Post of the Day
From space shortages to worsening climate change, cities are being forced to adapt at a pace never experienced before. How far can they push their limits, and make sure they leave no one behind?
Today’s Celebration
Independence Day – Azerbaijan
Magal de Touba – Senegal
National Prayer Day in Zambia
Persons Day – Canada
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Awareness Day
Limb Difference Awareness Week
Climate Change
Climate protests disrupt London rush hour
London police say they’ve made arrests as climate change protesters disrupt morning train services in the city’s east.
How the world came around to carbon capture storage [$]
A fragile consensus is growing across industry, governments and the environment movement that carbon capture and storage is essential for meeting climate goals.
How aerosols affect our climate
Greenhouse gases may get more attention, but aerosols — from car exhaust to volcanic eruptions — also have a major impact on the Earth’s climate. Using a massive NASA dataset, researchers have created a framework that helps explain just how sensitive local temperatures are to aerosols.
Climate change increases risk of mercury contamination
As global temperatures continue to rise, the thawing of permafrost is accelerated and mercury trapped in the frozen ground is now being released. The mercury is transforming into more mobile and potentially toxic forms that can lead to environmental and health concerns for wildlife, the fishing industry and people in the Arctic and beyond.
National
Domestic violence the emergency, not climate: Lib Senator
People who want Australia to declare a “climate emergency” should instead visit a refuge for women fleeing domestic violence, new Senator Sarah Henderson believes.
Queensland government feels heat over climate crisis call
Queensland’s environment minister has refused to say whether the government will back its federal Labor colleagues in calling for action on climate change by declaring a climate emergency.
Petitions are back in vogue. How do they work (and are they effective)?
It’s a new trend in Australian democracy: the long lost art of petitions is back and citizens are signing up – in record numbers. Where did petitions come from? How do they work, and do they make a difference?
New energy projects on track for end-of-year approval as Angus Taylor defends underwriting scheme
Up to six new energy projects to be supported by taxpayers could be approved by Christmas as the Morrison government strongly defends its intervention in the market to address an “investment drought” in new generation.
Generators call for notice as smelters teeter on the brink [$]
Coal-fired generators have called for “sufficient notice” before an aluminium smelter is allowed to exit the National Electricity Market.
ANSTO suffers nuclear medicine meltdown [$]
The marketing material sent out by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation was clear: its planned nuclear medicine facility, ANM, costing $169m and due by the end of 2016, was a big deal.
Bolt v Barry: War of words over drought link [$]
Andrew Bolt and ABC presenter Paul Barry are locked in a bitter war of words and a global warming professor who said “there is no link between climate change and drought” is caught in the middle.
BHP holds out against activist push [$]
BHP chief Andrew Mackenzie has held firm over the mining giant’s membership of mining industry associations in the face of pressure from activist shareholders to quit groups seen as opposing action on climate change.
Coal power takes dive in September, as renewables hit new record
September’s generation data marks noticeable turning point for National Electricity Market. Wind and solar push coal to lowest levels since carbon price.
AEMO provides glimpse of future grid: Not much fossil fuel, even less “base-load”
The Australian Energy Market Operator has provided a fascinating insight into the potential future grid as it works on modelling that will underpin its 20-year planning blue-print for the energy transition in Australia, the Integrated System Plan.
Energy companies, industry push for CCS carbon credits
Big energy and industrial companies have called for changes to the Morrison government’s $2 billion Climate Solutions Fund
Reality bites: Labor’s chance to move beyond climate politics
SMH editorial
If Labor accepts the reality of the challenge posed by global warming, then the task between now and the next election is to go out to the regional areas, listen and then formulate real responses to concerns expressed.
Australia’s hypocrisy on nuclear weapons cannot continue
Gem Romuld
I was in a traffic crawl in Sumatra, my phone tethered to a friend’s for a scrap of internet when the news came through in a torrent of capitalised exclamations, that our campaign had won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.
‘War is a result of climate change’: commentator’s ridiculous call [$]
The Mocker
Well that was some revelation. According to social commentator, columnist, and feminist Jane Caro AM, climate change is responsible for starting wars
Cats are not scared off by dingoes. We must find another way to protect native animals
Bronwyn Fancourt
Cats have lived around dogs for tens of thousands of years. So using dingoes to control feral cats will not protect our wildlife.
Politicians are still blind to critical environment issues
Sue Arnold
Politicians on all sides aren’t prioritising environmental issues, while the media is failing in its role in bringing the world together.
Victoria
With a primary school 1.7km away, locals fear Chinese company’s plan for lead recycling plant
A proposal to build a lead battery smelter in the Latrobe Valley has sparked health concerns among the local community. The nearest house is little more than a kilometre from the site, as is a school.
‘This thing is in trouble’: future of Alcoa’s energy-hungry smelter looks bleak
The fate of Alcoa’s aluminium smelter in Victoria’s west is under a cloud, threatening the jobs of hundreds of workers and major disruption to the power grid, as Alcoa considers shuttering or selling its worst-performing operations.
Josh Frydenberg accuser an Extinction Rebellion activist [$]
The Melbourne activist challenging Josh Frydenberg’s eligibility for parliament on citizenship grounds is a member of protest group Extinction Rebellion who insists his motivation for the High Court case against the Treasurer is “climate action”.
Victorian dairy targets 100% renewables with solar + vanadium flow battery
Victorian dairy farm looks to cover all its electricity needs with 450kW solar and 80kW/320kWh vanadium redox flow battery.
Victoria bill to lock in 50% renewable target passes through upper house
Labor bill to legislate 50% renewables target passes upper course in Victoria, despite fierce opposition from Coalition.
New South Wales
This man’s farm can no longer be classed as organic due to water worsened by drought
This is part of a series of reports from communities along the Darling River which have been impacted by water mismanagement and drought.
Farmers prosecuted for land clearing allege former NSW minister gave them green light
Landowners found guilty of illegal clearing say Kevin Humphries assured them native vegetation laws were being scrapped
NSW MPs back ban of single-use bags but reject Labor’s bill to do so
Environment Minister Matt Kean declared “I want to ban the bag” as he defended the government’s decision to scuttle Labor’s bill as it was debated in the lower house.
Delta signs 10-year contract for new solar farm at Vales Point coal plant
A 62MW solar farm is to be built on the old ash dam of the Vales Point power station in New South Wales, after its owner Delta Electricity signed a 10-year off-take agreement with New York based Enernet Global.
Building a beach for summer: the battle against coastal erosion
They are making sandcastles with excavators at Ramsgate Beach. Summer is coming, but Botany Bay has swallowed the beach whole and waves are lapping at the sea wall.
‘Not so mad’: Mixed reviews for NSW Nationals-led dam plan legislation
The decision to seek only moderate changes to planning laws to accelerate work on new dams brings relief to Labor and environmental groups but fears of “unforeseen damage” remain.
Sydney Metro approval clears way for exact locations of train stations
Homeowners and businesses will learn the precise locations of seven train stations for Sydney’s $20 billion-plus metro rail line from Parramatta to the central city as early as next week after state cabinet signed off on the final business case for the project.
Three workers exposed to radiation [$]
Australia’s $200m nuclear medicine facility has been found in breach of its licence over an incident in which three staff members were exposed to radiation.
Silicosis deaths trigger legislative crackdown [$]
The NSW government will move to halve the allowable amount of silica in manufactured stone from 0.1 mg per cubic metre to 0.05 mg, Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson will announce on Friday after a series of deaths from the disease silicosis.
Whitehaven mine hit by drought [$]
Whitehaven Coal has joined the list of major miners warning that the severe drought in NSW could hit operations, with its flagship Maules Creek coal mine at risk if the drought doesn’t break.
Voting for the vegans, not farmers, a mistake for Labor [$]
Anna Caldwell
The state opposition has backed itself into a corner, voting against laws that would punish greenie farm invaders just to protect the unions. Hardworking bush families will not forget this.
Queensland
Protest ‘swarm’ barely a buzz as police outnumber activists in Brisbane
Police and media vastly outnumbered Extinction Rebellion activists on Thursday at a protest in the heart of a Brisbane, which was later abandoned because of the lacklustre turnout.
Extinction Rebellion group flouts council ban and meets in library
An Extinction Rebellion group has defied Brisbane City Council’s ban on them using library rooms, holding a meeting in Brisbane Square Library on Thursday morning.
Citizen scientists to use acoustic monitors to locate powerful owls
Citizen scientists take to bushland around southern Queensland with acoustic monitors to try and record Australia’s largest and most elusive owl to help find and protect their threatened habitat.
South Australia
Sun and wind have blown away nuclear prospects [$]
We don’t need nuclear power, SA Government tells federal inquiry. And SA is not alone, with the electricity market’s rule-maker saying it’s not a good fit.
Rising fire threat prompts early restrictions [$]
Danger Fire danger season in five SA districts has been brought forward as authorities predict one of the most threatening summers in recent years.
Tasmania
Extinction Rebellion arrests at Parliament House
Twenty people were arrested on Thursday after blockading the entry to the Parliament House car park.
Single-use plastic ban closer to reality
Hobart City Council’s plan to ban single-use plastics, such as straws, plastic cups, lids and utensils, has taken a step forward this week.
Northern Territory
Black-footed rock-wallabies making a comeback with the help of rangers in remote centre
In the rocky ranges of central Australia, a group of rangers are fending-off feral cats and foxes to save an increasing population of endangered wallabies.
Sustainability
Breaking water molecules apart to generate clean fuel: Investigating a promising material
Scientists investigated a material that uses sunlight for splitting water molecules (H2O) to obtain dihydrogen (H2). Since dihydrogen can be used as clean fuel, this study provides relevant insight for researchers dealing with clean energy generation.
Computer models show clear advantages in new types of wind turbines
Researchers have modeled the fluid dynamics of multi-rotor wind turbines via high-resolution numerical simulations. The simulations demonstrate a clear advantage for a turbine model with four rotors. The researchers found, that the wind turbine wake recovers much faster with multi-rotor turbines, that multi-rotor turbines produce slightly more energy than single-rotor turbines, and that a turbine with four rotors as far apart as possible is the optimal construction.
Distribution of highly radioactive microparticles in Fukushima revealed
Distribution and origin of highly radioactive microparticles in Fukushima revealed
Are we underestimating the benefits of investing in renewable energy?
Scientists have estimated the emissions intensity of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants from a major electricity distributor and highlighted key consequences – essential information for policymakers shaping decisions to reduce electricity system emissions.
From space shortages to worsening climate change, cities are being forced to adapt at a pace never experienced before. How far can they push their limits, and make sure they leave no one behind?
How changes in our diet can help mitigate climate change
140 countries, 140 diets, 140 different ways each of them contributes to climate change. A new US-study looked at what dietary changes need to happen across the globe to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Nature Conservation
Museums put ancient DNA to work for wildlife
Old museum specimens are giving researchers fresh insights into endangered species
Nature-based solutions can help protect us from climate-related natural hazards
Solutions found in nature should be our first line of defense against the increasing number of climate change-related natural disasters, say experts.
3-D printed coral could help endangered reefs
Researchers find fish give ‘fins up’ to printed coral models
Galapagos study highlights importance of biodiversity in the face of climate change
Study of wave turbulence suggests that highly mobile species and more diverse ecological communities may be more resilient to the effects of changing environmental conditions.
Reforesting is a good idea, but it is necessary to know where and how
An international group of ecologists contests an article published in “Science,” which among other cardinal errors proposed “reforestation” of the Cerrado, Brazil’s savanna biome.