Post of the Day
45,000 marine species are at-risk: What’s most vulnerable?
A framework for identifying the most vulnerable marine species will boost global conservation and policy efforts against anthropogenic climate change.
On This Day
Climate Change
ExxonMobil, Chevron and Toyota accused of obstructing climate change action
The world’s biggest oil and car firms are accused of lobbying governments to block action on climate change. And industry lobby groups like the Minerals Council and peak gas body, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, are also named and shamed for thwarting policies to tackle global warming.
UK Trade Agreement a climate disaster
David Shearman
The promises and intent on the climate and environmental crisis given at COP26 are slowly melting away.
Holmes à Court: Climate independents offer chance to “fix Australia”
Holmes à Court says Climate 200 funding body helping climate independents overcome an electoral system rigged for the major parties.
Australia-India to collaborate on new and renewable energy technology
Australia and India will work together to drive down the costs of technologies that will help reduce global emissions. Minister Angus Taylor and the Hon’ble Minister Raj Kumar Singh signed the Letter of Intent on New and Renewable Energy Technology during the fourth India-Australia Energy Dialogue.
Minamata Convention on Mercury
On 7 March, the Minamata Convention on Mercury will come into effect in Australia. This Convention is an international treaty that seeks to protect human health and the environment from emissions or releases of mercury/mercury compounds and includes controls on mercury mining, the manufacture and trade of mercury and products containing mercury, disposal of mercury waste and emissions from industrial facilities.
Billionaire’s letter urges Australian politicians to act on $4200 saving to households
“When we electrify every Australian home, average energy and fuel bills will drop from about $5000 a year to just $800 – and the savings pay for themselves,” the letter states.
Australia boasts $830bn pipeline of wind, solar, hydrogen and storage projects
Australia boasts enormous pipeline of wind, solar PV, hydrogen and storage projects, according to new analysis.
How high do petrol prices need to go to make electric cars more affordable?
Record fuel prices would need to double again before electric vehicles were more affordable than conventional alternatives, according to an industry body.
Measuring the circular economy: an Australian perspective
Australian Circular Economy Hub
Data is the driving force of a circular economy — it allows us to both identify problems and advance solutions. What are the impacts of our current linear system?
Zali Steggall becomes just another chapter in Kinghorn’s capers
Adam Schwab
It’s almost certainly more cock-up than conspiracy, but when it involves $100,000 from a coal industry figure it leaves a bad smell.
Scrutiny needed of funding machine behind independent candidates
SMH editorial
A body called Climate 200 is trying to match the big parties in political campaign fundraising. It is a new model which remains to be proven.
Victoria
Solar powered benches provide free WiFi in Stonnington
The City of Stonnington has partnered with Eco Renewable Energy to install and maintain two solar powered smart benches for community use.
Supporting community organisations and facilities to be more sustainable
Facilities and community organisations across the City of Yarra will benefit through lower energy costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions thanks to new funding from the Victorian Government and Yarra City Council.
Targets to improve neglected Melbourne suburbs [$]
A parliamentary inquiry could see authorities forced to build more parks and provide more tree coverage in neglected Melbourne suburbs to improve the city’s liveability.
Committee for Melbourne
This report is based upon a review of the latest editions of more than more than 100 global city benchmark studies, which together span more than 450 discrete comparative metrics.
New South Wales
Snowy River environmental flow targets never reached in 20 years, review finds
Academics and environmental groups are calling for a review of the Snowy River environmental flows agreement after a study returns some “rather sad” findings.
Mobile recycling centre hits road: Bega Valley
Bega Valley Shire Council’s Mobile Recycling Centre has a new regular schedule, making it easier to recycle problem household items that are not allowed in kerbside recycling bins.
Land clearing in NSW tripled over past decade, State of the Environment 2021 report reveals
EPA analysis paints grim picture for ecosystems under increasing threat from habitat destruction, invasive species and climate crisis
River managers fight to save Menindee Lakes from flood of deadly blackwater
A flood peak laden with deoxygenated water is pouring into the Menindee Lakes system in Far West NSW, site of the catastrophic fish kills in 2019.
Protecting our Grey-headed Flying-foxes
Shoalhaven Council is collaborating with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) to ensure the protection of Grey-headed Flying-foxes in the Shoalhaven Local Government Area. This species is listed as Vulnerable under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
An extreme heat warning has been issued for part of Sydney where temperature records have previously been smashed.
Hannah Melville-Rea
If emissions continue to accelerate, Western Sydney can expect to endure up to 46 days per year over 35℃ by 2090, a new analysis from the Australia Institute finds. This is a fivefold increase from the historical average of just under nine days of extreme heat per year.
Queensland
Clive Palmer’s loss could be green activists gain in awkward oversight [$]
Environmental activists have swooped in with a bid to purchase mining magnate Clive Palmer’s trade mark on Waratah Coal after it lapsed in an apparently embarrassing oversight.
‘Horrible to think about’: Dire warning on spread of fire ants
“There’s not an area of your life that will be untouched” — a policy group chief is pointing to the experience in the US, warning of the risks of fire ants becoming established here.
A Queensland boy, who encouraged one of the world’s biggest pop stars to get involved in a campaign to protect the Great Barrier Reef, adds another achievement to his impressive record.
South Australia
Offshore wind farm operators eye SA’s south east
South Australia’s south-east coast is being considered for offshore wind farms after legislation allowing the developments recently passed federal parliament, raising regional employment hopes but also environmental concerns.
Tasmania
International spotlight on Tasmania’s forests
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) publishes Case Study on why Tasmania’s “globally unique” forests are threatened and require protection
Mary Willey: Tasmanian MP who helped save Franklin River dies [$]
A former State Labor MP who crossed the floor in protest of her party’s position on damming the Franklin River has been hailed for her “pivotal role” in blocking the controversial project.
Anger at ‘stealth’ plan for fish farms in the Bass Strait [$]
Conservation groups have accused the state and federal governments of keeping opponents in the dark about a new offshore aquaculture trial.
Northern Territory
Huge carbon capture and storage project may not reduce emissions
A new gas field in northern Australia may produce more carbon dioxide than LNG, even with a huge carbon capture and storage proposal.
NT government rejects Glencore bid to build toxic dump near sacred site
Mining company’s proposed rock dump at McArthur River zinc and lead mine would have been largest built structure in the territory
Native title holders and environmental group launch legal action over huge NT groundwater licence
A licence allowing 40,000 megalitres of groundwater to be extracted each year from an outback cattle property allegedly threatens cultural habitats and delicate ecosystems.
Western Australia
Fortescue iron ore profits drop amid green energy questions
The market is more interested in the iron ore miner’s blue sky green energy plans than its red dirt earnings.
Solar switch off now in force in W.A.– Solar Insiders podcast
The solar switch off mechanism is now in force in W.A, and the coal lobby is fighting back at the idea that the end is nigh.
Sustainability
India to be self-dependent in coal production for thermal power generation by 2024: Secy
Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain on Tuesday said the import of coal for thermal power generation will end in India by 2024 and the domestic production of the dry-fuel is expected to rise by 10 per cent.
Improved nuclear accident code helps policymakers assess risks from small reactors
Sandia National Laboratories recently updated the Maccs code to better aid the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the global nuclear industry in assessing the consequences of nuclear accidents. The Maccs code can also evaluate the potential health and environmental risks posed by advanced nuclear reactors and small modular nuclear reactors.
Why is there still so much plastic in the world – and what could replace it?
Plastic is great until you need to get rid of it. Why has it taken over the world, how big a problem is it – and what can we do about it?
Replacing environmental despair with hope and action
We all have the power to cause change, even if we don’t recognize it.
Refillable soda bottles used to be the norm. Can they come back?
Coca-Cola says that by the end of the decade it will sell a quarter of its drinks in refillable packaging—a big step toward curbing plastic pollution. What would it take to have refillable bottles everywhere?
How poisonous mercury gets from coal-fired power plants into the fish you eat
The Biden administration is moving to revive mercury limits for coal-fired power plants. A scientist explains mercury’s health risks and the role power plants play.
Children in bike trailers exposed to more pollution than those towing them
University of Surrey research shows that pollution particles are greater at the height of a buggy.
City trees and soil are sucking more carbon out of the atmosphere than previously thought
Research uncovers new information about the role that forest edges play in buffering global impacts of climate change and urbanization.
Can a planet have a mind of its own? Thought experiment
Astrophysicists combine current scientific understanding about the Earth with broader questions about how life alters a planet to ask: if a planet with life has a life of its own, can it also have a mind of its own? The research raises new ideas about the ways in which humans might tackle global issues such as climate change.
Breakthrough in converting carbon dioxide into fuel using solar energy
A research team has shown how solar power can convert carbon dioxide into fuel, by using advanced materials and ultra-fast laser spectroscopy. The breakthrough could be an important piece of the puzzle in reducing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in the future.
How to make your diet more sustainable, healthy or cheap – without giving up nutrients
Brad Ridoutt
People choose certain foods or change their diets for a range of reasons: to improve their health, lose weight, save money or due to concerns about sustainability or the way food is produced.
Thanks to DNA testing on seized ivory shipments, researchers have been able to link confiscated African elephant tusks to specific poaching areas, in the hope it will allow authorities to “connect the dots” to major criminal trafficking networks.
What Yosemite looks like in 2100 with climate change
How is climate change affecting some of the park’s premier attractions — for instance, the firefall event? And how will climate change impact the environments within the park, the creatures who live there and the visitor experience? Will it eventually strip Yosemite of its awe-inspiring beauty?
In this dense Indian forest, tigers and leopards are thriving
A conservation success story, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve is increasingly popular with tourists eager to see the big cats in the wild.
Due to human-caused pressures and global warming, some soils in Europe’s Mediterranean region are reaching what the researchers refer to as ‘critical limits for their ability to provide ecosystem services,’ which include farming and absorbing carbon, among others. Perhaps even more troubling, the problem could be even more extensive than we realize, says an author of a new study.
45,000 marine species are at-risk: What’s most vulnerable?
A framework for identifying the most vulnerable marine species will boost global conservation and policy efforts against anthropogenic climate change.
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.