theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/09/labor-has-to-shame-coalition-into-action-on-climate-change
Post of the Day
Labor has to shame the Coalition into action on climate change
Greg Jericho
How to transition to zero emissions is daunting – but the answer is not to put up a white flag
Today’s Celebration
Los Santos Uprising Day – Panama
Water Festival – Cambodia
Day of Tradition – Argentina
Remembrance Day for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – Turkey
Remembrance Sunday – UK
Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day – Israel
Hasyl Bayramy (Harvest Festival) in Turkmenistan
Mawlid (Birth of the Prophet) – Islam
World Science Day for Peace and Development
Climate Change
Mural of teen climate activist Greta Thunberg going up in San Francisco
Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg is staring down at pedestrians in the heart of San Francisco where an artist is painting a mural of the Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
National
Empty, sandy seabeds are being turned into thriving reef ecosystems across Australia — created from seafood shells collected from restaurants that would have otherwise ended up in landfill.
Waste export ban revealed by environment ministers but ‘devil in the details’
Environment ministers sign off on timeline after Scott Morrison promises to tackle plastic waste in oceans
Liberals lack of regional development has worsened the water crisis
Evan Jones
While Australia struggles with a national water crisis, the LNP struggles with the concept of sustainable regional development
Labor has to shame the Coalition into action on climate change
Greg Jericho
How to transition to zero emissions is daunting – but the answer is not to put up a white flag
Victoria
How Victoria’s ‘Snow in the Paddocks’ melted away – and is being saved
There is a dizzyingly beautiful orchid that grows naturally at only one place on the planet, marooned in a secret patch not far from the centre of Melbourne.
Secret state: Victoria cans access to stance on container deposit scheme
The Andrews government has refused to release high-level documents that might explain why Victoria is the only hold-out on the scheme.
Why the Victorian Government is taking an axe to the native timber industry
Richard Willingham
Daniel Andrews is taking a slow axe to Victoria’s timber industry, but with more than 2,000 jobs under threat, will his bold plan become a political liability for him in regional Victoria?
Yes, minister, as double-talk obscures truth about trains
John Pesutto
The other day I was at Parliament station and heard a Metro Trains official make this announcement: “You’ll be happy to know that all services are running on time with only minor delays.”
New South Wales
‘It’s climate change, there’s no doubt about it’: NSW mayor frustrated by PM’s response to bushfires
Glen Innes Severn Council mayor Carol Sparks has appealed to Scott Morrison to accept that climate change is linked to the unprecedented fires burning in NSW.
Three dead others missing in NSW bushfires
Three people have been killed and others are missing as a result of unprecedented bushfires that have destroyed at least 150 homes
Conditions in NSW ease but warnings in place for more dangerous fire weather on the way
The Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service says workers will be taking advantage of cooler conditions to take control ahead of high-risk weather on Tuesday.
Armed forces may help with bushfires: PM
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the armed forces may be called out to help during NSW’s unprecedented bushfire emergency as he warned the death toll was likely to rise.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes blames Baby Boomers for NIMBYs blocking growth
Baby Boomers are primarily responsible for hostility toward housing growth and density, Planning Minister Rob Stokes says, accusing the generation of being the drivers of so-called NIMBYism.
Greens MP uses deadly fires to preach about climate change [$]
A Greens MP has attracted a torrent of criticism for a tweet about the bushfires in which he slammed the government for not having “the climate emergency under control” and predicted more lives would be lost unless we “quit coal and cut pollution”.
ACT
Fourteen possible PFAS-contaminated sites have not been tested [$]
The ACT government has not tested 14 sites which are likely to be contaminated with residue from toxic firefighting foams despite assurances a year ago that it would.
Queensland
Queensland fire battles to continue as thousands displaced
Multiple evacuations and emergency warnings were in place across south-east Queensland on Saturday.
South Australia
Lock up them up: Call for cat crackdown as crisis looms [$]
There are almost 140,000 stray cats roaming out streets. It’s a looming crisis that could see owners forced to do more to keep their moggies from wreaking havoc.
Adelaide recycling journey: Cabbage to compost to capsicum [$]
South Aussies are getting better at recycling everything — except green waste. Instead more is going to landfill. The Sunday Mail follows the journey of a single cabbage. Where it ends up may surprise you.
Tasmania
Call for inquiry into Pioneer’s lead-contaminated drinking water
A resident of the North-East town of Pioneer is fighting off a debt collector from TasWater while battling health issues, which she believes could have been caused by lead-contaminated drinking water.
Western Australia
Firefighters control blaze that was threatening lives, homes in Perth’s north
A bushfire that threatened lives and homes in Gnangara in Perth’s north is downgraded to advice.
Sustainability
The people turning farms into bio-reactors in a bid to save the planet
From vertical farms to micro-algae and bio-reactors, the future of food is looking very high-tech. It promises to be more sustainable — but can it live up to the hype?
The real reason you should be using a keep cup [$]
No matter how you like your coffee, drinking your favourite pick-me-up from a reusable cup is the go – and it has nothing to do with the environment.
Scientists take strides towards entirely renewable energy
Researchers have made a major discovery that will make it immeasurably easier for people (or super-computers) to search for an elusive ‘green bullet’ catalyst that could ultimately provide entirely renewable energy.
On Queenslanders and eco-pessimism: It’s good to pierce the bubble once in a while
Ian Warden
Many of us live in lucky, bourgeois, comfortable bubbles of place and ideology. This columnist dwells in the multiple bubbles afforded by his plush first-world city, by his superannuation-cushioned upper-middle-class lifestyle and by his smug faith in his atheist-left-liberal attitudes. Bubble-encased folks like us struggle to stay in touch with what goes on in the minds and lives of people unlike ourselves.
News of our extinction has been greatly exaggerated [$]
Peter Gleeson
I’ve got a little history lesson for all those who insist on telling us again and again that the world is ending.
Engineered stone benchtops are killing our tradies. Here’s why a ban’s the only answer
Lin Fritschi and Alison Reid
What lessons can Australia learn from tackling asbestos to manage this latest preventable occupational hazard?
Nature Conservation
Callum Roberts: ‘Sharks do bite people, they do kill people, but it’s more error than intention’
The marine biologist’s new book describes his lifelong love affair with the oceans, and the grave threat undersea life faces