Post of the Day
Born in the ice age, humankind now faces the age of fire – and Australia is on the frontline
Tom Griffiths
The bushfires and the plague are symptoms of something momentous unfolding on Earth – an acceleration of our impact on nature
On This Day
All Saints’ Day – Western Christianity
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
How Joe Biden and a global pandemic might overturn climate politics
Many reforms Biden proposes are not centred on climate change but on associated jobs, infrastructure and innovation support needed to confront the crisis.
National
International team tracks record-setting smoke cloud from Australian wildfires
Researchers have found that the smoke cloud pushed into the stratosphere by last winter’s Australian wildfires was three times larger than anything previously recorded.
Born in the ice age, humankind now faces the age of fire – and Australia is on the frontline
Tom Griffiths
The bushfires and the plague are symptoms of something momentous unfolding on Earth – an acceleration of our impact on nature
Bushfire royal commission’s final report a stark warning for the future
Michael Slezak
Many argue the findings indicate Australia must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero, but in the report’s 80 recommendations, none are aimed at stopping global warming
It’s time to pay attention to the future
Canberra Times editorial
“Unprecedented” would have to be the most overused word of 2020, and for good reason. But when it comes to the 2019-2020 bushfires, it’s a word that should no longer be used as an excuse for lack of action, or inadequate response.
Victoria
Private school in legal battle over dumping of toxic soil [$]
Bacchus Marsh Grammar says it stands to lose over a million dollars if plans to dump toxic West Gate Tunnel soil just metres from its campus goes ahead.
New South Wales
Boost for national parks fire resources
Our frontline defence against bushfires, will be boosted thanks to more than $29 million in new funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service as part of the NSW Government’s response to the NSW Bushfire Inquiry.
Raising of Warragamba Dam to destroy over 1,200 cultural sites
Despite Insurance Australia Group (IAG) removing their investment into the NSW Government’s Warragamba Dam Raising Project in Western Sydney, there are still major concerns the project will go ahead.
Peter FitzSimons
I am sorry, Premier Berejiklian, but you cannot have it both ways.
Queensland
Greens could quadruple numbers in Qld parliament
The Greens could quadruple the number of seats it holds in the Queensland parliament after a stellar showing in Saturday’s state election.
South-east Queensland battered by storms
Severe thunderstorms and hail have hit parts of Queensland and emergency warnings were issued for a number of suburbs.
Apple growers invent new drink to save fruit rejected from supermarkets
A Queensland apple-growing family believes it has made a world-first fruit drink that bottles all of the apple, minus the pips and core.
Labor wins Queensland election, as Greens could win up to four seats
Adrian Beaumont
With 48% of enrolled voters counted in Saturday’s Queensland election, the ABC is giving Labor 47 of the 93 seats (a bare majority), the LNP 33, all Others seven and six seats remain in doubt.
South Australia
Massive free-range chicken farm slashes costs with sustainable solar power and composting
This 10-million-bird chicken farm has slashed its power bill and reduced its CO2 emissions by 1,500 tonnes after installing one of agriculture’s most extensive solar and battery systems.
Tasmania
TasWater under the pump as state’s sewage woes continue [$]
Oyster farms at a site in Southern Tasmania have finally reopened after a series of forced closures caused by inadequate sewerage infrastructure.
Don’t develop Lake Malbena — keep my father’s vision alive [$]
John Hall
Bushwalker and lawyer Reg Hall had a simple vision — Tasmania’s pristine wilderness should be preserved. He would not have wanted the Lake Malbena development.
Northern Territory
Climate change as big a health threat as COVID-19: top doctor [$]
Climate change is as big a threat to public health as COVID-19, according to a former NT Chief Health Officer
Western Australia
Alison Xamon: Labor ‘have failed on climate change, they have failed on integrity’
For WA’s Greens there’s more at stake in the WA state election than just who sits on the government benches. They say the climate is still in crisis and the possibility Labor could win control of the upper house would be “devastating for democracy”. The party’s parliamentary leader Alison Xamon tells WAtoday how she plans to fight the 2021 election.
Inquiry into Juukan Gorge destruction to visit site
The committee examining the destruction of cultural heritage at Juukan Gorge will travel to Western Australia next week to speak with Traditional Owners on Country and visit the site of the blast.
Sustainability
Carbon-releasing ‘zombie fires’ in peatlands could be dampened by new findings
New simulations have provided clues on reducing uncontrolled peat fires, which hide underground and are notoriously bad for human health and the environment.
Copolymer helps remove pervasive PFAS toxins from environment
Researchers have demonstrated that they can attract, capture and destroy PFAS – a group of federally regulated substances found in everything from nonstick coatings to shampoo and nicknamed “the forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the natural environment.
‘An incredible scar’: the harsh toll of Trump’s 400-mile wall through national parks
Samuel Gilbert visited four distinct wilderness areas near the new border wall, which is fragmenting protected habitats and threatening endangered species
China’s most important trees are hiding in plain sight
A research collaboration between Chinese and American scientists has synthesized long-term biodiversity data from 12 immense forest study plots spanning 1,500 miles, from China’s far north to its southern tropics. Their results, published today in the journal Ecology, point to maple trees – long appreciated for their autumn foliage and the syrup that graces our tables – as potential foundation species in both China and North America.
Losing ground in biodiversity hotspots worldwide
Agriculture is eating into areas that are important in protecting some of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. Most of this new agricultural land is being used to grow cattle feed.
Earth and all the living organisms on it are constantly changing. But is there any way we can detect if these changes are occurring at an abnormal rate? An international team of researchers including scientists from FAU have developed a method of detecting such developments and tracking how new ecosystems are formed.