Daily Links Sep 19

Just as well that Energy Minister Angus Taylor says  ‘Fantastic. Great move. Well done Angus’ of the gas-led recovery, because theren’t many others who agree. 

Post of the Day 

Evaluating scenarios toward zero plastic pollution 

It is not clear what strategies will be most effective in mitigating harm from the global problem of plastic pollution. Borrelle et al. and Lau et al. discuss possible solutions and their impacts. 

 

On This Day 

September 19 

 

Ecological Observance 

National Cleanup Day – USA 

 

Coronavirus Watch 

Today’s Update 

 

PM’s plan to have more Australians come home slowed by National Cabinet 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison gives some ground to states in his push to allow more Australians to come home from overseas, just a day after saying the plans were locked in. 

 

Climate Change 

Young Australians call for COVID-19 recovery plan with climate jobs 

Young Australians protest outside Government offices demanding the Morrison Government implement a Climate Jobs Guarantee as part of the COVID-19 recovery. 

 

Climate change: Earthquake ‘hack’ reveals scale of ocean warming 

Scientists have found a clever new way of measuring ocean warming, using sound waves from undersea earthquakes. 

 

Germany′s new climate charter: What will it change? 

Germany has announced a new “climate charter” to help businesses achieve renewable energy goals. 

 

Why Republicans still don’t care about climate change 

Extreme-weather events represent an irresistible force for action. But an immovable object is in the way. 

 

What Trump’s environmental rollbacks mean for global warming 

A handful of major climate rules reversed or weakened under Mr. Trump will have a big effect on future emissions. 

 

National 

US fire expert says Australia is uniquely placed to navigate global fire age 

Fire historian and author Stephen Payne says Australia’s deadly summer of bushfires is part of a global fire age that he calls the Pyrocene. 

 

‘Of one thing we can be certain, the fires will return’: Greg Mullins’ global warning 

Australia’s unprecedented summer of hell was barely over when California was ablaze. As experts warn of worse to come, one of our most outspoken former fire commissioners reflects on a new age of overlapping catastrophes. 

 

Charity partnership set to preserve Aussie wildlife 

Parents will be able to buy Australian animal toys for their kids while also helping safeguard local wilderness areas and wildlife for future generations, thanks to a new charity partnership. 

 

‘Well done, Angus’: A truly excellent Government rescue for a crisis that isn’t happening 

Laura Tingle 

The Government’s announcement this week of a “gas-fired recovery” looks more like a gas-fired distraction 

 

Morrison says you’re either for gas or against it. Of course it’s not as simple as that 

Katharine Murphy 

Shifting from coal to gas would reduce emissions, but shifting from coal to renewables would reduce them much faster 

 

Cowardice: what Morrison and Albanese have in common on climate 

Sean Kelly  

The climate emergency won’t wait for half-measures. Our political leaders let us down this week. 

 

Angus Taylor’s gas plan deepens policy uncertainty 

SMH editorial 

Instead of a long-term climate and energy policy, the Energy Minister is scoring political points. 

 

It’s a small church that sings the gas gospel 

Michelle Grattan 

If Labor were threatening to build a power station, the Liberals would likely be screaming “socialists”. 

 

Now we’re cooking (ourselves) with gas 

Ebony Bennett 

Just months after Australia endured its worst climate-fuelled bushfire season on record, the Morrison government is about to starve renewable energy of investment while showering the gas industry with taxpayer-funded subsidies. Not only is it a poor investment decision, it’s a strategy that will drive up electricity costs and emissions without many jobs to show for it. 

 

Coalition steps on the gas ahead of a Covid-recovery budget [$] 

Paul Kelly 

The Morrison government has shifted the politics and policy of energy — with an interventionist stance that elevates gas to the heart of its strategy and moves the debate away from coal — along with signs the chasm between Coalition and Labor over emissions reduction targets will diminish. 

 

Great gas politics, and terrible energy policy [$] 

AFR View 

Scott Morrison has called the power companies’ bluff with a power station of his own. But there was no bluffing during 10 years of energy policy chaos. 

 

What will become of our cities? [$] 

Nikki Gemmell 

I walk the ghost streets dismayed in a lament for the lost city. 

 

Too much regulation could limit innovation in rooftop solar and battery storage 

James Sturch 

Rather than putting our focus on regulation which looks at safety, reliability and market mechanisms, we need to turn our attention towards innovation as our solution. 

 

Morrison thinks gas is the new coal, and it’s just as big a climate threat 

Ketan Joshi 

The main threat to climate action comes from people who say they’re trying to help, when really, they’re enriching themselves by harming us. 

 

Angus Taylor has been spruiking carbon capture technology. Here’s what he’s not saying 

Nick Kilvert 

Federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor has been speaking about carbon capture and storage technology this week as part of the Federal Government’s push to overhaul clean energy investment in Australia. 

 

David Pope’s view: Signing off on the marketing 

 

John Kudelka: Barbecue starter 

 

Victoria 

Traditional Owners acknowledged in Malmsbury 

New cultural signage has been installed at Malmsbury Common Reserve in conjunction with Djandak, the business enterprise of the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation. 

 

Up creek, can paddle: Rescued river creatures back home after blazes 

Hundreds of endangered aquatic animals that were taken from ash-clogged East Gippsland rivers to ‘intensive care’ in Melbourne have been returned. 

 

Victorian bushfire plan out of date: Inquiry [$] 

Victoria’s bushfire response plan is out of date and the number of volunteer firefighters is declining, according to an inquiry into the state’s horror fire season. 

 

“First of its kind” solar panel upcycling plant on cards after federal grant win 

Melbourne-based company wins grant to set up first of its kind solar panel “upcycling plant,” to transform solar panel waste into value-added materials. 

 

New South Wales 

Only 30 per cent of planned hazard reduction burns completed 

The NSW Rural Fire Service says poor conditions are forcing it to postpone hazard reduction burns and it is worried about catching up in time for summer. 

 

Saving our South Coast shorebirds 

The South Coast shorebird recovery program is designed to help threatened beach-nesting birds during their summer nesting period. 

 

Hundreds of millions lost on public transport during COVID-19 crisis 

Hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from public transport fares has been shaved from the NSW government budget since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, sparking warnings the impact will be felt for years. 

 

Union boss and environmentalist bury the hatchet in the Hunter 

Burnt by an election loss some blame on Labor’s efforts to win over city voters on environment issues one union is taking environmentalism right into the heart of coal country. 

 

Whitehaven ties executive pay to environment [$] 

Whitehaven Coal boss Paul Flynn concedes his company fell short on environmental performance last year, and the link to his pay has been strengthened. 

 

Three little PV pigs: UNSW PhD candidate’s winning tale of solar cell efficiency 

University of NSW delivers reminder of its world-leading role in solar research and development – using three pigs, three home solar systems, and just 180 seconds. 

 

Dear John, we could be friends but you’ll have to make some changes 

Elizabeth Farrelly  

Even before KoalaGate, Deputy Premier John Barilaro hasn’t been doing rural communities or the planet any favours. 

 

ACT 

While shires to our east are already on bushfire alert, the ACT will start its season late 

flammability has prompted the Emergency Services Agency to hold back its start to the bushfire season until November 1, a month later than usual. 

 

It’s not quite a light rail election, but transport is back on the agenda 

Daniella White 

Light rail has proven popular enough with Canberrans that questioning the destination of stage two has become political poison. 

 

Namadgi: from black to technicolor [$] 

Tim the Yowie Man 

After vast swathes of Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve went up in smoke in the January 2003 firestorm, it took me almost a decade to return to those fire-affected areas. 

 

Queensland 

Waste company Bio-Recycle fined $300k for illegally dumping 326k tonnes of waste at landfill site 

Brisbane waste company Bio-Recycle is fined more than $300,000 for illegally dumping more than 326,000 tonnes of extra waste at its Ipswich landfill site without a permit for financial gain. 

 

Adani declares victory over activists and says it has protected traditional heritage site 

Adani chief executive David Boshoff says the company has “proved our opponents wrong” by constructing the Carmichael mine and employing 1,500 people. 

 

Australia cannot wait for climate decision to save Reef: foundation 

Practical steps to regrow coral and save threatened ecosystems must take place while the world decides how to reduce warming oceans, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation argues. 

 

Elders slams Straddie deal: ‘Our right to have a say’ [$] 

A North Stradbroke Island elder, who was one of six signatories to the area’s 2011 Native Title claim, says traditional owners have not been consulted about land deals that locals fear may change the island forever. 

 

UniSuper blocks development of Glencore coal mine [$] 

UniSuper has formally told fellow investors in Glencore’s Valeria thermal coal mine in Queensland that it wants the project shut down, saying the economics no longer stack up. 

 

Labor haunted by mining mistakes of past [$] 

Steven Wardill 

The future of coal mining in Queensland is certain to be an issue at next month’s election, especially for Labor, who hasn’t been able to shake the anti-resources reputation it earned during Adani’s long fight to win approval. 

 

South Australia 

Second SA council could join push for statewide cat rego [$] 

First Burnside Council called for statewide cat registration, curfews and offences for wandering cats. Now a Mitcham councillor wants his council to join the push. 

 

SA best-placed for carbon capture says Santos [$] 

Santos’s carbon capture and storage plans are already in train and set SA in good stead with $50 million in federal funding in play. 

 

Tasmania 

Wilderness Defence Fund launched to help fund Lake Malbena legal case 

The Wilderness Society Tasmania has launched a Wilderness Defence Fund to keep Tasmania’s World Heritage and national parks accessible for the many, not just the few. 

 

Bob Brown report questions viability of Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation plan 

Report commissioned by Bob Brown Foundation questions viability of Marinus Link and Battery of Nation project, saying battery storage may be cheaper and smarter plan. 

 

Green hydrogen means jobs, exports and a future for our kids [$] 

Simon Bevilacqua 

Tasmania could be at the vanguard of a raft of 21st century industries, with jobs galore, while tackling global warming and loosening the grip of political paralysis that’s choked this nation’s climate policy for two decades. 

 

Cooking the parrot 

John Hawkins 

In 2003 El Grande, possibly the largest living object on the planet, was cooked from the inside during a regeneration burn by Forestry Tasmania now renamed Sustainable Timber Tasmania. 

 

Western Australia 

Premier who approved destruction of Indigenous sites calls for royal commission into Juukan Gorge blast 

Colin Barnett says he’s “not trying to dodge blame” over the destruction of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site, but says “Canberra politicians” shouldn’t be the ones investigating it. 

 

Speeding up transition to a low carbon future 

The City of Fremantle is hosting a seminar next week to explore how Fremantle and Western Australia can transition more quickly to a low carbon economy. 

 

Mass job losses as Chevron sacks 230 workers amid Gorgon plant safety concerns 

Chevron Australia has sacked 230 workers, sparking fears for staff at the $US54 billion ($73.7 billion) Gorgon plant in the Pilbara. 

 

Wyatt backs mining giants’ view of moratorium on disturbing cultural heritage 

WA Indigenous Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt says a moratorium on mining activities that could destroy cultural heritage would not “resolve” the issues around protection of significant sites. 

 

The destruction of the Juukan Gorge caves [$] 

Marcia Langton 

“Here is a fact about life in Australia in 2020: the material and geographical manifestations of Aboriginal cultures developed over more than 65,000 years are being rapidly destroyed by mining companies, urban settlement, road and infrastructure development, and vandalism. This destruction is authorised by state and federal governments.” 

 

Sustainability 

How do you stop a billion roaches escaping a Chinese breeding farm? A moat filled with hungry fish 

It sounds like the stuff of nightmares: a giant, dark, steamy hangar filled with a billion cockroaches feeding off food scraps. But these roaches are not just household pests, they could be the key to more sustainable farming and reducing landfill. 

 

Evaluating scenarios toward zero plastic pollution 

It is not clear what strategies will be most effective in mitigating harm from the global problem of plastic pollution. Borrelle et al. and Lau et al. discuss possible solutions and their impacts. 

 

Huge piles of Saudi cash and poached talent are behind the newest and most impressive luxury electric car start-up 

While Tesla appears to have captured the public’s imagination with its electric cars and “Gigafactories”, a new player in the market recently released its first car – and it appears to have all the hallmarks of a genuine future contender. 

 

Study: Air pollution increases risk of stroke in people with AFib 

People with the heart disorder, atrial fibrillation, who are exposed to greater levels of air pollution have a 1.2-fold higher risk of stroke than their peers who live with less pollution. 

 

Building a library of American environmental classics (Part Two) 

Last week, we gave you a curricular list of some of the most important American environmental books of the late 20th Century. 

 

Nature Conservation 

Brazil President says his government should be congratulated for protecting the environment 

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has said that Brazil ‘should be congratulated for the way it preserves its environment.’ The comments come as major fires continue to rage in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest and Pantanal wetlands. Amazon deforestation has also surged 34.5 per cent in the 12 months through July, compared to the same period a year ago, according to data from government space research agency Inpe. 

 

What frogs can teach us about the state of the world 

By tracking amphibian songs, citizen scientists are helping us understand what’s happening to our environment. 

Maelor Himbury

6 Florence St Niddrie 3042

0393741902

0432406862

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