Daily Links Dec 20

‘It’s like hell here’ started me on this train of thought. With summer temperatures now posing an existential threat to great swathes of our nation, why isn’t the government engaged seriously in a climate response? What is the reason? Is it that in the Pentecostal tradition observed by P M Happy Clapper, Assistant Treasurer Roberts and others, the Rapture is preceded by the Tribulations, where 75% of life is wiped out? ‘Hell here’ will do just that. According to them, the End Times are approaching and blissfulness is just around the corner. So – now for that full immersion baptism.


Post of the Day

Save our minds by saving the world

Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Most Australians are in no doubt about the depressing reality of climate change. How do we cope mentally and emotionally?

 

Today’s Celebration

Martyr’s Day  – Azerbaijan

Armed Forces Day – Mali

Heroes’ Day – Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau

Chiaraque en Canas – Peru

Foundation Day (Rio de Janeiro) – Brazil

Commemoration Day of Defenders of the Barricades – Latvia

Tamborrada – Spain

World Religion Day

Penguin Awareness Day

Day of Acceptance

More about Jan 20

 

Climate Change

North American glaciers melting much faster than 10 years ago – study

Satellite images show glaciers in US and Canada, excluding Alaska, are shrinking four times faster than in previous decade

 

Melting glaciers spell trouble for millions in Asia

In Central Asia, a warming climate is shrinking many glaciers. The Tuyuksu is losing ice every year. Around the world, vanishing glaciers will mean less water for people and crops in the future. Here, the people need to prepare sooner.

 

New study reveals local drivers of amplified Arctic warming

An international team of researchers, including Professor Sarah Kang and DoYeon Kim in the School of Urban and Environmental Engineering at South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), has unveiled local drivers of amplified arctic warming.

 

National

‘It’s like hell here’: Australia bakes as record temperatures nudge 50C

Fears rise for homeless and vulnerable people as communities brace for another week of relentless hot weather

 

A global economic slowdown is on the horizon – so can Labor put principle before politics?

Greg Jericho

On climate change, Labor should embrace its past rather than be overwhelmed by fear.

 

Australia faces ‘new normal’ of year-round bushfires [$]

Greg Mullins

Extreme bushfire conditions in Australia are becoming worse, fires are burning in areas that should never burn at times when there should not be fire, former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Greg Mullins says to describe our now unpredictable fire seasons.

 

Save our minds by saving the world

Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Most Australians are in no doubt about the depressing reality of climate change. How do we cope mentally and emotionally?

 

New South Wales

Mass fish deaths caused by ‘mismanagement’

The NSW Government has defended itself after a new report blamed river mismanagement for the death of up to a million fish in the Murray-Darling.

 

‘We’re walking around like zombies’: First the fish died, and Menindee could be next

It took a million dead fish for Australia to pay attention to Menindee’s plight — now people in the outback hamlet are worried their community’s days are numbered and that the national spotlight may have come too late.

 

‘Cultural water’: Indigenous water claims finally on Darling agenda

It’s been a long time coming, but there’s a growing recognition of the cultural significance Aboriginal groups place on the Barka – and the need for water rights to go with it.

 

‘They are suffering’: Heatwave sees hundreds of trout die in Snowy Mountains

In eight years of business, Eucumbene Trout Farm owner Peter Cottrell hasn’t seen a heatwave disaster like this.

 

ACT

Firefighters respond to bushfires started by lightning strikes

Firefighters are monitoring two areas where bushfires were started by lightning strikes in the ACT on Friday afternoon.

 

Queensland

Deadly flaws in solar panels could prove fatal [$]

Homeowners have been warned to check their solar panels after worrying new stats revealed they could have a “ticking time bomb” on their roofs.

 

Western Australia

How rock lobsters turned into a hot potato for the WA Government

Jacob Kagi

The Fisheries Minister wants to make more lobsters available to WA consumers and lobster fishers want more people buying lobster at affordable prices. So how did this turn into such a spiteful political row?

 

Sustainability

Don’t have an air conditioner? Here are some other ways to stay cool during a heatwave

Are there better ways to keep cool, without sending your power bills sky high or spending all day in the pool? Here’s what our ABC Messenger audience told us.

 

Scientists turn carbon emissions into usable energy

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea’s Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has introduced a system that turn carbon emissions into usable energy.

 

New ways to harness wasted methane

The primary component of natural gas, methane, is itself a potent greenhouse gas. A recent study has unveiled a high performance catalyst for methane conversion to formaldehyde.

 

Using bacteria to create a water filter that kills bacteria

New technology can clean water twice as fast as commercially available ultrafiltration membranes

 

Air pollution increases ER visits for breathing problems

Rate depends on age, pollutant and lung disease

 

Can a critic-turned-believer sway others? The case of genetically modified foods

When an advocate for one side of an issue announces that he or she now believes the opposite, can that message affect others’ views? Research shows that such a conversion message can influence public attitudes. Using video of environmentalist Mark Lynas speaking about his change from an opponent of genetically modified crops to an advocate, researchers found that message had a greater impact than his direct advocacy message.

 

Could flexitarianism save the planet?

Sam Wolfson

Scientists say a drastic cut in meat consumption is needed, but this requires political will

 

Nature Conservation

Mangrove patches deserve greater recognition no matter the size

Governments must provide stronger protection for crucial small mangrove patches, is the call led by scientists at international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London), which hosts the IUCN SSC Mangrove Specialist Group, in a letter published in Science today.

 

Green turtle: The success of the reintroduction program in Cayman Islands

The reintroduction program for the green turtle in the Cayman Islands has been crucial in order to recover this species, which are threatened by the effects of human overexploitation, according to the first genetic study of the green turtle’s reintroduction program in this area of the Atlantic ocean.

 

Mediterranean freshwater fish species susceptible to climate change

Climate change will strongly affect many European freshwater fish species. This is particularly the case for species in the Mediterranean region.

 

 

Maelor Himbury

6 Florence St Niddrie 3042

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