Post of the Day
U.N. biodiversity report says 1 million species face extinction
The warming climate is a major driver that is exacerbating the effects of overfishing, widespread pesticide use, pollution and urban expansion into the natural world.
Today’s Celebration
Hari Hol Pahang – Malaysia
Defender of the Fatherland Day – Kazakhstan
Ancestor Veneration Day – Belarus
Lithuanian Press Restoration, Language and Book Day – Lithuania
Dien Bien Phu Victory Day – Vietnam
International Tell Your Crush Day
Climate Change
Mike Pompeo praises climate change in the Arctic as ‘new opportunities for trade’
“Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade,” said Pompeo.
Banana disease boosted by climate change
Climate change has raised the risk of a fungal disease that ravages banana crops, new research shows.
Children change their parents’ minds about climate change
Study of students schooled on the issue showed them going on to shift their elders’ attitudes.
‘Amazing archive’: Novel study reveals recent shift in El Ninos events
El Ninos are becoming more common in the central Pacific but also developing into more extreme events in the ocean’s east.
Labor’s carbon plan to cost miners $2bn: Wood Mackenzie
Australian coal miners face a $2 billion-plus hit from Labor’s enlarged carbon plan, with the cost of meeting emissions-reduction targets to dent the profits of large producers including BHP, South32 and Glencore, consultancy Wood Mackenzie has warned.
National
Bank Australia becomes first Australian bank to purchase 100% renewables
Bank Australia signs PPA with Crowlands wind farm and installs rooftop solar to become first Australian bank to meet its 100% renewable energy target.
Nationals deputy in dark on solar panels
Does every second person have solar panels on their roof?
Climate change is a big deal for voters, so how do the policies stack up?
What does the science tell us about the adequacy of the climate policies the parties are spruiking? And how do they compare to what other countries are doing?
More warnings over Labor’s fuel emission targets [$]
The Australian Automobile Association has warned Labor car manufacturers could be forced to pay a billion dollar bill for vehicles that do not meet the party’s target to slash fuel emissions, while the Coalition says taking a holiday road trip in an EV could add an extra day of travel.
Climate action questions ‘dumb’ [$]
Bill Shorten labelled questions on the cost of his climate policies “dumb’’ on ABC’s Q&A last night.
Price to pay for renewables [$]
Policymakers have ignored the costs associated with the move towards renewables, APA claims.
Know your NEM: Rising cost of coal, rooftop solar makes its mark
David Leitch
Coal costs are rising; rooftop solar is now 9% of South Australia generation, and the latest odds on the federal election.
Welcome to Australian politics: A mad environment
Sue Arnold
When it comes to environmental protection policy, Australia is full of crazies, devoid of logical thought.
Modelling that shows Labor’s climate policy could cost billions is ridiculous
Frank Jotzo
We should be talking about positioning Australia for a low-carbon future, instead it’s carbon wars again
Species extinction is on the agenda at this election
SMH editorial
Nature is losing the battle against pollution, human population growth, agriculture and climate change.
The school pick-up pollution risk
Paul Cleary
Many of our children walk through an invisible wall of pollution as they leave school each afternoon.
Shorten defies belief on costings [$]
Alan Jones
So Bill Shorten says the cost to the taxpayer of his climate policies is “practically nil’’. As untruths go, this is gold medal stuff.
Victoria
Committed to reducing emissions
The main building of the Wonthaggi Civic Centre is now home to a 100kW rooftop solar power system, made up of 277 panels.
After 300 years, ‘splendid’ red gum will be felled for North East Link
It has grown for more than three centuries but plan for massive toll road through Melbourne’s north-east could see this towering tree cut down.
Move away from a car-dominated city looks radical but it’s a sensible plan for a liveable future
Hussein Dia
Walking accounts for about 90% of all travel in Melbourne city centre, yet pedestrians are allocated only 24% of street space.
What a good idea: saving our streets for people, not cars
Erin Stewart
Limiting street parking would make such a difference to communal life and increase our sense of space so dramatically that it should be applied everywhere.
New South Wales
Menindee gets a boost with $5 million to repopulate native fish numbers
The Federal Government announces it will stump up the funds in a bid to replenish native fish populations that were decimated during the summer fish kills.
‘A nasty place at the moment’: Lord Howe Island tense as rat baiting begins
After 20 years of arguments, the eradication plan that has split families and divided neighbours will finally go ahead
Zali Steggall promises action to stem health impact of climate change
The Warringah independent signs up to strategy to tackle problems of increased asthma, mental illness and heat-related deaths
Shark sightings on the rise in this inner-city creek
In recent weeks, creek-side locals have taken to social media to warn of sightings of a shark — or sharks — measuring up to 10 feet long.
Calls for more help for Murrumbidgee native fish at risk from feral goats, deer
A patchwork of laws and a lack of resources for rural landowners to control feral animals is harming efforts to keep Australian native fish alive in the Murrumbidgee River near the Snowy Mountains, according to an inquiry submission.
Queensland
Study into ‘giant fans’ to cool Great Barrier Reef already showing promise
Researchers have some promising early data from a mooted plan to shift cool water using “giant fans” on the Great Barrier Reef to reduce heat stress on corals.
Farmer says worst of drought yet to come
Stuart Armitage, 60, has been a farmer all his working life, and the drought he is living through now is one of the worst he’s seen.
The major downside of plastic bag ban [$]
Shane Budden
Since the banning of the so-called single-use shopping bag we’re probably putting a greater total volume of plastic into the environment, but we are now paying for the process.
Black-throated finch a sting in the Fine Cotton tradition [$]
Peter Gleeson
Queenslanders are being taken for a ride in the biggest fix since the infamous Fine Cotton scandal. The perpetrator is none other than the State Government and the issue has nothing to do with horse racing.
South Australia
Bonuses on tap for SA Water workers [$]
Taxpayers have forked out almost half a million dollars for SA Water staff bonuses as the State Government probes whether the utility has inflated water prices.
Onka to vote on fortnightly green bin collection [$]
Onkaparinga Council will decide whether to move to a fortnightly green bin service on Tuesday night after years of residents pushing for collection every two weeks instead of four.
Legal tussle over $500m Riverland solar project [$]
The company behind a proposed $500 million solar project in the Riverland says it’s still on track, despite three of its companies going into administration.
Tasmania
Envorinex soft plastic recycling plant opens at Bell Bay
Recycling company Envorinex has held the official opening of their second plant, at Bell Bay.
Timber mill finds favour with major parties [$]
Funding promises Tasmania’s largest timber processor is the latest beneficiary of a tight election contest in the marginal seat of Bass.
Golf club bows to Crowe pressure [$]
A Tasmanian golf club has bowed to public pressure and backed down from a plan to cull native animals that had been fouling its course.
Northern Territory
Infrastructure spend cut in tough NT Budget [$]
A reduced infrastructure spend will underpin Treasurer Nicole Manison’s third Budget, to be released this morning
Sustainability
A sustainability rating for space debris
Teams from the MIT Media Lab and the European Space Agency have been chosen to create a rating system and global standards for space waste mitigation.
Lynas backs Malaysian waste solution despite removal order
The Wesfarmers takeover target is sticking to its guns on plans to dispose of residue.
Sunscreen chemicals soak all the way into your bloodstream
But whether that’s a health risk remains unclear, according to a new FDA-backed study.
China’s plan to reduce smog in cities basically just moved it to other areas
A new study in Science Advances looks at the unintended harm smog-reducing plan did to bordering regions.
Could you live a low carbon life? Meet the people who already are
There are things we can all do to lower our impact on the environment. We speak to three people who have taken the first steps.
A grim ‘Chernobyl’ shows what happens when lying is standard and authority is abused
HBO’s miniseries about the 1986 nuclear disaster resonates with a crucial warning.
Human drugs are polluting the water—and animals are swimming in it
Salmon on psychotropics, platypuses on prozac, and other strange tales from the wild.
Seafood without the sea: Will lab-grown fish hook consumers?
The seafood industry has some well-publicized problems: from overfishing to contaminants that make their way into fish. Now, a handful of startups aim to offer a “clean” alternative grown from cells.
Turning the tide on plastic waste in Indonesia
Indonesia still has a plastic waste and pollution problem. The government has put initiatives in place, but action and education at the community level are vital to success.
Investors pressure oil giants on ocean plastics pollution
Climate-conscious shareholders who have long focused on fossil fuel damage are turning attention to another growing and related problem: plastics.
Public dread of nuclear power limits its use in the US
Nuclear power has been a part of the American energy portfolio since the 1950s, but for a number of reasons, the general public has long felt a significant dread about it.
Radical desalination approach may disrupt the water industry
Columbia Engineering researchers report that they have developed a radically different desalination approach–“temperature swing solvent extraction (TSSE)”–for hypersaline brines. Their study demonstrates that TSSE can desalinate very high-salinity brines, up to seven times the concentration of seawater.
Rethinking digital service design could reduce their environmental impact
Digital technology companies could reduce the carbon footprint of services like YouTube by changing how they are designed, experts say.
Nature Conservation
A million species risk extinction, says landmark UN report calling for ‘transformative change’
The report is calling for a sweeping overhaul of the way we produce and consume almost everything, especially food.
Biodiversity: what the UN has found and what it means for humanity
The global assessment report paints a dire picture of our effect on the natural world
Many more amphibian species at risk of extinction than previously thought
Frogs already knew it wasn’t easy being green, but the going just got a lot tougher for the 1,012 additional species of amphibians who have now been newly identified as at risk of extinction in a Yale-led study.
Hunting jeopardizes forest carbon storage, yet is overlooked in climate mitigation efforts
The loss of animals, often due to unregulated or illegal hunting, has consequences for the carbon storage capacity of forests, yet this link is rarely mentioned in high-level climate policy discussions, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
Ash dieback expected to cost British economy nearly £15bn
Biggest cost of tree disease will be loss of benefits such as clean air and water, study finds
The pressing need to save the Arctic
This vital region must be conserved, not least from Trump’s ignorant policies.
Cattle ranching could help conserve rare African antelope, lions
Ranch managers’ placement of cattle corrals away from Jackson’s hartebeest likely would allow the antelope species to increase, with lions focused on the zebras that congregate at the resulting glades in central Kenya.
‘Revolutionary change’ needed to stop unprecedented global extinction crisis
Michelle Lim
The exploitation of the land and sea is the number one reason for biodiversity extinction, according to a new report.
Now for something completely different …
Childhood abuse increases risk of violence in adulthood
New analysis released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that people who experienced childhood abuse are at increased risk of experiencing violence as an adult.
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