Post of the Day
Park it! Why the world is greener
In the past decade, countries have protected enough land to equal the size of Russia. The global drive for land conservation sets an example for other eco-challenges.
On This Day
Climate Change
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide at risk from rising sea levels
Rising sea levels have put 267 million people in danger, a groundbreaking report has revealed – and that number is only going to increase.
How to talk to your kids about climate change
Here’s what to do when your little one brings up sea-level rise, extinction, wildfires, and other ecological griefs.
Climate explained: how the IPCC reaches scientific consensus on climate change
Rebecca Harris
When we say there’s a scientific consensus that human-produced greenhouse gases are causing climate change, what does that mean? What is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and what do they do?
National
You might expect areas with a high climate risk to want more action on climate policy, but that’s not always the case. We compared the results from the Australia Talks National Survey to risk assessment data for each electorate.
Plastic waste export ban comes into force, but could it see recycling sent to landfill?
An export ban on sending mixed plastics overseas for recycling comes into force on July 1, but it could see recyclable items sent to landfill.
Barnaby Joyce says Australia needs low-emission coal stations and backs nuclear power
Deputy prime minister also blasts banks for managing carbon risk and supports coal exports in Sky News interview
AEMO promises to refine solar switch-off, but says measure is needed
AEMO considers more sophisticated, transparent solutions to maintaining minimum demand than simply shutting off rooftop solar
‘Ticking time bombs’: Qld minister slugs petroleum industry with clean-up bill
The petroleum industry has fired back at Resources Minister Keith Pitt after he imposed a levy on companies to pay the clean-up costs of an old offshore rig.
“Fundamental flaw”: Big coal generators slam Taylor’s favoured coal subsidy
Angus Taylor preferred coal subsidy has been rubbished by most of Australia’s biggest coal generators, who say it will stop investment in new technologies.
Department refuses to disclose details of Collinsville coal study approval process
The Morrison government has refused to release details of approvals for a controversial $3.6 million grant for a coal plant feasibility study.
Government economists accept reality and slash coal export forecasts
The government’s resources forecaster has significantly revised downwards their predictions of thermal coal exports. Is this the beginning of the end?
Carbon Bomb Beetaloo: world goes net zero, yet Coalition steps on the gas, Labor nods
Callum Foote
Tracts the size of Bulgaria open for oil and gas exploration, along with generous government subsidies for foreign oil companies. Just as the world is tackling climate change, Australia is accelerating its fossil fuel production, and in almost every state and territory. Callum Foote investigates the bizarre hand-outs for a foreign hedge fund drilling for gas and the carve up of the NT’s Beetaloo Basin.
New report’s big news on population will worry pollies and business but not me
Ross Gittins
The Intergenerational Report sounds an alarm on the ageing population but overlooks how the economy adjusts to change.
Nationals use fear, dodgy ‘science’ and bad faith to divide the nation over water
Tory Shepherd
The Nats’ blustering about the Murray-Darling Basin — including the claim science ‘no longer supports SA needing fresh water’ — knows no bounds.
Building’s timber shortage set to worsen [$]
Robert Gottliebsen
The severe shortage of timber that is plaguing the Australian building industry is not a one-off event. It is going to get a lot worse unless we change governments and policies.
Victoria
Victorian government commits $14m to battery facility, regional hydrogen hub
The Deakin Energy director says the facilities will be used to develop and test new technologies at scale in a bid to make hydrogen a viable option.
Supporting local innovators to advance electric vehicle technology
A Melbourne company specialising in robotic electric vehicles is set to expand its research and development and production activities at its new $2 million facility in Bayswater North, with funding support from the Victorian Government.
‘Raw deal’: Feds face backlash from Melbourne’s north-west councils over ‘rorted’ fund
A scathing audit found the multibillion-dollar fund for commuter car parks and road intersections had been awarded the day before the election was called, and not on merit.
Energy giant’s bold move amid row with potato farmers [$]
After Western Victorian residents slammed a plan to build monster power lines through their land, AusNet has taken a big step forward.
Yallourn powers up again as EnergyAustralia gains permission to divert river
EPA grants EnergyAustralia emergency approvals to divert river in bid to prevent Yallourn coal mine from flooding.
New South Wales
Feral deer in Canberra on rise due to Black Summer bushfires
The Black Summer bushfires may have led to the country’s large feral deer population encroaching on areas beyond its normal habitat, including parts of the ACT, according to leading conservationists.
Freeways lost on the way to Sydney’s post-CBD
John Muscat
Urban planning Twitter is full of laments, mostly from Americans, about the impact of freeways built since the 1950s on inner-city precincts. Many claim they were created with racist intentions.
Queensland
Green metals, making body parts and eating algae may be the future for Queensland
Nine emerging industries using high technology would create as many as 30,000 direct jobs in Queensland over the next 10 years, according to a report from QUT and the CSIRO.
Ministers are neglecting their sacred trust
Peter Boyer
A week ago an angry environment minister, Sussan Ley, was telling anyone listening that the federal government had been “blindsided” by the proposal of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to list the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger”.
Australia shouldn’t be poster boy for climate change perils [$]
Sussan Ley
Once again, the sometimes troubled waters of the Great Barrier Reef are being politicised as a lens through which the world can argue climate change.
South Australia
Adelaide’s green hub to be envy of the world [$]
Nearly $500m, including money from an Australian billionaire and an enormous uni grant, will be pumped into two clean energy research centres.
Mining giant ‘sucking life out of SA’s vanishing springs’ [$]
An probe into the destruction of WA’s Juukan Cave has heard another miner is among businesses killing one of SA’s natural and cultural marvel
Tasmania
Building a bandicoot haven in your yard
On mainland Australia, eastern barred bandicoots no longer exist in the wild. But the endangered species survives in Tasmania — and suburban backyards can be their safe havens.
Retired Launceston GP joins Bob Brown Foundation protests in Tarkine
A former Launceston GP has joined protest activity in the Tarkine to raise awareness about the climate crisis and help prevent MMG from building a new tailings dam at its proposed site.
Drilling machinery returns to Westbury prison land after eight months of delay
Three trucks, drilling machinery and four four-wheel-drives rolled onto the informal reserve north of Westbury on Monday to begin core test drilling as part of due diligence for a maximum security prison proposal.
Lawyers Alliance: Transparency needed on TWWHA developments
A change to the law is needed to ensure transparency around private development in environmentally significant parts of Tasmania, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
Doctors urge heritage listing for takayna/ Tarkine – for health’s sake
Tasmanian doctors have today written an open letter to federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley, calling for an emergency National Heritage Listing of takayna/ Tarkine on health grounds.
Pro-cable car group lashes out at lord mayor Anna Reynolds
Anna Reynolds’ Facebook posts inviting people to discuss the divisive Hobart Cable Car proposal have been removed from a page in support of the project, with the group posting a series of scathing remarks about the lord mayor.
Dynnyrne residents protest fifth lane proposal
Media conference with Dynnyrne residents in front of Parliament House
Sustainability
US needs 30m new trees to combat shade disparity, study finds
First ever nationwide tally of trees reveals how communities of color and poorer neighborhoods lack canopy
Israel to lose 10 percent of open spaces by 2050 unless birthrate drops, experts say
This is one of the conclusions of a recent study on population density in the country, whose authors say only by curbing population growth and using land more efficiently can Israel hope to slow the transformation of open spaces into roads and buildings.
Air pollution’s invisible toll on your health
Children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with pre-existing heart or lung disease are the most vulnerable.
Chemicals in plastic wastes contaminate food chain – study
Burning and improper disposal of plastic wastes lead to contamination of the food chain, especially in developing countries like the Philippines, a global study showed.
Technology changing human nature must be treated with caution
Paul Budde
Extreme caution must be taken when humans experiment with transhuman and posthuman technology
Australia’s water tragedy has urgent lessons for America
Scott Hamilton and Stuart Kells
There is less and less water in the US and Australia – and more and more people want it. Emulating Australia’s failing water market won’t help the US manage this precious resource
A 50% rise in level of CO2 could reduce rainfall in Amazon more than deforestation
A 50% rise in the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere could reduce rainfall in the Amazon as much as or even more than substitution of the entire forest by pasture.
Ecocide gets a new definition, and UCLA scholars played a key role
Scholars from The Promise Institute for Human Rights, part of the UCLA School of Law, have played a large part in defining the new crime of ecocide, which could have significant implications for battling climate destruction.
Wildebeest, bustards and bongos: Kenya begins first national census of wildlife
Count aims to provide crucial conservation data on animals including pangolins, turtles and antelope
Park it! Why the world is greener
In the past decade, countries have protected enough land to equal the size of Russia. The global drive for land conservation sets an example for other eco-challenges.
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