Daily Links Feb 28

Post of the Day

Around the world, regions with Mediterranean climates are drying out, and making bushfires worse

Scientists believe drought and fires hitting south-western Australia are connected to drought and fires hitting Mediterranean climates around the world.

On This Day

February 28

Climate Change

Around the world, regions with Mediterranean climates are drying out, and making bushfires worse

Scientists believe drought and fires hitting south-western Australia are connected to drought and fires hitting Mediterranean climates around the world.

Changes in Atlantic currents may have dire climate implications for the next century

Andrew Meijers

Without modifying human behaviour we run the risk of violent weather swings and a drastic effect on crops and ocean life

Victoria

Victoria’s single-use plastic ban could drive up costs of takeaway food, industry warns

Victoria will ban certain single-use plastics — such as straws, cutlery, plates and cotton buds — by 2023 in a bid to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, the state government announces.

Council to advocate for cessation of logging at Snob Creek

At its Scheduled Meeting of Council on Wednesday 24 February, Murrindindi Shire Council resolved to request VicForests to immediately cease logging in several coupes at Snobs Creek due to its concerns about the adverse impacts of the logging on the environment and on tourism visitation to the area.

Last of the large trees: a day at the Errinundra forest blockade

Many people are dedicated to protecting the forests of Victoria, spending days and nights sleeping under tarps and banners. Photographer Rachel Mounsey asks them why they keep returning

Bike lane backlash needs to back-pedal

Jon Faine

Is there any change to our city that everyone agrees about? The Andrews state Labor government is fast-tracking 100 kilometres of pop-up bicycle lanes on major arterial roads, starting with Heidelberg Road in Northcote and through the inner north. Despite this being a no-brainer of a great idea, some people have gone troppo.

New South Wales

Eastern suburbs council darkens the night sky to reduce light pollution

Waverley Council is considering ways to cut light pollution in Sydney’s eastern suburbs without affecting public safety.

‘Insane’: Proposed gold mine to take coal wastewater, dam headwaters

The straw for a new project planned for NSW’s Central West would suck in coal wastewater 90 kilometres away from the foothills of the Blue Mountains.

Sussex Inlet, NSW mining application withdrawn due to error in application

A controversial proposal to mine for sand on a stretch of picturesque NSW coastline has been withdrawn, for now, due to an unexpected issue.

ACT

ACT environment minister fears new standards will lock in weak wildlife protections

The ACT government has “significant concerns” about proposed new national environment standards, concerned the model put forward would lock-in the weak protections for Australia’s threatened wildlife.

Woden bus, light rail interchange plans submitted as development application [$]

The ACT government has submitted a development application for a new public transport interchange on Callam Street, Woden.

Burrinjuck issues red alert as blue-green algae settles in at popular water-skiing spot [$]

The usually bustling caravan park at Burrinjuck was quiet this week but for a few fishermen and resident workers, including Wendy Brind and Rebecca Day-Tomlinson behind the check-in desk.

‘Agrifood’ hub aims to provide jobs, boost economy

A 105-hectare property on the outskirts of Canberra is set to become home to a self-sustaining Murray cod fishery and an organic cider mill, among other agrifood businesses, as part of an innovative “agrihub”.

Answers only comfort to Namadgi fire unease

Canberra Times editorial

That the first questions Emergency Services Agency boss Georgeina Whelan faced at last week’s ACT budget estimates hearings related to an incident which occurred more than 12 months ago – and one which she has been quizzed on repeatedly in the period since – was as telling as it was predictable.

Tasmania

Port of Burnie upgrade a national priority: Infrastructure Australia

The much-vaunted upgrade to the Port of Burnie has been identified as a priority project by Infrastructure Australia, leading state Labor to lament the fact that the state government “has not spent a cent” on it.

‘It would be a tragedy if Launceston is lost to river tourists’

Peter Emms

MY wife and I live aboard our 12 metre catamaran, which we built in Port Sorell. About 12 months ago, we were in the Mersey River when COVID hit, and travel restrictions were imposed.

Tasmania’s Container Deposit Scheme is a ‘missed opportunity’

Bec Reedman

The Tasmanian government’s preferred option for a Container Deposit Scheme is a missed opportunity for community groups and the not-for-profit sector. It is a disappointing decision that effectively locks out charities from benefiting from the scheme, in preference for a “for profit” system.

Northern Territory

NT residents concerned over cotton farms

Northern Territorians are worried about the potential damage large-scale cotton operations could do to Top End rivers, a survey has found.

No permit, no fishing: NLC expected to announce permits to fish parts of NT coastline [$]

Large parts of the NT coastline are expected to become off-limits to recreational and commercial fishers unless they obtain a permit, under an announcement to be made by the Northern Land Council

NLC needs to be careful on fishing permits plan [$]

NT News editorial

Any announcements the Northern Land Council make about recreational and commercial fishing permits need to be made wisely and with consideration

If you can’t see treasures of Kakadu, open your eyes wider [$]

Denise Cahill

What a sad day it is when someone uses the words “Kakadu is done” to describe the incredible World Heritage site on our doorstep

Western Australia

‘It’s a lemon’: Zak Kirkup’s key energy election policy blasted by Federal counterpart

Federal West Australian Liberal backbencher Andrew Hastie launches a scathing attack on a key Opposition policy just weeks out from the state election.

Game-changer for renewables in the West, as the Liberals set a target for emissions

The WA Liberal Party’s startling about-turn on climate policy, vowing to close coal-fired power stations, could change the conversation on carbon emissions regardless of the numbers in Parliament.

Sustainability

To stop climate disaster, make ecocide an international crime. It’s the only way

Jojo Mehta and Julia Jackson

Outlawing ecocide would hold governments and corporations accountable for environmental negligence. We can’t wait

Nature Conservation

Oahu marine protected areas offer limited protection of coral reef herbivorous fishes

Marine protected areas around O?ahu do not adequately protect populations of herbivorous reef fishes that eat algae on coral reefs. That is the primary conclusion of a study published in Coral Reefs by researchers from the University of Hawai?i at Mānoa.

“Stark warning”: Combating ecosystem collapse from the tropics to the Antarctic

Eminent scientists warn that key ecosystems around Australia and Antarctica are collapsing, and propose a three-step framework to combat irreversible global damage.

If the UK government won’t stop industrial fishing from destroying our oceans, activists will

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

By dropping boulders on the bottom of the seabed, Greenpeace is preventing trawlers from ploughing up vital habitat

The micro pest so insidious it’s even making glass extinct [$]

Peter Goers

Walk the world’s beaches, and you might find sea glass. You might – you definitely find this micro pest ruining our world.

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