Post of the Day
World’s protected areas need more than a ‘do not disturb’ sign
More than 4 million square kilometers have been designated as protected areas globally in the past decade, without documentation of how effective such areas across the globe are at protecting.
On This Day
Ecological observance
Climate Change
Greenhouse gas emissions from Chinese inland waters
As a primary greenhouse gas that drives global climate change, carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters play a key role in assessing the global carbon cycle. Researchers have now quantified CO2 emissions from streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in China over the last three decades and compared two time periods: 1980s and 2010s, during which China experienced unprecedented environmental and socio-economic changes.
National
AGL and Wärtsilä offer onsite solar and battery solutions to big energy users
AGL to offer onsite renewables and storage to its biggest energy users, signing deal with energy services provider Wärtsilä.
Solar “switch-off” rule to extend to EV chargers, pool pumps and air con
Remote control: Network ability to switch off rooftop solar is to be extended to EV chargers, air conditioners, hot water and pool pumps.
Carbon offset prices could double by 2030, unless companies do the dirty work
Prices for Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) could more than double by 2030, rising to a range of $20-45/t.
‘National disgrace’: First Nations demand action on water-ownership promise
Traditional owners say it is “absolutely disgraceful” that just 1 per cent of water in Australia’s largest river system is owned by Aboriginal people, and want the Federal Government to honour its $40-million commitment to help them buy water.
Australia to use Biden summit to repair ‘climate wars’ damage
Australia’s ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos says “the argy bargy of the climate wars in Australia” has damaged our global reputation.
Labor to target jobs growth with clean energy, avoids gas fired recovery
Regional electorates will be targeted under Labor’s pitch to grow jobs with clean energy, setting up a clash with the Morrison government’s gas-fired recovery.
Rusting oil platform in Timor Sea could cost taxpayers $1 billion
The vessel in the Timor Sea has already cost Australian taxpayers $86 million but Senator Rex Patrick fears we’re nowhere near the bottom of the money pit.
Reducing ocean acidification by removing CO2: Two targets for cutting-edge research
Is it possible to simultaneously address the increase of the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and the resulting acidification of the oceans? The research of the project DESARC-MARESANUS, a collaboration between the Politecnico di Milano and the CMCC Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change Foundation, explores the feasibility of this process, its chemical and environmental balance, and the benefits for the marine sector, focusing on the Mediterranean basin.
How to tell if your managed fund or ETF is truly green
Arian Neiron
Investors should look for accurate greenhouse gas emissions data to make a fully informed decision that they are investing for the benefit of the planet.
Victoria
Second site approved to take toxic soil from West Gate Tunnel project
Bacchus Marsh landfill site Maddingley Brown Coal is the latest to be approved to receive huge amounts of toxic rock and soil from the controversial project.
New South Wales
McKay says coal is ‘a given’ with Labor’s candidate for Upper Hunter
NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay says she does not support a moratorium on new coal mines in a move likely to cause division in the party as it grapples with balancing mining and environmental issues.
Sydney’s pop-up cycleways to remain for another two years
Temporary cycleways installed in central Sydney during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic are set to remain for another two years, despite concerns from residents about safety and disruption.
Queensland
Plan to rid Queensland city of rubbish trucks almost ready to suck
Australia’s first automated, underground waste disposal system that uses vacuum-driven underground tubes will start at the Sunshine Coast in June.
South Australia
‘A travesty of justice’: More cultural heritage faces destruction in SA
First Nations groups are fighting to save a location where ancestral remains lay, storylines cross and sacred artefacts remain untouched.
Marshall over-ruled advice about drilling at Aboriginal heritage site
Premier and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Steven Marshall was warned by his department not to allow a mineral exploration company to drill at a “pivotal” Aboriginal heritage site as it would damage the area and cause “hurt, sorrow and sickness” to Traditional Owners – but he allowed the work to proceed.
Council to charge $140 for hard waste collection [$]
Would you pay $140 to have your hard waste collected? Two Hills councils have announced plans to charge for collection, as the cost of collecting mattresses grows.
Birds latest victim of St Kilda mangroves salinity disgrace [$]
Adelaide’s internationally significant migratory shorebirds could be the latest casualty of the St Kilda mangrove salt disaster.
Tasmania
Alan Birchmore AO says Tamar estuary dredging good solution by Liberals
A former head of the Launceston Flood Authority has welcomed the Liberal Party’s election promise to dredge the Tamar estuary, despite a scientific report detailing sediment solutions not being released.
Bans on single-use plastics needed in next Tas parliament
The Boomerang Alliance of 53 national, state and local NGOs has called on political parties in the Tasmanian election to commit to the introduction of bans on problem single use plastics and develop greater recycling.
‘Logging Industry still Struggling to Justify Native Forest Destruction’
Media release – Bob Brown Foundation
Amid Tasmania’s state election, the native forest industry and its Government cronies are still rehashing the same embarrassing justifications to keep destroying native forests.
TWS wants disclosure of full list of national park tourism proposals
Media release – The Wilderness Society Tasmania
A new ABC report that reveals the full list of previously-secret tourism proposals for Tasmania’s national parks, many within the world’s highest-rated World Heritage wilderness area, is symptomatic of the secrecy that veils the push to privatise the island’s public national parks.
Northern Territory
East Alligator, Ubirr regions of Kakadu National Park closed after death of traditional owner [$]
Parts of Kakadu National Park have been respectfully closed after the death of a local and well respected traditional owner, with a major government department paying tribute to the influential man.
Environmental Scientist Cassandra Schmidt to head up APPEA’s Darwin operations
An Environmental Scientist with more than 20 years experience in the oil and gas industry will head up the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration’s Top End operation.
Western Australia
UK developer proposes $1 billion offshore wind farm for Western Australia waters
UK developer seeks to clear the first environmental hurdle for plans to build a $1 billion wind farm in WA waters south of Perth.
Sustainability
WHO, agencies urge countries to suspend sale of live wild mammals at markets
International agencies including the World Health Organization urged countries on Tuesday to suspend the sale of live wild mammals in food markets, warning they may be the source of more than 70% of emerging infectious diseases in humans.
Japan decides to treat 1 million tonnes of radioactive water and dump it in the sea
Japan’s government approves plans to release more than 1 million tonnes of treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.
Amcor partners with Nestlé to bring sustainable packaging to shelves
Amcor has leveraged its global R&D resources to help Nestlé put enviro-conscious consumers first, by making Smarties the first confectionery brand to move to recyclable paper packaging in Australia.
Why rush to renewables may create its own mining catastrophe – academics
A warning has been issued that the shift to renewable energy and the subsequent need for massive amounts of copper to be used in solar and wind farms could lead to a social and economic catastrophe.
Iran will enrich uranium to 60 per cent, highest level ever: official
Dubai: Iran will begin enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, a negotiator said, pushing its program to higher levels than ever before though still remaining short of weapons-grade.
Plastic planet: Tracking pervasive microplastics across the globe
Really big systems, like ocean currents and weather, work on really big scales. And so too does your plastic waste, according to new research.
Even ‘safe’ ambient carbon monoxide levels may harm health, study finds
Data collected from 337 cities across 18 countries show that even slight increases in ambient carbon monoxide levels from automobiles and other sources are associated with increased mortality.
The dirty truth: It takes coal to heal coal’s scars on the landscape
Will the acid mine drainage that pollutes thousands of miles of streams in Pennsylvania and Western Maryland ever be erased? Will remaining coal waste piles, acidic streams, underground fires, dangerous high walls and barren soil ever be gone from the landscape?
US power sector is halfway to zero carbon emissions
New research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory analyzes historical trends to examine how much progress the power sector has already made in reducing emissions. It found that the US cut power sector emissions by 52% below projected levels, or halfway to zero carbon emissions by 2050.
National narcissists likely to support greenwashing campaigns to improve nation’s image
New research by the University of Kent and the SWPS University has discovered that national narcissists are more likely to support greenwashing (misleading information about the environmental benefits of a product, a company or a policy) in order to improve their nation’s public image.
Are cyclists even human? Study asks why drivers have loathing for lycra
John McCarthy
The lycra, the helmets, the whole dress code of cyclists may be a reason why there is so much aggression towards them.
Peter Curson
Over the next few decades, we face the major task of making our society more resilient and safer when faced by pandemics, epidemics, the threat of biological warfare and environmental crises as well as physical threats to our nation’s stability.
Nasa scientists find unlikely tool as rising temperatures bleach corals: a phone app
Without the app, mapping reefs usually involves high amounts of data and low-quality photos, which leads to slow analysis
Endangered US rivers at grave risk from dams, mining and global heating
New report lays out dire situation facing the most imperiled rivers but environmental activists say situation is salvable
World’s protected areas need more than a ‘do not disturb’ sign
More than 4 million square kilometers have been designated as protected areas globally in the past decade, without documentation of how effective such areas across the globe are at protecting.
Environmentalists call on Norway to stop plans for deep-sea mining
Six environmental organisations, including the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace, on Monday called on Norway to stop plans to open ocean areas for deep-sea mining.
Drought and abundance in the Mesopotamian marshes
Once vengefully drained by Saddam Hussein, the wetlands in southeastern Iraq have since been partially restored. Now the region and its isolated settlements face a new set of challenges.
Rivers can be climate change solutions, too
Rivers and their floodplains have the potential to act as shock absorbers to climate change, and are powerful agents for keeping wildlife and communities healthy and resilient.
Tree hydraulics and water relations: Why trees die as a result of drought
When trees die during a period of drought, they die of thirst. Researchers from the University of Basel have demonstrated in a field study that a rapid collapse in the hydraulic system is responsible for tree death. And they found out that the trees possibly die more rapidly than previously thought.
2021 Global Food Policy Report
A year of evidence and analysis finds the pandemic has severely disrupted food systems and upended livelihoods, but also that responses have demonstrated the power of well-crafted policies to blunt the impact of major shocks while laying the groundwork for stronger, more resilient food systems.
Eric Jorden Raes
Aboard an Australian research vessel, the RV Investigator, we sailed for 63 days from Antarctica’s ice edge to the warm equator in the South Pacific and collected 387 water samples.
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