Post of the Day
Australia’s lesser-known ecosystems are heading for collapse. Here’s what we stand to lose
From the arid woodlands of central Australia to mangrove forests in the Gulf of Carpentaria, a damning report has found that 19 of the 20 Australian ecosystems studied are heading toward collapse if we don’t intervene.
On This Day
Nowruz – Persian New Year
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Christian climate activists in Britain jailed after gluing themselves to courtroom furniture
Christian activists have been jailed after they glued themselves to courtroom furniture in protest against inaction on climate change.
Twice as much carbon flowing from land to ocean than previously thought
A new study published in the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles and spearheaded by Dr. Eun Young Kwon, project leader at the IBS Center for Climate Physics South Korea provides new estimates of this elusive component of the global carbon cycle.
For the first time, an Alpine-wide study shows that snow cover has been declining
Up until now, the studies conducted had been limited to individual areas in the Alpine region and been based on data from at most, a few hundred, measuring stations. Now, for the first time, a recent study coordinated by Eurac Research, has collected and systematically evaluated snow data from more than 2000 measuring stations in Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland and France.
‘Climate facts are back’: EPA brings science back to website after Trump purge
Move reverses former president’s order to drop all references to the climate emergency on government websites
Emphasizing urgency alone won’t increase support for major climate policies, study finds
In light of recent extreme climate events–from wildfires blazing through the western US to snowstorms sweeping Texas into a blackout–climate scientists and media outlets have repeatedly called out the urgency of tackling the climate crisis. But in a new study published March 19 in the journal One Earth, researchers found that emphasizing urgency alone is not enough to kindle public support for climate change policies.
National
Mining companies flout human rights conventions when negotiating with Indigenous Australians, study finds
Weak native title laws allow mining companies to legally start mining projects without obtaining traditional landowner consent, a study has found.
Australia’s lesser-known ecosystems are heading for collapse. Here’s what we stand to lose
From the arid woodlands of central Australia to mangrove forests in the Gulf of Carpentaria, a damning report has found that 19 of the 20 Australian ecosystems studied are heading toward collapse if we don’t intervene.
‘You can’t escape the smell’: mouse plague grows to biblical proportions across eastern Australia
Locals who have endured months of mice and rats getting into their houses, stores and cars are praying heavy rain will help wipe them out
Nothing’s better than the real thing
Letters
An investigation into alternatives to synthetic grass should be a short report into the natural and environmental benefits of real grass.
Closed borders and fear of the future: Australia’s population shrank during the pandemic
Greg Jericho
Once the vaccine rollout becomes widespread, migration numbers will return. But we’ll have to wait and see whether birthrates will increase
Poem which debunked climate change 100 years ago [$]
Piers Akerman
The ABC and its leftist allies like to say weather extremes are recent phenomena, but a legendary Australian poem written in 1908 shows different.
A carbon tax is coming and Australia won’t have a say on it
Bob McMullan
Australian exporters are about to face a carbon tax. The problem is it will be one from which Australia will get no revenue and over which the Australian Parliament will have no say.
Victoria
Victorian Aboriginal group ‘very confident’ land deal linked to $34 million settlement will be reinstated
The Taungurung Land and Waters Council says it is confident the land deal underpinning its $34 million settlement with the government will be reinstated, after the Federal Court ordered it be set aside
New South Wales
Sydney’s biggest dam overflows for first time in years amid massive deluge
Sydney’s main water source, Warragamba Dam, spills over for the first time since 2016, as rivers in Australia’s largest city swell and evacuation orders are issued for multiple locations around the state.
Flammable toxic battery dump found near houses in Sydney’s west
One of the nation’s biggest e-waste recyclers has dumped a huge illegal stockpile of batteries in a residential suburb in Sydney’s west less than a year after the company’s over-stocked Melbourne facility went up in flames.
‘Sinister stuff’: Worries remain over Moorebank’s toxic PFAS chemicals
Residents opposed to the development of one of Australia’s largest freight hubs say the site requires long-term monitoring and possible intervention to prevent toxic chemicals leaching into the nearby Georges River.
ACT
New federal support for Landcare groups
ACT environmental groups have welcomed the launch of a new federal government body in support of local Landcare networks.
Queensland
‘A long road’: the Australian city aiming to give self-driving cars the green light
Ipswich is an ideal place to trial technology to bring fully self-driving cars to Australian cities. But the project has had to overcome a lot of road bumps
Tasmania
Could this West Coast mountain range be the next Three Capes Track or Overland Track? Preparations are underway as the deadline for a feasibility study nears.
Bruce and Ann McGregor used a bequest of $1.6m from Bruce’s late father to buy Prosser River Reserve, protecting a diverse natural refuge
Western Australia
‘Silent Killer’: Microscopic threat could wipe out species unless cure found
New research shows Christmas Island reptiles are facing extinction due a deadly microscopic killer.
Sustainability
Plants would grow well in solar cell greenhouses
A recent study shows that lettuce can be grown in greenhouses that filter out wavelengths of light used to generate solar power, demonstrating the feasibility of using see-through solar panels in greenhouses to generate electricity.
Polystyrene waste is everywhere
Scientists have discovered a green, low-energy process to break down polystyrene, a type of plastic that is widely used in foam packaging materials, disposable food containers, cutlery, and many other applications.
New perovskite fabrication method for solar cells paves way to large-scale production
A new, simpler solution process for fabricating stable perovskite solar cells overcomes the key bottleneck to large-scale production and commercialization of this promising renewable-energy technology, which has remained tantalizingly out of reach for more than a decade.
A new dye shakes up solar cells
EPFL scientists have developed a new dye for solar cells that enables high power-conversion efficiency while being simple and cheap to make. The dye also works exceptionally well under low-light conditions, which is key for self- and low-powered devices.
Is it worth investing in solar PV with batteries at home?
Solar energy is a clean, renewable source of electricity that could potentially play a significant part in fulfilling the world’s energy requirements, but there are still some challenges to fully capitalizing on this potential. Researchers looked into some of the issues that hamper the uptake of solar energy and proposed different policies to encourage the use of this technology.
New plutonium research helps distinguish nuclear power pollution from global fall out
Researchers looking at miniscule levels of plutonium pollution in our soils have made a breakthrough which could help inform future ‘clean up’ operations on land around nuclear power plants, saving time and money.
The UK should be leading the way on nuclear disarmament, not increasing its stockpile
Christopher Cocksworth
The past several months have seen politicians and civil society, church leaders and groups (Christian CND courageously among them) combine efforts to raise awareness of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and to encourage the UK government to lead the way among nuclear weapons-states in joining this treaty.
There’s a simple way to make our cities greener – without a wrecking ball
Phineas Harper
Architecture’s top prize has been awarded to a design duo who could show Britain how to bring its emissions under control
Uganda lions found dead, poison suspected
Six lions have been found dead in a park in Uganda, with wildlife officials saying that they might have been poisoned by animal traffickers.
Algae growing on dead coral could paint a falsely rosy portrait of reef health
Algae colonizing dead coral are upending scientists’ ability to accurately assess the health of a coral reef community, according to new work from a team of marine science experts.
Mitigating impact of artificial light at night in tropical forests
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a major factor in global insect decline. Scientists found that using amber-colored filters to remove the blue spectra of light from ‘warm white’ LED (light-emitting diode) lamps drastically reduces insect attraction to nocturnal lighting in a tropical forest.
Carbon uptake in regrowing Amazon forest threatened by climate and human disturbance
Large areas of forests regrowing in the Amazon to help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, are being limited by climate and human activity.
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