Post of the Day
Australia’s spy agency predicted the climate crisis 40 years ago – and fretted about coal exports
In a taste of things to come, a secret Office of National Assessment report worried the ‘carbon dioxide problem’ would hurt the nation’s coal industry
On This Day
First Sunday of Advent – Christianity
Beginning of the Nativity Fast – Eastern Orthodox
National
Australia’s spy agency predicted the climate crisis 40 years ago – and fretted about coal exports
In a taste of things to come, a secret Office of National Assessment report worried the ‘carbon dioxide problem’ would hurt the nation’s coal industry
‘Nothing short of extraordinary’: How the pandemic changed our population
We’re getting older and there’s fewer of us than expected. As COVID-19 stopped migration, experts are asking what should the approach to population be now?
New South Wales
Daughter of late fashion designer Carla Zampatti points to low number of female Liberal MPs and asks ‘when is this going to change?’
Warragamba Dam spills, 21 flood warnings across the state
Emergency services crews have performed more than a dozen flood rescues and responded to nearly 600 calls for help, as heavy rains send water spilling from Sydney’s main dam and spark major flooding across regional NSW.
Pressure forces electric scooter U-turn [$]
Electric scooters are growing in popularity but are still illegal on all but private roads in NSW but the state government has finally had a change of heart on their use.
ACT
Capital Scraps runs compost program for inner north
While the government’s long-awaited composting program was celebrated in Belconnen this week, a grassroots initiative went about the business it’s been quietly going about for several years: taking care of household food scraps in the inner north.
Queensland
Cape York Traditional Owners celebrate ‘special’ Native Title determination
The succesful claim by Kuuku Ya’u and Uutaanlanu Traditional Owners is one of the largest in the country’s history and ends decades of waiting.
Brisbane to get a $300m tree house [$]
A Brisbane developer has received approval to build one of the world’s greenest residential buildings in the heart of the city.
South Australia
Parklands ‘under threat’ amid renewed push for heritage listing [$]
World heritage listing of the Adelaide parklands, which requires state heritage listing first, will be back on the agenda in parliament this week.
Light at the end of the tunnels: South Rd masterplan revealed [$]
Plans for the final section of the Torrens to Darlington Project, stretching between Anzac Highway and the River Torrens, have been revealed.
Western Australia
Save Our Songlines protest to fight Woodside’s Scarborough gas hub
A protest against Woodside’s proposed Scarborough gas hub has been called today by Mardudhunera and Nguluma Traditional Owners.
Ranger Clifford Sunfly has just joined a very exclusive club
Considered to be one of the world’s most mysterious birds, the elusive night parrot has been seen by fewer than 20 people who are still alive today.
Fortescue to plead guilty to breaching Aboriginal Heritage Act
Pilbara iron ore miner Fortescue will plead guilty to two counts of breaching WA’s Aboriginal Heritage Act when it cleared land in February 2021, a lawyer for the Andrew Forrest-chaired company told Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.
Sustainability
Succession’s plot twist prompts surge of interest in leaving money in wills to Greenpeace
When Cousin Greg was disinherited by his grandfather in favour of the environmental group, inquiries about such legacies soared
Which is greenest – cremation or burial?
This question is a complicated blend of environmental and social factors, and we can’t simply compost ourselves in the back yard. There are legal requirements governing all sorts of facets such as the logistics of preparing, transporting and disposing of bodies, and the Coroner’s Act regarding the investigation of death. There are laws if you’d like to bequeath your remains for organ donation or medical research.
Green gifts that keep on giving
Jackie French
Save time and resources and give living gifts this Christmas.
The loss of the large-bodied grazers following the late Quaternary thousands of years ago drastically altered fire regimes worldwide, increasing grassy ecosystem fire activity, particularly where extinctions were most severe. These findings from a new study suggest that herbivore-fire impacts operate at continental scales and need to be considered when predicting global fire activity in the past, present, and future.
Prize-winning research reveals how warm, bright cities uniquely influence tree greening
New research using satellites has revealed how warmer temperatures and artificial light in cities alter the timing of urban tree leafing. Artificial light in cities may accelerate this effect, as the climate warms.
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