Pedro Fidelman
The world is on the brink of creating irreversible damage to the environment if better policy isn’t rolled out. Read the findings of the UN report.
Today’s Celebration
Battle of Rivas – Costa Rica
Liberation Day – Uganda
Juan Santamaría Day – Costa Rica
Day of Nazi Concentration Camps Prisoners Liberation
Pacem in Terris, 1963 – Catholicism
Climate Change
Climate crisis: today’s children face lives with tiny carbon footprints
Next generation must keep their own carbon levels at a fraction of their grandparents’ in order to prevent catastrophe
The problem with putting a price on the end of the world
Economists have workable policy ideas for addressing climate change.
How to talk about the climate catastrophe
The case for alarmism amid a global emergency.
Simultaneous heatwaves caused by anthropogenic climate change
Without the climate change caused by human activity, simultaneous heatwaves would not have hit such a large area as they did last summer.
National
Emergency experts issue climate warning
Emergency chiefs from across Australia are demanding the prime minister take action to deal with increased disaster risks fuelled by climate change.
Nine at-risk Coalition seats concerned about climate change
Living costs, health services and climate change are key concerns at the coming election, along with one other factor that wasn’t on voters’ radars a decade ago.
‘Modern Liberals’: Dave Sharma and Tim Wilson rebrand over climate change
Liberal candidates under pressure from Greens and Independents have dropped Liberal logo for ‘modern Liberal’ tag
Environment department spent $4,300 on dinner for energy companies
Agencies spent $175,000 on meals and wine in six months – but only $140 on sandwiches for Prince Albert of Monaco’s party
China’s coal boat diplomacy likely to extend [$]
Australia’s miners might need to wait until the June G20 meeting for a new government to seek peace in our coal times with China.
Snowy insists 2.0 will be ready to generate first electricity in late 2025
Snowy Hydro management say their pumped hydro project will be fully on line and commissioned by late 2025.
Warnings over thermal coal slump [$]
Analysts have sounded a warning over short-term earnings at thermal coal exporters after a slump in demand hit prices.
Energy ministers Angus Taylor lashes Labor’s carbon cap plan [$]
Energy Minister Angus Taylor has warned Labor’s carbon cap will freeze investment and cut employment growth by punishing Australian businesses for “being successful”.
Fact Check: Have greenhouse gas emission turned around by 1.1 billion tonnes under the Coalition?
Angus Taylor’s claim on what has happened with greenhouse gas emissions under the Coalition is problematic for a number of reasons, starting with the figures he cites. RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.
Rio Tinto has downgraded its focus on shareholder returns at its AGM to prioritise the company’s commitment to sustainability.
What Australians really think about our population [$]
A new survey into Australia’s attitudes towards our immigration rates has revealed what we really think about our growing population.
Coal power baron says electric vehicles an inevitability
Electric vehicle-driving, coal power baron Trevor St Baker is throwing millions of dollars into EV charging infrastructure, saying the private sector had to step in to push the industry forward.
‘Australia’s waking up’: take-up of electric car charging points to market shift
When property developer Mirvac introduced its first electric car charging points at its shopping centres in October 2017, it would typically attract just 300 charging “events” a month.
Are electric cars viable for regional Australians?
Juergen Zimmermann believes electric cars have a huge future in regional Australia, despite the limited range of current models, and Australia’s chief scientist says they are a certainty.
Labor’s vehicle carbon target would save motorists $27.5 billion
Motorists would save $27.5 billion in petrol and diesel costs over two decades in a collective gain from fuel standards the Morrison government has dubbed “Labor’s Car-Bon Tax” on cars.
Water plan ‘will wreck towns’ [$]
Farmers have warned of more severe hardships for some rural communities under plans to buy back Murray-Darling water.
Robert Vertessy et al
Fish deaths at the lower Darling can happen again. Here’s what we can do about it.
The lucrative toxic waste black market threatens vulnerable communities
Menjamin Millar
Thanks to cowboy operators, the industrial waste black market is booming, and communities are starting to feel that government is incapable of helping them.
Adaptation is the poor cousin of climate change policy
Rob Law
Local governments are feeling the impacts of climate change. What are the major parties doing to help?
Electric vehicles are the road to the future
SMH editorial
The Coalition’s scare campaign against electric vehicles is hypocritical and Luddite.
What needs to be done to make the most from electric vehicles
Andrew Dillon
Reform is needed to safely and affordably integrate these new technologies into our electricity system.
Some facts about electric vehicles for the Coalition
Bede Doherty
The Coalition claims that EVs are going to destroy our way of life. So, here are a couple of reminders about the reality of electric vehicles.
It’s no fantasy — green schemes will drive us broke [$]
Stephen Galilee
It has the same ring to the promises politicians make during election campaigns. Vote for us and we’ll all live happily ever after. But it’s not the real world.
Victoria
Victoria launches ad urging people to call out sexual harassment
An advertisement launched by Respect Victoria has been designed to unsettle and urge bystanders who witness sexual harassment on public transport to “call it out”.
Powercor fined $374,000 for failing to keep trees clear of powerlines
Victorian electricity distribution company Powercor is fined $374,000 for failing to keep trees clear of powerlines.
Dozens of homes, 102 businesses to go to make way for Melbourne road
Dozens of homes and more than 100 businesses will be compulsorily acquired to make way for Melbourne’s $16 billion North East Link, but the Victorian Government says some properties that were likely to go have been saved.
Why cyclists are no safer in bike lanes [$]
Every cyclist knows the spine-tingling chill when a car whizzes by too close for comfort. Now a Monash University study has confirmed just how close cars get to riders — and they’re no safer in bike lanes.
Issues for Victoria this federal election
Policies to address Victoria’s booming population are among the issues of interest to voters going to the polls for the upcoming federal election.
New South Wales
Wollongong Coal shuts down last mine
Wollongong Coal says it is suspending operations at its Wongawilli coal mine in NSW for safety reasons, throwing 45 coal miners out of work.
Federal election issues in NSW
The fallout from the NSW March election could impact federally after then-Labor leader Michael Daley faced racism claims and the Nationals suffered in the bush.
Surfers spooked into a swell recycling idea [$]
Rupert Gillies and Tom Hobbs were walking around the headland of a remote island off the coast of Sumatra with a group of surfing buddies when a Coca-Cola bottle washed up on the otherwise pristine beach and brought them back to reality.
Chris Graham
A very quick digest message today. I’m still on the road, currently writing to you from a ‘river somewhere’… specifically the Barka (Darling) near Wilcannia.
ACT
Canberra vows EV charger regulation to avoid rail industry’s mistakes
A lack of electric vehicle charging standards has seen both federal Coalition and Labor vow to regulate the industry to avoid the mistakes of the rail industry’s different gauges.
Conservationists concerned about bushfire risk at future Ginninderry development
Sections of the future cross-border Ginninderry development could expose the residents to increased bushfire risk and force developers to expand a bushfire buffer zone into Ginninderra Falls, conservationists have warned
Queensland
Queensland won’t be rushed on Adani mine
Adani may be a step closer to starting work on the Carmichael mine with Canberra’s support but the Queensland government says it won’t rush key final approvals.
ReachTEL poll shows voters support review of Adani approvals
It’s tipped to create thousands of jobs for Aussies, but an exclusive poll has revealed widespread concerns over the $2 billion project.
Shorten MPs gagged over Adani [$]
Bill Shorten’s Queensland MPs and candidates have been gagged from speaking about the Adani mine.
South-east Queensland dams fall to lowest levels since 2010
The falling dam levels have sparked warnings about conserving water across the region.
Queensland enacts new solar rules, as stunned industry warns of investment standstill
The Queensland government has confirmed plans to put in place controversial new regulations for solar farm construction in the state that will restrict the installation or removal of PV panels to licensed electricians.
Adani still has a long march ahead before its Carmichael coal mine opens
Peter Hannam and Felicity Caldwell
A final approval for Adani’s plans to develop a giant coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin may well come after the federal election.
Approve Adani and end the age of activists [$]
AFR View
The continued delaying on approvals for the Carmichael mine is an embarrassment for Australia, and governments that have kowtowed to activists.
Politics has cast a cloud over the integrity of Adani approval
Canberra Times editorial
Tuesday’s 11th hour decision by federal Environment Minister Melissa Price to sign off on Adani’s groundwater management plans was always going to be controversial.
How a damning assessment proved no barrier for Adani approval
Stephen Long and Michael Slezak
If Environment Minister Melissa Price didn’t give the go ahead before an election was called, an opportunity would be lost, write Stephen Long and Michael Slezak.
South Australia
SA Bight oil well fear misleading:industry
South Australia’s peak resources group says opposition to oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight has been fuelled by misleading information online.
Grower fined $52k for clearing native vegetation [$]
A horticulturalist has been convicted and fined $52,500 for clearing 9.3 hectares of native vegetation in the state’s South-East to create irrigation sites.
Why this council won’t recycle its disposable coffee cups [$]
An Adelaide council has refused to join scheme to promote recycling disposable coffee cups — because they fear it would encourage people to use more cups.
Defence, roads and rail the keys in SA
Spending on defence and key infrastructure projects could play a key role in voting across South Australia at the federal election.
Tasmania
Sheds, caravan damaged in Tas bushfire
A wildfire on Tasmania’s east coast sparked from a hazard reduction burn has damaged two shed, a caravan and machinery.
Northern Territory
Rights to feral animals, resources considered in NT native title case
A native title case being heard in the Federal Court today could have significant, ongoing implications for the Northern Territory cattle industry, and has some pastoralists seriously worried.
NT issues in the federal election
Issues that will factor into campaigning and voter expectations in the Northern Territory in the federal election
Western Australia
Battery research centre puts Australia at ‘cutting edge’ of global lithium industry
A new national lithium research hub in Western Australia is hoped to take the state a step closer to developing a battery manufacturing industry.
Sustainability
Adani emerges as top solar developer in 2018
In the calendar year 2018, India was the third-largest solar market in the world behind China and the United States. India’s solar installations reached 8.3 gigawatt including large-scale and rooftop solar capacity.
China to cap 2019 coal imports to help domestic producers
The world’s biggest coal consumer imported 281.23 million tonnes of coal in 2018 including thermal coal, coking coal and anthracite.
Flying cars tipped for sustainable future
US space agency NASA and several aerospace companies including Airbus and Boeing are working towards making flying cars a reality.
When people downsize to tiny houses, they adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles
Research shows that moving from a larger dwelling to a tiny home can change behavior in surprising ways.
Wonder material: Individual 2D phosphorene nanoribbons made for the first time
Tiny, individual, flexible ribbons of crystalline phosphorus have been made by UCL researchers in a world first, and they could revolutionise electronics and fast-charging battery technology.
Higher lead in topsoil boosts probability of cognitive difficulties in 5-year-old boys
Researchers sought to estimate the effects of exposure to lead in topsoil on the cognitive ability of 5-year-olds in the United States. The study found that higher lead in topsoil significantly increases the probability that 5-year-old boys will have cognitive difficulties but does not seem to affect 5-year-old girls. The researchers found the adverse effects in boys even in U.S. counties where the government considers the levels of lead concentration in the soil to be low.
Green roofs could reduce indoor air pollution
Green roofs — roofs that are planted with vegetation — may improve the indoor air quality of commercial buildings by cutting the amount of ozone coming into the buildings from the outside, according to new research.
Reducing greenhouse gases while balancing demand for meat
Humans’ love for meat could be hurting the planet. Many of the steps involved in the meat supply chain result in greenhouse gas emissions. But a new international study evaluates several strategies that could reduce these environmental effects.
How severe drought influences ozone pollution
From 2011 to 2015, California experienced its worst drought on record, with a parching combination of high temperatures and low precipitation. Drought conditions can have complicated effects on ozone air quality, so to better understand the process, researchers have analyzed data from two ozone-polluted cities before, during and after the California drought.
A Green New Deal for agriculture
What sort of politics can take on the complex of industrial agriculture, large-scale processors, and the chemical industry that supports them?
How much nature is lost due to higher yields?
The exploitation of farmland is being intensified with a focus to raising yields. The degree to which yields actually increase as a result and the extent of the simultaneous loss of biological diversity have to date been under-researched factors. An international team of scientists has now evaluated data from worldwide research in which both yield and biodiversity were examined before and after intensification measures.
Pedro Fidelman
The world is on the brink of creating irreversible damage to the environment if better policy isn’t rolled out. Read the findings of the UN report.
Nature Conservation
Endangered rhino born at Iowa zoo
A zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, has announced another birth for a pair of endangered rhinos. The eastern black rhino is considered critically endangered due to poaching.
In the land of El Dorado, clean water has become ‘blue gold’
The misty páramos in the Andes that supply water to tens of millions of people are under threat. Now their mystery could be solved
The vigilante shaming influencers for bad behavior in national parks
The Instagram account Public Lands Hate You is part of a trend shaming irresponsible behavior on America’s public lands
Now for something completely different …
Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls federal election for May 18
After an early morning visit to see the Governor-General, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces May 18 as the date voters will go to the polls for a federal election.
Maelor Himbury
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