Post of the Day
Perhaps we need to explain climate change to politicians as we would to very small children
Emma White
Here, let me try. The sun is very, very hot.
Today’s Celebration
Army Day – Chile
Independence Day – Saint Kitts and Nevis
Constitution Day – Nepal
Day of the First Public Appearance of the Slovak National Council
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
Climate Change
Climate activists target London fashion week with funeral protest
Climate change activists have held a funeral procession through London calling for fashion brands to improve their environmental standings.
‘You’re not trying hard enough. Sorry,’ Greta Thunberg tells US Congress
The 16-year-old climate activist was one of several youth activists who spoke at a Senate climate crisis task force.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg meets with Barack Obama
The former US president called the 16-year-old Swedish activist “one of our planet’s greatest advocates.”
‘We’re losing the race’: UN secretary general calls climate change an ’emergency’
António Guterres cites ‘fantastic leadership’ of young activists and is counting on public pressure to compel governments to honor the 2015 Paris Agreement
‘If you are not addressing climate change, you will be irrelevant’
It’s not often that a chat with a fashion designer begins with a dissertation about the plight of the world’s bee population. But Kit Willow, of KitX, sees herself as more of a “creative activist”.
Subnational actors show significant potential to close emissions gap
This year’s Global Climate Action from Cities, Regions and Businesses Report is the second global analysis of non-state climate action and builds on the previous report released prior to the Global Climate Action Summit in September 2018.
UN bars coal nations from climate stage [$]
Australia has been barred from speaking at a UN climate summit in New York next week.
How extreme weather threatens people with disabilities
Those with disabilities can experience more physical impacts and can be more socially isolated than the able-bodied.
Lawsuits to slow greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise
Can you sue to save the world? As the global climate crisis intensifies, people are increasingly taking governments and corporations to court in a bid to slow runaway greenhouse gas emissions.
Chris Kenny
Silencing dissent on climate change is the exact opposite of academic rigour.
Perhaps we need to explain climate change to politicians as we would to very small children
Emma White
Here, let me try. The sun is very, very hot.
National
Explainer: The Government has introduced its ‘big stick’ bill. Here’s what it would do
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is asking Parliament for a “big stick” to threaten energy companies with. Here’s how it could work.
Bestselling Treehouse authors back students striking for climate action
An igloo is an unlikely weapon in the face of global warming – unless it’s a cartoon drawn by Terry Denton to promote the Global Climate Strike.
Green energy plan to make Australia powerplant of Pacific
A radical shift towards renewable energy has the potential to reshape the Australian economy and create exports worth hundreds of billions of dollars, according to the head of a major research project to be announced on Thursday.
Energy giants warned by Angus Taylor on ‘green’ influence [$]
Energy Minister Angus Taylor has accused business leaders of bowing to political “fringe dwellers” and the anti-coal lobby over the Coalition’s proposed “big-stick” market reforms and its push for more baseload power.
Forget roads and rail, governments need data infrastructure: ABS boss [$]
Forget roads and rail – data infrastructure is where it is at and governments need to invest there, says the outgoing head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Nationalised oil firm on senator’s radar [$]
Australians could make billions more dollars from the oil and gas reserves which are owned by the public if the resources were developed by a government-owned company, an SA senator says. He wants the Senate to formally look into the options.
New statistics to inform Australia’s generation and management of waste
The ABS has released a new experimental account on waste as part of its work on establishing environmental-economic accounts.
When Scott Morrison lectured CEOs about speaking out on climate change, it was quite a fight to pick
Richard Denniss
You can see why the prime minister decided to attack business leaders for failing to do their job. It’s a lot easier than explaining to voters why he is failing at his
A coal-fired nation in transition
Bob Carr
This Friday students will strike to make the point the climate emergency is here, confirmed by fires in Siberia and melting permafrost.
Our super funds can help sway climate-change targets
Julian Vincent
Investors need to walk the walk and use their power as shareholders to demand companies cut their greenhouse gas emissions.
Seven deadly sins of government engagement
Andrew Blyberg from Fifty Acres runs through some of the most common mistakes not for profits make when trying to influence politicians.
Hard action speaks louder than protests
Canberra Times editorial
We are told that children will be at the forefront of the “climate strike” on Friday, all to draw attention to global warming ahead of the United Nations climate summit in New York.
There should be no business as usual in your workplace this Friday
David Ritter
This Friday’s climate strike is an opportunity to make your choice clear.
Why attending a climate strike can change minds (most importantly your own)
Belinda Xie and Ben Newell
Mass strikes help target the psychological factors most important for acting on climate change, by emphasizing social norms and reinforcing the effectiveness of collective action.
In the age of climate alarmism, facts overrule insults [$]
Andrew Bolt
Tim Flannery calls me a danger to children but what really threatens them is the monstrous, self-righteous lack of reason that this climate crank represents.
Handing customers a big stick for power justice [$]
Josh Frydenberg
The new default energy rate will see median standing offer households in NSW save up to $181 on energy bills.
Ever wondered what our curriculum teaches kids about climate change? The answer is ‘not much’
Hilary Whitehouse
Despite calls for climate change to be part of our education, Australia has not designed, implemented nor funded a coherent, educational approach to our climate emergency.
I’m in fossil fuel industry but I support student strikers [$]
Tommy-John Herbert
Workers in environmentally-damaging industries are not the enemy of the climate change movement, but they do need to stand up and fight for a cleaner-energy future.
Climate strike set to be a Coalition wake-up call
David Ritter
Despite warnings and scientific advice, our Government hasn’t budged on the issue of climate change so it’s time to strike back.
Sit up, shut up, pay up at the UN [$]
Australian editorial
Australia can listen to Greta Thunberg in unelected silence.
Why a ‘big stick’ is the only way to tame power prices [$]
Angus Taylor
Consumer trust is more important than worries about industry intervention. But the need for drastic policy is only temporary.
Victoria
ExxonMobil to sell up all oil and gas assets in south-east Victoria
The global energy giant ExxonMobil has announced it will sell all of its assets in the Gippsland Basin, off Victoria’s south-east coast. The sale includes offshore oil and gas platforms, the Longford gas plants and the Long Island Point plant near Hastings.
After 100 years the Great Ocean Road is feeling the pressure of being ‘loved to death’
With 6.1 million tourists taking the famous scenic drive in southwest Victoria in a year locals say the road cannot cope
Hot, dry summer to increase Vic bushfire risk [$]
The state’s emergency services are urging Victorians to “be prepared” for an increased risk of bushfires ahead of predicted warm temperatures and lack of rain.
Victorian government rules out new dams, saying climate change means they’re not worthwhile.
New South Wales
Coal mine knocked back over ‘significant concern’ about long-lasting environmental impacts
The multi-million-dollar Bylong Valley coal mine is refused development consent by an independent planning panel, citing concerns about “long-lasting environmental, agricultural and heritage impacts”.
‘Where’s the squelch?’: Coal mine drying out Greater Sydney catchment
Coal mining in Greater Sydney’s catchment is drying up sensitive swamps and creeks, with more damage likely if a planned expansion allowing extraction out to 2048 wins approval.
EDO celebrates blocking of proposed new coal mine
The Environmental Defenders Office NSW has welcomed a decision to reject the planned greenfield Bylong coal mine due to its potential greenhouse gas emissions.
Even without solar panels, it would only cost $3.80 a day to run this eco-friendly house
Not only can this home withstand bushfire attack, but its innovative design means powering its appliances, lights, and heating and cooling costs as little as a daily cup of coffee.
Rain reaches parts of western NSW but leaves desperate farmers disheartened
The BOM says “scraggly” showers moved over the Great Dividing Range with a few millimetres in places like Orange and Dubbo but nowhere near enough to make a difference to the enduring drought.
Kids getting high to deal with climate fear: Wodak [$]
Climate change and the housing affordability crisis are fuelling drug addiction and the demand won’t drop until young people feel “more upbeat about society,” a leading Sydney doctor has told an inquiry into the drug ice.
Gavin Wilson talks about the exhibition River On The Brink: Inside The Murray-Darling Basin
Curator Gavin Wilson asked artists to help raise public awareness about the catastrophic state of the Murray-Darling river system.
Two contradicting visions for NSW’s future
Telegraph editorial
Two major announcements reveal competing and utterly contradictory visions for the future of NSW. The Independent Planning Commission needs to be gutted, filleted and put on ice.
Doubts over viability of new mining and gas projects
David Paull
Last week in Narrabri, Santos signed a “Heads of Agreement” with Perdaman to ‘further study and design a Perdaman ammonium production facility”.
ACT
University’s zero-carbon energy venture aims at replacing fossil fuels
Australia’s rich renewable energy resources gives it the potential to develop a zero-carbon export industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year and generating jobs to replace those dislodged in the fossil-fuel sector.
Behind the scenes of the school climate strike in Canberra
After school, in a shared office in Canberra, a sea of donated – or scavenged – posters from this year’s federal election are taking on new life. In just a few coats of paint, these campaign ads will soon bear some updated messaging as student signs in Friday’s global climate strike.
Class ACT: how the Australian Capital Territory became a global energy leader
Australia Institute
The ACT will soon become the first Australian jurisdiction to achieve a transition from a fossil fuelbased supply to 100% renewable electricity. Just seven other jurisdictions have achieved this, in Germany, Austria and Spain.
ACT upstages the federal government with low-cost carbon policy
Simon Holmes à Court
While our representatives on Capital Hill dither, fail to address and flat out lie about Australia’s increasing carbon emissions, exactly three kilometers away, the quiet achievers in ACT’s Legislative Assembly are a beacon of success.
Queensland
Shark drum lines to be removed in Great Barrier Reef Marine Park after Government loses appeal
Drum lines used to kill sharks in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park will be removed after the Queensland Government lost a challenge in the Federal Court to continue its culling program in the protected area.
PM called on to stop Queensland shark kill ban
Queensland’s tourism minister says Prime Minister Scott Morrison could have “blood on his hands” if he doesn’t intervene on a ban preventing shark culling on the Great Barrier Reef.
Barrier Reef facing endangered list if run-off laws don’t pass, Environment Minister warns
The Queensland Government is expected to pass a bill today to introduce new mandatory farm run-off regulations to protect the reef, despite opposition from agricultural groups.
Revealed: What locals really want in new mega park [$]
Brisbane’s answer to Central Park would be the city’s biggest new park in almost half a century if it goes ahead. Now, residents have given their suggestions for what it should feature, and some of the ideas might even turn some of the park’s biggest opponents.
‘This situation brings me to despair’: two reef scientists share their climate grief
Jon Brodie and Alana Grech
Few feel the pain of the Great Barrier Reef’s decline more acutely than the scientists trying to save it. Ahead of a UN climate summit, two researchers write of their grief, and hope.
Deep dive into grief over reef [$]
Legislation to enforce minimum standards to curb run-off into the Great Barrier Reef has divided greenies and farmers. Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch and Queensland Farmers’ Federation CEO Travis Tobin weigh up the Bill’s pros and cons.
South Australia
Olympian throws down gauntlet over Crows’ park lands HQ bid
A former Olympic swimmer whose name adorns the park where the Adelaide Aquatic Centre is located says she will “stand in front of bulldozers” to prevent the Crows from knocking it down to build a multi-million dollar headquarters.
Rescue operation to save rare flower from the brink [$]
A critically endangered orchid rescued from its final remaining habits has been painstakingly relocated in a last ditched bid to bring it back to life.
Mountain of orphaned recycling to stay put [$]
An Adelaide council stuck with a mountain of rubbish after the failure of a Victorian recycler has been told by liquidators the junk will stay where it is because they have bigger priorities.
Western Australia
Emissions threat to rock art [$]
Further steps are being taken to protect ancient rock art on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Woodside chief Peter Coleman says gas risks going same way as coal
Woodside says that a single adverse event could bring a government crackdown on gas that the industry is not ready for.
Sustainability
Investors turn up heat on Big Oil ahead of UN climate summit [$]
Investors managing $US15 trillion ($22 trillion) in assets turned up the heat on oil and gas sector on Wednesday ahead of a United Nations summit in New York aimed at accelerating efforts to fight climate change.
Three-quarters of plastic products are toxic
If you needed another reason to rethink how much plastic you’re bringing into your life, a new report from Norwegian scientists finds that many of the plastic products we use every day are full of harmful toxins.
Where does all the plastic go?
Roughly one per cent of all the plastic that has ever gone into the ocean is floating on its surface. What happened to the rest of it?
Indonesia ‘discards’ its capital Jakarta for a new one, but we can’t just dispose of cities
David D. Sussman
Shifting the capital of Indonesia and other countries may actually send the wrong message that cities too can be discarded.
Economy and ecology: two words, same origin
Pedro Toranzo
Ecosystems provide services to human civilization: they need to be paid for.
Nature Conservation
As outcry over Amazon fires fades, the rainforest edges closer toward disaster
As thick plumes of smoke blanketed Brazil’s most populous city, global attention turned to the Amazon rainforest. But one month on, the fires are still burning.
One quarter of world’s pigs killed by African swine fever, analysts estimate
The deadly march of pig-killing African swine fever is continuing, with one quarter of the world’s pigs now dead, according to meat and livestock analysts.
As Amazon smolders, Indonesia fires choke the other side of the world
Thousands of fires, most of them set to clear land for plantations that make palm oil, created thick clouds of smoke that disrupted air travel and sickened people.
Abandoned ‘ghost gear’ creating hazards for marine life
Over a quarter of the fishing lines used by 40 million people working in fisheries globally are lost or discarded, posing a threat to seabirds and other wildlife, a new study finds.
From space, you can clearly see the human impact on ‘Earth’s lungs’
As thick plumes of smoke blanketed Brazil’s most populous city, global attention turned to the Amazon rainforest. But one month on, the fires are still burning.
6 Florence St Niddrie 3042
93741902
0432406862