Post of the Day
‘If you are pro-growth and pro-jobs, we need to act on climate change now’: Deloitte
The Australian economy will shrink by 6 per cent and shed 880,000 jobs if climate change is not addressed, according to a new report from Deloitte Access Economics.
On This Day
All Souls’ Day – Western Christianity
Climate Change
Hail stones, thunderstorms, typhoons: A wild weekend of weather
What on Mother Earth is going on?
Covid opportunity to tackle climate change, says minister
The coronavirus crisis is an “opportunity” to make changes to tackle the climate crisis, according to Wales’ environment minister.
6 pieces of climate ‘artivism’ that will make you stop and stare
From fleeting murals to huge iron sculptures, here are six artworks that will inspire you to take action on the climate crisis.
An Australian-American view on what the presidential election means for the environment
Tony Fontes
I was born and raised in a small coastal town in California and grew up living and loving all things ocean. I took up diving at an early age, and in 1980 I landed in the Whitsundays to fulfill my dream of diving the Great Barrier Reef.
National
Federal Labor takes heart from Queensland election result but gas still a thorn in its side
ALP sees Annastacia Palaszczuk’s third electoral win as a sign of recovery but as yet has set no short-term emissions target
‘If you are pro-growth and pro-jobs, we need to act on climate change now’: Deloitte
The Australian economy will shrink by 6 per cent and shed 880,000 jobs if climate change is not addressed, according to a new report from Deloitte Access Economics.
Business calls for action over climate change [$]
Reporting season this year made for sombre reading — full of reports and analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the bottom line.
Anna Henderson
Many who lost their homes and livelihoods in last season’s bushfires felt abandoned by authorities. Now it’s time to see whether a more fortified nation can be born out of the ashes
A few reclaimed golf courses won’t stop the Arctic melting, but it’s the sentiment we need
Jeff Sparrow
The desire for accessible green space amid Covid mirrors the growing imperative to change our relationship with nature
Net-zero emissions by 2050: leadership or climate colonialism?
Ian Dunlop, David Spratt
How fast does Australia need to reduce greenhouse emissions to play its fair part in responding to the global climate emergency?
Victoria
How COVID did away with 20 million sheets of paper
Some of Victoria’s biggest government departments have ditched their reputation for paper-pushing.
Explainer: What do these sacred trees tell us about Aboriginal heritage in Australia?
Some trees have been spared, others have not. Who decides what happens to Indigenous sites?
How Victoria’s new cash-for-cans scheme will work [$]
After a long wait, a proposal for Victoria’s container deposit scheme has finally been revealed, but it could see the price of canned drinks increase.
New South Wales
Congestion compounded as more trucks added to Sydney roads
NSW is lagging its 2021 goal for a larger share of containers to be shifted by train to Port Botany, with freight operators saying the state government is derailing its own policy and pushing more trucks onto Sydney roads.
Queensland
Climate change biggest challenge of next term
In response to Labor’s win in the Queensland state election, Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Jason Lyddieth said: “Congratulations to Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor. Climate change is the biggest challenge for the Queensland government in this next term.
Queensland to make up half of Australia’s job losses if climate change not addressed
Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia will feel the effects most acutely, with trade, tourism and mining some of the industries most exposed to the effects of climate change.
Insurance council declares ‘catastrophe’ after worst hail event since 2014
Almost 10,000 south-east Queensland residents were still without power and more than 5000 have lodged insurance claims after severe storms swept the region in Brisbane’s most damaging hail event since 2014.
Surging Greens support a ‘huge concern’ for Labor leader Anthony Albanese [$]
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk became Australia’s first female party leader to claim a third term in government on Saturday night, catapulting her to legend status within the Labor Party.
How Greens pulled off ‘surging’ swing
The progressive party has set its sights on the federal election after establishing a base in Queensland.
Shaking off Green agenda sealed Palaszczuk’s win [$]
Nick Cater
The stench of campus culture hung over Brisbane last week when Green activists dumped a pile of manure outside Parliament House and decorated it with pictures of Jackie Trad.
South Australia
Solar farm deal powers up jobs for hundreds [$]
Construction has been secured for the Cultana Solar Farm and Playford Battery in the Upper Spencer Gulf.
Tasmania
Charities are struggling to cope with post-COVID junk donations
Tasmanians are being urged to only donate to charity shops what they would buy themselves, as the stores are again being inundated with trash.
Catch it in the Catchment is back to teach us to be environmentally aware
Back to clean up our mess once again is Catch it in the Catchment, a community clean up event to help initiate behavioural changes that will make a difference to the environment.
Eighty-one per cent of Northern Midlands businesses do not want their own or others’ information on the state government’s small business hardship grants disclosed publicly, a survey says.
Western Australia
Synergy’s monopoly to end, power prices to fall under WA Liberal pledge
The WA Opposition pledges to introduce competition into the state’s energy market if it wins the coming state election, as leader Liza Harvey fends off speculation her party is doomed to defeat.
Fortescue Metals Group targets heritage site for project [$]
Dozens of cultural heritage sites on Pilbara land held by the same native group still reeling from the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rockshelters could be impacted under a new push by iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group.
It is time for WA to stop dragging back our nation on climate change
Carmen Lawrence
In 2016, the Paris Agreement on climate change established the first global goal to reduce emissions to zero – necessary to avoid the most severe and dangerous impacts of climate change.
Sustainability
Living near green space linked to lower rates of smoking and higher chances of quitting
A study led by the University of Plymouth showed people living in areas with a high proportion of greenspace were 20% less likely to be current smokers than those in less green areas, and up to 12% more likely to have successfully quit smoking.
Streetlights contribute less to nighttime light emissions in cities than expected
When satellites take pictures of Earth at night, how much of the light that they see comes from streetlights? A team of scientists from Germany, the USA, and Ireland have answered this question for the first time using the example of the U.S. city of Tucson, thanks to “smart city” lighting technology that allows dimming. The result: only around 20 percent of the light in the Tucson satellite images comes from streetlights.
Evolution of consumption: A psychological ownership framework
Technological innovations are rapidly changing how we consume goods and services. In many domains, we are trading ownership of private material goods for access to use shared and experiential goods and services. This article outlines how the downstream effects of these consumption changes are channeled through their influence on psychological ownership–the feeling that a thing is MINE.
On the horizon: the end of oil and the beginnings of a low-carbon planet
With demand and share prices dropping, Europe’s fossil fuel producers recognise that peak oil is probably now behind them
Environmentalists urge halt to Mexico’s plan to allow herbicide, GM corn
They say it will open the door to the cultivation of genetically modified corn and allow the use of glyphosate, a controversial herbicide.
Russia rules out cutting fossil fuel production in next few decades
Russia has no plans to rein in its production of fossil fuels in the coming decades despite the global efforts to shift towards low-carbon energy, according to its energy minister.
Nuclear weapons treaty backed by 50 nations to become international law
Dave Sweeney
A treaty designed to ban nuclear weapons has become a major step in the elimination of global nuclear arms
Fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest jump in October
Fires in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest surged in October and the number of blazes is up 25% in the first 10 months of 2020, compared to a year ago, data from government space research agency Inpe shows.
Scotland is failing to protect marine wildlife, says leaked government report
Scotland has failed to meet a 10-year-old target to prevent damage to precious marine wildlife, according to a leaked Scottish Government report.
Protecting nature is vital to escape ‘era of pandemics’
The world is in an “era of pandemics” and unless the destruction of the natural world is halted they will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, kill more people and affect the global economy with more devastating impact than ever before, according to a report from some of the world’s leading scientists.
Olaf Meynecke
The start of November marks the end of the whale season in the Southern Hemisphere. As summer approaches, whales that were breeding along the east and west coasts of Australia, Africa and South America will now swim further south to feed around Antarctica.
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