Post of the Day
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed out the top 10 global health threats for 2019.
Today’s Celebration
Bounty Day – Pitcairn Island
World Freedom Day – Taiwan
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti – India
Climate Change
Analysis warns of lack of progress on 2020 global emissions target
Thinktank says not enough is being done to cut coal burning and end fossil fuel subsidies
Americans’ climate change concerns surge to record levels, poll shows
Total of 72% polled now say global warming is personally important to them, Yale said, as 73% accept it is happening
Ocasio-Cortez: climate change Is Millennials and Gen. Z’s ‘World War II’
‘The world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change’
Dry inland waters are underrated players in climate change
Climate change causes an increase in the number of freshwaters that run dry, at least temporarily.
The anatomy of climate-change policy: a primer
Everything old is new policy in Washington again.
Corporate America tallies the mounting costs of climate change
Bank of America Corp. worries flooded homeowners will default on their mortgages.
Near-term climate prediction ‘coming of age’, study shows
The quest for climate scientists to be able to bridge the gap between shorter-term seasonal forecasts and long-term climate projections is ‘coming of age’, a study shows.
Southern Africa is a climate change ‘hot-spot’
Southern Africa is on the frontline of rising global temperatures and is in need of greater research and assessment to quantify the likely effects of climate change.
National
The fight to save the ‘armpits of the coast’ to store carbon
They can store carbon 40 times faster than rainforests. So what are blue carbon reserves?
Bushfire-ravaged soil takes up to 80 years to recover, research finds
Australian scientists discover that forest soils need up to eight decades to recover from bushfires and logging, not just 10 or 15 years, which has implications on climate change and forest sustainability.
After 49 years of weather forecasting, Mike Bergin can attest to Australia’s shifting climate
Mike Bergin “stumbled” into a career with the Bureau of Meteorology when he was just 18. Five decades on he is retiring after witnessing firsthand the monumental changes to both forecasting technology and Australia’s climate.
Labor promises to ‘supercharge’ hydrogen industry as green groups say ‘no role for coal’
Labor would allocate $1bn from Clean Energy Finance Corporation and invest up to $90m from Arena
MP chauffeur-driven cars should be electric
If the federal government wants to act on climate change it has to start putting its money where its mouth is.
Big stick ‘won’t cut power bills’ [$]
“Big stick” powers over energy companies amount to short-term company bashing, the Grattan Institute says.
Pacific nations need more action from Australia on climate
Age editorial
The Coalition government’s frequent claim of success in meeting carbon emissions is highly assailable.
The challenges of overpopulation
Geoff Davies
The challenges of a stressed Earth go beyond the rhetoric of both capitalism and socialism.
So you’ve KonMarie’d your life: here’s how to throw your stuff out
Jenni Downes
Vinnies is not a dumping ground for your rubbish.
A guide to Australian denialism
Kishor Napier-Raman and Emily Watkins
From climate change denialists to anti-vaxxers, Australia has its fair share of those who reject scientific consensus (and common wisdom).
Meet The Climate Generation, Ready And Waiting For A New Green Deal
Jan Wisniewski dreams of a better, brighter, greener future. He’s just hoping our political leaders catch up soon.
Victoria
How council saves ‘exceptional’ trees from cull [$]
This Melbourne council wants to protect ‘exceptional’ trees on private property, with some in the CBD more than 150 years old. Here’s how they’re doing it.
Powerline safety bills pain [$]
Country Victorians are paying $500 million for powerline upgrades they say are doing little to improve their safety, but are pushing up their power bills.
Victoria should set an example on climate change
Petra Stock
In the coming months, Victoria will face a test of its public commitment to leading on climate change.
New South Wales
Another mass fish death in NSW as investigation ordered into first case
Thousands of fish have been found dead on the banks of NSW’s Lake Inverell almost 900 kilometres from where an estimated million fish died earlier this month.
NSW fish deaths to be probed by water expert appointed by federal government
Water and climate expert Rob Vertessy will conduct the federal government’s review of mass fish deaths in the NSW Darling River at Menindee.
‘Extremely rare’ two-headed lizard excites NSW reptile park staff
A blue-tongue lizard with two functioning mouths is found on the NSW Central Coast, intriguing reptile experts who say his life expectancy in the wild would not be great.
Private conservation group spends $55m to protect Murray-Darling swamp
With neighbouring Yanga national park and government-owned Gayini-Nimmie Caira, more than 200,000 hectares are under protection
The pipeline plan that will drain the lower Darling River dry
‘If you think this is bad,’ say locals of recent mass fish kills, ‘just wait until the Menindee Lakes project goes ahead’
Walgett’s water crisis: NSW considers options after ‘concerning’ sodium levels found
Berejiklian government may install desalination system for town’s bore water supply
Sydney desalination plant just days from starting up as dam levels dive
Sydney households will have up to $35 added to their annual water bills to cover the restart of the city’s desalination plant, the Berejiklian government says.
Is this the future of recycling?
A new method of processing household rubbish will ensure 90 per cent of waste will be kept out of landfill.
How the private sector could be the answer to Australia’s water woes
An environmental organisation that says the Government “can’t do everything” purchases two cattle stations in outback New South Wales to protect important wetlands and try to prove agriculture and conservation can go hand-in-hand.
Opera House’s pawfect solution to keep seagulls away [$]
Seagulls are the city’s unwanted visitors and they’ve got our real tourists in a furious flap over them stealing meals from diners at the world-famous Opera House. But now cute four-legged security guards will patrol the area, scaring off the pesky birds.
$2.2 billion road repair backlog too much for councils [$]
The state’s road maintenance backlog has hit a huge $2.2 billion with cash-strapped councils admitting defeat in stopping crumbling local streets and roads from becoming potential deathtraps.
The Darling River fish kill is what comes from ignoring decades of science
John Quiggin
Culture warriors’ policy amounts to listening to what scientists say we need to do, then doing the opposite
‘A hydra with many heads’: Australia needs better protection from bio-invasion
Tim Low
Politicians face repeated calls to reduce emissions and stop land clearing, but there isn’t much public pressure for better biosecurity
ACT
‘Wouldn’t put the house on it’: Light rail start date in April not guaranteed
There is still no set date for when Canberrans will be able to use light rail, as the ACT Government admits parts of the track had to be re-laid, adding to the delay.
Queensland
Adani: 2,000 hectares of black-throated finch habitat removed from conservation plans
Ecologists say Adani’s plan for endangered bird’s conservation area amounts to ‘a plan to manage a cow paddock’
New dumps planned despite Ipswich generating 1000 waste complaints
The Queensland government and Ipswich City Council are considering three new waste facilities for Swanbank despite 1000 complaints made about waste odours and pollutants in the past six months.
Qld energy company fined for cutting power to people on life support
The energy watchdog has slapped two electricity companies with fines of $40,000 each after they cut power to people on life support.
Labor tempts seats with hydrogen [$]
The battle for central Queensland’s marginal electorates is shaping as a fight between hydrogen and coal.
Limes not lemons: lessons from Australia’s first e-scooter sharing trial
Benjamin Kaufman and Matthew Burke
If you’ve been in central Brisbane recently, you will know there is a new visitor in town. Lime e-scooters have popped up all over the CBD and neighbouring suburbs.
Why we don’t know if Irukandji jellyfish are moving south
Kylie Pitt and Dean Jerry
The irukandji jellyfish can be deadly and particularly hard to trace. However, emerging technology offers a solution.
Doublespeak on blue-collar jobs [$]
Australian editorial
Bill Shorten rolled into Gladstone on the Bill Bus yesterday, promising to “pick a winner’’ by quarantining $1 billion from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to establish a hydrogen industry he says could “eventually’’ generate $10bn a year and 16,000 blue-collar jobs, mainly in regional centres.
Shorten’s $1 billion distraction [$]
Des Houghton
Bill Shorten has backed a $1 billion hub to be based in a part of Queensland where unemployment is high. But if you look a little closer there’s a political dynamic at play, writes.
Tasmania
Bushfire destroys wilderness retreat as towns brace for weather change
A property is confirmed destroyed by bushfire in Tasmania’s Central Highlands, as fire crews brace for more hot and windy weather and dozens of blazes around the state shroud towns in a smoky haze.
Northern Territory
Mineral exploration licence granted for NT Island [$]
A new manganese exploration licence for Winchelsea Island has been granted hot on the heels of the historic awarding of the first lithium minerals lease in the NT
Western Australia
Bushfire threatens lives, homes in WA
A watch and act bushfire alert has been issued north of Perth, with authorities warning lives and homes may be in danger.
Cane toads perform ‘extremely rare’ phase switch
Most animals are biologically locked into being nocturnal or diurnal, but cane toads are proving they have super pest powers and can switch when conditions are right.
The time is right for review of the iron ore industry’s contribution to WA
Larry Graham
The government claim that BHP owes hundreds of millions in iron ore royalties raises many questions, but there is one thing citizens can be certain of: the iron ore industry marks the difference between Western Australia being an agrarian backwater and the financial powerhouse that it currently is.
Sustainability
How psychological science is benefiting the world
Technological advances have allowed psychological scientists to measure everything from cognitive impairments to everyday decision-making. Now, the scientists are using their research to inform tools, programs, and interventions that are helping to cultivate a healthier, happier, and more sustainable world.
Run faster, your gym’s treadmills may soon be saving the planet
In the rush to go green, exercise equipment powered by you may attract the climate conscious.
‘A List’ climate change firms outperform on stock market: survey
Apple, L’Oreal and Mitsubishi Electric are among more than 120 global firms which scored top marks in a ranking of corporate efforts to slow climate change.
The Trump shutdown is an environmental crisis
Overflowing trash cans are the least of the problems.
Mesoporous nickel could help to expand capacity of hydrogen engines and solar cells
Scientists of the Far Eastern Federal University, together with Russian and foreign colleagues, developed samples of nickel mesoporous film structures, which have useful surface area up to 400 times greater than their solid one.
Nuclear fusion, a disruptive power source for crowded cities
Holy grail of power generation, commercial nuclear fusion could be “a decade away” creating a new disruption not just for fossil fuels but for traditional carbon free energy systems.
Farm manure boosts greenhouse gas emissions — even in winter
Researchers have shown, for the first time, that manure used to fertilize croplands in spring and summer can dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions in winter.
The environmental cost of quenching the world′s thirst
Desalination makes fresh water available for millions of people, but it has environmental impacts: Lots of energy is needed and marine wildlife suffers because of the salty and toxic slush dumped in the sea.
Recycling depot swamped by demand for container refund scheme [$]
A North Queensland recycling depot stockpiles more than one million aluminium cans due to a surge in participation in the container refund scheme.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed out the top 10 global health threats for 2019.
Dirty deeds: how to stop Australian miners abroad being linked to death and destruction
Julia Dehm
Australia’s government can do more to ensure Australian mining companies do no harm in pursuit of Africa’s mineral wealth.
Nature Conservation
Study looks at ranger motivation in dangerous African park
A new study looks at the job satisfaction of front line conservation rangers working in challenging conditions at a national park in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and identifies ways to improve motivation to make them more effective at enforcing the law.
A ‘FitBit for squid’ could help track the ocean’s squishier species
The device has shown success in tracking animals such as squid and jellyfish as they respond to environmental changes.
Study predicts how air pollutants from US forest soils will increase with climate change
Scientists predict that certain regions of the United States will experience higher levels of pollutants that cause smog, acid rain and respiratory problems due changes in forest soils from climate change.
What does Japan’s whaling announcement actually mean?
Simon Black
What are the ramifications of Japan’s decision to resume commercial whale hunts?
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