Post of the Day
Global renewable energy has quadrupled over past decade
Renewable energy capacity quadrupled across the planet over the past decade and energy from solar power increased 26 times from what it was in 2009, according to an international report released today
Today’s Celebration
Unification Day – Bulgaria
Independence Day – Swaziland
Labor Day – Marshall Islands
Flag Day – Bonaire
National Read a Book Day – USA
Defense Day – Pakistan
Gaura Parva – Nepal
Bring Your Manners To Work Day
Climate Change
Benefits to farmers of global heating outweighed by losses, says report
Value of European agriculture could fall 16% in 30 years due to drought and higher rainfall
The Green New Deal is cheaper than climate change
The economic cost of allowing temperatures to rise even a couple of degrees above that target is simply staggering.
Should the left stop annoying people over climate change?
Kevin Drum
No one thinks that personal commitments to lifestyle changes will ever have a serious impact on global warming. Only large-scale government action can do that.
National
Permanent migration drops to its lowest level in a decade
The number of permanent visas granted to migrants has dropped to its lowest level in a decade.
Want to rule your pool? How about inviting the wildlife in?
More than 2.7 million Australians live in a house with a swimming pool and with growing environmental awareness, residents across the country are converting their pools to ponds.
Toyota diesel emissions expose broader problem with car pollution in Australia
Problems with diesel particulate filters in top-selling Toyota cars have exposed Australia’s ‘lagging’ vehicle-emissions standards, public health and environmental advocates say.
Energy affordability improves in 2019
The Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) Affordability in Retail Energy Markets Report, shows electricity bills falling across all regions for households on the median market offer.
Senator questions Cbus’ climate change quota [$]
Liberal Senator James Paterson has questioned the use of an ‘artificial quota’ to decide how much a superannuation fund invests in climate change-related initiatives.
Power stations, transport systems and industrial plants are at risk from a new threat of cyber attacks.
Victoria
How renewable energy projects farming the sun are revitalising rural towns
Like many country towns, Numurkah near Shepparton in Victoria was struggling. So when energy company Neoen proposed to build a solar farm near the town, they jumped at the chance.
Documents expose $1 million land deal behind highway sacred trees dispute
A contentious highway upgrade again comes under scrutiny after revelations a land deal was struck between Victoria’s roads department and the former Aboriginal cultural heritage authority which approved the development.
Dedicated line only route for airport train: airport chief
Melbourne Airport throws weight behind PM’s calls for a separate fast rail line to the airport – but the plan has its critics.
Scott Morrison urges ‘quick link’ tunnel to Melbourne airport
PM calls for an airport rail tunnel to Sunshine ahead of a cheaper alternative on existing tracks being considered by the Andrews government.
Jacquie’s recycling waiting game pays off
Northcote resident Jacquie Kelly has not put out her yellow bin since the collapse of SKM Recycling six weeks ago forced councils to send their recycling to landfill.
Melbourne’s food bowl is under threat and treated sewage might be the solution
As urban sprawl puts pressure on the food bowl on Melbourne’s fringes, and as water becomes increasingly scarce, one council has a bold idea that might just catch on.
Legal fight over Grampians ban [$]
Parks Victoria is facing unprecedented legal action for banning climbers from most of the world-famous routes in the Grampians.
Lindsay Fox company’s massive illegal Portsea beach lawn [$]
Billionaire truck tycoon Lindsay Fox has found himself in another run-in with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council — this time after he laid down turf over a protected 4600 sqm section of Portsea beach.
‘Swarm’ of climate protesters to hit footy crowds, commuters [$]
If you’re heading home or to the Collingwood and Geelong clash on Friday, be prepared for climate protesters to “swarm” the city at peak hour. Here’s what they have planned.
Tree hugger arrested as police move in on forest fight [$]
A tree-sitting activist has been removed from Toolangi State Forest and arrested as calls grow for the Andrews Government to take action on protesters who are financially crippling the region’s workforce.
Victorians out in the cold [$]
Victoria was the only eastern seaboard state to see increased prices for gas and electricity last year.
Victoria’s boosted rooftop solar rebate fully subscribed in minutes
Victoria’s rooftop PV rebate again taken up in record time, with boosted September offering of 6,500 discounted home solar panel systems disappearing in under an hour.
New South Wales
‘Full of you know what’: Protesters throw toilet effigy into Murray River
Angry protesters have called for the sacking of the Federal Water Minister and hurled an effigy of him sitting on a toilet into the Murray River at a large demonstration in New South Wales.
Queensland
‘The up-yard’: Could rooftop gardens save our cities from climate change?
Brisbane is forecast to become a difficult place to live by 2050 and while rooftop gardens could be the ticket to cooling the urban sprawl, developers say local planning laws are holding them back.
‘Fast-moving, hard to contain’: Extreme fire conditions today in Queensland
Communities in south-east, southern and central Queensland brace for what could be the highest fire conditions for September in the past six years, with severe to extreme fire dangers forecast.
Water restrictions on the radar for South East Queensland as dam levels drop
One of the region’s major dams is already at half capacity and with another dry spring forecast, Seqwater warns mandatory water restrictions could be in place by mid next year.
Local fire ban for south-east Queensland residents extended
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) has extended a local fire ban for residents in parts of south-east Queensland.
Sewage into energy is an Australian-first for Logan
Logan City Council will pioneer an Australian-first innovative process that turns sewage sludge (biosolids) into heat energy and biochar, which improves and maintains soil fertility.
Mountain of old tyres a ‘catastrophic fire risk’ for Brisbane’s south
A tyre-recycling business in suburban Brisbane described as a “catastrophic fire risk” has missed a court-ordered 30-day deadline to clear 10,000 tonnes of old tyres and build a fire barrier around the property.
Carers set up ‘koala memorial’, vow to phone Queensland ministers daily
Koala carers, ecologists and conservationists say time is up for the Queensland government to deliver a koala conservation strategy promised two years ago.
Multibillion-dollar cost of our choked infrastructure
The federal Infrastructure Minister will tell a business gathering in Brisbane today the shocking annual cost of the state’s substandard infrastructure — and how rapidly it’s growing.
Labor ‘showing activists how to block mines’ [$]
The State Government has given anti-coal activists a “blueprint” for delaying proposed projects, according to a frustrated miner.
Solar farms switch off en masse as coal plants flex their muscle in Queensland
There is something very unusual going on in the state of Queensland. Over the past two months the number of negative pricing events has accelerated, in some weeks to an almost daily basis.
Dominic O’Sullivan
The deep politics of racial division is at play when governments position mining as in the public interest, with Indigenous land owners obstructive of that interest
Tasmania
Recycling stockpiles to go [$]
The recycling facility that receives the kerbside recycling of Southern Tasmanian households is set to resume sending mixed plastics to Melbourne by the end of the month.
Calls for action on native wildlife killings [$]
A Greens MP has spoken out on the issue of culling of Tasmanian wildlife under crop protection permits.
Northern Territory
NT’s biggest ever land-clearing bid at Maryfield Station delayed in court
A judge finds “extraordinary” flaws in the environment watchdog’s decision not to require a formal impact assessment on a bid to clear 20,000 hectares of native vegetation on a cattle station south of Darwin, but steers clear of arguments over climate change.
Western Australia
Studying Shark Bay dolphins’ complex love lives
Scientist Richard Connor has discovered that Monkey Mia’s dolphins have the most complex non-human society on the planet.
Scarborough’s scenic dunes slipping away
A section of coastal dunes will be cleared by developers despite the area having the highest protection available.
Sustainability
After bronze and iron, welcome to the plastic age, say scientists
Plastic pollution has entered the fossil record, research shows
Iran vows to build centrifuges for faster uranium enrichment
Istanbul: Iran will take another step away from a 2015 nuclear deal by starting to develop centrifuges to speed up its uranium enrichment, President Hassan Rouhani has declared.
Solar tops coal as world’s biggest source of new capacity over past decade
Some $US1.3 trillion has been tipped into solar installations in last decade, pushing it above coal and forcing prices down dramatically.
New Zealand’s biggest solar farm will float on waste-water treatment plant
Vector and Watercare have announced this week plans to build what will be New Zealand’s first floating solar array and the country’s largest solar array of any type.
‘Most renewable energy companies’ linked with claims of abuses in mines
Most of the world’s top companies extracting key minerals for electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines have been linked with human rights abuses in their mines, research has found.
Mathematical model provides new support for environmental taxes
Taxes that incentivize environmentally friendly practices could promote green development
Solutions to urban heat differ between tropical and drier climes
In summer heat, cities may swelter more than nearby suburbs and rural areas. And while the size of this urban heat island effect varies widely among the world’s cities, heat island intensity can largely be explained by a city’s population and precipitation level, researchers have reported. The analysis suggests that cooling cities by planting more vegetation may be more effective in drier regions than in wetter ones.
Building water-efficient cities
A new study shows a community’s built environment is closely related to how much water single-family residences use. Researchers say factors including vegetated land cover, housing density and lot size appear to have a significant impact on water use.
Working the system: 3 ways planners can defy the odds to promote good health for all of us
Jennifer Kent
Planners understand the key elements of urban communities that will improve residents’ health and well-being. They also need to be able to convince others to create such communities.
Clean, green machines: the truth about electric vehicle emissions
Jake Whitehead
Despite the overwhelming evidence that electric vehicle technology can deliver huge benefits, misinformation continues to muddy debate. Let’s look at the facts.
Nature Conservation
Endangered turtles surprise Ecuadorian town after hatching unexpectedly
Dozens of endangered baby turtles unexpectedly hatched at a popular Ecuadorian beach in the seaside town of Same, the first time it was known to happen in that area.
Amazon fires are ‘true apocalypse’, says Brazilian archbishop
Erwin Kräutler says he expects next month’s papal synod to denounce destruction of rainforest
Diversity increases ecosystem stability
Forestry scientists demonstrate that forests that are more diverse are also more productive and more resilient.
From the tropics to the boreal, temperature drives ecosystem functioning
Researchers found a tight link between temperature and plant and microbe communities within forests, which will allow them to predict how ecosystems might respond to climate changes.
Plant research could benefit wastewater treatment, biofuels and antibiotics
Duckweed genome discovery reveals how aquatic plants cope in challenging environments
Now for something completely different …
Indigenous choir Spinifex Gum perform Dream Baby Dream
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