Date: 2 August 2019 at 8:44:08 am AEST
Subject: Daily Links Aug 2
Post of the Day
Just 10% of fossil fuel subsidy cash ‘could pay for green transition’
Redirecting small portion of subsidies would unleash clean energy revolution, says report
Today’s Celebration
Our Lady of the Angels Day – Costa Rica
Republic Day (Ilinden) – North Macedonia
Somers Day – Bermuda
Umuganura (Harvest Thanksgiving) – Rwanda
Imamzadeh Glorification Day – Iran
Genocide Remembrance Day of the Roma and Sinti – Poland
MS Readathon – One month challenge
We’ll Make a Change (cerebral palsy)
Climate Change
Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg hits back at ‘deeply disturbed’ jibe from Andrew Bolt
Sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg has responded with searing criticism to an op-ed written by columnist Andrew Bolt which describes the teenager as ‘deeply disturbed’.
‘Quite scary’: Rising mercury risks Melbourne, Sydney’s water security
Major cities, including Melbourne and Sydney, face rising threats to their water supplies from climate change as higher temperatures diminish inflows.
Ancient plankton help researchers predict near-future climate
Temperature data inferred from plankton fossils from the Pliocene, an era with CO2 levels similar to today’s, allowed a team to rectify discrepancies between climate models and other proxy temperature measurements.
National
Composting remains our biggest recycling opportunity
With all the recent discussion about plastic exports, it’s easy to forget that organics remains our single largest recycling opportunity, writes Rose Read CEO of the National Waste Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC).
Coalition’s emissions reduction fund labelled ‘a joke’ after first post-election auction
Government spends less than $1m for cut equivalent to only 0.01% of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas pollution
Greens condemn Chinese high-rollers being offered wombat hunts
Sarah Hanson-Young asks Coalition to clamp down on ‘this hideous and obscene behaviour’ on Crown casino junkets
Get cracking on gas, Morrison tells states
Scott Morrison has turned his attention to his upcoming meeting with state premiers as Parliament takes its winter break.
Privacy rules dumped as regulators seek to avoid wind and solar traffic jams
Renewable energy developers to get new visibility on rival projects in effort to avoid wind and solar traffic jams in parts of the grid.
Energy Insiders Podcast: Coalition’s revenge on RET, Labor’s solar stumble
The big talking point at Clean Energy Summit was the absence of the Coalition government and the lack of network planning. Meanwhile, Lily D’Ambrosio defends solar rebate.
How government strangled the National Energy Market [$]
Matthew Warren
Hazelwood’s closure was supposed to usher in a new age of low-emissions energy. Instead it’s come to be a symbol of a dying energy market, high prices and blackout risks.
Make no mistake it is tough being pro-coal, just ask Ian the Climate Denialist Potato
First Dog on the Moon
It’s time to do the mining dance! Let’s all put coal dust down our pants
Victoria
Giant rubbish fire costs embattled recycler $1.2m after residents claim compensation
The company at the centre of Victoria’s recycling crisis is dealt another blow as a court orders it to pay $1.2 million to residents affected by a rubbish stockpile fire at one of its Melbourne sites.
Wombat safari highlights legal loophole, as data reveals kills double in Victoria
At least three permits are handed out every week in Victoria to someone wanting to kill or trap wombats, as the state government’s cull limit has doubled over a decade.
Indigo Shire taking a lead in addressing climate change
At the Ordinary Council meeting this week, Council voted to declare a Climate Emergency and investigate options to respond to the changing climate at a local level.
Taking first step towards using 100% renewable energy
Indigo Shire Council voted this week to join the consortium to go out to tender for a collaborative Victorian Local Government Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) project for the purchase of renewable energy.
EPA issues clean up notice for site of Campbellfield fire
Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has issued a notice that requires the clean up of the site of a large fire that occurred on Thornycroft Street, Campbellfield earlier this year.
August’s allocation of solar rebates snapped up in 90 minutes
August’s monthly allocation for government-subsidised solar installations was exhausted in less than 90 minutes on Thursday morning as Victorians flocked to snap up the rebate.
Victoria needs renewables to offset coal risk [$]
Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio has argued that the state needs more – not less – renewable energy to compensate for the fading reliability of ageing coal plants.
Victoria imports energy as prices skyrocket [$]
Victoria is now taking more electricity from the rest of the country than it is exporting for the first time in the history of the national electricity market.
2℃ of global warming would put pressure on Melbourne’s water supply
Ben Henley et al
Melbourne’s existing water supplies may face pressure if global warming hits the 2℃ level, according to our new research published today in Environmental Research Letters.
New South Wales
Platypuses found dead in illegal yabby trap
Four platypuses are found drowned in a yabby trap set in the upper Shoalhaven River near Braidwood, amid calls for the traps to be banned.
Parts of NSW brace for an early bushfire season with not enough water to take them on
How do you fight fires in a state that is 98 per cent in drought and short on water? It’s a question being considered by firefighters in parched NSW as they prepare for fire season.
Citrus growers on the lower Darling River stare down an unprecedented disaster, with some being forced to abandon their crops as they wait for the Federal Government to agree to a water buyback.
Shoalhaven Tree and Vegetation Vandalism Prevention Policy
Shoalhaven City Council is seeking community feedback on the Draft Shoalhaven Tree and Vegetation Vandalism Prevention Policy currently on public exhibition until Wednesday, 28 August 2019.
‘Disgusted’: NSW government drops land-clearing action against farmers
The Berejiklian government has granted amnesty to hundreds of farmers who faced penalties for clearing land ahead of the introduction of looser controls, breaking a promise it made two years ago.
ACT
$1 million conservation project to protect threatened legless lizard
A huge conservation project to protect the threatened pink-tailed worm lizard will cover 30,000 hectares and involve consultation with 22 landholders.
Drone report a masterpiece of wise indecision
Canberra Times editorial
The ACT government’s new report on drones is a masterpiece of indecision. The Standing Committee on Economic Development and Tourism received 151 submissions and held three public sessions where it heard evidence from 26 witnesses.
Queensland
Revealed: recycling scheme increased cost of drinking
Queenslanders have made $70 million by returning their used bottles and cans.
Planned battery plant to generate 1150 jobs [$]
A planned Queensland battery plant will be bigger than initially thought, with the company behind it revealing new details of its size and why it’s expanding, creating even more jobs.
AGL shows off what will be Australia’s largest wind farm
Media and political event at partially completed Cooper’s Gap wind farm in Queensland, which will be biggest in Australia once complete at end of financial year.
South Australia
‘Stolen’ Indigenous remains reburied in South Australia
The remains of eleven Kaurna Indigenous people have been buried in Adelaide’s south after being held in museums in the UK and South Australia.
SA water allocations keep rising and hit 50 per cent [$]
There is 95 per cent likelihood that SA irrigators’ water allocations will reach 100 per cent in 2019-20, with allocations hitting 50 per cent today.
1414 Degrees to test its thermal energy storage with Nectar Farms
SA firm 1414 Degrees seals new to deal test its thermal energy storage solution in a range of agribusiness applications, including with sustainable agri pioneer, Nectar Farms.
Gupta wins approval for Playford big battery, key part of ambitious solar plan
Gupta’s big battery at Port Augusta wins planning approval, key part of his plan to power the state’s manufacturing industry with dispatchable renewables.
Northern Territory
Is it time to ban tourists from sacred sites? This Indigenous elder thinks so
Uluru, Kakadu and other cultural landscapes may be tourist meccas, but one respected elder says it’s a misconception that tourist dollars are going back into Aboriginal communities.
Western Australia
Carnegie puts out call to investors as it seeks to reboot wave energy plans
Carnegie Clean Energy seeks $5.5 million from investors as it tries to recapitalise and re-boot its wave energy technologies.
Sustainability
Pollutionwatch: James Lovelock still right on summer smog
In 1973, scientist concluded that controlling UK air pollution needed Europe-wide cooperation
Just 10% of fossil fuel subsidy cash ‘could pay for green transition’
Redirecting small portion of subsidies would unleash clean energy revolution, says report
Use your waste water to save street trees, experts urge
Dishwater and bathwater can be used to give vital support that councils often cannot afford to young trees
Going green? Not so easy for mainstream brands
ecent research shows that when mainstream brands advertise using visual cues suggesting the product is environmentally friendly or ‘green’ consumers may actually evaluate the product as being less effective and switch to a more niche green brand.
Previously unknown mechanism causes increased forest water use
Researchers have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that causes increased forest water use, advances understanding of soil biogeochemical control of forest water cycles and highlights threats to plants from water stress under acid deposition, according to a new study.
‘Is it time for another contraception revolution?’
Reducing and stabilizing human population numbers globally an important step toward rebalancing the planet
Low level exposure to air pollution is harmful, mouse model shows
Scientists investigating the effect of air pollution on lung health, in an animal model, have concluded that even low levels of exposure can have a detrimental effect on the lungs. They say the results have implications for government agencies responsible for urban planning.
Promising new solar-powered path to hydrogen fuel production
Engineers have utilized a single enzyme biomineralization process to create a catalyst that uses the energy of captured sunlight to split water molecules to produce hydrogen. The synthesis process is performed at room temperature and under ambient pressure, overcoming the sustainability and scalability challenges of previously reported methods.
Malaysian PM asks Lynas for waste plan before licence renewal
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has signalled his government has dropped its demand for Lynas to ship its radioactive waste out of the country in order for it to secure a licence renewal next month, but it is not clear whether his ruling coalition has formally agreed to the decision.
Novel catalysis approach reduces carbon dioxide to methane
This is what life is like in a city where the air can kill you
David Lipson
When the ABC’s Indonesia correspondent David Lipson descended into Jakarta Airport, he thought something on the plane was burning, but it was the city’s toxic smog slowly filling up the cabin.
Maelor Himbury
6 Florence St Niddrie 3042
93741902
0432406862
6 Florence St Niddrie 3042
93741902
0432406862