Oh, and Maelor, you’re two days ahead of yourself.
Date: 26 August 2019 at 8:53:09 am AEST
Subject: Daily Links Aug 28
Post of the Day
What satellite imagery tells us about the Amazon rain forest fires
Maps and images based on satellite data provide clues to how the fires started.
Today’s Celebration
Heroes’ Day – Namibia
Repentance Day – Papua New Guinea
National Heroes’ Day – the Philippines
Herero Day – Namibia
Women’s Equality Day – USA
National Dog Day – USA
National Day of Solidarity – Argentina
Anniversary of Tampa sinking (2001)
Climate Change
ABC gives Pacific leaders a free kick on climate change
Chris Mitchell
In a bid to wedge the PM, ABC and Guardian gave Pacific leaders a free kick. But here’s the thing: most of the islands aren’t sinking.
How doctors convinced the world the planet was worth fighting for
James Dunk
Last week, one of the world’s leading medical journals declared the medical community must act now to limit the health effects of climate change.
National
Infrastructure fund pushes companies to commit to emissions reduction targets
Melbourne and Brisbane airports, as well as NSW ports, among those pledging to reduce emissions in line with Australia’s Paris targets
New fast-charging network for electric vehicles
“We have estimated that Australia needs around 350 sites to cover all the highways that make up Australia’s national land transportation network.”
Country Road to kick off Australia Post push into recycled packaging
Australia Post is taking action on sustainability, warning if it does not it could be “the worst culprit”.
‘A disgraceful situation’: blackout risk sparks business energy blast
Australia’s biggest fruit and vegetable grower, Costa Group, has blasted the “disgraceful” state of the nation’s energy market after fears of summer blackouts forced the company to spend millions of dollars on back-up generators to protect its crops around the country.
Turn off a light, guide a moth and save an endangered possum
This spring, turning off your outdoor lights will save more than your electricity bill.
Airports go green as frequent flyers shamed [$]
Airports are getting rid of plastic and getting into recycling to meet carbon emissions targets.
Despite almost $1 billion being committed to building new dams, bureaucracy and bickering means none are even close to being built.
Well-bred Aussie meat can help planet [$]
Tim Lloyd
The recent global campaign to save the planet by doing away with real meat does not fit well with the realities of meat production in Australia.
Victoria
Victorian union movement joins fight to save 800-year-old Indigenous trees
The trees have been marked for removal to make way for a 12.5 km highway upgrade.
Bird risks sway the Greens [$]
The Victorian Greens have qualified their support for wind farms, saying consideration needs to be given to ecological sensitivities.
Victorians could be hit with $18.7bn renewables bill [$]
Victorian households could be forced to dig deep over the next decade to fund the state government’s ambitious renewable energy target. And it could cost up to $8200 per household.
Plenty of bumps on the road to Treaty [$]
Matt Johnston
Opinion Protests over the Western Highway upgrade could disrupt the state government’s plans to sign a treaty with indigenous Victorians.
New South Wales
Menindee growers call halt to season amid drought and poor water conditions
Fruit and vegetable growers in Menindee struggle to produce full crops while the drought persists and water from the Darling River stays affected by blue-green algae.
Water fight: minister attacks river scientists
Water Minister has criticised the work of scientists who are modelling flows in the drought-stricken Barwon-Darling system
Levy delay leaves funding hole for Parramatta light rail second stage
The Berejiklian government has failed to raise a single dollar to help fund Parramatta’s multibillion-dollar light rail line from a much-vaunted special levy on new apartments it announced nearly four years ago, casting further doubt on the second stage of the project.
Snowy Hydro 2.0: Federal government out of the way for Cooma factory’s environmental approval
The federal government has been accused of abandoning an endangered lizard after it confirmed plans for a factory for Snowy 2.0 wouldn’t need federal environmental approval, despite it being built over the lizard’s habitat.
Green activist group inciting school climate action [$]
Green activist group Sunrise Project — which receives millions of dollars in foreign donations — is running “climate strike nights” in an attempt to “supersize” school climate action promoting the September 20 day of truancy.
The grapes don’t lie – our climate is changing
Alisdair Tulloch
I’m a farmer, and to me climate change is not a nature documentary. It is the single greatest threat to my farm, family and the viability of my industry.
ACT
Who’s using Canberra’s new light rail and bus network?
Fewer people in Woden, Belconnen and Tuggeranong are using public transport on weekdays since the new light rail and bus network launched, new data shows.
Queensland
Nuclear energy policy emerges as Queensland election issue
Labor has cemented its opposition to the nuclear power after three high-profile federal Liberal National Party MPs recently triggered the first federal government inquiry into nuclear power in a decade.
Elevated levels of microscopic dust leaves residents concerned
High levels of dust in a central Queensland town have been attributed to lower-than-average rainfall, but residents say more needs to be done to ensure it isn’t coming from nearby mining operations.
Brisbane Lord Mayor’s plan to crackdown on ”extremists” [$]
Queensland’s biggest council wants more powers to crack down on protesters in a bid to stop “extremists” shutting down Brisbane streets.
South Australia
Probing the scale of marine plastic pollution [$]
A WHO report this week reveals the extent of microplastics in our water and food supplies. Is it safe to eat the fish? Yes, says this Adelaide scientist.
Cause sought for latest Basslink fail [$]
Basslink is out of action again, and the cause of the outage is still being investigated.
Tasmania
George Town Mountain Bike Trail expected to be complete by 2021
George Town mayor Greg Kieser has discussed the future of tourism in the municipality, including the highly anticipated mountain bike trail.
Northern Territory
Top End cotton still a pipe dream
Proposals for big water infrastructure projects aimed at cotton crops in the Kimberley and the Territory have failed to get the go-ahead.
Australian Nobel Prize Winner Tilman Ruff has warned of growing nuclear tension and a rising number of potential nuclear flashpoints.
Sustainability
A $4 billion bet by Asia’s richest man is hurt by too much gas
The 10 synthetic gasifiers that make up the project are now finally commissioned
Squabbles break out over environment and ‘niche’ issues at G7 summit
Two US officials say Donald Trump’s delegation has been irked by Emmanuel Macron’s focus of the G7 meeting on “niche issues” at the expense of the global economy, as the French President sets the agenda to the environment, gender equality and education.
California’s worst-ever drought forces water experts to look to Australia
Californian farmers, experts and lawmakers are looking at Australia for answers as they approach the biggest water reforms in the history of the United States.
Introducing the Refinery of the Future
Mike Banach
It is designed keeping in mind flexibility, which can deal with changes in market conditions, in the short-term as well as adapt with long-term transformations
Nature Conservation
Amazon: Hundreds of new fires rage as world leaders offer assistance
Hundreds of new fires are raging in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, official data showed, as thousands of troops were made available to help fight the worst blazes in years following a global outcry.
Two Hercules aircraft capable of dumping 12,000 litres have been called in to fight the Amazon fires
Backed by military aircraft, 44,000 Brazilian troops are deployed in the Amazon to fight fires that have swept the region and prompted anti-government protests as well as an international outcry.
Americans’ love of hiking has driven elk to the brink, scientists say
Trail use near Vail, Colorado, has more than doubled since 2009. It’s had a devastating impact on a herd of elk
Strip mining could come to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
The final draft plan by the Trump administration opens parts of formerly protected lands to oil, gas and mining companies.
What satellite imagery tells us about the Amazon rain forest fires
Maps and images based on satellite data provide clues to how the fires started.
The Amazon fires and the dilemma for climate scientists
Andrew Glikson
The news for the planet is so dire that experts can be reticent to tell it like it is.
Now for something completely different …
There are new dietary guidelines for meat and dairy. Here’s what that means for your plate
New guidelines recommended full-fat dairy, more eggs and less meat. But what about the other key food groups?
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