Date: 12 February 2019 at 09:00:10 AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Feb 12
Post of the Day
Climate change seen as the world’s top threat in Pew Poll
Thirteen nations listed a warming planet as the number one threat.
Today’s Celebration
Isra and Merag – Sudan
Lincoln’s Birthday – United States of America
Union of Myanmar – Myanmar / Burma
Youth Day – Venezuela
National Sports Day – Qatar
Memorial Day of 1990 Dushanbe Riots – Tajikistan
National Freedom to Marry Day – USA
International Day of Women & Girls in Science
Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Day
Climate Change
How much is the US government spending on climate change? We don’t know, and neither do they
America’s problems with solving our climate crisis predate President Trump and go deeper than petty snark.
Climate change seen as the world’s top threat in Pew Poll
Thirteen nations listed a warming planet as the number one threat.
World’s driest desert floods as extreme weather events rise
The world’s driest desert is flooding and some of the planet’s wettest woodlands are burning.
Global warming: temperatures to rise by 1.5 degrees celsius in 5 years; India to get knocked out
Global warming in the recent years has comparatively become a larger threat to the world.
Slowing climate change could reverse drying in the subtropics
Kale Sniderman et al
As the planet warms, subtropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere, including parts of southern Australia and southern Africa, are drying. These trends include major drought events such as Cape Town’s “Day Zero” in 2018.
National
PM teases more climate and energy policy
The coalition will announce further climate change and energy policy ahead of the federal election, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.
Economist Ian Harper warns government energy ‘big stick’ could backfire
Reserve Bank board member says forced divestitures would likely be harmful
Local gas prices ‘resilient to LNG softness’
Cooper Energy chief executive David Maxwell is still finding “robust” demand for gas at $9-$11 a gigajoule, despite LNG spot prices being at 17-month lows.
EnergyAustralia to turn charities into mini-power plants
Electricity company EnergyAustralia is launching a $15 million program to help charities slash their power bills by installing free solar panels and battery systems, turning them into mini-power plants.
The circular economy in Australia is starting to gain traction as more consumers and businesses try to use fewer resources and minimise their environmental footprint.
Is there such a thing as a carbon-neutral selfie?
Chances are all your photos and videos are being stored on cloud servers that burn a lot of power. Now, data centres are joining the wave of Australian companies going carbon neutral.
Small-scale rooftop solar installs reach record 159MW in January
The boom is small-scale rooftop solar installations has continued into 2019, with total installs at record level for January.
Australia is the canary, and the coalmine, for the world when it comes to water stress
R Keller Kopf
As extreme climate events happen around the world, Australian communities are running out of water
Morrison must break with climate denialists
SMH editorial
The Prime Minister now admits climate change is hurting. Now he needs policies.
Cities turn to desalination for water security, but at what cost?
Ian Wright and Jason Reynolds
The largest desalination plant in Australia, Victoria’s A$3.5 billion ‘water factory’ can supply nearly a third of Melbourne’s needs.
Victoria
It could take two years to replace flammable cladding in Melbourne, says building authority
Victoria is pushing for a national ban on the import of building materials implicated in the Grenfell Tower fire
Community Power Project Celebrates Energy Milestone
Maggie Coggan, Monday, 11th February 2019 – A remote Victorian town is closer than ever to its goal of running entirely on renewable energy by 2022, after hitting the major milestone of generating enough solar to power over 170 homes for a year.
New South Wales
Total fire ban declared for NSW
The entire state of NSW will be under a fire ban as hot and windy conditions push bushfire danger ratings into the extreme and severe categories on Tuesday.
NSW Greens push for mandatory solar and batteries for all new homes
The bidding war among NSW political parties over solar panels has been joined by the Greens who want photovoltaics and batteries to be made compulsory for all new dwellings.
Labor commits $8 billion to fast-track Sydney Metro West
Public transport in Sydney’s west is shaping up as a key battleground in the state election campaign after Labor leader Michael Daley vowed to spend $8 billion to “fast-track” a new metro train line between Parramatta and the central city.
Rocky Hill mine blocked by judge with green links [$]
The Chief Judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court who blocked a coal mine due to factors including climate change founded the group of activist lawyers for whom he last week ruled in favour. Farmers say the region is going under and the mine would have injected millions into the economy.
The win to stop the Rocky Hill coalmine happened in the right place and just in time
Elaine Johnson
The reasons the mine was rejected have made international news. So how did we get here?
Rooftop solar, batteries early winners in NSW election race
Sophie Vorrath
The major political parties in NSW have answered calls to get serious about renewable energy and climate policy in the state, with both the incumbent Coalition government and opposition Labor Party unveiling plans over the weekend aimed at boosting solar and battery storage uptake.
Queensland
Queensland graziers take clean up a day at a time
Rachael Anderson’s western Queensland cattle station is strewn with the bodies of thousands of cattle that died in flooded water a week after sweltering in drought.
Adani launches advertising blitz calling for a ‘fair go’ on Carmichael mine
Indian energy giant Adani has launched an advertising blitz calling on the Palaszczuk government to give the company a “fair go” and approve its controversial $2 billion Carmichael mine – a campaign it is willing to run until the federal election in May.
Farmers forced to consider renting out land [$]
With about $300 million worth of cattle washed away or euthanised as a result of flooding, farmers in the state’s northwest will have to resort to renting out their land to make ends meet.
PM backs ‘game-changing’ plan to transform SEQ [$]
Southeast Queensland looks set to be awarded the biggest City Deal in the country, with Scott Morrison revealing support for an ambitious plan to modernise the region.
South Australia
Oil fields and natural wonder: Can we have both in the Great Australian Bight?
Seismic exploration for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight will go ahead this year, and drilling for oil the next, but environmentalists say it’s a disaster waiting to happen.
ATO wins battle to force electricity company to pay tax
Electricity poles and wires company Spark Infrastructure has taken a $270 million bath, writing down its South Australian electricity distribution assets and dropping dividends after a new court decision will force it to pay tax.
Malleefowl chick discovery on Eyre Peninsula hailed an ‘exciting’ find
A vulnerable malleefowl chick is the first to be discovered in a South Australian wildlife refuge and comes after the last cats and foxes were removed from the exclosure.
How mothballed desal plant could save the Murray [$]
South Australia’s $2.2 billion desalination plant would be used to help River Murray flows, under a plan the State Government will consider.
Flood of bids for battery power [$]
South Australia could be set for more big batteries that would add to the Tesla unit at Jamestown, after more than 50 bids were received for a new State Government storage scheme.
Tasmania
‘No-one’s perfect’: Disgraced former Tasmanian mining minister Adam Brooks resigns
Disgraced former mining minister Adam Brooks has resigned from Parliament, the State Government confirms, just months after a damning Integrity Commission report.
Fireys make steady progress on bushfires [$]
The Tasmania Fire Service says crews have made steady progress on containment lines at bushfires across the state, with more cool weather expected in the coming days.
Charge us and we won’t come, say free campers [$]
The thousands of free campers who come to Tasmania each year will go elsewhere if they are forced into caravan parks, a yearly camper visitor says.
‘Complete facelift’ for popular tourism drawcard [$]
Planned walking track upgrades on the Tasman Peninsula will make one of the state’s most spectacular hidden gems more accessible.
Bus users vent over service shake-up [$]
Students, workers and families have gathered at a packed public meeting to discuss the “havoc” resulting from a recent shake-up in public transport.
Sustainability
Shell tipped to deepen links with battery storage maker Sonnen
Shell tipped to deepen ties with battery storage maker Sonnen as it accelerates its push into green technology.
Access to cars could help the Poor, but hurt the planet
A new study argues that “universal car access” could lift more Americans out of poverty.
Putting solar panels on water is a great idea — but will it float?
The U.S. has been slow to embrace the technology, even though Japan and China are zooming ahead.
Meet eight female conservation scientists who inform and inspire
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science highlights the achievements of female scientists.
More bad phthalate news: Early life exposure linked to decreased motor skills
Kids exposed to phthalates prenatally and as 3-year-olds have decreased motor skills later in their childhood, according to a new study.
Seven take-aways from the Green New Deal launch
Natalie Sauer
Sweeping in scope, an agenda to transform the US into a green leader has been launched in Washington DC, here are the key points.
Nature Conservation
Aquaculture does little, if anything, to conserve wild fisheries
New research finds that aquaculture, or fish farming, does not help conserve wild fisheries.
Scientists advance new technology to protect drinking water from Lake Erie algal toxins
A microbiologist has identified groups of bacteria in Lake Erie that degrade microcystin and can be used to naturally purify water.
On the land, one-quarter of vertebrates die because of humans
Our species has ‘disproportionate effect’ on others, scientists say
Skyglow over key wildlife areas
Light pollution affects the skies over most of the world’s key wildlife areas, new research shows.
Climate change may destroy tiger’s home
A scientist says the last coastal stronghold of an iconic predator, the endangered Bengal tiger, could be destroyed by climate change and rising sea levels over the next 50 years.
Now for something completely different …
Australian Trust in Charities on the Rise
Australians are becoming more trustful of charities and expect NGOs to work with other sectors to drive social change, according to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer.
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