Post of the Day
Fresh thinking: the carbon tax that would leave households better off
Richard Holden and Rosalind Dixon
The UNSW climate dividend proposal will be launched on Wednesday by the Member for Wentworth Kerryn Phelps.
Today’s Celebration
St. Thomas Day – Sao Tome & Principe
Transitional Government Day – Sao Tome & Principe
Saint Archangel Michailo – Serbia
Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (Nanakshahi) – Sikhism
The Prophet’s Birthday – Islam
Climate Change
Climate change: Report raises new optimism over industry
Cutting emissions from heavy industry would generate savings and boost economic growth, commission argues.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46263770
Climate change denial is empowering
Simon Black
Imagine not believing in climate change, the immense relief for it to all be a hoax or for the scientists to all be wrong.
https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/climate-denial-is-empowering,12118
National
Government officially blocks China gas sale
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says it is not in the national interest for the bulk of Australia’s gas network to be owned by one foreign company.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-20/frydenberg-formally-blocks-gas-network-sale/10516572
Furry mammals most at risk of foxes, cats
A team of scientists has come up with a list of the Aussie mammals most at risk from being wiped out by feral cats and foxes
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/furry-mammals-most-at-risk-of-foxes-cats
Labor to dispense with bipartisanship in power plan targeting coal workers and energy efficiency
A future Labor government will not rely on a potentially hostile Senate in its efforts to encourage renewables investment.
Morrison’s population problem of his own making, says former immigration official
A former senior immigration official blasts the Prime Minister’s attempts to curb population pressures in Australian cities, saying Scott Morrison’s decisions as immigration minister “drove population to our cities”.
Australian climate policy survey 2018
Carbon Market Institute
According to this national climate policy survey report, 92% of Australian business and industry respondents believe that national climate and energy policies are insufficient and won’t drive the emissions reductions needed to meet our Paris Agreement targets.
What’s the link between immigration and population?
Jackson Gothe-Snape
What a cut to permanent migration would actually mean — for communities and the budget.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-20/permanent-migration-cut-and-population/10513860
Scott Morrison’s population pitch may resonate with voters
David Crowe
Migration will be a central issue in the upcoming federal election.
Why Scott Morrison has had a change of heart on population
Ross Gittins
The Prime Minister’s plans to cut migration will please a lot of ordinary voters and enrage big business.
Morrison’s fix for congestion no solution for cities
Canberra Times editorial
From the Prime Minister who brought us “fair dinkum power” comes a new kite sure to fall to the ground before it has fully taken flight.
PM’s strategy in climate war [$]
Paul Kelly
Coalition conservatives must get behind Energy Minister Angus Taylor as he stays credible on emissions.
Energy needed on climate battle [$]
Andrew Liveris
Our energy policies and leadership in managing climate change leave a lot to be desired. There is a global consensus on this issue.
Fresh thinking: the carbon tax that would leave households better off
Richard Holden and Rosalind Dixon
The UNSW climate dividend proposal will be launched on Wednesday by the Member for Wentworth Kerryn Phelps.
Victoria
Cats on Phillip Island ‘quite active’ when migratory birds visit, tracking shows
Victorian researchers use GPS technology to track domestic cats on Phillip Island, and the survey results surprise unsuspecting cat owners.
Victorian energy policies mirror national divide
Modelling of Labor, Liberal and Greens polices by Reputex finds the Liberal policy would succeed in lowering prices only in the short term – and would have the highest carbon emissions.
https://www.afr.com/news/victorian-election-energy-policies-mirror-national-divide-20181120-h183q9
Melbourne airport rail link: Federal government backs Sunshine route
The construction of an airport rail link in Melbourne is a step closer after the federal government backed the proposed route supported by the state government.
Trains on some regional lines rarely on time, data shows
Just 50 per cent of trains on some V/Line routes arrive on time, an analysis of the regional rail service’s punctuality data has revealed.
Australia’s endangered forests are being ‘stolen’ and sold in hardware and office stores
Thousands of hectares of state forest appear to have been logged illegally, an ABC investigation has found, amounting to what some say is the mass “theft” by a government-owned for-profit logging company.
Voters divided on how to push power prices down [$]
Victorians are split on how best to cut power prices, with fresh polling showing that older voters lean towards renewable energy.
‘Ironman’ Prime Minister has tin ear on climate
Age editorial
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten can appear to be each other’s best asset as they prepare for the election.
How much will voters pay for an early Christmas? Eight charts that explain Victoria’s transport election
Marion Terrill and James Ha
Transport promises stretching as far as the eye can see: Victorian Labor’s big one is a $A50 billion suburban rail loop.
New South Wales
‘Scandal’: NSW coal power plants will kill thousands before they close
Air pollution from NSW’s five coal-fired power stations carry a “substantial health burden”, including leading to an estimated 279 deaths a year with thousands more to come before they close.
Sydney’s inner-city cycling routes could be finished, but not until 2030
There is overwhelming support among Sydney residents for better cycling routes, with plans to connect the inner city’s bike network by 2030.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/inner-city-cycling-lanes-clover-sydney-20181119-p50gy3.html
This is exactly what shark nets are for [$]
Miranda Devine
Shark-loving misanthropes gnash their teeth again over the demise of one fish, but don’t bat an eye when a human is killed or mauled by a shark.
Projects underway to allow city to expand [$]
Telegraph editorial
The Harbour Bridge was among Australia’s most visionary means of coping with and planning for future population growth. This is exactly what is being accomplished right now, particularly in Western Sydney, where numerous infrastructure projects are underway to once again allow our city to expand.
ACT
The govt is thinking about moving the city bus interchange underground
The City Renewal Authority is exploring the benefits of moving the bus interchange underground, freeing up the public space above – that could be developed.
Queensland
Bride plans to recycle 810,000 bottles to pay for dream wedding
A Sunshine Coast couple have chosen an unorthodox way to fund their dream wedding — aiming to collect 810,000 bottles and cans and use Queensland’s new container refund scheme to raise $81,000.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-20/container-refund-scheme-to-fund-dream-wedding/10513992
Weevil introduced to Forest Lake in bid to kill weeds
A Brazillian weevil has been imported to tackle the immense problem of weed growth in a man-made lake at Forest Lake that has helped kill 800 kilograms of fish since July
South Australia
Paths of destruction: Time to cull our national emblem [$]
Huge numbers of kangaroos are causing fear on outback roads and leaving a path of destruction for farmers in South Australia and they search of food and water, prompting calls for a brutal cull.
$3.5m solar farm vision for wine area [$]
Plans for a $3.5 million solar farm at McLaren Vale have been lodged with the state’s planning authority.
Tasmania
Minister refuses to shed light on why two experts quit Tasmanian fish farm advisory panel
Two eminent scientists have quit the Tasmanian Government’s salmon advisory board in protest at the recent decision to approve the expansion of the salmon industry in Storm Bay.
Green light for Tassie wind farm [$]
Environmental clearance Tasmania’s environmental watchdog has given a proposal to build a small wind farm at Port Latta the green light.
Lib government fails to deliver on its promise
Andrew Ricketts
The Tasmanian Planning Policies proposition is now being resurrected with the introduction of Bill 48, the Land Use Planning and Approvals Amendment (Tasmanian Planning Policies and Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2018, which was on the 18th October 2018, introduced to the Lower House.
https://tasmaniantimes.com/2018/11/lib-government-fails-to-deliver-on-its-promise/
Barnett Refuses to Release Marine Farming Review Panel Resignation Letter
Rosalie Woodruff
Under questioning from the Greens in Parliament today, the Minister for Primary Industries, Guy Barnett, refused to release the resignation letter of two key scientists from the Marine Farming Review Panel. Their resignation letter was sent just after the Storm Bay fish farm expansion was recommended for approval.
Northern Territory
Tour industry in limbo [$]
Charter fishing companies may be forced out of business if a resolution to an ongoing fishing licences dispute is not reached
Getting clean drinking water into remote Indigenous communities means overcoming city thinking
Nina Lansbury Hall, Susan Mott and Wendy Hoy
Drinking water in Australia can be contaminated by natural and manmade processes, especially in communities. Innovation is needed to ensure water is ‘fit for purpose, place and people’.
Western Australia
Final hunt: 40 years since the end of whaling in Australia
Forty years ago, the last Australian whaling station closed and whaling in Western Australia’s south coast came to an end.
Massive electricity cost blow-out hits WA small businesses
Peter West’s business headquarters amounts to little more than a storage unit he sometimes makes a cup of tea in, which is why he was surprised to learn of a $400 increase in his electricity bill this financial year.
Blame the Liberals: Minister has ‘no choice’ over Wellard sand mine
The West Australian mining minister has lashed the former state government for allowing a mining proposal set to uproot hectares of protected banksia woodlands south of Perth, saying he has “no control” over the future of the project.
Sustainability
Trump’s ban on giving asylum to illegal migrants temporarily blocked by judge
A judge temporarily blocks an order by US President Donald Trump that barred asylum for immigrants who enter the country illegally from Mexico — the latest courtroom defeat for Mr Trump on immigration policy.
UN shipping agency accused of secrecy over maritime pollution
IMO ‘susceptible to influence from private interests and certain states’ say campaigners
Air pollution exposure during pregnancy linked to autism diagnosis
Two new studies suggest that rising autism rates might be connected at least in part to air pollution from traffic.
https://www.statnews.com/2018/11/19/pollution-pregnancy-autism-vancouver/
U.S. senator joins nationwide call for caution on Hanford waste change
Sen. Ron Wyden and 75 public interest groups tell the Department of Energy to give more time to comment on the definition of radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear reservation and other sites.
The shape of things to come: Flexible, foldable supercapacitors for energy storage
A team of researchers from the Plasma Physics Research Centre, Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University in Tehran, Iran, have discovered a way of making paper supercapacitors for electricity storage.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/e-tso112018.php
How to convert climate-changing carbon dioxide into plastics and other products
Rutgers scientists have developed catalysts that can convert carbon dioxide — the main cause of global warming — into plastics, fabrics, resins and other products.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/ru-htc111618.php
Study says smog is taking years off people’s lives
A new study examines how much longer people could live if particulate pollution — such as soot from cars and trucks — was reduced to levels recommended by the World Health Organization.
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/policy/environment/article221668390.html
Explaining the plummeting cost of solar power
The dramatic drop in the cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, which has fallen by 99 percent over the last four decades, is often touted as a major success story for renewable energy technology. But one question has never been fully addressed: What exactly accounts for that stunning drop? A new analysis by MIT researchers has pinpointed what caused the savings, including the policies and technology changes that mattered most.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/miot-etp111818.php
Nature Conservation
Falcon hunters become conservationists as birds flock to remote Indian village
Thousands of falcon hunters in a remote Indian village have transformed from predators to protectors and now host the migratory birds in their millions.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-20/indian-falcon-hunters-turn-protectors/10516328
Dead whale with 1,000 plastic pieces in stomach found in Indonesia
A dead whale that washed ashore in eastern Indonesia had a large lump of collected plastic waste in its stomach, including flip-flops and 115 drinking cups, a park official has said, causing concern among environmentalists and government officials in one of the world’s largest plastic-polluting countries
′We need nature, but nature doesn′t need us′
Belgium-based singer Lala Njava’s native Madagascar is facing a barrage of environmental problems threatening its unique biodiversity. She tells DW why she’s made it her mission to alert people to the dangers.
https://www.dw.com/en/we-need-nature-but-nature-doesnt-need-us/a-46312123
Wyoming billionaire pledges to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030
Hansjörg Wyss leads a conservation effort of epic proportions.
Maelor Himbury
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