Post of the Day
International lawyers, environmentalists and a growing number of world leaders say “ecocide”—widespread destruction of the environment—would serve as a “moral red line” for the planet.
On This Day
Yom HaShoah – Judaism
Ecological observance
National Plitvice Lakes Day – Croatia
Climate Change
Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere reach record high
Concentrations are 50% above pre-industrial levels despite dip in emissions during Covid pandemic
Research brief: Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth’s ecosystem
The Climate Intervention Biology Working Group explored solar climate interventions effect on ecology.
Carbon dioxide in atmosphere has spiked to record-setting new level
One of the U.S.’s premier observatories for measuring carbon dioxide emissions released into the atmosphere reported a record-breaking figure on April 3, noting a total of 421.21 particulate matter of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere – the highest daily average ever recorded.
La Nina clue to sun’s power on climate [$]
Graham Lloyd
Evidence is mounting that changes in the Sun’s magnetic energy has a much bigger influence on Earth’s weather and climate conditions than previously thought.
National
Electricity and gas debts are racking up fast, and there are fears it will lead to a wave of disconnections when remaining COVID consumer protections wrap up in the next few months.
‘It’s not humane to bash a joey’s head in’: Why some in the US want to ban kangaroo imports
Companies like Nike and Adidas use kangaroo leather to make football boots. But global animal rights groups are vowing to stop Australia’s kangaroo industry.
Tasmanian MP calls for farmers to be included in climate discussion
Tasmanian federal MP Brian Mitchell says the government’s approach to climate change and agriculture is part of a broader problem.
Unstoppable: Rooftop solar market notches up new all-time high in March
Australia breaks yet another record for rooftop solar installations, with homes and businesses adding 317MW of systems in March – an all-time high for national monthly installs.
Australia’s carbon price set to double, perhaps even without federal policy
“Set a binding target, and get out of the way”: RepuTex says demand for ACCUs is booming, but federal government still needs to act.
Future is electric: Businesses must commit to electric vehicles
The Climate Group
This World Health Day, celebrated on 7 April, we’re calling on businesses all over the world to commit to having fully electric fleets by 2030.
Australia will face its moment of carbon truth in 2021 [$]
Robyn Eckersley
Even this country’s closest friends are going to leave us exposed as a laggard ahead of the crunch COP meeting in Glasgow.
AGL demerger: Energy provider’s reliance on coal exposed
Glenn Walker
Australia’s largest energy provider, AGL, has announced plans to split into two businesses, after intense pressure about its poor environmental and financial performance.
Andrew Laming: Find people who care, not who need empathy training
Marie Low
Can empathy training really help Liberal MP Andrew Laming?
Australian not-for-profits: Commission shouldn’t be granted extra power
Denis Moriarty
Australia has some 600,000 not-for-profit organisations, most with a board, so at least 3 million board members.
Do or die moment for market re-design as Taylor takes control of process
Michael Mazengarb
Plans for a post-2025 redesign of Australia’s main grid delivered to Angus Taylor – but will the Morrison government actually deliver much needed reforms?
Victoria
‘It’s our church’: Land managers aim to rebuild wrecked stone eel
Aboriginal land managers are hopeful that they can reconstruct an ancient ceremonial stone arrangement at Lake Bolac that was damaged by a farmer.
Aboriginal Victoria warns of possible fines over Lake Bolac destruction as caretaker expresses ‘regret’
A land caretaker says he is sorry over a mistake involving potential damage to rocks at protected site for Indigenous people.
Victorian focus group backs ban on sale of petrol cars by 2030 as part of electric vehicle push
Victoria should end the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, according to a representative sample of people quizzed on how the government could spur the take up of electric vehicles.
‘Ban new petrol cars’: Victorian government urged to consider drastic step
Less than 1 per cent of cars on Australia’s roads are electric, but a community panel picked by government advisory body Infrastructure Victoria wants to see sales of new petrol-guzzling vehicles halted in a decade.
Manufacturers lobby Victorian government for softer emissions targets
AI Group says it’s worried an ambitious target could mean Victorian businesses will lose out to less ambitious NSW and Queensland.
New South Wales
Green groups blast Barilaro’s ‘cherry-picking’ Hunter pollution claim
Environmental groups say Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s claims that the government’s own pollution data for the region was being manipulated by mining opponents were “laughable”.
Walcha Energy proposes to “go it alone” on major NSW transmission link
A private transmission line has been proposed as the most effective way to facilitate thousands of megawatts of new renewables capacity proposed for NSW New England REZ.
Barnaby Joyce’s latest antics do nothing to move Australia forward
John Hewson
So Barnaby Joyce has commissioned a pollster to determine if his New England electorate wants renewables. Apparently his office has been inundated with complaints about the “visual impact” of proposed power projects in the region, which the NSW government has identified for nearly $13 billion worth of solar, wind and hydroelectric power generation and transmission infrastructure, as part of its renewables roadmap.
Turnbull’s fate sealed by skittish backbenchers
Alexandra Smith
A group of jumpy NSW Coalition backbenchers has succeeded in defying cabinet, humiliating minister Matt Kean and dumping Malcolm Turnbull from a new clean energy role.
Richard Denniss
Among modern Liberals it’s patently heresy to ask how rushing to green light 11 proposed coal mines in the Hunter Valley helps the struggling coal industry.
Only one way to go for Upper Hunter voters [$]
Dominic Perrottet
Mining is the backbone of the industrious Hunter Valley and the NSW Coalition government continues to behind the industry moving forward.
ACT
Australian War Memorial expansion: Community fights to save memorial’s WWII-era trees
A group of concerned citizens have joined forces to peacefully protest the planned removal of more than 100 trees on the Australian War Memorial grounds ahead of a controversial $500 million proposal to expand the national institution.
Most of Namadgi National Park will be reopened after Orroral Valley bushfire [$]
Bushwalkers and campers will once again be free to explore most of Namadgi National Park.
Queensland
Toondah Harbour in the Redlands, east of Brisbane, is listed a Priority Development Area but local community groups who have campaigned for years against the impact on protected wetlands say koala habitats are also at risk.
Koalas tracked within Redlands’ ‘protected’ wetlands, where up to 3,600 apartments are slated
Toondah Harbour in the Redlands, east of Brisbane, is listed a Priority Development Area but local community groups who have campaigned for years against the impact on protected wetlands say koala habitats are also at risk.
Mining exploration surges in Cape York as scheme to return land to traditional owners stalls
No new properties have been purchased under the Queensland government program since 2017, a report finds
South Australia
SA region one of world’s worst for pesticide pollution [$]
An agriculture region in SA has come under scrutiny for pesticide pollution, being identified as one of the worst in the world.
Tasmania
Bob Brown Foundation rolling in money, documents show
A cashed up charity which targets forestry and some mining operations in Tasmania spent $761,000 on staff and $116,000 on travel last financial year.
Ecofest returns to NW this weekend
With the theme of ‘a 2021 vision’, hosts North-West Environment Centre say this year’s festival will feature stallholders and information to help you live a more sustainable life and to focus on a future full of potential and innovation.
Waratah residents in last ditch bid to save dam from being drained [$]
A group of Waratah residents fighting to save their dam will not admit defeat and have lodged a last-ditch appeal to stop the much-valued natural asset being drained.
Northern Territory
New Gamba Grass program to protect vulnerable Territorians [$]
The Territory Government has launched a new program to help vulnerable and elderly Territorians tackle gamba grass.
Construction for new walking, cycling trail underway [$]
A new walking trail in Central Australia is halfway through construction with plans to have it opened in June.
The head of Australia’s National Parks has reached out to Traditional Owners, apologising for the distress caused by Gunlom Falls work and seeking to meet with them to work to deliver a pathway to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of Kakadu National Park.
McArthur River Mine enters talks with Traditional Owners, but scepticism remains
The controversial McArthur River Mine has entered into talks with the NLC to negotiate an Indigenous Land Use Agreement but some are sceptical of mining giant Glencore’s intentions.
Western Australia
New study shows fishing restrictions across the archipelago helped sustain threatened species and biodiversity during a time of ‘unprecedented’ decline
Seagrass graveyard: swathes of marine meadows still devastated in Shark Bay
Healthy seagrass helps the sand beneath store huge amounts of carbon, protecting our atmosphere from its ill effects. But marine heatwaves kill seagrass, as can be seen in Shark Bay a decade on. The same heatwave saw mass coral bleaching at Ningaloo, to the north, for the first time.
Kimberley cave reveals ancient bone tools [$]
Aboriginal people in north Australia were making sharp tools from kangaroo leg bones as far back as 46,000 years ago, based on dating of bone tools found in limestone caves in the Kimberley region.
InterContinental goes on hiring spree for huge green hydrogen project in WA
InterContinental Energy, the green hydrogen developer behind the Asian Renewable Energy Hub, has announced a string of top-level hires.
‘Our dad’s painting is hiding, in secret place’: how Aboriginal rock art can live on even when gone
Joakim Goldhahn and Paul S.C.Taçon
Aboriginal rock art unfolds stories about the present-past and emerging worlds, often described by an outsider as the Dreamtime. Some rock art, it is believed, was put in place by spiritual and mythological beings. Many of these Ancestral Beings travelled vast distances, and their journeys link places, clans and different rock art paintings.
Sustainability
Drone video shows Florida wastewater ponds
Residents of Tampa Bay, Florida continued to brace for the possible collapse of a waste water reservoir, after a leak forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes and threatened to flood the area with polluted water.
Bitcoin mining to consume more electricity than whole of Australia by 2024
Researchers warn bitcoin mining could undermine efforts to reach global climate targets, with electricity consumption expected to surpass that of Australia.
Designing selective membranes for batteries using a drug discovery toolbox
A research team led by Berkeley Lab has developed a lithium-selective polymer membrane that could allow high-voltage battery cells to operate at higher power and more efficiently, important factors for both electric vehicles and aircraft.
The opportunities and risks of digitalization for sustainable development
Digitalization can support transitions towards a more sustainable society if technologies and processes are designed in line with suitable criteria. This requires a systemic focus on risks and benefits of digital technologies across the dimensions of sustainable development: environment, society, and economy. This is the conclusion of a study prepared by a team of researchers at the IASS in Potsdam. Applying this precautionary approach to digitalization requires the active involvement of developers, users, and regulators.
International lawyers, environmentalists and a growing number of world leaders say “ecocide”—widespread destruction of the environment—would serve as a “moral red line” for the planet.
Scientists develop eco-friendly pollen sponge to tackle water contaminants
Scientists have created a reusable, biodegradable sponge that can readily soak up oil and other organic solvents from contaminated water sources, making it a promising alternative for tackling marine oil spills. Made of sunflower pollen, the sponge is hydrophobic thanks to its coat of natural fatty acid. In lab experiments, the scientists showed the sponge’s ability to absorb oil contaminants of various densities, such as gasoline and motor oil, at a rate comparable to that of commercial oil absorbents.
Clean energy? The world’s demand for copper could be catastrophic for communities and environments
Deanna Kemp et al
The benefits of switching to clean energy are huge. As with any industrial activity, the transition has potential environmental and social impacts.
Marine species increasingly can’t live at equator due to global heating
Study suggests it is already too warm in tropics for some species to survive
Why lists of worldwide bird species disagree
Biologists set out to compare four main lists of bird species worldwide to find out how the lists differ–and why. They found that although the lists agree on most birds, disagreements in Southeast Asia and the Southern Ocean could mean that some species are missed by conservation ecologists.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted peoples’ interactions with nature?
The COVID-19 pandemic and the global response to it have changed many of the interactions that humans have with nature, in both positive and negative ways. A perspective article published in People and Nature considers these changes, discusses the potential long-term consequences, and provides recommendations for further research.
U. S. socio-economic effects of harmful algal blooms
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur in all 50 U.S. states and many produce toxins that cause illness or death in humans and commercially important species. However, attempts to place a more exact dollar value on the full range of these impacts often vary widely in their methods and level of detail, which hinders understanding of the scale of their socio-economic effects.
U.K. says its seabed is more valuable for environment than oil
The U.K.’s seabed is more valuable as a carbon sink absorbing pollution from industry than as a source of oil and natural gas, official estimates from the government’s Office for Nationals Statistics show.
Our last, best chance to save Atlantic salmon
Atlantic salmon are perilously close to extinction in the United States. Taking down a few dams could go a long way to aiding their recovery, experts say.
Reforestation is great! But we’re running out of seeds
Planting trees is a popular solution to carbon emissions. But where will all those seedlings come from?
Seaspiracy shows why we must treat fish not as seafood, but as wildlife
George Monbiot
It’s time to see the oceans in a new light: to treat fish not as seafood but as wildlife; to see their societies not as stocks but as populations; and marine food webs not as fisheries but as ecosystems.
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.