Post of the Day
India’s toxic air claimed 1.24 million lives in 2017, study claims
The average life expectancy in India would be higher by 1.7 years if air quality was at healthy levels, according to the Lancet Planetary Health study.
Today’s Celebration
Battle of the Falklands Day – Falkland Islands
Blessing of the Waters (Beach Day) – Uruguay
Constitution Day – Uzbekistan
Mother’s Day – Palau, Panama
Our Lady of Camarin Day – Guam
Saint Clement of Ohrid – Macedonia
Immaculate Conception – Christianity
Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji (Bikarami) – Sikhism
Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day
Climate Change
COP24 President defends participation of coal companies at climate talks
COP24 President Michal Kurtyka defends displays of coal soap and jewellery at climate change talks in Poland, saying “it’s good to have everybody on board”.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-07/coal-company-participation-at-climate-talks-defended/10592146
Climate role falls to Australia [$]
Australia is being called on to push back against China’s efforts to give developing nations an exemption.
A new study about the world’s worst mass extinction should make you very nervous for our future.
Climate change is a path the Earth has been on before. Just ask scientists studying “The Great Dying.”
Trump’s disbelief won’t stop dangerous climate change
Dana Nuccitelli
Republican platform is not only at odds with science but potentially US voters in 2020
Climate change focus has failed [$]
Bjorn Lomborg
Remedying the technology deficit needs to take precedence over failed efforts to cut carbon emissions.
National
No climate consensus at ministers meeting
Environment minister Melissa Price met with her state counterparts and asked them to endorse a statement for a climate meeting in Poland. They refused.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/no-climate-consensus-ministers-meeting-033707782–spt.html
Big stick energy bill was a charter for central planners
The bill was – in the words of one competition policy expert – one of the most dangerous “reforms” proposed in recent years.
‘Grid independence’: Taking control spurs consumers’ solar panel surge
For Gayle Adams, the decision to expand the size of her solar rooftop system has been made easier by the ongoing energy policy paralysis in Canberra.
Graph of the Day: Breakdown of Australia’s two million solar homes
A state-by-state breakdown of the two million homes and businesses that now have rooftop solar.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/graph-of-the-day-breakdown-of-australias-two-million-solar-homes-89037/
Petrol price cycles in Australia
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
This report on petrol price cycles in Australia examines how price cycles occur, how they have changed over time, and how consumers can use them to save money when they buy petrol.
Our energy needs to go into being efficient not ‘fair dinkum’
Gareth O’Reilly
Australia’s debate over energy policy is an ongoing, unedifying spectacle. The National Energy Guarantee (NEG) is dead – despite looking capable of balancing affordability and emissions issues – and we now have a discourse focusing on ‘fair dinkum’ as a brand for energy sources.
Morrison’s big stick on energy defies what a true Liberal believes in
John Hewson
Small government, low regulation, faith in the market. These tenets are being thrown overboard in the desperation to win at all costs.
Liberals back free markets, not oligopolies gouging power customers
Tony Abbott
While Labor defends the likes of AGL ripping people off, the Coalition will guarantee energy supply.
Voters are no longer oblivious to the downsides of high immigration
Crispin Hull
The sensible position for people who support multiculturalism, refugees and non-discrimination should be to support lower immigration.
Young eco-truants are revolting [$]
Brendan O’Neill
I mostly felt sorry for the young eco-truants who wagged school to take to the streets and demand action on climate change.
Behind our high power prices [$]
Charis Palmer
Unwise decisions made when privatising our electricity grids, permitting companies to spend excessively on the networks’ ‘poles and wires’ and pass on the cost to consumers, are the driving force behind our exorbitant power bills.
Saltbush silly limits [$]
Richard Ackland
The long arm of the mining industry is everywhere, sticking its shadowy fingers into as many pork pies as it can find. The Saltbush Club is the latest conspiracy-theory entrant into the climate wars.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2018/12/08/gadfly-saltbush-silly-limits/15441876007236
Why AEMO needs to update its 100 per cent renewable energy study
Tim Forcey
AEMO should publish an updated 100%-renewable energy plan. A lot has changed since it last tackled the issue, with little enthusiasm, in 2013.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/why-aemo-needs-to-update-its-100-per-cent-renewable-energy-study-29092/
Victoria
Fire probe begins, Vic wind threat remains
As police investigate the cause of a large grass fire west of Melbourne, crews are bracing for a wind change which could spark a flare up.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/vic-locals-urged-monitor-bushfire-203249834–spt.html
Bid to save beloved brumbies from cull
The famed wild horses which roam Australia’s alps could be thrown a lifeline after legal action was launched in a bid to stop a proposed cull in a Victorian national park.
New South Wales
Brumby protest hits Kosciuszko [$]
They’ve marched 560km and today they shout it from the rooftop of Australia: Save Kosci! But is anyone listening?
Why NSW development scandals keep happening, over and over again
Jacob Saulwick
The history of property development scandals in NSW is long, lurid, and, in instances, lascivious.
NSW is on cusp of energy crisis, yet no-one seems to care
David Leitch
NSW is dependent on imports, its power stations are going to close, there is next to no transmission capacity to build more power and not much policy.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/nsw-is-on-cusp-of-energy-crisis-yet-no-one-seems-to-care-93962/
ACT
X
Queensland
Queensland Government to reconsider moves to cull brumbies on Curtis Island
The Queensland Government will review the need to cull wild horses on a central Queensland island after outrage from the local community over a recent cull.
Queensland bushfires: Palaszczuk blasts Morrison government over land-clearing inquiry
Queensland premier says Coalition is ‘blaming the trees’ for the fires
Experts warned of ‘permanent damage’ from $1.3b Cleveland harbour project
Changes suggested for a billion-dollar project to redevelop Cleveland’s Toondah Harbour do not go far enough to protect internationally recognised wetlands, the Australian Conservation Foundation says.
Scientists say most diverse coral site ever seen on Great Barrier Reef discovered
In a space no longer than 500 metres, researchers say they recorded at least 195 different species of corals
Malcolm Turnbull asked to front inquiry over controversial reef grant
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has been asked to front the Senate inquiry into his government’s $443 million grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
The coal guy who got Adani’s mine moving again [$]
The Adani Mining chief executive explains it was “good old-fashioned mining engineering” that un-stalled one of the most controversial coal mines in Australian history.
Jobs will win over public, says Adani boss [$]
Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow said the creation of thousands of jobs in the Galilee Basin will win over the public on its controversial $2 billion Carmichael coal project.
Aurizon coal stoush to heat up [$]
Aurizon’s bitter dispute with Queensland’s coalminers could intensify as analysts tip legal action against a fresh QCA ruling.
Engie signs deal to make Queensland’s Greater Springfield a net-zero city
Engie has signed a 50-year strategic alliance with Queensland’s Springfield City Group to make the city a net-zero energy city.
From space, the ferocity of Queensland’s bushfires is revealed
Satellite imagery and data captured over Queensland in recent weeks reveals not only the unprecedented nature of this natural disaster but also the incredible role firefighters played in protecting vast numbers of properties.
Elder pulls out of native title bid [$]
Australia’s largest native title claim across more than half of Cape York has suffered a setback
Labor needs to account to Queenslanders about its anti-coal position [$]
Des Houghton
Sooner or later Annastacia Palaszczuk is going to have to explain to Queenslanders exactly where she stands on Adani’s Carmichael coal mine – and the others that will follow it.
South Australia
‘Tenacious’ tiny bird breeding itself from SA extinction
A tiny bird species wiped out by bushfires in South Australia is surprising ecologists by how quickly they’re breeding after being reintroduced from interstate.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-08/mallee-emu-wren-breeding-out-of-sa-extinction/10593932
Dawn of South Australia’s new mining era [$]
The second South Australia copper rush didn’t start with a bang — just a nondescript media release. Now, BHP’s potential find near Olympic Dam may soon transform our mining industry. Discover SA’s working mines in our interactive map.
Murray Mouth, Coorong dredging on the rise [$]
Almost 4 million cubic metres of sand have been dredged from the Murray Mouth this year, compared to about 2.5 million at the same time last year.
Fires burn around the state as mercury soars
A large bushfire continues to burn on Kangaroo Island, as the CFS bring in dozens of reinforcement firefighters and trucks ahead of expected wind charges later today. It is one of several fires burning across the state as the temperature soars.
Deep dive into first year of Tesla big battery at Hornsdale
Giles Parkinson
Last week we brought you analysis of the overall financial performance from the first year of operations of the Tesla big battery in South Australia, and this week updated with more insight into how it is playing a critical role in maintaining grid security, and preventing blackouts, as highlighted by its response to the dramatic inter-connector failure in August.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/deep-dive-into-first-year-of-tesla-big-battery-at-hornsdale-93479/
Tasmania
Sea urchin spreading devastation at alarming rate on Tasmania’s east coast
New government survey shows long-spined sea urchin spreading devastation at alarming rate on Tasmania’s east coast. Urchin numbers are predicted to explode in the next three years – going from current levels of 15% to 32% – threatening large areas of the marine environment and iconic fisheries
Slamming the brakes on solar and batteries in Tasmania
New report for Tasmania government appears more focused on slamming the brakes on distributed energy, rather than embracing the technology to help the grid.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/slamming-the-brakes-on-solar-and-batteries-in-tasmania-29017/
Hydro not for sale
Guy Barnett
David O’Byrne’s ridiculous fearmongering on federal energy legislation is nothing but another attempt to outshine Rebecca White and get himself in the news.
https://tasmaniantimes.com/2018/12/hydro-not-for-sale/
Sustainability
India’s toxic air claimed 1.24 million lives in 2017, study claims
The average life expectancy in India would be higher by 1.7 years if air quality was at healthy levels, according to the Lancet Planetary Health study.
Nepal attempts record with a Dead Sea of plastic bags
About 100,000 plastic bags were used to create the monument.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/nepal-attempts-record-with-a-dead-sea-of-plastic-bags
The electric-car revolution is here, but is that actually a good thing for the environment?
Within 20 years, we’ll be buying more than 11 million electric cars every annually. But will the demand that puts on resources like rare earths overshadow the environmental benefits?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-12-08/electric-cars-revolution-environment/10589270
Sonnen, Tiko virtual power plant allows consumers to displace conventional power plants
Sonnen and Tiko combine to use household batteries to provide primary balancing power for German network, meaning consumers can perform the tasks of big conventional power plants.
127 countries ban single-use plastic
Countries are making good progress on regulating plastic bags and bottles–but need to do some serious work to address the more invisible plastic particles in cleaning products and cosmetics.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90277654/127-countries-are-now-working-to-ban-single-use-plastic
Can ‘climate-positive’ design reverse climate change?
Urban building projects can go beyond net-zero energy use, water use, and waste, and actually cancel out more carbon than they emit.
https://www.citylab.com/environment/2018/12/cities-climate-change-positive-design-planning/574513/
How to convert CO2 into furniture, drugs, and plastics—cheaply and efficiently
Researchers have found a way to convert carbon dioxide into plastics, fabrics, and other useful products more efficiently and cheaply than possible before.
Despite climate impacts, peak oil demand nowhere in sight
Global consumption of oil and oil-derived products isn’t expected to start falling anytime soon.
EPA moves to roll back coal plant rule in a stunning rebuke of global climate talks
In a fiery statement, a coalition of 15 public health groups called the proposal “a major threat to the health of all Americans, particularly those most vulnerable.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/epa-coal_us_5c096995e4b0b6cdaf5d16ba
Sails make a comeback as shipping tries to go green
‘Sail tech’ startups pitch wind power as shipping faces rising pressure to cut greenhouse emissions.
Nature Conservation
Africa cocoa industry failing on deforestation pledge – campaigners
Tens of thousands of hectares cleared in Ghana and Ivory Coast since vow to end practice
Animals are adapting to cities faster than humans are, evolutionary biologist says
Some animals, like the city-dwelling lizard in Puerto Rico, have evolved rapidly with the help of evolutionary biology to successfully co-exist and even thrive in cities alongside pollution and unhealthy human food.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-08/the-evolution-of-animals-adapting-to-cities/10589824
US to ease oil drilling controls protecting imperiled bird
The Trump administration moved forward Thursday with plans to ease restrictions on oil and natural gas drilling, mining and other activities that were put in place to protect an imperiled bird species across millions of acres in the American West.
Can Israel and Jordan cooperate to save the dying Dead Sea?
Both countries face critical water shortages, forcing them to come together and make tough choices.
Now for something completely different …
Reindeer could not have teased Rudolph over red nose, researchers say
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was unlikely to have been laughed at and called names because of his appearance – because he and his fellow reindeer are partially colourblind.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/reindeer-could-not-have-teased-rudolph-over-red-nose-researchers-say
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