Post of the Day
Microplastic contamination found in common source of groundwater, researchers report
Microplastics contaminate the world’s surface waters, yet scientists have only just begun to explore their presence in groundwater systems. A new study is the first to report microplastics in fractured limestone aquifers — a groundwater source that accounts for 25 percent of the global drinking water supply.
Today’s Celebration
Feast of St. Sava – Serbia
Feast of Saint Nino – Georgia
National Activity Professionals Day – United States of America
Vietnam Day – Vietnam
Day of Lifting of the Siege of Leningrad – Russia
Saint Devota – Monaco
Science Day – Belarus
Auschwitz Liberation Day – Netherlands
Day of Fatherland Defenders – Turkmenistan
Public Employment Services Worker’s Day – Poland
Family Literacy Day – Canada
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
Climate Change
Fault lines are no barrier to safe storage of CO2 below ground
Carbon capture and storage is a reliable way to store CO2 emissions underground, with minimal chance of gas escaping through geological fault lines.
National
First World anxieties, Third World power [$]
Peta Credlin
As the world’s largest exporter of coal, it’s verging on absurd that Australia is too environmentally squeamish to take domestic advantage of its natural assets.
Victoria
Melbourne’s radical engineers storing electricity in ‘2D’ sheets
It may look like grey paint on a roll of kitchen foil but engineer Chun Hin Ng is holding a wonder material, which he hopes will revolutionise how we store energy.
Warnings not possible before Victoria’s power outage: energy operator
There was no way Victorian households could have been warned their power would be cut during Friday’s heatwave, the energy market operator has said.
East Gippsland bushfire to take ‘weeks’ to put out, but no longer an immediate threat
The out-of-control bushfire burning 10km north of Timbarra is no longer an immediate threat to homes and lives, but will still take weeks to put out.
Young have say on parkland road closure [$]
Child consultants too young to drive have given the green light to closing a key road through Kings Domain so they can play games and hear birds instead of cars
New South Wales
Desal plant to be switched on within hours
The NSW government says the Kurnell desalination plant is expected to fired up on Sunday when dam levels fall below 60 per cent.
Fish kill: What led to the Murray disaster [$]
The death of hundreds of thousands of fish in the Murray-Darling Basin was unprecedented, but it was not without warning.
Desalination plant should be reserved for extreme occasions
SMH editorial
Our water is precious, and we must never stop using it wisely.
Queensland
Adani promises huge finch protection zone [$]
Ecologists say the Adani coal mine will save the endangered black-throated finch from extinction.
South Australia
South Australian councils painting residential streets grey to beat the oppressive heat [$]
Black asphalt roads reaching temperatures in excess of 50C are being painted light grey across Adelaide in an Australian-first trial hoping to beat the heat.
Tasmania
Stay vigilant, Tasmania fire services warn
Several communities remain at risk in Tasmania, where bushfires are raging out of control in some areas amid a total fire ban, with more hot conditions to come.
Tasmanian devil cancer unlikely to cause extinction, say experts
Transmissible cancer which has devastated Tasmanian devil populations is unlikely to cause extinction, according to latest research.
The commercial realtor hired by the Tasmanian Government to snare a developer to build a new tourism experience at the entrance to Cradle Mountain National Park says there is already strong interest in the opportunity.
Western Australia
WA bushfire a threat to homes and lives
Authorities in Western Australia say a bushfire burning in Perth’s northern suburbs is a threat to lives and homes.
‘Eggshells can be a conduit’: Perth researchers crack renewable energy alternative
It’s an egg-cellent time for renewable energy, according to Murdoch University researchers.
Contractor to be paid $6000 per day for drum lines
The 15-month trial will involve the contractor catching, tagging and towing away sharks in the South West.
Is public transport off the rails?
Data shows another major fall in numbers on the Fremantle train line and that our love affair with ferry travel since Elizabeth Quay opened is over.
Sustainability
Microplastic contamination found in common source of groundwater, researchers report
Microplastics contaminate the world’s surface waters, yet scientists have only just begun to explore their presence in groundwater systems. A new study is the first to report microplastics in fractured limestone aquifers — a groundwater source that accounts for 25 percent of the global drinking water supply.
Birth rates in Fukushima City before, after nuclear disaster
An earthquake and subsequent tsunami led to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster in Japan in 2011. This observational study examined associations between the earthquake and power plant disaster with birth rates in Fukushima City, the capital of the prefecture.
Self-assembling nanomaterial offers pathway to more efficient, affordable harnessing of solar power
The new materials produce a singlet fission reaction that creates more and extends the life of harvestable electronic charges
Lower-carbon diets aren’t just good for the planet, they’re also healthier
Researchers have examined the carbon footprint of daily diets from a survey of more than 16,000 Americans. They found that the most climate-friendly diets were also the healthiest.
What your diet will have to look like in the future
Rosemary Stanton and Kris Barnden
The “Western diet” is not only wrecking our bodies but our planet too. Here’s the new diet experts say could help us avoid calamity.
Nature Conservation
How sponges undermine coral reefs from within
Coral reefs are demolished from within, by bio-eroding sponges.
When coral species vanish, their absence can imperil surviving corals
As coral species die off, they may be leaving a death spiral in their wake: Their absence could be sapping life from the corals that survive.
Inequality promotes deforestation in Latin America
Agricultural expansion is the main cause of deforestation in Latin America. Improvements in agricultural productivity can either enable forest conservation, or promote more deforestation. A new University of Bern study highlights the role played by inequality: high inequality leads to more deforestation, while lower inequality improves the long-term protection of remaining tropical forests.
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