Daily Links Mar 9

Post of the Day

Entire hillsides of trees turned brown this summer. Is it the start of ecosystem collapse?

Rachael Helene Nolan et al

The drought has pushed many trees to the brink, and whole stands are now dying. The ecological consequences are huge.

On This Day

Mar 9

Labour Day

Fast of Esther – Judaism

Climate Change

Pro-Trump climate denial group lays off staff amid financial woes, ex-employees say

The Heartland Institute is the think tank paying the far-right German teen known as the “Anti-Greta.”

Climate change is leading to Arctic light pollution and disrupting marine life

Thanks to climate change, more humans are able to pass through the Arctic, and they’re making the region’s once black polar night brighter.

National

Australia to sign petrol and oil deal with US to boost emergency stockpile

Energy minister Angus Taylor to sign agreement in Washington despite car and truck drivers criticising the move

New research centre to cut power bills

The government hopes a new clean energy research centre costing $70 million will come up with solutions that will cut power bills by 25 per cent by 2034.

‘We need a serious conversation’: River flows could decline 40% in Australia’s foodbowl

Australia is the driest continent, among the most intensive users of water, and rivers are expected to dry out dramatically in coming decades.

Be honest Australia, you’re not ‘meeting and beating’ your emissions targets

Christiana Figueres

For Australia, the choice between danger and opportunity is clear, and that choice must be made now.

Entire hillsides of trees turned brown this summer. Is it the start of ecosystem collapse?

Rachael Helene Nolan et al

The drought has pushed many trees to the brink, and whole stands are now dying. The ecological consequences are huge.

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.

Next time, we’ve got to handle emergency donations better

Debbie Wills

We’ve set up a single point of contact for foreign disasters, we could do if for Australian disasters as well.

Cut green lawfare to lift growth, jobs, investment

Australian editorial

The news that a small coterie of green activists has used environmental laws to delay 28 projects worth $65bn ­ demands effective action by the Morrison government.

Victoria

Why we have so many bins, but are recycling less than ever [$]

Households are now being provided up to four bins to curb waste but in reality we’re recycling less than ever. Here’s why.

New South Wales

NSW poised to follow other states’ lead and ban single-use bags

Single-use plastic bags could be banned in NSW within 18 months if a state government discussion paper is acted upon.

Barilaro’s nuclear push bitterly dividing Coalition

A senior Liberal minister is prepared to quit cabinet over Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s support for a One Nation nuclear bill.

‘Terrible’ new weir proposed for river as flows resume

The degraded Macquarie Marshes have suffered from drought for years – and just as waterflows recover comes a push for a weir.

The Nationals will exploit emission fears to target ALP seats [$]

The Nationals will target the Labor-held NSW seats of Hunter, Paterson and Shortland in the lead-up to the next federal election, with some MPs declaring the opposition’s zero net emissions target by 2050 had made the blue-collar electorates vulnerable.

ACT

Developer says buyers fleeing Canberra’s squeezed block sizes will find better value in Bungendore [$]

The second largest residential development in Bungendore’s history has been given full council endorsement, with pre-sales of the first tranche expected to start in August.

Canberra has a unique opportunity to become a city of the future

Charles Landry

I just visited Canberra again after a five-year period, and I noticed a buzz in the atmosphere. It feels as if there is more self-assurance, and people are less willing to accept outsiders saying that “Canberra lacks energy”.

Queensland

Suburbs where our koala habitat is disappearing

Peter Gleeson

If bushfires weren’t genocidal, human development is finishing the job, with several koala habitats endangered or already wiped out in southeast Queensland.

South Australia

Natural selection: Investors called to SA’s protected places

Steven Marshall will unveil the first of several expected stimulus measures aimed at getting the economy back on track. But there are fears it destroy what people love about SA.

Western Australia

Kalgoorlie rail project steams ahead with $300k from WA

Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s rail realignment project is back on track after the State Government announced it would fund two studies designed to pave the way for future development.

Sustainability

How communication about environmental issues can bridge the political divide

A relatively new theory that identifies universal concerns underlying human judgment could be key to helping people with opposing views on an issue coax each other to a different way of thinking, new research suggests.

Downsizing the McMansion: Study gauges a sustainable size for future homes

A new scholarly paper authored at NJIT assesses a big factor in the needed transformation of our living spaces toward sustainability– the size of our homes.

10 folks who have influenced the environmental landscape—for better or worse

Peter Dykstra

The environmental landscape contains a wealth of personalities: Hellraisers and treehuggers; deniers and political hacks; academics and scientists; geeks and ink-stained wretches.

Here are 10 that I find particularly interesting and influential.

Nature Conservation

Balancing bushmeat trade and conservation vital to ensure livelihoods not threatened

Local communities in the Congo rainforest have been working with researchers from the University of York in a bid to balance the bushmeat trade with conservation

Now for something completely different
Don’t blame the messenger — unless it’s all stats and no story

In some cases of ineffective messaging, it might be appropriate, despite the aphorism to the contrary, to blame the messenger. “Our findings suggest that telling stories when communicating can make the speaker appear more warm and trustworthy, as opposed to… providing only statistics and figures,” says UB researcher