Post of the Day
Climate scientist and writer Joëlle Gergis speaks about the incalculable loss already suffered due to climate change and why the only way forward is to acknowledge the grief rather than ignore it
On This Day
Epiphany – Eastern Christianity
Climate Change
Ask a climate expert: how can we empower people to drive change?
Three experts prove we can all make a difference to our climate future – we just have to start
Climate change will alter the position of the Earth’s tropical rain belt
Difference by the year 2100 expected to impact global biodiversity, food security
Most Democrats and Republicans think the US government should make climate change a priority
A new survey finds broad support among American voters for doing more on climate change.
Global efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate are lagging as much as efforts to slow emissions
A new UN report highlights how an adaptation gap hurts the most vulnerable countries and urges increased financing and cost-effective, nature-based preparations.
Climate scientist and writer Joëlle Gergis speaks about the incalculable loss already suffered due to climate change and why the only way forward is to acknowledge the grief rather than ignore it
The continuing calamity of global warming
Peter Boyer
With temperatures rising at a fearsome rate, we need our political masters to cede policy power to real authorities.
No slowdown in scary climate prophecy phenomenon [$]
Judith Sloan
Every year, new climate doomsday projections seem to pop up. These gratuitous and unverified claims are not science, no matter what Al Gore and Greta Thunberg would have you believe.
National
Investors place Australian bets on compulsory emissions reductions
Market Advisory Group managing director Raphael Wood says investment in Australian carbon credits is doubling every year, albeit off a low base.
‘Nonsense’: Top fund managers say insurers can withstand climate risks
Two of the country’s most respected fund managers – Allen Gray managing director Simon Mawhinney and IML ‘s Anton Tagliaferro – have dismissed claims insurers are becoming un-investable due to growing risks of natural disasters caused by climate change.
Gas companies rank among largest funders of Australian political parties
Australia’s mining and gas companies named as by far the largest backers of Australia’s political parties, buying “deeply problematic” influence, new analysis shows.
Yes, unfortunately, sometimes it does take a global crisis to force you to wake up to climate change
Meghan Loneragan
This is why I’ve swapped unease for action, and am taking control by being greener in ways I never knew I could.
Home-delivered food has a huge climate cost. So which cuisine is the worst culprit?
Robert Crawford
Over the past few years, Australians have embraced online food delivery services such as UberEats, Deliveroo and Menulog. But home-delivered food comes with a climate cost, and single-use packaging is one of the biggest contributors.
Victoria
Victoria says ‘rogue operators’ are gone from recycling industry as state unveils ‘gamechanger’ plan
More than $8 million is being spent on new glass and plastic recycling facilities in Victoria — and some of it could end up in new roads.
Upgrading Victoria’s infrastructure to recycle more plastic and glass
Through our Recycling Victoria Infrastructure Fund – Materials program, we have partnered with the Australian Government under its Recycling Modernisation Fund to award $8.1 million to six Victorian organisations to build new and upgrade existing recycling infrastructure and facilities across the state. This will allow the state to recycle more plastic and glass so that less ends up in landfill.
Wind farm at centre of vandalism incident applies for planning approval
OSMI Australia submits final project design for proposed Delburn wind farm, seeking approval to build up to 33 turbines in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
New South Wales
Forestry Corp sought to ease post-bushfire logging curbs to save jobs
The state-owned logging company has warned in a letter to the environmental watchdog that hundreds of forestry jobs are at imminent risk because of the lack of available timber following last summer’s bushfires.
‘It doesn’t require a lot of effort’: Sydney council’s food recycling trial extended
When Erin Clay moved into an apartment, the last thing she wanted to do was contribute to landfill by throwing food waste into the rubbish bin.
‘A scar on our waterway’: Anger over $10 million Sydney marina expansion
The millionaire Sutton family is pressing ahead with plans to redevelop the Gladesville Bridge Marina, despite opposition from residents, local councils and a senior NSW government minister.
Queensland
Landscape architects give Brisbane’s CBD a red mark over green space
King George Square in Brisbane’s CBD, empty during the pandemic lockdown.
The industry’s peak body has called for a rethink on how public spaces are managed and developed.
Solar hydrogen plant to power Queensland college, golf course, buses
Energy Estate to develop “campus-scale” renewable hydrogen plant at Hills International College – a Queensland school specialising in vocational training and golf instruction.
South Australia
We’ll pay for solar if we also save, say renters [$]
Landlords are reluctant to bear the cost when it’s the tenants who get the benefits from solar on rental homes. But there’s a way to break the impasse.
Tasmania
Raking the Tamar is not the silver bullet solution it seems [$]
Sediment build-up in the Tamar estuary has been a cause of frustration for residents for years, but was the previous solution of raking the silt really worth it?
TasNetworks to face angry locals over blasting sparks blaze [$]
Broadmarsh residents still upset over last week’s bushfire sparked by blasting despite the high fire danger hope to get answers to questions tonight when TasNetworks face the public.
Western Australia
Kwinana refinery closure to shrink Australian-made fuel market by one-fifth
The closure of BP’s Kwinana oil refinery by the middle of the year will wipe out more than one-fifth of Australia’s fuel-making capabilities.
Wave energy researchers test waters off Albany as renewable sweet spot
University of Western Australia researchers deploy second monitoring device off Albany coast, a region that could be an important showroom for wave energy technology.
Sustainability
Ticking fossil industry methane bomb must be defused: IEA
The oil and gas industry has a massive methane problem, and it’s going to get worse as COVID19 ramps up demand for fossil fuels.
UK oil and gas drillers face emissions ultimatum
Oil and gas producers that fail to commit to reducing their emissions to “net-zero” could face being rejected for North Sea drilling licences.
Low-carbon policies can be ‘balanced’ to benefit small firms and average households
A review of ten types of policy used to reduce carbon suggests that some costs fall on those less able to bear them – but it also shows these policies can form the bedrock of a ‘green recovery’ if specifically designed and used in tandem.
Eliminating microplastics in wastewater directly at the source
A research team from INRS has developed a process for the electrolytic treatment of wastewater that degrades microplastics at the source
McDonalds pledges to stop using PFAS in food packaging by 2025
“We have to get PFAS out of products to get these harmful pollutants out of our drinking water,” say advocates.
Trump’s controversial decisions that Biden plans to scrap during his first hours as president
US president-elect Joe Biden is planning to shake things up pretty quickly after he is sworn in later this week. Here’s what Mr Biden is expected to change through an array of executive orders.
New management approach can help avoid species vulnerability or extinction
New tools will help ecologists predict when species may be at risk
‘My neighbourhood is being destroyed to pacify his supporters’: the race to complete Trump’s wall
In his final months in office, Donald Trump has ramped up construction on his promised physical border between the US and Mexico – devastating wildlife habitats and increasing the migrant death toll
Time running out for Northwest salmon species, report says
A Washington report has found one of the state’s iconic fish is facing a threat to its existence as a result of climate change.
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