Post of the Day
Big Coal And Friends On Track To Shut Down Your Climate Activism
Julie Macken
A major case opening today in a Queensland court could have profound implications for climate activists around the country.
https://newmatilda.com/2018/12/04/big-coal-friends-track-shut-climate-activism/
Today’s Celebration
Discovery Day – Haiti
Discovery of Hispaniola – Dominican Republic
King’s Birthday – Thailand
SinterKlaas – Netherlands
Climate Change
‘Our leaders are like children,’ school strike founder tells climate summit
Greta Thunberg, 15, told UN summit that students are acting in absence of global leadership
Why the next climate change disaster could be in Somaliland
An unrecognized state in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland is on the frontline of the fight against climate change.
https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/why-the-next-climate-change-disaster-could-be-in-somaliland/90967
Want the youth vote in 2020? Champion the Green New Deal now.
This is just the beginning—a generation of climate voters is ready to engage with every part of the democratic process to confront this crisis.
https://www.thenation.com/article/want-the-youth-vote-in-2020-champion-the-green-new-deal-now/
The Climate Crisis Is a Health Crisis
In recent weeks, wildfires—largely a result of increasingly frequent or more severe drought—devouring entire communities in California, have left thousands homeless and millions with air polluted by smoke.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-climate-crisis-is-a-health-crisis-video/
Uneven rates of sea level rise tied to climate change
The pattern of uneven sea level rise over the last quarter century has been driven in part by human-caused climate change, not just natural variability, according to a new study.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181203150459.htm
Progressive lawmakers call for climate change revolution
Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez emphasized need to ‘transform our energy system’ but did not discuss how to pursue it
3 steps to nudge climate skeptics toward action
Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe explains how she tries to rally people who don’t believe the science.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90274991/3-steps-to-nudge-climate-skeptics-toward-action
UN climate conference features meat (and emissions) heavy menu
Non-profits say the food could emit the equivalent of burning 500,000 gallons of gasoline. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-03/un-climate-conference-features-meat-and-emissions-heavy-menu?srnd=climate-changed
Video: Naomi Klein interviews Bernie Sanders on climate change
Klein had the opportunity to sit down with one of the few politicians who has consistently focused on this issue — Sen. Bernie Sanders.
https://theintercept.com/2018/12/03/bernie-sanders-climate-change-naomi-klein/
National
Coalition downsizes ‘big stick’ energy policy as Turnbull calls for his NEG to be revived
A backlash from energy and business lobby groups prompts the Federal Government to water down its plans to break up the big power companies.
Labor backs Greens plan to block Coalition from underwriting coal power
Crossbenchers are being asked to support a bill preventing the signing of contracts before the next election
Malcolm Turnbull says MPs pushing for coal power stations driven by ‘ideology and idiocy’
Former PM says he gave national energy guarantee his ‘best shot’ but was stymied by colleagues who don’t believe in climate change
Core of old energy policy remains, PM says
As the federal government plans to penalise power companies for misconduct, many Australians say not enough is being done to deal with climate change.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/core-of-old-energy-policy-remains-pm-says
Morrison’s softened energy ‘big stick’ may be harder to challenge
Energy lawyers say the federal government’s decision to soften its proposed energy industry forced divestment powers may actually make it more difficult for industry to challenge any forced asset sales.
Prices will be higher without the NEG [$]
Malcolm Turnbull has urged his former colleagues to revive the National Energy Guarantee and reminded voters the policy once had the strong support of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and deputy Liberal leader Josh Frydenberg.
PM’s ‘big stick’ cut down to size [$]
Scott Morrison’s “big stick” powers over energy companies have been whittled down, but critics remain unimpressed.
Crossbench support Labor for hi-speed rail
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese is urging the government to debate draft laws which would set up a high speed rail planning authority.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/crossbench-support-labor-for-hi-speed-rail
Bioenergy has $5b potential, study finds
Australia’s bioenergy industry harnesses up to $5 billion in investments, primarily in regional areas, a new report into the emerging sector has found.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/bioenergy-has-5b-potential-study-finds
Australia won’t lift 2030 Paris target as minister heads to summit
The Morrison government confirms it has no intention of lifting Australia’s commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions as Melissa Price, the environment minister, prepares to fly to a major climate summit in Poland.
Home battery storage subsidies and support schemes: What’s available and where
A stocktake of which governments are now offering programs to bolster the uptake of home battery storage in Australia.
Turnbull resuscitates the NEG [$]
Jennifer Hewett
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull declared on Tuesday that “you can’t live your life backwards”. But you can go round and round in circles when it comes to the politics of energy.
https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/malcolm-turnbull-resuscitates-the-neg-20181204-h18pvm
Business, Coalition drift wider apart on energy [$]
Phillip Coorey
On its plan to force energy companies to sell assets, the federal government was prepared to listen to business a little. On the NEG, its ears are closed.
Government’s big stick energy policy now small twig
Elizabeth Knight
Extreme policy gets extreme response
Perils of the Paris Agreement
Australian editorial
As negotiations get under way in Katowice, Poland, to progress the Paris climate agreement, there are clear lessons. The different approaches of France and the US are illustrative.
Know your NEM: Angus Taylor should go to naughty corner over terrible policy
David Leitch
The federal Coalition is systematically undermining the basis of the private ownership of the electricity market in Australia. Legal rights are being cut back at every turn.
Malcolm Turnbull and his NEG continue to haunt the government
Michelle Grattan
This and Turnbull’s observations on energy policy provided abundant material for a question time attack by Labor bloated from dining on the unending manna that’s been flowing from political heaven.
Making Australia a renewable energy exporting superpower
Roger Dargaville et al
Our research is investigating the economic and environmental case for Australia to become an Asian energy superpower.
https://theconversation.com/making-australia-a-renewable-energy-exporting-superpower-107285
An Australian population policy?
Max Rawnsley
How should a ‘population’ policy relate to our major urban and regional centres? Where is the public consultation?
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=20070
Victoria
Melbourne Council unveils plans for new CBD ‘landmark’
The City of Melbourne will consider a behemoth redevelopment project designed to rejuvenate almost an entire CBD block, with ambitious plans for it to become the city’s most sustainable urban landmark.
Fire threat greatest in East Gippsland [$]
East Gippsland remains Victoria’s region at greatest threat of bushfires, as two years of below-average rain compound the risks.
Call for traditional owner rights in CBD [$]
Aboriginal people who do not live in the City of Melbourne could be given voting and candidate rights as “traditional custodians” under a push to recognise their link to the land.
What peeves you off most about public transport [$]
Record numbers of fed-up commuters are turning to Victoria’s transport watchdog and — for the first time in years — the oft-maligned myki system has not been the biggest source of concern. So what is frustrating passengers the most?
Carp clean-up needs to weigh all the evidence [$]
Matt Barwick
The work to eradicate streams of carp must continue.
New South Wales
‘Not going to wait’: Berejiklian pushes for fast rail network without Federal Government
It is an idea that has been rolled out in election seasons for decades — but the New South Wales Government says its new plan to build a fast rail network is different to previous promises.
High speed train project may cost $100bn [$]
A high speed rail project Premier Gladys Berejiklian has committed to start work on if she wins the state election could cost $100 billion, with a similar project in the UK raking up the eye-watering amount.
Sydney’s share bikes take 22,000 city trips a week
Share bikes are being used for more than 22,000 trips in Sydney each week, as Manly emerges as the first location for a shareable electric scooter trial.
Directors Show Concern for Climate Change
Climate change and social issues rated highly in the Australian Institute of Company Directors 2018 Director Sentiment Index.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/12/directors-show-concern-climate-change/
Greening Big Business a Win For All
One of Australia’s largest environmental charities has won big at this year’s Banksia Sustainability Awards, celebrating their partnerships with big business making a real environmental impact.
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2018/12/greening-big-business-win/
Regional fast rail makes sense for Sydney
Eamon Waterford
Sydney can’t compete on a world stage without it.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/regional-fast-rail-makes-sense-for-sydney-20181204-p50k0y.html
Very fast train pledge looks like a stunt
SMH editorial
Promising rainbows won’t win votes.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/very-fast-train-pledge-looks-like-a-stunt-20181204-p50k2g.html
Premier focus on completing light rail first [$]
Telegraph editorial
With the ongoing controversy surrounding the light-rail project, you might think it a politically wise move by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to steer clear of any rail talk as the 2019 state election draws closer.
Simple, no-frills way to reduce the pain of electricity prices for the families of NSW [$]
Jennifer Westacott
A simple, no-frills way to reduce the pain of electricity prices for the families of NSW and small businesses already exists — and it’s just about listening to the experts.
ACT
‘Leave no stone unturned’: Architect’s message on light rail stage two
Parliament House architect Harold Guida has urged the Barr government to leave “no stone unturned” in its investigations of a new route for the second stage of light rail.
Possibility of fast rail links now ‘more real’ than last 30 years
More than half of Canberrans say they’d consider catching the train to Sydney if the trip was under three hours, new research from the ACT government suggests, as NSW pledges action on a fast rail network.
Intense urban infill to feed Canberra’s fast-rising population
Canberra needs 12 new homes a day as the ACT’s population climbs to a predicted 589,000 by 2041, the government’s new planning strategy reveals.
‘On track for zero net emissions’: hydrogen gas test facility opens in Canberra
The ACT government says it’s on track to achieve its target of zero net emissions by 2045, as a test facility for hydrogen gas opens in Fyshwick.
Queensland
Adani coal mine water licence faces Federal Court challenge over move to bypass EIS
The Australian Conservation Foundation launches a legal challenge to a decision to bypass environmental impact assessment of Adani’s licence to use up to 12.5 billion litres of water a year for its central Queensland coal mine project.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-04/adani-water-licence-acf-court-challenge/10582602
First turbines up and spinning at Australia’s largest wind farm
Some of the massive 67m turbine blades delivered to the 453MW Coopers Gap Wind Farm in Queensland in September are now up and and ready to spin.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/first-turbines-up-and-spinning-at-australias-largest-wind-farm-13304/
Lime wants to roll out more scooters on Brisbane streets
Multiple operators have approached Brisbane City Council seeking to roll out scooters but it is understood there can only be one.
Commuters vent fury in transport survey
Comuters’ dissatisfaction with high public transport fares is rising as poor service frequency continues to frustrate travellers in the wake of southeast Queensland rail fails.
Bushfires in the tropics: Queensland faces terrifying new reality
With cyclone season under way, exhausted emergency services are more aware than most that climate change is beginning to pose impossible challenges.
Disability issue a failure at all levels
Courier Mail editorial
The almost complete failure of the rail system in Queensland, especially in the state’s southeast, has been laid bare. It is a wonder the Palaszczuk Government gets away with the poor service – it does not deserve to.
Morrison and the Adani lesson
Mungo McCallum
The future is not on the side of Adani or the PM, as the groundswell of youth leading the charge against climate change clearly shows.
Big Coal And Friends On Track To Shut Down Your Climate Activism
Julie Macken
A major case opening today in a Queensland court could have profound implications for climate activists around the country.
https://newmatilda.com/2018/12/04/big-coal-friends-track-shut-climate-activism/
South Australia
SA company finds iron ore deposit
An Adelaide company says it has found a significant new iron ore deposit near Broken Hill
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/sa-company-finds-iron-ore-deposit
Tasmania
Swift parrot polyamory a new threat to critically endangered species’ survival
Shortage of female swift parrots caused by sugar gliders wreaking ‘havoc’ on mating
TasWater holds concerns over capacity of workforce to rollout ambitious capital works plan
TasWater’s new chairman fears that the organisation will not have access to a skilled workforce to process its ambitious $1.5 billion capital works plan.
https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/5794174/concern-around-project-rollout/?cs=12
Northern Territory
Mystery surrounds tiny island community’s astronomical water usage
The Northern Territory’s water provider remains mystified as to how Bathurst Island, population 1,800, uses 1,300 litres of water per person per day.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-04/bathurst-island-tiwi-using-millions-litres-water/10578210
Permits to fish in NT not needed just yet
Top End anglers will be able to continue fishing in Aboriginal waters, with indigenous leaders and the NT government failing to reach an agreement over access.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/permits-to-fish-in-nt-not-needed-just-yet
Western Australia
Artificial reef off Ocean Reef lure for fish, anglers
The State Government is seeking to attract marine life and anglers off the northern suburb by installing an artificial reef.
Sustainability
Trump wants to end subsidies for electric cars and renewable energy
Electric cars could cost more across the US if Donald Trump’s plan to end subsidies on them succeeds, a move seen as retaliation for GM announcing factory closures and job losses.
Macron’s U-turn on eco-tax rise gives green lobby fuel for thought
Defeat by gilets jaunes will make others think twice before taking similar steps to cut emissions
Clean coal’s dirty secret: More pollution, not less
Reuters investigates how a U.S. ‘clean coal’ program that costs taxpayers a billion dollars annually regularly fails to deliver on its environmental promises.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-coal-pollution/
Agent Orange’s other legacy—a $12 billion cleanup and a fight over who pays
The corporate owner of a New Jersey manufacturing site is using the U.S. bankruptcy process, creditors allege, in a bid to escape liability. How a court answers could determine whether other companies with billions of dollars in environmental liabilities can use Chapter 11 to avoid them.
A step closer to fusion energy
Harnessing nuclear fusion, which powers the sun and stars, to help meet earth’s energy needs, is a step closer after researchers showed that using two types of imaging can help them assess the safety and reliability of parts used in a fusion energy device.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/su-asc120418.php
Discovery of single material that produces white light could boost efficiency of LED bulbs
The equation to make the inorganic compound combines a lead-free double perovskite with sodium.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/uot-dos120318.php
Structure of electrolyte controls battery performance
The research team at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Information Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology has reported that adding water into electrolyte improves the function of vanadium oxide, which is one of positive electrode material in calcium-ion batteries. The results of the present study indicate that this phenomenon is caused by changes in the electrolyte structure.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/tuot-soe120418.php
Microscopic ‘sunflowers’ for better solar panels
Scientists from Harvard’s Wyss Institute have harnessed magnetic fields to control the molecular structure of liquid crystal elastomers and create microscopic three-dimensional polymer shapes that can be programmed to move in any direction in three-dimensional space in response to multiple types of stimuli, including light and heat. The applications of this technology include message encryption, responsive solar panels, and smart buildings.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/wifb-mf120418.php
Kinshasa is drowning in waste
Every day almost 9,000 tons of garbage accumulate in Kinshasa. The Congolese capital does not have a functioning garbage collection system. Consequences for the health of the “Kinois” are catastrophic.
https://www.dw.com/en/kinshasa-is-drowning-in-waste/a-46550313
Avocados banned from trendy cafes over environmental concerns
‘The western world’s obsession with avocado has been placing unprecedented demand on avocado farmers.’
The riddle of the roaming plastics
It is one of the modern world’s biggest mysteries—99 percent of the plastics that enter the ocean are missing.
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/the-riddle-of-roaming-plastics/
Harvard’s new HouseZero showcases efficiency retrofits
Buildings create a huge amount of our emissions. Retrofits like Harvard’s new HouseZero could help solve that problem.
Berta Cáceres case: a warning for those who would kill activists
Trial is notable for highlighting land and nature defender murders that ordinarily go unpunished
EV car parks could provide more storage than Tesla big battery
Macquarie Uni researcher claims car parks in an EV future have the potential to become power plants bigger than South Australia’s Tesla big battery.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/ev-car-parks-could-provide-more-storage-than-tesla-big-battery-50491/
Miners’ biggest risk is losing licence to operate, says EY [$]
Global mining companies now consider a licence to operate the biggest risk to their businesses, says EY.
Cool concepts: Six electrifying new cars we can’t wait to drive
Los Angeles turns on a luxurious, electric-infused motor show worthy of the big screen.
http://www.executivestyle.com.au/the-best-new-cars-from-the-2018-los-angeles-motor-show-h18nho
Nature Conservation
World’s strangest sharks and rays ‘on brink of extinction’
A shark that uses its tail to stun prey and a ray half the length of a bus are on the list of 50 species.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46420736
Sparing vs sharing: The great debate over how to protect natureWhat is the best way to save nature – to cordon off areas for parks and open space or to integrate conservation measures on working lands? Recent research makes a case for each of these approaches and has reignited a long-standing debate. https://e360.yale.edu/features/sparing-vs-sharing-the-great-debate-over-how-to-protect-nature
Why peatlands matter in the battle against climate change
Living peatlands sequester carbon-dioxide, drawing it down from the atmosphere through plants and trapping it underground as carbon.
Colombia tropical forest fires spike after 2016 Peace Accords
Fires that contribute to deforestation spiked six-fold in Colombia in the year after an historic 2016 peace agreement ended decades of conflict between FARC guerrilla and government forces, according to a study in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/ru-ctf120318.php
Social marketing campaigns can help threatened wildlife species recover
Encouraging people to change their behavior through social marketing campaigns can help the recovery of threatened wildlife populations.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181204095414.htm
Human environmental effects favor cosmopolitan species over local iconic species
Human habitat modification is favoring the same species everywhere, while unique species are disappearing, finds a new study.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181204143903.htm
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