Date: 19 February 2019 at 09:02:52 AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Feb 19
Post of the Day
Massive restoration of world’s forests would cancel out a decade of CO2 emissions, analysis suggests
New findings suggest trees are ‘our most powerful weapon in the fight against climate change’, says scientist.
Today’s Celebration
National Democracy Day – Nepal
National Flag Day – Turkmenistan
Family Day (Saskatchewan only) – Canada
Vasil Levski Day – Bulgaria
Brâncuși Day – Romania
Army Day – Mexico
Book Giving Day – Armenia
Magha Puja Day – Buddhism
Climate Change
Climate change makes summer weather stormier yet more stagnant
Climate change is shifting the energy in the atmosphere that fuels summertime weather, which may lead to stronger thunderstorms and more stagnant conditions for midlatitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America, Europe, and Asia, a new MIT study finds.
Use these tools to help visualize the horror of rising sea levels
Seeing is believing.
Climate Change isn’t just frying the planet—it’s fraying our nerves
“We kind of lose our cool.”
The war on climate change won’t be won quibbling over The Green New Deal’s costs
The mounting damage of global warming is a crisis far greater than the deficit.
How climate change can make catastrophic weather systems linger for longer
Steve Turton
A ‘stuck’ monsoonal system dumped a year’s worth of rainfall on Townsville in just a week.
Time to Panic [$]
David Wallace-Wells
The planet is getting warmer in catastrophic ways. And fear may be the only thing that saves us.
National
Coalition’s last minute energy policy continues to unravel before its eyes
The latest blow? Legal opinion suggesting federal government would need to get funding for new fossil fuel generation through parliament for it to have any legal force.
Put down the big sticks and face facts on renewables, says CEC
Clean Energy Council calls for policy reset on energy, starting with acknowledgement that Australia’s power should be 50% renewable from solar, wind and hydro by 2030.
Aust to miss Paris target by 19 per cent
Australia is projected to miss its Paris emissions reduction target by 19 per cent in 2030, but bureaucrats are confident estimates will shift.
‘Woefully inadequate’: Morrison government to use Paris climate short-cut
The use of carbon credits to meet Australia’s Paris climate targets would be “consistent” with the current Kyoto Protocol, the Morrison government said in the strongest signal yet it plans to exploit accounting ambiguities to meet its international commitments.
China traders cut Australian coal imports
Chinese traders have cut Australian coal purchases after unexplained delays in Customs clearance, with sources saying only Australian cargoes are affected.
Greens pressure Labor to block Adani mine
The Greens say federal Labor has an opportunity to stop an Adani coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin by backing laws it has proposed.
Labor accuses Coalition of relying on ‘hope’ to meet Paris emissions targets
Government criticised for relying on carryover credits from Kyoto to meet Australia’s target
Crackdown on $1000 power bill late fees
The Morrison government is seeking to crack down on the practice of charging hefty late fees on electricity bills via little-known conditions on discount deals.
Govt power plan may be unconstitutional
Legal advice given to the Australia Institute suggests the federal government’s plan to underwrite new power plants may be unconstitutional.
Snowy profits by gaming the system
Snowy Hydro, owned by the federal government, appears to have fallen short of its obligations for 2018 under the Renewable Energy Target scheme.
‘Doing what we can’: small businesses go carbon neutral
Alex Houseman was feeling increasingly fed up when he decided to make his business, Over The Moo, carbon neutral.
Households’ $2bn hit for solar subsidies [$]
Households will pay nearly $2 billion for rooftop solar installation subsidies this year, costing every home nearly $200.
Thermal coal set for rebound [$]
Growing demand and supply constraints will push average prices back towards $US100, Wood Mackenzie analysts say.
Graphic truth of Australia’s kangaroo problem [$]
A short doco showing the devastating effects of Australia’s rising 45-million kangaroo population aims to kickstart a conversation about saving the roos — by culling and eating them.
A place by the fire: Energy efficiency and equal access to energy services
Jacob Fry
Low-income households are adversely affected by high energy prices and barriers which prevent them from accessing energy efficient technology that would help them avoid extra costs.
‘How good is mining?’: Scott Morrison’s fawning address to the Minerals Council
Kishor Napier-Raman
Scott Morrison’s adulation for mining bordered on melodrama last week. Of course, it’s not exactly out of character.
The Coalition’s ‘big stick’ was all about coal – and a big waste of energy
Nicky Ison
The latest failed energy policy was never a serious attempt to reduce electricity prices or deal with the abuse of market power
The lights go on and off in the environment minister’s office, but no one’s there!
First Dog on the Moon
Some people say she doesn’t even exist. It’s so spooky!
Victoria
Councils left to sort Vic recycling crisis
The state government is meeting with Victorian councils as some start putting recycling material into landfill after the temporary closure of processor SKM.
Multibillion-dollar arterial roads boost launched in Melbourne’s west
Eight of the most congested major roads in Melbourne’s western suburbs are being widened to cope with more traffic and several bridges will be strengthened to handle heavier trucks, as part of a $1.8 billion state government contract.
Court fight resumes to stop Vic logging
A court battle over logging old-growth forests in Victoria is set to continue in Melbourne.
New South Wales
Snowy 2.0 approved for early works amid environmental concern – and LNP dissent
Snowy 2.0 gets green light for exploratory works, amid concerns about the environmental impact on the Kosciuszko National Park, and “scepticism” from within Coalition ranks.
NSW Labor to add 7GW renewables by 2030, to create state-owned generator
The New South Wales Labor Party says it will commit to building another 7 gigawatts of new large scale renewable energy capacity by 2030 if it is elected in March, and will do most of this through a series of reverse auctions.
‘The Darling will die’: Scientists say mass fish kill due to over-extraction and drought
Australian Academy of Science panel says urgent steps needed to restore flows
EDO heralds ‘landmark’ climate change decision, despite criticism of the judiciary
While mainstream media has cried “judicial overreach” in response to the Land and Environment Court’s decision to refuse consent for a coal mine over climate change concerns, the Environmental Defenders’ Office is savouring its successful advocacy against Gloucester Resources’ planned Rocky Hill mine, according to its acting principal.
NSW Labor plans to create state-owned power company
The NSW Labor Party has announced plans to build a new state-owned and run renewable energy company, to help supply half a million new solar systems on NSW roofs and to support investment in more than 7 gigawatts of renewable power ahead of the upcoming state election.
Drought, water overuse caused Murray-Darling fish deaths, report finds
An expert panel has found serious problems in the management of the Murray-Darling river system which led to mass fish kills.
Australian Academy of Science
This report investigates the causes of three major fish kills in the Darling River near Menindee in December 2018 and January 2019. It was produced at the request of the Hon. Bill Shorten MP, Leader of the Federal Opposition and was made public by the Academy at the same time it was provided to Mr Shorten.
How to vote for a coal seam gas ban
Johanna Evans
Protection of our water resources must be front and centre when NSW votes in March and Australia in May.
Strikes undermine Illawarra’s coal future [$]
Matthew Stevens
Critical elements of the coal supply chain in and around the steel city of Port Kembla are presently under sustained siege by a coal union.
ACT
Canberra proposes ditching all single-use plastics
Coffee cups, plastic cutlery, takeaway containers and cotton buds could all be saved from the scrapheap if the ACT Government goes through with proposed changes and puts its foot down on single-use plastics.
Queensland
Qld floods to impact reef’s marine animals
The recent Queensland floods have led to runoff into the Great Barrier Reef, which could impact seagrass and in turn lead to green turtles and dugongs dying.
Queensland union will not back election candidates who do not support coal workers
CFMMEU district president Stephen Smyth says union will back candidates who support workers’ rights
Labor faces damaging split over Adani [$]
Bill Shorten’s political strategy to keep Adani’s controversial $2 billion Carmichael mine out of the spotlight before the federal election has imploded.
Adani’s new lawyers proposed ‘attack dog’ plan to wage legal ‘war’
Documents obtained by the ABC reveal Brisbane law firm AJ & Co proposed an aggressive strategy for mining giant Adani to shut down critics and pressure the Queensland Government to bring the Carmichael mine to life.
Five south-east Queensland councils unite for new waste solutions
Five south-east Queensland councils have united in a bid to issue a joint procurement for the region’s waste management, hoping to attract national and even international bids.
Amateur naturalist finds new population of endangered wild macadamias
Thirty-seven new trees of the endangered macadamia jansenii species have been found in Bulburin National Park, south of Rockhampton.
Shorten’s tax plan will be a rough ride [$]
Peter Gleeson
AS the federal polls narrow, ostensibly over Labor’s failed border protection policy, expect the State Government to come under tremendous pressure from Shorten to approve the Adani mine.
South Australia
Tesla big battery is holding its own in a burgeoning energy storage market
The South Australian battery pockets $4m as the market looks to unlock multiple potential value streams
Oil giant’s big bid to prove Bight drilling safety [$]
The oil firm with controversial plans to drill in the Great Australian Bight is today releasing its environment plan early to reveal significantly upgraded safety measures, in a bid to reassure the public that its $200 million plan is safe.
Shunning plastic spells big business for Adelaide company [$]
A Netley manufacturer expects the “phenomenal” increase in demand for compostable bags – as part of a move to reduce waste going to landfill – will lead to him doubling his workforce.
Tasmania
Wetland clean up bid clears hurdle [$]
Waste treatment Tasmania’s environment watchdog has laid out conditions required for a trial of a new treatment system at a landfill site.
Tassie company signs on to wind farm project [$]
A Tasmanian company has won an $8 million contract to manufacture components for a wind farm in the Central Highlands.
Water plant move timing remains fluid
A firm timeline is yet to emerge around the relocation of the Macquarie Point wastewater treatment plant, five months after the State Government committed to foot the bill.
Inquiry into public and government responses to the Tasmanian bushfires of 2019
United Tasmania Group (UTG)
Since 2012 there have been several major bushfires in Tasmania, which have led to widespread damage including 119,200 hectares in 2012-2013 (including 44,700 hectares in the Giblin River area), 126,800 hectares across Tasmania in 2016 and the current fires that have consumed about 200,000 hectares in wilderness, National Park and reserve areas (2019).
Indigenous fire rangers could save Tasmania’s wilderness [$]
Michael Shawn-Fletcher
Aboriginal burning helped shape Tasmanian wilderness and it could help save it now.
Western Australia
Engie advances Pilbara green hydrogen plans to make “sun shine at night”
Engie and Yara Pilbara Fertilisers agree to $3m feasibility study into converting existing ammonia plant to produce renewable hydrogen.
Sustainability
India’s first grid-scale battery storage project comes online
The 10 MW/10 MWh grid-connected energy storage system could pave the way for wider energy storage adoption in India.
India plugs pollution-reducing incentives
India has proposed incentives to encourage the curbing of greenhouse gas emissions and to develop infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Tiny fibers create unseen plastic pollution
While the polyester leisure suit was a 1970s mistake, polyester and other synthetic fibers like nylon are still around and are a major contributor to the microplastics load in the environment, according to a materials scientist, who suggests switching to biosynthetic fibers to solve this problem.
UK government backs campaign for recycling bases in Pakistan
Scheme will match donations to NGO up to £2m to help reduce ocean plastic pollution
Think before you spray: The unintended harms of bug repellent
We use large amounts of pesticides to tackle insects at home. But our fondness for fly spray has potentially serious impacts on public health and the environment.
Immediate action is needed to save the long-term future
John Avery
Today we are faced with multiple interrelated crises, for example the threat of catastrophic climate change or equally catastrophic thermonuclear war,and the threat of widespread famine.
Nature Conservation
Brazil bans upstream mining dams [$]
Brazil’s government banned new upstream mining dams and ordered the decommissioning of all such dams by 2021.
Diversity on land is not higher today than in the past, study shows
The rich levels of biodiversity on land seen across the globe today are not a recent phenomenon: diversity on land has been similar for at least the last 60 million years, since soon after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Sea cucumbers are being eaten to death
Two Moroccan divers stood on the rocks an hour before sunrise facing the gray Atlantic.
World’s biggest terrestrial carbon sinks are found in young forests
More than half of the carbon sink in the world’s forests is in areas where the trees are relatively young — under 140 years old — rather than in tropical rainforests, research at the University of Birmingham shows.
Massive restoration of world’s forests would cancel out a decade of CO2 emissions, analysis suggests
New findings suggest trees are ‘our most powerful weapon in the fight against climate change’, says scientist.
There’s a Place for Us: New Research Reveals Humanity’s Roles in Ecosystems
In two back-to-back symposia a cross-disciplinary cohort of scientists will present the first comprehensive investigations of how humans interacted with plant and animal species in different cultures
Great white shark genome decoded [$]
In a major scientific step to understand the biology of this iconic apex predator and sharks in general, the entire genome of the white shark has now been decoded in detail.
Now for something completely different …
Fix Fundraising Frustrated by Senate Report
The coalition of peak bodies campaigning to fix state fundraising laws has welcomed the release of a Senate committee report into fundraising, but says it feels frustrated and concerned over a lack of decisive action on the issue.
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