Post of the Day
We live in a time of climate breakdown with no moral leadership – but we can take action
David Pocock
While we’re stuck inside our homes, we can effect change by putting our money where our mouth is and ending the fossil fuel era
On This Day
Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus – Eastern Christianity
Ecological Observance
Coronavirus Watch
Confirmed cases: 23,773. Deaths: 438
Scientists find the order that COVID-19 symptoms will most likely appear in
By analysing tens of thousands of patients researchers have identified which symptoms appear first if you contract coronavirus compared to the common flu. It’s a finding they hope will lead to earlier detection of the virus around the world.
Climate Change
Climate change warnings as new global temperature record set in California
The hottest air temperature recorded anywhere on the planet in at least a century, and possibly ever, was reached in Death Valley in California’s Mojave Desert where it soared to 54.4 Celsius, alarming scientists that warned of the dangers of a warming planet. The heat wave is expected to continue all week.
Recent global warming trends are inconsistent with very high climate sensitivity
Research published this week in Earth System Dynamics reports that the most sensitive climate models overestimate global warming during the last 50 years.
North American cold-climate forests are already absorbing less carbon, study shows
Trees are one of humans’ biggest allies in the fight against climate change, soaking up around 30% of the carbon we pump into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuel.
The tropics are expanding, and climate change is the primary culprit
Earth’s tropics are expanding poleward and that expansion is driven by human-caused changes to the ocean, according to new research.
National
Is AEMO’s “step change” scenario of 94% renewables really a stretch target?
It may represent the world’s fastest energy transition, but is AEMO’s step change scenario to 94% really such a stretch target?
Aussie “stethoscope for wind turbines” invention could save industry $500m
Australian developed ‘stethoscope for wind turbines’ is looking to substantially cut maintenance and repair costs through early damage detection.
Former Abbott business adviser and wind and solar critic appointed to Snowy board
Tony Shepherd, a former business advisor to Tony Abbott, and a critic of wind and solar who once recommended that the Snowy Hydro scheme be privatised, has been appointed by the Morrison government to serve on the federal government owned Snowy Hydro board.
Threat of more mass fish-kills across Murray-Darling Basin
Another season of mass fish-kills looms across the Murray-Darling Basin with the threat coming from too little rain in the north and potentially too much in the south.
La Nina alert: Our climate drivers are tipping to favour wet conditions
The odds increase to a 70 per cent chance of a La Nina forming in the coming months, and while it doesn’t always bring rain, at the moment the outlook is looking wet for eastern Australia.
Electric vehicle sales triple in Australia despite lack of government support
Report finds while 28 electric models are now on sale, including eight below $65,000, market share is still only 0.6% of new car sales
Penguins are Aussies. Or are they Kiwis?
UC Berkeley and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile researchers sequenced the genomes of all 18 recognized species of penguin to assemble a family tree, showing that the largest of the penguins – king and emperor – split off from all other penguins not long after penguins arose 22 million years ago in Australia and New Zealand. Other penguins diversified after Drake’s Passage opened, revving up the circumpolar current and allowing penguins to spread throughout the southern hemisphere.
We live in a time of climate breakdown with no moral leadership – but we can take action
David Pocock
While we’re stuck inside our homes, we can effect change by putting our money where our mouth is and ending the fossil fuel era
We’ve been electing governments that damage our children’s future
Ross Gittins
Politicians have been tempting us to put our immediate interests ahead of our offspring’s future – and it’s worked a treat.
Get ready to fight, summer is coming
Canberra Times editorial
If, as is often the case, Australia’s weather patterns mimic what has happened in the northern hemisphere over the previous six months, this country will be in for another very challenging summer.
More urban sprawl while jobs cluster: working from home will reshape the nation
James Lennox
Fewer weekly commutes means many will be willing to commute further. The effects on urban growth of working from home pose serious challenges.
Victoria
Police called in as Latrobe Valley wind farm site vandalised
A mesh-metal tower used to measure wind conditions at the proposed Delburn wind farm in Victoria has been toppled in an incident being investigated by police.
Victorian teachers foster budding environmental leaders
Stephanie Young (Primary) and Judith Stewart (Secondary) were recently named the Teacher of the Year at the 2020 ResourceSmart Schools Awards for their commitment, passion and dedication to sustainability initiatives at their schools.
New South Wales
Fundraisers try to save the last patch of unburnt forest in Manyana
The state government will contribute to a fund to buy land slated for a bitterly contested residential development on the last patch of unburnt forest in the South Coast town of Manyana in an effort to have it turned over to NSW National Parks.
ACT
ACT charges ahead on electric car push leaving other governments behind
The national scorecard on the state of electric vehicles has the ACT achieving the best result in Australia, while the federal government has received a “fail”.
Queensland
Queensland warned it will fall short of 50 per cent renewable target
Green energy groups have cast doubt the Queensland government can meet its commitment to provide 50 per cent of the state’s energy from renewable energy sources in 10 years’ time.
South Australia
Olympic Dam makes a loss and loses its boss
Olympic Dam’s turnaround story is not yet complete, with BHP’s mega mine posting another loss for the past financial year as it starts the hunt for a new leader.
$10m Hills solar farm to create 50 new jobs
Dozens of jobs would be created during the construction of a $10 million solar farm proposed the Adelaide Hills.
Tasmania
Tasmanian government announces power bill relief grant for customers in embedded networks
A grant scheme offering power bill relief to small businesses in embedded networks has been criticised by the Labor party for its lack of detail.
Death knell tolls for Coupe TN034G
Local Derwent Valley tourism operators Tassie Bound Adventure Tours were hit with another devastating blow earlier this month when they were advised Sustainable Timbers Tasmania were proposing to close the Styx Road, lock out tourism operators and block access to the World Heritage listed Valley of the Giants for cable logging.
Meet the Cradle Coast’s new natural resource management [$]
The latest addition to the Cradle Coast Authority has more than 30 years of experience in the aquaculture industry, spanning research and development, aquaculture tech and fish farm operations.
Tasmania is Australia’s worst for transport affordability [$]
Tassie has topped the list for the least affordable transport costs in the country. Find out which two local towns had the worst scores in their category nationwide.
John Powell
On 15 August 2020, the Acting General Manager Corporate and Community Relations Ruth Dowty issued a media statement indicating TasWater would proceed with decommissioning the Waratah Reservoir.
Western Australia
WA seeks to spur new carbon farming projects in national parks
WA government calls for proposals for ‘carbon for conservation’ projects, that help protect national parks while storing carbon.
Juukan Gorge traditional owners ‘appalled’ by attempted sale of unauthorised photos
The images, taken after Rio Tinto blasted two ancient rock shelters, are ‘profiteering from our anguish’, a spokesman says
Federal MPs get WA border pass to investigate Rio Tinto’s Juukan Gorge destruction
A group of federal politicians investigating the destruction of ancient Aboriginal rock shelters by mining giant Rio Tinto will travel to a remote part of Western Australia to hold face-to-face hearings with traditional owners.
McGowan dodges heat over gas exemption for Stokes-backed energy company
The Waitsia joint venture is the only project exempt from changes to the gas reservation policy, which will ban the export of onshore gas extracted in WA to overseas or the eastern states.
Mining may leave WA exposed to future-of-work issues [$]
The mining sector’s shift towards more autonomous production risks exacerbating the emerging mismatch between skills available in the workforce and those required by key industry sectors.
Virtual power plants showing the future of solar power and battery storage
Western Australia is considered “ground zero” for the energy revolution, with virtual power plants that link up solar cells and batteries between neighbours set to be trialled in Perth.
Sustainability
Some radioactive Savannah River site waste headed to Texas
The U.S. Department of Energy is planning to send a few gallons of radioactive wastewater from a South Carolina nuclear reservation to Texas, where it will be treated and disposed.
This ‘Cold Tube’ can beat the summer heat without relying on air conditioning
Chilled panels use less energy than conventional A/C and work in open spaces
China cracks down on waste with Clean Plates Campaign, raising questions of potential food crisis
Iris Zhao and Michael Walsh
Chinese President Xi Jinping says “waste is shameful” — but would you let a restaurant weigh you to work out how much food you should eat?
We each get 7 square metres of cropland per day. Too much booze and pizza makes us exceed it
Brad Ridoutt
Reducing our intake of discretionary foods such as cakes, biscuits, pizza and hot chips is the best way we can make our diets more sustainable.
Atlantic ocean plastic more than 10 times previous estimates
UK National Oceanography Centre, which studied waters between Britain and Falklands, says action needed urgently
Eggs harvested from last two living northern white rhinos in bid to prevent extinction
Scientists hope to use the 10 harvested eggs to create viable embryos that will be transferred into surrogates from another rhino subspecies.
Species competition and cooperation influence vulnerability to climate change
Organisms need to work together to adapt to climate change, especially in the presence of competitors, suggests a new study published today in eLife.
Tiny elephant shrew species, missing for 50 years, rediscovered
The speedy Somali sengi had been lost to science until an expedition to Djibouti
Primate habitat endangered by climate change mapped around the globe
Researchers have projected the effects current and estimated future global temperature increases would have on the precise territories that were home to particular primate species, based on projected emissions of CO2.
NASA study maps the roots of global mangrove loss
Using high-resolution data from the joint NASA-U.S. Geological Survey Landsat program, researchers have created the first map of the causes of change in global mangrove habitats between 2000 and 2016 – a valuable tool to aid conservation efforts for these vital coastline defenders.
Free-roaming dogs prevent giant pandas from thriving in the wild
Dogs are still menacing giant pandas. This is in part, because nature reserves in China are often closely connected to human settlements where dogs roam free. Dogs can roam over 10 km in a night and some feral dogs have even set up permanent residence in the reserves.
Warnings by the virus hunters were ignored and now we are paying
Martyn Goddard
Clearing world’s forests drives disease threats.
Maelor Himbury
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