Post of the Day
The rapid decline of the natural world is a crisis even bigger than climate change
A three-year UN-backed study from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has grim implications for the future of humanity.
Today’s Celebration
Abolition Day – Rico
Independence Day – Tunisia
Petroleum Day – Iran
Legba Zaou – Voudon
Birthday of Ali ibn Abi Talib – Islam
Fast of Esther – Judaism
World Frog Day
International Day of Happiness
Climate Change
School climate strikes: 1.4 million people took part, say campaigners
Activist Greta Thunberg, 16, says action proved ‘no one is too small to make a difference’
This is how climate change takes a toll on the heart
A team of German researchers has found evidence that heat-induced heart attacks are increasing, suggesting that climate change poses a risk to cardiovascular health.
Hay-fever on the rise as a result of global warming
Global warming will lead to “an increase in the amount of pollen,” causing respiratory discomfort or allergies, warned three monitoring networks in their annual report.
Climate change: A threat to agriculture & UN’s goal to eradicate hunger
The United Nations has vowed to eradicate extreme hunger and malnutrition on a self-imposed deadline of 2030. But it is facing a harsh realty where human-induced climate change is increasingly threatening agriculture, which also provides livelihoods for over 40 per cent of the global population.
Uncertain projections help to reveal the truth about future climate change
A team of four scientists from the US and the UK explain how differing climate model projections can be used collectively to reduce uncertainties in future climate change, in a paper published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Discovery of parasitic arsenic cycle may offer glimpse of life in future, warmer oceans
A newly discovered parasitic cycle, in which ocean bacteria keep phytoplankton on an energy-sapping treadmill of nutrient detoxification, may offer a preview of what further ocean warming will bring.
Mary Robinson, international climate badass, on why green solutions require a feminist lens
Former President of Ireland and climate leader Mary Robinson weighs in on feminism, the Green New Deal, and how she thinks about her own carbon footprint.
Scientists study fish to learn how to adapt to the impacts of climate change
Freshwater biodiversity is rapidly declining worldwide, and nature-based solutions which increase the resilience of ecological communities are becoming increasingly important in helping communities prepare for the unavoidable effects of climate change.
Personal responsibility is not enough to fix climate change
Josiah Neeley
This collective action problem will not be solved without developing better alternatives to emitting activities.
National
Coalition and Labor battle over economic pain of climate change policies
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is using hotly disputed forecasts of economic pain to try and flush out the missing pieces of Labor’s climate change policy.
Is it a targeted policy to restrict imports, or “business as usual”? Analysts are divided about China’s treatment of Australian thermal coal.
Labor to tell business it won’t let energy policy be held ‘hostage’
Pat Conroy will tell energy summit that Labor won’t delay action endlessly in a fruitless quest for bipartisanship
Labor signals it won’t use Kyoto credits in final emissions policy
Mark Butler says Labor wants genuine decarbonisation and is not interested in ‘dodgy accounting tricks’
Labor flags cheap permits for big polluters [$]
Labor is open to the use of cheap international carbon permits as it fends off claims its 45 per cent target will inflict widespread economic damage.
Business wants climate fine print [$]
Business is demanding that Bill Shorten unveil his plan to meet Labor’s 45 per cent emissions reduction target.
Trump witness backed controversial report used to criticise Labor’s climate policy
The author of a contentious report that predicted Labor’s emissions policies would devastate the economy has defended his findings after it emerged the expert who peer reviewed the research is also helping defend the Trump administration in a historic climate trial.
Coalition ramps up scare campaign against climate action, renewables
Giles Parkinson
Australia’s Coalition government may be more circumspect in how it plays the immigration and boarder security cards in light of the awful events in Christchurch, but it will show no such inhibition on its climate and energy scare campaign.
Climate modelling exposes Labor dilemma [$]
John Kehoe
There are economic consequences from taking action to address global warming, but the bigger losses under Labor will depend on how it achieves its 45 per cent emissions reduction goal.
Rio’s Simon Thompson, JS Jacques in climate knots [$]
Joe Aston
The leadership of mining giant Rio Tinto wanders ever deeper into a climate labyrinth almost entirely of its own construction
All I want to say is that, they don’t really care about us.
Emma Young
Oil and gas companies are pillars of our society. Requiring them to offset their pollution would amount to reckless endangerment of our jobs and economy. Right?
What most Aussies really think about climate change [$]
Margaret Wenham
The majority of Australians have made up their minds about climate science, and want government to act accordingly. What will it take for the mob in Canberra to get the message?
Time for details on carbon cap [$]
Graham Lloyd
Some time soon the ALP must come clean on the details of its plans for a cap and trade system to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Cost of climate change policies [$]
Australian editorial
Party leaders must reveal how industries would be affected.
Victoria
CityLink toll hike costs revealed under report on West Gate Tunnel deal
By 2045, Melbourne drivers will pay nearly $100 extra a week to regularly use CityLink under the Victorian Government’s plan for toll increases on the roadway, analysis shows.
Toyota receives $3.1m for hydrogen plant [$]
The grant would help Toyota turn its decommissioned car plant in Altona into a site to produce hydrogen as a transport fuel.
Protesters face off with riot police over removal of ‘sacred’ trees along highway
Protesters fighting to save “sacred” trees in the path of a $660-million highway upgrade have faced off with riot police in south-west Victoria.
Million megalitre water drain [$]
Victoria has delivered a million megalitres of environmental water to the Murray Darling Basin this season — more than 10 times the NSW contribution.
Dry limits duck hunt numbers [$]
Duck hunting is alive and well in Victoria, despite hunters’ numbers down for the season opening, according to Field and Game Australia.
Victorian councils sidelined in cladding crackdown [$]
Councils have been stripped of responsibility to ensure dangerous building materials are removed from hundreds of apartment complexes in a bid to fast-track response to the cladding crisis as figures show where the most problem-plagued buildings are.
New South Wales
Corn crops replace rice in Riverina cropping programs
Maize crops are popping up in the Riverina this summer as many traditional rice growers opt to trial the crop in a season of low water allocations.
NSW Premier shows off driverless trains of Sydney Metro Northwest
Gladys Berejiklian and NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance ride her Government’s flagship infrastructure project, the Sydney Metro Northwest rail, which boasts driverless trains and is due to open in May.
NSW Labor brings in Jay Weatherill to bolster its climate credentials
Former South Australian premier says NSW Coalition is a barrier to getting action among the states
Climate policies ‘will push up petrol to $2.33 a litre’ [$]
Blackouts will become more common in NSW than any other state and petrol prices will surge to $2.33 a litre if Labor wins the upcoming state and federal elections, a new analysis reveals.
Coal seam gas proposed to fix rising power bills [$]
There is a plentiful energy source available in NSW that could help slash electricity bills for households across the state — but both major parties refuse to give it the green light. Wholesale gas prices could be slashes, benefiting hardworking people and businesses of the state.
Will the NSW election deliver a change in electricity policy?
David Leitch
The major parties in NSW have developed policies to address climate and energy, but they don’t talk about them.
Queensland
Developers paid $4.6 million in koala offset payment to clear bushland
Those upfront payments were chosen in 97 per cent of all development applications where an offset for clearing bushland was necessary.
Farmers to have a say over Bill
Regional farmers will be given the opportunity to discuss a controversial Great Barrier Reef protection Bill, following concerns the bush was being ignored.
The climate change strike: from a student who was there
Aceda Rose
A first-hand account of the day students worldwide took the day off school to protest for climate change action and a better future
Climate trumps coal in regional areas [$]
Dennis Atkins
Despite some federal MPs still insisting on coal power, you can bet concerns about the weather and shifting patterns of our climate are registering as seriously in regional Queensland as in inner-city Brisbane.
South Australia
Port River dolphin calf population decimated
Every dolphin calf born in Adelaide’s Port River this summer breeding season has died, sparking concerns that the whole population could disappear.
Champion surfer Mick Fanning joins fight against Bight oil drilling
Three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning has thrown his weight behind a fight to stop a foreign oil company from drilling in the Great Australian Bight.
Artificial lawn to make Adelaide’s streets greener? [$]
Could we see artificial lawn on nature strips in Adelaide’s southwest? A council is investigating the idea to make the streets greener.
Plastic-free challenge for Lent inspires students [$]
Ginger Cooke’s mission to reduce her carbon emissions during Lent has inspired her classmates to take up the challenge.
Toxic chemicals in groundwater at Albert Park [$]
Soil will be tested near a former tin can factory in Albert Park after a toxic chemical — the same one that forced 25 homes in Clovelly Park to be demolished — was found in the groundwater.
Port River dredging, dumping dirt at sea, to begin in June [$]
The dredging of 1.5 million cubic metres of dirt to be dumped in the Gulf St Vincent will begin within months — but some are still worried about the environmental impact.
Tasmania
Tasmania poised to declare victory in war against carp
European carp is known as the “rabbit of the river” due to its prolific breeding habits, but the 25-year battle to eradicate it from Tasmanian lakes is nearing an end.
Support for renewable energy incentives [$]
Tasmanian farmers are already pushing to be able to trade the energy they generate through wind and solar.
Northern Territory
Katherine Gorge up in smoke as Top End burning season starts early
A poor wet season sparks an early start to the Top End’s prescribed burning season, almost two months ahead of schedule.
Surveys show new NT mineral, water resources
Potential new mineral and groundwater resources in the Northern Territory have been revealed by the results of the world’s largest airborne electromagnetic survey
Historic ruling opens new native title era
SMH editorial
The decision creates a formula for setting compensation.
Western Australia
WA’s rejection of carbon neutral guidelines leaves LNG emissions booming
Western Australia’s liquefied natural gas industry is the main driver for increased emissions but the state has refused to endorse EPA’s guidelines
Adani protesters shut down WA Parliament, ejected from public gallery
Protesters against a coal mining project in Queensland briefly shut down question time in WA Parliament on Tuesday.
Carnegie flags reboot for wave power business, as key investors provide funding
Carnegie Clean Energy hopes to resurrect wave power business with help of key investors, while selling or winding down solar micro-grid subsidiary.
Candidate pushes climate change [$]
Curtin candidate Louise Stewart will focus on global warming after a rival claimed humanity’s contribution to it was negligible.
Sustainability
Offshore windfarm development: bigger, better, cheaper
Cost of offshore wind has fallen as turbines have improved, along with energy storage schemes
China state investment giant drops coal
China’s big state-owned coal investors are weaning themselves off the once profitable commodity to focus on now-emissions alternatives.
2020 Hanford site budget cut proposed to Congress in request
The Trump administration is requesting less money from Congress for the Hanford nuclear reservation in 2020. Its proposal would cut the site’s budget by $416 million from current spending on cleanup.
A new £165m coal mine has been unanimously approved by councillors in Cumbria, sparking protests by environmental campaigners.
England could run short of water within 25 years
A combination of climate change and population growth are pushing the country towards what the chief executive of the Environment Agency referred to as the “jaws of death.”
Researchers find cost-effective method for hydrogen fuel production process
U of A researchers have identified an inexpensive way to boost the efficiency of a process used to create hydrogen, a clean, renewable fuel.
People choose healthy and sustainable lunches if given the green light
People are likely to choose healthier and more sustainable canteen meals if they are labelled with a traffic light system, according to new research.
Bright skies for plant-based jet fuels
With an estimated daily fuel demand of more than 5 million barrels per day, the global aviation sector is incredibly energy-intensive and almost entirely reliant on petroleum-based fuels. However, a new analysis by Berkeley Lab shows that sustainable plant-based bio-jet fuels could provide a competitive alternative to conventional fuels if current development and scale-up initiatives continue to push ahead successfully.
Wind power generated more than one third of British electricity last week
Wind energy in Great Britain last week generated over a third of the country’s electricity, more than any other power source.
Nature Conservation
Whale starves to death after eating 40kg worth of plastic bags off the Philippines coast
A starving juvenile whale has died after ingesting 40 kilograms of plastic bags, sparking calls from conservationists for action against those who continue to dump rubbish into rivers and the sea.
Sunscreen bans aimed at protecting coral reefs spark debate — among scientists
Biologists, oceanographers, other experts disagree on whether the evidence merits such legislative measures.
The rapid decline of the natural world is a crisis even bigger than climate change
A three-year UN-backed study from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform On Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has grim implications for the future of humanity.
Poor mixing of nutrients among looming climate change impacts
A temperature change of 3 to 4 degrees is also big enough to push back annual events, such as bird migrations and the developmental stages of plants, experts say.
‘Insectageddon’ is ‘alarmist by bad design’: Scientists point out the study’s major flaws
Amidst worldwide talks about ‘Insectageddon’: the extinction of 40 percent of the world’s insects, according to a recent scientific review, a response was published in the open-access journal Rethinking Ecology. Its authors point out major flaws in the earlier study: query and geographically biased summaries; mismatch between objectives and cited literature; and misuse of existing conservation data. Instead of serving as a wake-up call, those would rather compromise the credibility of conservation science, they warn.
Now for something completely different …
X
6 Florence St Niddrie 3042
93741902
0432406862