Date: 18 February 2019 at 08:16:00 AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Feb 18
Post of the Day
The battle against bugs: it’s time to end chemical warfare
Lizzy Lowe et al
Does it really pay to spray?
Today’s Celebration
Independence Day – Gambia
Presidents’ Day – USA
Family Day / Islander Day / Heritage Day / Louis Riel Day – Canada
Kurdish Students Union Day – Iraq
Day of Diplomatic Staff – Turkmenistan
Democracy Day – Nepal
Week of Prayer for unity among Christians
Magha Puja – Buddhism
Climate Change
Climate protesters disrupt London fashion week by blocking roads
Extinction Rebellion calls for British Fashion Council to declare climate emergency
Sharp rise in methane levels threatens world climate targets
Experts warn that failure to act risks spike in global temperatures
National
Minister lashes student climate strikes
A strike by school students against climate change is being “orchestrated” by “professional activists” and not children, Education Minister Dan Tehan claims.
Energy future requires renewables reform
The Clean Energy Council’s policy directives for the election call for serious reform of the energy market including a 50 per cent renewables target by 2030.
Government cannot fund new coal plants without parliamentary approval, advice says
New legal advice sought by the Australia Institute contradicts what government has been telling stakeholders
Power retailers hit with new rules to stop ‘sneaky’ bill fees
Electricity retailers will have to comply with new rules designed to stop them from hitting households with unexpected ‘sneaky’ late payment fees on their power bills.
Littleproud rejects water probe $]
Canberra has rejected calls for a federal royal commission into the Murray Darling Basin water system.
How to save baby animals: What to do when you come across orphaned and injured wildlife
We are all shocked when we see images of wildlife injured in bushfires and floods, or roadkill orphans. So what can you do when you come across them?
Hardcore greenies coach kids to skip school
Taxpayer-funded eco-worriers are coaching children to skip school next month, giving them detailed instructions on how to play truant, make posters and organise “marshals” for a climate change protest march. The well-resourced campaign even provides scripts for children to convert their friends to the cause.
Activists targeting pupils funded by your taxes
Telegraph editorial
Australian mining companies, the employees of mining companies and businesses associated with mining equipment, supplies and transport all pay a great amount of tax. And then they find those taxes being used against them, like taxpayer-funded anti-mining activists coaching children to skip school to protest next month.
Why 5 million Australians can’t get to work, home or school on time
Glenn Docherty
Federal governments are responsible for the decisions that have led to our population boom. Yet they have failed to seize the opportunities for economic growth and social cohesion in our fastest growing suburbs.
Temperature warming data must be transparent [$]
Australian editorial
The Bureau of Meteorology has used its statistical talents to steepen the slope of Australia’s warming by making early 20th century temperatures cooler than they previously were.
Victoria
Wind power projects threaten to cook rural energy network
Victoria’s planned wind powerhouse stumbles, with the rural transmission network described as a “one-lane bush track”.
Tonnes of recyclables could end up in landfill as waste crisis unfolds
Tonnes of recyclable rubbish from kerbside collections will be sent to landfill this week after a major recycling company was ordered to stop accepting waste.
New South Wales
‘No blade of grass is safe’: why Parramatta Park is a battlefield
Parramatta Park is the green lungs of western Sydney but there are fears it is besieged by vested interests wanting to carve off land for private profit.
Crunch time for Snowy 2.0 project
The federal government is expected to soon decide whether to proceed with the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro scheme.
ACT
How to recycle in Canberra: Common mistakes you’re probably making
Do you need to rinse your recycling? Can you recycle old coathangers? Knowing what and how to recycle can be confusing — and the ACT has some stark differences to the rest of the country.
ACT government to pull in auditors over Evoenergy data reporting
ACT Climate Change Minister Shane Rattenbury has ordered an audit into Evoenergy’s reporting of data about the territory’s feed-in tariff scheme, amid concerns about the accuracy and reliability of the data.
Queensland
Qld floodwaters recede to show devastation
The floodwaters are slowly receding in Queensland, but the true cost of the disaster is still being counted.
Australia Zoo’s approach to crocodile egg harvesting debate criticised by NT scientist
A debate emerges about the sustainability of crocodile egg harvesting in Queensland. But while scientists say discussion is healthy, they suggest Australia Zoo should stick to discussion points with a “basis in science”.
Premier asked to save coalmine [$]
An alliance of industry, unions and councils will lobby for Annastacia Palaszczuk to save the Adani coalmine project.
Adani’s latest obstacle is a desert oasis [$]
The Doongmabulla Springs in central Queensland is shaping as the next obstacle in the way of Indian energy company Adani gaining approval for its controversial $2 billion Carmichael mine
Some good news about koalas in south-east Queensland
Koalas are beginning to return to cleared grazing land that has has been replanted with 12,500 koala food trees over five years.
Return and Earn sites the new dumping grounds [$]
The state government’s maligned Return and Earn scheme — which was designed to reduce litter — is having the opposite effect, with participants treating the initiative’s recycling facilities as de facto rubbish dumps.
CFMEU in Queensland splits with Labor over coal jobs [$]
Matthew Stevens
Leaked minutes from the December board of management meeting of the Queensland coal union reveal the leadership increasingly anxious about the state government’s plans to make a “just transition” away from coal-fired power.
Tasmania
Moving carpet of dung beetles descend on Ross
Guy Constable and Angela Mason weren’t expecting anything apocalyptic when they went on a holiday around Southern Tasmania.
Tasmania and Nova Scotia sign fisheries and aquaculture agreement
The Tasmanian and Nova Scotia governments are working together to strengthen fisheries and aquaculture in both regions.
Northern Territory
Everyday love for land: Australia’s Indigenous rangers heed Canada’s call for help
The Trudeau government has recruited Arnhem Land rangers as part of a $25m program to increase protected land and sea
Cane toad genetic modification too risky: boffin [$]
Advanced gene editing technology could eradicate Australia’s cane toad problem, but evolutionary biologist Professor Rick Shine thinks it might be too risky
Western Australia
Perth’s first ocean rubbish bin already proving its worth
A unique floating rubbish bin, which effectively acts as a vacuum cleaner for the ocean, is being put to good use in waters off WA for the first time.
Sustainability
Cooking Sunday roast causes indoor pollution ‘worse than Delhi’
Scientists say roast meal can make household air dirtier than in sixth most polluted city
It’s all about reducing single-use plastics.
You’re addicted to plastic. Can you go cold turkey?
Going plastic free starts with cloth bags and straws. Suddenly, you’re … making your own toothpaste?
Nature Conservation
The battle against bugs: it’s time to end chemical warfare
Lizzy Lowe et al
Does it really pay to spray?
Now for something completely different …
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