Date: 6 October 2018 at 08:07:37 AEST
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Oct 6
Post of the Day
Climate change apathy, not denial, is the biggest threat to our planet
Leo Barasi
The easy way to cut emissions – closing coal power stations – is exhausted. Now the public has to be convinced to make sacrifices.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/05/climate-change-apathy-not-denial-threat-planet
Today’s Celebration
Armed Forces Day – Egypt
National German-American Day – United States of America
October Revolution War – Syria
Physician Assistant Day – United States of America
Remembrance Day – Turkmenistan
World Cerebral Palsy Day – http://en.worldcpday.org/
World Smile Day – http://www.worldsmileday.com/
Badger Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/badger-day/
World Card Making Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/card-making-day/
Neighbourhood Watch Week – http://nhwa.com.au/newsmedia/nhwa-week/
Odd Socks Day – http://www.oddsocksday.org.au/
Fair Food Week – http://fairfoodweek.org.au/
Fire Prevention Week – http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/fire-prevention-week
More about Oct 6 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_6
Climate Change
EPA: To topple climate rules, officials erase air pollutants
The Trump administration might be weakening the case for future climate change policy by removing an important metric that lowers the cost of reducing carbon: simultaneous cuts to conventional air pollution.
https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060100579
With the world on the line, scientists outline the paths to survival
Hitting the 1.5-degrees C goal would require a radical rethink in almost every aspect of society.
https://grist.org/article/with-the-world-on-the-line-scientists-outline-the-paths-to-survival/
How global warming is turbocharging monster storms like Hurricane Florence
The frequency of more potent storms is growing, but the storms are also slowing down in speed, inundating the ground below.
Why the next three months are crucial for the future of the planet
Two forthcoming major climate talks offer governments an opportunity to respond to this year’s extreme weather with decisive action
Climate change is ‘real’ and human caused, but EPA boss boosts coal
Acting EPA boss Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, believes climate change “is real” and human caused, but he defends the coal industry and Trump’s scrapping of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan.
Indigenous views crucial in climate change debate
Indigenous views must be included when it comes to creating climate change policies for the Pacific region, according to Pacific community leaders and a group of climate change experts.
What oil companies going green would mean for climate change
If they live up to their new promises.
http://time.com/5415263/president-trump-oil-companies-carbon-capture-climate-change/
Vietnam’s children and the fear of climate change
Children’s drawings of nightmarish scenarios illustrate climate change’s impact in the Mekong Delta.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45738136
Climate scientists are struggling to find the right words for very bad news
The group must not only tell governments what we know about climate change – but how close they have brought us to the edge.
Climate change apathy, not denial, is the biggest threat to our planet
Leo Barasi
The easy way to cut emissions – closing coal power stations – is exhausted. Now the public has to be convinced to make sacrifices.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/05/climate-change-apathy-not-denial-threat-planet
To truly fight climate change, we need to set our sights higher
Frank Bainimarama and Hilda C. Heine
The leaders of the Republic of Fiji and Republic of the Marshall Islands issue a renewed call for commitment by the world’s nations to efforts to combat climate change.
National
Tesla big battery claims its first major fossil fuel victim
Elon Musk’s crusade to rid the world of fossil fuels and lead the transition to clean energy took a small but significant step forward this week, when the Australian Energy Market Operator decided to put an end to a market that has been rorted outrageously by fossil fuel generators in recent years.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-big-battery-claims-its-first-major-fossil-fuel-victim-30614/
Gas import terminals ‘inevitable’ but won’t lower prices, say analysts
Gas import terminals will become a permanent fixture along Australia’s coastline as rising demand puts too much pressure on existing gas pipeline supplies, energy analysts say.
Too much solar puts power grid at risk [$]
Solar rooftop installations hit another record in August, with 142 megawatts of small-scale residential and commercial systems coming on line, lifting the total for the year to date to 974 MW.
Building sea walls is a small bandaid on a gaping wound
Tayanah O’Donnell
How far will we go to protect high-risk beachfront property? New research suggests local councils are too willing to spend public money to protect private landowners from coastal climate change.
https://theconversation.com/building-sea-walls-is-a-small-bandaid-on-a-gaping-wound-104134
Let’s unite on migrants: Shorten [$]
Bill Shorten has written to Scott Morrison calling for a joint-party population blueprint to tackle future immigration rates.
Summer power bills set to soar [$]
Electricity prices on the east coast and in southern states could spike early next year, energy experts warn.
Australia’s population Ponzi scheme
Stephen Williams
Australia is running an “investment” scam that relies on an ever-increasing number of punters to join in.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/australias-population-ponzi-scheme-,11964
Batteries hold key to grid’s thorniest problems, but regulations block the way
Sophie Vorrath
Outdated rules, and the slow pace of regulatory change, are hampering the roll out of large-scale battery storage solutions on Australia’s grid.
‘All about the land’: drought shakes farming to its Indigenous roots
Gabrielle Chan
Farmers aren’t waiting for handouts. They’re using new and very old farming practice to ensure the land survives
Probability and severity of global warming must be explored
Graeme McLeay
Australia’s greenhouse gas pollution levels, excluding land use, were the highest on record up to June 2018 for the third consecutive year.
Fact-checking Morrison on climate change [$]
Tim Flannery
While Scott Morrison claims Australia will meet its Paris climate targets ‘in a canter’, his government’s own modelling predicts it will fall well short, and he has no climate plan past 2020.
Victoria
Rail cash splash will drive state election
Age editorial
Matthew Guy’s regional rail vision is welcome and creative
Queensland
Extensive land clearing in Barrier Reef catchment revealed in Government climate report
New data released in the Government’s quarterly emissions update reveals land clearing in the Great Barrier Reef catchment was at its second highest in a decade during the year to June 2017.
No date for restoring train services, after Queensland Rail chairman quits
Transport Minister Mark Bailey admits he does not know when hundreds of train services in Queensland will be restored, nearly two years after the so-called “rail fail” that saw rides slashed from the timetable.
Mary’s promising future after a dam long time [$]
Courier Mail editorial
Just 30 kilometres south of Gympie, the little hamlet of Kandanga should have disappeared well and truly by now after it was earmarked to be inundated by the planned Traveston Crossing Dam.
South Australia
Frustrated public wants royal commission on power [$]
Overwhelming public support for a royal commission into the energy sector is revealed in the influential Your Say, SA survey, which shows making electricity cheaper and more reliable is deemed the biggest issue facing the state.
$3.2m in recycling grants to combat China Sword [$]
More than $3.2 million in grants will help SA recycling companies employ extra staff, upgrade equipment and turn more material into Australian-made products.
Tunnels and trams must not define Knoll’s legacy [$]
Adam Langenberg
Turning a tram right is strange conundrum for Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephan Knoll as he refreshingly considers innovative transport solutions.
Tasmania
Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits West Coast hydro power station
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spruiked Tasmania as a “powerhouse” for renewable energy.
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/5687328/charging-up-the-battery/?cs=12
Migrants plan for population growth [$]
The Prime Minister says he is willing to adjust Australia’s migration program to tie some visas to placement in Tasmania to help boost the state’s population.
Western Australia
Carnegie told to get finances in order for Albany Wave Energy Project
WA asks Carnegie to clarify finance position for its flagship Albany Wave Energy Project, after federal government tax changes raises questions about financing ability.
Carnegie given nine weeks to prove wave farm stacks up
Embattled wave power company Carnegie Clean Energy will get $2.6 million from the WA Government and 90 days to prove that it can fund its $26 million share of the $53 million Albany wave project, billed as Australia’s first commercial-scale wave farm.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-05/carnegie-energy-albany-wave-farm-/10342270
Sustainability
This landmark trial of climate activists puts the political system itself on trial
In a Minnesota courtroom, the Valve Turners are using the “necessity defense” in their shutdown of the tar-sands pipeline.
Greenhouse gas emissions from plastics are predicted to rise
A predicted rise in emissions from the petrochemical industry, led by plastics producers, threatens to erode climate benefits from reductions in other sectors, according to a report.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/climate/climate-change-plastics.html
A tiny, beleaguered government agency seeks an energy holy grail: long-term energy storage
ARPA-E, having survived Trump so far, continues exploring the cutting edge.
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/9/20/17877850/arpa-e-long-term-energy-storage-days
Larger cities have smaller water footprint than less populated counterparts
Global sustainability is important now more than ever due to increasing urban populations and the resulting stress it can have on natural resources. But increased populations in cities may lead to greater efficiency, as a team of Penn State researchers discovered when they analyzed the water footprint of 65 mid- to large-sized US cities.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/ps-lch100518.php
Nuclear experts to test Fukushima water
Much of the radioactive water stored at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear site isn’t clean enough and needs further treatment if it is to be released into the ocean.
A controversial virus study shows flaws in how science is done
After researchers resurrected a long-dead pox, some critics argue that it’s too easy for scientists to make decisions of global consequence.
Capturing and reusing urban storm water could be a boon for water-stressed cities—if we can find a way to clean it up
3 promising new technologies could help send storm water to taps in thirsty cities
https://www.ehn.org/how-to-capture-clean-reuse-stormwater-2608371465.html
Typical mutations in children of radar soldiers
The offspring of radar soldiers exposed to high doses of radiation during their service experience more genetic alterations than families without radiation exposure.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181005111447.htm
Consumers Willing to Pay More for Sustainably Brewed Beer
More and more breweries are investing in practices to save energy and reduce greenhouse gases. Will it pay off? A new study suggests it will.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181005141905.htm
Kenya ‘on track to develop nuclear energy’
Kenya’s principal secretary for electricity says the East African nation plans to turn to nuclear power when it has fully exploited other sources of energy.
Nature Conservation
This gigantic chart will make you feel really, really small
Humans are far outweighed by plants and many tiny things, say scientists who recently estimated the mass of all living things on the planet.
Pasture expansion driving deforestation in Brazilian protected area
Even Brazil’s protected areas aren’t currently safe from forest destruction.
How well does this treaty prevent wildlife trafficking?
Since 1975, the treaty known as CITES has been trying to keep international trade from decimating wild species. But challenges abound.
https://ensia.com/features/cites/
Species-rich forests store twice as much carbon as monocultures
Species-rich subtropical forests can take up twice as much carbon as monocultures. This has been reported by an international research team in SCIENCE. The study was carried out as part of a unique field experiment with forests grown specifically for this purpose in China. Data from plots with a total of over 150,000 trees were analysed. The results speak in favour of using many different tree species during reforestation. Thus, both species conservation and climate protection can be promoted.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/gcfi-sfs100518.php
Seagrass meadows in Guam have decreased by 22 percent, new analysis shows
As the oceans warm and humans migrate to or grow in numbers in coastal areas of the world, scientists are increasingly keeping an eye on ocean seagrasses and their decline. A new analysis shows that seagrass meadows in Guam have decreased by 22 percent.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181004100002.htm
Now for something completely different …
This hard-to-read font could be the ultimate study hack
Can a humble typeface improve your mental processes? A team of experts have developed a hard-to-read font specifically designed to help you remember things — aptly named Sans Forgetica.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-05/sans-forgetica-font-helps-reader-remember-text/10339668
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