Post of the Day
5 things you can do during September’s climate strike if you can’t leave work
You may not be able to join the thousands of people on the streets on September 20, but you can still participate.
Today’s Celebration
Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) – Ethiopia
Cinema Day – Iran
Ruhnama Day – Turkmenistan
Saint Patrick’s Battalion Remembrance Day – Mexico
Defenders Day – Maryland
National Day of Encouragement – USA
United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation
National Health and Physical Education Day
Climate Change
Sweden’s highest peak just lost its title and climate change is to blame
Scientists warn “the destiny looks poor” for Scandinavia’s glaciers as Sweden’s highest peak melts away.
Labor slams ‘climate change denier’ David Littleproud over bushfire comments
Labor has accused Natural Disasters Minister David Littleproud of being a ‘climate change denier’ for saying he was not sure if human activity is behind it.
TUC and Amnesty come out in support of student climate strikes
UK unions give backing to 20 September day of action while NGO asks head teachers to back global protests
Development bank opts for climate-change investment over ‘white elephants’
The Asian Development Bank has signalled it will inject more cash into high-quality projects aimed at dealing with climate change and tourism and less on infrastructure “white elephants” as it battles pressure to counter the growing influence of China across the Pacific.
Six takeaways from The Post’s analysis of the globe’s fastest-warming areas
We found that much of the globe has already warmed by above 2 degrees Celsius – and much more.
UN ‘very confident’ China plans to raise climate ambition
China is expected to come to the UN climate action summit with a more ambitious climate plan, a top UN official said on Wednesday.
5 things you can do during September’s climate strike if you can’t leave work
You may not be able to join the thousands of people on the streets on September 20, but you can still participate.
Investing in climate adaptation can stimulate trillions in benefits: Report
Climate change is here, disrupting our lives, changing crop cycles, and bringing about destruction, drought and death in various parts of the world.
Climate change and inequality derailing global goals, scientists tell U.N.
Growing inequality and climate change will not only derail progress towards global sustainability goals but threaten human existence, leading scientists said at the United Nations on Wednesday.
National
Electric Mini confirmed for launch in Australia in mid-2020
Australian drivers will have more electric vehicle choice come mid-2020, with the all-electric Mini Cooper SE hatchback confirmed for release in mid-2020.
ARENA turns to integration, industry and hydrogen in new investment plan
ARENA to focus investment on green hydrogen R&D, as well as grid integration technologies and industrial emissions reduction, in new plan for remaining funds.
Let’s talk about a carbon price: Labor MP
A Labor MP wants to revive the discussion over a carbon price in order to reduce emissions, pointing to government figures showing pollution is rising.
Australian mineral prices fall despite green energy future
The price of Australian minerals used in batteries and electronic components is falling, despite rising local and international demand for the renewable energy projects that rely on them.
Scott Morrison won’t attend UN climate summit despite being in the US
PM has signalled Australia isn’t making any new emissions reduction targets, at least at this point
Angus Taylor taken to task over sudden drop in renewable energy investment
Labor tells clean energy sector it should celebrate reaching 33,000 GWh target despite ‘full frontal assault’ by Coalition
Climate action won’t dent demand for quality coal, says Whitehaven
Mining giant Whitehaven has argued transitioning to a lower-carbon world will not drastically weaken demand for Australian coal because of its higher quality and energy content compared to coal mined elsewhere.
Steggall calls on Australia to ‘be more like China’ [$]
Zali Steggall has called on Australia to be more like China — the world’s biggest carbon emitter — as she joined crossbench colleagues demanding parliament declare a “climate emergency”
Call to add night-time choppers to firefight [$]
Devastating bushfires in southeast Queensland and northeast NSW could have been tackled more quickly if night-capable waterbombing helicopters were deployed.
Labor poised to abandon 2030 emissions reduction target [$]
Labor’s contentious 2030 climate target to cut emissions by 45 per cent could be scrapped, amid concerns an Albanese government would not have time to achieve such a reduction if elected at the next poll, due in 2022.
Federal inquiry gives glimpses of public opinion on nuclear power
Noel Wauchope
Even on the pro-nuclear side, there are some reservations, and not all are sceptical of renewable energy.
How climate denialists and fence-sitters are dealing with the country being on fire [$]
Charlie Lewis
With large parts of Queensland and New South Wales facing unprecedented bushfires, the climate ‘sceptics’ are playing a now familiar tune.
Shining a light on affordable reliable electricity
Geoff Carmody
We’ve had decades of flailing around over energy policy
The ‘advanced’ nuclear power sector is fuelling climate change, and WMDs
Jim Green
The premise of Australian inquiry is that “new technologies in the field are leading to cleaner, safer and more efficient energy production.” They are not.
Climate change has changed our environment. Now it’s impacting the economy
Richard Yetsenga
Climate change and economics are inextricably linked – and the relationship is only becomign more pronounced.
Australia – the unreliable energy superpower [$]
Matthew Warren
Australia is now part of the magic “kilowatt per capita” renewables club. But a policy is required to manage this unreliable energy, and we don’t have one.
Albanese must snub Left to set realistic carbon target [$]
Dennis Shanahan
Labor changing its overambitious 45 per cent emissions reduction target after the 2019 election defeat is almost as important as Kevin Rudd’s 2009 decision to drop the emissions trading scheme.
Littleproud fiddles while Australia burns [$]
Michelle Pini
As bushfires ravage Queensland and NSW, David Littleproud and the entire Coalition appear deaf, blind and mute to manmade climate change and the devastating consequences of their coal-loving actions.
First Dog on the Moon
I mean there are good scientists on both sides …
Victoria
Council weighs up fifth bin for recycling, while SKM clean-up continues
One council is considering adding a fifth bin to its recycling collection, as the receivers of SKM reveal what they find in council recycling delivered to them.
Why you need a fourth bin to recycle properly [$]
Only a fraction of the recyclables you throw away now are successfully reused and another bin for kerbside collection could be the answer.
New South Wales
‘Special treatment’: Plans revealed for further easing of land clearing rules
The Berejiklian government has admitted it is developing new regional codes that would allow farmers to increase the amount of native vegetation they can clear on their land.
Asian nations’ demand for coal will turbocharge NSW economy [$]
Thermal coal imports from Asian nations are expected to increase 60 per cent by 2040, presenting NSW with a huge opportunity to boost its exports, create more local mining jobs and turbocharge the economy.
We can thrive in low carbon world: Whitehaven [$]
Whitehaven Coal believes it can survive even if strong action on climate change in future dents global coal demand by 4.5 per cent per year.
A ‘Noah’s Ark’ rescue to prevent fish ‘Armageddon’ gets underway in regional NSW
After the catastrophic fish kills of last summer, work is underway at the Darling River in Menindee to rehome fish in safer waters amid a continuing outlook of “unprecedented” harsh drought conditions.
Commercial fishers keen to help as NSW whale entanglements hit record
The number of whale entanglements in ropes and floats has reached an unprecedented 35 incidents off NSW so far this year, so commercial fishers are meeting to discuss better practices.
Managing water proving a monstrous task
Jody Lindbeck
There’s a line in the 1999 movie The Mummy in which star Brendan Fraser’s character comments that “these men are desert people. They value water, not gold”.
ACT
Big battery to help power Canberra’s green future [$]
The territory’s first big battery, capable of storing enough energy to power 25,000 homes for two hours, is at the centre of the ACT government’s plan to secure its green future.
PM open to bringing forward funding for ACT projects
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he is willing to bring forward federal government funding to help fast-track infrastructure projects in the Canberra region.
Federal funds for light rail would be good
Canberra Times editorial
News the Prime Minister who, after all, is this city’s best known resident, has given “firm assurances” to Andrew Barr the federal bureaucracy would work closely with its ACT counterpart to expedite the completion of the light rail project is very welcome.
Queensland
Is it OK for Riverfire to go ahead while Queensland is burning?
As bushfires continue across south-east Queensland, doubt is cast over this year’s Riverfire event in Brisbane and whether fireworks have a place in today’s society.
‘A patchwork of risk’: Queensland bushfires just a taste of things to come
Queensland is in the midst of what is thought to be its worst-ever bushfire season, and it’s just a taste of what is coming for the rest of Australia.
The legal pothole threatening to upend e-scooter riders
Legal experts are warning of a major liability risk to e-scooter riders in Queensland, with almost no riders covered for third-party damage or injury.
Approve Darling Downs mine to save jobs: Canavan
Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan has called on the Queensland government to immediately approve a controversial coal mine expansion to save workers’ jobs.
Two teens charged over Sunshine Coast fire [$]
A teen boy and girl have been charged with lighting a Sunshine Coast blaze, as police probe suspicious fires across the state and QFES crews attend several properties to douse fires where residents have flouted local fire bans.
Power bills drop across southeast [$]
Electricity bills have dropped more than $100 on average across southeast Queensland in the past year, new research has found. What’s prompted the fall?
Warming vultures fly over fire facts [$]
Andrew Bolt
The Greens’ insistence that global warming is behind Queensland’s fires proves that the facts can be disregarded when you’ve got a cause to push.
The Great Barrier Reef is in trouble. There are a whopping 45 reasons why
Jon C. Day and Scott Heron
We all know that climate change is hurting the Great Barrier Reef. But scores of other less-publicised threats also threaten the future of the natural wonder.
South Australia
Neoen unveils massive wind, solar battery project in South Australia
Neoen unveils massive wind, solar and battery project, taking total pipeline in South Australia to more than $20bn, and keeping state on track for Liberal government’s “net 100%” renewables…
Tasmania
Australia’s ‘oldest classroom in the world’ holds clues to understanding ancient culture
This wild and rugged corner of north-west Tasmania is bursting with ancient history and dotted with artefacts, but you’ve probably never heard of it.
Western Australia
Climate change could sink Elizabeth Quay, parts of South Perth, government map reveals
A map released this morning by the state government makes dire predictions about the effect of climate change on some of Perth’s waterside suburbs.
Sustainability
The trouble with America’s water
Lead-tainted drinking water is not only a problem in Flint and Newark.
How much photovoltaics (PV) would be needed to power the world sustainably?
The International Energy Agency has dubbed increased global cooling demand as one of the most critical blind spots in today’s energy debate.
Renewables are now cheaper than building new natural gas plants
People could save $29 billion on their electric bills if utilities built new clean energy instead of new natural gas plants.
How can we feed the world without overwhelming the planet?
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 calls for ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture. The environmental challenges posed by agriculture are however massive, and many fear that they will only become more pressing as we try to meet the growing need for food worldwide. Researchers propose alternative hunger eradication strategies that will not compromise environmental protection.
The environment is being weaponized for hate
Even as the green movement works toward building an inclusive outdoor community, anti-immigration groups are using environmental rhetoric to keep people out.
Nature Conservation
Pollution from Indonesian forest fires closes schools
Schools have been closed because of pollution caused by Indonesian fires.
Amazon’s Indigenous people say illegal loggers spoiling pristine forest
The chief of an Indigenous tribe in the heart of the Amazon says illegal loggers are causing damage to a protected area.
Scientists use IVF procedures to help save near-extinct rhinos
Two embryos have been created in an attempt to rescue northern white rhinos
Badger cull in England extended to ‘unimaginable scale’
Ministers approve culling in 11 new areas, with 64,000 animals likely to be killed this autumn
Europe’s marine sanctuaries are no more than ‘paper parks’
WWF conservationists say marine wildlife sanctuaries are failing to protect the seas
Climate change may cut soil’s ability to absorb water
Coasts, oceans, ecosystems, weather and human health all face impacts from climate change, and now valuable soils may also be affected. Climate change may reduce the ability of soils to absorb water in many parts of the world, according to a new study. And that could have serious implications for groundwater supplies, food production and security, stormwater runoff, biodiversity and ecosystems.
Focusing on key sustainable development goals would boost progress across all, analysis finds
The world could make greater progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by prioritizing a subset of the goals rather than pursuing them all equally, a first-of-its-kind mathematical study reveals.
Flexible solar cells a step closer to reality
Solar cells that use mixtures of organic molecules to absorb sunlight and convert it to electricity, that can be applied to curved surfaces such as the body of a car, could be a step closer thanks to a discovery that challenges conventional thinking about one of the key components of these devices.
Conserving rare species for the maintenance of Mediterranean forests
This study has shown the importance of conserving rare species for the maintenance of complex ecosystems like Mediterranean forests. Therefore, for these species, it becomes essential to understand the factors that make conservation successful.
It’s time we treat some forests like crops
Marc Peruzzi
Here’s something you probably didn’t know: the construction business accounts for an estimated 23 percent of the world’s carbon-dioxide emissions – 5.7 billion tons, according to the most recent estimates.
Pro-deforestation policies could be ruinous for farmers
Rhett Butler
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro claims to be a champion of farmers and ranchers, but his policies in the Amazon could ruin them in the long-run.
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