Post of the Day
Global warming of oceans equivalent to an atomic bomb per second
Seas absorb 90% of climate change’s energy as new research reveals vast heating over past 150 years
Today’s Celebration
Balloon Ascension Day – United States of America
Martyr’s Day (National Mourning) – Palau, Panama
Climate Change
2018 was fourth warmest year – report
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has found 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record, driven by a build-up of man-made greenhouse gases.
Further setback for Exxon in climate suit
A US court has rejected Exxon’s appeal of a ruling that a state Attorney General has the authority to investigate its conduct toward consumers and investors.
Global warming of oceans equivalent to an atomic bomb per second
Seas absorb 90% of climate change’s energy as new research reveals vast heating over past 150 years
The end of coffee: could Australia save the world’s beans?
Climate change may devastate the globe’s major coffee-growing regions through extreme weather events – but Australia could be the solution
Swedes top climate change resisters’ league
Some governments take global warming seriously, while others defy the science and virtually ignore it. The climate change resisters’ league names names.
National
Australian sawfish close to extinction
Australian sawfish are among the most endangered of all marine fish and like the rhino are listed among the most endangered animals on the planet.
Companies, investors go green to make more money, HSBC says
Four out of five of Australian businesses want to meet common industry standards for sustainability and one quarter are altering their supply chains to be more environmentally responsible, and they are not just doing it for altruistic reasons, according to a survey of 200 Australian business leaders.
Aspiring to the UN’s sustainable development goals makes business sense
There are opportunities to deliver value for a company through alignment to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals without too much extra effort, according to a company principal.
Aussie start up pushing switch to electric passenger planes
We’re getting used to electric cars. How about using battery power to fight gravity?
Records ‘blown away’ as rising power bill fears trigger solar PV surge
New solar energy installations tripled in capacity in 2018 in Australia, with solid growth in rooftop solar eclipsed by a massive increase in utility-sized ventures.
Paris treaty ‘to shrink economy’ [$]
Australia’s economy will be among the worst affected by the Paris climate change agreement, a US report finds.
Businesses think they’re on top of carbon risk, but tourism destinations have barely a clue
Susanne Becken
Tourism accounts for 8% of global emissions, much of it from planes.
Eastern curlews are a miracle of nature. And they are disappearing fast
Harry Saddler
This remarkable bird flies from Siberia to Australia and back every year, but we must save the unglamorous mudflats if it is to survive
Choosing to live in the present has consequences for the future
Nicholas Stuart
Politicians seem to find planning for the future difficult and so they prefer to inhabit a perpetual present.
Benefits of global climate action
Australian editorial
Australia would be worse off leaving the Paris Agreement.
Victoria
Victorian bushfire to burn for up to two weeks
Crews have contained a bushfire in Victoria’s Gippsland region, although they expect it to burn for another fortnight.
Investigators scour remote clearing for source of Gippsland blaze as fire continues to burn
An out-of-control bushfire that threatened homes in Gippsland on Monday continues to burn as fire investigators probe a remote clearing, searching for the source of the inferno.
Will mass Murray-Darling fish deaths affect Victoria? [$]
Victoria could soon feel the effect of a “waterway catastrophe” which has led to the mass deaths of freshwater fish along the Murray-Darling water region.
I’m shocked, in a good way, that finally a government has listened
Nicola Philp
The news came out yesterday that the Andrews government had denied permits for a proposed resort in Apollo Bay. I have to admit I was shocked, but in a good way, that finally a level of government had taken heed of the people’s will and also employed common sense.
New South Wales
Concerns of more mass fish deaths in NSW
Environmentalists believe the mass fish death event in western NSW was a long time coming because of the amount of water diverted from the Darling River.
More Darling River fish kills from algal blooms likely as heat builds
Severe environmental stresses that killed perhaps a million fish in the Darling River in recent days are likely to persist, making it possible for more bouts of large-scale fish kills in coming weeks, a senior fisheries expert said.
‘Even feral cats bury their waste’: Filthy campers leave wrecked gear, excrement on South Coast
Campers who left behind toilet seats, excrement in wombat holes and bag loads of rubbish at a “pristine” camping site have raised the ire of South Coast locals.
Queensland
Adorable bilby triplets melting Qld hearts
Rare baby bilby triplets have emerged from their mother’s pouch at Dreamworld and will eventually be released in Curruwinya National Park.
Hanson welfare plan to wipe out cane toads
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has suggested welfare recipients be put to work culling cane toads during the summer, paying them 10 cents for each toad.
Electric scooters ‘great threat to pedestrians’ [$]
Survey results show what Queenslanders fear about newly legalised electric scooters and who they think should be held liable after a crash that damages property or injures a pedestrian.
South Australia
SA’s billion dollar water torture
South Australians have likely paid more than a billion dollars too much for their water for the past decade because of “secretive, non-compliant, unreasonable and unfair” decisions taken by the former Labor Government about the value of SA Water, according to a damning new independent report.
Leigh Creek Energy produces commercial quality gas [$]
Leigh Creek Energy is producing “commercial quality synthetic gas”, albeit not at commercial flow rates yet, from its pilot gas production project in South Australia.
Tasmania
Tasmanian tiger capture site at risk from wilderness fire
Firefighters battling a blaze in Tasmania’s world heritage area are trying to protect a trapper’s hut where the last wild Tasmanian tiger was captured.
Tasmania’s mainland has now been declared fruit fly free
For the first time in almost a year, the Tasmanian mainland has reclaimed its title of being fruit fly free.
Northern Territory
Top expert wants crocs ‘extinct’ in Darwin Harbour [$]
One of the world’s leading crocodile conservation experts says new practices need to be considered to eradicate salties from Darwin Harbour, including shooting them if necessary
Sustainability
Indonesia to double disaster relief budget in 2019 after year of tragedies
Indonesia will more than double its disaster response budget to 15 trillion rupiah ($1.06 billion) in 2019, officials said on Tuesday, after a series of major natural disasters devastated three regions of the vast archipelago last year.
London’s ultra-low emission zone: good or bad idea?
Campaigners say it will cut pollution, but opponents claim it will hit poor people hardest
Study: China faces ‘unstoppable’ population decline by mid-century
China will face an “unstoppable” population decline over the coming decades, with fewer and fewer workers struggling to support an increasingly aging society, according to a report by a leading state-sponsored Chinese thinktank.
What will hyperloop mean for climate, ecosystems and resources?
Hyperloop promises ultrafast transportation — but what does it mean for the environment?
Pollution got worse in 2018 thanks to two overlooked sectors
In the debate over climate change, the heaviest polluters — think: power plants, trucks and cars — get the most attention from policy makers.
How plastic is a function of colonialism
Max Liboiron
The mere existence of plastics assumes access to land, which is stolen or misused by those in power.
Plausible magic bullets for the environment in 2019?
James P. Lenfestey
On the national level, a tariff on goods made without pollution protections like ours; on the state level, a well-directed gas-tax increase.
Nature Conservation
The biggest issues for wildlife and endangered species in 2019
Climate change, habitat loss, poaching, emerging diseases and the Trump administration will all continue to threaten wildlife in the year ahead.
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