Post of the Day
Species extinction seen also in literature
Biodiversity has been steadily declining in western literature since the 1830s. This is the finding of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary study led by Leipzig researchers, who examined almost 16,000 works of Western fiction from between 1705 and 1969. The study has been published in the journal People and Nature. The researchers interpret the results as an indication of humanity’s increasing estrangement from nature.
Today’s Celebration
Ecological Observance
Forestry and Timber Industry Worker’s Day – CIS
Climate Change
World on ‘catastrophic’ climate path of 2.7C warming, UN warns
The world is headed towards a hotter future unless governments make more ambitious pledges to cut greenhouse emissions, UN chief Antonio Guterres warns.
US and EU pledge 30% cut in methane emissions to limit global heating
Major commitment with deadline of 2030 is big advance towards reaching 1.5C goal set out in Paris agreement
Mathias Cormann: Developing nations stiffed for their climate dollars
Wealthy countries likely missed a goal to contribute $US100 billion ($134 billion) last year to help developing nations deal with climate change, says Mathias Cormann, the head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
National
How did the global solar boom end up in China, not Australia? ‘Tinpot companies’ and hope
Twenty years ago, Australia appeared set to be a global player in the solar panel manufacturing industry. Today, with panels in high demand, we hardly make any of them. Here’s how we lost our head start.
Coalition proposes to scrap recovery plans for 200 endangered species and habitats
Environment groups decry protection ‘downgrade’ that would affect Tasmanian devil, whale shark and Kangaroo Island glossy-black cockatoo
Hundreds of threatened species abandoned by government
Big changes proposed for conservation planning would see the federal government dispense with recovery plans for hundreds of threatened species and ecological communities, the Australian Conservation Foundation warned today.
‘Like nothing in my lifetime’: researchers race to unravel the mystery of Australia’s dying frogs
After asking for public help with their investigations, scientists have received thousands of reports and specimens of dead, shrivelled frogs
Malaysia warns AUKUS pact will spark nuclear arms race in Indo-Pacific
alaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob fears the new three-way defence alliance between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom will trigger a nuclear arms race in the contested Indo-Pacific.
Australia’s fading anti-nuclear movement: a short history
Tony Wright
French atmospheric nuclear testing in the South Pacific during the early 1970s was responsible, more than anything, for cementing anti-nuclear sentiment into the heart of Australian public debate for decades.
Subs deal a pointer to nuclear energy [$]
Peta Credlin
The AUKUS submarines alliance offers a wealth of benefits for Australia — not least of which is sparking a much-needed debate about nuclear energy.
New South Wales
‘It’s on at Menindee’: influx of wildlife expected as lakes exceed capacity
Aquatic plants and the hatching of millions of crustaceans will draw water birds including pink-eared ducks, straw-necked ibis and yellow-billed spoonbills
Household food waste program fails to catch on among Sydney councils
A $365 million program designed to reduce landfill by turning food scraps into fertiliser has failed to gain a foothold beyond three councils in Sydney.
ACT
Most Canberrans support light rail to Woden: Poll [$]
A majority of Canberrans support the extension of the ACT’s light rail to Woden, new polling from the Australia Institute has revealed.
Queensland
Oil and gas more valuable to state than Olympic games [$]
An investigation into the value of Australia’s oil and gas industry has revealed the sector could create an economic boost worth almost 10 times more than Brisbane’s Olympic Games.
Farewell Fraser, hello paradise as World Heritage area renamed [$]
The official name change for the World Heritage Area known as Fraser Island is a major milestone in a long-running campaign by the region’s traditional owners.
South Australia
Bettongs, nature’s soil engineers, thriving on the Yorke Peninsula
A group of brush-tailed bettongs sent from an island off the SA coast is flourishing.
Thousands hit by toxic groundwater ban [$]
About 4000 homes and businesses in Adelaide’s north have been warned to not use bore water after toxic chemicals were found.
Tasmania
Erin Bok is on a rare mission — she’s trying to save the forty-spotted pardalote
The forty-spotted pardalote is a small, rare bird, unique to Tasmania. It is thought there could be less than 1,000 left. But one young scientist believes the key to their survival lies in one of Australia’s most iconic trees.
Northern Territory
Bumper wildflower season in outback sets deserts blooming
Alice Springs Desert Park has been bursting with flashes of colourful outcrops of wildflowers thanks to perfect rainfall conditions earlier in the year.
Western Australia
Coal power waste could help to create jobs in this mining town
A new recipe for concrete isn’t just about finding a use for coal combustion waste buried in Collie — it could also create local jobs.
‘I don’t think many people know they exist’: how mistaken identity threatens the Baudin’s cockatoo
The black cockatoo is nearly identical to its neighbour, the Carnaby’s. And that’s a problem for protecting the endangered species
Sustainability
North Korean is expanding nuclear enrichment facility, experts say
Satellite images show the uranium enrichment plant at the Yongbyon complex has expanded and could increase weapons-grade uranium production at the site by as much as 25 per cent.
The computer chip industry has a dirty climate secret
As demand for chips surges, the semicondutor industry is trying to grapple with its huge carbon foot print
Are the Wombles really the best children’s characters to tackle the climate crisis?
The stars of 1970s television have been announced as ambassadors for the British government’s #OneStepGreener campaign. But would the Octonauts and Go Jetters do better?
Quantitative assessment for sustainable agriculture
The Sustainable Agriculture Matrix, or SAM, provides independent and transparent measurements of agricultural sustainability at a national level that can help governments and organizations to evaluate progress, encourage accountability, identify priorities for improvement, and inform national policies and actions towards sustainable agriculture around the globe.
Argonne teams up with GEVO to apply lab’s GREET Model to company’s net-zero project
Argonne recently teamed up with a Colorado-based biofuel company to perform a critical lifecycle analysis of its Next Gen technology to produce renewable jet fuel from corn grain in what could be a game-changer in biofuel industry
Want to save the Earth? Then don’t buy that shiny new iPhone
John Naughton
Apple has just unveiled the latest all-singing, all-dancing iteration of its handset, but perhaps you should resist the hype
Nature Conservation
Climate change threatens base of polar oceans’ bountiful food webs
As warm-adapted microbes edge polewards, they’d oust resident tiny algae
The capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services such as food and jobs, relied on by millions of people worldwide, has declined by half since the 1950s, according to a new University of British Columbia-led study.
Deep-sea biodiversity off New Zealand higher than assumed
During a research cruise off the coast of New Zealand, a team led by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich geobiologist Gert Wörheide discovered six new species of glass sponge.
Species extinction seen also in literature
Biodiversity has been steadily declining in western literature since the 1830s. This is the finding of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary study led by Leipzig researchers, who examined almost 16,000 works of Western fiction from between 1705 and 1969. The study has been published in the journal People and Nature. The researchers interpret the results as an indication of humanity’s increasing estrangement from nature.
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