Remember the insulation debacle? It was very good policy brought undone in the public mind by incompetent implementation, largely through the influx of cowboys and carpetbaggers looking for a quick buck. It would be tragedy if the Queensland solar implementation, and the Victorian government-funded roll-out too, suffered from similar botched implementation. Fly-by-nighters hiring hordes of backpackers suggests we should sound the alarm bells.
Date: 26 September 2018 at 08:58:54 AEST
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Sep 26
Post of the Day
How can we keep microfibers out of food, water and air?
Microfiber pollution is a growing problem around the world, with miniature contaminants shed by synthetic textiles being found in our food, our water and the air we breathe. What’s a concerned citizen to do?
https://ensia.com/videos/microfiber-solution/
Today’s Celebration
The September Revolution – Yemen
World Cassowary Day – https://www.worldcassowaryday.org/
Mesothelioma Awareness Day – http://www.mesothelioma.com/mesothelioma/
Lumberjack Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/lumberjack-day/
Love Note Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/love-note-day/
Human Resource Professional Day – https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/human-resource-professional-day/
More about Sep 26 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_26
Climate Change
What’s causing Antarctica’s ocean to heat up? New study points to two human sources
With help from floating data-collectors, a new study reveals the impact greenhouse gas emissions and ozone depletion are having on the Southern Ocean.
National
Greens claim government-owned energy retailer would lower bills by $200
Richard Di Natale will announce the policy on Wednesday, the latest in a series of anti-privatisation pledges
Australia’s native species’ future remains vulnerable, law council says
Submission to Senate inquiry urges reforms to ensure international obligations to protect biodiversity are met
Recycling goals to deal with China’s ban
Environment Minister Melissa Price will outline Australia’s goal for all packaging to be recyclable by 2025 at an industry event in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Energy Locals raises $2m to take fight to big retailers
Against a backdrop of chaos on national energy policy, Adrian Merrick’s clean energy focused startup Energy Locals is expanding across the country.
High petrol prices fuelling interest in electric cars
Spiking petrol prices are forcing small firms like Kristian Milosevski’s construction outfit Zipclad to rethink the way they do business, and even consider switching to electric vehicles.
‘Leading at wrong end’: Energy productivity gains lag national targets
Improvements in Australia’s energy productivity are running at less than half the federal government’s target, leaving power bills and greenhouse gas emissions unnecessarily high, analysts say.
Mango peel could help clean up oil contamination
An extract of the fruit’s peel can be used to break down oil sludge, according to new Australian research.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-26/mango-peel-could-help-clean-up-oil-sludge/10304256
Hudson pear cactus crippling pastoralists, but a tiny insect offers hope
Pastoralists whose livelihoods are being crippled by an out-of-control cactus species have new hope thanks to a microscopic predator.
Why gas prices will remain high [$]
Domestic gas prices would be significantly lower if there was more market competition, academics say.
Victoria
‘Pantscraper’ park under attack from heritage group
A heritage group has criticised plans for a new Collins Street park, saying the proposed open space is far smaller and less functional than the larger plaza that was once on the site.
Jail over killing of eagles in a Victorian first
A man accused of killing hundreds of wedge-tailed eagles in Victoria’s east has been handed the first custodial sentence for the destruction of protected wildlife in the state after he pleaded guilty to the crime.
One Nation pulls pin on Victorian election [$]
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation will not field a candidate in the Victorian state election, despite being registered and polling strongly in some outer suburban electorates.
ACT
Lack of rain means Corin Dam down to less than a third of its capacity
Visitors to Corin Dam are in for a surprise, with low rainfall causing water levels to recede to less than a third of its capacity.
Queensland
Solar industry hiring backpacker workforce, insider reveals
Despite the Queensland Government promising a jobs boom from the construction of dozens of solar projects across the state, an industry insider says companies are turning to backpackers over local workers.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-26/queensland-solar-farms-employing-backpacker-labour/10302500
Secret papers detail Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s costly PR strategy
A $100 million Great Barrier Reef restoration grant would be tripled by the charity hand-picked by the federal government to administer the money and spent quickly to notch up “early wins” and boost the organisation’s public image, documents show.
Victoria Bridge goes ‘green’ in new plan for separated cycleway
The plan to convert one lane of Victoria Bridge into a two-way pedestrian and bike lane was a “massive win” for Brisbane cyclists, an interest group says.
Gateway to Stradbroke Island development proposal raises alarm over dredging
A $1.3 billion development at the gateway to Stradbroke Island off Brisbane sparks major environmental concerns after internal department briefings reveal 32 hectares of internationally protected wetlands will be dredged, threatening dozens of species, including loggerhead turtles and dolphins.
Chance to celebrate the FNQ’s big bird [$]
Do your part to show support for the Far North’s big bird on World Cassowary Day by spreading the word on social media.
Huge wind farm powering ahead with final turbine assembled [$]
Queensland’s largest wind farm has started pumping out a third of its capacity as the last of its 53 turbines is erected on the Atherton Tablelands.
Fears of delays for recycling scheme [$]
The operator of Queensland’s cash-for-containers scheme has brushed aside concerns over whether there will be a shortage of collection sites by November 1.
Arm schoolkids to hunt feral animals [$]
Des Houghton
Queenslanders and environmentalists should all welcome moves to allow recreational shooters to hunt and kill feral animals in national parks, and schoolchildren should get involved too
South Australia
Cane toads lead invasion as SA’s pest problems worsen [$]
Cane toads and an exotic fish species are among new incursions of invasive animals in South Australia last year, while the abundance of feral goat, pigs and rabbits are getting worse, according to a new report.
Tasmania
The southern capital tipped to see a population boom as temperatures rise
Housing affordability, employment and lifestyle are factors that shape where most people live, but climate change could play an increasingly important role.
Gutwein: State government’s rail plan has ‘right balance’
A state government plan for the North-East’s rail trail and heritage railway already has the ‘right balance’, says Treasurer Peter Gutwein.
Parks’ push to ease the squeeze [$]
Tourists visiting Cradle Mountain have lent their support to the push to limit traffic to the site as surging visitor numbers present access and safety challenges.
Joey joy as relocated devils reproduce [$]
Tasmanian devil populations on the Tasman and Forestier peninsulas are slowly on the rise, with at least 50 joeys found during a recent survey by wildlife experts.
Park numbers game spells disaster [$]
Alvaro Ascusi
Saying “the sky’s the limit” is not acceptable if each person ends up with 25cm of the walking track
Keep Tassie power out of private hands [$]
Michael Anderson
The Battery of the Nation is a great idea, but not if new investment is privately owned
Northern Territory
About 1 million bees killed by poison in NT
A Northern Territory beekeeper says about 1 million of his bees have been deliberately killed with an insecticide, in the second suspected poisoning of commercial bee boxes near Katherine in a year.
‘Four days in Uluru and not one indigenous guide’ [$]
Mike O’Connor
My outback trip involved guides from Japan, South Africa and the US. It’s a missed opportunity for indigenous employment and promoting Aboriginal culture.
Western Australia
Farmers look to mine a river of hope [$]
Recent wet winters have repeatedly swelled the rivers and tributaries of Western Australia’s southwest food bowl, but many growers remain on restricted water allowances as a legacy of difficult dry years.
Sustainability
Four anti-fracking activists face prison over protest
Men who stopped lorries to become first campaigners to be jailed for a protest in UK since 1932
UK life expectancy improvement has stalled, figures show
Growth in life expectancy in the UK has come to a halt, and in some areas decreased, figures show.
Alternative Nobel Prize awarded for practical fixes to global problems
Three human rights activists, two corruption fighters, a farmer and an agricultural scientist are the 2018 winners of the Right Livelihood Award. They are tirelessly fighting the world over to make it a better place.
Sustainability ‘sexy’ under Firth [$]
Milan Fashion Week ended with the Green Carpet Awards, helmed by ethical fashion campaigner Livia Firth.
Adoption of green stormwater infrastructure rises after floods
Residents and property owners are more likely to adopt some green stormwater infrastructure practices if they have experienced flooding or erosion on their property or in their neighborhoods, according to new research from the University of Vermont.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-09/uov-aog092518.php
How can we keep microfibers out of food, water and air?
Microfiber pollution is a growing problem around the world, with miniature contaminants shed by synthetic textiles being found in our food, our water and the air we breathe. What’s a concerned citizen to do?
https://ensia.com/videos/microfiber-solution/
Funded by new tax credits, US carbon-capture network could double global CO2 headed underground
Researchers have proposed a US pipeline network that would capture, transport and store underground up to 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year — an amount equal to removing 6.5 million cars from the road.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180925115215.htm
Steel is a huge polluter. New technologies could make it green
The process needed to make the steel of your car releases a lot of carbon dioxide. These companies want to change that.
https://futurism.com/steel-pollution-technologies/
Six Tips For Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals
Dane Moores
With 25 September marking the third anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) being agreed, World Vision Australia policy advisor Dane Moores offers his tips to lift Australia’s domestic and international performance on the SDGs.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/09/six-tips-advancing-sustainable-development-goals/
Nature Conservation
Nations halt funding to UN environment programme as outcry over chief grows
Two countries have frozen funding after a draft internal UN audit raised concerns over Erik Solheim’s frequent flying and expenses
Climate change not main driver of amphibian decline
While a warming climate in recent decades may be a factor in the waning of some local populations of frogs, toads, newts and salamanders, it cannot explain the overall steep decline of amphibians, according to researchers.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-09/ps-ccn092518.php
What the public lands are truly worth
A new book argues that America’s forests and streams provide far more value than they cost to support.
https://newrepublic.com/article/150665/public-lands-truly-worth
Weathering rates for mined lands exponentially higher than unmined sites
A new study found a dramatic increase in the chemical weathering rates of mined landscapes, which are melting away bedrock up to 45 times faster than unmined areas. The weathering has global consequences for the cycling of sulfur, a key nutrient for all life forms.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-09/csu-wrf092518.php
Once majestic Atlantic Forest ’empty’ after 500 years of over-exploitation
New research finds that 500 years of over-exploitation has halved mammal populations in South America’s once majestic Atlantic Forest. A new analysis of mammal populations reveals the devastating effects of human disturbance since the area was first colonised in the 1500s. They found that apex predators and large carnivores, such as jaguars and pumas, as well as large-bodied herbivores, such as tapirs, were among the groups whose numbers had suffered the most.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-09/uoea-oma092518.php
China’s primates could disappear by end of this century, study warns
China is the second-most primate-rich country in Asia, with 25 known species of non-human primates
Promiscuous plastics
Prof. Max Liboiron says ocean plastics are a health risk, not because it’s harmful to eat plastic, but due to the toxic chemicals that hitchhike rides on the particles.
Deforestation-linked palm oil still finding its way into top consumer brands: report
Pledges by major brands to stop buying palm oil from companies known to destroy rainforests have failed to stop the clearance of a total area of forest the size of Los Angeles in just the last three years.
Chilling images of illegal mining operations in Peru
Illegal mining is destroying the Amazon. Most people know this, but it is chilling to see the destruction in aerial images that show details of the mining camps, trucks and backhoes operating 24 hours a day.
https://news.mongabay.com/wildtech/2018/09/chilling-images-of-illegal-mining-operations-in-peru/
Fight climate change with more swamps
These scientists say the world needs more swamps, bogs, fens, marshes and other types of wetlands.
http://earthsky.org/earth/fight-climate-change-wetlands-swamps
Little changes can make a big difference in climate change
Small changes form new habits that not only benefit your environment, but also your health and your wallet.
https://www.seattletimes.com/sponsored/little-changes-can-make-a-big-difference-in-climate-change/
Antarctica’s ‘moss forests’ are drying and dying
Melinda Waterman et al
The lush moss beds that grow near East Antarctica’s coast are among the only plants that can withstand life on the frozen continent. But our new research shows that these slow-growing plants are changing at a far faster rate than anticipated.
https://theconversation.com/antarcticas-moss-forests-are-drying-and-dying-103751
Now for something completely different …
Where are all the great Aussie protest songs?
Jeff Apter
Today’s songwriters seem more concerned with navel-gazing and their fragile broken hearts than weightier, more universal issues.
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