Post of the Day
Record numbers of Australia’s wildlife species face ‘imminent extinction’
Fauna crisis highlights the failure of regional forest agreements, says Wilderness Society
Today’s Celebration
Freedom Day – Malta
Transfer Day – US Virgin Islands
Micronesian Culture and Traditions Day – Micronesia
Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis – Azerbaijan
King Nangklao Memorial Day – Thailand
Domingo de Ramos – Peru
Cesar Chavez Day – USA
Mothering Sunday (Mother’s Day) – Christianity
International Transgender Day of Visibility
Climate Change
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National
Earth Hour: Landmarks go dark for extinction awareness
The Sydney Opera House is one of 24 global landmarks turning off its lights to mark Earth Hour.
Indonesia and India’s crackdown on waste could be the final straw for Australian recycling
Australia’s recycling crisis is about to worsen as both India and Indonesia follow China’s lead and refuse to accept our contaminated waste.
Record numbers of Australia’s wildlife species face ‘imminent extinction’
Fauna crisis highlights the failure of regional forest agreements, says Wilderness Society
Labor to tighten emissions regime as it draws climate battle-lines
Land-clearing and vehicle pollution measures also expected in opposition’s final election offering on climate
Labor to ban plastic bags, microbeads
A Shorten government would introduce a national ban on lightweight, single-use plastic bags and microbeads from 2021 under a strategy to slash waste.
New energy standards for air conditioners
The federal government has introduced energy efficiency measures for air conditioners that could save Australian households hundreds of dollars a year.
Libs label Labor’s river pledge a hoax [$]
A Labor pledge to overturn a deal on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is “a hoax”, Federal Water Minister David Littleproud has said.
Greens plan would end Australia’s first world lifestyle
Peta Credlin
The Greens pretend there’s no downside to shutting our biggest export industry but what they leave out is how much poorer most people would be if their New Age fantasies ever became policy.
Victoria
‘Common sense’: Littleproud backs Victoria plan to earn carbon credits by forest conservation
Minister breaks ranks on forest policy amid fears for beekeeping industry and the knock-on impacts on farmers
Struggling Aussies to get $125 for power bills [$]
Almost a million Victorian battlers will receive cash handouts in Tuesday’s federal Budget to help struggling families cover the cost of soaring power bills.
Landowners counting the cost of Ballarat grassfire [$]
Landowners hit by a grassfire that engulfed properties near Ballarat are counting the cost as milder weather assists firefighters on the ground.
What better replacement for dirty Hazelwood than a windfarm?
Simon Holmes à Court
A plan to generate enough wind power for 200,000 homes hints at a coal valley’s clean energy future
New South Wales
Berejiklian ministry reshuffle to prioritise environment and social reform
The new cabinet is expected to be named on Sunday and sworn in two days later.
Collaroy residents to get state subsidy for sea walls
Storm battered residents of NSW’s most erosion prone beach will receive government subsidies to protect their homes from future coastal storms. The funding package is expected to set a precedent for other coastal communities.
Fire season extended as conditions remain ‘extraordinarily dry’ in parts of NSW
Fire restrictions will be extended at least to the end of April in many parts of NSW as the ongoing drought continues to elevate bushfire risks, the Rural Fire Service said.
ACT
How Australia’s ‘largest open-air laboratory’ is working to bring quolls back from the brink
A population of eastern quolls in Mulligans Flat Sanctuary near Canberra has reared enough teenagers that they are being caught and transferred to a breeding program at Mt Rothwell in Victoria.
They’re a rare sight in the ACT, and now we know where these birds go
Researchers tracking the migration patterns of a hawk that breeds in Namadgi National Park have recorded the longest ever round-trip migration by the species.
Queensland
Payments up to $125 for 800k Queenslanders [$]
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pinning his election hopes on a feelgood Budget this week, including power bill assistance for nearly a million Queenslanders.
South Australia
Clive’s nuclear leak: Palmer defector reveals reactor plan [$]
Building a nuclear reactor in South Australia will be Clive Palmer’s final pitch to voters on the eve of the Federal Election, a disgruntled former ally and Senate candidate has revealed.
PM to gift 300,000 South Aussies one-off payment [$]
Almost one in four South Australian voters will receive a one-off cash payment to help cover the cost of soaring power bills in Tuesday’s Federal Budget — will you be one of them?
Tasmania
Can these two endangered birds be brought back from the brink?
The King Island thornbill and scrubtit are the size of ping-pong balls and had been expected to become extinct over the next 20 years — but there may be hope for them yet.
Hip-pocket boost for pensioners’ power bills [$]
A one-off Energy Assistance Payment will be deposited into the bank accounts of veterans, carers, single parents, aged pensioners and people receiving the disability support pension, before July, as part of Tuesday’s Federal Budget handouts.
Northern Territory
Can $200m save Kakadu National Park?
On the cusp of Kakadu National Park’s 40th anniversary, this land of iconic Australiana — and Crocodile Dundee — is far from postcard perfect. But is it poised for a grand reinvention?
Western Australia
Why Roe 8 is not a dead end just yet
The door remains open for the Commonwealth Government to fund the canned Perth Freight Link project, Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann revealed.
Sustainability
Virtual clothes to save the planet: ethical consumerism in the future
Businesses need to pivot to more sustainable models, trend watcher says.
The solar panel hack that could save you hundreds
New research shows households are at risk losing hundreds of dollars because they don’t understand how panels work. Here’s the hack that could help you save on your power bill.
Reducing Water Consumption in Mining
Plenty of water is needed for beneficiation of mineral ores. Taking the raw material fluorite as their example, researchers have now shown how water usage can be optimized.
Air quality to remain a problem in India despite pollution control policies
According to an independent study released today by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), more than 674 million Indian citizens are likely to breathe air with high concentrations of PM2.5 in 2030, even if India were to comply with its existing pollution control policies and regulations.
Scientists discover potential sustainable energy technology for the household refrigerator
While many advancements have been in improving its efficiency, the refrigerator still consumes considerable energy each year. So researchers in China are working to minimize the cold loss that occurs at the thermal barrier between inside the freezer and outside the fridge. They hypothesized that using part of the cold loss to cool the fresh food compartment could be a promising solution.
New approach could boost energy capacity of lithium batteries
Researchers at MIT and in China have found a new way to make cathodes for lithium batteries, offering improvements in the amount of power for both a given weight and a given volume.
Nature Conservation
‘More plastic than fish’: Greek fishermen battle to clean a cruel sea
In a new scheme, fishermen are paid €200 a month to recycle waste found in nets rather than dump it in polluted waters
How the lion lost its strength: big cats’ survival at risk as DNA defences dwindle
The legacy of colonial hunting has made the king of beasts genetically feebler and more vulnerable
New Zealand aims to save the ‘strangest parrot on Earth’
It’s as plump as a goose, has the face of an owl and waddles like a duck. It sleeps in the day and is active at night. And it can climb just about anything but can’t fly anywhere. No wonder people call the kakapo the strangest parrot on Earth.
Sea Anemones Are Ingesting Plastic Microfibers
Tiny fragments of plastic in the ocean are consumed by sea anemones along with their food, and bleached anemones retain these microfibers longer than healthy ones, according to new research.
What ‘Big Data’ Reveals About the Diversity of Species
‘Big data’ and large-scale analyses are critical for biodiversity research to find out how animal and plant species are distributed worldwide and how ecosystems function.
Sweeping census provides new population estimate for western chimpanzees
A sweeping new census estimates 52,800 western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) live in eight countries in western Africa, with most of them found outside of protected areas, some of which are threatened by intense development pressures.
Proposed reintroduction of the Eurasian lynx to Scotland
Experts have used an innovative approach to model the proposed reintroduction of the Eurasian lynx to Scotland.
Novel insights into soil biodiversity, Earth’s global engine
New findings indicate changes in soil biodiversity are driven by changes in plant cover and soil acidification during ecosystem development.
These indigenous Malaysians are in the fight of their lives
The Temiar people of northern Malaysia are blockading logging trucks, fighting to maintain their traditional way of life and protect the rainforest.
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