Post of the Day
The race to rescue Australia’s 50 most vulnerable plant species
Australia’s record of driving its famously unique array of native mammals to extinction is well known. It is less understood that we are losing our plants even faster.
On This Day
Feast of Saint Tamar – Georgia
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
1.5°C ‘degrowth’ scenarios suggest need for new mitigation pathways
The first comprehensive comparison of ‘degrowth’ scenarios with established pathways to limit climate change highlights the risk of over-reliance on technological innovation to support continued global growth – which is assumed in established global climate modelling.
E.P.A. data shows climate change’s impact on Americans
New data compiled by the E.P.A. shows how global warming is making life harder for Americans in myriad ways that threaten their health, safety and homes.
How climate change is erasing the world’s oldest rock art
Jillian Huntley et al
In caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, ancient peoples marked the walls with red and mulberry hand stencils, and painted images of large native mammals or imaginary human-animal creatures.
National
A departmental briefing note prepared for a meeting with government-funded scientists suggested they ‘don’t publish the paper’
As prices fall, Aussies are adding to the size of their solar energy systems
Queenslanders added 86,000 solar installations in 2020, second only to NSW, as the national total increased by 28 per cent, according to the CSIRO.
Total overhaul of indoor air quality needed post-pandemic, experts warn
An international group of experts led by a Queensland-based expert are calling for a complete rethink of indoor air quality in the wake of COVID-19.
The race to rescue Australia’s 50 most vulnerable plant species
Australia’s record of driving its famously unique array of native mammals to extinction is well known. It is less understood that we are losing our plants even faster.
Action plan for Australia’s imperilled plants – video
Threatened plants have declined at an alarming rate in Australia over recent decades pushing many species close to extinction. A new plan is needed to halt and reverse their declines.
‘Problematic’: Macquarie’s green push questioned due to fracking investments
Macquarie Group’s climate commitments have been questioned amid revelations the banking giant controls investments in dozens of fracking companies.
Budget 2021: Green energy pledge on apprentice skills [$]
Anthony Albanese has vowed to spend $100m on green energy apprenticeships if he becomes prime minister in a bid to encourage more young people into low emission industries.
Carbon tariffs will be great for Australia’s solar exports, says Sun Cable CEO
Carbon border taxes will turbocharge demand for clean energy in Southeast Asia, providing opportunities to export Australia’s solar resources.
Video: Changing the world with solar, batteries and EVs
The Smart Energy Conference shone a bright light how technologies such as solar, storage, hydrogen and EVs are transforming our economy.
“It is just prejudice against clean energy:” Bowen slams Coalition hostility to renewables
Chris Bowen says Coalition’s antipathy to renewables is based on prejudice rather than ideology, and raises concerns about solar tax.
Victoria government backs standards to blacklist fossil fuel hydrogen
The Victorian government has signed up to a certification scheme that prevents fossil fuel hydrogen from being able to claim it is a zero carbon energy.
John Quiggin
The Morrison government could have backed Australia’s clean energy sector to create jobs and stimulate the post-pandemic economy. Instead, it’s sending the nation on a fool’s errand.
Mark Duckworth
The real success of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency will be not only in what it does, but in how it carries out its work, in the relationships it forges, and in the trust it gains.
Blowing in the wind: Have we missed our chance to become a renewables superpower?
Nicky Ison
Just imagine what we could achieve as a nation if our federal government stepped up and led from the front on green energy.
What the 2021 Budget tells us about Australia’s population directions
Abul Rizvi
The Government updated its population assumptions in the 2021 Budget, highlighting its eagerness to get the population rising.
Logo no go: legal action against Greenpeace puts the parody defence to the test [$]
Michael Bradley
AGL is suing Greenpeace for taking the piss out of its logo in a recent campaign. Whether they have a case or are just clutching at straws is an open question.
Victoria
The Millennium Drought changed how our rivers behave. They’re struggling to recover
Many of Victoria’s river catchments still hadn’t recovered years after one of the longest droughts in Australian history had ended, according to a new study.
Victorian government answers call for more trees in the west
Following calls from the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) – Victoria Division for more tree canopy in growth areas like Melbourne’s western suburbs, the Victorian government has today announced funding for 500 000 trees to be planted in the area.
Death from above for feral pigs, deer, running rampant on ancient Indigenous site
It’s one of the most significant sites in Australia, but feral pigs and deer are putting the world heritage-listed Budj Bim in danger and they need to be destroyed, the government says.
Australia’s largest seal colony is shrinking and scientists say chemicals could be to blame
Seal numbers are in decline near Victoria’s Phillip Island and University of Sydney researchers say the presence of firefighting chemicals could be responsible.
Victoria considers pumping green hydrogen into gas mains
The Victorian government will consider mixing carbon-free green hydrogen with natural gas to reduce dependence on gas for heating and cooking.
Change hurts in Victoria’s fading coal industry
Tom Melville
Australia is mired in a rancorous debate right now. On the one hand, coal is clearly on the way out – it’s polluting, and increasingly expensive, and there are cheaper, greener alternatives. On the other hand, governments at various levels seem keen to underscore the importance of coal – its mining and its use for electricity generation – as the backbone of Australia’s economy and energy mix for years to come.
New South Wales
$50m and a poison that will be ‘the equivalent of napalming mice across rural NSW’ to fight plague
The NSW Government announces $50 million in funding to tackle the mouse plague after two of the state’s most influential rural lobby groups labelled it an ‘economic and public health crisis’.
Australian mouse plague: ‘napalming’ rodents could kill native and domestic animals too
NSW government lodges emergency request to deploy powerful bait currently outlawed for use in fields
Government poised to unveil plans for Hunter power plant [$]
The Morrison government is expected to announce as early as next week its plans to build a gas-fired power station in the Hunter Valley.
Taylor’s Kurri Kurri “gas” plant to run on dirty diesel first
Environmental Impact Statement for the gas plant proposed for the NSW Hunter region by Angus Taylor reveals it would run for 6 months on diesel, before switching to mostly gas.
Big wet, big find: Cluster of critically endangered orchids found in NSW Southern Highlands
A cluster of about 170 critically endangered orchids has been discovered after a wet summer in the New South Wales Southern Highlands, giving scientists hope they can conserve the species.
ACT
Sussan Ley invited to visit her lost parrot forests
Environment Minister Sussan Ley visited woodlands near Canberra this morning to see critically endangered swift parrots. The parrots have arrived back on the mainland after migrating from Tasmania where they nested over summer. Early reports are that none were there for the minister to wave toward extinction.
Record-breaking run another plaudit for ACT’s new hydrogen-powered Nexos
The latest zero-emissions car chosen for the ACT’s government fleet has just broken a world record for the longest distance travelled by a hydrogen-powered vehicle on a single tank.
National Seed Bank to get $7.2 million upgrade
The National Seed Bank is currently housed in a series of ramshackle buildings at the botanic gardens in Canberra but the plan is to turn it into a state-of-the art facility.
Queensland
Adani contractor left asking government for finance after insurers flee
The federal government is asked to step in and provide finance to companies building Adani’s Carmichael mine and rail link, after one of Adani’s biggest contractors revealed it was unable to insure its work on the project.
Moreton Island to be returned to Indigenous owners in $16 million deal
About 17,000 hectares of national and conservation parkland on Mulgumpin (Moreton Island) will be handed back to the Quandamooka People.
Buses take on trains to get to the planes
Brisbane’s Airtrain finally has some public transport competition after company Skybus began services between the CBD and airport.
“I don’t get it:” Why an old wind farm is unable to add a new big battery
Tilt Renewables says it wanted to be a trailblazer, but found that rules make it too difficult to add battery storage to an existing wind farm.
Tasmania
Release water from Gorge to help mitigate Tamar algal blooms
Letters
There is nothing new about how badly contaminated the kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary sediment is, or possible problems associated with algae
Northern Territory
New partnership launched to protect, restore NT waterways [$]
A new partnership is hoping to hook recreational fishers a habitat protection and restoration project.
Western Australia
Criminal dumps rot down south as WA bleeds $100m a year
Honest waste recycling facilities have begged the state to clamp down on a practice that’s effectively shut down their industry at a time it should be booming.
Parks and Wildlife issue warning as controlled burns blanket Perth with smoke haze
Authorities are warning a thick haze blanketing Perth will not clear until tonight.
Sustainability
What is the health impact of buildings in your state?
Outdoor air pollution from buildings harms public health across the United States
Water firms are main source of microplastics in UK rivers, study says
Research says discharge of untreated sewage and wastewater during dry spells to blame
Study finds alarming levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in US mothers’ breast milk
Toxic chemicals known as PFAS found in all 50 samples tested at levels nearly 2,000 times what is considered safe in drinking water
Video: Yes, you can sail around the world on solar power
The French research ship Energy Observer proves the concept. But shipping remains a decarbonization challenge.
The Texas blackouts generated billions in revenue for gas companies
For most Texans, the widespread blackouts after a winter storm this February were a nightmare. In addition to at least a hundred deaths, households and other electricity users in the state were forced to pay tens of billions of worth of electricity bills.
Musk halts use of bitcoin for Tesla cars over climate concerns
Tesla will no longer accept bitcoin for car purchases, chief executive Elon Musk said, citing long-brewing environmental concerns for a swift reversal in the company’s position.
Electrifying agriculture in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, major institutions recognize that supporting productive uses of energy is key to achieve the national target of universal electrification. Both the Ministry of Water, Irrigation, and Energy (MOWIE) and the Ethiopian Electric Utility will leverage distributed energy resources and productive uses of energy to pursue universal electrification through the US$500 million Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia (ADELE) Project.
Julieanne Geiger
Despite the group’s relative success at curbing oil production to prevent excess oil inventories from ballooning before the market fully recovers, India’s booming case counts have prevented oil prices from a quicker recovery.
Searching for sanity in a world hell-bent on destruction
Samuel Alexander
The line between what is normal and what is pathological has blurred. We risk our collective sanity and our planet if we stick to business as usual.
Nature Conservation
Orangutan finding highlights need to protect habitat
Wild orangutans are known for their ability to survive food shortages, but scientists have made a surprising finding that highlights the need to protect the habitat of these critically endangered primates, which face rapid habitat destruction and threats linked to climate change.
Only 17 percent of free-flowing rivers are protected
The research demonstrates that biodiversity commitments will be key to global freshwater protection.
Trees need wind to reproduce. Climate change is messing that up
Understanding how quickly the location range of a species of trees can migrate in response to climate change is important, but it’s also important to consider how different genetic adaptations may be able to travel between populations of a given tree species.
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