Post of the Day
Can the world quench China’s bottomless thirst for milk?
China’s leaders have championed milk as the emblem of a modern, affluent society – but their radical plan to triple the nation’s consumption will have a huge environmental cost.
Today’s Celebration
Birthday of Sultan of Kelantan – Malaysia
Doctor’s Day – United States of America
Spiritual Baptist Liberation Shouter Day – Trinidad & Tobago
Land Day – Palestine
Climate Change
Experts demand action after ‘staggering’ climate report
The World Meteorological Organisation report warns the impacts of Climate Change are accelerating and emissions are rising to dangerous levels.
Extreme weather hit 62 million in 2018: UN
Extreme weather last year hit 62 million people worldwide and forced 2 million people to relocate, the United Nations’ weather agency says.
Pollutionwatch: time to dispel the myth of the inconvenient youth
Study debunks idea that parents find children’s concern about climate change irritating
Greenhouse gas emissions in UK fell 3% in 2018, official figures show
Pollution from energy sector continues to drop, while low-carbon generation rose to 53%
Climate change tech ‘could boost UK economy’
The new technologies required to tackle climate change are creating economic opportunities for the UK, according to the chief executive of Drax Group
An iceberg twice the size of New York City is about to split from Antarctica
Scientists say the break could trigger further retreat of the Brunt ice shelf.
How far north could mosquitoes go if climate change is unchecked?
A new study predicts how far north these insects could live if climate change goes unchecked.
The young minds solving climate change
A new generation is becoming energised over the need to halt climate change.
The generational backlash to Europe’s climate activists
From Germany to the United States, some of the angriest reactions to demonstrators are from older citizens.
What’s life like after climate change? One city offers plenty of clues
Simon Kuper
In the flat where I stayed in Cape Town last month, the bathtub felt like a relic of a lost civilisation. It may never be used again.
Climate Trouble: A Simple Guide To Facing Up To The Unthinkable
Richard Hil
The destruction wrought by climate change is not a case of if, but when. Indeed it’s already happening.
National
Budget 2019: Australian commuters hope for more spending on infrastructure
Getting around Australia’s major cities can be daunting, and infrastructure spending looms as a critical issue ahead of the budget on 2 April. For some in the marginal seat of Reid, easing the city’s gridlock is high on their agendas.
Power price progress pleasing, more to do
The ACCC has praised progress made on fixing Australia’s “dysfunctional” energy retail market, but says more can be done to reduce power prices for consumers.
Australia’s mining exports hit $278bn – but bonanza at risk, says report
Despite record earnings from resources sector, tax revenues could fall with coal under threat from Beijing rethink
Labor to review Murray-Darling Basin Plan if elected
Opposition Water spokesman Tony Burke has announced Labor would change the way 450 gigalitres of water is recovered, by “restoring the socio-economic definition” for delivering water.
ACCC calls for an end to rooftop solar subsidies
The competition watchdog has renewed calls to scrap rooftop solar subsidies by 2021, putting it at odds with both sides of the federal government.
New energy rating label that’ll change your aircon [$]
Australia’s energy rating labels on air conditioners are about to undergo a makeover with a new design to make it easier for consumers to know which one is best for where they live.
Night parrot finding quashed [$]
Research by a naturalist into the habits of the elusive bird has been debunked, scientists doubtful the evidence is true.
‘Axe subsidies to cut power bills’ [$]
Australian power prices are forecast to remain high into the summer of 2020.
Monitoring of supply in the National Electricity Market – March 2019 report
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
This report is the first for the ACCC’s new electricity monitoring inquiry. It sets out how the ACCC will monitor the supply of retail and wholesale electricity in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT.
Mr Coal, or Eco Warrior? Frydenberg’s climate hypocrisy won’t fool voters
Oliver Yates
After singing the virtues of coal as minister for environment, Josh Frydenberg is writing to voters about the importance of “addressing climate change.”
Australia’s plunging wind, solar, storage costs stun fossil fuel industry
Giles Parkinson
This week the federal Coalition government decided to dump 90 per cent of the coal projects that had been submitted to its big underwriting program, and chose instead a shortlist dominated by renewables backed by battery storage and pumped hydro, and some gas and just one coal upgrade.
ScoMo must call out Labor’s ties to Green extremism [$]
James Morrow
Are Labor voters really OK with being tied by association to the radical views of Greens that would drive up energy prices and make coal a crime, asks James Morrow. It’s time for answers.
The government’s electricity shortlist rightly features pumped hydro (and wrongly includes coal)
Mark Diesendorf
Energy Minister Angus Taylor has six pumped hydro projects on his list, and most are better taxpayer investments than the already announced Snowy 2.0 project
Victoria
All Victorian grass fires contained
All grass fires in Victoria are contained or under control as a cool change sweeps through the state to help firefighting crews.
Vic coast offshore wind farm considered
Small businesses will be able to save money from their power bills by accessing a government-funded program to make them more energy savvy.
Andrews government spent $357.6 million on advertising in its first term
Government spending on spruiking its own projects rose substantially in the most recent financial year.
EPA allowed recycler to reopen after waste mountain went to landfill
Hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of recycling waste stockpiled in Melbourne’s north have been dumped in landfill.
Farmers win as government decides not to can kangaroo pet food trial
Shooters and farmers in Victoria have had a win, with the Andrews government set to make permanent a near five-year trial of processing culled kangaroos into pet food.
AusNet: We’ve been swamped by the solar boom, and we’ve made some mistakes
Making sure Victoria’s network can cope with residential demand for batteries and solar is a complicated business – but we’re not sitting on our hands.
It took just two summers for renewables to replace Hazelwood
Tristan Edis
Over just two summers, both the amount of energy lost since Hazelwood’s closure, and the capacity it provided during peak demand, have been replaced largely by wind and solar.
New South Wales
Three rare tiger cubs debut at Taronga Zoo Sydney
Taronga Zoo Sydney announces that the three rare Sumatran Tiger cubs born earlier this year made their public debut today.
UNSW tops lists of global champions of solar module efficiency
America’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has published a new graph of record-efficiency solar modules. And guess who tops the chart?
Australian made electric cargo vehicle set to be unveiled in Sydney
First all-electric vehicle assembled entirely in Australia to be launched next week in Sydney, bringing Australia a step closer to a home-grown EV industry
Five ways Sydney is determined to self-sabotage
Elizabeth Farrelly
Wondering why the city’s new buildings look cheap, mean and prematurely aged? Here’s why.
ACT
Storm may bring flash flooding for Canberra, BOM warns
A severe weather warning has been issued for Canberra and surrounds.
Canberra waterways – and platypus – suffer under record temperatures
Poorer water quality may have driven Canberra’s celebrated platypus to Lake Burley Griffin.
Queensland
Bilby babies a triple treat for Gold Coast
Bilby triplets, a rare boost to Dreamworld’s conservation program on the Gold Coast, is raising awareness of their plight just before Easter.
Blue Planet Live: Great Barrier Reef creatures tracked by satellite [$]
Reef lovers can follow in real-time the extraordinary journey of satellite-tracked undersea creatures, including a whale shark that has covered over 3800km –– the equivalent of two return trips from Brisbane to Sydney.
Will the LNP stump up to fix the mess left by its political donor Linc Energy? [$]
With taxpayers likely to pick up the bill for environmental damage caused by now defunct Linc Energy, will the Liberal Party use the company’s political donations to fund the clean-up effort?
South Australia
New ‘smart’ tram and bus stops to be installed around Adelaide
Interactive real-time arrival panels will be installed at tram stops across the city and existing ‘smart’ stops in the CBD and metropolitan Adelaide upgraded, to improve public transport accessibility for people with disabilities.
Our power prices now less than others [$]
Victoria is overtaking SA in the unwanted title of having the most expensive wholesale electricity prices, the ACCC says. But, first there’ll be a spike in prices next summer as Victoria and SA struggle to keep cool.
SA warned of looming gas shortage [$]
South Australia is at risk of gas shortages as Victoria pulls back on production and the pipeline from the north hits its limits. A breakthrough is needed, the energy market operator says.
Northern Territory
Aboriginal land rights claims unresolved despite all-clear from independent review
Indigenous affairs minister Nigel Scullion says he is ‘not in a position’ to grant Northern Territory land rights, some delayed for 20 years
The northern cattle game is facing a lot more challenges than just the weather
ABC Rural asks a group of industry leaders at this year’s NT Cattlemen’s Association conference to share their views on challenges and opportunities in 2019.
Western Australia
Bushfire threat in Perth Hills eases
A bushfire alert for the Perth Hills has been downgraded, but authorities warn that there is still a lot of smoke in the area.
One thousand jobs to be created as lithium plant kicks off near Bunbury
Construction has begun on what will be Australia’s biggest lithium processing plant in WA’s South West region.
How I saved $14,000 by going car-free (yes, in Perth!)
Emma Young
The average Perth household spent roughly $18,000 in the past year on transportation and mine spent roughly $4000.
Sustainability
Can the world quench China’s bottomless thirst for milk?
China’s leaders have championed milk as the emblem of a modern, affluent society – but their radical plan to triple the nation’s consumption will have a huge environmental cost.
Saudi Arabia announces 2.6GW solar project near Mecca
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy announces signing of Memorandum of Understanding with Prince of Makkah Region to start developing a 2.6GW solar project.
New wind farm to be New Zealand’s first large-scale generation since 2014
The project is billed as “a key milestone in New Zealand’s renewable energy development” as it looks to achieve 100% renewable energy generation by 2035.
With Pilgrim Nuclear Plant set to retire, there are questions about decommissioning trust fund
The plant in Plymouth will shut down in less than two months, but big questions remain about its decommissioning trust fund – a sort of 401(k) for retired nuclear plants.
‘Dangerous’ mercury has skyrocketed since coal plants built
An expert says the increase in mercury levels comes despite statements by power station operators that their emissions are “not of concern”.
Sustainability comes into vogue [$]
Global fashion is facing increasing scrutiny of its supply chains, from labour and manufacturing through to environmental impact.
Hydrogen blues: Is this the gas industry version of “clean coal”?
Tim Forcey
The gas industry needs a new social licence strategy. It’s come up with “blue hydrogen”.
Profit Before People: Why India Has Silenced Greenpeace
Ruchira Talukdar
The world’s second largest nation has targeted for eradication the world’s largest environmental organisation, all in the pursuit of profit and growth
Nature Conservation
Lap dog pheromone to save savage wild dogs
Australian scientists have discovered calming domestic dog pheromones that treat anxiety in lap dogs that could help preserve threatened African wild dogs.
More than a thousand dead dolphins have washed up on French beaches this year
More than a thousand dead dolphins have washed up on the French Atlantic Coast this year, alarming marine researchers and politicians.
Deadly skin-eating fungal disease wipes out 90 amphibian species in 50 years
Study reveals extent of chytrid fungus and how devastating it has been for frog, toad and salamander species worldwide
As palm oil production ramps up in Africa, communities work to avoid problems plaguing other regions
For many, palm oil has become synonymous with environmental devastation in Southeast Asia. Can palm oil production in Africa follow a more sustainable path forward?
Your public lands are killing you
Timothy Egan
We are squandering millions of acres of our children’s inheritance and using it to destroy the planet.
Now for something completely different …
Ten rules of email that will reduce your stress levels
Ricardo Twumasi, Cary Cooper and Lina Siegl
Top tips to improve your email use based on academic research into email best practice, productivity and stress.
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