Date: 2 June 2021 at 9:03:09 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jun 2
Post of the Day
Pesticides are killing the world’s soils
Beneath fields covered in tightly knit rows of corn, soybeans, wheat and other monoculture crops, a toxic soup of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides is wreaking havoc.
On This Day
Climate Change
‘We all have to do it’: US and EU leaders call for more action at climate summit
A virtual climate summit hosted by South Korea has seen representatives urge nations to work together to curb climate change.
Mathias Cormann calls for ‘ambitious’ plan to reach net-zero emissions
Mathias Cormann, in his first speech as head of the OECD, has called for action on climate change including more sustainable growth out of the pandemic.
Precise data for improved coastline protection
First comprehensive measurements of sea level changes in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea
With Trump gone, old fault lines in the climate movement reopen, complicating Biden’s path forward
As President Joe Biden works to enact his plan for cutting greenhouse gases, a long dormant rift among climate action activists is surfacing.
Is the U. S. understating climate emissions from meat and dairy production?
New analysis indicates undercounting of methane emissions from north American livestock
If countries implement Paris pledges with cuts to aerosols, millions of lives can be saved
Aerosol reductions that would take place as countries meet climate goals could contribute to global cooling and prevent more than one million annual premature deaths over a decade, according to a new study from the University of California San Diego.
Greenhouse gas emissions from reservoirs higher than previously expected
A new study shows per-area greenhouse gas emissions from the world’s water reservoirs are around 29% higher than suggested by previous studies, but that practical measures could be taken to help reduce that impact.
Key causes of ocean circulation change
Researchers have identified the key factors that influence a vital pattern of ocean currents.
Shell’s historic loss in The Hague is a turning point in the fight against big oil
Tessa Khan
The oil giants that have helped drive the climate crisis are finally being forced to take responsibility for their actions
Climate explained: why is the Arctic warming faster than other parts of the world?
Steve Turton
What is Arctic amplification? Do we know what is causing this phenomenon? What effects is it having, both in the region and for the world? Is Antarctica experiencing the same thing?
Global carbon incentive an elegant economic solution for emissions [$]
Raghuram G. Rajan
A global fund that charged big and small emitters would be fair, prevent free-riding, and leave countries free to choose their own path to net zero.
National
1000 per cent renewables for Australia? ARENA boss says that is the goal
ARENA CEO suggests Australia’s electricity production could grow ten fold, and all from renewables, while becoming a global clean energy supplier.
Covid noise slips from Australia’s emissions data as Taylor inflates Gorgon role
Angus Taylor inflates Gorgon CCS role in emissions data, as reductions from renewables offset by growth in fossil fuels.
Izzy Raj-Seppings made global headlines in late 2019 when she stared down riot police threatening to arrest her outside Scott Morrison’s home. Now, she’s fighting climate change on several fronts, including a landmark class action with several other teens against a coal mine extension.
Scientists propose urgent $824m mission to document Australia’s undiscovered plants and animals
Climate crisis makes mammoth task of recording all of Australia’s species over the next 25 years critical, academy says
Explosives company will let workers refuse to blast if they fear damaging Indigenous heritage
Dyno Nobel announcement comes days after a similar decision by competitor Orica and a year after Rio Tinto blew up Juukan Gorge
ASIC targets fossil fuel companies over climate change [$]
The corporate regulator issued warnings last year to five companies saying they risked breaking the law because of non-disclosure of climate change risks.
Blow-up over gas sees ALP divided [$]
Labor’s division on gas has erupted in a meeting of federal MPs, with Left faction members opposing taxpayer support to open up supply from the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory.
We need to go with the flow and invest in different storage technologies
Luke Osborne
Australia is focusing its storage options on lithium ion batteries and pumped hydro. It needs to look at other options.
Willow trees are notorious pests. But for freshwater animals, they could be unlikely climate heroes
Paul McInerney and Tanya Doody
Climate change will make Australia hotter and drier in future, and we’re starting to see the dangerous consequences of this in our rivers, lakes and streams.
AGL’s Greenpeace lawsuit is a SLAPP in the face for free speech [$]
Katrina Bullock
Over the past week, a major explosion at a coal-fired power station caused nearly half a million Queenslanders to lose power, the G7 announced it would stop international financing of carbon-emitting coal projects, and the Lowy Institute climate poll revealed nearly two-thirds of Australians support a ban on new coal mines.
Hey presto, a new legal duty pushes judicial boundaries [$]
Janet Albrechtsen
In the Federal Court last week, legal alchemy was on show in spades. Justice Mordecai Bromberg created a novel duty of care and decided the federal Environment Minister must not make decisions that cause harm to Australian children by adding to the effects of climate change.
Hundreds of Australian lizard species are barely known to science. Many may face extinction
Jane Melville and Reid Tingley
Most of the incredible diversity of life on Earth is yet to be discovered and documented. In some groups of organisms – terrestrial arthropods such as spiders and scorpions, marine invertebrates such as sponges and molluscs, and others – scientists have described fewer than 20% of species.
Victoria
Tree canopy loss on North East Link underestimated by 80%
Builders of the $16 billion North East Link underestimated tree canopy loss by as much as 80 per cent, a secret government-commissioned audit of the toll road reveals.
Wastewater biogas to lead NSW “renewable gas” certification scheme
Some NSW households will be offered the chance to opt-in to buying renewable gas, in a new pilot certification scheme launched by the NSW government.
Environmental water pumps new life into traditional Aboriginal site at Chowilla
After three months of pumping water into an important site for the Riverland’s First Nations people, native wildlife are returning to a once dry lake.
Grave fears for native fish as carp numbers tipped to boom in the Darling
The floodwaters expanding across the Darling River system should be good news for native species, but they may prove to be disastrous.
Queensland
City’s e-bike invasion: Residents say footpath safety is their main concern
Brisbane residents are worried about what the growing influx of e-bikes and e-scooters means for pedestrian and rider safety and the potential for more street clutter, according to a survey compiled for the Brisbane City Council.
Brisbane company goes from old squash court to helping save Barrier Reef
A quest to save the Great Barrier Reef from the impacts of climate change has led to an invention that could dramatically change Australia’s energy industry.
Cape York was quarantined a year ago — now it’s expecting its busiest season in a decade
After two wet seasons and a pandemic shutdown, Cape York is ready to welcome tourists back, and they already are coming in droves.
Turning the tables — how table corals are regenerating reefs
New research shows table corals can regenerate coral reef habitats on the Great Barrier Reef decades faster than any other coral type. The research suggests overall reef recovery would slow considerably if table corals declined or disappeared on the Great Barrier Reef.
South Australia to install free Tesla batteries in homes without rooftop solar
South Australia to extend its virtual power plant scheme to state housing homes that do not have rooftop solar in effort to create a big solar sponge.
In a sign of changing times, RAA patrols are using its first electric car to train patrols on how to fix and recharge other electric vehicles on the roadside.
Mining royalties to Flinders Ranges Aboriginal group suspended
Mining royalty payments have been suspended to a Flinders Ranges Aboriginal group after questions about whether money is flowing to the people it’s supposed to benefit.
Tasmania
Saving the planet, one keg at a time [$]
A Tasmanian company is hoping its invention will remove 100 million plastic milk bottles from the production line every year.
Tarkine tourist protester bailed after three days in custody [$]
A young Victorian tourist arrested protesting in the Tarkine has been bailed after spending three nights in custody.
Media release – Jacquie Petrusma, Minister for Parks
The Tourism Master Plan (TMP) for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) is now complete after being informed by extensive consultation with the Tasmanian community and stakeholders.
Tourism Plan is ‘lipstick on parks privatisation pig’
Transcript of media conference with Tom Allen, Campaign Manager Wilderness Society lutruwita
Wilderness guides respond to Tourism Master Plan
Media release – Tasmanian Wilderness Guides Association
The Tasmanian Wilderness Guides Association is pleased to see the TWWHA Tourism Master Plan released today but question why it took the Tasmanian Government so long.
Northern Territory
‘This project will be a good project’: Minister says spat won’t stop mine [$]
The NT’s mining minister says she is confident the spat between the proponent of a $1 billion Territory mine and the NT’s environmental watchdog boss will not affect their working relationship.
Western Australia
Western Australia’s natural ‘museums of biodiversity’ at risk
Up to three quarters of the biodiversity living on Western Australia’s iconic ironstone mountains in the State’s Mid West (known as Banded Iron Formations) could be difficult or impossible to return quickly to its previous state after the landscape has been mined, a study has found.
Sustainability
UK ranked last in Europe for bathing water quality in 2020
European Environment Agency judges only 110 British coastal and inland sites to be excellent
Alternatives to plastic straws: Which materials are suitable?
Drinking straws are single use plastic products which will be subjected to a Europe-wide sales ban from 2021 onwards. This is stated in EU Directive 2019/904 from June 5, 2019. Consequently, alternative materials have to be established for the production of drinking straws as well as other frequently used products which predominantly were made of plastic so far.
Pollution nearly doubles the risk of losing your sense of smell
The loss of smell, a condition known as anosmia, can severely affect a person’s quality of life, making it extremely difficult to taste foods, detect airborne hazards in the environment, and carry out other functions dependent on the sense.
Pesticides are killing the world’s soils
Beneath fields covered in tightly knit rows of corn, soybeans, wheat and other monoculture crops, a toxic soup of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides is wreaking havoc.
In pursuit of climate-friendly refrigerants – podcast
New legislation commits the U.S. to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons, but there’s no ideal alternative.
Ways to improve the planet after COVID
Here are a few ideas on improving your little part of the post-pandemic Earth that you could latch onto, or maybe you have some ideas of your own.
Are we ignoring the hard truths about the most likely cause of COVID-19?
Liam Mannix
It is my strong sense, based on my reporting over the last 18 months, that the majority of Australian experts believe the evidence is strongly slanted towards the virus having emerged naturally from animals – as most other pandemics have.
Brazil’s Amazonian rivers swell to 100-year highs causing large-scale flooding
They’ve seen floods before in Manaus, but nothing quite this big. As the records tumble, experts warn the worst will be still to come.
How the major Swedish forest fire of 2014 affected the ecosystem
Researchers have spent four years gathering data from the areas affected by the major forest fire of 2014. In their study of how the ecosystem as a whole has been altered, they could see that water quality in watercourses quickly returned to normal, while forested areas continued to lose carbon for many years after the fire.
Common French bird species face ‘unrelenting’ decline
From city centres to rural fields, human activity has decimated populations of France’s most common bird species, scientists warned, citing data collected over 30 years by volunteer ornithologists.
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