https://www.sbs.com.au/news/climate-change-why-sweden-s-central-bank-dumped-australian-bonds
Post of the Day
Emissions of a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2 rising faster than we thought
We’ve known for decades that nitrous oxide emissions are increasing, but there’s been a big jump in the last decade.
Today’s Celebration
National Day – Monaco
Garifuna Settlement Day – Belize
Descending Day of Lord of Buddha – Bhutan
Flag Day – Brazil
Martyrs’ Day – Uttar Pradesh
Climate Change
Emissions of a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than CO2 rising faster than we thought
We’ve known for decades that nitrous oxide emissions are increasing, but there’s been a big jump in the last decade.
Extinction Rebellion hunger strikers target UK political parties
Activists stage protests at party HQs to push climate emergency on to general election agenda
The EPA must not ignore alarming science
Washington Post editorial
There is a point past which skepticism is no longer healthy but, rather, an excuse to troll scientists and undercut findings that some interested parties would prefer to ignore or deny.
The climate crisis will kill women first
Paula Ethan
Two organizations want the Supreme Court to recognize the lethal vulnerability of girls and women to a changing planet.
The climate denialist IPA and its ‘public interest’ charity status
David Paull
Since the IPA and CIS organisations argue against the scientific consensus on the climate change emergency isn’t that against the public interest? Why, then, are they classified as ‘charities’?
Nitrogen fertilisers are incredibly efficient, but they make climate change a lot worse
Pep Canadell et al
Measurements and modelling have found nitrous oxide emissions, a greenhouse gas 265 times more potent than carbon dioxide, are significantly higher than previously reported.
National
Climate change: Why Sweden’s central bank dumped Australian bonds
Sweden’s central bank said has sold off bonds from the oil-rich Canadian province of Alberta and parts of Australia because it felt that greenhouse gas emissions in both countries were too high.
Decades-long study shows waterbird population has fallen as much as 90 per cent
The drastic decline over the past four decades is linked to widespread drought which is causing bodies of water to disappear, devastating waterbird population numbers.
Total fire bans in place and firefighters on alert as heat waves increase bushfire risk
Choking smoke is blanketing city suburbs, temperatures are tipped to soar, winds are picking up, and rain is not expected for days.
Proposed laws to limit environmental activism ‘outrageous’
Any legislation that has the effect of limiting constitutionally implied political communication needs to be critically analysed, argues one partner.
Q&A recap: climate change ‘an existential threat’ [$]
Climate change has been labelled an “existential threat” during a fiery exchange on the ABC’s Q&A program broadcast from Western Australia.
Blackouts risk to force states’ hand on coal [$]
Energy Minister Angus Taylor will demand tougher energy reliability standards in a move that could trigger legal obligations on major retailers in some states, including Victoria, to source more power from coal, gas and hydro.
Coal emissions to be recycled in beer [$]
An ambitious Australian-first project to reduce carbon emissions could lead to recycled carbon dioxide being used in beer and soft drinks. This is how it works.
How are politicians trying to spin the climate crisis? [$]
Crikey looks at the politicians attempting to spin or finger-point their way out of the climate crisis.
What would I know about hellfire? I’m just a koala
Warwick McFadyen
This is not love. This is hate. But I am just a koala. I cannot judge. I cannot repent.
It shouldn’t take koalas in oxygen masks to make us care
Charles Purcell
It’s been a tragic year for our fauna – and it’s not good enough to pay attention only when it’s in the news.
Some hope amongst the climate change foolishness
Mary McMillan
I live in an area that, like much of Australia, is being affected by bushfires. An area where people have lost their properties, their livelihoods and their lives.
And yet, daily, we see in newspapers, on social media and coming out of politicians’ mouths, a denial of the science that says climate change is behind this.
Bushfire survivors stand in solidarity
Janet Reynolds
Today, as I watch the unprecedented fires tearing across NSW and Queensland, my heart goes out to people suffering similar losses. As someone who was in the same position, I want bushfire survivors to know: You will be alright.
Everyone’s talking about climate – except the government
Peter Boyer
Canberra’s silence in the face of mounting public concern can no longer be justified.
Bureaucrats, pollies to blame for fires not climate change [$]
Alan Jones
It is high time bureaucrats and politicians stopped blaming climate change for a bushfire crisis that is very much of their own making and is putting lives at risk.
Sensible centre lost in climate debate [$]
Justin Smith
Our national conversation on climate change has been nothing but a scream-fest lately – but the issue is too important to be left to the extremists on both sides.
Concrete an opportunity for Australia to make a difference on carbon and climate [$]
Alan Kohler
The burst of shouting and arm-waving over climate change prompted by the NSW and Queensland bushfires has resulted in some pretty unedifying politics. Various Coalition politicians are employing tactics from the NRA’s mass-shooting playbook: “Now is not the right time to talk about carbon control”.
Aborigines knew it was about management more than climate: an open letter [$]
Vic Jurskis
An open letter to the Prime Minister, Premiers, Chief Ministers and Leaders of the Oppositions on fire management from an experienced forester.
Climate change and the bushfires
Don Aitkin
The worst was probably in Victoria in 1851, which burned a quarter of the colony, and killed unknown numbers of people, but also a million sheep, thousands of cattle and innumerable native fauna.
Climate denialism is bought and paid for by a rotten political system [$]
Bernard Keane
The persistence of climate denialism in Australian politics reflects the wealth of mining and energy companies prepared to use a deeply flawed political system to wield power.
Victoria
Alinta Energy considers early closure of Victorian coal power station
Energy giant Alinta threatens an early closure of one of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power stations, a move that is likely to put it on a collision course with the Federal Government.
Victoria asks Angus Taylor to fast-track work on Snowy-Melbourne energy line
State minister says she wants to work on underwriting new power generation and KerangLink is ‘vital’
Boral ordered to clean up western suburbs oil spill and restore waterways
Building materials giant Boral has been ordered to clean up an oil spill that contaminated waterways in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Metro Tunnel costs could blowout to $3b
A messy fight is looming over who will pay the huge extra costs of the Metro Tunnel, with the Andrew Government reportedly warned the total blowout of the project could come close to $3 billion.
New South Wales
NSW bushfires burn through more land than any other blazes in past 25 years
More than 530 homes have been destroyed and six people have died so far in the most widespread bushfire season in a quarter-century in New South Wales.
Shooters MP with $17m of water assets pushes for mandatory disclosures
Murray MP Helen Dalton revealed she owns $17 million worth of water entitlements in the Murrumbidgee Valley.
Yarra Bay cruise liner base a disaster on all fronts
Maria Conklin
Building a cruise terminal at Yarra Bay/Molineaux Point in Botany Bay is not the solution to Sydney’s cruise capacity constraints. The NSW government’s $600 million proposal does not stack up on environmental, cultural or public safety grounds.
Queensland
Desperate reef scientists perform ‘IVF’ on coral spawn
It’s described as the world’s largest orgasm — the annual mass spawning of coral on the Great Barrier Reef. This year, scientists speed up the natural process with a project known as ‘IVF for the reef’.
Ministers assess protection of ‘very poor’ Great Barrier Reef ahead of UN scrutiny
Australia’s federal and state environment ministers meet in Townsville from Tuesday to debate the past five years of efforts to protect the UNESCO-listed Great Barrier Reef.
Scientist says rightwing thinktank misrepresented her Great Barrier Reef study
Tara Clark says the central claim of the Institute of Public Affairs’ YouTube film attacking her coral report is wrong
Queensland fires ‘will not go out’ for weeks, commissioner warns
The fire emergency facing Queensland is still not over and it won’t be for weeks, according to the Acting Fire Commissioner who says it will take a heavy dose of rain to get the 70-odd blazes under control.
Meet Bear, a dog that searches scorched bushland for fire-surviving koalas
The number of Queensland bushfires has risen to 81.
Greens to tempt Brisbane voters with free off-peak public transport
The Greens will take a policy of free off-peak travel on buses, ferries and CityCats to next year’s Brisbane City Council election.
Dam levels drop to 60pc in South East Queensland — so when will restrictions begin?
Queensland’s combined dam level capacity falls to 60 per cent in the south-east of the state for the first time in 11 years, but there are no water restrictions just yet.
Why the drought is no longer just an outback problem [$]
Think the drought is only something affecting farmers? Think again. Some 85 per cent of Queensland towns are now so dry they’re at risk of a major bushfire.
New ban on Brisbane townhouses, apartments [$]
Brisbane City Council is about to rezone a massive parcel of land, effectively shutting down new plans for townhouses and apartments in some areas.
South Australia
Total fire bans declared across SA ahead of catastrophic conditions on Wednesday
A rare pre-emptive total fire ban is declared for the whole of South Australia on Tuesday ahead of catastrophic conditions expected on Wednesday.
We could store all the Amazon’s carbon, says Santos
The company is proposing compressing CO² and transporting it by pipe to underground reservoirs which held oil and gas in place for 85 million years.
Tasmania
Pioneer resident slams Health Department over lack of lead testing
The Department of Health and Human Services should have tested Pioneer residents’ blood for lead, resident and advocate for the town Tim Slade said.
Tasmanian Fire Service continues battle against East Coast bushfire
A bushfire on the state’s East Coast is back at Watch and Act level.
Sustainability
Indian children rally for the ‘right to breathe’ after days of heavy pollution
Indian school children have a protest against poor air quality, days after schools were shut to protect students’ health.
Climate crisis could lead to more wind power, says report
Scientists say shifting ocean circulation patterns may have triggered rapid wind speed rise
Efficient irrigation may produce more crops, but it doesn’t appear to preserve groundwater, according to a federal report released this week.
What the latest science says about oil, gas and human health
Health and environmental scientists who specialize in the potential impacts of oil and gas production will discuss their work on Tuesday at the annual Shale & Public Health conference, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania.
Helping coal miners to save the planet
Sharan Burrow wants to find alternative livelihoods for coal miners and therefore help protect our climate.
The Trump administration has promised to expand their use, which would make farmers happy. But are consumers aware of biofuels’ potential consequences?
‘Synthetic’ crops to protect food supply from effects of climate change
Researchers have hailed “synthetic biology” as the field which will help feed the world in the wake of climate change, by securing food crop
How much energy do we really need?
Two fundamental goals of humanity are to eradicate poverty and reduce climate change, and it is critical that the world knows whether achieving these goals will involve trade-offs. New research for the first time provides a basis to answer this question, including the tools needed to relate basic needs directly to resource use.
Green cement a step closer to being a game-changer for construction emissions
Yixia (Sarah) Zhang et al
The cement needed to make concrete – the most widely used man-made material – is a major source of global emissions. Researchers are working on a green replacement that could transform the sector.
We have much bigger problems than plastic straws
Marc Peruzzi
When it comes to the environment, we need to make fundamental shifts in how we live our lives.
Nature Conservation
Amazon deforestation ‘at highest level in a decade’
Almost 10,000 sq kms lost in year to August, according to Brazilian government data
Scientist’s lone stand against palm oil wins award
An Indonesian scientist whose work proves that companies are illegally burning forest to grow the palm oil used in foods and cosmetics has received a British award in recognition of the huge risks he has taken.
Saving ‘half Earth’ for nature would affect over a billion people
Plans to save biodiversity must take into account the social impacts of conservation if they are to succeed, say researchers.
The forests of the Amazon are an important carbon sink
Innovative combination of forest models with satellite data provide more precise estimates
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
p | +61 3 9345 1193 m | t | @AusConservation
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