Post of the Day
A third of Himalayan ice cap doomed, finds report
Even radical climate change action won’t save glaciers, endangering 2 billion people
Today’s Celebration
Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day – Tanzania
Constitution Day – Mexico
Liberation of the Republic from the Alberoni Occupation – San Marino
Presidents Day – Congo (Republic of)
St. Agatha’s Day – San Marino
Unity Day – Burundi
Kashmir Solidarity Day – Pakistan
Climate Change
A third of Himalayan ice cap doomed, finds report
Even radical climate change action won’t save glaciers, endangering 2 billion people
Rising temperatures to make oceans bluer and greener
Scientists say effects of global warming on ‘phytoplankton’ will intensify the colours
The Best Data Viz and Infographics on Climate Change Facts
We’ve scoured the Web to find the best visualizations on climate change facts from the last few years.
Climate change policy: governors show what happens when you campaign on climate action and win
There’s a flurry of green political news at the state level.
Will these massive geoengineering projects fix the earth—or break it?
Researchers have begun proposing, testing, and in some cases implementing large-scale projects to radically transform the planet.
Think your country is fighting climate change? You may want to think again…
“Governments are cheating people and nature on their desire for safe planet and for protecting ecosystem,” says Stephan Singer from Climate Action Network.
‘The Human Element’ makes the impacts of climate change feel real
Climate change, extreme weather events and debates over climate mitigation strategies dominated the news for much of the last year.
ISGP’s “The Forum” Podcast: Under pressure
One possible solution to climate change is carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), whereby CO2 is collected and then sequestered underground. How does this process work, where is it already occurring, and how did the U.S. government recently encourage its expansion?
Sick, smashed, systemic and confusing — what’s really doing damage
Simon Black
When it comes to taking action against climate change, we need to start thinking in terms of direct causation.
National
Energy efficient homes could save households $1,000-plus a year on bills
Government mandated energy efficiency standards could deliver more than $1000 a year in electricity bill savings for average Australian households, a new report has found.
State by state – solar records fell across Australia in 2018
There has never been a sustained boom of this magnitude occurring concurrently in every major state.
Senator questions whether ‘driest continent on the planet’ should grow, export cotton
Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick has thrown down the gauntlet to the cotton industry, challenging them to justify its use of water and its right to farm.
Energy users could be paid to reduce use
The Australian energy market is considering a rule change where consumers could be compensated for reducing electricity use to help the grid during peak demand.
Energy regulator proposes safety net for households struggling with high power bills
The energy regulator plans to roll out new guidelines electricity retailers must follow when dealing with vulnerable customers as an increasing number of households struggle to pay rising power bills.
‘Unworkable and over-reach’: Origin slams energy break-up bill
Energy giant Origin says the government’s proposed energy company breakup bill “will have a detrimental impact” on the electricity sector.
Lizard evolution highlights power of climate change
The fragmentation of lizard habitat across Australia brought about by Ice Age aridification millions of years ago could lead to smaller current populations having a reduced ability to cope with continued climate change.
A warming world increases air pollution
The UC Riverside-led study shows that the contrast in warming between the continents and sea, called the land-sea warming contrast, drives an increased concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere that cause air pollution.
Early spring rain boosts methane from thawing permafrost by 30 percent
A UW-led team has found that early spring rainfall warms up a thawing permafrost bog in Alaska and promotes the growth of plants and methane-producing microbes.
How did wind and solar perform in the recent heat-wave?
Peter Farley
In spite of the commentary you have heard about renewables failing during the power crisis, the opposite was true.
Know your NEM: Gas and hydro creamed the market as brown coal failed
David Leitch
Gas and hydro plants were the big beneficiaries as the unreliability of brown coal generation hit home in the January heatwave.
Murray-Darling report shows public authorities must take climate change risk seriously
Arjuna Dibley
Mass fish deaths in the Darling River highlight the issue of climate risk.
Victoria
Wind and lightning cause Vic fire concern
Firefighters have managed to control several blazes across Victoria but strong winds in the southeast and lightning strikes in the northeast are fresh threats.
New South Wales
New NSW national park with koala habitat
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced a new national park which includes prime koala habitat will be created in the NSW Southern Highlands.
‘Astounded’: former fire chief unloads on politicians over climate change
Former NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner Greg Mullins says climate change is leading to bushfires so horrendous that homes and lives cannot be protected
NSW river to get gigalitres of water
Gigalitres of environmental water will be released into NSW’s lower Murrumbidgee to help prevent fish deaths as conditions in the river system worsen.
Yass residents are drinking dirty water and some say it’s making them sick
Smelly, dirty water in the rural NSW town of Yass is an unsolved $11 million problem — sparking a Facebook complaint group, a crowdfunding account and now, a song.
Queensland
Tips to help prevent koala drownings
There are calls for people to leave flotation devices in their backyard pools to save wildlife, after a koala drowned on the Gold Coast.
Push to ban all coal mines in the Galilee Basin does not go far enough
Greens MP Michael Berkman has introduced a private member’s bill to ban mining in Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
The conservationist who stopped mining on Fraser Island dies at 79
John Sinclair, the conservationist who halted sand mining on Fraser Island, has passed away.
Explainer: How Queensland is being soaked by an ‘unprecedented monsoonal burst’
The north Queensland coast hasn’t seen anything like it before. Homes are flooding, dams are overflowing and still the rain keeps pouring down. What’s going on?
UN to be told: stop fighting Adani
Australia will formally reject the United Nations’ intervention over the Adani coalmine.
Townsville, ravaged by economic woes and now Mother Nature, needs all the help it can get
Courier-Mail editorial
If there was a single Queensland city or town that most deserved respite from the elements over summer, it was Townsville.
South Australia
Indonesia’s Terregra to build another 5MW solar farm in South Australia
Indonesia’s Terregra Renewables has announced plans to build a second 5MW solar farm in South Australia.
South Australia’s second big solar farm gets generation licence, to start production
Vena gets generation licence for the second big solar farm in South Australia, with commissioning to begin in a few weeks.
Last day of Adelaide’s Big Dry
Adelaide is set to experience its 48th consecutive day without rain, becoming the fourth-driest spell in history, but Wednesday’s forecast suggests its coming to an end
New alert over toxic chemical [$]
Contamination from a firefighting foam continues to be found across Adelaide, with the latest pollution being detected near Parafield Airport.
Tasmania
Weather key as bushfires consume nearly 200,000ha
Hopes for an end to Tasmania’s fire crisis lie in the lap of the weather gods, with the possibility of rain across the state on Thursday. A total of 19 fires continue to burn, with an emergency warning in place for Brandum on the Central Plateau.
‘It’s just a disaster’: Fires deal massive blow to honey industry
Tasmanian honey prices are expected to soar, after dry conditions and fires across the state conspire to deliver the industry’s worst season in 35 years.
Green light for $3.5m recycled water pipeline [$]
A pipeline to pump recycled water from Blackmans Bay to a South Arm development is set to go ahead.
Tasmania is burning. The climate disaster future has arrived while those in power laugh at us
Richard Flanagan
Scott Morrison is trying to scare people about franking credits but seems blithely unaware people are already scared – about climate change
Tasmanian tree ferns… an Indicator of corruption ?
John Hawkins
The man fern – possibly several centuries old – comes from native forests destroyed by a logging industry that was recently found to be illegal by the Federal Court of Australia.
The Burning of the Tahune Airwalk
Gordon Bradbury
The destruction of the Tahune Airwalk and the burning of the southern forests is a classic case of the risks of building commercial tourism assets within fire dependent/prone native vegetation.
Western Australia
W.A. unveils plan to lead global lithium-ion battery boom
Western Australia government launches plan to unlock lithium-ion battery value chain, including vast reserves of lithium and other high value metals.
Planning Minister approves ‘fire-prone’ subdivision
Rita Saffioti has ignored advice from DFES warning of a “catastrophic” fire risk.
One backyard at a time: how Perth gardeners can lead the planet back to health
Trevor Cochrane
You hope something happens soon, but think you personally can’t make a real difference. This feeling of disempowerment is possibly our greatest challenge.
Sustainability
Solar powered batteries on wheels will change the grid forever
Tritium co-founder says the mobile battery storage in electric vehicles will have a major impact on the way consumers use electricity, and the grid.
Tesla Model Y could see double demand of Model 3: Musk
Elon Musk predicts Tesla’s upcoming all-electric SUV, the Model Y, could be twice as popular as its current best-selling electric sedan.
Europe’s most deprived areas ‘hit hardest by air pollution’
Exposure to particulate matter and ozone highest in poor eastern European states, says study
A new approach for the fast estimation of the solar energy potential in urban environments
Researchers have developed a new approach for calculating fast and accurate the solar energy potential of surfaces in the urban environment. The new approach can significantly help architects and urban planners to incorporate photovoltaic (solar power) technology in their designs.
Study: Environmental regulations may have unintended consequences in energy production
Many countries have passed environmental laws to preserve natural ecosystems. Although the regulations seem to have improved preservation efforts, they may have had unintended consequences in energy production, leading to more greenhouse gas emissions. That’s the conclusion of a new study by a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University that appears in the journal PLOS ONE.
Which countries eat the most meat?
Many in the West say they are trying to cut down on meat, but the reality is a different story.
The pervasiveness of microplastics
Plastic particles are showing up in our food and in our bodies. Is that a problem?
Advocating for social issues at work more likely to succeed linking morality and mission, study says
When convincing management to consider advocating for a particular social issue, employees may think it is wise to focus on the benefits to the bottom line but making a moral argument may be a better strategy, as long as it aligns with the company’s values, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Nature Conservation
Plastics glued in ocean by bacteria
Tiny particles of plastic are being glued together by bacteria in the ocean, with scientists fearing the clumps could be mistaken for food by marine mammals.
England’s national parks out of reach for poorer people – study
Protected countryside is more than 15 miles away from almost half of the most deprived areas
Seabirds on British island decline by 80% after overfishing and climate change cut off food source
A population crash in a massive seabird colony on Ascension Island has been attributed to a poor diet after their normal food sources dried up.
Why charismatic, introduced species are so difficult to manage
Introduced and invasive species can present big problems, particularly when those species are charismatic.
Global hub Hong Kong is grappling with a wild boar problem, with some residents calling for a cull, while others welcome the animals as a sign of good fortune.
There’s insufficient evidence your sunscreen harms coral reefs
Terry Hughes
Keep slip slop slapping this summer.
Now for something completely different …
Time away from Facebook may improve your wellbeing
Despite the scandals of recent years, billions of people still log on to Facebook each month to catch up with the news and see what their friends and family are up to. But some time away from the social media platform could do us all some good, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford and NYU.
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