Post of the Day
Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission report
Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission
South Australia’s Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan has handed down its final report. The year-long investigation was prompted by allegations of water theft by cotton farmers in New South Wales.
Today’s Celebration
Confederal Agreement Day – Senegal
Federal Territory Day – Malaysia
San Cecilio – Spain
St. Brigid’s Day– Montserrat, Ireland
Abolition Day – Mauritius
Freedom Day – USA
Air Force Day – Nicaragua
National Heroes’ Day – Rwanda
Memorial Day of the Republic – Hungary
Imbolc / Oimelc / Brigid (Northern Hemisphere)- Paganism
Imbolic (or Oimelc) – Celticism
Lunasa or Lammas (Southern Hemisphere) – Paganism
International Childhood Heart Disease (CHD) Awareness Day
Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
The Sustainable Living Festival
Climate Change
European colonization of Americas helped cause climate change
Research finds killing of native people indirectly contributed to a colder period by causing deaths of around 56 million by 1600
Climate change and infertility — a ticking time bomb?
Rising temperatures could make some species sterile and see them succumb to the effects of climate change earlier than currently thought, scientists at the University of Liverpool warn.
Carbon-capture technology scrubs CO2 from power plants like scuba-diving gear
Scientists have developed a process that removes CO2 from coal-burning power plant emissions in a way that is similar to how soda lime works in scuba diving rebreathers. Their research offers an alternative but simpler strategy for carbon capture and requires 24 percent less energy than industrial benchmark solutions.
A surprising new picture of ocean circulation could have major consequences for climate science
Scientists say the ocean circulation is slowing down – but we’re just beginning to learn how it works.
More U.S. companies discussing climate change in wake of hurricanes, wildfires
The bankruptcy of major California utility PG&E Corp as a result of over $30 billion in costs from California wildfires sparked by the state’s prolonged drought will likely prompt more companies to discuss how they will respond to the effects of climate change on their businesses.
Are climate models overpredicting global warming?
Patrick J. Michaels
Averaging up a large number of models that don’t work well is guaranteed to produce an unreliable forecast.
National
Why is the Murray-Darling Basin so important and what has gone wrong?
Following the SA royal commission’s recommendation to completely overhaul the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, SBS News looks at how we ended up at this point.
January was hottest month on record
The Bureau of Meteorology says January’s heat was unprecedented, with Australia sweltering through its hottest month on record.
Climate the ‘most obvious’ ag sector risk
Adverse climate, a slowing global economy, trade anxiety, and Brexit fallout could prove significant headwinds for Australian agriculture, warns Rabobank.
Renewables restore power to thousands of households during Australian heatwave
As temperatures soared above 115 degrees Fahrenheit last week in Australia, fossil fuel-based power infrastructure failed in parts of the country, unable to operate in the heat and keep up with demand from air conditioners.
‘They’ve done nothing’: fuel emissions taskforce accused of ‘apathy’
Peak policy group on electric vehicles and fuel emissions met only 12 times in four years
Energy sector bands together for customers
Businesses across Australia’s energy sector have joined with a new charter to return their focus to customer service and cheaper power prices.
Power plant scheme draws 66 bidders
The Morrison government’s controversial program to support the construction of new “firm” power plants has proved popular, with 66 expressions of interest.
Power plant backers line up for taxpayer funding [$]
The Morrison government has been swamped with 66 initial applications for support under its controversial program to support the construction of new “firm” power stations, with coal, hydro and gas technologies all represented in proposed projects across four states.
Australian plants facing extinction
New research by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub has identified the top 100 Australian plant species at risk of extinction. Three quarters of Australia’s threatened species are plants.
‘Suffering from our success’: Julie Bishop urges rethink of climate policy and government
Former foreign minister Julie Bishop will position herself as an advocate for bipartisan policy on climate change and a realist about the limits of government power in a keynote speech to overseas business leaders on Friday.
Watchdog blasted for ‘breaking law’ [$]
Bret Walker says the Murray-Darling Basin Authority broke the law by ignoring climate change projections.
What happened to our electricity system in the heat? Coal and gas plants failed
Nicky Ison
We still have time to avert the worst impacts of climate change, but heatwaves are now an inevitable part of Australia’s future
We could have led the world and saved a river system, but for politics
Maryanne Slattery
The $13 billion plan to save the Murray-Darling Basin had much to commend it, but too often its honest brokers have been silenced.
Morrison’s unofficial campaign heats up, as drought hurts the Murray-Darling
David Estcourt & Nicole Precel
New year, new policies, new resignations. It’s starting to feel a lot like an election season.
Drop the pretence about the Murray-Darling plan
SMH editorial
The South Australian royal commission says political compromise is not science.
Media perpetuates climate science denial with Ian Plimer article
Graham Redfearn
Geologist and former professor of mining geology, Ian Plimer, has undermined climate change science in the The Australian.
Reliability, affordability is key [$]
Angus Taylor
For too long, state Labor governments and activists have used the electricity network as a political plaything.
Victoria
Victoria backs Murray-Darling Basin Plan
Victoria is standing firm on its support for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan amid a royal commission report finding the authority in charge acted unlawfully.
Towns shut, drinking water gone: Warnings follow Murray Darling Basin Royal Commission report
Allocating more water to the environment is one recommendation from the royal commission but that would lead to up to 12 regional towns being closed down, according to the Victorian Water Minister.
Indigenous cultural burning to return to Victoria after 170 years
The practice of Indigenous cultural burning will be reintroduced in central Victoria for the first time in almost 200 years in collaboration with Forest Fire Management Victoria.
Coal not the answer to power issues, but the cause [$]
Theo Theophanous
Brownouts There are questions over how Victoria can avoid future blackouts after last week’s outages, but coal-fired generation isn’t one of them — rather, you could argue it was the cause.
New South Wales
Tesla Powerwall units take Sydney man off power grid during blackout
When 45,000 homes and businesses went dark in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, Carl Prins’ $12,000 Tesla battery kept the air-conditioning and fridge running. But he does not know if it was worth it.
‘Grossly irresponsible’: Murray Darling Royal Commission singles out NSW Water Minister
The Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan takes aim at Niall Blair, describing his comments in the wake of the recent fish kills in Menindee as “grossly irresponsible”.
NSW govt to respond to Murray report
Two MPs have declared “gloves are off” in the fight for water rights as the NSW government assesses a scathing review of management of the Murray-Darling Basin.
More light rail cost blowouts likely as Government heads for court settlement
Gladys Berejiklian confirms her Government is in “negotiations” to settle court action with Sydney light rail contractor Acciona, which is seeking $1.2 billion in a lawsuit the Transport Minister has previously described as “ridiculous”.
Grave threat for Australian icon
Koalas are struggling to find adequate food and shelter due to record land clearing, and face rapid extinction. One of Australia’s most treasured creatures is facing a bleak future, and new heartbreaking pictures taken in New South Wales reveal the true extent of the crisis.
Four tonnes of fish removed from NSW river
All fish found dead in the latest mass fish death in NSW’s far west have been cleared from the Darling River.
‘Blue in the face’: NSW power plants in Labor’s electoral sights
A Daley Labor government would review the emissions standards of all NSW’s coal-fired power plants and finalise a 10-year to improve air quality in the state.
Overgrown weeds the source of Sydney blackouts
About 45,000 customers in Sydney’s eastern suburbs lost power at the peak of the city’s heatwave thanks to overgrown weeds.
We’ll face power crisis again soon unless there’s changes
Anna Caldwell
There is a risk NSW is sleepwalking towards lights out. We only need to look south to Victoria or South Australia — homes of the great Get Out of Coal experiments — to see just how ugly that could be.
Old king coal still putting in [$]
Telegraph editorial
It emerged late yesterday that the one-hour eastern suburbs power outage may have been the result of weeds somehow compromising a 132 kilovolt power cable. But for a small investment in Roundup, that outage could have been averted.
Queensland
Hope for ‘dramatic comeback in the country’ as graziers rejoice at deluge in drought-ravaged Qld
Rain finally falls in western Queensland, with drought-stricken graziers grateful for the reprieve from the dry conditions as heavy but patchy rain falls across the west.
Traditional owners fight to stop housing estate near sacred burial site
A group of Yuggera Ugarapul people are taking drastic action by camping on sacred land near Ipswich in a bid to stop the construction of a 925-lot housing estate close to a heritage-listed Aboriginal mission and cemetery.
Senate to hear evidence on koalas, finches, wading birds
Serious questions raised about policy and protection in Gold Coast’s north.
Photos reveal Queensland cotton farms full of water while Darling River runs dry
Over the border in NSW, the Barwon and Darling rivers are a series of muddy pools, and fish are dying.
Miners must support native group [$]
Matt Canavan has urged BHP and Rio Tinto to back traditional owners in their support for Adani’s Carmichael coal mine.
AGL ditches China gas sale [$]
AGL has given up on its plan to offload its Queensland gas interests to a Chinese duo.
Can Australian businesspeople save the Great Barrier Reef? [$]
Mark Ludlow
For an investment banker, Stephen Fitzgerald knows a lot about how climate change is damaging the Great Barrier Reef.
South Australia
Murray-Darling authority acted unlawfully
A royal commission into the management of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has found the basin authority acted unlawfully.
SA Government ‘capitulated’ to upstream states on Murray-Darling Basin Plan, commission finds
The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission accuses Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs of breaching his state’s ministerial code of conduct over a deal with the Federal Government on environmental flows.
Murray report ‘unnervingly emotive’: NFF
The federal government has called for a calm and methodical response to the South Australian royal commission into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
SA calls for Murray-Darling basin meeting
The South Australian government will call for a meeting of Murray-Darling Basin states in the wake of the royal commission report’s release.
Bilbies, numbats, quolls included in ‘great southern ark’ rewilding project
An ambitious project launches to introduce up to 20 endangered species from around Australia into an “ark” on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.
Tesla’s big storage battery in SA sparks other big orders [$]
Elon Musk’s Tesla says the success of the world’s biggest storage battery near Jamestown in South Australia has resulted in “multiple” requests to build even bigger storage batteries in other jurisdictions.
Staff, budget cuts as Environment Dept becomes “new agency”
The state’s Department of Environment and Water will become primarily an “economic development agency” that will be forced to operate with “less staff and smaller budgets” under a major restructure announced to staff yesterday.
New plan to make neighbourhoods more ‘walkable’ [$]
Neighbourhoods in Adelaide and regional towns will be be planned to make them more “walkable” under new, statewide planning policies released on Thursday.
Heatwave brought down hundreds, experts were ready for more [$]
More than 220 South Australians needed medical help in last week’s record-breaking heatwave. It could have been much worse — and experts will meet on Friday to discuss why it wasn’t.
Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission report
Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission
South Australia’s Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan has handed down its final report. The year-long investigation was prompted by allegations of water theft by cotton farmers in New South Wales.
SA will be the loser if we blow up the Murray Basin plan
Tim Storer,
The are problems with the Murray Darling Basin Plan, but the state will be worse off if the current rancorous debate results in a return to a free-for-all on Australia’s precious water resources.
Tasmania
Slight reprieve in Tas bushfire battle
Firefighters are taking advantage of cooler weather in Tasmania to battle tens of bushfires but hotter, dry conditions are forecast to return.
Another 4 penguins found dead in Bicheno
Another four Little Penguins were found dead on the rocks in Waubs Bay this morning, with obvious signs of dog attack
A grassroots Tasmanian wombat rescue group will give evidence at a Senate inquiry into Australia’s faunal extinction crisis in Hobart next week hoping to highlight the prevalence of mange.
Northern Territory
BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto back Uluru Statement as politician questions interest in Indigenous lands
Almost two years after the statement calling for a constitutionally enshrined Aboriginal voice in Federal Parliament was made, two mining giants announce they support it. But an Alice Springs politician questions whether that support is for access to Indigenous lands and resources.
Feral horse carcasses to be moved but more culls expected in Central Australia
Appeals are being made to the Northern Territory Government to stump up $200,000 for a feral animal management plan, with more emergency culls expected amid soaring temperatures.
Kirby says he’s capable of ’mature’ mining discussions [$]
Reformed anti-fracker Paul Kirby will take over as the man in charge of the Northern Territory’s mining industry
Western Australia
Bushfire threat eases in WA’s south
A bushfire warning for the northern part of Gelorup in WA’s south has been downgraded from an emergency to an advice as the blaze has been contained.
Fracking company ‘unlikely’ to repair environment
Western Australia taxpayers are at risk of picking up fracking exploration clean-up bill for company after share price collapse.
Planning to develop a strategy: Road map to charge up lithium battery sector revealed
This is an exciting opportunity for WA to be recognised as a world-leading producer and exporter of future battery materials, technologies and expertise: Premier
Mean streets: Self-driving cars will ‘cruise’ to avoid paying to park
If you think traffic in city centers is bad now, just wait until self-driving cars emerge on the scene, cruising around to avoid paying hefty downtown parking fees.
Estimation of technology level required for low-cost renewable hydrogen production
Scientists have evaluated the economic efficiency of hydrogen production systems combining photovoltaic power generation and rechargeable batteries and estimated technology levels necessary for the systems to produce hydrogen at a globally competitive cost. The results obtained in this research may provide vital guidelines for pushing the intermittent renewable power generation systems as a main power source of the country.
Hybrid electricity system would reduce rates, improve service
A new distribution system would reduce electricity prices by more than five per cent while also improving service reliability.
Rebecca Turner
The Chinese tech giant is under fire amid the US-China trade war and WA has become involved thanks to a public transport contract which is now being reviewed amid security concerns.
Sustainability
Comply on nuclear treaty: US to UN members
The call from the US for other UN members to adhere to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty comes as it prepares to withdraw from a separate pact.
Solar-power benefits aren’t reaching communities of color
A new study finds racial and ethnic disparities in rooftop solar adoption, even controlling for income and homeownership.
Brazilian anger unabated by Vale vows after dam disaster
Residents devastated by a mining dam burst in Brazil that may have killed more than 300 people reacted on Thursday with indifference and in many cases anger to miner Vale SA’s pledges to pay victims’ families and improve safety.
Worse than plastic waste: the burning tyres choking India
George Monbiot
The British government is allowing scrap tyres to be send abroad for burning.
Nature Conservation
Monarch butterfly population rebounds in Mexico
The population of monarch butterflies sheltering from the north American winter in central Mexico is up 144%
Climate change could make corals go it alone
Climate change is bad news for coral reefs around the world, with high ocean temperatures causing widespread bleaching events that weaken and kill corals. However, new research from the University of Texas at Austin has found that corals with a solitary streak — preferring to live alone instead of in reef communities — could fare better than their group-dwelling relatives.
Study of brine discharge from desalination plant finds good news and bad news
Before the Carlsbad Desalination Plant in Southern California began operations in 2015, scientists at UC Santa Cruz recognized an important opportunity to study the effects of the high-salinity brine that would be discharged from the plant into coastal waters. Their study shows that brine discharged from the plant raises offshore salinity levels more than permitted, but researchers found no direct local impacts on sea life.
Massive starfish die-off is tied to global warming
Sea stars along the Pacific Coast are dying in the largest disease epidemic ever documented in a wild marine species. New research suggests warmer water is making the disease even more deadly.
Salmon populations may adapt their eggs to survive in degraded rivers
A new study suggests that the membrane of salmon eggs may evolve to cope with reduced oxygen levels in rivers, thereby helping their embryos to incubate successfully.
Transitioning old oil rigs into permanent reefs
Offshore oil platforms have an immense presence, physically, financially and environmentally. Some 6,000 rigs pump petroleum and natural gas worldwide. But as they extract hydrocarbons from deep beneath the sea, these structures undergo a transformation invisible from above the waves. The ocean claims the platforms’ enormous substructures and converts them into vertical reefs, home to millions of individual plants and animals.
Industrial fishing ushers the albatross closer to extinction, say researchers
Satellite data suggests protection measures are being ignored as huge fishing lines snare endangered seabirds
13 percent of Florida manatees died last year
2018 was the second-deadliest year on record for the threatened species – and once again, humans are mostly responsible.
Borneo study explores links between farm expansion and deforestation
A nearly two-decade study of land-cover change in Borneo has identified a positive correlation between the loss of forests and the expansion of plantations, primarily for oil palms.
Current threats and future hopes for the greater Mekong’s mangroves
Mangroves represent a type of tropical or subtropical forest with a singular capacity to withstand large short-term changes in salinity and to buffer the inland impact of ocean water storm surges.
Study reveals wildlife is abundant in Chernobyl
A scavenger study that used fish carcasses as bait provides additional evidence that wildlife is abundant in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
6 Florence St Niddrie 3042
93741902
0432406862