Post of the Day
Animals failing to adapt to speed of climate crisis, study finds
Scientists warn of ‘alarming’ lag between human-driven seasons shift and animals’ behavioural changes
Today’s Celebration
Children’s Day – Vanuatu
Simón Bolívar Day – Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia
Guayaquil Day – Ecuador
Climate Change
BHP boss announces $US400m plan to combat ‘indisputable’ climate crisis
The mining giant’s chief executive Andrew Mackenzie endorses drastic action to tackle global warming
A brief introduction to climate change and national security
Extreme weather, rising seas, and a melting Arctic could worsen global tensions.
Global warming will accelerate water cycle over global land monsoon regions
A new study provides a broader understanding on the redistribution of freshwater resources across the globe induced by future changes in the monsoon system.
Ozone threat from climate change
We know the recent extreme heat is something that we can expect more of as a result of increasing temperatures due to climate change. But a new study from the University of Delaware warns that there’s another impact — worsened air quality due to an increase in the number and intensity of ‘ozone alert’ days.
Rise of Candida Auris Blamed on Global Warming
Global warming may have played a pivotal role in the emergence of Candida auris, according to a new study. C. auris, which is often multi-drug resistant and is a serious public health threat.
Leveraging climate hysteria to impose hegemonic Marxism
Wesley J. Smith
Environmentalism is growing increasingly anti-capitalist and anti-human.
How should we cope with climate crisis? Ask survivors to take the lead
Nanette Antequisa
As well as investing billions in reinforcing cities against climate disasters, we should support those feeling its impact right now.
National
Taylor grilled by Labor on emissions, says no to Barnaby’s “free” nuclear fantasy
Taylor receives repeated warnings to provide answers as the minister for reducing emissions attempts to avoid conceding he is failing his own job title.
How much toxic or reusable waste from the solar industry is going into landfill?
There are no laws regulating the solar industry’s waste, which experts predict could grow to a whopping 1,500 kilotons by 2050.
‘Reveal’ wind farm bird kills [$]
Wind farms should be forced to detail eagle, bird and bat deaths on a public online register, Australia’s Wind Farm Commissioner says.
Green bonds the future for Cannon-Brookes darling Brighte [$]
The buy-now-pay-later solution for residential solar panels and household batteries believes it can use the bonds to recycle its credit facility
Two-day carbon auction kicks off [$]
The federal government is pushing ahead with the next auction in its bid to lower carbon emissions ahead of its rebadging.
‘Blessed’ Australia needs broader effort on hydrogen [$]
Australia has natural advantages as a hydrogen exporter but also needs to foster demand, domestically and elsewhere, the secretary of the Hydrogen Council said.
Those left to pick up the bill shut out of building crisis debate
Bill Randolph
The lowly position of the consumer has been graphically exposed.
Action on climate change, one person at a time
Arnagretta Hunter
The widening gulf between the magnitude of the problems identified by climate change researchers and the current federal government response is huge.
Warring states cannot solve Murray crisis [$]
Dean Jaensch
The Murray-Darling Basin plan is riddled with reports of unethical or illegal water use, and politics. Only a national water council can fix it.
Climate change is a huge threat to national security [$]
Jim Clough
With rising sea levels, Pacific island states will look to Australia for leadership or refuge
Victoria
Yallourn’s “brown fire” future will depends on exports, and ramping ability
Yallourn is profitable, but will likely depend on exports to NSW to remain so. Meanwhile, maintenance costs will remain high and reliability will be an issue.
Solar flare-up: Installers to rally at Parliament over subsidy woes
Hundreds of solar panel installers are expected at a Parliament House rally on Thursday over problems with the state government’s energy rebate program.
Andrews urged to ‘level playing field’ amid recycling crisis
Recycling companies want major changes before they commit to expanding their Victorian operations.
The shocking reality of deadly waste in our suburbs
Huge stockpiles of toxic chemicals are being stored at dozens of locations in Melbourne’s northern suburbs — and it’s likely to take at least 18 months to clean up.
Suburban rail loop begins to take shape [$]
Melbourne’s $50 billion suburban rail loop is one step closer as engineers begin drilling boreholes underground to plan the railway line’s exact route.
Ribbons of Green restoring our habitat
Yarra Ranges Council media release
More than 800,000 indigenous plants have been planted in the last twelve years of Council’s Ribbons of Green program, offsetting emissions and improving the environment across Yarra Ranges.
New South Wales
Sydney residents refuse to be ‘guinea pigs’ for storage of radioactive waste
Residents fear their lives will be made even worse and they will be trapped in unsaleable homes if radioactive waste from a former refinery is stored in their street on Sydney’s lower north shore.
NSW Nats water ministers endorsed Darling River “share plan” that favoured irrigators upstream.
ACT
ACT Govt aware that a “number” of Canberra buildings contained non-compliant cladding
The ACT government was aware that a “number” of Canberra buildings contained non-compliant aluminium cladding as far back as 2010, documents reveal.
Queensland
Adani’s Carmichael mine ‘a corporate collapse waiting to happen’
The company responsible for Adani’s Carmichael coal mine is deep in the red, with accounting experts and its own auditors warning it is surviving only through the promised support of its Indian parent firm.
Queensland mining royalties found to give ‘effective subsidies’ to thermal coal exporters
Australia Institute report suggests public support for overhaul of royalty rates
Public may fund academic’s climate battle
Taxpayers could fork out to pay for sacked university professor Peter Ridd’s next court battle, with the Attorney-General looking into a special scheme.
Adani can’t build a mine on its own. So who are the silent partners?
John Quiggin
It’s a month since Adani received final approvals for its Carmichael mine, and it’s still hard to work out what’s going on at its site and in the Galilee Basin in general.
South Australia
South Australia has 10GW wind and solar in pipeline as it heads to 100% renewables
South Australia’s conservative Liberal government has boasted that it has 10GW of large scale wind and solar projects now in the development pipeline, propelling the state towards its anticipated milestone of “net” 100 per cent renewables by 2030.
‘Paper, pee or poo’: Fatberg jingle released to flush out bad waste practices
Water authorities in SA are sick of having to deal with masses of congealed waste made out of wet wipes, condoms and tampons — so they’ve released a jingle.
Bill savings to flow as gouging exposed [$]
A major report into SA Water prices will today confirm that customers have been gouged for years, as the State Government prepares to deliver significant future savings to households.
Tasmania
Greens told: rely on project facts [$]
Bob Brown’s criticisms of the southern hemisphere’s largest proposed wind farm have been backed by Tasmania’s Greens.
National parks fees facing major overhaul [$]
There is one thing the tourism industry and the Greens agree on when it comes to Tasmania’s national parks.
Northern Territory
The cultural clash over climbing Uluru
There’s been a sudden jump in the number of people wanting to climb Uluru ahead of a ban which comes into effect in October. Almost nine out of ten people who visit Uluru don’t climb, respecting the traditional owners’ view that it’s a deeply sacred place. But some people believe any Australian should be able to climb the world’s most famous rock if they wish.
Total fire ban declared in Top End [$]
A total fire ban will be in place in the Darwin and Adelaide River forecast areas from midnight on Tuesday
Western Australia
Regulator finds AEMO made ‘intentional and avoidable’ breach of market rules
AEMO issued a formal warning after “intentional” breaches of the WA electricity market rules that saw generators get paid ineligible capacity credits.
Woodside warned ‘use it or lose it’ over stalled WA project
Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan is heaping pressure on Woodside over the stalled Browse gas project in Western Australia, but the company insists it’s making progress.
Taxpayers to lend $120M for uni green initiative
Taxpayers will lend $120 million to fund solar panels among other emissions reduction measures for Curtin University’s new student lodgings in a move blasted as a “gross misuse of public money”.
Santos stresses bigger role for WA gas exports [$]
Santos has set its sights on exporting a growing share of its big West Australian gas production base through the state’s existing liquefied natural gas plants, as chief executive Kevin Gallagher warns that greater access to international markets will be crucial if WA is to avoid a gas price spike in coming years.
Sustainability
Kenya moves closer to 100% renewables with completion of Africa’s biggest wind farm
The 310MW Lake Turkana Wind Power project is Africa’s largest, and will help Kenya reach its 100% renewables target by 2020.
Population growth ‘a threat to planetary health’
Some experts say linking contraception to conservation is ill-founded, especially in Africa.
Sawdust might be one answer to the world’s plastic problem
Beverage giants Pepsi, Danone and Nestle plan to sell water in recyclable plastic bottles made from lumber scraps.
Environmentalists want candidates to focus on clean water
Environmental groups in the Great Lakes region want the 2020 presidential candidates to talk more about clean water.
Air pollution in US associated with over 30,000 deaths and reduced life expectancy
Air quality in the US may be linked with increased mortality and reduced life expectancy according to research from Imperial College London and the Center for Air, Climate and Energy Solutions at Carnegie Mellon University.
Monsoon rains have become more intense in the southwest in recent decades
Monsoon rain storms have become more intense in the southwestern United States in recent decades, according to a recent study. Monsoon rains — highly localized bursts of rain — have become stronger since the 1970s, meaning the same amount of rain falls in a shorter amount of time — by 6 to 11 percent. In addition, the number of rainfall events per year increased on average 15 percent during the 1961-2017 period.
Climate change: Investors pressure concrete producers over CO2 emissions
Investors worried about climate change are warning the world’s biggest cement producers to reduce their emissions or face extinction.
E-commerce’s sustainability problem isn’t just the packaging
Time to clear the air — freight is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases and a major source of local air pollution.
Drinking Water: Water Solutions Without a Grain of Salt
Researchers have developed technology that can deliver clean water to thousands of communities
What motivates people to join — and stick with — citizen science projects?
After more than 20 years, the UW’s Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team, or COASST, is itself the subject of scientific study. Social scientists are studying the program’s success to extract lessons for all citizen science efforts.
Nature Conservation
Specieswatch: the ‘UK rainforest’ threatened by gardeners
Sphagnum moss is a vital carbon store but peat bogs are being dug up to fuel our love of horticulture
Singapore seizes record haul of smuggled elephant ivory
Nine tonnes of contraband tusks from about 300 animals found in illegal cargo from DRC
Animals failing to adapt to speed of climate crisis, study finds
Scientists warn of ‘alarming’ lag between human-driven seasons shift and animals’ behavioural changes
Tourist Photographs Are a Cheap and Effective Way to Survey Wildlife
Tourists on safari can provide wildlife monitoring data comparable to traditional surveying methods, suggests new research.
Climate change is making animals smaller, says study
Climate change is having profound effects on Earth and its ecosystems, and during the past 100 years, global temperatures have increased by close to one degree Celsius.
Komodo island to shut in dragon rescue bid
Indonesia plans to close the island of Komodo to the public next year in a bid to conserve Komodo dragons and may later make the island a “premium” destination.
New guidelines drafted by a consortium of concerned experts could enable corals to adapt to changing environments and help restore declining populations in the Caribbean.
We finally know why Florida’s coral reefs are dying, and it’s not just climate change
Chemicals dumped into the ocean are making it easier for the hotter weather to do its deadly work, a study says.
Now for something completely different …
Disturbing Facebook call to storm the Shrine [$]
A social media call to arms is asking people to climb up Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance war memorial and cover the “sacred place” in garbage. This is why.