Date: 8 March 2021 at 8:43:53 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Mar 8
Post of the Day
‘Closures any day’: Coal-fired power plants in peril as prices plunge
Most of Australia’s coal-fired power plants are running at a loss as electricity prices continue to slide, battering the profits of energy giants AGL and Origin and sparking warnings from within the industry of earlier-than-expected plant closures.
On This Day
Labour Day – Victoria, Tasmania
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Virtual roundtables kick off 2021 Regional Climate Weeks
The 2021 editions of the Regional Climate Weeks kicked off this week with virtual regional roundtables designed to set the scene for regional climate action in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in November.
Can China build coal plants and climate treaties at once?
One man’s appointment might help explain what China is signalling to the world by committing to climate change action – even as it goes on a coal power spree.
Three key climate change investment themes [$]
Taimur Hyat
Opportunities include overlooked parts of the world, winners in carbon-intensive industries and a new lease of life for venture and early-stage capital.
National
Australians tackle pandemic waste challenge on Clean Up Australia Day
About 700,000 volunteers across Australia are expected to participate in efforts to reduce plastic waste in the environment as part of Clean Up Australia.
Essential role of women in forest industries celebrated on International Women’s Day
On International Women’s Day AFPA would like to pay tribute to all the women who work in the forest products industry.
Hopping mad: US campaign to ban kangaroo imports gains bipartisan support
Australian officials have had to counter commonly-held views, including that kangaroo harvesters are targeting a “cute and cuddly” endangered species.
‘Closures any day’: Coal-fired power plants in peril as prices plunge
Most of Australia’s coal-fired power plants are running at a loss as electricity prices continue to slide, battering the profits of energy giants AGL and Origin and sparking warnings from within the industry of earlier-than-expected plant closures.
Angus Taylor’s Future Fuels Strategy underachieves on climate aims
Imogen Bunting
To help meet our international agreements on climate change, Australia should immediately convert to fully electric vehicles, writes Imogen Bunting.
New South Wales
Scientists find kilos of tiny plastic particles on Sydney beaches
Some Sydney beaches and rivers are being described as “hotspots” for tiny fragments of plastic pollution created as debris breaks down, threatening marine life. But citizen scientists are helping to find solutions.
NSW to invest $750m in green technology to hit 2030 emissions target [$]
The NSW government will offer up to $750 million in funding and grants to help the state cut emissions by 35 per cent by 2030.
Weak environmental protection laws leave koalas stranded
Sue Arnold
The Great Koala National Park would save koalas threatened by logging in NSW because the State Government can’t be trusted to protect them.
South Australia
Kangaroo Island apiarists desperately try to keep rare bee strain alive
Kangaroo Island beekeepers are desperately trying to keep the world’s purest strain of bees alive after the deadly 2020 bushfires destroyed more than a thousand hives.
Aus Walking Company reveals what’s next for KI [$]
The company behind a controversial lodge proposal says it hopes to begin this year. It comes as other businesses line up to offer nature tourism ventures.
Tasmania
Tasmania’s wild deer population is on the rise. Are their growing numbers a concern?
The six-week-long stag hunting season has just begun in Tasmania. But with wild fallow deer populations increasing by 5 per cent a year, there are calls for more to be done to control the growing number of animals.
‘Sad indictment’: Greens slam Parliamentary Friends of Forestry
The Greens have hit out at a new pro-forestry parliamentary group they say is “a sad indictment on both the Liberal and Labor parties”.
‘Choking with rage’: Brewer fumes over regen burn [$]
Sustainable Timber Tasmania has begun lighting fires as part of its regeneration burning, but the timing has enraged some community members.
Malbena lease renewal questioned [$]
The controversial lease over an island in the World Heritage Area has expired. The Greens want answers over whether it has been renewed.
Catching a thylacine by the tale after decades of waging war of the Tasmanian tiger [$]
Simon Bevilacqua
MY heart leapt when I read this week about a thylacine pup caught on film in the bush — but it sank when I saw the image was nothing like a tiger.
Northern Territory
Darwin women buck global trend by jumping on eScooters [$]
Darwin women are bucking the trend by hopping aboard eScooters and making up 55 per cent of all riders in the city
Territorians come together to help in Clean Up Australia Day efforts [$]
Darwin off-road cyclists took Sunday’s Clean Up Australia Day as a chance to revitalise one of their favourite cycling spots.
Western Australia
Hundreds of dead fish seen in Swan River [$]
Residents in north-east Perth are being warned to stay away from the Swan River, where hundreds of dead fish have been spotted in the water.
Who has the right to fish where? Contentious plan reveals gulf between fishers, traditional owners
Plans for a new marine park off northern Australian hit a nerve, sparking tense discussions over who will have access to popular fishing spots on the Kimberley coast.
Sustainability
Empowering women and girls is crucial to ensure sustainable food security
Hunger and famine will persist and there will be unequal recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic unless more women in rural and urban areas hold leadership positions with increased decision-making power, say the heads of the three United Nations’ food agencies ahead of their joint International Women’s Day event on 8 March.
Fukushima fallout haunts Japan’s carbon goals [$]
The Japanese government’s plans for nuclear energy to help achieve its decarbonisation goal can’t be fulfilled as long as issues stemming from the Fukushima meltdown remain.
Now making electric bikes: Car and motorcycle companies
They see branding opportunities as the pandemic and a desire by cities to curb traffic propel e-bike sales to new heights.
Cancer plagues West Valley nuke workers
Federal program has paid West Valley workers $20.3 million as a result of cancer and other serious illnesses traced to their work at the facility.
Why more people than ever are living alone – and what this means for the environment
Tullia Jack et al
Globally, households are shrinking – more and more people are living alone. In 2016, almost two thirds of all households in the EU were composed of one or two people, with shrinking households also prevalent around the world.
Brazil working with US on climate change and Amazon deforestation
Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo says Brazil is working with the US to implement climate agreements.
The tribal coalition fighting to save monarch butterflies
Habitat loss and climate change are decimating the species. What can the U.S. learn from Oklahoma tribes’ efforts to restore their migratory path?
Butterfly species in the American West are declining due to climate change
Hundreds of butterfly species across the American West are vanishing as the region becomes hotter, drier and more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, according to a new study.
The not-so lucky dip of a changing climate
Ron Glanville
The world is grappling with the worst pandemic in 100 years, so it’s easy to forget our friends in the animal kingdom. Yet it’s our contact with them that’s creating the majority of new human diseases.
I know why the caged songbird goes extinct
John R Platt
A rampant trade in Asian birds, known for their beautiful songs, is emptying many forests of sound and life.
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.