Just loads of bad news today – mostly on climate
Post of the Day
What’s the ‘ideal temperature for life to thrive’?
Tasmanian researchers believe they have found out how to calculate the ideal temperatures for microorganisms to thrive. And while it’s different for every organism, the answer is definitely below 42 degrees Celsius.
Today’s Celebration
Boy Scout Day – United States of America
Culture Day – Slovenia
Youth Day – Congo (Republic of)
Science Day – Russia
Air Force Day – Iran
Prison Service Day – Poland
Parinirvana Day – Buddhism
International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking
Climate Change
‘Climate change is here right now’: UN warns world on track to breach 3C rise by 2100
As climatic extremes dominated 2018, a new UN report shows that global warming will continue to dominate in the long-term.
Green New Deal: Ocasio-Cortez unveils bold plan to fight climate change
Blueprint for a carbon-neutral economy has been embraced by prominent Democrats and evokes FDR’s famous legacy
Native Sámi people face perils of climate change
One of the key findings of the most recent UN report on the mounting perils of climate change is that rising temperatures pose a distinct risk to indigenous people, who are often small farmers, fishers or herders.
2018 was 4th warmest, but next 5 years could break records
The average temperature was 14.7 C, which is 1.42 degrees 0.8 C warmer than the 20th century average
Earth may not appear as blue in another 80 years: study
The findings showed that climate change has been significantly affecting phytoplankton — the tiny sea creatures — in the world`s oceans, which will lead to the change in colour — intensifying its blue and green regions.
Melting ice sheets may cause ‘climate chaos’: study
It will cause a rise in the water level around the globe.
Germany to fall short of 2020 climate goals: report
Barring radical change, Germany will not reach the goal it set itself for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Cars and buildings are to blame, the report said.
New research shows the planet is already paralleling the most recent major warm period in its past. Now the only question is how fast Antarctica could collapse.
The students fighting to make this the climate change election [$]
Chris Woods
“You don’t give the bully the attention. We’ll focus on what we know is real.”
The world’s wild week: Floods, fires and blizzards in a time of climate change
Lee Duffield
It has been a week of wild weather all around the globe — and it’s all about climate change.
National
Fed govt open to fish royal commission
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has left open the door for a Murray-Darling Basin Plan royal commission as NSW trucks stressed Murray cod south.
Aust to easily meet climate target: study
A new study by Australian National University researchers contradicts a recent report that said the nation needs to cut carbon emissions more sharply.
Policy crisis clouds AGL project pipeline [$]
AGL has launched a new push into energy storage as its 10 per cent gain in first-half profit unleashes a fresh attack from the federal government.
New energy rules may force more big business power cuts
The energy market operator will have its powers boosted to call on big energy users to power down during emergencies to free up electricity.
Taylor blasts AGL’s high prices [$]
Energy Minister Angus Taylor has launched an extraordinary attack on Australia’s largest electricity generator.
Treasurer pressured on congestion [$]
Josh Frydenberg faces hostile state Labor counterparts while trying to deal with congestion in major cities.
Irrigators in danger of being swamped by critics [$]
Ed Gannon
Dirty word Irrigators provide food, thousands of jobs and millions of export dollars but they’re in danger of becoming pariahs.
Meet Australia’s newest species – an endangered tick
Mackenzie L. Kwak
The ancestors of the newly described Heath’s tick date back to the time of the dinosaurs, but climate change and invasive species could wipe the tick out.
Victoria
Australian Paper to proceed with Victorian-first energy-from-waste project
A proposed energy-from-waste plant which could divert 650,000 tonnes of rubbish from landfill each year appears set to go ahead.
Federal population meeting a ‘sham’, says Victorian Treasurer
Victoria is still being badly short-changed on fedreal infrastructure funding despite being home to a soaring population, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says.
Energy giant AGL has announced a $25 million upgrade to Victoria’s Loy Yang coal-fired power station.
Victoria leads push to ban cladding after Spencer St blaze [$]
Days after a fire ripped through a Spencer St tower, the Victorian government will lead a push for a nationwide ban on the combustible cladding.
What has Australia learned from Black Saturday?
Kevin Tolhurst
The Black Saturday fires transformed the way Australia responds to bushfires.
New South Wales
Brown, smelly Yass water could have clear future with funding promise
Hospital treatment is being impacted by the dirty water in the NSW town of Yass, Labor says, as it promises $10 million in state and federal funding to fix the problem — granted each branch wins their next elections.
Anti-Adani protesters outside CEO speech
A group of protesters have rallied outside the Sydney Mining Club, where Adani Australia’s CEO was speaking about the company’s Carmichael coal mine.
Murray cod rescue mission has officers scooping up ailing fish by hand
Fisheries officers are attempting to save Murray cod near Menindee, the location of a number of summer fish kills, by catching them in nets and transporting them by road more than 100 kilometres downstream.
More fish deaths and water shortages possible as flow to lower Darling River turned off
Authorities prepare to stop releases of water into the lower Darling River, cutting off flows to the region for the second time in three years.
Michael McCormack makes first visit to Menindee since fish kill: ‘We’re all experts in hindsight’
Nationals leader, who had earlier blamed mass deaths on lack of rain, defends irrigators and plays down climate change
Smart meter installations proving ‘nightmare’ for electricians
Electrical contractors say the smart meter installation method is broken and small businesses and customers are feeling the pain because of complicated systems, particularly in New South Wales.
‘Sands are shifting’: NSW agriculture minister to push climate cause
Niall Blair, NSW agriculture minister and a Nationals MP, says it was time climate change’s impact on farming was acknowledged and the effects dealt with – even if his views differed from “many of my colleagues”.
Fish embark on 590km road trip from Menindee after recent kills
The 20 Murray Cod are en route from Menindee to Narrandera “where it is hoped they will regain health for future breeding and restocking purposes”.
Park has big hopes for tiny Zoey [$]
She’s tiny and she’s super-cute, but Zoe the yellow-footed rock-wallaby has a serious part to play as part of the Australian Reptile Park’s project to help save her threatened species.
Queensland
Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal releases more water into wetland
Monsoonal rain hitting north Queensland results in a release of water from Indian mining giant Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal site into adjacent wetlands.
No royalties deal for Adani mine
Indian energy giant Adani has yet to sign a royalties agreement with the Queensland government for its controversial $2 billion Carmichael mine.
Adani chief rues original plans for ‘mega-mine’
The chief executive of major coal miner Adani says he rues the way the company’s controversial Carmichael coal mine was originally announced as a 60 million tonne mega-mine in 2010 before being scaled down to a 10 million tonne project last year.
Galilee Basin delays a risk: Adani [$]
Adani has warned that foreign investment in Queensland might suffer on the back of delays to the Galilee Basin coal mine.
More than 250 Townsville homes unlivable as damage bill surpasses $120 million
The damage bill from Townsville’s floods has reached $124 million, with 250 homes uninhabitable and more than 700 others severely damaged.
Public transport sees 15th straight month of growth, year-on-year
Patronage is up on public transport, according to the latest data from TransLink
More people are catching buses, trains and trams in south-east Queensland.
New threat surfaces as waters recede [$]
Concerns have been raised around the influx of mosquitoes around far north Queensland following days of heavy rain and flooding.
Chemical leak ‘no longer impacting community’ [$]
Police say an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act in relation to a chemical leak in Mount Isa is no longer affecting the community after an exclusion zone with a radius of three kilometres was set up earlier this afternoon.
After the floods come the mosquitoes – but the disease risk is more difficult to predict
Cameron Webb
The more water, the more mosquito eggs are laid, and the more mosquitoes end up buzzing about. But to spread disease to people, they first need to bite infected wildlife.
South Australia
SA Water trials 1414 Degrees’ black box in search for cleaner, cheaper energy [$]
In a newly laid concrete apron at SA Water’s Glenelg treatment plant, a bold experiment in the future of energy is taking shape.
Climate change threatens SA tourism, health and business: industry leaders
Tourist numbers will drop, cases of malaria could emerge in hospitals and business productivity will plummet as a result of climate change, some of South Australia’s leading industry and health bodies have warned.
Fishing facility set to bring big savings for industry [$]
A new multi-million fish unloading facility will save fishing trawlers tens of thousands of dollars a year, days of unproductive time at sea and futureproof the Ceduna region’s economy.
There was no pathway, no practical agreement on implementation [$]
David Speirs
The River Murray is our nation’s most valuable environmental resource and is the lifeblood of our state — sustaining our productivity and the communities who rely on it.
Tasmania
After weeks of bushfires, there’s the ‘sweet sound’ of rain in Tasmania
Storms across Tasmania bring some much needed respite to the bushfire crisis that has gripped the state, with people posting joyous messages of thanks for the downpour across social media.
‘You throw your hands up in horror’: Lack of action on recovery plans leaves
A national approach is needed to ensure native Tasmanian species do not face the imminent risk of extinction, a Senate inquiry has heard this week.
Dr Bob Brown leads anti coal mine convoy
About 100 Tasmanians have so far signed up to join an anti-Adani coal mine road convoy which organisers say will be bigger than the protest to stop the damming of the Franklin River.
Salmon farm expansion plan clears hurdle [$]
Tassal’s proposed fish farm expansion in southern Tasmanian waters has been given the green light by the federal Environment Department.
Wild lakes conceal a dirty secret [$]
Contamination fears Iconic lakes within the Wilderness World Heritage Area have been so badly contaminated that their metal readings are among the worst in the
world.
Fears tiny handfish are in peril from pipeline [$]
A request has been made for the Federal Government to intervene in a controversial plan to build a pipeline which will pump treated sewage from Blackmans Bay to a proposed golf course at Arm End Reserve.
Northern Territory
Backflow backlash as property owners foot bill to keep water supply safe
Thousands of businesses in the Northern Territory are given just weeks to make sure their plumbing isn’t creating a potential hazard to the local water supply.
Western Australia
Fast-moving bushfire threatens Perth lives
An emergency warning has been issued for a fast-moving, life-threatening bushfire in the Perth suburb of Forrestdale, which has burnt out several cars.
‘It’s our country and we want it fixed up’: Elders demand clean-up of asbestos waste
Decades after the Wittenoom mine closed down, millions of tonnes of asbestos tailings remain in the gorge — and traditional owners say they’ve had enough.
Shark Bay: A World Heritage Site at catastrophic risk
Matthew Fraser et al
Shark Bay was hit by a brutal marine heatwave in 2011.
Sustainability
Russia says open to new nuclear pact
Russia is open to considering new proposals for a broader treaty including other countries to replace a suspended Cold War-era nuclear pact with the US.
Plastic waste: UK should not pass buck to world’s poorest, say MPs
UK must deal with plastic waste on its own soil, says group calling for export ban
One of UK’s last coal power stations to close due to rising costs
Closure of Cottam plant in Nottinghamshire likely to lead to more than 150 job cuts
Fossil fuels are bad for your health and harmful in many ways besides climate change
The coal, oil and natural gas industries are also connected with human rights violations, public health disasters and environmental devastation.
Ukraine probing into illegal pollution of Black Sea with toxic waste in occupied
The Ukrainian-based Prosecutor’s Office for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea jointly with the police have begun a pretrial investigation into the illegal pollution of the Black Sea with toxic waste in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Hundreds of plants closed to fight air pollution in Bangkok
Thailand has decided to temporarily shut down some 600 factories around the capital city of Bangkok so as to reduce emissions of pollutants.
Near site of Fukushima nuclear disaster, a shattered town and scattered lives
Japan has urged evacuees to return to once no-go areas and rebuild their communities. Few have made the move.
The cost to clean up America’s Cold War nuclear waste jumps to $377 billion
The bill for a half century of nuclear weapons production is growing fast.
Why stop at plastic bags and straws? The case for a global treaty banning most single-use plastics
Anastasia Telesetsky
Dozens of cities, states and nations are enacting bans and restrictions on single-use plastic bags and other items. A legal expert explains how a global treaty could build on these efforts.
It’s time to talk about cancer prevention — and the role of the environment
Laura N. Vandenberg
In his 2019 State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Trump called for $500 million over the next 10 years to fund research on childhood cancers.
Nature Conservation
Massive NZ bushfire still ‘out of control’
New Zealand emergency services say one property has been destroyed while more than 400 people had to evacuate 183 homes after a blaze on the South Island.
What’s the ‘ideal temperature for life to thrive’?
Tasmanian researchers believe they have found out how to calculate the ideal temperatures for microorganisms to thrive. And while it’s different for every organism, the answer is definitely below 42 degrees Celsius.
Authorities scramble for answers in mass seabird deaths
The deaths of up to 20,000 guillemots seabirds off the Dutch coast leaves puzzled authorities questioning whether a container spill — or something else entirely — is responsible for the mass kill.
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