Post of the Day
To fix climate change, fix the obesity and starvation epidemics, reports say
The world needs to come up with solutions to fight three interrelated pandemics — obesity, starvation and climate change — and it needs to do it fast before the planet is “burning,” according to a report in Sunday’s Lancet.
Today’s Celebration
Martyrs Memorial Day – Nepal
Prosecutors’ Day – Moldova
International Mobilization Day against Nuclear War
Climate Change
Climate change protests in Belgium, France
Brussels and Paris have been the site of strong protests demanding more action on climate change.
Study: Climate change reshaping how heat moves around globe
The Earth’s atmosphere and oceans play important roles in moving heat from one part of the world to another, and new research is illuminating how those patterns are changing in the face of climate change.
The next financial crisis could be caused by climate change
After wildfires bankrupted a major utility, there’s concerns that more severe natural disasters will lead to economic devastation.
‘Terrifying’: Scientists dig deep for missing piece of climate puzzle
Scientists hope to reveal answers to some fundamental questions about how our atmosphere is coping with our soaring emissions of greenhouse gases.
Climate could hit a tipping point sooner than you think
The planet’s ability to uptake carbon could decline after 2060.
The new language of climate change
Scientists and meteorologists on the front lines of the climate wars are testing a new strategy to get through to the skeptics and outright deniers.
Water wars: Are India and Pakistan heading for climate change-induced conflict?
Across the world, climate change is sparking conflict as people struggle over dwindling resources. The fight over water could quickly escalate between India and Pakistan — and both have nuclear arms.
Navigating a thawing landscape.
South Africa: climate change efforts must be scaled up
South Africa believes that efforts in the fight against climate change need to be scaled up within a multilateral regime that protects the development gains of developing countries.
Leonardo DiCaprio announces new plan to fight climate change
The One Earth Climate Model says we can curb temperature rises without resorting to nuclear power or using unproved technologies.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Apocalypse Now [$]
James Morrow
When progressive politicians run climate change scare campaigns, they are catering to voters’ egos much more than trying to save the Earth.
National
One year on: where is Australia’s recycling going now?
Councils say lack of funding and rock-bottom recycling prices is hampering efforts to build better infrastructure and reinvigorate dying market
Businesses buy record level of renewable power in 2018
Companies globally bought twice as much renewable energy in 2018 as in 2017, with Facebook alone buying 2.6 gigawatts of green power last year – more than the entire Asia-Pacific region.
‘Extreme and arbitrary’: AGL slams government’s forced divestment bill
Energy giant AGL has slammed the government’s planned power company break-up bill, saying it would only drive up power prices and could be used “arbitrarily” by governments to punish companies.
Aussie bees could save us, and here’s how you can help them
Native bees and other wild insects tend to get overlooked — but these amazing Australian animals could be instrumental in helping us feed a growing world population.
To predict droughts, don’t look at the skies. Look in the soil… from space
Siyuan Tian and Albert Van Dijk
The key to predicting drought is knowing how much water is in the soil, as well as how much rain is on the way.
Victoria
Response to power cuts not cool
Judith Sloan
Surely Richard Di Natale was joking but someone really needs to tell Victoria’s Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio she’s dreamin’ as she sits in her airconditioned office.
New South Wales
More mass fish deaths in NSW’s far west
Hundreds of thousands of fish have been found dead in NSW’s far west, according to the NSW government.
‘It’s quite slow living’: The couple who live without electricity
For the past three years the two off-grid enthusiasts have been slowly turning their land into an organic sustainable farm.
Desalination plant to run for next 14 months despite storms adding water to Warragamba Dam [$]
Water levels in Sydney’s dams have risen back up to 60 per cent — ironically within hours of the mothballed $1.8 billion desalination plant being switched on under the contract with its private operators.
ACT
‘Industrial dump’: border residents speak out on clean-fill dumping
Wallaroo farmers Ross Hampton and Phil Peelgrane say their rural lifestyle is being destroyed by Canberra’s building boom.
‘It’s unacceptable’: Canberra is losing 3000 trees a year
Canberra is losing 3000 trees a year, with urgent action needed to prevent the city’s urban forest thinning out, the Greens say.
Queensland
‘Turtle bridge’ at Brisbane’s Breakfast Creek is shrinking by the day in big dry
Locals are concerned about the sprawl of the dry creek bed and say the area desperately needs some heavy rain
Links to far north Qld reopen after flood
Residents cut off when the Daintree River reached a record flood peak have had road and rail links restored.
Fire crews battle large grass fire at The Spit
Roads reopen to traffic after a large grass fire near Sea World theme park.
Commercial fishers fired-up over faulty tracking devices
Queensland fishers are fuming after being forced to return faulty “fire-hazard” tracking devices they are required by law to have.
South Australia
Commission findings to show parts of Murray Darling Basin Plan breached the Water Act
Commissioner Bret Walker SC dismisses recollections from former water minister Tony Burke that the sustainable level of water “take” was determined purely by environmental concerns, saying it was not consistent with contemporaneous records.
Will the Murray Royal Commission report turn the tide? [$]
A hefty, likely damning report into the Murray-Darling from the state Royal Commissioner will be handed to the Governor on Tuesday. Here’s what will happen next.
Above and below the Great Australian Bight – a photo essay
The Rainbow Warrior III has spent the past two months sailing Australia’s southern waters, bolstering the fight to protect the bight
Major milestone for Solar River Project in SA’s Mid North [$]
The Solar River Project’s $450 million first stage has reached a major milestone, with the appointment of a main contractor to carry out the build.
Tasmania
Rising temps challenge Tassie firefighters
A rise in temperature is expected to challenge firefighters battling blazes across Tasmania, burning thousands of hectares of bush, with smoke visible in NZ.
Move to revive anti-protest laws in Tasmania a ‘face-saving exercise’
The Tasmanian Government’s attempt to resurrect its failed anti-protest laws are a “face-saving exercise”, former Greens leader Bob Brown says.
Volunteers hamstrung as danger too great [$]
Volunteers say time has run out for Huon Valley animal owners needing help to evacuate their pets and livestock as the Tahune bushfire continues to spread and threaten properties.
Outcast scientist wins climate change kudos [$]
Hobart oceanographer Dr John Church has become the first Australian to win a prestigious climate change award.
Western Australia
Kangaroos facing cull to make way for Baldivis housing development
Debate flares over the fate of about 100 kangaroos scheduled to be tranquilised and euthanased to make room for a housing estate in Perth’s southern suburbs.
Bushfire contained in WA’s Wheatbelt
A bushfire northwest of Brookton in WA’s Wheatbelt region has been downgraded from a watch and act alert to an advice warning.
Sustainability
Report lists 3 biggest dangers to humans
Obesity, hunger and climate change are the biggest threats to the world population, a new report says, calling for a plan and trillions of dollars to thwart the dangers.
How humans get in the way of clean water
There are many cheap and effective ways to provide safe water to the world’s poor regions.
Kenya dhow made from recycled plastic carries message about harmful effects of waste
A traditional dhow sailing boat made entirely of trash and flip-flops has set off on an expedition along the Kenyan coast to raise awareness about the harmful effects of plastic waste.
Meet Loop, the new zero-waste platform for consumer products
Loop will send you name-brand products, like Tide detergent, Crest mouthwash, or Häagen Dazs ice cream. When you’re done, you ship the empty container back, where it gets cleaned and reused for the next customer.
How diapers and menstrual pads are exposing babies and women to hormone-disrupting, toxic chemicals
Most diapers and sanitary pads contain volatile organic compounds and phthalates and with this continued, long-term exposure a significant amount of these harmful chemicals could be absorbed via the genitals, according to a new study.
Proton transport ‘highway’ may pave way to better high-power batteries
Researchers have found that a chemical mechanism first described more than two centuries ago holds the potential to revolutionize energy storage for high-power applications like vehicles or electrical grids.
Nature Conservation
Lions have adapted to hunt seals and seabirds in Namibia, study finds
Desert lions learning to hunt marine life to survive Skeleton Coast’s harsh conditions
Could Hong Kong’s hardy corals be key to saving the world’s threatened reefs?
Corals that can survive Hong Kong’s ‘apocalyptic environment’ offer insight into how to better protect reefs elsewhere.
Abandoned fields turn into forests five times faster than thought
Russian scientists studied abandoned arable land in the European part of Russia where temperate forests grow. The study showed that trees start to grow on the abandoned fields immediately after the land has been withdrawn from agricultural use.
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