Post of the Day
Poll: The world is worried about the coronavirus. It’s equally concerned about climate change. – Vox
Nearly 70 percent of people in 14 countries say climate change is as big a threat as the spread of infectious disease.
On This Day
Saint Ursula’s Day – British Virgin Islands
Ecological Observance
National Annual Tree Loving Day – Thailand
Coronavirus Watch
Climate Change
Make climate risk reports mandatory for 480 FTSE firms, say investors
Group urges UK regulators to impose measure on premium-listed companies
Poll: The world is worried about the coronavirus. It’s equally concerned about climate change. – Vox
Nearly 70 percent of people in 14 countries say climate change is as big a threat as the spread of infectious disease.
Alaska’s new climate threat: tsunamis linked to melting permafrost
Scientists are warning of a link between rapid warming and landslides that could threaten towns and tourist attractions
Only class war can stop climate change
Paris Marx
As fires rage in California, the permafrost melts in Siberia, heat waves strike Europe, and hurricanes and typhoons grow ever stronger, there is an urgent need for ambitious climate action. The question is what it will look like, and who will bear the burden of a transition to a more sustainable world.
National
Firefighting foam chemicals are creating problems in our waterways
PFAS chemicals are great at fighting fires, but will never break down in the environment and cleaning them up is posing a whole set of new problems.
Morrison government’s go slow on electric vehicle strategy
While US presidential candidate Joe Biden has indicated he would invest billions of dollars in electric vehicles infrastructure if elected next month, in Australia the wheels are turning slowly on an EV strategy.
Australian cities failed walkability rankings and experts aren’t surprised
No Australian city – no, not even the famously liveable Melbourne – made it close to the top. Instead, cities like Moscow, Hong Kong and Bogota made the list.
Coal plant grant funded before key report finalised or published
A $3.6 million grant for a study into a coal-fired power station project was granted before a key report into the future demand of the energy grid was finalised or published.
$1.2 billion of $2 billion bushfire fund spent: Colvin
The man in charge of Australia’s bushfire recovery efforts says the journey to rebuild will be a long one, amid questions over whether victims of the Black Summer fires had received adequate support.
Gas is fracking hell to protesters [$]
Nick Cater
After failing to stop the Adani mine, the protest industry has been prospecting for fresh seams of outrage to energise donors and loosen credit cards.
Food, tools and medicine: 5 native plants that illuminate deep Aboriginal knowledge
Zena Cumpston
Over countless millennia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have harnessed the tremendous potential of plants, ingeniously using them for medicines, nutrition, to express our culture and to develop innovative technologies.
Victoria
Why glass milk bottles are making a comeback [$]
Victorians are embracing traditional glass milk bottles as an alternative to plastic packaging. So how does it work and what are the benefits?
‘Incredibly exciting’: These marsupials are endangered. Now, there’s new life and hope
Victoria’s tiny population of rare brush-tailed rock wallabies has increased, with surveillance cameras revealing four new joeys in a family group in the Grampians National Park.
New South Wales
Greening city centre enhances experience for community
With four distinct seasons and an abundance of street trees, parks and private gardens, it is not difficult to see why Orange is renowned for its beautiful green spaces.
Council commits to renewable energy by supporting new strategy
Kempsey Shire Council has shown a commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by adopting a Long-term Renewable Energy and Water Strategy at Tuesday’s Council meeting.
Want to help wildlife? Think about your fences
With the onset of spring many native trees are in flower and fruit and this is peak time for wildlife such as flying foxes, sugar gliders and other native flying animals and birds. Unfortunately it’s also a time when some of them get caught in barbed wire fences.
Clampdown on illegal water use triggers doubling of enforcement cases
The state’s main water regulator almost doubled its enforcement action last year as farmers battled drought conditions and the agency lifted its compliance staff numbers fivefold.
‘Worrying sign’: Rollback of protection puts marine park status at risk
The global conservation status of a NSW marine park is at risk after the Berejiklian government weakened its sanctuary status without consultation to allow recreational fishing, documents show.
Activists peachy Kean: Minister contradicts government on gas [$]
Farmers and crossbench MPs have slammed Energy Minister Matt Kean for meeting with clinate strike activists in his Parliament House office.
The car is not our master – let’s reclaim the streets for walk and play
Mike Harris
A proposal to turn up to 800 kilometres of streets over to pedestrian traffic would enliven Sydney.
ACT
‘Energy bills driving people into poverty’: Vinnies
Georgia Logus used to sit on the stool in the shower just to keep warm in winter and cool in summer.
Working from home boosted rooftop solar installation: Clean Energy Regulator
COVID-19 appears to have accelerated rooftop solar installations across Australia, thanks to the shift to working from home, the Clean Energy Regulator says.
Queensland
Government accused of ‘secret deal’ to give away part of Brisbane River
The battle over the Waterfront Brisbane development is heating up, with neighbouring Riparian Plaza demanding answers from the Government.
Why Metro cost could blow out by $100m [$]
Ratepayers could be slugged for millions in order to deliver the Brisbane Metro, with costs expected to balloon further after the state government laid down new conditions for the project days before entering caretaker mode.
South Australia
BHP dumps $3.5 billion expansion at Olympic Dam mine
Mining giant BHP scraps another multibillion-dollar expansion plan at the Olympic Dam mine site, after studies of the ore body revealed underwhelming prospects.
[Uranium:] mineral that never made sense now doesn’t even make dollars
News that BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, will not continue with the long planned multi-billion dollar expansion of its Olympic Dam uranium and copper project shows the clock is ticking on uranium, the Australian Conservation Foundation said today.
Tasmania
DPIPWE defends giving permit for Tassal to trap seals
A high-ranking bureaucrat has defended a decision to issue a permit for salmon giant Tassal to trap up to 20 seals in a pen at the very same time the company was being investigated for alleged breaches of animal welfare laws.
Bob Brown Foundation to continue campaign on Venture Minerals
Two Tarkine protesters were arrested at a Riley Creek mining operation on Tuesday morning, but that has not deterred the campaigners, who have vowed to fight on.
National parks take visitation hit amid border closures [$]
Some of the state’s top tourist destinations aren’t likely to see visitation numbers return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2022, authorities have forecast.
Controversial drilling work begins despite outcry [$]
Initial works have begun at the controversial Northern Regional Prison site at Brushy Rivulet despite outcry from environmentalists, residents and prison opposition groups.
Northern Territory
Famous cattle station once owned by Kerry Packer earmarked for massive solar farm
An iconic cattle station in the Northern Territory, once owned by Kerry Packer, is revealed as the proposed location for the world’s biggest solar farm.
Rio Tinto-owned company ‘squabbling’ over payments for monitoring of Kakadu uranium mine
In the wake of an outcry over the destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan caves in the Pilbara, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto is locked in mediation with the Federal Government over funding for scientific monitoring of a Kakadu uranium mine.
Traditional Owners say Origin has silenced them on fracking in the NT
Native Title holders for the area surrounding Origin Energy’s Beetaloo Exploration Project say they’re “angry and upset” following Origin’s AGM, where they felt their voices weren’t heard.
‘You didn’t represent the traditional owners’: Origin chairman dismisses Beetaloo elder’s fracking protest
Asked why Origin Energy is pushing ahead with exploration fracking in the Beetaloo Basin against the wishes of some Indigenous elders, the gas company’s chair says it only needs to consult the traditional owners of land where work is occurring and “they actually want us to come”.
Territory records third-best mining production despite 11% drop [$]
The Covid-19 pandemic has not stopped the Territory from generating significant mineral production.
Government reveals bold plans to restore Kakadu to its former glory [$]
Eco-lodges, a family holiday park and safari camps, new mountain bike trails, new viewing platforms at the base of the Jim Jim Falls plunge pool and at Cahills Crossing are just part of the vision to breathe new life into tourism in Kakadu National Park.
Sustainability
‘More red ink than black gold’: Oil industry making deals in fight for survival
The once mighty oil and gas industry is flailing, desperately trying to survive a pandemic that has sharply reduced demand for its products.
Severe air pollution drives food delivery consumption and plastic waste
Poor outdoor air is a strong push factor in consumers’ use of food delivery services in China
Removal of synthetic estrogen from water
Synthetic estrogens from pharmaceuticals contaminate rivers and threaten the health of humans and fish. An effective and cost-efficient method for removing synthetic estrogen from bodies of water
Vast majority of Europe’s key habitats in poor or bad condition – report
State of Nature in the EU survey finds only a quarter of species have good conservation status
Hormone-mimicking chemicals harm fish now—and their unexposed offspring later
Fish exposed to endocrine-disrupting compounds pass on health problems to future generations, including deformities, reduced survival, and reproductive problems, according to a new study.
How many plants have we wiped out? Here are 5 extinction stories
Botanists have laid out evidence that dozens of North American trees, herbs, plants and shrubs have gone extinct since European settlers arrived.
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