Post of the Day
Natural landscapes? Scientists call for a paradigm shift in restoration projects
Regardless of whether we are dealing with a floodplain landscape or an entire national park, the success of a restoration project depends on more than just the reintroduction of individual plant or animal species into an area. An international team of researchers reveals it is more a matter of helping the damaged ecosystem to regenerate and sustain itself.
Today’s Celebration
Evacuation Day (British) – Libya
Formation of the Islamic State’s Victory – Afghanistan
Turkmen Horse Day – Turkmenistan
Hero’s Day – Barbados
Restoration of Sovereignty Day – Japan
National Day of Mourning – Canada
Saint Pierre Chanel Day – Wallis and Futuna
Orthodox Easter – Orthodox Christianity
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
More about Apr 28
Climate Change
Extinction Rebellion activists stage die-in protests across globe
Environmental protesters lie on ground at transport hubs, venues and shopping centres
‘Outrage is justified’: David Attenborough backs school climate strikers
Exclusive: broadcaster says older generations have done terrible things and should listen to young
US Southeast Atlantic coast facing high threat of sea-level rise in the next 10 years
New research shows 75% of the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to central Florida will be highly vulnerable to erosion and inundation from rising tides by 2030, negatively impacting many coastal species’ nesting habitats.
Fanning children’s climate fears is a villainous act [$]
Miranda Devine
The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg may be an extremely impressive young woman but the adults in her life should be absolutely ashamed, writes Miranda Devine. They’ve allowed her fear to perpetuate.
National
Nats leader rejects new water inquiry call
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has rejected fresh calls from a senior coalition figure for a royal commission into water management.
PM to target vegan activists in first week
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has vowed to pass laws targeting farm invasions in the first parliamentary week of a re-election coalition government.
Warning over radioactive jewellery [$]
Radioactive jewellery being sold in Australia can expose wearers to uranium and thorium, the radiation watchdog has warned.
Watergate explained: how the government paid $80m to a Cayman Islands company
Anne Davies tells the story of the Murray-Darling basin and water buybacks, explaining how they work, why rural communities are angry and what it all has to do with Barnaby Joyce
Energy revolution is powering community evolution
Sam Johnson
A change is coming. In fact, it’s already happening. Across the country, we’re seeing the birth of a new regional industry – renewable energy.
We underestimate young people because it’s convenient
Caitlin Fitzsimmons
The young will not forgive the old for leaving them a depleted natural world and precarious future.
‘All hell broke loose’: The strange story behind Joyce, Taylor and #Watergate
Peter FitzSimons
By now you surely know at least the gist of the so-called #Watergate story.
Explained: Our own Watergate scandal swamps government [$]
Matt Smith
Tax havens, an $80m deal and question marks over the role of senior government MPs including a minister and a former deputy PM. Matt Smith unwinds the water buyback scandal.
Victoria
Fears Victoria’s recycling woes could worsen as e-waste ban kicks in
Victoria’s recycling woes could worsen over an ambitious state government plan to ban electronic goods from landfill.
‘Ghost’ town booms as hordes hit remote lake to capture magic moments
Dawn is approaching when a young man emerges from dark Mallee scrub, carefully unpacks a violin from its case, steps out on a salt pan and, as the day’s first light begins bathing the earth, plays the otherworldly theme music from Game of Thrones.
We can’t risk being complacent about water
Age editorial
Winter is coming, but it is likely to be drier than the long-term average, and that means we may well be in a difficult position come spring.
New South Wales
Mick Clark has made a vow. “So far as I’m concerned, the supermarket shelves in the city can go empty,” he says. “I’m not going to spend $600 a megalitre of water to keep farming just to go broke.”
Young families shut out of ‘huge swaths of Sydney’, Minister warns
And a leading architect said Sydney needs a new ‘system of living’.
‘Noise day and night’: Why keeping Sydney moving is costing us sleep
The sound of jackhammers, drills and other heavy equipment ripping up footpaths and road surfaces is enough to wake the dead. That is what Richard McCosker said his family and neighbours in Darlinghurst endured for months as a result of Sydney Water contractors working throughout the night to replace water pipes as part of the Refresh Woolloomooloo project.
Coalition to boost commuter parking at train stations {$]
Western Sydney commuters will find it easier to park-and-ride with the Coalition to spend $104 million on increasing car spaces at local train stations.
ACT
Charging up Canberra’s electric car future
Bold pre-election promises about the future electric make-up of Australia’s new car fleet will have a huge impact on the cars Canberra public servants would be expected to drive and their novated lease options.
As it cools down, let’s not forget lakes
Canberra Times editorial
One look at internationally renowned waterways like London’s River Thames would once have filled Canberrans with pride.
Queensland
Nats pump up water project in Queensland
The coalition will promise $10 million for a north Queensland irrigation project when Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack campaigns in Cairns.
Anti-Adani convoy rides into ‘hornet’s nest’ in coal-rich Queensland town
Hundreds of Adani coal mine supporters have rallied in a Queensland mining town to protest against a convoy opposed to the project.
Adani protest accuses pro-coal movement of ‘thuggery’
A restaurant due to welcome protesters cancelled over threats, Bob Brown says.
We haven’t done this before’: Pro-coal activists hit the streets to spruik mining
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? When mining lobbyist Mick Crowe asks the 250 pro-coal protesters gathered in Mackay’s central square whether this is their first ever rally, almost every hand shoots up.
South Australia
Clean energy jobs for SA under Greens plan
The Greens have announced their energy plan which will create 6580 jobs in South Australia.
SA Government says hordes of destructive feral pigs must be destroyed [$]
Domestic pigs that have escaped South Australian properties and become feral must destroyed, the State Government has declared.
Tasmania
Muddy waters over who dunny-ed it [$]
For most regular Kingston Beach dog walkers, the thought of not cleaning up after a dog is unthinkable. But dog researcher Bob Holderness-Roddam said Tasmania’s high canine count could be a contributing factor to the elevated pollution in Hobart’s waterways this summer.
Wins on wombat mange fight [$]
A Tasmanian wildlife ecologist is part of a new national team driving action on treatment of mange in wombats as communities around the state continue to fight to save local populations.
Northern Territory
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Western Australia
Uranium miner coaxed government to water down extinction safeguards
Cameco did not have to show if WA mine would lead to extinction of tiny fauna before its approval on 10 April
Plan to commercialise Kimberley bush tucker
Plans are in motion to commercialise WA’s unique northern fruits and grains to the rest of the country and world.
Sustainability
What’s the greenest way to deal with your body after you die?
About 70 per cent of Australians are cremated and the rest buried, but liquefying your body is an option, freezing it and shaking it to pieces might soon be too, and then there’s natural burial. How do the environmentally friendly options stack up?
Greta Thunberg’s train journey through Europe highlights no-fly movement
Success of Sweden’s flygskam campaign means rail-only travel agencies are getting a boost
Studies link earthquakes to fracking in the Central and Eastern US
Small earthquakes in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Texas can be linked to hydraulic fracturing wells in those regions, according to researchers.
City trees can offset neighborhood heat islands, Concordia researcher says
Concordia University associate professor of biology Carly Ziter writes that dense neighborhood tree canopy coverage can lower local temperatures significantly even compared to uncovered neighborhoods nearby.
The world is doomed, according to Paul Ehrlich
IA‘s Sue Arnold interviews Paul and Anne Ehrlich, authors of The Population Bomb, discussing the fate of the planet.
Nature Conservation
Ocean acidification ‘could have consequences for millions’
Ocean acidification could have serious consequences for the millions of people globally whose lives depend on coastal protection, fisheries and aquaculture, a new publication suggests.
Gene-editing technology may produce resistant virus in cassava plant
The use of gene-editing technology to create virus-resistant cassava plants could have serious negative ramifications, according to new research by plant biologists.
Americans’ beliefs about wildlife management are changing
A new 50-state study on America’s Wildlife Values describes individuals’ values toward wildlife.
Natural landscapes? Scientists call for a paradigm shift in restoration projects
Regardless of whether we are dealing with a floodplain landscape or an entire national park, the success of a restoration project depends on more than just the reintroduction of individual plant or animal species into an area. An international team of researchers reveals it is more a matter of helping the damaged ecosystem to regenerate and sustain itself.
Now for something completely different …
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