the planet?
Ruth Pavey
Prince Charles has said that all he really wants to do is plant trees. When I turned a patch of land into a wood, I learned how important this is
Now for something completely different …
Are you up for the no-cost Christmas challenge?
Melissa Browne
Why not decide to have a no-cost Christmas without needing to fall out with everyone you love (or are related to)?
6 Florence St Niddrie 3042
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