Daily Links Mar 10

Post of the Day

Here’s how 2020 can be a true “super year” for biodiversity

Vigdis Vandvik et al

Seven ways researchers and policymakers can make the start of this new decade a turning point for protecting the future of life on Earth.

 

On This Day

Mar 10

Purim – Judaism

Holi – Hinduism

 

Climate Change

From climate grief to climate action: Young people need hope, concrete goals

Call it climate anxiety, eco-anxiety, climate grief, but what it seems to be is a sense of helplessness.

 

Indian Ocean system that drives extreme weather in Australia likely to worsen with global heating

Researchers believe the Indian Ocean Dipole is more clearly influenced by climate change than previously thought

 

Carbon emissions fall as electricity producers move away from coal

Global emissions down by 2% amid mild winter and reduced use of coal-fired power plants

 

If Jeff Bezos really wants to fight the climate crisis, he should just pay his taxes

Guy T Saperstein

Wildfires are ravaging California and Australia – and local fire departments are alarmingly underfunded and underprepared

 

National

Mining giant given millions in grant by Coalition from fund for Indigenous disadvantage

Fortescue Metals, Wesfarmers and the Brisbane Broncos NRL team received grants approved by Nigel Scullion

 

Gaslighting on emissions: IEEFA says burning LNG “worse than coal” for climate

As Australia’s natural gas sector braces for the price impact of the global Covid-19 crisis, analysis from a leading energy think tank has argued that emissions from natural gas have been dangerously underestimated and that it was wrong to treat gas as a “transition fuel” in the shift away from coal.

 

Renewables keep crunching Australia’s electricity emissions – no thanks to federal policy

Large-scale renewable energy generation – and increasingly big solar – continue to drive a steady fall in Australia’s electricity sector emissions, while a thriving rooftop solar market has effectively cancelled out any increases in consumption of grid supplied power, new reports have shown.

 

More drought in Australia’s future as weather patterns change

The Indian Ocean weather pattern that contributed to eastern Australia’s intense drought is becoming more common because of climate change.

 

Australia ‘cheating’ on Paris, says former UN climate chief  [$]

The Morrison government will be breaking international law and acting immorally if it uses Kyoto credits to meet its Paris targets, says Christiana Figueres.

 

Tax-slugged mining companies ‘bankrolling us all’ [$]

Australian mining companies are delivering almost half of their taxable incomes towards corporate tax and royalty regimes, paying more than $20bn annually to prop up federal and state budget bottom lines.

 

Supporters of nuclear need a reality check: it’s staggeringly expensive

Jim Green

Even the cost of small reactors is prohibitive.

 

Empowering communities as they rebuild

Matt Grogan

We must support communities to rebuild in a way that makes them resilient for future catastrophes. Adapting to climate change provides an opportunity for rural and regional Australia to re-invent itself and curb rural decline?

 

Business can take the lead on the energy challenge [$]

Elizabeth Gaines

Developments in the Pilbara show how mining and renewable energy work well together.

 

A city-by-city guide to how water supplies fared in Australia’s summer of extremes

Ian Wright and Jason Reynolds

Five capital city water storages fell over summer, and some appear to be facing dramatic long-term declines. Late drenching rains fell on southeastern Australia, but some unlucky centres missed out.

 

A rare natural phenomenon brings severe drought to Australia. Climate change is making it more common

Nicky Wright et al

Future extremes from the Indian Ocean will be acting on top of global warming, giving a double whammy effect, like the record-breaking heat and drought we saw in 2019.

 

Victoria

Endangered bats found shot and bashed, some with fruit still in their mouths

Wildlife Victoria has reported a spike in brutality towards the bats, which are relying on fruit trees for food after catastrophic fires this summer devastated their habitat.

 

Brazil’s Grupo Energia sets up Australian renewables office in Melbourne

Brazil-based renewables consultancy says Victorian Andrews government’s support “instrumental” in decision to locate Australia and NZ headquarters in Melbourne.

 

PFAS soil stockpiles sitting in Melbourne’s inner-west

Thousands of tonnes of PFAS-contaminated soil are being stored outdoors under plastic sheets in Melbourne’s inner-west, as the toxic soil crisis continues to loom over the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel project.

 

‘I’m scared’: Fight against PFAS soil from West Gate hits soccer pitch

A soccer pitch has become the latest symbolic weapon in a community’s campaign to stop contaminated soil from the West Gate Tunnel project being dumped on its doorstep.

 

$2m funding for driverless electric vehicle prototype

Australia’s renewable energy advocate is investing $2 million to help commercialise a Melbourne-based company’s solar-powered, driverless electric vehicle designed for passenger transport and commercial applications.

 

Will this bold plan solve Victoria’s recycling crisis? [$]

An ambitious new plan is set to completely change the way Melbourne manages its waste, as current measures climb above capacity. And it might be good news for those hoping their rubbish doesn’t end up in the tip.

 

New South Wales

Dogs sniff out cane toads moving into burnt-out bushland in NSW

Burnt-out bushland is making it easy for cane toads to move across northern New South Wales, but conservation dogs are on the case.

 

NSW shows promise on tackling one of world’s most complex environmental crises

Louise Williams

The state government has been slow to the party on single-use plastic bags but could be laying the foundations for some big picture improvements.

 

Tasmania

Police union boss Colin Riley upset at criticism by Greens leader Cassy O’Connor

Association president Colin Riley said Ms O’Connor criticised Tasmania Police saying there had been no police investigation or follow up in relation to an alleged ramming of a protester’s car in the Tarkine. “The facts are, our members investigated the matter and charged the alleged offender on the Wednesday at 11.30am,” Mr Riley said.

 

Are the Liberals developing a green tinge?

Peter Boyer

A notable change of tack for the new Tasmanian premier

 

Northern Territory

Bungled Northern Territory solar to cost millions [$]

The Northern Territory energy market regulator has blamed the Labor government for bungling the transition to renewables so badly that it has been forced to impose changes that could discourage solar investment and increase consumer power bills.

 

Western Australia

Conservationists celebrate as WA Government freezes logging of karri forests

A ban on logging of mature ‘two-tier’ karri forests in WA’s South West has been met with a backlash from the timber industry and joy from conservationists who hope it will become permanent.

 

Sustainability

More taxpayers’ money for the environment and public benefit

Over 3,600 scientists from across Europe call for effective action from the EU regarding its Common Agricultural Policy. A position paper coordinated by scientists from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research and the University of Rostock, identifies the EU Commission’s current reform proposals as inadequate. The researchers are proposing ten measures for a sustainable and fair agricultural policy, which uses taxpayers’ money more efficiently.

 

Conflicts over Indigenous land grow more violent in Central America

Faced with government inaction, some activists try to reclaim ancestral lands on their own. Often, they pay a high price.

 

Lifting Russia’s accident reactors from the Arctic seafloor will cost nearly €300 million

Experts are discussing the framework for safe lifting of dumped reactors from four submarines and uranium fuel from one icebreaker reactor in the Kara Sea, in addition to one sunken nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea.

 

Abandoned coal plants are a huge opportunity

They’re big, solidly built and often on prime urban land. Now, they’re being reborn as everything from charter schools to solar farms.

 

It’s been a long road, but Edison’s lightbulb moment is almost upon us [$]

 “I am convinced that it will not be long before all the trucking in New York City will be electric.”

 

Bad Air: Pilots worldwide complain of unsafe cabin fumes

But regulators in the EU and the US aren’t convinced that any danger posed to crews warrants significant action.

 

Nature Conservation

Scientists try to turn down heat on sea turtle eggs to produce more males

Global warming is causing a gender imbalance among turtle hatchlings.

 

Here’s how 2020 can be a true “super year” for biodiversity

Vigdis Vandvik et al

Seven ways researchers and policymakers can make the start of this new decade a turning point for protecting the future of life on Earth.

 

Now for something completely different
Airlines are flying empty planes to keep slots during the coronavirus crisis

British airlines are being forced to operate empty “ghost” flights during the coronavirus outbreak or risk losing airport landing slots, The Times has learnt.