Post of the Day
Here are 5 ways to flatten the climate change curve while stuck at home
Sky Croeser
Stay connected and engaged to the climate change cause, and you might find we emerge from the coronavirus crisis with more hope than before.
On This Day
Coronavirus Watch
Confirmed cases: 6,720. Deaths: 83
How to download the COVIDSafe app and the issues you can expect
The Federal Government’s contact-tracing app has been downloaded more than a million times since its release last night, but how do you get it on your smartphone and what issues might you run into?
Will COVIDSafe keep your data secure? Here’s what the experts say
Technical and legal experts are digging into the Government’s new contact tracing app, raising questions about security and legal protections.
Climate Change
International climate ministers meet to discuss green recovery post COVID-19
This week environment ministers from 30 countries will meet in a two-day (27 – 28 April) online conference to discuss how to organise a green economic recovery after the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
National
Big mouths to feed: Zoos to receive coronavirus lifeline
Zoos, wildlife parks and aquariums struggling to cover costs like feeding their animals during the coronavirus shutdown will get access to a $95 million Federal Government support package to help get them through the crisis.
Magpies and kookaburras feel the strain of modern society
The magpie and the kookaburra are two of Australia’s favourite birds and, although they’re not endangered yet, concerns for their wellbeing and survival are beginning to grow.
Climate crisis will make insurance unaffordable for people who need it most
In a submission to the royal commission into natural disasters the Consumer Action Law Centre calls for an inquiry into insurance
Bioenergy push for emissions reduction and regional growth
Bioenergy could be the Morrison government’s next step in its emissions reduction strategy, with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency calling for public submissions to develop an industry growth strategy.
Pitt leaps on industry-funded report that clears fracking of long term pollution impacts
Resources minister leaps on industry funded report that clear fracking of long term pollutants, but did not study impacts on human health or greenhouse emissions.
On-site solar is key to cost competitive renewable hydrogen
On-site solar seen as key to making renewable hydrogen cost-competitive by 2025, according to new study by Dyno Nobel.
Australia’s main grid sets new milestone for negative prices over weekend
Electricity prices go negative prices in all five state markets in Australia’s main grid for four consecutive settlement intervals over the weekend.
Wind and solar could play key role in future of Australia’s aluminium industry
Wind and solar could play key role in the future of Australia’s aluminium industry, particularly as dependence on coal becomes a reliability rather than an asset.
AEMO to resume new connections after solar constraints lifted in West Murray
The Australian Energy Market Operator is to resume the connection process for new large scale wind and solar projects in the West Murray section of the main grid, and hopes to connect around 1,200MW of new capacity within the next 12 months after lifting constraints on five solar farms late on Friday.
A ‘very pro-growth’ agenda will be tricky to sell
Shane Wright
Scott Morrison wants a “very pro-growth” policy agenda. What did the government have in place before this pandemic?
Peter Boyer
A few essential principles have informed Scott Morrison’s response to the coronavirus; now he must apply that same logic to climate change.
Why mining will be ground zero of the nation’s recovery [$]
Helen Coonan
The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have again thrown into stark relief the willingness of Australian mining to step up in tough times.
If more of us work from home after coronavirus we’ll need to rethink city planning
John L Hopkins
After the ‘world’s biggest work-from-home experiment’, many people (and their employers) might decide they needn’t commute every day. If even a fraction do that, infrastructure needs will change.
Drought, fire and flood: how outer urban areas can manage the emergency while reducing future risks
Elisa Palazzo et al
The disasters have come one after another. While they may not be entirely preventable, we can take many practical steps tailored to local needs and conditions to reduce the impacts on our cities.
Victoria
Victoria’s fire danger period comes to end
Fire restrictions have been lifted in Victoria’s southwest, marking the end of a fire danger period in which five people were killed in the state’s blazes.
Wire on a bird: Tiny backpack radios to keep track of rarest parrot
Orange-bellied parrots have been released in Victorian coastal wetlands wearing tiny, solar-powered backpack transmitters with researchers hoping the technology will eventually be used to track the migration of what is one of the world’s rarest birds.
Complaints levelled at Yallourn
Voices of the Valley has joined forces with health and environment groups to made a legal complaint to the Victorian Environment Protection Authority over increased particle pollution at Yallourn Power Station.
Huge Dundonnell wind farm powers past 100MW-mark in Victoria
Tilt Renewables’ massive Dundonnell wind farm on track after powering up its output to more than 110MW last week.
New South Wales
Hazard Reduction burn in Wollongong area
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will conduct a hazard reduction burn, on Tuesday 28 April 2020 in the Illawarra area weather permitting.
Hazard reduction burn for Lake Macquarie State Conservation Area
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Fire and Rescue NSW completed a hazard reduction burn Friday 24 April in Lake Macquarie State Conservation Area (SCA), east of Morrisset.
NSW Government bill relief for energy customers
Households struggling to pay their energy bills during COVID-19 now have access to additional financial support directly through Service NSW and the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, thanks to a $30 million boost to the Government’s emergency support Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) Scheme.
Volunteer food drops help give bushfire-hit wildlife a fighting chance
Twice a week volunteers tramp across the charred hillsides around Kangaroo Valley to restock as many as 150 sites set up to give the region’s remaining wildlife a much-needed feed.
Kick-starting NSW: Snowy Hydro tops list of projects
The NSW government has set out a list of 24 projects, worth a collective $7.5 billion, it wants to start work on to boost the economy.
Queensland
Transport projects that will jump-start recovery [$]
The RACQ has put forward its list of southeast Queensland road, rail and pedestrian projects it says will help get the state moving again after the pandemic shutdown.
‘No ordinary place’: Controversial Daintree River bridge back on the agenda
A controversial idea to build a bridge over Far North Queensland’s Daintree River is back on the agenda, with the new Douglas Shire Mayor calling for a vote on the issue.
Why we should all be worried about Barrier Reef bleaching [$]
Selina Ward
It’s a destination many of us hope to visit once coronavirus restrictions lift. But with three bleaching events in five years, these are troubled times for the Great Barrier Reef.
South Australia
Rat pack is taking over the city [$]
With the people absent from the city, the rats have moved in and the Adelaide City Council is looking for help to clear them out.
Tasmania
Numbers of critically endangered orange-bellied parrot soar from low 20s to more than 100
In 2013, just three adult females remained in the wild, now a much larger group will leave Tasmania to fly north for the winter
Virtual Sustainability Summit proposed in Greater Regional City Challenge
A project in the Greater Regional City Challenge is aiming to build on what Tasmanians are accomplishing towards a cleaner, greener future.
Bike trail plans shift up a gear [$]
Plans revealed for a new 47km of mountain bike trails to be opened on kunanyi/Mt Wellington.
Northern Territory
NT announces ‘first significant step’ in lifting COVID-19 restrictions
It has been three weeks since the NT’s last COVID-19 diagnosis and this weekend some Northern Territory parks will reopen.
Western Australia
Climate revolt looms for Woodside on gas emissions goals
Australia’s largest oil and gas producer, Woodside, is headed for a clash with investors over demands to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
Rice engineers: Make wastewater drinkable again
Delivering water to city dwellers can become far more efficient, according to Rice University researchers who say it should involve a healthy level of recycled wastewater.
Sustainability
Could bringing Neanderthals back to life save the environment? The idea is not quite science fiction
James Bradley
The climate emergency is unsettling our future, and erasing what we thought was certain about the past
Here are 5 ways to flatten the climate change curve while stuck at home
Sky Croeser
Stay connected and engaged to the climate change cause, and you might find we emerge from the coronavirus crisis with more hope than before.
Researchers make key advance toward production of important biofuel
An international research collaboration has taken an important step toward the commercially viable manufacture of biobutanol, an alcohol whose strong potential as a fuel for gasoline-powered engines could pave the path away from fossil fuels.
Earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing can damage property and endanger lives. Stanford researchers have developed new guidelines for when to slow or halt fracking operations based on local risks.
‘We urgently need a renewed public debate about new breeding technologies’
A recent study by the University of Göttingen shows that new plant breeding technologies – such as genetic engineering and gene editing – can help increase food production whilst being more environmentally friendly.
Glenn Albrecht
At a time of massive environmental change, we need to expand our language to be able to share the emotional upheavals they engender.
Nature Conservation
Silence is golden for whales as lockdown reduces ocean noise
Curtailing of shipping due to coronavirus allows scientists to study effects of quieter oceans on marine wildlife
Disappearance of animal species takes mental, cultural and material toll on humans
The research reveals that hunter-gatherer societies expressed a deep emotional and psychological connection with the animal species they hunted, especially after their disappearance.
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