Post of the Day
Power bill pressures vs emissions vs reliability: Behind the new election battleground
It’s brought down a prime minister, but how much do you know about the energy debate? This helpful explainer lays it out in its simplest terms.
Today’s Celebration
Repentance Day – Germany, Switzerland
Day of 1970 Invasion – Guinea
Feast of St Cecilia – St. Lucia
Independence Day – Lebanon
John F. Kennedy’s Assassination – United States of America
National Stop the Violence Day – United States of America
Thanksgiving – United States of America
Climate Change
Sir David Attenborough to speak for the people at UN climate summit
Filmmaker takes new ‘people’s seat’ and will form speech with input from social media
‘Swarming’ sit-down protests disrupt London traffic
Extinction Rebellion continues climate change protest by blockading London bridges
Yale: Women more worried, less knowledgeable about climate change
Improving education of women and girls is one of the top solutions to addressing climate change, an analysis says, similar in priority to restoring tropical forests and expanding solar energy.
Generation climate: Can young Evangelicals change the climate debate?
For students at this top evangelical college, loving God means protecting creation.
Finland could halve emissions by 2030 while saving money: study
Finland could reduce greenhouse gas emissions more sharply over the next decade than so far projected, according to a report published by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra on Monday.
Will we survive climate change?
Possibly. There is ‘no scientific support for inevitable doom,’ one expert notes. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/science/climate-change-doom.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate
The shifting role of cities in addressing global climate change
In recent years, cities have asserted themselves as relevant actors in efforts to address global climate change. The announcement by the United States of their intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement has generated more attention than ever for what cities and other subnational authorities can do in this field
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/w-tsr112018.php
I was arrested at a climate change protest – it was worth it
Gavin Turk
Only direct action will wake up our political system.
Wealth cannot save you from climate change
Ryan Cooper
Its powers are broad, indiscriminate, and inescapable.
https://theweek.com/articles/808106/wealth-cannot-save-from-climate-change
National
Labor to adopt Turnbull’s energy policy and throw billions at renewables
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is set to announce Labor’s energy policy tomorrow, which will include the policy that led to Malcolm Turnbull’s downfall.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-21/labor-energy-policy-ahead-of-election/10519018
Labor to offer $2,000 rebates for battery systems in homes
Bill Shorten pledges to underwrite new renewable generation and a transition plan for coal communities
Shorten rules out new coal power project
The federal energy minister wants Labor to explain how their emissions and renewable energy targets will impact on the agriculture and manufacturing industries.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/shorten-rules-out-new-coal-power-project
Big business laments NEG in front of PM
The prime minister has been reminded of the coalition government’s failure to pass “sensible energy and environment policy” by a big business lobby’s chair.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/big-business-laments-neg-front-pm-163257288–spt.html
Bind over energy break-up powers [$]
Scott Morrison could be forced to negotiate with the Greens to pass controversial energy company divestiture laws.
Call for action on Aust animal extinction
A conservation group is calling for a complete overhaul of Australia’s national environment laws to combat an extinction crisis.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/call-action-aust-animal-extinction-163253507–spt.html
Climate change ‘creeping up’ on winemakers and increasing alcohol content
Hotter and drier summers force many wine grape growers to harvest earlier, which is impacting the styles of wine consumers get to drink.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-22/climate-change-creeping-up-on-winemakers/10519206
Lack of network planning threatens Australia’s renewable electricity future, expert warns
Huge renewable energy resources have been identified across Australia, but planning is lagging to develop a grid network suitable for the transformation that gives certainty to stakeholders.
Power bill pressures vs emissions vs reliability: Behind the new election battleground
It’s brought down a prime minister, but how much do you know about the energy debate? This helpful explainer lays it out in its simplest terms.
Cars and urban mobility
Ross Elliott
Because we live and work in largely randomized locations across cities, a focus on urban productivity needs to acknowledge this reality and try to create transport systems that cater for the majority of commuters
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=20031
This is not how you fix an ‘immigration problem’ [$]
Bernard Keane
Immigration isn’t merely about turning a tap of people on and off — it’s an intersection of multiple policy failures across all three levels of government.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2018/11/21/scott-morrison-immigration-cuts/
Morrison must avoid population populism
Age editorial
Immigration, which has long accounted for the majority of Australia’s population growth, has delivered copious economic and cultural benefits.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/morrison-must-avoid-population-populism-20181121-p50hfo.html
On climate policy, Bill Shorten has learnt from the political disasters that swamped Gillard and Rudd
David Crowe
Bill Shorten is making sure he does not repeat the pain of the last Labor government if he is leads the next one.
Logging deals are death warrants for native animals
Lyndon Schneiders
The Morrison government’s plan to roll over forestry agreements for another generation is dire news for endangered species.
The great train robbery: why farmers are fighting the Inland Rail route
Helen Hunt
It promises to take freight between Brisbane and Melbourne in less than 24 hours, but the Inland Rail will cut through hundreds of farms – and farmers are not happy.
City water restrictions hurt our most vulnerable – especially women
Paul Satur and Becky Batagol
Australian women have disproportionately been affected in times of drought.
https://theconversation.com/city-water-restrictions-hurt-our-most-vulnerable-especially-women-107002
Greens have totally lost the plot with coal ban [$]
Dean Jaensch
A new policy proposes making it illegal to dig up, burn, or export thermal coal. But the Greens haven’t given any thought to the 50,000 people employed by the coal industry.
Power plays will shape election result [$]
Advertiser editorial
The battlelines over electricity prices and supply will be sharply drawn from today as federal Labor unveils an energy policy aimed at half of Australia’s power coming from renewables by 2030
Victoria
Budget flush with cash under Coalition sell-off plan [$]
The Coalition will have a $5 billion infrastructure war chest if it wins the state election, with the massive budget boost to come from a long-term lease on one of Melbourne’s smelliest services.
The Bourke Street attack and the tactical trolley
Allan Orr
Every time Australian security agencies are tested at counter-terrorism, they fail.
New South Wales
Passengers at one Sydney station nearly double in three years
A population boom is placing pressure on the city’s public transport network – and the addition of apartments in the area is only half complete.
Energy price rise: Almost $100 extra in charges on the cards
Essential Energy says it will charge NSW’s electricity customers more per year to fund a Broken Hill sewerage plant if a price rise for local water customers is not approved.
How China’s push for cleaner air is pushing up Australian power prices
China’s demand for high quality thermal coal is forcing NSW generators to pay higher prices for fuel and that is hitting consumers in the hip pocket.
Families making huge sacrifices to afford electricity [$]
A new report on electricity, gas and water disconnections shows struggling families without electricity are cutting back on groceries, maxing credit cards, delaying medical appointments and even getting loans from pawnbrokers to reconnect to the grid.
ACT
Incredible diversity of banksias a challenge for new national display
It hasn’t been easy for horticulturalists at the National Botanic Gardens to create ideal conditions for the distinctive wildflowers to play their starring role in a new project.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-21/new-banksias-for-australian-national-botanic-gardens/10513706
Canberra could be getting more dockless share bikes
The operators of Canberra’s dockless share bikes want to establish a permanent presence in the capital – with triple the number of vehicles – when their six-month trial ends early next year.
City businesses back proposal for underground bus interchange
An underground bus interchange in the city centre would be a good solution to what is becoming an intractable problem in Canberra’s central business district, say several local business owners.
Queensland
The last days of Black Swan Lake
Despite public protest, Black Swan Lake on the Gold Coast continues to be developed and converted into a car park.
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/the-last-days-of-black-swan-lake,12122
Designed disaster: how river city planners ‘got it all wrong’
If planners could start from scratch, Brisbane would have a system of underwater tunnels and a riverfront skyline similar to New York.
CityCycle trips double to reach one million rides in a year
CityCyclists have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1.9 million kilograms
$450m eco-leisure resort unveiled [$]
Southeast Queensland will host the state’s largest eco-leisure resort if plans for the $450 million facility are approved.
Electric cars may overload Qld’s power grid [$]
Surging energy demand needed to charge electric vehicles could overload the power grid, new research warns.
The Great Barrier Reef Is “In for a Rough Ride” – Scientific American
Eminent coral researcher Terry Hughes says the key to protecting the iconic corals off Australia’s coast is to stop global warming
South Australia
Seventh illegal land clearing conviction for wealthy pastoralist
One of Australia’s richest landholders Tom Brinkworth has been convicted – for the seventh time – of illegally clearing protected SA native bushland, prompting calls for harsher penalties against wealthy offenders.
‘No support’ for commercial roo harvesters [$]
South Australia’s fees for professional kangaroo harvesters – the highest in the nation – must be dropped to combat the burgeoning roo population, according to a leading industry spokesman.
Warrawong buys back long-lost lake [$]
Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary’s new owners have bought back the neighbouring lake, part of the original platypus habitat, years after it was sold.
Tasmania
Solar decision a missed opportunity
Jack Gilding
Today’s announcement* of an extra 5c for customers whose grandfathered feed-in tariff (FiT) is due to expire on 31 December will be welcomed by those customers but represents a wasted opportunity for the state.
https://tasmaniantimes.com/2018/11/solar-decision-a-missed-opportunity/
Northern Territory
Kakadu plum plan wants a bite of lucrative global medicine industry
Traditional owners of Kakadu National Park hope to use their land to cultivate inroads into the traditional medicine market — an industry they have estimated to be worth up to $115 billion globally.
Survey digs into waste [$]
Gate fees to Shoal Bay Waste Management Facility and a third kerbside collection have been raised as solutions to the city’s ‘War on Waste’ with a Darwin council survey seeking public feedback on the issue
‘Different kettle of fish’ Gunner accuses NLC of acting outside jurisdiction [$]
Gunner says NLC threat to cut off access to coastal waters actually relates to ‘a whole different kettle of fish’
Western Australia
Shellfish and fish warning in Perth
Fish and shellfish from Mindarie Marina should be avoided, WA Health warns, after testing confirmed elevated levels of potentially toxic microscopic algae.
WA braces for ‘catastrophic fire risk’
People are being warned to brace for fires tomorrow, with thunderstorms posing a “catastrophic fire risk” to several regions of WA.
Synergy writes off $17m in bills as electricity price hikes bite
Power price hikes by the State Government appear to be biting with bad household debts written off by electricity provider Synergy more than doubling in two years.
Shops face $5,000 fine for giving out plastic bags
Fines of up to $5000 will be introduced in Western Australia from January 1 for retailers who supply banned plastic bags.
Sustainability
France could shut down nuclear plants in energy plan due next week
France could shut down up to six nuclear reactors by 2028 among other options, French media reported, as part of its medium-term energy policy to be presented next week.
Tax ‘virgin packaging’ to tackle plastics crisis, says report
UK government called on to impose fee on new plastic packaging and offer rebate for recycled products
Removing toxic mercury from contaminated water
Water which has been contaminated with mercury and other toxic heavy metals is a major cause of environmental damage and health problems worldwide. Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present a totally new way to clean contaminated water, through an electrochemical process.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/cuot-rtm112018.php
Radical approach for brighter LEDs
Scientists have discovered that semiconducting molecules with unpaired electrons, termed ‘radicals’ can be used to fabricate very efficient organic-light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), exploiting their quantum mechanical ‘spin’ property to overcome efficiency limitations for traditional, non-radical materials.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/uoc-raf112118.php
Climate change predicted to end truffle production
The lucrative truffle industry is set to disappear within a generation due to climate change, according to new research by a University of Stirling academic.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/uos-ccp112118.php
UN environment envoy quits after audit of expenses
Erik Solheim, head of the United Nations Environment Program, was found to have spent nearly $500,000 on travel in 22 months.
Nature Conservation
Amazon indigenous groups propose Mexico-sized ‘corridor of life’
World’s biggest protected area would stretch across borders from Andes to Atlantic
Crisis in our national parks: how tourists are loving nature to death
As thrill seekers and Instagrammers swarm public lands, reporting from eight sites across America shows the scale of the threat
Depletion of nitrogen in forest soil could reduce trees’ ability to offset climate change
Forests worldwide are using up the nitrogen in their soil, a new study found.
‘Rhino coin’: can a cryptocurrency help save Africa’s rhinoceroses?
South African ranchers who raise rhinos are supporting a virtual currency, backed by stockpiles of valuable rhino horn, to fund protection of the threatened animals.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/rhino-coin-can-a-cryptocurrency-help-save-africas-rhinoceroses
Restore wolves or slaughter deer to save Japanese forests?
Without wolves, an important apex predator, Japan faces a booming deer population that has upset the ecological balance of the country’s forests.
https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/restore-wolves-or-slaughter-deer-to-save-japanese-forests/
Study predicts decreasing brown bear habitat due to climate change
A recent analysis of data related to the brown bear (Ursus arctos) estimates that suitable habitat will be reduced by 11 percent across Central Asia and the Asian Highlands by 2050 due to climate change, predominantly due to the changes in temperature and precipitation.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/w-spd112018.php
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