Daily Links Mar 16

Post of the Day

Study finds staggering economic benefit from protecting wetlands

For example, in Florida, the loss of just 3% of wetland coverage resulted in $480 million in property damage during just one hurricane.

On This Day

Mar 16

Ecological Observance

Panda Day

Climate Change

Climate change is the real threat to Latinx

Jose Barrera

The real threat to economically disadvantaged and communities of color is climate change and its effect on the environment and our water resources.

National

Zali Steggall launches ad campaign to rally support for climate change bill

Independent MP’s three-week campaign drawing on bushfire crisis will include digital billboards and bus shelter ads

A question of ethics: UniSuper’s investments in fossil fuels

George Grundy 

George Grundy unpacks UniSuper’s significant investments in coal and fossil fuels, questioning whether this aligns with its member’s interests.

Frydenberg and Australia’s population policy

Abul Rizvi

The Treasurer’s 2020 Intergenerational Report is as close as we get to a long-term plan for Australia’s population and economy, but will it be anything more than just a political document?

Scientists find burnt, starving koalas weeks after the bushfires

Romane H. Cristescu  and Celine Frere

Researchers expected to find koalas killed by the fires. But they were heartbroken to find those that died afterwards from starvation, thirst or injury.

Victoria

Bushfires: Daniel Andrews throws spanner into bushfire royal commission [$]

The Victorian government is withholding support for Scott Morrison’s black summer bushfire royal commission, threatening the credibility of the inquiry and a nationally co-ordinated approach to natural disasters.

MPs not ducking for cover on hot button issue [$]

After some MPs broke ranks a couple of weeks ago to air their opposition to duck hunting on social media, it showed a rare united front in public. So what does Daniel Andrews think of the public move?

Reclaiming Victoria’s flowering native grasslands

A small garden patch in a Melbourne seaside suburb is providing a fascinating window on a past landscape of the region.

New South Wales

‘We dropped the ball’: Transport for NSW knew of contamination risks for five years but didn’t tell residents

Transport for NSW admits it knew about lead contamination at a rail corridor in Tarago in 2015 but failed to tell residents until after an infant boy was exposed to heavy metals.

Risk and reward in decarbonising NSW economy, says chief scientist

Shifting NSW’s $600 billion economy towards net zero carbon emissions will generate many opportunities as new industries emerge, but also require careful policy co-ordination and communication.

ACT

Tharwa community to be better consulted on water supply: ACT government inquiry

The future of Tharwa’s water supply could be better informed by the village’s community according to recommendations made in an ACT Legislative Assembly inquiry.

Questions over how Canberra’s leafy treescape will survive the furnace of climate change

When Canberra was described to Grand Designs TV host Kevin McCloud prior to his recent first visit, it was like “a park with buildings in it”.

Queensland

Hottest month of sea temperatures leaves reef reeling, but cyclone to ease bleaching

A cyclone in the Coral Sea has helped to ease widespread coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, an expert says, after the marine park weathers its hottest month of sea temperatures on record.

$35m for filters at Brisbane’s main water treatment plant

The plant, which supplies Brisbane’s drinking water, will have its filters replaced for the first time in decades.

South Australia

All councils called on to pay for tree case appeal [$]

The LGA is asking all councils to consider lending money to Unley in the hope it can prove two Hyde Park trees were pruned illegally.

Tasmania

Fuel burns health warning [$]

After one of Australia’s most severe bushfire seasons yet, a Tasmanian council has announced 16 municipality fuel reduction burns beginning on Monday.

Cyclists pedal campaign for relaxed helmet laws [$]

A Hobart cycling group has taken to the streets as part of a nationwide movement pushing for the removal of “redundant” mandatory helmet laws.

Northern Territory

Lack of planning for future renewable power spells danger of city blackouts, experts warn [$]

Households and businesses in the Northern Territory face an immediate and growing risk of costly electricity blackouts because governments and regulators have failed to adequately prepare for the growth of renewable energy, industry experts say.

Western Australia

Ord irrigators continue their fight against water cuts in WA

An ongoing dispute over cuts to water allocations in Western Australia’s Ord Irrigation Scheme could still be months away from a resolution in the State Administrative Tribunal.

Researchers are looking to weaponise ‘rogue’ virus in fight against rabbits

Farmers hope a coordinated release of RHDV2 will give them the upper hand in the fight against rabbits, which cost the agriculture sector $206 million a year in lost production.

Sustainability

Polar policeman: Australian inspections find Antarctic failings but no weapons

Australia will offer to help nations clean up their Antarctic stations, after acting as polar policeman for a 10,000km inspection blitz that found waste and junk problems but no militarisation or mining.

Mercury: A silent killer in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has a free-for-all affair for artisanal gold mining but the use of mercury in these operations has detrimental effects not only on the environment.

When the war on science really began

A new book, The War on the EPA, tracks the history and importance of the government agency — and how efforts to undermine it began decades before Trump.

More green, more ‘zzzzz’? Trees may help us sleep

Thomas Astell-Burt and Xiaoqi Feng

Sleep might be a key factor in the link between greener neighbourhoods and better health. A new study shows living in an area with more tree canopy improves people’s odds of getting enough sleep.

Fukushima nine years on: Warnings for Australia

Dave Sweeney 

The anniversary of the Australian uranium-fuelled Fukushima nuclear disaster is no time to open the door to an expanded nuclear industry in Australia

Scientists must learn how to interact with Indigenous people

Daniel Henryk Rasolt

Amazing opportunity for progress lies at the intersection of complex systems science and traditional worldviews. Can we find the humility to embrace it?

Nature Conservation

Nepal closes Mt Everest over virus fears

Coronavirus fears have reached the world’s highest peak as Nepal closes Mount Everest and other mountains to adventurers because of the outbreak.

Study finds staggering economic benefit from protecting wetlands

For example, in Florida, the loss of just 3% of wetland coverage resulted in $480 million in property damage during just one hurricane.

‘Whole car bodies, thousands of parts’: The cars that eat paradise

While known for pristine beaches and blue skies, Pacific Islands are also polluted with thousands of man-made monuments: rusting cars, trucks, buses and other wreckage.

Now for something completely different
Who’s responsible if you injure yourself while working from home during the coronavirus outbreak?

We spoke with two experts in employment law and industrial relations about employees’ rights and employers’ obligations when office-based workers work from home.

Coronavirus infection prevention — what is social distancing and how do I do it?

As cases of coronavirus continue to surge in Australia, health authorities are advising Australians practise social distancing as much as possible to limit transmission.