Date: 6 November 2019 at 8:00:56 am AEDT
Subject: Daily Links Nov 6
Post of the Day
Scientists declare climate emergency, establish global indicators for effective action
A global coalition of scientists led by William J. Ripple and Christopher Wolf of Oregon State University says “untold human suffering” is unavoidable without deep and lasting shifts in human activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and other factors related to climate change.
Today’s Celebration
Green March Day in Morocco
Constitution Day in Tajikistan
Constitution Day in the Dominican Republic
Martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari in Iran
Feast of Saint Nuno of Saint Mary in Portugal
Malaria Day in the Americas
Finnish Swedish Heritage Day in Finland
Gustavus Adolphus Day in Sweden
Kanakadasa Jayanthi – India
International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
Climate Change
Scientists say these are the six areas humanity should immediately act on to mitigate global warming
More than 11,000 scientists from 153 countries have come together to declare a climate emergency and create a six-step plan to help humanity mitigate the effects of man-made global warming.
Slow progress on energy efficiency puts climate targets at risk, misses $2.6 trillion of benefits
International Energy Agency says global primary energy intensity improved by only 1.2% in 2018 – the slowest rate since the start of the decade.
Trump files papers to pull US out of global climate deal
The Trump administration formally notifies the United Nations that it will withdraw the United States from the Paris agreement, the first formal step in a one-year process to exit the global pact to fight climate change.
Low China, EU emissions ‘decisive’: Macron
France’s Macron has underlined the importance of China and the EU cooperating to reduce emissions as the US begins pulling out of the Paris Agreement.
U.S. starts climate pact exit — now what?
It hands a ready talking point to the Democrats running to replace him, all of whom have pledged to rejoin the agreement if Trump pulls out.
Climate change will make plants—and us—thirstier
Rising CO2 levels and a warmer earth means plants will grow bigger and have longer to suck the land dry. That’s bad news for human water supplies.
Most countries’ climate plans ‘totally inadequate’ – experts
US and Brazil unlikely to meet Paris agreement pledges – while Russia has not even made one
Inside Pete Buttigieg’s $2-trillion climate plan
“If we get this right, it doesn’t have to be partisan.”
On the road to Paris: The shifting landscape of carbon dioxide reduction
Carnegie Mellon University researchers have found that current forecasts call for the US electric power sector to meet the 2020 and 2025 CO2 reduction requirements in the Paris Agreement–even though the US has announced its withdrawal–and also meet the 2030 CO2 reduction requirements contemplated by the Clean Power Plan–even though it has been repealed.
Our shameful legacy: just 15 years’ worth of emissions will raise sea level in 2300
Bill Hare
New research confirms that what the world pumps into the atmosphere today has grave long-term consequences. Governments – especially Australia’s – must urgently ramp up efforts to reduce emissions.
Having the courage to risk failure
Peter Boyer
Our changing climate allows no time to fiddle. Franklin Roosevelt offers a great example of how to act.
National
Scott Morrison’s crackdown on ‘indulgent’ climate boycotts is dividing public opinion
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s pledge to outlaw the “indulgent” practice of activists driving boycott campaigns against businesses is dividing supporters and opponents.
Crazy frog calls can sound like sheep, motorbikes and banjos, and researchers want your recordings
These creatures can make some strange sounds and the Australian Museum wants you to record them to help monitor populations.
What we can learn from Indigenous land management
First Nations peoples’ world view and connection to Country provide a rich source of knowledge and innovations for better land and water management policies when Indigenous decision-making is enacted, Australian researchers say. Incorporating the spirit and principles of Aboriginal people’s appreciation and deep understanding of the landscape and its features has been overlooked or sidelined in the past – to the detriment of the environment, the report says.
Governments seem intent on trashing John Howard’s legacy when it comes to water reforms
John Williams
There is no national strategic plan for the difficult future we face
PM right to see danger in extremist protesters but his response is wrong
Chris Uhlmann
Environmental extremists have lifted the template of hardcore religious cults.
The Prime Minister’s anti-protest laws are attacks on investors too
Jenna Price
The proposals would be taking away a fundamental right in a free society.
Know your NEM: Coal down, wind and solar through the roof
David Leitch
Share of wind and solar jumps to 18.7%, while share of coal falls an incredible 8% over 12 months.
Australia could fall apart under climate change. But there’s a way to avoid it
Ross Garnaut
Eminent economist Ross Garnaut says if climate action fails, he fears the consequences ‘would be beyond contemporary Australia’. But zero-emissions iron and aluminium could be the way forward.
Churches have legal rights in Australia. Why not sacred trees?
Wendy Steele and Michelle Maloney
Laws in other countries recognise ‘rights of nature’. But even trees sacred to Indigenous Australian communities have no special protection.
Boycott ban just another desperate brain bubble [$]
Guy Rundle
The PM’s plan to outlaw boycotts of businesses that support the resource industry smacks of desperation. The last thing the left should do is give it more credit than it deserves.
Sussan Ley’s environmental law circus
Sue Arnold
Vulnerable species like the koala – and the environment in general – are the losers, while developers reign supreme in Environment Minister Sussan Ley’s environmental law “review”.
When activism crosses the line [$]
Australian editorial
In our robust democracy, protest and civil disobedience are nothing new.
Returns key to boosting power transmission [$]
Andrew White
Long simmering tensions between the reliability and the affordability of the electricity grid will face one of their biggest tests as a decision approaches on the $1.5bn interconnector proposed to be built between NSW and South Australia.
Australia needs more climb bans following Uluru [$]
Tory Shepherd
As calls for an Uluru-style climb ban to be introduced to Mt Warning gains momentum, the fear of those who are used to having all the power is being laid bare.
Victoria
Gas ban ‘a threat to manufacturing’, says Fitzgibbon [$]
Victoria’s ban on onshore gas exploration threatens the viability of the state’s manufacturing base already struggling under depleting output from the once-prolific Bass Strait, gas wholesaler Weston Energy has warned.
‘Potential disaster’: Oil slick in Williamstown creek raises concerns [$]
Residents in Williamstown have raised concerns over suspected oil slick in a local creek, saying the situation is “potential disaster” for wildlife and locals.
New South Wales
Whitehaven’s Maules Creek coal mine is being investigated for allegedly unlawfully taking water, after farmers say their groundwater is drying up. The company has already been found to have allegedly unlawfully taken surface water by the NSW regulator.
Light rail boost flagged ahead of lockout law wind back
The NSW Labor Opposition has urged the government to act immediately to repeal the laws in the CBD.
‘NSW should be alarmed’: former judge slams planning laws
Retired NSW Land and Environment Court judge Paul Reid says changes to the government’s planning laws around mining are alarming.
New ad targets NSW mining law change
A think tank is launching a commercial urging NSW parliament to “stand-up to the coal lobby”, as the government tries to pass laws prohibiting planning authorities from considering overseas emissions when examining local mining projects.
NSW govt seeks asbestos waste levy removal
The NSW government wants to make it easier for people to lawfully dispose of asbestos waste by removing the levy on up to 250kg of wrapped asbestos waste.
Alion Energy solar tracker scores first deal for “difficult” solar farm locations
Renewables developer Enernet Global to use the Alion Energy solar tracking technology for 62MW Vales Point coal ash dam solar farm in NSW.
Removal of dam to help flows into Darling River [$]
A failed irrigation dam restricting precious water from flowing into the crippled Darling River has been removed by the Berejiklian government.
ACT
The fungus, the pregnancy test and the battle to save Canberra’s frogs
Forty odd years ago, rangers in Canberra’s high country couldn’t hear each other speak over the loud croak of northern corroboree frogs. Today, fewer than 200 of the amphibians are estimated to survive in the wild.
Queensland
Transformation of badly eroded Qld riverbank an ‘overwhelming’ achievement
One of the most eroded stretches of the Mary River at Kenilworth has been transformed in an effort to stop valuable farmland washing away and polluting the Great Barrier Reef.
Millions of kangaroos starving in drought sees western Qld harvest halted
Communities, harvesters and AgForce are shocked by a decision to cease the 2020 kangaroo harvest as millions of the animals starve during drought.
Fast-moving bushfire west of Brisbane puts residents on alert
A fast moving bushfire, whipped along by windy conditions, has broken out on Tuesday afternoon near Lake Manchester, west of Brisbane and south-west of Mt Nebo.
The stupid ways we’ve tried to ‘save’ the Great Barrier Reef [$]
Rather than actually tackling climate change, our governments have chosen to invest in some truly hare-brained schemes to rescue the reef.
South Australia
‘Drought refugees’: Desert birds in southern Australia searching for food and water
Birdwatchers are spotting crimson and rare orange chats in southern Australia, refugees of the drought in the inland.
Lake Bonney battery charges up for first time in South Australia
Lake Bonney battery in South Australia charges up for the first time as it prepares for final commissioning.
Trees of life: Mighty gums die to save wildlife [$]
These giant trees, removed to make room for a sporting complex, will have a new life after death – their trunks will remain as animal habitat.
South Australia’s stunning renewable energy transition, and what comes next
Giles Parkinson
The eyes of the energy world are upon it, but the renewable energy transition in South Australia is probably one of the misunderstood, misreported and under-appreciated achievements of our time.
Tasmania
The eagle has landed safely: New tech trialled on turbines to protect eagles from blade strikes
Using cameras and wind disturbance, a Tasmanian wind farm will be the first in Australia to deter wedge-tailed eagles from flying into the turbine blades.
‘Scary’ number of species at risk in Tassie [$]
More needs to be done to inform people just how many Tasmanian species of flora and fauna are at risk of extinction, a wildlife expert says.
Northern Territory
‘I dare say they were yum’: Edible insects fly off shelves in Darwin
Edible insects are praised as a sustainable form of snack, but that is not their only drawcard, with some Territorians reporting that they are ‘crunchy and full of flavour’.
Entry prices to Uluru are about to rise for the first time in 16 years. Here’s why
One week after the end of the Uluru climb, Parks Australia has flagged the first fee increase at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in more than a decade — and tourism operators could be the big losers.
Boffins to breed new NT oyster [$]
Scientists are about to get cracking on the creation of a brand new species of meat oyster specifically designed for cultivation in Northern Australia
Western Australia
Shire wins skirmish in the fight to stop controversial Mandurah Estuary marina
A little shire south of Perth has won a big victory in a community fight to stop an overseas-listed company building a 300-berth marina in the heart of the Mandurah Estuary.
Sustainability
China’s ‘Belt and Road’ strategy has a new competitor — enter America’s ‘Blue Dot Network’
In a bid to provide an alternative to China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, Washington has announced its ‘Blue Dot Network’ designed to fund Asian infrastructure “sustainably”.
The environmental toll of cremating the dead
As cremation becomes more common, people around the world are seeking greener end-of-life options.
How Paris created a cycling boom
It’s no Amsterdam, but the City of Light is catching up.
Andrew Blakers
Solar cells make electricity directly from sunlight, but how do they do it?
Perovskite solar cells get an upgrade
Rice University materials scientists find inorganic compounds quench defects in perovskite-based solar cells and expand their tolerance of light, humidity and heat.
Can ‘nests’ and eco bikes reduce the environmental impact of parcel delivery in cities?
Cities are testing new systems to reduce the pollution and congestion caused by of the final leg of a package’s journey from warehouse to doorstep.
Amnesty International’s annual global letter-writing campaign is taking aim at the mercury crisis youth in Asubpeeschoseewagong have been fighting to end.
The irony of blaming inhalers for climate change
Does individual action matter when it comes to climate change? It’s an age-old debate.
Cameco: No market for new uranium mines [$]
The world’s biggest uranium company says it cannot see any case for construction of new uranium mines, despite signs the sector is on the cusp of a long-awaited recovery.
In 1989, something happened that no-one saw coming. 30 years on, it still matters
Sarah Percy
During the Cold War, nuclear conflict felt imminent, and it seemed impossible that anything could change. But it did — and the way that change came about has a lot to teach us.
What is ‘ecological economics’ and why do we need to talk about it?
Anitra Nelson and Brian Coffey
Ecological economics focuses on sustainability and development rather than efficiency and growth. Cities, as home to 70-80% of economic activity, are at the heart of the challenge of being sustainable.
Nature Conservation
Blood gold in the Brazilian rain forest
Indigenous people and illegal miners are engaged in a fight that may help decide the future of the planet.
Indonesian journalists critical of illegal palm plantation found dead
Press and environmental activists agree that the murders heighten concerns about the state of the free press and activism in the country.
Wild animals evolving to give birth earlier in warming climate
Red deer on a Scottish island are providing scientists with some of the first evidence that wild animals are evolving to give birth earlier in the year as the climate warms.
Now for something completely different …
The smart way to increase happiness
Ross Gittins
If hastening the economy’s growth is intended to increase our happiness, why don’t we do more to increase it directly?