Date: 14 November 2019 at 9:36:21 am AEDT
Subject: Daily Links Nov 14
Post of the Day
‘Insect apocalypse’ poses risk to all life on Earth, conservationists warn
Report claims 400,000 insect species face extinction amid heavy use of pesticides
Today’s Celebration
Readjustment Movement Day – Guinea-Bissau
National Book Day – Iran
Dobruja Day – Romania
Climate Change
Venice mayor blames climate change for major floods, highest tide in 50 years
Venice has been hit by the highest tide in more than 50 years, with tourists wading through flooded streets to seek shelter as a fierce wind whipped up waves in St Mark’s Square.
Massive mural of Greta Thunberg stares down at San Francisco
Greta Thunberg will be glaring down at the people of San Francisco after an artist unveiled a giant mural of the teen climate warrior.
Two Australians have offered Greta Thunberg a lift across the Atlantic so she can attend COP25
An Australian couple will help Greta Thunberg attend COP25 in Madrid.
Climate change: do more now or risk catastrophe, warns energy agency
IEA says deep disparity between words and action on climate change risks failing to cap global temperatures
Individual climate models may not provide the complete picture
Equilibrium climate sensitivity — how sensitive the Earth’s climate is to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide — may be underestimated in individual climate models, according to a team of climate scientists.
National
Ex-fire chiefs demand government find ‘urgent response’ to climate change
A coalition of 23 fire and emergency services leaders from across Australia is demanding government action to cut emissions amid devastating bushfires
Indigenous leaders say Australia’s bushfire crisis shows approach to land management failing
Indigenous leaders, who have been warning about a bushfire crisis for years, are calling for a radical change to how land is managed as Australia faces some of its worst bushfire conditions on record.
Scientists weigh into debate over fires and climate change
There’s been a lot of debate in recent days about bushfires and questioning the influence of climate change, but what do scientists have to say?
Greens ‘exploiting tragedy to pump up their cult’, Craig Kelly says – as it happened
Wildfires are not getting worse globally, the Liberal MP says, but ‘actually declining’.
Scott Morrison’s crackdown on secondary boycotts sparks backlash
Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants to punish activists who pressure others into withdrawing support for businesses that back fossil fuels.
New loans for rare earths miners [$]
The Morrison Government has announced a range of measures to help Australia become an “international powerhouse” in an untapped mining sector.
Can civil society help Australia meet its SDGs?
Australia is not on track to meet its Sustainable Development Goal targets by 2030
Australia told to prepare for ‘completely new’ two-sided energy market
Australian Energy Market Commission says consumers would be rewarded for buying and selling energy in real time
Remote solar farms stuck with transmission losses [$]
An attempt by renewable energy investors in distant areas to spread the burden of transmission losses has been rejected on the grounds that it will cost consumers more.
Genex says pumped hydro project on track
Genex Power says its $700 million Kidston pumped storage hydro project is back on track after this month’s financing setback.
Tax breaks to fast-track big building projects [$]
Tax incentives to drive billions of dollars in foreign capital for nation-building infrastructure will be granted for projects worth more than $500m in a move by the Morrison government to inject further stimulus into the economy.
Asian demand to drive coal and gas output [$]
Australia is on track to increase coal exports to Asia and nearly double gas production by 2040, the International Energy Agency has predicted, despite the threat of a growing anti-fossil fuel backlash.
Senator in symbolic protest over water plan
Senate President Scott Ryan, a Liberal MP, has sided with Labor instead of the Coalition in a symbolic protest over a vote to divert water from several rivers for irrigation.
‘Like a genie’: Researchers scramble to adjust to rising fire extremes
Bushfire activity in Australia this year suggests management approaches may no longer be “fit for purpose”, particularly as climate change elevates risks.
Scientists ‘careful’ in attributing fire weather signals [$]
Scientists are reluctant to claim a definitive climate change signal in bushfires ravaging eastern Australia because of the complex factors involved.
How big business saw the climate turning point coming [$]
Climate change is suddenly at the heart of the political narrative but the country’s leaders are playing catch-up with business, finance and investment institutions.
Homes’ survival chances up 25pc if owner stays and fights: experts [$]
Research led by an expert consultant to the royal commission into the Black Saturday bushfire disaster has found that homes are up to 25 per cent more likely to be saved if an owner stays to fight the flames.
The National Farmers’ Federation’s drought strategy is like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic
Pete Mailler
Australian agriculture needs something like a NFF, but the one we have is failing farming communities
Farmers, murder and the media: getting to the bottom of the city-country divide
Tanya M Howard
Politicians and the media often stoke tensions between the city and the country. Nowhere is this more common than on the issue of land clearing – and the consequences can be tragic.
Energy arguments stuck in the grid [$]
Jennifer Hewett
Most consumers don’t want to know the details of the energy market.They want more renewables, more cheaply and with no risk of blackouts.
Greenies and miners don’t need to be at war [$]
Tim Hutton
Miners are not the enemy. In fact, those who once worked in mining are a key element to implementing the change required.
‘How good is this carbon tax!’ Psst, PM’s speech falls off the back of a truck
Jessica Irvine
Canada not only has a carbon tax – it gives households a pollution tax rebate with the money raised. So it cuts pollution and stimulates the economy all at once.
The inflammometer has hit 11, but politicians aren’t finished yet
Andrew Probyn
We appear incapable of sensibly discussing climate change at any time, but particularly at times of natural disaster of the sort that scientists will worsen as the globe warms
Australia’s firefighters need concrete support, not just the PM’s ‘thoughts and prayers’
Jim Casey
I’ve been fighting fires my entire professional life and I’ve never seen anything like this
Climate change makes bushfires worse. Denying the truth doesn’t change the facts
Richard Denniss
Attacks on science by conservative politicians and commentators are no substitute for preparation when it comes to natural disasters
Reality check: there are limits to fighting fire with fire
David Bowman
Prescribed burning can get out of control – and be deadly – if it is not carefully regulated.
Why is the government refusing to link bushfires to climate change?
Janet Stanley
The mountain of evidence linking global warming to bushfires makes the federal government’s failure to even talk about the problem extremely hard to explain.
Why this fire season is so different [$]
Jamie Walker
Nothing is typical any more: even the scientists are confused. Parts of the country that are ablaze have never burned before — yet we’re learning much from these infernos.
Fires heat up doomsday talk but we’ve had worse [$]
Andrew Bolt
Language about the bushfires in NSW and Queensland this week was off the dial and global warming alarmists fed hungrily on the headlines saying their ferocity was unprecedented. History, however, tells a different story.
Bushfires expose how our politicians have failed us [$]
Peter Holding
I’ve been a volunteer rural firefighter for 40 years. What I’ve seen this week has shocked me.. Our politicians must stop mudslinging and be the leaders we need.
12 simple ways you can reduce bushfire risk to older homes
Douglas Brown
Houses built more than 20 years ago are likely to be more vulnerable to bushfires than newer builds. But there are some simple and inexpensive ways to reduce your risk.
Firestorms and flaming tornadoes: how bushfires create their own ferocious weather systems
Rachel Badlan
Large, intense bushfires can pump so much heat into the atmosphere they form their own thunderstorm system. And that can make the weather on the ground even more dangerously unpredictable.
Barnaby and the Morrison Government: They should be fired [$]
Michelle Pini
Barnaby Joyce’s callous comments take the heat off the Morrison and Berejiklian governments’ mind-boggling incompetence and negligence, which have exacerbated the fire crisis
Liar, liar, the bush is on fire [$]
Martin Hirst
Has lying become the new normal for our elected officials? Dr Martin Hirst argues that events of this week prove it has.
Guy Rundle
These catastrophic bushfires can create the new rural politics we need.
It’s time to get real about climate change [$]
Michael McGuire
Australia’s deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, has been calling out the “raving lunatics” who persist in linking bushfires with climate change. Well Michael, it’s time to get real and back science over ideology.
We mustn’t bring politics into the disastrous situation that was created by … wait for it … POLITICS
First Dog on the Moon
Should we only talk about climate change outside the fire season? That’ll soon be one (single) Thursday in July (at long as it’s raining)
Victoria
Borrowing for big projects set to drive up Victorian debt by $30b
The Victorian government may need to cut back on its infrastructure agenda if it cannot curb rising spending levels or find additional income sources, the state’s Auditor-General has warned.
Victoria faces horrendous loss of life from the ‘wrong kind of fire’
Popular holiday spots on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, the Grampians and parts of Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs are at the highest risk of major financial loss from bushfire anywhere in the country, new analysis shows.
New South Wales
‘Miscommunication’: Environment minister distances himself from climate ‘gag’ order
An email sent to NSW bureaucrats has caused outrage from environment groups and the opposition.
‘Absolute devastation’: Saving the koalas on the frontline of NSW’s fires
Hundreds of koalas are estimated to have perished in the deadly New South Wales bushfires. SBS News spoke to one woman doing her best to make sure that fate doesn’t await more.
Southern Sydney councils commended for leading recycling charge
This month’s commitment by 11 southern Sydney councils to recycle 45 million glass bottles and buy more recycled material is a powerful example of how councils are leading the charge in creating a circular economy, Local Government NSW (LGNSW) said today.
As state burns, Berejiklian government at loggerheads over hazard reduction
The Berejiklian government is divided, with Environment Minister Matt Kean defending the Nationals Parks and Wildlife Service in Parliament from an attack by Deputy Premier John Barilaro.
Police investigate 12 suspicious blazes as firefighters race to control bushfires
Police are investigating 12 fires they suspect were lit deliberately during Tuesday’s “catastrophic” bushfire conditions, including two that threatened homes in Sydney suburbs.
Mayor says move to boycott Adani contractors will cost millions [$]
The mayor of Sydney’s Inner West Council says its multimillion-dollar investment in a new public square will be lost after the Greens succeeded in forcing it to boycott companies that supply the Adani coal mine in central Queensland
Gladys sidesteps Labor on number of fire-trained rangers [$]
Labor has questioned the Berejiklian government’s claim that the number of fire-trained staff in the National Parks and Wildlife Service stands at 1226 when figures show there were just over 1000 only four months ago.
As bushfire window shrinks, ‘we need to get inventive’, says commissioner [$]
Authorities need new approaches to mitigate bushfires beyond hazard reduction burns because of “shrinking windows” for conventional risk reduction, NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said on Wednesday.
ACT
Environment commissioner’s Twitter posts under scrutiny
The ACT’s independent environment commissioner has agreed to a “unlike” a series of politically-charged social media posts, after they were called into question by the Canberra Liberals.
Queensland
Fire threat in Queensland expected to worsen by weekend
The fire threat is expected to ease across Queensland on Thursday before conditions worsen heading into the weekend, the weather bureau says.
Climate change made extreme heat before 2018 Queensland bushfires ‘four times more likely’
Study finds greenhouse gases helped drive the scorching conditions in November 2018 that sparked destructive bushfires
Our love of the bush may be fuelling fires [$]
Given the extreme severity of the recent bushfires it is not hard to conclude that current fire management policies are failing, but it’s not that simple. The reality is more to do with the type of trees making up our bushland and how close we choose to live to them.
Arson fears as state held captive by wall of flames [$]
Evacuation orders remain in place for three Queensland towns this morning while dozens of others are bracing for another day of bushfire extremes. It comes as police reveal they believe arson could be to blame for one of the most ferocious blazes.
Full list of bushfire alerts and evacuations
More than 80 fires continue to burn throughout the state, after four were towns evacuated, along with a luxury resort, a prison and a shopping centre.
Are we culling dingoes thinking they are just wild dogs?
New research could make all the difference to the future of dingoes by busting the myth that they are all but extinct in south-eastern Australia.
South Australia
Deal with climate change before state becomes uninhabitable [$]
SA will not be liveable in 30 years, warns Professor Paul Ehrlich – a renowned scientist who’s been predicting a collapsing world for more than half a century.
Mayors reject calls to fight Bight drilling plan [$]
The proposal to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight has many opponents. But these coastal councils aren’t among them.
Solar, wind help push SA’s power prices to lowest in country [$]
You’d be excused for thinking this can’t be right, but SA’s electricity spot market prices are running at the lowest in the nation.
Up the creek: the $85 million plan to desalinate water for drought relief
Lin Crase
The Australian government is effectively spending A$95 million so it can sell water to farmers for A$10 million.
Tasmania
Facebook gifts held plants of concern, officials say
Floral arrangements sent by Facebook to three locations in Tasmania – including the offices of two federal politicians – were found to contain plants of concern, the state’s biosecurity agency says.
Tasmania could wait until mid-2020 for funds to cover 2018-19 wilderness bushfires
It could be until mid-2020 before the Tasmanian Government finds out if the Commonwealth will help foot the bill for fighting wilderness bushfires last summer.
Wilderness camp opponents ‘bullies’, says minister [$]
Parks Minister Peter Gutwein has hit back at opponents of the Lake Malbena proposal, who say the approval process for national park developments is flawed.
Anti Gorge gondola group to table petition [$]
Hands Off Our Gorge will officially table its petition against a gondola development at tomorrow’s Launceston Council meeting
Northern Territory
Unchained Uluru may take ‘thousands of years’ to return to its natural state
The last of the chain that helped thousands of people climb the 348-metre-high rock is removed and a section handed to “quite emotional” traditional owners, but experts say the path worn by climbers will take longer to fade.
Western Australia
McGowan urges end to ‘finger pointing’ over bushfires
WA Premier Mark McGowan says now is not the time “to be finger pointing”, as politicians trade barbs on the impact of climate change on the bushfire emergencies gripping the nation.
Sustainability
Carbon cafe: what is the most sustainable coffee order?
From the beans to the milk to the way it’s brewed, the environmental impact of your daily pick-me-up can vary widely
Those Amazon returns? They’re killing the planet.
In December, consumers will return millions of packages to e-commerce retailers each day. It’s a flood of unwanted stuff that’s expected to peak on January 2, which delivery service UPS cheekily calls ‘National Returns Day”.
How smart appliances could change energy use [$]
Digital technology advances may soon allow smart appliances to turn down or switch off power when the electricity grid is stressed allowing consumers to use less power during peak demand and cut household bills.
New material points toward highly efficient solar cells
A new type of material for next-generation solar cells eliminates the need to use lead, which has been a major roadblock for this technology.
Iron-based solar cells on track to becoming more efficient
An international study shows that 30% of the energy in a certain type of light-absorbing iron molecule disappears in a previously unknown manner. By closing this loophole, the researchers hope to contribute to the development of more efficient solar cells using this iron-based solar cell.
Environmental cost of cryptocurrency mines
‘cryptocurrencies’ are being heard more and more frequently. But despite having no physical representation, could these new methods of exchange actually be negatively impacting our planet? It’s a question being asked by researchers who are investigating the environmental impacts of mining cryptocurrencies.
Turning (more) fat and sewage into natural gas
Researchers have developed what is, to date, the most efficient means of converting sewage sludge and restaurant grease into natural gas.
Perovskite solar cells: Possible aspects of high efficiency uncovered
A team has demonstrated that hybrid halide perovskites crystallize without an inversion center. Interactions between the organic molecules and adjacent iodine atoms can lead to the formation of ferroelectric domains, which, indirectly, can result in higher solar-cell efficiencies. The formation of these ferroelectric domains cannot occur in purely inorganic perovskites.
Deep learning expands study of nuclear waste remediation
A research collaboration has achieved exaflop performance with a deep learning application used to model subsurface flow in the study of nuclear waste remediation
Visualizing heat flow in bamboo could help design more energy-efficient and fire-safe buildings
Modified natural materials will be an essential component of a sustainable future, but first a detailed understanding of their properties is needed. The way heat flows across bamboo cell walls has been mapped using advanced scanning thermal microscopy, providing a new understanding of how variations in thermal conductivity are linked to the bamboo’s elegant structure. The findings will guide the development of more energy-efficient and fire-safe buildings, made from natural materials, in the future.
Climate impact of hydropower varies widely
Hydropower is broadly considered to be much more environmentally friendly than electricity generated from fossil fuels, and in many cases this is true. However, a new study reveals that the climate impact of hydropower facilities varies widely throughout the world and over time, with some facilities emitting more greenhouse gases than those burning fossil fuels.
Nature Conservation
‘Insect apocalypse’ poses risk to all life on Earth, conservationists warn
Report claims 400,000 insect species face extinction amid heavy use of pesticides
Healthy mangroves help coral reef fisheries under climate stress
Healthy mangroves can help fight the consequences of climate change on coral reef fisheries, according to a new study. Researchers say corals have been bleached and reefs have lost their structural complexity as a major consequence of warming seas.
Now for something completely different …
Beneath the noise, miracles are taking place
Kathy Sharpe
While there have been great advances in how we fight fires, things are really not that different from the days our fathers and grandfathers remember, when the men of the town stood shoulder-to-shoulder to fight fires with sticks and hessian sacks.