Post of the Day
Global warming: the nine essential questions for candidates at election 2022
Mike Scrafton
Providing thoughtful answers should be the minimum requirement for candidates. Even more exhaustive answers should be demanded of cabinet hopefuls..
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Nature Reserves and National Parks Day – Russia
Climate Change
Scientists call for a moratorium on climate change research until governments take real action
Decades of scientific evidence demonstrate unequivocally that human activities jeopardise life on Earth. Dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system compounds many other drivers of global change.
Climate crisis: last seven years the hottest on record, 2021 data shows
Global heating continued unabated with extreme weather rife and greenhouse gases hitting new highs
Global heating could lead to an increase in kidney stone disease, study finds
According to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, cases will increase between 2.2% and 3.9% depending on emission levels
Here’s where things stand with climate legislation in Congress
The Build Back Better Act — and its $555B in climate spending — is not dead yet.
Carbon offset credits set to soar on net zero ambitions [$]
Carbon offsets were in 2020 being sold for about $US2.50 a tonne but with many countries pledging to reduce carbon output to net zero by 2050, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said prices could rise to $US120 a tonne.
Generation record caps stunning year of Australian solar milestones
Australia’s stunning solar year that was 2021 ended with a final flourish, after December delivered a record for utility-scale PV generation.
Climate change has taught us that rare weather events are becoming more common, and some Australians are heeding the warning.
Why high rise towers are better for the environment [$]
A new report has declared the Australian dream of a house on a quarter acre block is dead and the future is in high rise towers.
Can we plan for climate change? Covid suggests not.
Peter Boyer
Let’s be blunt: Omicron is going to infect huge numbers of Australians. Some of us may not even know we’ve had it while others certainly will. A small number of us may suffer longer-term health impacts, or die.
Global warming: the nine essential questions for candidates at election 2022
Mike Scrafton
Providing thoughtful answers should be the minimum requirement for candidates. Even more exhaustive answers should be demanded of cabinet hopefuls.
Migration ‘benefits’ not backed up by facts [$]
Judith Sloan
Despite the intense lobbying by vested interests for a big Australia, repeated surveys point to a lack of support among ordinary Australians. Why is this always overlooked?
Victoria
Deborah’s dad built a coal power station. Now she’s opened a gallery for the climate emergency
The Melbourne gallerist is one of a number of children of the ‘fossil fuel generation’ who are turning to art as a way to process complicated parental legacies – and create positive change.
New South Wales
Farmers buy back land earmarked for controversial coal mine in $120 million sale
Rich agricultural land owned by mining giant Shenhua has been repurchased by farmers in the Liverpool Plains following moves to prevent the establishment of a coal mine.
New nature trails aiming to lure families into great outdoors
Self-guided nature trails where participants scan QR codes to navigate the wilderness and learn more about their natural surroundings will form the centrepiece of Lake Macquarie City Council’s annual Explore Our Great Outdoors program rolling out this month.
ACT seeks to create short list for 250MW Canberra Big Battery project
The ACT government has issued its call for potential proponents to deliver its 250MW Canberra Big Battery.
Northern Territory
Fracking fight: Cattle kings take on Energy company in court [$]
One of the nation’s largest landholders has taken on a fracking giant over two wells on a cattle property in the gas-rich Beetaloo Basin
Flotation Energy flags plan for offshore wind farm in Perth waters
Plans to install a 500MW wind farm 20km off the coast of Perth are being investigated by UK outfit Flotation Energy.
Sustainability
New Czech government sees coal exit by 2033, backs nuclear power
The Czech Republic’s new centre-right government will seek to lay the ground for a possible phasing out of coal by 2033, it said on Friday when it released its programme, while also supporting nuclear power as part of its energy future.
Protein from gorse bushes could feed millions of people, says expert
Invasive prickly plant is widely cleared in Scotland and has been used as animal fodder in the past
Nature risk is the next big theme in responsible investment. But what is it?
Related to climate risk, nature risk takes in a broader range of environmental impacts that investors are using to calculate the risk profile of a company.
Reducing air pollution could lower dementia risk
Improving air quality appears to slow cognitive decline and reduce the risk of developing dementia in older women living in the U.S., according to a new study by researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
As China converts to clean energy, households should consider using heat pumps
Princeton researchers evaluated several clean heating options in China and found air-to-air heat pumps offer the most climate, air quality, health, and economic benefits.
How circular waste management systems can benefit the environment
The increasing amounts of municipal solid waste and ineffective waste management systems threaten the environment and contribute to climate warming, yet the waste sector is often neglected in discussions about climate change and air pollution. A new IIASA-led study shows, for the first time, how circular waste management systems can help to effectively curb emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants.
A dirt cheap solution? Common clay materials may help curb methane emissions
MIT researchers have come up with a promising approach to controlling methane emissions and removing it from the air, using an inexpensive and abundant clay called zeolite.
‘Soylent Green’ envisioned the world in 2022. What did it get right?
George Bass
Soylent Green, a film released in 1973 and based on a novel by Harry Harrison, was set in the then-far-off future of 2022. What did it get right?
How dirty coal power is taking a beating in India
M Ramesh
Coal is certainly on its way out with 326 GW of coal-fired power plants scrapped since 2015, and no announcements of new plants
Fishers facing pressure from wildfires, salvage logging, OSU research shows
The recovery of the fisher, a charismatic, long-tailed forest carnivore, will likely be hindered by the increasing frequency and intensity of future wildfires, new research by Oregon State University indicates.
How has marsh pollution affected the survival of sea anemones?
Scientists say the stationary sea anemone, Nematostella, has been decreasing in numbers – as it becomes severely impacted by pollution.
Without urgent action, these are the street trees unlikely to survive climate change
Renée M. Prokopavicius et al
Cities across the world are on the front line of climate change, and calls are growing for more urban cooling. Many governments are spending big on new trees in public places – but which species are most likely to thrive in a warmer world?
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