Post of the Day
As the dust of the election settles, Australia’s wildlife still needs a pathway for recovery
Rachel Morgain et al
The environment was a key concern in the recent federal election. It was also a polarising one, with concerns raised about regional industries and livelihoods. But jobs and environment need not be locked in battle: there are pathways that secure a better future for both our environment and future generations.
Today’s Celebration
Independence Day – Jordan
Liberation Day – Liberia
Day of Revolution – Argentina
National Tap Dance Day – United States of America
Climate Change
How to think about global warming and war
They are linked—and that is worrying
The planet is not on “f*cking fire”
Emily Atkin
We don’t need to exaggerate the climate crisis. The reality is terrifying enough.
National
Albo and the Green New Deal: Great name for a band, but is it good policy?
Labor under Anthony Albanese may look overseas in its search for a way to re-engage voters on climate change, and rebrand its policy suite.
Minerals Council appoints Coonan as chair as coal remains in the spotlight
Former Howard government minister Helen Coonan is appointed chair of the Minerals Council of Australia as the lobby group deals with internal divisions over its position on coal and climate change.
Government rebuffs business on energy policy [$]
Josh Frydenberg has told the business sector they will have to agree to disagree over energy policy.
The time has come: Midnight Oil captures the left’s post-election anger [$]
Midnight Oil’s first show since 2017 reflected the anger of the left — past, present and future.
Helping pastors alleviate climate anxiety – the cold war of our times
Helping parishioners to take action against climate change may be a best practice method for pastors to help church members with climate anxiety, according to Uniting Earth Ministry advocate Jessica Morthorpe, who is running a one-day conference to equip pastors minister in this challenging area.
‘Wood in his blood’: World Heritage trailblazer Peter Hitchcock dead at 75
He established some of Australia’s best-known national parks and fought for World Heritage listings across the globe. But for the late Peter Hitchcock, conservation was no walk in the park.
Plastic products are facing extinction as Australia joins the anti-disposable movement
More and more plastic items are being pulled from shelves and restaurants around the world in a bid to reduce global waste, forcing many popular products into extinction.
Labor divided on climate policy after ‘carnage’
Internal divisions have emerged over the future of Labor’s ambitious climate policy after the party’s calamitous election loss.
Government complicating shift from coal warns network giant
Poles and wires giant Spark Infrastructure has warned heavy-handed government intervention in the energy sector has made it difficult to prepare the grid for an influx of wind and solar power.
Labor’s Fitzgibbon seeks coal comfort [$]
Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon says ALP’s self-inflicted defeat will shift it to the right.
A shift to ‘direct action’ on climate change by Labor would cost more and result in bigger job losses, says an expert.
How I discovered the Dalveen Blue Box, a rare eucalypt species with a sweet, fruity smell
Tim Collins
There are more than 850 different species of eucalypts in Australia, and possibly many more we don’t know about.
As the dust of the election settles, Australia’s wildlife still needs a pathway for recovery
Rachel Morgain et al
The environment was a key concern in the recent federal election. It was also a polarising one, with concerns raised about regional industries and livelihoods. But jobs and environment need not be locked in battle: there are pathways that secure a better future for both our environment and future generations.
A nation united against Greens [$]
Telegraph editorial
Readers may recall the Adani mine protest parade led by Greens guru Bob Brown. The immediate outcome was perhaps not as Brown and his fellow coal haters expected.
PM lands in climate sweet spot [$]
Chris Kenny
After a lost decade, Scott Morrison could be around for a while if he can stay the mainstream course.
Victoria
Protesters in Melbourne’s CBD stage ‘die-in’, block traffic over climate change
More than a thousand people march through Melbourne’s CBD and lie across the Bourke and Swanston street intersection, causing major traffic and tram disruptions in a bid for action on climate change.
Porsche dealership ordered to pay $100k to Aboriginal group over oil spill
The luxury car dealer pleaded guilty to causing at least 540 litres of oil to spill into Victoria’s Yarra River last year.
EPA calls for community input into national ambient air quality standards
Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) is calling for community input into proposed changes to key national air quality standards.
Moreland Council calls for public transport investment, not East-West Link
Moreland City Council has called on the Morrison Federal Government to divert the $4 billion earmarked for East West Link to much needed investment in public transport infrastructure across Melbourne.
ACT
20 hydrogen Hyundai fuel cell cars will be driving Canberra’s roads by the end of the year
Ten years ago, the ACT government embraced a radical battery-swapping electric vehicle concept called Better Place.
Queensland
Adani approvals could be granted within weeks as Palaszczuk sets deadline
Queensland Premier issues expedited deadline for Adani environmental approvals, just days after company reaches agreement on water contamination breaches
Adani’s upbeat but still has more hurdles
Adani says construction could start immediately at its mine site once it gets state environment approvals but other major issues are yet to be resolved.
Morrison sprints to Adani approval [$]
The Queensland Labor government has taken the Coalition’s election victory as a warning it must fall in line and green-light the Carmichael coalmine.
How serious is Queensland about its 50 per cent renewable energy target?
“Queensland is dead to us.” That is the damming assessment of one frustrated executive from a major international solar plant developer. And here’s a grim fact: There is currently no installation of solar modules on large scale solar farms anywhere in the so-called Sunshine State.
Taxpayers fund Al Gore lecture on pollution [$]
State taxpayers will fork out more than $320,000 to help fund a conference by former US Vice President Al Gore to lecture Queenslanders on climate crisis amid the Government’s own Adani mine debacle.
Court setback for Indigenous opponents fighting to stop Adani mine
Traditional owners opposed to Adani’s coal mine have suffered another setback, with a court rejecting a bid to broaden the scope of their complaint against the controversial development.
Adani mine risks a healthy Great Barrier Reef and existing tourism jobs
The Palaszczuk government risks the existing jobs of 64,000 people who rely on the wonders of a healthy Great Barrier Reef if the Adani mine gets approval, the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) says.
Did the anti-Adani convoy backfire? [$]
Chris Woods
Bob Brown’s anti-Adani convoy has been derided by conservatives for alienating the very voters it was supposed to draw in. But Brown isn’t so sure.
The numbers on Adani simply don’t add up [$]
David Fickling
Is the world’s most bitterly contested coal mine finally getting the go-ahead?
South Australia
Twin Creek wind farm and Australia’s biggest battery edge closer to approval
RES Australia plans for 183MW wind farm and a big battery in South Australia edge closer to reality, despite ongoing local opposition and concern about “extra frosts”.
Gupta chooses Suntech for Cultana solar farm and big battery project
Gupta moves forward with Cultana solar project for Whyalla steel works, to be “firmed up” by big battery.
Recycling crisis to go under the microscope [$]
China Sword has caused havoc for recycling across South Australia. Now a parliamentary inquiry is going to investigate just how big the problem has become.
Western Australia
WA taps into boom for raw materials for EV and storage batteries
WA is set to capitalise on rapid growth in demand for battery storage, with a surge in exploration activity for raw battery materials.
Wild dog fence underway after decades of sheep being ‘ripped apart’
It has taken almost 20 years of campaigning from farmers and today the first post of a new $11 million wild dog fence in WA has been driven into the ground.
The Kimberley is now 93.5% native title – but Indigenous victory is bittersweet
This week an area bigger than Belgium was recognised as native title, but the long claims process has taken its toll
Sustainability
Japan switches on first new geothermal power plant in 23 years
Japan’s 46MW Wasabizawa Geothermal Power Plant begins commercial operation, marking its first new large-scale geothermal power station in 23 years.
North Korea says no more nuclear talks unless the US changes stance
North Korea said that during the summit between the two countries the US had insisted on “a method which is totally impossible to get through”.
15 urban design projects reinventing unused urban space
The Reinventing Cities competition asked architects to find new uses for vacant and abandoned spaces in cities around the world.
Sperm counts are on the decline – could plastics be to blame?
A recent study that tested both men and dogs added to concerns that chemicals in the environment are damaging the quality and quantity of sperm
Michelle Haines Thomas
I just went for a walk past a primary school. There’s a park conveniently located directly across the road, and the kids have spilled out with their parents and immediately get to playing.
Nature Conservation
Former Brazilian enviro ministers blast Bolsonaro environmental assaults
A new manifesto by eight of Brazil’s past environment ministers has accused the rightist Bolsonaro administration of “a series of unprecedented actions that are destroying the capacity of the environment ministry to formulate and carry out public policies.”
Wildfires rage in Israel during heatwave
Firefighters on Thursday battled wildfires that scorched swathes of forests in central Israel, forcing some small towns to be evacuated, during a heatwave that brought record temperatures to parts of the country.
Tall and old or dense and young: Which kind of forest is better for the climate?
In 2007, Richard Branson, the British business magnate, offered a $25 million prize to anyone who can invent a device capable of removing significant volumes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Elephants reduced to a political football as Botswana brings back hunting
Ross Harvey
Botswana has reinstated trophy hunting after a 5-year moratorium on the practice.
Now for something completely different …
Meet the doomsday prepper helping Australians get ready for the worst
Trevor Andrei is an Australian doomsday prepper who says he could survive for more than two weeks with just the items hidden inside his backpack. He believes interest in doomsday prepping is growing around Australia.
6 Florence St Niddrie 3042
93741902
0432406862