Post of the Day
Thanks to humans the ‘wilderness’ no longer exists – but we can make things on Earth better
Jeff Sparrow
Indigenous history shows there’s nothing inevitable about the environmental carnage being unleashed now
Today’s Celebration
Pakistan Day – Pakistan
Day of the Liberation of Southern Africa – Angola
Day of the Sea – Bolivia
Day of Hungarian-Polish Friendship
Climate Change
The effects of climate change on water shortages
In one of the most water-poor regions of the world, the Jordan River valley, predictions of future droughts depend on the scale of climate change.
Humans in the headlights: Frozen in the path of a climate catastrophe
Alex Fletcher
We humans are rabbits in the headlights of climate change, intuitively knowing we’re in trouble, but standing around watching as it thunders towards us.
National
Fact Check: Which state uses the most solar energy?
Gladys Berejiklian claims the largest use of solar energy is in NSW. But South Australia and Queensland might have something to say about that. RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.
CSIRO releases Brazilian leaf smut fungus to target and kill invasive weed
Science agency says scourge of wandering trad could be slowed by fungus, which they have called its ‘natural pathogen’
Parties battle it out on small business energy blueprint
Energy minister Angus Taylor said the government “owes it” to small businesses to enact a default market offer for energy prices.
Australia renewables share rises to 21.2%, but transport emissions soar
Renewables share jumps to 21.2 per cent as wind and solar displace coal and gas, but transport emissions soar as government dodges electric vehicle policies.
Climate change claims its first mammal extinction
The Bramble Cay melomys, a tiny island rodent, was wiped out by sea-level rise, according to the government of Australia.
Thanks to humans the ‘wilderness’ no longer exists – but we can make things on Earth better
Jeff Sparrow
Indigenous history shows there’s nothing inevitable about the environmental carnage being unleashed now
It’s time Australia got serious about shift to 100% renewables
Nicky Ison
The transition to 100% renewables is still not taken seriously by many in the energy industry. It should be.
Victoria
Victoria bushfire warning downgraded
A warning for a bushfire burning out of control in central Victoria has been downgraded, while still warning residents to monitor conditions.
Morrison ‘can’t deliver’ Geelong rail plan for $4b, minister claims
State government claims the $4 billion price tag put on ‘faster rail’ link to Geelong by the PM would not be enough.
Doubt on promise for 200km/h fast rail without new trains
Scott Morrison’s promise to build 200km/h fast rail services between Melbourne and Geelong will not be possible without new trains, a leading expert says.
Victoria solar project heads to VCAT, in landmark battle over land use
A 200MW solar farm proposed for Victoria’s south west will go before the administration tribunal in what shapes as a landmark battle over land use.
Will Scott Morrison’s fast rail plan help him save seats in Victoria?
Richard Willingham
If Prime Minister Scott Morrison is hoping his promise of $2 billion for fast rail between Melbourne and Geelong is going to sway voters, a look back at the outcome of last year’s Victorian election will not provide him much comfort, writes Richard Willingham.
Fast rail to Geelong? Do they really think we’re that stupid?
Clay Lucas
The PM’s announcement is precisely the sort of breathtakingly cynical political announcement that exhausts voters.
New South Wales
The NSW election campaign’s biggest surprise could be how long it takes to form a government
Billions of dollars have been thrown around, it seems to have taken forever, yet we still don’t know when we’ll see the final result.
NSW cotton farmer fined $190,000 for taking water while town nearly ran dry
Irrigator Anthony Barlow is fined well below the maximum for pumping water from the Barwon River during an extreme water shortage in Broken Hill.
Land clearing leads to NSW animal ‘crisis’
New research has found land clearing contributes to the death of up to 10 million animals a year and the loss of habitat for about five million animals in NSW.
NSW Govt and Labor mislead voters on power
Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Labor leader Michael Daley both made false claims about the cost of NSW power and energy bills.
Mining sector met NSW ministers almost every week over four years
Environment groups were given far less access and broadcaster Alan Jones got eight ‘catch-up’ meetings
Factories planned for a section of ‘the lungs of Sydney’s west’
A region of western Sydney set aside 15 years ago by former Labor premier Bob Carr as permanent parkland is to be turned into a factory site.
A private electricity developer has asked the federal government to underwrite coal generation from its NSW Redbank plant.
NSW goes to the polls as major parties go quiet on climate, renewables
As NSW prepares to vote in a too-close-to-call election, the silence on the hot-button policy issues of climate change and renewable energy is deafening.
Hunter Valley group plans to re-open Australia’s “dirtiest” coal generator
The new owners of a mothballed coal generator near Singleton in the Hunter Valley plan to restart operations at the 150MW facility, in what would be the first reversal of a coal closure in Australia amid a widening political divide over climate and energy.
The Berejiklian Government’s failing environmental record
Kate Smolski
In the face of increasing environmental catastrophe, the Berejiklian Government has been a destructive force against it.
Queensland
Q’landers will know if Fast Train is viable only after poll
A business case on the first section of a Fast Train concept will not be known until after the May 2019 federal election.
‘Don’t get worked up’: MP on climate change [$]
Students are being given anxiety because of irresponsible doomsday-type warnings about climate change, a Queensland Federal MP has warned, while calling on schools to ensure they have qualified and responsible science teachers.
South Australia
SA councillors call for a “climate emergency”
Adelaide, Marion and Adelaide Hills councils will on Tuesday night vote to declare a “climate emergency” in their local government areas as part of a global push for action on climate change.
Council’s $1.6m recycling bill — instead of making cash [$]
Onkaparinga Council has signed a deal with Visy to process the region’s recycling after the closure of another company last month.
Tasmania
Bushfire assessments at Tas tourist site
Trees burned in recent bushfires at the Tahune Airwalk tourist site southwest of Hobart are being assessed for their safety risk.
‘Disappointing’: Mine rehabilitation inquiry split on path forward
A federal senate committee tasked with investigating the rehabilitation of historical mine and resource projects, including a number of Tasmanian sites, has presented its findings this week, but failed to agree on a path forward.
Blockades planned in cable car protest [$]
Protests at kunanyi/Mt Wellington may begin within days as hundreds of angry anti-cable car protesters prepare to defend the mountain from drilling works.
Council votes unanimously on new timber mill [$]
A proposed new timber mill has been given the council tick of approval, but not everyone is happy.
Arborists assessing damage to Tahune forest [$]
Arborists are assessing the forest around the Tahune AirWalk for unsafe, fire-damaged trees, pledging to maintain the integrity of the area “where possible”.
Northern Territory
Thousands evacuated as NT prepares for cyclone
Thousands of people have been evacuated in the Northern Territory as Cyclone Trevor make its way towards the north coast of Australia.
Western Australia
Power grid in danger of solar blackout
Homes across Perth and WA’s south face widespread blackouts within a few years as the amount of solar power flooding back into the grid threatens to overwhelm the system.
Future emissions shock for WA’s major LNG players
More than 80 WA facilities emitted more than the 100,000 tonnes a year of CO₂ benchmark beyond which the EPA wanted to apply its guidance to new projects.
Sustainability
Diarrhoea kills more children in war zones than war itself – Unicef
Report looks at 16 conflict areas and calls for military to stop targeting water resources
Explainer: Is your favourite seafood sustainable? Here’s how to find out
From canned tuna to Christmas prawns, Australians eat about 400,000 tonnes of seafood every year, but there are some handy resources out there if we want to make more sustainable choices.
Clean drinking water a bigger global threat than climate change, EPA’s Wheeler says
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler says that unsafe drinking water — not climate change — poses the greatest and most immediate global threat to the environment.
Nature Conservation
Why are insects dying in such numbers?
It’s been dubbed the bugalypse – study after study rolling in from countries across the globe pointing to dramatic declines in insect populations.
Companies to miss 2020 zero-deforestation deadline, report says
Major corporations that have committed to eradicating tropical deforestation from their operations by 2020 are not going to meet their self-imposed deadline, a report says.
Study finds that commonly occurring levels of neonicotinoid insecticide harm white-tailed deer
A two-year study, published March 14, finds that field-relevant contamination with the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid causes reduced body weight and metabolism in white-tailed deer, and – in fawns – mortality.
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