Post of the Day
Why home energy efficiency upgrades are the perfect economic recovery option
James Conlan
As Cassandra Goldie, CEO of the Australian Council of Social Services commented earlier this month, “If you’re looking for consensus – broad-based support for something – I’ve not seen anything like what we’re seeing in terms of support for investment in energy efficiency”.
On This Day
Day of Arafah – Islam
Tisha B’Av – Judaism
Coronavirus Watch
Confirmed cases: 15,580. Deaths: 176
We mapped jobs, suburbs and coronavirus cases: Melbourne’s second wave has a different pattern
Melanie Davern et al
As cases soar in Melbourne, large clusters of COVID-19 cases have been identified across the northern and western suburbs, raising questions about occupation types and socio-economic differences across the city.
Climate Change
Need for Prediction of Marine Heatwaves
There is need for the development of systems to predict marine heatwaves, say an international research team. The phenomena are a growing threat to marine ecosystems and industries as the climate changes.
UN chief invites young climate activists to meet, give input
The youth advisory group of seven is tasked with providing perspectives and ideas to help scale up climate action.
Rarangaa taai aika ana roko – weave the days to come
Arti Chetty
Our oceans are rising as a direct consequence of global warming and, without radical change, many of our Pacific Islands will lose everything to sea level rise.
It’s time for America to reassert climate leadership. It starts with voting
Michael Mann
Individual efforts are important, but we need collective action and systemic change. And we can only get that at the ballot
National
Gas lobby’s leaked power grab for post Covid subsidies sparks outrage
Environmental groups slam leaked findings of Morrison government’s Covid-19 Commission, which has called for massive gas industry subsidies and weakening of environmental oversight.
Climate change is cause of bushfire disasters and fossil fuel industry must pay, experts say
The Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group is releasing a report with 165 recommendations it hopes the Government will adopt to improve bushfire readiness, response and recovery.
Major reforms proposed in landmark federal environment law review
A landmark review into Australia’s national environment laws has called for major change, with lawyers saying it will require a “significant” program of reform.
Gas prices will need to stay low to compete with alternatives on renewable grid, operator says
A roadmap for an optimal electricity market suggests gas prices would need to remain at $4 to $6 per gigajoule
Estimating bisphenol exposures in the Australian population
Once found in bottles, food containers, cash register receipts and electronics, bisphenol A (BPA) has been phased out of many products because of health concerns and government regulations.
Electric cars have few downsides except price. One company is looking to change that
‘They’re so damn reliable,’ veteran mechanic Craig Salmon says. In the second Green Recovery feature, we look at what’s stopping Australia from embracing EVs
National cabinet deliberations may not be exempt from FoI, legal advice says
Opinion obtained by Australian Conservation Foundation in attempt to clarify disclosure regime amid Covid crisis
Firefighting tactics should change as climate warms, say fire chiefs
Australian bushfire fighters should change tactics to focus on early detection and extinguishment of blazes rather than their containment as climate change has altered the nature of fires on the continent, an expert group has recommended.
Climate research has ‘plummeted’ over last decade
Australia is no longer a leader in climate change science, with research “plummeting” in the past decade, an inquiry has heard.
We fact checked Matt Canavan on fossil fuel subsidies. Here’s what we found
Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan says there’s no subsidisation of Australia’s fossil fuel industries. RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.
Energy Insiders Podcast: Angus Taylor tries to bury energy transition under cloak of secrecy
Giles Parkinson & David Leitch29 July 2020 4 Comments
Australia’s energy transition is accelerating, but energy minister Angus Taylor is doing his best to try and bury the details and the key decisions.
Morrison Government ignores environmental review recommendations
Sue Arnold
An environmental review proposing legislation reforms is being ignored by the Prime Minister and his government.
Why home energy efficiency upgrades are the perfect economic recovery option
James Conlan
As Cassandra Goldie, CEO of the Australian Council of Social Services commented earlier this month, “If you’re looking for consensus – broad-based support for something – I’ve not seen anything like what we’re seeing in terms of support for investment in energy efficiency”.
Ian Chubb
During the pandemic, we saw ideological nonsense and prejudice mostly put aside – and we saw what we could accomplish when it was
The verdict from bushfire experts: there’s no sidestepping climate
Greg Mullins
A summit was convened by 33 retired fire and emergency chiefs. We have an ambitious plan to confront a monstrous threat.
Giovanni Di Virgilio et al
New research has found the window of opportunity for hazard reduction burns won’t actually get smaller, but instead change seasons.
Victoria
Council backs controversial beach resort, sends proposal to minister
A controversial luxury resort planned for a pristine beach in south-west Victoria has passed a crucial hurdle by gaining local council support, but the developer now needs to convince the state government of the project’s benefits.
‘Heart’s desire’: Family of comedian John Clarke make conservation gift
Miki Perkins
The family of much-loved satirist and bird lover John Clarke has donated an eight-hectare Phillip Island property to a conservation group.
New South Wales
Fears proposed road upgrade will seal over Indigenous heritage
Significant Aboriginal sites uncovered by a new archaeological research program near Crescent Head, renews calls against the sealing of a nearby road.
ACT
Narrabundah’s peafowl get their own crossing signs after 4-year-old’s initiative
Four-year-old Patrick Peascod had plenty of time getting to know the streets of his suburb when his preschool was closed this year.
Queensland
Royalty changes fire up the mining sector, shape as key election issue
Global energy giant Shell has told a parliamentary committee that the Queensland Government was dramatically changing its royalties regime after it had been given an agreement before it committed $20 billion on its LNG project.
Explorers get $4m to look for next generation of ‘buried treasure’
The State Government has handed 24 exploration companies almost $4 million to start the hunt for new resources projects.
Union heaps further New Acland coalmine pressure on Annastacia Palaszczuk
The Australian Workers Union has called on Queensland’s Labor government to green-light the New Acland coalmine expansion, stepping up pressure from the Labor Right for the project to proceed.
South Australia
Feral deer ‘harvesting, planting and fertilising’ olives in South Australia
Feral deer in the Adelaide Hills are not only gorging themselves on olives, they’re “cultivating” them, according to conservationists — and that’s creating a threat to native vegetation as well as a fire risk.
Barngarla continue fight against plan to dump nuclear waste on Country
Barngarla mob say they were not properly consulted by federal government for plans to store radioactive waste on Country at Kimba in SA, and that their concerns continue to be ignored.
Tasmania
Aspire: A waste platform to play matchmaker for Northern Tasmanian businesses
Northern Tasmanian businesses will be the first in the state to test out what has been described as the “Tinder for waste” in a bid to divert tonnes of waste from landfill in the region.
AEMO confirms Marinus Link in 20-year national energy plan [$]
Tasmania’s game-changing new energy link to the mainland is set to go ahead.
Lake Malbena decision to be appealed
The most recent decision on the permit granted for the Halls Island tourism development is to be appealed to the full bench of the Supreme Court.
Opinion split on major projects legislation [$]
Opinion on proposed major projects legislation in Tasmania is split among the 12 candidates for the Legislative Council divisions of Huon and Rosevears, whose elections will be held this weekend.
Could Tasmania have a wild deer meat market? [$]
Is there an appetite in the Tasmanian restaurant and grocery market for local wild deer food products? That is what the government is trying to determine.
Northern Territory
Feral livestock driving decline in native mammal numbers across the Northern Territory
Research has found feral cattle, horses, buffaloes and donkeys are destroying the habitats of smaller mammal species
$22bn NT solar farm wins federal govt major project status [$]
The $22 billion Sun Cable solar plan to power the NT and Singapore has been given a huge boost after the federal government helped fast-track it by giving it major project status
Western Australia
Rio Tinto chief says he ‘fully respects’ Indigenous academic after her rebuke of Juukan Gorge debacle
Jean-Sebastien Jacques confirms he will give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of the heritage site on Friday
Rio boss says Indigenous veto on mine projects a valid question
Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques says it is valid to ask whether laws should give traditional owners veto power over mine projects on their ancestral lands in the wake of the miner’s destruction of ancient Aboriginal rock shelters in Western Australia.
Sustainability
How the fossil fuel industry drives climate change and police brutality
Police violence and pollution are more connected than you might realize — and they have financial ties too. A new investigation documents how the fossil fuel industry finances police groups in major U.S. cities while polluting majority Black and brown communities.
Record 212 land and environment activists killed last year
Global Witness campaigners warn of risk of further killings during Covid-19 lockdowns
2019 coal production hit lowest level since 1978
Last year, coal production fell to the lowest level since 1978, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Tuesday.
As efforts grow around the U.S. to recognize and eradicate systemic racism, people of color share insights on how to create a more diverse environmental workforce.
My talk with Jane Goodall: vegetarianism, animal welfare and the power of children’s advocacy
Clive Phillips
Jane Goodall is a pioneering primatologist who redefined what it means to be human. She spoke to Clive Phillips, a professor of animal welfare.
Germany′s forests decimated by insects, drought
Rising temperatures and droughts have made trees in Germany more vulnerable to attacks by bark beetles and other insects. That’s led to a nearly sixfold jump in trees destroyed by pests over the past two years.
Who looks after city trees? Why we need them more than ever]
As city populations soar, it might seem like there isn’t much room for trees. But ecologists say these climatic powerhouses are an often overlooked solution to the health and environmental issues greater density brings.
Planet’s oldest-known organisms ‘woken up’ after millions of years
Underneath the blue waters of the South Pacific, researchers make a startling discovery which proves “there is no limit to life” on Earth.
New fabrication method brings single-crystal perovskite devices closer to viability
Nanoengineers have developed a new method to fabricate perovskites as single-crystal thin films, which are more efficient for use in solar cells and optical devices than the current state-of-the-art polycrystalline forms of the material. Their fabrication method — which uses standard semiconductor fabrication processes — results in flexible single-crystal perovskite films with controlled area, thickness, and composition.
Newer PFAS contaminant detected for first time in Arctic seawater
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), found in many household products and food packages, have raised concerns because of their persistence and possible toxicity to people and wildlife. Because the compounds don’t break down naturally, they have become environmental contaminants. Now, researchers have studied the transport of 29 PFAS into and out of the Arctic Ocean, detecting a newer compound for the first time in Arctic seawater.
Transforming e-waste into a strong, protective coating for metal
A typical recycling process converts large quantities of items made of a single material into more of the same. However, this approach isn’t feasible for old electronic devices, or ”e-waste,” because they contain small amounts of many different materials that cannot be readily separated. Now researchers report a selective, small-scale microrecycling strategy, which they use to convert old printed circuit boards and monitor components into a new type of strong metal coating.
Brazilian Amazon drained of millions of wild animals by criminal networks: Report
Well organized global crime networks are pulling millions of tropical birds, fish, turtles and mammals out of the Amazon — a lucrative trade that is destroying ecosystems and putting public health at risk.
New fabric could help keep you cool in the summer, even without A/C
Air conditioning and other space cooling methods account for about 10% of all electricity consumption in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Now, researchers have developed a material that cools the wearer without using any electricity.
Loss of bees causes shortage of key food crops, study finds
Apple and cherry production hampered by lack of wild bees
Bees affected by loss of habitat, pesticides and climate crisis
First Dog on the Moon
We continue to trash the oceans and it is not going to end well
Maelor Himbury
6 Florence St Niddrie 3042
0393741902
0432406862
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