Post of the Day
Building new solar now cheaper than keeping existing coal plants open: BNEF
Plunging costs of solar could prompt coal plants in India, China and much of Europe to be shutdown early, delivering another blow to Australia’s huge thermal coal export industry.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Arbor Day – Nicaragua
Arbor Day – Philippines
National Catfish Day – USA
Climate Change
‘Wasted so much time’: New global panel to say carbon must be pulled from atmosphere
Governments will need to resort to extracting carbon from the atmosphere to avoid catastrophic climate change, according to the only Australian-based researcher of a new international scientific group.
Climate paradox: Warming is cooling parts of Antarctica
Antarctica is a land of enigmas and contradictions — especially in the age of climate change. While the Antarctic region is warming on the whole, not every part of the continent is heating up at the same pace. In fact, some areas appear to be cooling.
Politics is now the battleground for climate change says leading UK scientist
Leading climate experts have launched an international advisory group with a program aimed at mitigating the consequences of climate change through emissions reduction, greenhouse gas removal, and climate repair.
These ‘supertrees’ are engineered to capture more carbon
But the introduction of genetically modified trees raises some difficult questions.
The RET is met but it’s corporate demand driving renewables growth, says regulator
Clean Energy Regulator reports strong start for carbon and clean energy markets in 2021, but industry remains concerned by prevailing headwinds.
Oregon shows how to broaden the coalition for ambitious climate policy
Take a look at what Oregon’s doing.
Climate action must take into account women’s right to land
Juliana Nnoko-Mewanu
Climate action plans have to include measures to redress women disproportionately affected by deforestation and plantation expansion.
It’s not the heat—it’s the humanity
Bill McKibben
Rising air temperatures remind us that our bodies have real limits.
National
EPBC laws: Senators dig in on environmental overhaul
The Morrison government is facing an uphill task to pass its overhaul of environmental approval laws, with key Senate crossbenchers still opposed to parts of the contentious proposal.
Carbon price carrot, not stick, to hit net zero [$]
Big companies including supermarkets and airlines that have committed to reducing their emissions are driving accelerating demand for carbon credits.
Offshore wind farms will create tens of thousands of jobs under Labor: Chris Bowen [$]
A federal Labor government would unlock billions of dollars of investment in offshore wind farms by prioritising a regulatory framework that would be used to assess eight proposed renewables projects off Australia’s east and west coastlines.
Nationals push Murray-Darling Basin plans to House of Representatives, furthering rift with Liberals
Kath Sullivan
With Murray-Darling water-saving deadlines fast approaching, communities throughout the Basin can see a train wreck is coming — and the party holding the portfolio don’t want to go with it.
Coalition can no longer hide internal divisions over climate policy
SMH editorial
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s policy of having his cake and eating it on emissions reduction is untenable.
Government’s electricity savings claims are a stretch [$]
John Durie
The ability of politicians to select facts to sing their own praises beggars belief, as underlined by a new federal government release.
Molten salt-cooled technology could change nuclear’s ‘dirty’ tag
Robert Gottliebsen
Federal cabinet has once again considered water-cooled nuclear power plants as the best way to generate carbon-free power. They reached the right conclusion: “No”. But their reasons were all wrong.
Barnaby’s back — and so are the climate wars
Emma Dawson
Since Barnaby Joyce’s sensational return to the leadership of the National Party and consequently the Deputy Prime Ministership, much has been written about what this means for Scott Morrison and the Coalition Government he leads.
How our housing can make it feel like a Russian winter
Chris Jensen
Australia’s housing just isn’t good enough when it comes to dealing with winter temperatures – we need to take lessons from the Northern Hemisphere
Aaron Simmons et al
Soil carbon is in the spotlight in Australia. A key plank in the Morrison government’s technology-led emissions reduction policy, it involves changing farming techniques so soils store more carbon from the atmosphere.
Kurt Iveson
This week, the NSW government announced almost A$500 million towards boosting the uptake of electric vehicles. In its new electric vehicle strategy, the government will waive stamp duty for cars under $78,000, develop more charging infrastructure, offer rebates to 25,000 drivers, and more.
Victoria
New national parks created in Victoria, but not everyone’s happy about it
The state government’s protecting more than 65,000 hectares of parkland by creating three new national parks in Victoria’s central west.
New South Wales
Turnbull calls for NSW Parliamentary inquiry into mine remediation bonds
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is calling for a New South Wales Parliamentary investigation into “inadequate” coal mine rehabilitation bonds.
‘Too many loopholes’: NSW inquiry to scrutinise use of environmental offsets
Parliamentary probe follows Guardian Australia investigation that revealed serious concerns about the system
Queensland
Pumped hydro scheme may be solution for drought-stricken town
As communities across Australia grapple with long-term water issues, a desperate town in central Queensland is hoping a pumped hydro scheme will be its salvation.
For decades, the dominant approach to “wild dog” management has involved trying to wipe them out. But a new group argues learning to co-exist with dingoes could benefit both landholders and the environment.
Adani – now Bravus – strikes coal at controversial Carmichael mine
The company says operations can now begin, but with its rail line to Abbot Point still under construction whatever is extracted will have to be stored at the site.
Miner warns jobs are on the line despite hitting paydirt [$]
The mining giant formerly known as Adani has struck first coal at its controversial Carmichael mine, but warns lending practices by banks could threaten future employment.
Adani adopts strategy of obscuring details of Carmichael coalmine water plan
Internal email reveals decision not to give ‘further clarity’ to Guardian, raising concerns about 8bn litre annual shortfall.
Great Barrier Reef: UNESCO defends ‘in danger’ declaration
There is “irrefutable and indisputable” scientific evidence that the Great Barrier Reef is deteriorating due to climate change, UNESCO has said, as it pushed back against the Morrison government’s fury over its move to declare the natural wonder endangered.
Great Barrier Reef: International ambassadors ‘concerned’ at ‘in danger’ call [$]
Eleven countries have backed Australia’s call to denounce UNESCO’s consultation process after it proposed downgrading the health status of the Great Barrier Reef to “in danger”.
This time, the ‘danger’ sign must go up
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
Ten years ago, the Great Barrier Reef was almost placed on the “in danger” list. A decade of further decline shows why that listing must happen now.
UNESCO has always been mired in politics and squabbling, but this shouldn’t detract from its work
Stephen Hill
Australia has suggested a UNESCO recommendation to list the Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger’ was motivated by politics. This is hardly the first such accusation levied at the organisation.
South Australia
South Australians frustrated by Nationals’ bid to change Murray-Darling Basin Plan
South Australian Liberal MPs and voters have reacted angrily to National MPs trying to rewrite the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in Federal Parliament.
South Australia does not need fresh water, Nationals claim in fiery Murray-Darling Basin plan debate
Party’s push to rewrite the government’s water policy described as ‘wacky, dangerous and anti-science’
Country town’s sewerage system over capacity [$]
It’s only midway through its life expectancy but a problem plagued seaside sewerage system is struggling under the demands of the local fishing industry.
Tasmania
Tasmania’s giant underwater kelp forests have almost vanished, but science offers a glimmer of hope
Heat tolerant giant kelp are flourishing at trial sites along the east coast of Tasmania, raising hopes that the world’s largest algae can adapt to climate change.
The High Court has rejected a bid from the Bob Brown Foundation to overturn a Federal Court judgment endorsed the Regional Forest Agreement in Tasmania.
Submissions on latest Draft Tasmanian Recreational Sea Fishing Strategy open until July
Easier access to fishing for families and the mobility impaired, and reasonable resource sharing between commercial and recreational fishers, are what recreational fishers will be looking out for in the Draft Tasmanian Recreational Sea Fishing Strategy.
JBS formalises its sustainability credentials in a new framework
Australia’s leading certified grass-fed beef and lamb program, JBS’ Great Southern, says its responding to evolving customer expectations by introducing its first formal sustainability framework.
Northern Territory
NT govt should be ‘very concerned’ about Beetaloo fracking probe: Environment Centre NT
The Gunner Government should be ‘very concerned’ about what could come to light from a newly-established parliamentary inquiry into fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, according to a leading Territory environmental advocate.
Western Australia
Controversial marine park plan attracts 17,000 submissions
Officials begin a difficult balancing act as they sort through the concerns of rival interest groups over a proposed 660,000-hectare park along the Kimberley coast.
Carbon farming and China a focus for McGowan [$]
Mark McGowan has hailed carbon farming potential as a huge opportunity for the agriculture sector, while reiterating his earlier calls for a reset of the relationship between Australia and China.
Why Exmouth Gulf wasn’t included in Ningaloo’s World Heritage listing
Paul Gamblin
It was included in the boundary recommended by the official committee that assessed the area for nomination… so what happened? And what will happen next?
As industry circles and visitors boom, bold campaign launches for WA’s favourite escape
Emma Young
Migrating humpbacks are arriving, ecotourism is spiking, heavy industry is knocking loudly. But that’s only the start of what’s happening at the north-west tourism hub.
Sustainability
Powering bitcoin mining with waste coal isn’t a green idea
How much environmental karma do you earn if you mop up one type of pollution by creating another?
Can massive cargo ships use wind to go green?
Cargo vessels belch almost as much carbon into the air each year as the entire continent of South America. Modern sails could have a surprising impact.
Drones are helping to clean up the world’s plastic pollution
UK startup Ellipsis Earth is using drones and computer software to map trash around the world.
The Scandinavian way to zero-carbon construction
Cities like Oslo, Helsinki and Copenhagen are working to clean up one of the world’s most high-emission industries.
Building new solar now cheaper than keeping existing coal plants open: BNEF
Plunging costs of solar could prompt coal plants in India, China and much of Europe to be shutdown early, delivering another blow to Australia’s huge thermal coal export industry.
Global offshore wind farm pipeline balloons by 200GW since 2020
New data shows the global offshore wind pipeline has ballooned by more than 200GW since 2020, but completion of all these project is expected to be much slower.
EVs cost 40 percent less to maintain than conventional cars, energy department report says
Maintenance costs for a light-duty, battery-powered car are around 40 percent less per mile than for a gas-powered car, according to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory.
Three out of four emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic—spread from animals to humans. Epidemiologists recently evaluated how many zoonotic viruses have been detected in each mammalian species to assess which pose the greatest spillover threat.
Buildings are in hot spots for climate-fueled disasters
Buildings are concentrated in places that are likely to be hit by a disaster such as a hurricane, flood or wildfire, researchers found. That includes both urban and rural hotspots.
Why ‘tiny forests’ are popping up in big cities
Community forests the size of a basketball court can make an outsized difference, providing shade, attracting plants and animals, and even storing a bit of carbon.
Maria De Jesus
In the race between infection and injection, injection has lost. Public health experts estimate that approximately 70% of the world’s 7.9 billion people must be fully vaccinated to end the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 21, 2021, 10.04% of the global population had been fully vaccinated, nearly all of them in rich countries.
The insurgency against big oil
Binoy Kampmark
While Australian politicians languish in a world blotched by climate change scepticism and fossil fuel love-ins, global oil and gas companies have been shaken.
The secret of home energy efficiency? Don’t talk about home energy efficiency
Jeff St John
Residential retrofit startups agree: energy savings must pay for quality-of-life improvements to grow business and bring in lower-cost capital.
‘War in the woods’: hundreds of anti-logging protesters arrested in Canada
Activists seeking to halt cutting of ancient trees have chained themselves to trunks in remote woodland
Mystery illness strikes down birds across US south and midwest
Scientists are trying to find the cause of an affliction that leaves victims with crusty eyes, swollen faces and the inability to fly
Mining’s new frontier: Pacific nations caught in the rush for deep-sea riches
Miners are pushing hard to extract metals from the ocean floor, but there is mounting concern about what it might do to the marine environment.
What happens if pollinators and plants drift apart?
When warming temperatures alter one side of the mutually beneficial relationship between pollinators and flowering plants, there’s a risk that the whole process might be thrown off, potentially harming the insects, the plants and the broader ecological community.
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