Date: 15 February 2019 at 09:35:58 AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Feb 15
Post of the Day
Against hope: the global environmental catastrophe has already occurred [$]
Guy Rundle
We have already reached catastrophic system collapse. Recognising that is the first step to fighting it.
Today’s Celebration
National Day – Serbia
National Flag of Canada Day – Canada
Rose Monday (Tarija) – Bolivia
National Lamb Day – New Zealand
Total Defense Day – Singapore
John Frum Day – Vanuatu
Liberation Day – Afghanistan
Susan B. Anthony Day – USA
Parinirvana (Mahayana) – Buddhism
Candlemas – Eastern Orthodox
International Childhood Cancer Day
Climate Change
Factoring in climate change risk ‘new normal’ for property industry
Building for resilience, on a portfolio, property and citywide basis, is paramount to staying competitive.
National
Morrison stands by ‘big stick’ energy laws
The federal coalition will take their “big stick” energy policy to the election rather than bring on a vote in parliament.
Clever eucalypts remember heatwaves
A species of Australian eucalypt can not only remember heatwaves but help its offspring cope with extreme temperatures.
Climate change protesters disrupt parliamentary question time
Protesters complaining about what they see as a lack of action on climate change have tried to disrupt federal parliament during question time.
Koala in same danger as orangutan, WWF warns
World Wildlife Fund International president calls for urgent action to better protect the nation’s forests and koalas.
‘We can’t rely on coal’: How tech has fallen out of favour in Canberra
Only three years ago, Australians were promised an “ideas boom”. With a federal election on the horizon, Australia’s start-up scene is wondering where that goodwill went.
Australia’s coal future under threat as more changes hit polluters globally
Big international changes in policy and legislation are hitting the heavily polluting sector — but can Australia’s coal industry survive them?
Murray-Darling Basin’s outlook is grim unless it rains, authority’s report warns
Focus for year ahead will be on ‘providing drought refuges and avoiding irreversible loss of species’
Coalition “ditches” big stick energy bill in bid to save coal underwriting deal
The Coalition has been forced to ditch its controversial “big stick” divestiture bill after deciding it no longer has the numbers in the House of Representatives following the landmark defeat over the so-called “medevic” bill earlier this week.
PM’s energy backflip irks Nationals [$]
The Coalition’s decision to take its proposed ‘big stick’ divestment legislation to the federal election has upset Nationals MPs.
Black coal plants push Australian wholesale energy prices to record highs
Latest quarterly report from AEMO shows black coal generators pushing up electricity prices as demand falls and more cheap renewables come into the system.
Solar continues to re-shape the grid, AEMO report reveals
AEMO report highlights how solar continues to reshape the grid, adding more capacity than any other source, causing record low demands in South Australia and W.A.
Energy firms talk their own book [$]
Judith Sloan
Should we really be surprised that the big energy companies are opposed to their market power being restricted?
Victoria
Parliament is to blame when things get loopy on this Melbourne train line
If you’re visiting Melbourne, you might find yourself a little confused by the City Loop and it’s mid-day about-face, despite most locals taking the train line’s quirks for granted.
Victorian coal-to-hydrogen plant trial gets green light from EPA
A world-first pilot project which will turn brown coal from Victoria’s Latrobe Valley into hydrogen has been approved by the Victorian environmental watch dog.
Melbourne sprawl: 50,000 housing lots to be released making way for 12 new suburbs
Work will begin on turning the large swathes of land into new suburbs within the next four years.
Back to the future: Old Ford factory to be recast as renewable energy hub
The historic former Ford Motors factory in Geelong will be re-established as a manufacturing hub after Danish energy giant Vestas unveiled plans to build wind turbines on the site.
Coolaroo recycling plant told to stop taking waste materials [$]
The Environment Protection Agency has demanded a Coolaroo recycling plant that was the site of a major blaze stop accepting waste materials.
New South Wales
Shorter commutes by 20 minutes: Labor’s $2.4 billion coastline rail plan
The NSW Opposition has made one its biggest promises of the election campaign outlining a $2.4 billion transport plan for rail in the Illawarra.
Tension over removal of cockles from coastal lake boils over
A little-known mollusc called a cockle, living in shallow water on a popular lake on the NSW South Coast, is causing a big stir.
All the Lower Darling’s fish ‘could be dead by the end of summer’, with flows from lakes now cut
Locals are warning that all the fish in the Lower Darling could be dead within weeks after WaterNSW closed a weir supplying water into the Lower Darling River.
Basin plan ‘ignores’ health of NSW river
Far west NSW farmer Rachel Strachan argues the plan put in place to protect the Murray-Darling River system has failed.
After record-breaking summer, NSW set for a hotter than average autumn
The country is on track to have warmer than average days and nights in the coming months, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
20 homes destroyed in northern NSW bushfires [$]
Bushfires have now destroyed 20 homes in northern NSW, including couple of 40 years Laurie and Lyn Campbell, who nearly lost their lives escaping the flames. Everything they owned was gone in 10 minutes.
ACT
Hot weather: Bad for humans; bad for wasps, too
There’s been a drop in the number of wasp nests found in the ACT.
Greenhouse emissions cut in every way but one in city
The ACT may not meet its 2020 target if transport emissions continue to rise at present rates.
Backburning efforts hit by climate change in Canberra
The environment directorate reached less than half of its mid-year backburning target.
Queensland
Coalmine dust victims want BHP fund
A victims group will visit the BHP Billiton office in Brisbane as it pushes for a fund to help workers suffering from diseases caused by dust from coalmines.
Queensland floods decimate native wildlife
North Queensland’s massive floods have decimated livestock but on grazier Harry Batt’s property, it’s the native wildlife that’s been hit hardest.
A flood so vast it creates its own weather
Queensland’s flooded Flinders River is so wide it’s generated a thunderstorm.
Bilbies to return to wild with one important mission — to breed fast and often
Conservationists are hoping love will stay in the air, not just on Valentine’s Day, but all year round for bilbies about to be released into the wild in south-west Queensland.
‘Extraordinarily large’ muddy flood plume seeps into Great Barrier Reef
Massive plumes of polluted floodwater spanning the entire coast of north-east Queensland encroaches on the outer reaches of the Great Barrier Reef, sparking a fresh threat to the beleaguered natural wonder
‘Highly irresponsible’: Senate calls for Great Barrier Reef Foundation to return money
A Senate inquiry into the $443m grant to private foundation calls for termination of partnership
Bird could derail Adani mine: report
Adani’s plans for a new coal mine in Queensland could be derailed after a review found its plan to protect an endangered bird is inadequate.
Government asked to consider free public transport for all kids
The plan would bust congestion and cost just $56 million per year, Maiwar MP Michael Berkman said.
Queensland will no longer be nation’s rubbish dump
Queensland will finally reintroduce a waste levy to stop interstate trucks.
‘It was a mistake for this government to take so long’: Labor backbencher
Queensland will finally reintroduce a waste levy to stop interstate trucks after it was scrapped under the LNP in 2012. But one backbencher has taken aim at her government for taking “so long”.
Anti-mine activist now adviser [$]
A top adviser to the head of Queensland’s Department of Environment is an avowed opponent of the Adani project.
Labor can’t hide Adani distrust [$]
Michael McKenna
Annastacia Palaszczuk may be Premier but the Queensland government is being run by Jackie Trad and the Left faction.
Burn coal and gas or face a meltdown [$]
Steven Wardill
Queensland smashed its record demand for electricity on Wednesday afternoon and barely anyone blinked.
South Australia
SA boost for Olympic Dam expansion
The South Australian government has granted the expansion of the Olympic Dam project major development status.
SA minister survives no confidence bid
South Australia’s Water Minister has survived a no-confidence motion in state parliament.
More pain, animal deaths as rivers face ‘very dry’ 2019 [$]
The Murray-Darling Basin is facing another year of challenging conditions as authorities battle to safeguard wildlife and habitat from the effects of drought.
Federal Labor backs SA Commission call to fix river regulator [$]
Federal Labor has backed the SA Royal Commission’s call to split up the Murray Darling Basin Authority in a bid to restore confidence in the river regulator.
Tasmania
Firefighting effort on West Coast continues as flames subside
They emerge from the scrub with soot-stained faces and arms aching from exhaustion.
Plugging in an amped-up energy future [$]
Hopes of a new golden era for the state’s renewable energy exports have been given a boost after a second Bass Strait interconnector was listed as a national high-priority initiative.
Western Australia
‘Flawed’ tender made Carnegie ‘the only outcome’ for lucrative Albany wave farm, MP claims
A local Member of Parliament says new documents show there was only one company that could have successfully tendered for a $16 million wave power contract.
Mid West locals bloomin’ mad as clearing ‘turns wildflower state to dust’
“We are losing all our wildflowers along these stretches of roads … what the wildflower tourists are coming to see.”
WA government rebuffs calls for mine dam safety review after Brazil disaster
The state government has rebuffed calls from the Greens to evaluate the safety of upstream tailings dams in Western Australia after a dam burst in South American iron ore miner Vale’s Brumadinho operation on January 25.
Out-of-control Jurien Bay bushfire threatens lives
Aerial support has been sent to protect Dandaragan Shire homes and assist fire crews fighting an out-of-control blaze in Jurien Bay.
Sustainability
Meal kits cut food waste but packaging is a problem, study finds
Deliveries ‘almost always’ use more energy than buying ingredients from supermarket
Exposure to weed killing products increases risk of cancer by 41%
Evidence ‘supports link’ between exposures to glyphosate herbicides and increased risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma
DDT exposure raises ALL women’s risks of breast cancer 40 years later, study finds
The now-banned pesticide DDT is a suspected carcinogen, but was once widespread. New research from the Public Health Institute suggests women’s breast cancer risks spike 40 years post-exposure.
Electronic waste is recycled in appalling conditions in India
Miles Park
The vast majority of e-waste in India is processed by hand.
More tailings dam disasters ahead
Andy Home
The collapse of Vale’s Brumadinho iron ore tailings dam will most certainly not be the last.
Against hope: the global environmental catastrophe has already occurred [$]
Guy Rundle
We have already reached catastrophic system collapse. Recognising that is the first step to fighting it.
Nature Conservation
Images from Kenya show elusive ‘black leopard’ for first time in nearly 100 years
Pictures of a rare black leopard have been captured in Kenya, the first verifiable record of the animal for nearly a century.
Endangered macaws rescued in Chile
Chilean authorities have arrested a wildlife trafficker trying to smuggle 59 endangered macaws in boxes.
Meet the lizards breaking one of the ‘golden rules’ of evolution
Chilean-born researcher Damien Esquerre has made a groundbreaking — but controversial — discovery about South American lizards and the “sky islands” that propelled the biodiversity of the species.
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