The media needs to get better at interrogating hydrogen
Ketan Joshi
Most media coverage of a big new brown coal hydrogen project greenwashed the news and talked up CCS. An accident on Morrison’s website shows us why.
On This Day
Saint Devota’s Day – Monaco
Feast of Saint Nino – Georgia
Feast of Saint Sava – Serbia
Climate Change
Urban greening ‘not a panacea’ for dealing with extreme weather
Urban greening is unlikely to provide a single fix for tackling extreme weather events brought on by climate change, scientists have suggested.
Forest emissions scheme makes ‘tiny’ contribution to Indonesia’s Paris targets
More than 70 million tons of carbon were prevented from being released into the atmosphere under a deforestation emissions reduction scheme in Indonesia — but researchers point out this is only 3 per cent of the total required by Indonesia’s Nationally Defined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.
National
Thousands of air purifiers are being installed in classrooms in a bid to reduce the COVID-19 transmission risk when schools go back. But do they work? And are some kinds better than others?
Morrison government urged to stop using northern Australia fund for fossil fuel projects
Coalition announces extra $2bn for Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility and won’t rule out Beetaloo basin funding
Australia could send extra gas to Europe as Russia cuts supplies due to Ukraine tensions
Increased natural gas exports considered after US and UK raise concerns over Europe’s reliance on Russian LNG
The media needs to get better at interrogating hydrogen
Ketan Joshi
Most media coverage of a big new brown coal hydrogen project greenwashed the news and talked up CCS. An accident on Morrison’s website shows us why.
Coal-based liquid hydrogen pivotal for green energy? The experts doubt it
Graham Readfearn
The ANU’s Dr Fiona Beck says turning fossil fuels into hydrogen is always going to be dirtier than using renewables
Pandemic pollution: how COVID-19 has fuelled Australia’s waste crisis [$]
Amber Schultz
Online shopping and home-delivered food is helping contribute to the 8 million tonnes of extra plastic waste accumulated globally during the pandemic.
Victoria
Frydenberg’s citizenship opponent faces bankruptcy over court costs
The climate activist who claimed Josh Frydenberg was a Hungarian citizen in an attempt to unseat the Treasurer from Federal Parliament is facing bankruptcy proceedings because of the costs of his failed legal case against the MP.
New South Wales
In a hotter Sydney, some trees will thrive while others will wither
Trees and shrubs in gardens and parks today may not survive climate change, new research shows. Some old favourites, including natives, may survive only with extra love, care and water.
ACT
Namadgi National Park two years on from Orroral Valley Bushfires
Mature-aged native forest may never return to parts of Namadgi National Park with climate change impacting regeneration two years on from the Orroral Valley bushfires.
South Australia
Fire razes 50 hectares of land at Mount Gambier’s iconic Crater Lakes district
Dozens of firefighters have worked tirelessly overnight to contain a fire within Mount Gambier’s landmark Crater Lakes district, as water bombing continues.
No charge for dropping a line, Labor promises fishos
Recreational fishers will not be slugged with any fees to drop a line under a Labor government, the Opposition promises.
Bug boom: Dragonflies swarming SA in ‘once in a lifetime’ event [$]
Have you noticed more pesky bugs around – especially dragonflies – than ever before? Here’s what’s causing the unusual phenomenon in SA.
Tasmania
Aboriginal carving damage claim probed
Authorities are investigating whether culturally significant Aboriginal rock carvings on Tasmania’s rugged northwest coast have been deliberately damaged.
New areas off limits for Hobart’s e-scooters [$]
Some e-scooters have been barred from Sandy Bay Road after a rider crashed into an elderly lady stepping out of a Cafe.
Western Australia
Fortescue escapes fine for WA Aboriginal heritage breach
Fortescue Metals Group will likely escape fines for clearing land in breach of WA’s Aboriginal Heritage Act after receiving support from the affected traditional owners.
Perth housing estate developers to pay $250,000 for clearing black cockatoo habitat
The Australian Conservation Foundation labelled the penalty a “slap on the wrist” and criticised the state of the country’s environment laws in the aftermath.
Sustainability
With a stadium of lasers, physicists have generated a sun the size of a pinhead
This marks a milestone on the way to nuclear fusion power — and perhaps sustainable electricity generation — using lasers.
Getting Hydrogen out of Banana Peels
Scientists have developed a way to maximize hydrogen yields from biowaste, within few milliseconds.
Cleaning your car may not protect you from this carcinogen, study finds
It is unlikely that a cancer-causing chemical inside your car, TDCIPP, can be dusted or wiped way, according to new research.
Attack on environmental lawyer’s home alarms DRC rights defenders
Campaigners say both a lawsuit and the violent assault on the lawyer’s home fit a pattern of harassment of environment and human rights activists in the country.
Innovative sewage solutions: Tackling the global human waste problem
7.8 billion people produce a lot of waste, but governments, entrepreneurs and NGOs are developing a host of technologies that work with nature to transform a dirty problem into a suite of elegant sustainable solutions.
‘Defining moment’: UK’s post-Brexit green watchdog comes into full force
The Office for Environmental Protection was granted its full legal powers yesterday, meaning the UK’s post-Brexit green watchdog is now fully ready to start holding the government’s environmental actions to account.
Pumped hydro grid storage could be poised for a comeback
Julian Spector
Look out, high-concept battery tech: Water and gravity may be on the brink of a resurgence.
Can hydropower and fish co-exist?
Hydropower delivers renewable electricity, but comes with massive fish mortality – a global dilemma that can only be addressed by true compromises, says Luiz Silva, and outlines how to find them.
Fish growth slowed by high temperatures and plastic chemical BPA, research shows
Scientists at University of Sydney find that fish exposed to industrial chemical BPA in warmer waters need more food to reach a given size
New economic model finds wetlands provide billions in filtration value
Wetlands in Southern Ontario provide $4.2 billion in water filtration services each year
How animals are adapting to climate change
Books by Thor Hanson and Emma Marris offer new insights into how species are surviving and what we must do to help.
The Nepal rhino population is feeling effects of climate change
A recent study from University of Southern Queensland shows rhino populations in Nepal are assumed to be dropping because of climate change.
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