Post of the Day
No excuse to continue reliance on fossil fuels, says leading nano-technologist
One of the leading thinkers in nano-science has called on the energy materials community to help finally put an end to the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.
On This Day
Climate Change
COVID-19 spending plans set to drive global emissions to record levels in 2023, projections show
The International Energy Agency says while countries have allocated more than $21 trillion in fiscal support throughout the pandemic, just $518 billion, or two per cent, has gone to clean energy projects.
John Kerry: world leaders must step up to avoid worst impacts of climate crisis
US envoy uses landmark speech in London to make impassioned plea for unified global effort
‘Reckless’: G20 states subsidised fossil fuels by $3tn since 2015, says report
Support for coal, oil and gas remains high despite pledges to tackle climate crisis
BlackRock backs climate activists [$]
The world’s biggest fund manager is slowly but surely turning up the heat on boards failing to act on environmental risk disclosures.
Review evaluates the evidence for an intensifying Indian Ocean water cycle
The Indian Ocean has been warming much more than other ocean basins over the last 50-60 years.
Climate activists pan carbon capture plans
More than 500 environmental and community groups – from the Nassau Hiking & Outdoor Club to Greenpeace USA – have called on United States and Canadian leaders to abandon efforts to capture carbon emissions from fossil fuels and work harder to curb fossil fuel use in the first place.
Ariane Burgess
The fact that the UK government is even contemplating giving approval for a vast new oil field months before hosting the United Nations’ Cop26 summit is an infuriating example of the Conservatives’ climate hypocrisy.
National
Australian wind output record smashed after big boost from South Australia
Record wind output on Australia’s main grid on Tuesday afternoon, with a big boost from South Australia.
Battery storage faces two year wait for new rules that optimise its use
Battery storage industry happy with new rules that recognise some of their multiple tools, but not pleased with another two-year wait.
More wet weather on the way as BOM declares negative IOD
The climate phenomenon that brought Australia one of its wettest winters has been officially declared for the first time in five years.
Resistance in the ranks: any nudge by Morrison towards net zero by 2050 will be a tough sell to LNP [$]
Australia’s prime minister is under pressure to act on climate change, but resolutions ahead of LNP convention show strong opposition
Nationals warn Barnaby Joyce on move to net zero carbon emissions [$]
Nationals MPs are warning Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce that the party cannot rule out a national shift to net zero emissions by 2050.
Green manufacturing hubs in mining regions could add $30bn to the economy, new report says [$]
Green-powered industrial hubs in Gladstone and the Hunter Valley could add $13bn to the nation’s economy and create 45,000 jobs, new economic analysis claims.
Call to Morrison Government for coastal and marine commission
Brad Farmer
One of Australia’s most prominent conservationists is urging the Morrison Government to do more in protecting our coastal resources.
Getting electric cars on the road in Australia could be easier than you think
Ross Gittins
A key step is to get the price down by removing taxes.
Australia’s position is increasingly untenable
Letters
Age readers have their say on the federal government’s climate change position.
Net-zero or bust: conservative Australia is approaching a moment of truth [$]
Paul Kelly
Conservative Australia is approaching a moment of truth. The pressure on the Morrison government to pledge net-zero carbon emissions at 2050 cannot be delayed or averted and the speed of global politics now makes this goal mainstream, not radical.
Vanessa Pirotta
Blue whales, the largest animals to ever live, are surprisingly elusive.
Toxic waste rebranded: Australia bans Third World dumping, leaves giant toxic loophole
Luke Stacey
“It’s our waste, it’s our problem”, said Scott Morrison as he announced the nation’s waste export ban culminating in 2024. Not really. It’s a good thing Australia has banned solid waste dumping to the Third World but we have left a gaping, toxic loophole; burning plastics for energy.
Victoria
Gippsland onshore gas licence holder on notice
Victoria’s resources regulator is taking action to ensure the safety of gas wells and infrastructure with the restarting of the onshore conventional gas sector.
New South Wales
Traditional owners concerned with plan to dump spoil in Kosciuszko National Park
The Snowy Hydro 2.0’s approval document says approximately seven million cubic metres of spoil will be dumped across four sites in the park.
Tomago to host one of Australia’s first lithium ion battery factories
Energy Renaissance secures federal government funding for pilot lithium ion battery factory in Tomago.
Most ‘zombie’ exploration licences across NSW killed off by government
Expired petroleum exploration licences across NSW can’t be used for gas exploration under changes announced by the Berejiklian government. But Liverpool Plains farming land is still open for exploration.
Queensland
Queensland grid needs to double in size for zero emissions, CleanCo says
CleanCo CEO says time to seize the huge decarbonisation opportunities available through solar – “the lowest cost energy” ever seen.
Queensland to produce 10-year plan for renewables to bring back industry
Cheap renewables and a focus on renewable hydrogen production could revitalise Australia’s manufacturing industries, Queensland minister says.
Hollywood actors, former presidents and leading scientists join calls to save Great Barrier Reef
World famous scientists, royalty, former presidents and actors have added their names to a growing chorus of concerned citizens who are calling on the World Heritage Committee to ensure the Australian government takes the actions required to protect our Great Barrier Reef.
Coalition believes it has numbers to stop Great Barrier Reef being listed as ‘in danger’
Diplomatic email suggests whirlwind lobbying trip by Sussan Ley has won over at least nine of 21 members on World Heritage Committee
Pedalmania in Brisbane as 800 hire e-bikes set to hit the streets
Brisbane residents will witness new additions to the city’s traffic this week with the first of an expected 800 shared e-bikes due to be rolled out on Thursday.
Renewables backed in the regions but the young fear for their jobs
Young regional Queenslanders appear to be turning away from supporting renewable energy because of perceived threats to their jobs, according to a survey by a solar energy lobby.
A historic decision on the future of the Great Barrier Reef – Full Story podcast
This week, Unesco’s World Heritage Committee will decide whether the Great Barrier Reef should be labelled ‘in danger’. If this happens, it will be the first time a natural world heritage site has received this status due to the impacts of climate change. Environment reporter Graham Readfearn explains how the Morrison government is turning to an old playbook to lobby against this move.
Reef hijack gets plenty of support [$]
Australian editorial
As federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has travelled the world to argue for fair practice from UNESCO on the Great Barrier Reef, she has been shadowed by a growing list of agitators keen to see the natural wonder added to the list of World Heritage assets in danger.
South Australia
Forestry industry faces $4m a day blow [$]
Production of toilet paper, face masks and construction timber, which are already in short supply will ground to a halt as timber mills are forced to shutdown.
Olympic Dam delivers best results in more than 15 years [$]
The Olympic Dam mine in South Australia’s Far North has had a bumper year, producing its best results since BHP bought it in 2005.
Tasmania
Cable car proposal should be refused, independent report urges Hobart City Council
Hobart’s council should refuse a planning application to build a controversial cable car on kunanyi/Mount Wellington because it will diminish the tourism, recreational, cultural and landscape values of the mountain, a report finds.
Frustration drives protest against closure of Arthur-Pieman 4WD tracks
Keen offroaders frustrated by the government position on its promise of reopening four-wheel-driving tracks in the Arthur Pieman Conservation Area are talking of organising a protest ride.
Mansell: We want partnership with West Coast
Media release – Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania
Land Council Chairman Michael Mansell today urged the West Coast Council to “shift their focus from four wheel bush bashing to promotion and preservation of ancient Aboriginal heritage.”
Cable car interview – Vica Bayley & Nala Mansell
Interview with Vica Bayley, spokesperson for Residents Opposed to the Cable Car (ROCC), and Nala Mansell, Campaign Manager for Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre
Western Australia
How traditional owners and officials came together to protect a stunning stretch of WA coast
Traditional ecological and cultural wisdom was embraced and valued, enhancing Western scientific knowledge of a beautiful, fragile marine area.
Perth developer denies taking ‘shortcut’ in bid to expand prime beach project
Adrian Fini has defended his company against accusations he is trying to take a shortcut to push through a new resort near Yallingup in the South West of WA.
Captured carbon can’t be stored, despite the best efforts of fossil-fuel giants [$]
Bernard Keane
Chevron’s multibillion-dollar Gorgon carbon capture and storage process has been a dismal failure — and it’s the easy version.
How Santos lit the fuse on mega gas deal [$]
Perry Williams
When Santos boss Kevin Gallagher arrived in Perth on June 14 for the annual Appea oil and gas industry conference, a meeting with Oil Search’s Keiran Wulff had already been slotted in the diary.
Global investors pump hundreds of billions into renewables in shift from fossil fuels
A record $US501 billion ($A683 billion) was invested in the clean energy sector in the last financial year.
‘Airpocalypse’ hits Siberian city as heatwave sparks forest fires
Monitoring suggests toxic smoke in Yakutsk is one of world’s worst ever air pollution events
Solar cells: Layer of three crystals produces a thousand times more power
The photovoltaic effect of ferroelectric crystals can be increased by a factor of 1,000 if three different materials are arranged periodically in a lattice. This has been revealed in a study by researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). They achieved this by creating crystalline layers of barium titanate, strontium titanate and calcium titanate which they alternately placed on top of one another.
The Indus basin: Untapped potential for long-term energy storage
Hydropower has massive potential as a source of clean electricity, and the Indus basin can be a key player in fulfilling long-term energy storage demands across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. IIASA researchers explored the role the Indus basin could play to support global sustainable development.
No excuse to continue reliance on fossil fuels, says leading nano-technologist
One of the leading thinkers in nano-science has called on the energy materials community to help finally put an end to the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.
Using snakes to monitor Fukushima radiation
Ten years after one of the largest nuclear accidents in history spewed radioactive contamination over the landscape in Fukushima, Japan, a University of Georgia study has shown that radioactive contamination in the Fukushima Exclusion Zone can be measured through its resident snakes.
Enzyme-based plastics recycling is more energy efficient, better for environment
Researchers in the BOTTLE Consortium, including from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Portsmouth, have identified using enzymes as a more sustainable approach for recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic in single-use beverage bottles, clothing, and food packaging that are becoming increasingly relevant in addressing the environmental challenge of plastic pollution.
Climate change threatens food security of many countries dependent on fish
Analyses by an international team from the UK and Canada and led by scientists from Lancaster University reveal that climate change is the most pervasive threat to the supply of essential micronutrients from marine fish catches, and threatens the supply of vital micronutrients from fisheries in 40 per cent of countries.
Overblown fears have turned the public against genetically modified food. But the potential benefits have never been greater.
Despite the best efforts of industry to work towards sustainability, most plastics (or polymers) are still made using non-renewable fossil fuels.
Vulnerable nations lead by example on Sustainable Development Goals research
With the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, world leaders pledged to end poverty and hunger, protect biodiversity and the climate, and get all children into schools by 2030. How have researchers and funders responded? Has there been a shift in research priorities?
The environmental toll of disposable masks
A new study calculates the waste generated by N95 usage and suggests possible ways to reduce it
Explainer: ‘Die as a human or live forever as a cyborg’: Will robots rule the world?
Will nanobots and brain chips help us thrive – or could cyborgs wipe us out?
Clean up, green up and level up: How to build future city
James Bevan
In 2007 the world passed a little-noticed but critical landmark: the point at which for the first time in history, more humans were living in towns and cities than in the countryside.
Space tourism: rockets emit 100 times more CO₂ per passenger than flights – imagine a whole industry
Eloise Marais
The commercial race to get tourists to space is heating up between Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. On Sunday 11 July, Branson ascended 80 km to reach the edge of space in his piloted Virgin Galactic VSS Unity spaceplane. Bezos’ autonomous Blue Origin rocket is due to launch on July 20, coinciding with the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Why a leading environmentalist changed her mind on nuclear power [$]
Nyunggai Warren Mundine
Enlightened climate change activists have grasped that the solution is not living with less energy but embracing better technology, which must include nuclear power.
Julian Spector
Supply and demand are out of whack in the surging energy storage industry.
Why coral bleaching is like a bushfire
The damage to coral reefs from bleaching during marine heatwaves is similar to that wrought on forests during bushfires – animal habitat is destroyed and the diversity of wildlife so highly prized in these ecosystems is lost.
Biodiversity, climate change and the fate of coral reefs
An international group of researchers representing thousands of coral scientists across the globe is issuing recommendations for new commitments and actions by the world’s policymakers to protect and restore coral reefs.
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