Post of the Day
What Joe Biden’s climate plan really signals
Bill McKibben
Élites are finally starting to coalesce around the need for change.
On This Day
The First Sermon of Lord Buddha – Bhutan
Coronavirus Watch
Confirmed cases: 13,302. Deaths: 133
Facial hair, disinfectant, filters: Busting some common mask-wearing myths
It’s now mandatory to wear a mask or face covering in parts of Victoria. We asked the experts about some common mask myths — here’s what they said.
Here’s how you know whether you’re coronavirus asymptomatic or presymptomatic
We’ve heard that asymptomatic and presymptomatic people can be at risk of spreading coronavirus without knowing it — but what’s the difference between the two?
Climate Change
Scientists want to fight climate change with rocks
Rocks, particularly the types created by volcanic activity, play a critical role in keeping Earth’s long-term climate stable and cycling carbon dioxide between land, oceans, and the atmosphere. In fact, they are a big part of why the Earth’s climate has remained so stable over geological time.
Fed gets new carbon warning: ‘Will never be a vaccine for climate’
Wall Street banks make progress on climate change finance, but a group of big investors representing $1 trillion warn Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell of systemic market risks.
Meet the young women using lockdown to tackle climate change
Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, inspiring young women from across the UK have been using lockdown to fight climate change from home.
Could Biden be the climate-change president?
Spencer Bokat-Lindell
His new plan bills itself as a “revolution,” going well beyond anything the Obama administration attempted. Is it enough?
What Joe Biden’s climate plan really signals
Bill McKibben
Élites are finally starting to coalesce around the need for change.
National
Bushfires royal commission granted another two months to file report
The natural disasters royal commission has been given an extra two months to finish its work because of the impact of coronavirus restrictions.
Australia’s water market is excluding Indigenous people, study finds
Aboriginal people hold less than 1% of all water licences, a form of dispossession that needs urgent redress, researchers say
Environmental laws and Victorian Covid-19 second wave set to dominate national cabinet
Meeting to consider federal bid to quickly overhaul conservation act and plans to contain localised coronavirus outbreaks
The Australia Institute
Why a “gas fired recovery” would increase emissions and energy costs and squander our recovery spending
Megan C Evans and Peter Burnett
The proposed changes to be introduced to Parliament in August may ultimately damage the natural places they’re designed to protect.
Victoria
North East Link court case all but over as councils reach settlement
A Supreme Court case against the Andrews government over the $16 billion North East Link is all but over, after three of the four councils leading the action pulled out after accepting taxpayer-funded sweeteners.
New South Wales
‘Rejected’: Critics unload on proposed Santos gas project
The plan, under which the energy company would drill 850 wellheads in the Pilliga region near Narrabri, is among the most contentious proposals in NSW history.
Alleged asbestos conamination coverup on Wamberal Beach
Central Coast Council allegedly covering over building waste including asbestos with sand in 2017 outside a house on Ocean View Drive in Wamberal.
The Barwon-Darling River is falling rapidly and some sections in Wilcannia are already completely dry. Experts are warning the river will be in a “bad state” this summer unless it rains soon.
Australia is sponsoring a failing gas industry
Bruce Robertson
The controversial Narrabri gas project enters the final stages of approval with more than 400 people presenting to the Independent Planning Commission, which will determine its fate. It is the most hotly contested resource project in NSW’s history. Of more than 23,000 submissions, 98 per cent object.
Berejiklian Government’s destructive path protected by the law
Sue Arnold
Legal challenges against the continuing elimination of koalas and destruction of Indigenous land by the Berejiklian Government are prohibited.
Queensland
Shine Energy invited to apply for Collinsville power station grant two days after securing it
Federal government gave proponent of coal-fired power plant a $4m grant despite having no energy sector experience
Welcome to Camp Adani: Miner builds ‘temporary towns’ for 1600 workers
Adani is building small termporary towns in the middle of central Queensland with enough beds for 1600 workers from its rail and mine development in the Galilee Basin.
Field of dreams: Queensland mine will produce oil, then green energy, all in one spot
The outback town of Julia Creek could become a significant oil field under a plan that also includes mining vanadium for use in batteries.
In a world first, Australian university builds own solar farm to offset 100% of its electricity use
Jake Whitehead et al
Households shouldn’t have to do all the heavy lifting in the renewables transition. A new solar farm shows organisations and businesses how it’s done.
South Australia
Australia’s largest free cat desexing program comes to Adelaide [$]
Australia’s largest free cat desexing program is coming to Adelaide, and it is hoped it will make a huge impact on “uncontrolled reproduction”.
Sustainability
Plastic waste entering oceans expected to triple in 20 years
Current and planned waste-cutting efforts will reduce volume only by about 7%, say researchers
The future of hot water is heat pumps
RMI’s recent report shows that heat pump water heaters are often cheaper to install than gas systems in new residential buildings, and can serve as a keystone technology in a clean energy transition.
Forest restoration, not just halting deforestation, vital to Amazon
Brazil is well positioned to benefit from forest restoration and agroforestry, but policies in states like Maranhão fail to address that potential and could contribute to further deforestation.
A Brazilian forest community shows certified timber really does work
In Pará, the Brazilian state with the highest deforestation rate, communities inside Tapajós National Forest have for the past 15 years run one of the most successful native timber management projects.
Environmental defenders voice concerns as COVID-19 crisis deepens
Environmental defenders who protect some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems have had to adapt to the pandemic’s ripple effects on their communities and women, in particular.
Maelor Himbury
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