Post of the Day
The US is responsible for 26% of global warming emissions & is morally responsible to help solve it
Is America to blame for global warming? Yes, it has the single biggest slice of that ugly pie. The entire EU together is in the ballpark of shame.
Today’s Celebration
Oklahoma Day United States of America
Discovery Day – Brazil
Holocaust Remembrance Day – Serbia
Passover (Pesach) – Judaism
Climate Change
Humanity is at a crossroads, Greta Thunberg tells Extinction Rebellion
Swedish climate activist’s speech comes amid police action to clear protesters from Waterloo Bridge
WHO says climate change could have ‘considerable’ food safety impact
Climate change is likely to have considerable impact on food safety, placing public health at risk, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The US is responsible for 26% of global warming emissions & is morally responsible to help solve it
Is America to blame for global warming? Yes, it has the single biggest slice of that ugly pie. The entire EU together is in the ballpark of shame.
Climate change 2019: US energy consumption hit a record high in 2018
Renewable energy is booming, but it still needs a lot of help.
Extinction Rebellion and Attenborough put climate in spotlight
Caroline Davies
News bulletins are leading on global warming and the BBC is shedding some of its ‘balance’
Video from Sir David Attenborough: Climate change – The facts
Hour-long BBC documentary hosted by Sir David Attenborough on the urgent need for action on climate change.
How to talk about climate change so people will listen [$]
Katharine Heyhoe
As a climate scientist, I’ve been called everything from a charlatan to the handmaiden of the Antichrist.
National
Shorten backs climate change ‘investments’
Labor Leader Bill Shorten has tried to change the conversation around his ambitious climate change policies, describing them as investments rather than costs.
‘Malicious’: Shorten and business groups defy Coalition’s assault on climate policy
High-quality international offsets should be part of any credible policy, industry says
Vote 2019: Where the major parties stand on immigration
Complaints about congestion have put the spotlight on the number of migrants in Australia’s big cities, so which party has the answers on immigration?
Fresh breath or polluted oceans? Taking on Mentos over plastic wrappers
Ocean lover Adam Western was sick of picking up Mentos mint wrappers from his favourite beach so he decided it was time somebody challenged the global confectionery company.
PM backtracks on being open to nuclear
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he hasn’t ruled out nuclear power, but the industry would have to stand up economically and not rely on the government.
Coalition says it’s not anti-electric cars, but doesn’t want to tell people what to drive
Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the Government is not against electric vehicles, but believes it is not the role of government to tell people what cars to drive.
Forest industries can play a big role in Labor’s industry strategy
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) welcomes the Labor Party’s inclusion of forest industries in its industry strategy, which aims to grow the food and fibre manufacturing industries of Australia, Chief Executive Officer of AFPA, Mr Ross Hampton said.
Coalition faces calls for inquiry into Murray-Darling deals signed by Barnaby Joyce
Sarah Hanson-Young demands a royal commission as Bill Shorten urges prime minister to produce all documents
Calls mount for royal commission into controversial Murray-Darling water buybacks
Labor sets government Monday deadline to answer questions about $200m water purchases in 2017
Taxpayers dudded in water deal, experts say, as calls grow for royal commission
Water experts say the Coalition government paid too high a price for water rights owned by a tax haven-linked Australian company.
Scott Morrison warned on ‘cherry-picking’ $35 billion climate cost
The Coalition is challenging Bill Shorten to come clean on what industry will pay to meet his ambitious climate policy.
Australia’s hottest rooftop solar suburbs – and the millions still missing out
Clean Energy Council reveals which Australian suburbs are embracing rooftop solar the most enthusiastically, while a separate report reminds us that apartment dwellers are still missing the party.
Water, reef in focus as campaign resumes
Scott Morrison is expected to face more questions over the coalition’s handling of the Murray-Darling Basin as the leaders return to the campaign trail after the Easter truce.
Labor climate plan ‘creates major fire threat’ [$]
An Australia-wide Labor plan that comes as part of its climate change policy will lead to more intense bushfires and see agricultural property values fall, farmers claim.
Alarm sounded over Labor’s green laws [$]
Miners and farmers say sweeping changes to environmental laws would put developments at risk.
Shorten’s climate claim dismissed [$]
Economist Warwick McKibbin says Bill Shorten’s carbon cost pledge is ‘completely uncertain’.
Miners switch on to renewables [$]
Australia’s mining industry is turning green. Diesel generators are falling silent as miners roll out renewable energy projects.
Our leaders are ignoring global warming to the point of criminal negligence. It’s unforgivable
Tim Winton
Humanity survived the cold war because no one pushed the button. On climate change, the button has been pushed again and again
Bottom line is that electric vehicles in Australia still face barriers
David Leitch
Australia can do much better on EVs – mass popularity is likely to take years. And that’s a shame, because in economic terms, EVs beat ICE cars hands down.
Buying international permits is a cheap way to cut emissions. It’s that simple
Katharine Murphy
As recently as 2017 the Coalition was in favour of it. Now it’s losing its mind over Labor’s climate policy
Malcolm Turnbull’s home truths on the NEG help Labor in the climate wars
Michelle Grattan
Prime Minister Scott Morrison sings during an Easter Sunday service at his Horizon Church at Sutherland in Sydney on Sunday.
What Shorten doesn’t know about climate change [$]
Andrew Bolt
Is there anything Bill Shorten actually understands about global warming and his dangerous plan to “stop” it? There is a long list of things the Labor leader doesn’t know or refuses to say about climate change.
Judith Sloan
A tip for Malcolm Turnbull: get over it. The national energy guarantee is dead.
Tougher green lawfare threat [$]
Australian editorial
Australia’s reputation as a place to invest is under challenge.
Victoria
Debate deepens over sacred Indigenous trees after Notre Dame fire
Indigenous affairs commentators have questioned why the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has sparked nationwide grief, but the potential destruction of sacred trees on home soil remains largely ignored.
Key bushfire safety project faces yet another big cost blowout
A project to prevent bushfires from faulty power lines is set to blow out in cost by $100 million, and could force the shutdown of some busy rail lines.
Police officer filmed ‘punching’ teen in head at pro-marijuana rally
A police officer has been filmed allegedly punching a teenage girl in the head during an arrest at a pro-marijuana rally in central Melbourne.
Jobs loss fears as rebate freeze hits solar panels [$]
A growing number of solar panel installers say they will be forced to lay off workers and face financial ruin after the Andrews Government froze a rebate scheme.
New South Wales
Anti-Adani convoy grabs huge support in Sydney
Hundreds of people joined an anti-Adani rally in Sydney as part of a convoy – led by conservationist Bob Brown – protesting against the Queensland coalmine.
WestConnex first proposes to replace a park with a bike path, then a freeway
The Bereijklian government is making plans to dislodge a tree-lined pedestrian bridge intended to salve the impact of the WestConnex motorway in Sydney’s inner west – before that bridge is even built.
NSW church restoration grants pip environment and Aboriginal heritage
Church restoration projects have emerged as the largest single target of community grants from the NSW government’s Office of Environment & Heritage (OEH), eclipsing funds for environment and Aboriginal Heritage.
Labor promises big bucks for NSW transport
Labor has promised $500 million to improve transport on NSW’s south coast, including the Princes Highway at Nowra and the unfinished Maldon-Dombarton rail link.
‘Water is money’ but these regional communities don’t have it — and they’ve had enough
NSW’s water woes extend beyond the farm gate and its impact on the local environment — water is intimately linked to the strength of regional economies. And many are struggling.
Work begins on Warwick solar farm – UQ’s ticket to 100% renewables
Works begin on University of Queensland-owned solar farm that will make UQ world’s first major university to offset 100% of its electricity through its own renewables assets.
UNSW looks to solar-powered desalination to help bust droughts
UNSW researchers are combining desalination technology with solar, targeting those in need of secure supplies of fresh water who are also disconnected from electricity grids.
More than 1000 rats per person on Lord Howe Island [$]
A radical plan to rid Lord Howe Island of a rat plague by aerial baiting has split the community with tourists warned against eating fish and plans to pour milk from the island’s dairy herd down the drain.
Angry homeowners lash council time limit on protective seawall [$]
After almost three years of fraught negotiations to get a 3km seawall built at Sydney’s Collaroy Beach, the local council has told 255 beachfront homeowners they will have to accept a 60-year time limit on the life of the seawall, a condition many residents fear will leave their properties “worthless”.
Now for some light rail relief: how about free travel in the CBD?
Dom Knight
It works for Melbourne trams. Free trips on Sydney’s long-delayed light rail would stimulate the city economy and serve as an apology to a frustrated populace.
The thirsty giants killing our rivers
Anson Cameron
Incredible truths and tears are the only things flowing as the Darling slowly dies.
ACT
Canberra’s long road (or tramline) to light rail
It might seem like talk of light rail in the nation’s capital has been going on forever — but in a matter of hours the ACT’s largest ever infrastructure project will go live. It’s the result of several years of false starts, changed routes, and squabbling over how to pay for it.
Queensland
Coal train activist’s sanity questioned
A man has faced court following his five hour protest on a Queensland coal train, which cost the freight company $1.3 million
Feral deer population surveyed by Brisbane City Council
More than 400 feral deer living across Brisbane will have their movements tracked by helicopters and virtual fencing in fresh efforts by Brisbane City Council to track the pest population around the city.
Briefing notes show Coalition approved Adani water plan despite knowing of risk
Company rejected scientific advice its groundwater modelling was ‘not fit for purpose’
Adani did not accept key scientific advice
Expert scientific advice on how to limit the impact of the Adani coal mine wasn’t accepted by the company, despite the environment minister saying so.
Tiny fine is another big reason to reject Adani’s coal mine
Adani’s decision to pay a small $13,055 fine when storm water from its coal port rushed into nationally significant wetlands is yet another reason to reject the company’s plans for a major coal mine, the Australian Marine Conservation Society says.
Irwins under fire over croc-egg harvesting science
Terri Irwin has been called out for spreading “misinformation” as she wages a public campaign to have croc-egg harvesting overturned in Queensland.
Latest dingo attack on Fraser Island prompts urgent review and additional rangers
Additional rangers will patrol Fraser Island over the rest of the Easter and Anzac Day holidays after a toddler was dragged from his camp bed by a dingo.
Labor pledges to kill half-billion-dollar Great Barrier Reef Foundation grant
The controversial $443 million reef plan will be abandoned if Labor wins the election.
Anti-Adani activists in ‘Nazi’ miners slur outrage [$]
Militant anti-Adani activists supporting the Bob Brown-led convoy have compared Queensland coal miners to Nazis who exterminated millions of Jews in gas chambers during the Holocaust.
The militant mining union has warned Bill Shorten against taking action that could jeopardise Adani.
Dingo safety campaign not working: traditional owners [$]
Fraser Island’s traditional owners have extended their sympathy to the family of a boy seriously injured when he was snatched by a dingo, but warned visitors need to know the risks when they visit the popular tourist destination.
Can you hear the thunder? Senator’s bluster on Adani
Peter FitzSimons
So here’s the question, Senator. What’s in it for Adani to make the donation then?
Great Barrier Reef: Jobs under threat from climate change
Richard Campbell
My wife and I moved to Cairns 10 years ago because of the Great Barrier Reef.
Let’s keep Adani protests peaceful [$]
Courier Mail editorial
Bob Brown, veteran anti-development campaigner and former Greens senator, is leading the Adani protest convoy just as he led the protests against the Franklin Dam.
Clean energy undermines coal fix for India’s poor [$]
Charles Worringham
Adani mine India’s poor won’t be helped by coal from the Adani mine. The facts are renewable micro-grids will work and coal-fired power in India is already declining.
Welcome mat pulled on anti-Adani protesters [$]
Renee Viellaris
The problem with some activists is that they have become so noisy that they have drowned out the voices who don’t agree with them.
Chris Mitchell
Environmentalists don’t have to tell the truth or support logical policies to get media backing from the ABC and the Nine newspapers.
South Australia
Baby bilby hops into spotlight [$]
The first bilby joey caught on camera has given environmentalists an early Easter present — new evidence the unique and fledgling colony on Eyre Peninsula is surviving drought conditions.
Emergency mission to save ailing Coorong [$]
A $70 million plan to revive the Coorong’s ailing health will kick off with a swath of research into fixing water flow issues, algae problems and bringing back birdlife.
Call for water subsidies to cut Coober Pedy’s $7.5m debt [$]
The State Government should subsidise the cost of water in Coober Pedy to help dig the town out of its $7.5 million debt, the council’s chief executive says.
Tasmania
Infrastructure, innovation and collaboration needed for forest industries in Tasmania
Tasmania’s forest industries need Federal Government commitments to support strategic growth, innovation and infrastructure needs ahead of the Federal Election.
Freycinet public meeting on Monday to look at master plan and limiting visitors
A cap on visitors to Freycinet on Tasmania’s East Coast has been flagged to protect the area from mass tourism.
Urgent plea to help water quality stay afloat [$]
A southern Tasmanian council has requested urgent help from the Environment Protection Authority to fix its beach contamination issues.
Parks and Wildlife joins appeal for Malbena development [$]
The head of Parks and Wildlife has applied to join the legal push to overturn the Central Highlands Council’s rejection of the controversial Lake Malbena development.
Western Australia
Main Roads data shows almost one in five containers are now being taken to Fremantle Port by rail instead of truck.
Soil probed at two unnamed WA schools
Investigations are being carried out at two WA schools that officials believe might sit on contaminated land.
Sustainability
‘Rubbish bin for the water’ on a clean-up mission for the oceans
An estimated eight million tonnes of plastic rubbish enters the world’s oceans each year and an Australian invention called a Seabin is doing something about it.
Swelling amount of plastic in the ocean confirmed by new study
A new study used log books from 60 years of plankton research to document the increase in the amount of plastic in the ocean.
‘As heavy as a blue whale’: Record-breaking ‘concreteberg’ jams London sewers
It is expected to take crews months to manually chip away at the 105-tonne mass of solidified concrete that is blocking three sewers, while tankers will be used to pump waste to ensure no homes are flooded with sewage.
How can we stop the air we breathe from slowly poisoning us?
A human breath begins in the deepest reaches of the brain, where—far beneath consciousness—the body’s most basic and essential functions are regulated.
U.S. nuclear power plants weren’t built for climate change
Under Trump, regulators have rolled back safety proposals.
Renewables generate one-third of Britain’s Q1 electricity supply
Led by wind power, renewable energy sources generated around 33% of Great Britain’s electricity over the first quarter of 2019, while coal power hit a new low.
The zero-waste revolution: how a new wave of shops could end excess packaging
Shops that minimise the environmental impact of our consumer habits are springing up across Britain. Could they help us avert catastrophe?
Global solar capacity surpassed 500GW in 2018
Booming national markets – including Australia’s – helped deliver nearly 100GW of new PV installations in 2018, and took the global total past the 500GW mark.
How to break your single-use plastics habit
Ditch your one-and-done straws, spoons, and containers with this kit of affordable, reusable stand-ins.
Anti-abortion Christians are among those protesting limits on considering health benefits in regulating mercury and other toxic emissions from industrial sources like coal-burning power plants.
Peter Dykstra
I’ve struggled with getting to sleep my entire life. The only things that ever reliably worked for me were college lectures—up all night in the dorm, then lights out for Comparative Biology 101.
Nature Conservation
Battle to save frogs from global killer disease
Amphibians are under attack from multiple pathogens, say experts
Tackling ocean plastic pollution
A dumptruck’s worth of plastic enters the ocean every minute. Here’s how that’s affecting marine life.
Amphibian decrease associated with pollution and climate change, according to the UCR
Diseases, environmental pollution, habitat loss, and climate change point to being the main cause of the decline of these animals, says an article from the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
Plans to expand Iceland’s fish farms risk decimating wild salmon populations
Scientists are warning against new legislation to grow Iceland’s fish farming industry, but industry is pressuring for a go-ahead
What we can do about insect annihilation and its threat to Earth
It’s easy to think this is someone else’s problem and there’s nothing we can do. But scientists say that’s not the case.
Each spring, billions of birds cross the Gulf of Mexico. New research is giving scientists a detailed look at the members of this massive migration.
Bill McKibben on the end of nature
No one has done more to sound the alarm about climate change than Bill McKibben. We asked him: is there any hope at all?
Why GM must be in our toolkit to save endangered island species
Karen Poiani
Any risks need to be assessed, but existing measures to combat invasive predators are not meeting the challenge.
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