Post of the Day
Calling climate change a ‘crisis’ doesn’t do what you think
A study recently published in the journal Climatic Change is among the first to examine the effects of using climate crisis and climate emergency.
On This Day
St. Andrew Day – Christianity
Hanukkah (until Dec 6) – Judaism
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
At COP26, a consensus that developing nations need far more help countering climate change
The world’s wealthiest nations pledged $100 billion at COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009. Getting there hasn‘t been simple, or easy.
Calling climate change a ‘crisis’ doesn’t do what you think
A study recently published in the journal Climatic Change is among the first to examine the effects of using climate crisis and climate emergency.
How does climate change affect human health?
Climate change isn’t just a threat to our planet’s wellbeing, but our own, too.
How Cate Blanchett explains climate change to her teenage kids
Cate Blanchett, a longtime environmental activist, shared why it’s so important for her to discuss real world issues with her four children.
Conservatives want Australia’s cricket captain to shut up about climate
Conservative commentators have discovered there is one thing worse than a prime minister championing climate action – an Australian cricket captain doing the same.
Mineral and petroleum exploration, Australia – September quarter 2021
Total expenditure, seasonally adjusted – rise of 4.5% ($39.5m) to $925.9m
Keith Pitt’s $50m gas subsidy survives abolition attempt, as most Labor senators abstain
A move to cancel out controversial government funding for gas exploration in the Beetaloo fails, after most of Labor abstains from vote.
“Subversion and Treason:” Tim Wilson’s bizarre attack on independent climate commission
Junior emissions reduction minister calls a proposed expert climate panel “treason”, as the Morrison government vetos state’s climate pledges.
Farm forestry can deliver benefits for farmers, battle climate change and help with timber short
Adding timber production trees to farms can yield significant productivity and financial benefits for landowners as well as increase property values, according to landmark new research.
Federal government lags all Australian states on renewable energy action, new report finds
World Wildlife Fund Australia awards commonwealth wooden spoon over missed opportunity at Cop26
Big business to reveal emissions results [$]
Woodside and Coles will join nine major Australian resources, construction, finance and retail companies in publicly reporting emissions reduction results under a push for greater transparency around corporate climate change targets.
Australia Post goes electric as Christmas parcels boom [$]
Australia Post is doing festive season parcel runs with the first of 20 electric trucks joining its national fleet, as it edges towards carbon-neutral deliveries.
Australia’s greenhouse emissions fell 2pc in past year on coal decline [$]
Eleven companies have signed up to the federal government’s Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency program to monitor their individual commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
Gas fracking is a danger to Australia’s regional towns
Simone van Hattem
World leaders recently met in Glasgow to forge a path through the climate crisis, but here in Australia, the emissions-intensive gas fracking industry wants to lay waste to some of the beautiful, natural places we hold most dear.
The private eye and the broad too interested in the government cutting down trees*
First Dog on the Moon
*only the names have been changed (and some of the details that weren’t funny)
Australian scientists say discovery could render ammonia from fossil fuels obsolete
Monash University researchers unlock technique for green ammonia production using electricity, eliminating the need for fossil gas as a feedstock.
The ABC reveals alarming evidence that forests aren’t always being grown back after they’ve been logged, undermining a state-run timber company’s claim to sustainability.
Councils join forces to tackle climate change
Macedon Ranges Shire Council has joined the Cities Power Partnership aligning itself with more than 150 councils across Australia dedicated to a zero emissions future, slashing greenhouse gas pollution and tackling worsening climate change.
Next step taken in Climate Emergency response
Surf Coast Shire Council has taken an important step in its Climate Emergency response, with the adoption of a policy that will result in improved environmental outcomes at Council’s facilities and buildings.
Biggest wind farm in Victoria gets final all-clear from planning authorities
WestWind Energy will push ahead with one of Australia’s largest wind farms in Victoria’s south-west, after project amendments were given state approval.
Bitter war breaks out on North East Link [$]
Cost blows are already causing drama on the North East Link with a bitter battle emerging between contractors over the project.
New details of airport rail link revealed [$]
A huge bridge is set to soar above a major freeway, under ambitious plans for the new Melbourne Airport rail link.
New South Wales
NSW poised to reap riches of ‘new frontier’ in mining — but no funding or timeline yet
The NSW government promises to usher in major rare earth minerals mines and local advanced manufacturing as part of critical minerals hub earmarked for Central West, but just how this will be achieved is yet to be detailed.
Mum’s move to escape ‘atrocious’ problem
A mother of two has made the extreme move to relocate her family from western Sydney to escape the effects of climate change.
Leaked report says no logging native forests on south coast after bushfires
The NSW Government has been keeping secret a report that would effectively stop logging on the south coast. Documents leaked on Thursday via The Guardian show the NSW Government has ignored not one but two reports which advise logging should stop in native forests hardest hit by the bushfires.
Set electric bikes free in Sydney: productivity report
Speed and power caps on electric bikes should be lifted in NSW to increase their takeup as a viable transport solution, reduce road traffic and boost cargo delivery efficiency, a new report suggests.
Spill that turned river deep purple [$]
A western Sydney company has copped an $88K fine after polluting a river and making it turn purple.
ACT
One-storey home in Narrabundah designed by Michael Tolhurst Architects wins low-carbon housing award
A local competition has revealed the top ways Canberrans can create low-, net zero and positive-carbon houses at the same price as other homes.
Queensland
The reactions to LNP’s embrace of net zero in Queensland’s coal country
The so-called “coal seats” of central and north Queensland recorded strong swings away from Labor in 2019, but Scott Morrison’s adoption of a net zero plan has reset the electoral battleground.
Government formally picks SA site for nuclear waste storage
The federal government formally chooses a site on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula for a long-planned radioactive waste storage facility, traditional owners flag court appeal.
Even if warming is kept to 1.5C, bleaching would hit more than three times a decade, study predicts
Green hydrogen deal for Edify boosts Townsville nickel project
Queensland Pacific Metals has struck a hydrogen supply deal with Edify Energy for the planned nickel refinery in Townsville.
South Australia
Greens call for ban on filling in wombats’ burrows as Murraylands incident investigated
Landowners who fill in burrows and “bury wombats alive” would face potential jail time under a proposal from the South Australian Greens.
Traditional owners expected to challenge nuclear waste facility in South Australia
The Barngarla people have unanimously rejected the federal government’s controversial plan to store radioactive medical waste on their land, and may take their case to the state’s supreme court
Tasmania
Australian Bauxite reports best rare earth elements find
A company hoping to mine rare earth elements in Tasmania has reported finding its highest grades yet.
Greens plea to George Town council ignored
A Northern-Tasmanian mayor has hit back at claims that the necessary federal environmental approval had not been lodged by his council regarding a proposed residential development.
FAR Australia and Southern Farming Systems host November field day
Attendees at the 2021 Tasmania Crop Technology Centre Field Day in November enjoyed lively discussions centred on sustainability, nutrition management, genetics and productivity.
Public meeting to call for aquaculture action
Neighbours of Fish Farming is to launch a major campaign aimed at Australia’s biggest supermarkets, Woolworths, Coles and IGA.
Lonnavale Forests Open Day – video
Northern Territory
Ben Corey et al
Native small mammals such as bandicoots, tree-rats and possums have been in dire decline across Northern Australia’s vast savannas for the last 30 years – and we’ve only just begun to understand why.
Sustainability
Europe’s energy crisis is about to get worse
Energy prices in Europe are repeatedly breaking records even before winter really kicks in, and one of the most damaging cost crunches in history is about to get worse as the temperature starts to drop.
China’s coal prices plunge after govt signals more price regulation
The most-active Zhengzhou thermal coal futures contract, for January delivery, was 819.6 yuan ($128.31) a tonne as of 0147 GMT.
Environmental degradation cost on Greater Cairo $47 billion annually: minister
The cost of environmental degradation on Greater Cairo alone amounts to US$47 billion annually, from waste, vehicle and factory exhaust and the use of fossil fuels, Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad says.
Plastic additive increases breast cancer relapse, mortality: New science
A plastic additive used to make IV bags and tubing pliable interferes with breast cancer treatment, increasing mortality and the likelihood the cancer will return.
Europe looks to nuclear power to meet climate goals
While wind and solar ramp up, several countries, including France and Britain, are looking to expand their nuclear energy programs. Germany and others aren’t so enthusiastic.
Rally in Belgrade demands end to alarming air pollution
Thousands of people rallied in Belgrade on Sunday to demand an end to Serbia’s alarming levels of air pollution. The rally came a day after another environmental protest in which demonstrators blocked bridges and roads in different parts of the country and scuffled with riot police.
An Australian food success story in Vietnam
Peter Boyer
Millions of people – almost equal to Australia’s entire population – live in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Their food-growing land is already feeling the impact of rising sea level and salination. Available freshwater is polluted, and in short supply.
White rhinos flown from South Africa to Rwanda in largest single translocation
In a bid to secure the future of the near threatened species, 30 animals have been driven, flown and finally rehomed in Akagera national park
UK farmers may have to cut livestock count to save rivers, says expert
Overload of chicken and dairy cow manure has left some catchments critical, says author of book on issue
How do we know how many shark species are at risk?
This September a team of dozens of scientists announced grim news: Around one third of the world’s 1,199 known sharks and related species, they assessed, are now threatened with extinction.
A new book shows how animals are already coping with climate change
Thor Hanson does not despair in his latest book, Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid. Though he outlines the many ways that global warming is changing life on our planet, his tone is not one of hand-wringing.
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