Post of the Day
Three quarters think climate change past ‘tipping point’
Three out of four people now believe that the world is approaching an irreversible ‘tipping point’ due to the actions of the human race, a survey has found.
On This Day
Day of Ashura – Islam
Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus – Eastern Christianity
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Climate change is its greatest threat. So can the Antarctic Treaty protect this fragile region?
It’s one of the world’s last great wildernesses but all that protects Antarctica is a single treaty, negotiated more than six decades ago. Is it up to the task?
An ancient era of global warming could hint at our scorching future
Fifty-five million years ago, Earth’s thermostat shot up—and life dramatically changed. Here’s what history can teach us about our modern temperature surge.
Scientists reveal how landmark CFC ban gave planet fighting chance against global warming
New modelling by the international team of scientists paints a dramatic vision of a scorched planet Earth without the Montreal Protocol, what they call the ‘World Avoided’.
Three quarters think climate change past ‘tipping point’
Three out of four people now believe that the world is approaching an irreversible ‘tipping point’ due to the actions of the human race, a survey has found.
New climate maps show a transformed United States
According to new data analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures, rising seas and changing rainfall will profoundly reshape the way people have lived in North America for centuries.
National
Science Week focus on climate adaptation and resilience
As the new Australian Climate Service undertakes a landmark project to analyse and map our changing climate across every city and region in the country, Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley has used National Science Week to highlight the critical role of climate adaptation and resilience.
Australian bird of the year 2021: nominate your favourite for the shortlist
This year there will be a special focus on the species many of us are likely to see in lockdown
‘We can’t begin in 2049’: Chris Bowen calls for stronger climate goals as he signals Labor’s plan
The MP will make a clear statement that the Coalition’s 2030 emissions target is insufficient
‘Paralysis by analysis’: financial sector focused on climate data instead of action, report says
Analysis finds focus on stress tests and modelling impact of most extreme scenarios leaves sector blind to real risks
Morrison hails BHP-Woodside deal as ‘example to the world’ on climate
But a Greens Senator warns Woodside’s investors are buying into a world of climate pain.
Push for government to deliver better climate future ramps up
“It is timely to explore the opportunities that the inevitable transition to a zero-emissions world presents for Australia”
Forrest says green hydrogen market could be worth $16 trillion by 2050
Andrew Forrest says green hydrogen market could be worth $16 trillion, and says fossil fuel hydrogen backed by Australian government is a “smokescreen”.
Is Woodside’s BHP deal a case of short-term gain for long-term pain?
Michael Janda
What does BHP’s plan to exit oil and gas say about the sector’s long-term future? And will Woodside’s shareholders ultimately end up bearing the cost of stranded assets?
BHP’s oil and gas sale to Woodside could turbocharge climate destruction
Piers Verstegen
The legacy of BHP’s petroleum assets must not be to accelerate damage to the climate.
Reshaped BHP comes home to lower carbon future [$]
AFR editorial
The transformation of BHP confirms a key message of this week’s Platinum 70 Year coverage about the challenges and opportunities of the low-carbon world.
Woodside’s new boss on frontline of a ferocious battle [$]
Jennifer Hewett
Meg O’Neil says taking over BHP’s oil and gas assets will provide more flexibility to invest in lower carbon energy. Investors will still be sceptical.
BHP’s offloading of oil and gas assets shows the global market has turned on fossil fuels
John Quiggin
The announcement by BHP, the world’s second-largest mining company, that it will shift its oil and gas assets into a joint venture with Australian outfit Woodside is a clear indication the “Big Australian” is getting out of the carbon-based fuel industry.
Gas mining hurts – it’s time to choose a better future for every Australian
David Pocock
For many of us, the mention of the Kimberley or the outback conjures up images of iconic, ancient Australian landscapes.
Dale Nimmo et al
The new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change paints a sobering picture of the warming climate in coming decades. Among the projections is an increase in fire weather, which will expose Earth’s landscapes to more large and intense megafires.
Daryl McPhee
These phallic, burrowing invertebrates are certainly worth your time as integral and fascinating members — of Australia’s marine ecosystems.
The IPCC report’s star burnt brightly in Australian media — then it flamed out [$]
Cam Wilson
It took just four days for the ‘code red for humanity’ report to bite the dust on websites and front pages.
Victoria
Ombudsman to investigate EPA’s decision on West Gate Tunnel soil saga [$]
The EPA’s decision on the West Gate Tunnel’s toxic soil saga will be investigated after community uproar over the selected dumping sites.
Australian “dual turbine” wave power breakthrough promises to double efficiency
Australian-led research breakthrough raises fresh hopes that wave power can play a large-scale and commercially viable role in the global shift to renewables.
New South Wales
‘Harebrained idea’: Secret plan to commercialise state’s public transport, roads
The NSW government seriously considered commercialising the entire public transport and road networks to artificially inflate the state budget by hiding billions of dollars in costs.
‘Negative value’: BHP struggles to offload NSW’s biggest coal pit
Mining giant BHP would pay a bidder about $275 million to take the biggest coal mine in NSW off its hands even as prices of the fossil fuel soar to levels not seen since 2008.
ACT
Following concerted efforts from the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) and industry, the ACT Government has today allowed forestry and timber operations to resume as essential industries under the Territory’s COVID lockdown rules.
ACT set to face pollen increase in spring due to wet winter
Canberrans are set for a congested spring with an onslaught of extreme pollen anticipated to lash the region in the coming weeks.
Australian researchers set new efficiency record for double-sided solar cells
Australian National University researchers set new efficiency record for double-sided solar cells and hope deliver a boost solar farm output.
Queensland
Dalrymple Bay jumps aboard hydrogen energy study
Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure _ which owns a central Queensland coal port _ will investigate hydrogen production and storage at its facility.
Robotic ‘midwives’ deliver coral babies [$]
An army of “stork” robots are the surprising face of our battle to protect the Great Barrier Reef, which last year suffered its third mass coral bleaching in just five years.
Battery giant LG inks deal for Australian nickel and cobalt
The world’s largest manufacturer of advanced EV batteries inks deal with ASX-listed miner to source mixed nickel and cobalt from its Queensland project,
Queensland coal port pivots to renewable hydrogen as wind and solar pipeline surges
Queensland coal port launches study into renewable hydrogen, eyeing new export opportunities, as state plans new Renewable Energy Zones.
Linc has become nasty stain on government’s green credentials
John McCarthy
What a debacle Linc Energy has been, not just from the company itself but the complete mishandling of the issue from the State Government.
Will Torrens Island big battery close the door to vehicle to grid technology in Australia?
Will the boom in big battery storage proposals close the door to vehicle-to-grid technologies even before they get started?
Tasmania
Masked owl confirmed at MMG tailings site
Conservationists have recorded the endangered Tasmanian masked owl in the takayna/Tarkine high conservation value forests targeted for a toxic waste dump by Chinese state-owned mining company MMG.
King Island seismic blasting survey extended
The survey of King Island residents about whether they support or oppose seismic blasting in King Island waters has been extended.
Developer defends plans for mega development on Eastern Shore [$]
The man behind a mega development on the Eastern Shore has responded to critics who say the plans will ruin the environment and create traffic chaos on the peninsula.
Northern Territory
CDU researcher calculating carbon cycle with new technology [$]
A Charles Darwin University researcher is providing valuable data for carbon monitoring through new technology.
Western Australia
Cane toads threaten wildlife at internationally renowned Kimberley wetland
Paraku in the heart of WA’s Kimberley is home to goannas, fish and waterbirds — and now the destructive and poisonous cane toad.
Traditional Owners gear up to march for heritage
Traditional Owners will march on Parliament House on Thursday to deliver a message stick to Premier Mark McGowan calling for meaningful protections for Aboriginal heritage in Western Australia.
Sustainability
Britain’s ageing fishing fleet a key contributor to climate crisis: report
Environmentalists call for fisheries to move away from carbon-spewing engines and climate-harming practices such as bottom trawling
‘Emotions evolved to make us act’: to combat eco-anxiety, do this
We may have been issued a “code red for humanity”, but experts say the catastrophe is not inevitable if we each start making small, everyday changes.
Scientists develop alternative cement with low carbon footprint
Researchers have developed a climate-friendly alternative to conventional cement. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions can be reduced during production by up to two thirds when a previously unused overburden from bauxite mining is used as a raw material. The alternative was found to be just as stable as the traditional Portland cement.
Combining perovskite with silicon, solar cells convert more energy from sun
Tandem solar cells with world-record efficiency of 29.52% could help rapidly scale up solar energy
As cities grow in size, the poor ‘get nothing at all’
On average, people in larger cities are better off economically. But a new study builds on previous research that says, that’s not necessarily true for the Is the robot-filled future of farming a nightmare or utopia?
individual city-dweller. It turns out, bigger cities also produce more income inequality.
A new paper argues that the rise of artificial intelligence in agriculture could be the best—or worst—innovation for our environment.
New method developed to solve plastics sustainability problem
A research group is developing polymers that can be broken down into their constituent parts; thus, when the catalyst for depolymerization is absent or removed, the polymers will be highly stable and their thermal and mechanical properties can be tuned to meet the needs of various applications.
New clean energy tech extracts twice the power from ocean waves
New prototype tech can double the power harvested from ocean waves, an advance that could finally make wave energy a viable renewable alternative.
Major UN biodiversity summit delayed for third time due to pandemic
Cop15 negotiations to set this decade’s targets on nature to be split into two, with face-to-face meetings delayed until 2022
Protecting largest, most prolific fish may boost productivity of fisheries
Overlooking capacity of large females may lead to overharvest
Western chimpanzees are threatened by lack of regulated human development
New research has found that the habitats of West African (western) chimpanzees are threatened due to inadequate legislative protection from human development.
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