In developing nations, national parks could save endangered species
A new study of animal populations inside and outside a protected area in Senegal, Niokolo-Koba National Park, shows that protecting such an area from human interaction and development preserves not only chimps but many other mammal species.
Today’s Celebration
Dry Season Celebration – Myanmar / Burma
Harriet Tubman Day – United States of America
Day of Geodesy and Cartography Workers – Russia
National Theater Day – Azerbaijan
Holocaust Remembrance Day – Bulgaria
Maslenitsa (Forgiveness Sunday) – Eastern Orthodox Church
Climate Change
Atmospheric scientists reveal the effect of sea-ice loss on Arctic warming
Analyses indicate that Arctic amplification would not slow down until the 22nd and 23rd centuries. The sea ice loss is causing the rapid warming in the Arctic.
CO2 mineralization in geologically common rocks for carbon storage
An international research team led by Kyushu University modeled CO2 mineralization on a quartz (SiO2) surface to study the dynamics of geological trapping. In molecular dynamics simulations, CO2 interacted with SiO2 to form CO3 units, which were hydrolyzed into carbonate ions by water. Carbonate ions react with dissolved metals (e.g. Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe2+), locking CO2 emissions into underground minerals posing no environmental threat. The study confirms this process is favorable but requires cleaved SiO2 surfaces.
National
Federal Labor’s vow to end plastic bottles
A federal Labor government will work with surf clubs and spend $3 million over four years to stop single-use plastic water bottles ending up on beaches.
Coal ash has become one of Australia’s biggest avoidable waste problems
It makes up 20 per cent of all waste in Australia, and can be used to make high-quality and efficient concrete. So why is coal ash being dumped in toxic waste dams, and not being recycled?
Coalition’s climate policy reboot won’t do much for emissions, investor group warns
IGCC, which represents big funds, says ‘small-scale’ package is unlikely to offer a durable policy framework
George Christensen defends using pro-coal posts from covert Glencore campaign
Liberal National MP dismisses concerns about the secret nature of Project Caesar messaging
Tony Abbott tries some climate adaptation for the winds of Warringah
Michelle Grattan
Tony Abbott pulled the panic lever on Friday, and Malcolm Turnbull pushed the revenge button.
Victoria
Insurance Council of Australia declares Victorian bushfires a ‘catastrophe’
As dozens of residents returned to their homes after devastating bushfires ripped through the Bunyip State Forest in Victoria’s east last weekend, the Insurance Council of Australia has declared the uncontrolled fire a ‘catastrophe’.
‘We didn’t deserve it’: Retirees donate savings to climate fight
The problem with wills, according to Caroline Bellair, is not that other people spend your money – it’s that they do so after you’re dead.
‘I just think it stinks’: Brunswick residents find council ruling toxic
It’s a situation found right across Brunswick: a couple of adjacent houses back on to a bluestone alley they share with an industrial warehouse, in this case a car mechanic’s.
Three toxic waste dump sites discovered in Craigieburn
Authorities have found three new illicit chemical dump sites in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, bringing the number of stockpiles uncovered in the past three months to nearly a dozen.
Dumped rubbish a scourge on Melbourne [$]
Trashed TVs, dumped building materials, old mattresses — illegal rubbish sites are springing up across the city. These are the areas hit hardest by illegal dumping, and how residents can help solve it.
New South Wales
‘Drives me insane’: lack of information exposes Sydney’s river users
Calls for Sydney’s waterways to be treated the same as our beaches in terms of telling the public when it’s safe – or not – to take a dip.
Ancient rite, modern fight: how brumbies are breaking the landscape
“The horse is much heavier than us, so when they tread on this, they are turning the taps off on the Murrumbidgee River.”
North South line will be open before Western Sydney Airport’s 2026 launch
A “crucial” metro line will be up and running before the opening of Sydney’s second international airport at Badgerys Creek in 2026.
Air monitoring pledge after dust up over North Sydney smokestacks
Smokestacks for the proposed Western Harbour Tunnel will spew exhaust fumes within hundreds of metres of schools, parks and a pre-school.
Emergency water deliveries to save country towns
It’s arriving by tanker, in bottles, via water coolers and even pipelines — the towns rapidly running out of drinking water are finally set to get some relief. Deliveries will begin this week after The Sunday Telegraph revealed country towns were drying up.
ACT
Can a group of angry residents in Australia take down Google’s drone delivery project?
The company behind a drone delivery trial in Canberra has worked to make them quieter, but there are plenty of other things to worry about besides noise.
Queensland
South-east Queensland set to break records in autumn heatwave
It might be the start of autumn but the summer-like weather is far from over in south-east Queensland, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting sweltering conditions over the next few days.
Game-changing Gold Coast Spit plan revealed [$]
A much-loved but neglected slice of the Gold Coast is set to be transformed into “Central Park by the ocean” under a game-changing multi-million-dollar overhaul.
South Australia
All eyes on the return of baby native oysters for Windara Reef in the Yorke Peninsula [$]
One of South Australia’s most popular holiday and fishing spots is eagerly awaiting the beginning of the end of a 183-year-old environmental disaster with the arrival soon of millions of baby native oysters.
Tasmania
‘Intimidation’: Tasmanian activists say duck hunters left dead wallaby at camp
Group trying to disrupt hunt says ‘human urine’ also left at site at start of state’s official duck-hunting season
On climate and politics, young Tasmanians look for answers
It was a cool afternoon in Launceston’s Princes Square, a welcome reprieve after the warmest January on record for the city – the warmest on record for the country, too – and the blazer-clad group of students appeared like any other.
Glenorchy Council to target organic waste [$]
Glenorchy residents could be joining the war on waste with rubbish bins specifically for food and green waste.
Western Australia
EPA boss hits back at carbon curb critics
Tom Hatton said new curbs on carbon emissions from major projects would not hit a number of big-ticket industrial developments that were in the pipeline.
Sustainability
The Roundup row: is the world’s most popular weedkiller carcinogenic?
Producer Monsanto is facing thousands of lawsuits from customers who now have cancer. But not all experts are convinced of a link…
Nature Conservation
Coral reef parks protecting only 40 percent of fish biomass potential
Marine scientists examining the ecological status of coral reefs across the Indian and Pacific oceans have uncovered an unsettling fact: even the best coral reef marine parks contain less than half of the fish biomass found in the most remote reefs that lie far from human settlements.
Chatterpies, haggisters and ninuts could help children love conservation
Weaving stories and intriguing names into children’s education about the natural world could help to engage them with species’ conservation messages, new research shows.
In developing nations, national parks could save endangered species
A new study of animal populations inside and outside a protected area in Senegal, Niokolo-Koba National Park, shows that protecting such an area from human interaction and development preserves not only chimps but many other mammal species.
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