Post of the Day
Michael Bayliss
Keeping up with Australia’s surging population growth has meant that important issues have been pushed aside.
Today’s Celebration
Independence Day – Uruguay
Day of Songun – North Korea
Lake Sevan Day – Armenia
Grandparents’ Day – Taiwan
Liberation Day – Paris
Climate Change
The case for strategic and managed climate retreat
Faced with global warming, rising sea levels, and the climate-related extremes they intensify, the question is no longer whether some communities will retreat but why, where, when, and how they will retreat.
National
Labor urges more action to protect the Amazon
Labor is urging the Morrison government to do all it can to encourage Brazil to protect the Amazon as international leaders discuss the issue at the G7 summit.
Inbreeding crisis: hybrid helmeted honeyeaters introduced into wild to stop species dying out
Only 230 of the sub-species remain in the wild, a population that will become unsustainable without interbreeding
Rising force: How Extinction Rebellion hopes to make a difference
It seems that after years of ‘clicktivism’, street politics are back. But will they be effective?
Bird experts unlock mysteries of Australia’s unmapped ocean
It’s largely unknown what seabirds and marine mammals do when they are out in Australia’s remote waters, but an ongoing project aboard at 94-metre floating laboratory is changing that.
Our national parks need greater protection
Canberra Times editorial
The value of national parks should not be eroded to accommodate the Instagram generation, no matter how picturesque.
Federal politicians have failed on energy policy
Canberra Times editorial
Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s attempt to blame state governments and industry for rising concerns over electricity security deserve an “A” for effort. That said, they are disingenuous and come across as a blatant attempt to distance a succession of federal governments from any responsibility for the mess.
Michael Bayliss
Keeping up with Australia’s surging population growth has meant that important issues have been pushed aside.
Why Australia must consider nuclear power
Theo Theophanous
In my final speech in the Victorian parliament in 2010 I called for a mature debate on nuclear power at a national level.
We’re really stuffing up energy policy [$]
Peter Gleeson
Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten are not in the Lodge for many and varied reasons but their inability to address energy costs, its climate change implications and the impact on the economy was a key factor.
Victoria
Appeal to save Djab Wurrung trees due to overlooked evidence
Key evidence uncovering the true scope of destruction to Aboriginal culture wrought by the Western Highway duplication was overlooked in a federal government decision to approve the controversial project, traditional owners have argued.
‘Like losing my son’: Why trees threatened by Western Hwy are so sacred
In locations far and wide, the Djab Wurrung say that grandmother and grandfather trees come in pairs.
Rare lily thrives as scientists shine a little light in the Otways
At first glance, the tall astelia is quite unremarkable, but when a group of scientists banded together to save the southern-most population of this plant from extinction, they realised the plant had hidden powers — if given the chance to flourish.
‘Ideally we’d shift the road’: Great Ocean Road centenary raises questions about its future
One hundred years since construction began on the Great Ocean Road, the world-renowned tourist attraction is under threat from erosion, landslides and booming tourist numbers. But a record funding boost and the the biggest roadworks blitz of recent decades is now underway in a bid to secure the road for another century.
In Australia’s biggest university, an office made of junk
Beau Miles doesn’t like motorised desks. He doesn’t like waste either. So when he was quoted $12,900 for a new office space, he went rogue.
New South Wales
Sydney’s electric scooter trial plagued by safety fears
Electric scooters would be restricted to riders aged over 18 who hold a driver’s licence and could only be ridden during the day, under strict conditions proposed by the state government for a possible trial in Sydney.
Eden’s Light to Light walk could become the latest victim of commercialising national parks
It’s nothing short of Instagram-worthy, if you’re that way inclined, but you’re going to have to hike in to see it.
NSW warned to brace for ‘worst’ bushfire season [$]
NSW residents are being urged to brace for bushfire conditions akin to the “catastrophic” fires that destroyed 200 homes six years ago. It comes as the Rural Fire Service declared 21 areas across the state in bushfire “danger period”.
Nats deputy laments water for ’far away’ SA [$]
The deputy leader of the Nationals says “heartbroken” NSW irrigators are watching water flow past their farms to “a state far, far away”.
Queensland
‘Little dead bodies everywhere’: Woman buries 43 birds believed killed in Bribie bushfire
Leisl Born says she was shocked to realise several dozen dead birds sat among the ash and debris that washed up on her local beach following the Bribie Island bushfires.
Queensland Labor has declared its support for the resources industry as it battles to hold on to votes in the regions ahead of next year’s state election.
It’s simple – focus on jobs and the economy
Courier Mail editorial
Finally the ALP has verbalised the reality that most of Queensland already knows – we need the coal industry for the jobs and the money it brings. Enough talk, let’s see some action.
Tasmania
Cable car plan before vexed forum [$]
Hobart’s cable car proponent must address 30 questions about its proposal before the council can make a decision, concerned residents were told at a packed public meeting.
New hope for injured Tassie wildlife [$]
More wildlife rehabilitators are needed as the pool of volunteers becomes overburdened — and a new TasTAFE course is aimed at recruiting more helpers.
Tassie’s wind farms vision expands [$]
Three wind farms are in operation, two under construction and up to another 10 proposed as Tasmania seeks to be a leader in renewable energy production.
Northern Territory
Australian sunshine could soon be farmed to power an Asian nation
An Australian entrepreneur wants the Northern Territory desert to become home to the world’s biggest solar farm, with the electricity generated sent along undersea cables to Singapore.
Sustainability
Hopes AI will help reduce farm waste, improve animal welfare
It is hoped that precision farming will help to reduce waste and improve the welfare of livestock by using technology to track both their physical and mental health.
Russia’s closed cities hold the secrets to global nuclear disasters you’ve never heard of
The lack of information from the Russian Government following the deadly explosion on August 8 has some questioning whether the situation might be worse than originally thought.
Costa Georgiadis on why it’s easy being green
Gardening is one of the simplest ways to help the environment, says Costa Georgiadis.
How green is your lawn, really?
As the earth’s resources become more strained, should we be using our lawns for more productive things than growing grass?
Toxic chemicals can enter food through packaging, so we made a list
Environmental NGO EDF has identified toxic chemicals of concern that must be addressed to ensure health and safety.
Are there alternatives to air conditioning?
As summer temperatures rise, more buildings are installing energy-hungry air conditioners – a major contributor to climate change. But are there other ways to cool buildings down?
The fat of the land: Estimating the ecological costs of overeating
Researchers have proposed a way to measure the ecological impact of global food wastage due to excessive consumption. Published in Frontiers in Nutrition, the results suggest that direct food waste — thrown away or lost from field to fork — is a mere hors-d’œuvre.
Nature Conservation
Brazil sends in military to battle Amazon fires as Trump offers help
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro authorises the use of the military to battle massive fires sweeping across parts of the Amazon as US President Donald Trump also offers his assistance.
Humans aren’t species snobs, that’s just evolution [$]
David Penberthy
According to PETA’s latest outcry, anyone who thinks animals are different to humans is engaging in the barbaric practice of “speciesism”. It would be funny if it wasn’t so utterly ridiculous.
Now for something completely different …
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