Post of the Day
The only thing as certain as drought in Australia is the stupid call to build new dams
Maryanne Slattery
Building new dams doesn’t make it rain and a lot of the water is held for irrigation, not towns which need it
Today’s Celebration
Day of Pope John Paul II in Poland
Death Anniversary of Liaquat Ali Khan in Pakistan
Climate Change
Climate expert Michael Mann slams climate deniers as ‘villainous’ and ‘immoral’
Climate expert Michael E. Mann slams climate science deniers and expresses optimism that student strikes have shifted the conversation on climate change.
Police ban Extinction Rebellion protests from whole of London
City-wide Met police operation begins to clear Trafalgar Square and other protest sites
National
‘We should respond to the science’: Labor declares climate change emergency but delays 2030 target
Labor has declared a “climate change emergency” on the same day that Anthony Albanese confirmed his party is in no hurry to finalise a new emissions reduction target.
‘We should respond to the science’: Labor declares climate change emergency but delays 2030 target
Labor has declared a “climate change emergency” on the same day that Anthony Albanese confirmed his party is in no hurry to finalise a new emissions reduction target.
Government rejects Labor-backed ‘climate emergency’ vote as ‘symbolic gesture’
The Morrison government has voted against a Greens and Labor-led attempt to declare a climate emergency, shrugging it off as “symbolic”.
APRA chief: energy transition will ‘have played out by 2030’
APRA says switch to technologies like batteries, electric vehicles and solar will have largely played out by 2030, and warns of financial risk of ignoring climate change.
‘It doesn’t have to be scary’: veteran protesters on Extinction Rebellion and getting arrested
The best advice for nonviolent climate protesters under arrest? Stay calm, know your rights and bring ear plugs
Drought funding used for music festivals, cemetery upgrades and a virtual gym
While many shires use grants for water infrastructure projects, Labor questions if money should go directly to farmers
Anthony Albanese confirms Labor backflip to support ‘big stick’ energy laws
Labor leader avoids criticism of Joel Fitzgibbon after he argued party should be less ambitious on climate policy
Australia’s parks: tell us what you love and what makes you despair about urban green space
As the population grows, open space in the city is increasingly under pressure. We want to hear your thoughts on parks
Why it’s time for congestion charging: better ways to manage busy urban roads
Grattan Institute
Everyone wants less congestion – it would make life easier for drivers and make our cities work better. This plan attempts to tackle traffic congestion, without asking Australian communities to pay billions of dollars for major new roads.
Losing control of affordable reliable power
Geoff Carmody
Grid managers warn power transmission and distribution infrastructure increasingly can’t cope. Anybody watching PocketNEM knows how frantically they are paddling.
You’re already paying a congestion tax — a bad one [$]
Bernard Keane
You may not like the idea of a congestion price for motorists, but you’re already paying one in the form of time spent stuck in traffic.
If Origin serious about Paris, it should replace Eraring with renewables and storage
Will Van De Pol
Origin Energy’s annual general meeting this week will be dominated by shareholder and community concerns over the climate, environmental and social impacts of the company’s fossil fuel operations and plans.
The only thing as certain as drought in Australia is the stupid call to build new dams
Maryanne Slattery
Building new dams doesn’t make it rain and a lot of the water is held for irrigation, not towns which need it
Genuine climate crisis needs all hands on deck
AFR view
The scale of the IMF’s global carbon tax shows a problem that needs all solutions — including clean coal and nuclear
Victoria
‘Disaster’: Union boss slams private sector involvement in VicRoads
The Treasurer has set off a firestorm by revealing in State Parliament that parts of VicRoads could be run as a collaboration between the public and private sectors with unions warning that such a move would be disastrous.
New South Wales
National Parks Association calls on governments to scrap Snowy 2.0
The National Parks Association of NSW has called on the federal and NSW governments to scrap the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project, releasing a detailed assessment of the multi-billion dollar scheme that shows both financial costs and environmental impacts have been vastly under-estimated.
Toxic chemicals in soil dumped by state recycling scheme [$]
NSW farmers and their families have been exposed to toxic chemicals in a government recycling scheme dumping soil laced with lead, fire-retardants and mercury on their land and crops.
Federal dam funding for NSW not what it seems [$]
Despite being announced as a 50-50 funding split between the NSW and federal governments, The Daily Telegraph can reveal the state will be forking out 75 per cent of three water infrastructure projects.
ACT
Solutions sought as wildlife cause major road trauma
Directly hitting a kangaroo or swerving to avoid one and having a major collision or rollover is a growing cause of road crashes in our region and one of Canberra’s leading trauma surgeons aims to do something about it.
ACT Greens wants firm date on single-use plastics ban
The Greens are urging the ACT government to commit to a wide-ranging ban on single-use plastics by 2022.
Canberra’s scientific breakthrough on hardy drought wheat
Researchers in Canberra have developed a clever and much cheaper way of identifying crops which can survive droughts.
Queensland
North Queensland’s coal mining heartland turns 100
One of the original mining towns in the famous Bowen Basin, Collinsville, marks 100 years of coal dominating the local economy.
Vision for Archerfield Wetlands takes shape in Brisbane’s south
The major overhaul of a significant creek corridor in Brisbane is moving forward, council says.
Dogs freed in off-leash trial for Brisbane beaches
Three sections of Brisbane’s foreshore have been opened to dogs for a year-long trial.
We need to do better with Brisbane River [$]
Fiona Maxwell
If we don’t act now, the River City could miss the boat when it comes to our most precious asset – the giant, healthy waterway that connects us all.
Tasmania
Top End farms race to develop fruit that will withstand climate change
The Northern Territory produces two thirds of Australia’s total mango crop, but industry figures say the Top End’s mango sector is facing serious threats from climate change.
Department pours water on resurfaced canal plan
The federal Environment Department has brushed off a resurfaced plan to address kanamaluka/Tamar River estuary concerns by diverting outflows from the Trevallyn Power Station to Home Basin.
Loss of Tasmanian smelter would be a blow for wind farms [$]
A confidential report reveals the closure of a major Tasmanian smelter would slash state energy demand by 5 to 10 per cent, further challenging the viability of up to 10 wind farms.
Northern Territory
Fallout from NT pastoral backflip continues to rock native title owners
The war of words continued today after the NT Government’s stunning backflip on pastoral leases.
It’s preservation versus pennies for rocks of ages like Uluru [$]
Charles Wooley
I’ve never climbed Uluru and now I doubt I ever will. Not because of gathering infirmities but because it will no longer be allowed. Last year, the rock’s management authority, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park board, announced that from October 26 visitors would be banned from climbing.
Sustainability
Wind energy could supply one third of global power by 2040, says Siemens
Wind energy could supply more than one third of global electric power demand by 2040 and save up to four million lives a year, according to new study from…
UK renewables generate more electricity than fossil fuels for first time
In the third quarter of 2019, the UK’s windfarms, solar panels, biomass and hydro plants generated more electricity than the combined output from power stations fired by coal, oil…
Australian solar glass technology tapped for off-grid greenhouse trial
Australian clear solar glass technology will be used in the construction of a demonstration “self-sustaining,” off-grid greenhouse in Israel, as part of a joint pitch to the global sustainable agriculture market.
Don’t blame meat for the climate crisis, say European livestock farmers
An EU without farmed animals would see a loss of biodiversity and spark a rural exodus, new campaign group claims
Your next vacation may be virtual
Adam Minter
Japan’s biggest airline is betting that the future of travel isn’t traveling at all.