Daily Links Jun 28

Within the mostly horrible 2020, there’s the occasional bit of good news. This land purchase for the national estate is most welcome. NSW Minister Matt Kean could show a few others how a Minister FOR the Environment should act.

Post of the Day

Post-pandemic cities: Urban life in the wake of COVID-19

Peter Fisher and Adrian Ponton

City infrastructure has felt the effects of the pandemic in various facets from public transport to social density.

 

On This Day

Jun 28

Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day)

 

Coronavirus Watch

Confirmed cases:. 7,641 Deaths: 104

 

Which states and territories have mandatory testing of people in hotel quarantine?

Not everyone in hotel quarantine has been tested for coronavirus, but some states are moving to make coronavirus testing mandatory for returning travellers hoping to go back into the wider community.

 

Climate Change

Greta Thunberg hits out at leaders who use her fame to ‘look good’

Climate change campaigner said after UN summit, Angela Merkel queued up for a selfie with her

 

National

Rebecca Huntley on why it’s time to get emotional about climate change

Huntley says the way the COVID-19 pandemic has played out, at least in Australia, has given her unexpected hope.

 

National cabinet must set energy policy: former premier

A former state premier has suggested the new national cabinet should set Australia’s national energy policy going forward.

 

Post-pandemic cities: Urban life in the wake of COVID-19

Peter Fisher and Adrian Ponton

City infrastructure has felt the effects of the pandemic in various facets from public transport to social density.

 

Victoria

The reimagining of Bendigo Creek

Work has begun to rejuvenate the Bendigo Creek by the Dja Dja Wurrung Traditional Owners and Bendigo council.

 

New South Wales

NSW buys outback station for huge new national park

A vast western NSW property, home to wetlands, ancient Indigenous artefacts and the ghostly trails of Burke and Wills, is set to form a huge new national park.

 

Kangaroos lap up beach lifestyle waiting for food handouts

Kangaroos in tourist hotspots along the NSW South Coast are adapting their behaviours, overcoming their fear of people and learning to tolerate them if food is involved.

 

Tasmania

‘Peaceful mountain tarn’ experience undone by spot’s popularity

The made-for-Instagram beauty of a turquoise mountain tarn has again drawn hundreds of people to capture it in photos — but, like so many other natural wonders — there are fears it will be loved to death by social media users in search of the perfect image.

 

Shooters fire back at critics of West Tamar hunters [$]

Critics of hunters who posed for a photo in front of 140 dead pademelons have “come out with an emotional response to a problem that can’t be solved with emotions”, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party Tasmania spokeswoman Rebecca Byfield says.

 

Explainer: Are solar panels worth buying?

There was a significant increase in Tasmanians buying solar panels for their homes during the COVID-19 lockdown, but many homeowners remain uncertain if the costs will stack up.

 

Faulty solar installations uncovered in consumer watchdog audit

Two interstate companies selling solar panels door-to-door are responsible for nearly 100 defective installations in Tasmania, an audit by the state’s consumer watchdog has found.

 

Northern Territory

CLP unveils three-point policy to get tough on Gamba grass

The CLP will get tough on Gamba grass should they take government after August, promising a “three-point plan” that includes creating an eradication group.

 

Sustainability

Traffic density, wind and air stratification influence concentrations of air pollutant NO2

Traffic density is the most important factor for much the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2). However, weather also has an influence, according to a study by TROPOS, which evaluated the influence of weather conditions on nitrogen dioxide concentrations in Saxony 2015 to 2018 on behalf of LfULG. It was shown that wind speed and the height of the lowest air layer are the most important factors that determine how much pollutants can accumulate locally.

 

New process could safeguard water quality, environment and health

Pioneering single process can remove pollutants from waste water

 

Airborne chemicals could become less hazardous, thanks to a missing math formula

Discovery of how to measure surface viscosity of liquids could give machines more precise control over droplets

 

Unorthodox desalination method could transform global water management

Columbia engineers apply their pioneering technique to attain energy-efficient zero-liquid discharge–the last frontier of desalination–of ultrahigh salinity brines

 

Global pollution estimates reveal surprises, opportunity

Researchers’ hybrid dataset includes satellite images, modeling and air samples

 

Too many sheep have ruined the paddock

Frank O’Shea

The world population in 1950 was about 2.6 billion; today, in one human lifetime, it is about 7.6 billion.

 

Nature Conservation

With only two northern white rhinos in the world time is running out to save them

Researchers and conservation organisations have teamed up to save the subspecies using advances in artificial reproduction techniques.

 

The secretive government agency planting ‘cyanide bombs’ across the US

Wildlife Services kills thousands of animals at ranchers and farmers’ behest. But it operates with little oversight – and critics describe it as out of control

 

Mountain meadow restoration can bring birds back

Ecologists evaluated the successes of mountain meadow restorations by analyzing eight years of bird data collected by field biologists. The authors concluded that, when ”pond and plug” and similar techniques were followed, the number of birds of many species increased over time as habitat conditions improved.

 

International team of scientists warns of increasing threats posed by invasive species

A new study describes the proliferation of alien invasive species and the dangers they pose.

Maelor Himbury

6 Florence St Niddrie 3042

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