Post of the Day
Environmental issues and climate change are Australian children’s top concerns
The environment has topped the list of concerns of Australians aged between 10 and 16 as children fight for a bigger say.
Today’s Celebration
National Day – Myanmar
General Framework Agreement Day – Republika Srpska
Dignity and Freedom Day – Ukraine
Climate Change
Youth activists stage ‘die-in’ at European Parliament
Around 40 youth activists played dead on the floor of the European Commission on Wednesday in protest against the lack of climate action by Europe’s politicians.
World on track to burn enough fossil fuels to swamp the Paris climate goals, UN report warns
Oil, gas and coal output already planned or in the pipeline will overwhelm efforts to cap global warming at levels consistent with a liveable planet, the UN and leading research groups say.
Fossil fuel production on track for double the safe climate limit
‘We’re in a deep hole over the climate crisis and we need to stop digging,’ warn experts
National
If you stay to defend your home from a bushfire – this is what you need to know
It’s hard to breathe and you can’t think clearly – if you defend your home against a bushfire, be mentally prepared. This is what you need to know.
Environmental issues and climate change are Australian children’s top concerns
The environment has topped the list of concerns of Australians aged between 10 and 16 as children fight for a bigger say.
That buzzing noise is not our problem, say Feds, but leading drone company disagrees
The noise of delivery drones has caused an outcry, but the leading company in the sector has concerns over safety issues if regulation is handed to the states.
Is tech entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes correct about Australia’s emissions?
Tech entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes says Australia emits more than 5 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions when fossil fuel exports are taken into account. RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.
Diplomacy the solution to standoff over Australia’s use of carryover credits, officials say
Foreign affairs staff say despite opposition from some countries, Australia will continue to use them to meet Paris targets
Consumers will pay the price for short-term thinking on electricity, energy suppliers warn
Business and consumer groups say ‘an unobtainable goal of 100% reliability’ will impose massive cost increases on users
‘Lock in a date’: Ministers urged to approve Victoria-NSW energy link
Energy ministers will be urged to fast-track an approval decision for a 530-kilometre transmission line allowing more energy to flow between Victoria and NSW as concerns grow about the danger of sooner-than-expected power plant closures.
Business Council speech: PM cuts ‘clutter’ on IR, mining [$]
Mining companies will be able to lodge online environmental applications and avoid a mountain of green tape between state and federal governments under a major deregulation drive to get national projects up and running faster.
Qantas says flight delays due to climate change [$]
A Qantas executive has blamed climate change for worsening flight delays, based on above average wind strengths at Sydney airport this year.
Madness over secondary boycotts: The Morrison cult of productivity
Binoy Kampmark
Scott Morrison wants to crack down on protesters who meddle with businesses supporting the fossil fuel industry.
Why green hydrogen is a win-win for Australia
Shane Rattenbury
There is a race under way to decarbonise the global economy. The prize is both a healthy planet and the economic rewards of new, clean, green industries.
Coal: a dubious friend now a deadly enemy
Steve Biddulph
A power of the past: At what cost to the future do we continue to mine coal?
Climate change will make fire storms more likely in southeastern Australia
Giovanni Di Virgilio et al
Extreme fire risk will overlap with weather patterns to create fire tornadoes more often under climate change.
‘Carbon capture’ is a get-rich-quick scam for fossil fuel companies [$]
Bernard Keane
Carbon capture and storage is a fossil fuel industry scam — one that the Coalition seems to be considering spending more taxpayer money on.
Victoria
‘We are not ready to go’: Meet the Victorian timber workers who don’t want to leave
Timber workers say they are worried about the impact the planned shutdown of Victoria’s native logging industry will have on regional communities and the state’s ability to fight bushfires.
Bushfire threat spreads to Victoria as first Code Red declared since 2010
A Code Red fire danger day has been declared in Victoria for the first time in almost a decade, as emergency services warn people in parts of the state’s north to consider evacuating their homes.
‘A win for the people’: Companies convicted over Hazelwood mine fire
Hazelwood Power Corporation failed to take key steps to avoid a coalmine fire that raged for 45 days, blanketing the local community in thick smoke and coal dust, a Supreme Court jury finds.
‘Perfect storm’: Extreme warnings for asthma sufferers as pollen bomb hits Melbourne
Victorians will be exposed to a deadly pollen bomb that could put hundreds of lives at risk of the ‘thunderstorm asthma’ condition that caught the state by surprise and killed 10 people three years ago.
Road user charges for electric vehicles ‘on the radar’ as fuel excise revenue falls
A major overhaul of the way motorists are taxed could start as early as next year, with Victoria considering introducing changes in May’s state budget.
Stony Creek turns red for the second time in as many months
Environment Protection Authority investigators returned to the Yarraville site after a community member spotted the discolouration.
We must all heed the fire-risk warnings
As more people settle in fire-prone areas, and with the growing threat of climate change, the advice of experts must be heard and acted on.
Contaminated soil delays tunnelling on West Gate Tunnel
Tunnelling on the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel has been delayed due to the discovery of soil contaminated with a chemical that shut down the Fiskville CFA training college.
New South Wales
This Sydney street stays cooler than others during a heatwave — here’s why
Last summer was Australia’s hottest on record but there is one solution that could keep our streets cooler for longer, with a difference of as much as 10 degrees Celsius recorded in some places.
Sydney cloaked in bushfire smoke for second time in three days
Sydney has woken to another thick blanket of bushfire smoke, ahead of what’s expected to be a number of dangerous days of fire weather in NSW and across the country.
Five megatrends that will reshape NSW
The state’s chief economist, Stephen Walters, has peered into the future and it looks pretty good.
Premier to announce toughest water restrictions in a decade
Sydney will face its harshest water restrictions in a decade, with the Berejiklian government to announce new limits on watering gardens, washing cars and filling pools on Thursday.
Mass mutton bird deaths on NSW beaches prompts concern [$]
Tens of thousands of mutton birds have washed up on NSW beaches in recent days, further concerning experts following a collapse in numbers reaching their breeding grounds this year.
ACT
Council bores down deeper for enough water to supply a bigger, thirstier Bungendore
Stage one water restrictions will be introduced in Bungendore from Friday as the local council considers a rezoning proposal which could add hundreds more building allotments.
Total fire ban on Thursday as temperatures soar above November average
A total fire ban has been declared for the ACT from midnight.
Queensland
Fifteen per cent of Queensland’s electricity generated by renewables
Short-term target is 20 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.
South Australia
As it happened: SA bushfires flare amid catastrophic conditions
South Australia is experiencing catastrophic bushfire conditions, with emergency warnings issued as crews battle fires fanned by gale-force winds.
Bushfires ravage South Australia
Authorities in South Australia are on high alert as bushfires ravage the state after a day of intense heat.
Native title voters reject nuclear dump [$]
Traditional landowners have unanimously rejected a proposal to build a nuclear waste storage site near Kimba, saying it shows there is no “broad community support” for it to go ahead.
Western Australia
WA mine’s plan to be powered by renewables [$]
A mine in our northern Goldfields has unveiled stage one of a ground-breaking project that will soon power most of its mine with renewables.
Sustainability
To eat or not to eat: 10 of the world’s most controversial foods
From beef to cod to avocados to soya, many of our best-loved foods raise big ethical and environmental questions. What do the experts say?
Billionaires invest in ‘massive’ solar farm to supply power to Singapore
Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest among the investors.
‘It’s a bit of a legendary story’: The eco-village making home ownership more attainable
With house prices in Sydney and Melbourne set to rise again in 2020, it seems the Australian dream of owning your own home is becoming increasingly less attainable.
As climate risk grows, cities test a tough strategy: Saying ‘no’ to developers
A fight in Virginia Beach demonstrates the hard choices cities face when the pressure for new homes collides with the rising toll of natural disasters.
Nature Conservation
One-third of tropical African plant species at risk of extinction – study
Experts say new approach to classify plants’ conservation status suggests 7,000 species at risk
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
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