Post of the Day
Wildfires likely to increase by a third by 2050, warns UN
Even previously unaffected countries likely to see uncontrollable blazes, says study, which calls for shift to spending on prevention
On This Day
Climate Change
Climate change is intensifying Earth’s water cycle at twice the predicted rate, research shows
Rising temperatures pushing much more freshwater towards poles than climate models previously estimated
Accelerating melt rate makes Greenland Ice Sheet world’s largest ‘dam’
The world’s second-largest ice sheet is melting from the bottom up — and generating huge amounts of heat from hydropower.
Climate denial still flourishes on Facebook
Facebook is still allowing climate denial to flourish on its platform despite pledging months ago to crack down. About half the content from major publishers of climate denial receives warning labels and very little is fact-checked, a new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate has found.
How a little-discussed revision of climate science could help avert doom
The best climate science most people have never heard of says that goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5ºC remains within reach.
Climate change is warping our fresh water cycle – and much faster than we thought
Taimoor Sohail and Jan Zika
Fresh water cycles from ocean to air to clouds to rivers and back to the oceans. This constant shuttling can give us the illusion of certainty. Fresh water will always come from the tap. Won’t it?
Will COP27 still be conducting fire drills as the world burns?
Asif Saleh
COP26 was a vitally important global gathering in the fight against climate change, but shocking in its lack of attention to current climate change impacts around the world.
Sea levels are rising at a staggering rate. We’re running out of time to act
Washington Post editorial
A new report comes with an urgent warning: Emissions matter, both now and in the future.
National
Fossil fuel projects emitting above estimates, sometimes at triple the rate
New research shows a third of coal, oil and gas projects are emitting more carbon dioxide than they estimated when they first received environmental approval.
New report shows Australia can meet Asian gas demand
The Australian Government has released the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Commodity Report, part of Australia’s Global Resources Strategy.
‘Zero’ chance Australian LNG can replace Russian gas, analysts say
Australia’s LNG shippers are poised to cash in from soaring energy prices if war breaks out in Ukraine and disrupts oil and gas markets.
Rio Tinto reveals $23b dividend bonanza after record profit
The mining giant has posted a record result on the back of surging commodity prices, with little disruption to production from COVID-19.
Poles apart: ACCC warns ‘hardware’ could scupper AGL bid
Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes is serious about buying AGL Energy, and investors are keeping faith in the clean energy power play.
Energy grid ready for renewables revolution, says Cannon-Brookes [$]
The Atlassian co-founder, who is making a joint $5 billion bid for AGL Energy with Brookfield, says Australia’s energy grid is ready for the exit of coal-fired power.
Cannon-Brookes says AGL bid may be “unicorn” for cheaper, faster energy transition
Mike Cannon-Brookes says the bid for AGL is designed to create a faster, cheaper and less risky transition to green energy, and could be a model for future transactions.
Australia’s Tindo enters big solar market with “world-beating” utility-scale panel
Australia’s first – and for some time, only – manufacturer of solar panels has launched its first utility-scale panel, with high marks on efficiency.
Charities commissioner issues election advocacy warning
But advocacy leaders say charities should not be afraid to speak out
Low-income households are disproportionately affected by rising energy prices. A new report compares approaches to energy affordability in the EU and Australia.
Animals are more likely to go extinct if they have these traits, scientists say
There are common traits in some animals facing extinction but Australian mammals and birds face their own unique threats, researchers find.
Antarctic ice cores suggest Australia’s drought risk is worse than we thought
Using snow compaction and salt trapped in layers of ice, a reconstruction of a key climate system’s 2,000-year history shows the future might be drier and more drought-prone than previously thought.
Cold war on ice? Politics and science collide once more in Australia’s approach to Antarctica
Kieran Pender
Strategic and scientific motivations are not always neatly separable, but it’s clear Australia’s renewed interest in Antarctica is spurred in part by China
Scott Morrison says closing coal power stations will drive up electricity prices. Is he right?
Graham Readfearn
Bid by Mike Cannon-Brookes to take over AGL drew some strong words from the prime minister, but do his claims stack up?
Australia is missing its targets (and the point)
Rachel Lowry
Given our nation’s wealth and land size, you’d expect that our native wildlife would be abundant and well protected. Sadly, this isn’t the case. Many of our iconic species are at risk of disappearing from large parts of Australia.
Greens could be collateral damage in independents’ climate fight [$]
John Warhurst
The interaction between the Greens and independents on matters like publicity, money and preferences is a neglected issue this federal election.
Floods prove climate scaremongers can’t be trusted [$]
Andrew Bolt
Floods in eastern Australia are a timely reminder why we shouldn’t trust climate alarmists who claimed in 2007 that we’d never see that kind of weather again.
Dramatic week puts both parties’ climate policies on notice [$]
Tom Minear
This week marked an important moment in the end of coal-fired power, and managing that transition will be one of the most important jobs for whoever wins the election.
The world is watching Australia’s energy transition test [$]
John Kehoe
Risking fresh capital for an opportunity to close down coal assets has stunned even the most bullish clean energy investment advocates.
Why coal is still key to the AGL bid [$]
Matthew Warren
Owning what might be the last coal-fired power station in Australia would help manage the risks of new fuels such as hydrogen, which Brookfield is already invested in.
Beware power of the woke cowboy capitalists [$]
Peta Credlin
We are being held hostage by private energy providers with no obligation to the public.
Alessandro Antonelli
The federal government’s major package of new funding for Australia’s Antarctic program, announced on Tuesday, promises an additional A$804.4 million over the next decade.
Antarctica relies on trust. Is that enough to protect it?
Elizabeth Buchanan
International stability is vital for the ongoing protection of areas such as Antarctica, which rely on a treaty based purely on trust.
Weaning ourselves off oil would do real damage to Putin — and other dictators
Bernard Keane
Want to cut the revenue of Vladimir Putin and other international pariahs? We could start by speeding up our adoption of electric vehicles.
Racism, sexism rife for ‘double diversity’ hires in mining industry
Sara Bergmann
At Rio Tinto, racism, bullying and sexual harassment are systemic. While I’m sure that many people were shocked reading the Everyday Respect report released by Rio Tinto, I was shocked that the numbers reported were so low.
Australia’s big Gentailers have failed customers, and ignored their demands for green energy
David Leitch
Having the last horse when everyone is driving cars is not an advantage. Gentailers need a new strategy focused on renewables, electrification and customers.
Victoria
Yarra calls on mountain bikers to help preserve Yarra’s biodiversity
Yarra is urging all mountain bike riders to help preserve our natural bushland and biodiversity by keeping to our formal trails and refraining from building bike jumps.
Dropped masks threaten to tangle in the happy feet of Phillip Island’s penguins
Almost 230 abandoned facemasks were found by Phillip Island rangers in January, posing a threat to the island’s favourite inhabitants.
New South Wales
Five key questions about the Sydney train network fiasco
Substantial gaps and contradictions remain in the timeline leading up to the decision early Monday morning to close the city’s rail system
Less jobs, blackouts: power station closure’s real cost [$]
Experts say consumers are in the firing line with the decision to close the Eraring Power Station in just three years’ time. See what the closure will mean for NSW.
Eraring unit trips and sends prices soaring, just as Coalition launches new price scare campaign
Eraring unit trips and sends prices soaring in NSW and Queensland, just as the federal Coalition launches new price scare campaign.
25 Sydney councils ink massive renewables PPA with three NSW solar farms
Three solar farms in NSW will supply energy to 25 Sydney local governments in landmark PPA that will see 19 of the participating councils reach 100% renewables.
Queensland
Farmer wants a guinea pig: Meet the critters solving a weed problem
A Far North Queensland farmer is trialling guinea pigs to control weeds on his farm and he says besides being absolutely adorable, they’re also “extremely effective.”
Hundreds of turtles on remote Great Barrier Reef island saved
A tiny island in a remote northern part of the Great Barrier Reef has been instrumental in helping to save hundreds of green turtles.
Coal prices produce a shower of cash for Qld miner Coronado
Coal producer Coronado earned almost an extra $1 billion in revenue in 2021 compared to the previous year as commodity prices soared.
South Australia
$3.5m to wipe out this ‘gruesome’ pest on KI
In an Australian first, a secret weapon is about to be launched to wipe out flystrike on Kangaroo Island – and it involves breeding up to 50 million sterile insects a week.
Tasmania
The University of Tasmania has launched a green bond to attract investors who share our sustainable values.
APA wants to acquire troubled Basslink interconnector, resolve multi-year dispute
APA Group hopes to resolve a years long dispute over Basslink failure, eyeing an outright acquisition of the troubled interconnector
Northern Territory
Resources Minister reissues millions in grants to fracking company
Resources Minister Keith Pitt has reissued millions of dollars in grants to a fracking company searching for gas in the Beetaloo Basin, just months after a Federal Judge ruled them invalid.
Western Australia
Fresh report outlays economic benefits of protecting the Fitzroy River
A new report has revealed tourism spending could increase by up to $43 million in the Fitzroy Valley if the region’s natural and cultural values are protected.
Sustainability
Blood cobalt: The brutal cost of the world’s green energy future
One of the poorest countries on earth is paying a heavy price for the world’s green energy revolution.
Oil and gas facilities could profit from plugging methane leaks, IEA says
International Energy Agency reports nearly all the industry’s methane emissions could be avoided at no net cost
UK trade could promote use of banned pesticides in Brazil, new report warns
Campaigners fear trade bond may damage environment abroad and end up weakening regulations in UK
Agriculture: Global cropland could be almost halved
In the context of trade-offs between land use and biodiversity, geographers have simulated land saving potentials for agriculture.
From the streets to the stratosphere: Clean driving technology enables cleaner rocket fuel
A chemical used in electric vehicle batteries could also give us carbon-free fuel for space flight, according to new research.
Upcycling plastic waste into more valuable materials could make recycling pay for itself
Researchers have developed a new and simple method for upcycling plastic waste at room temperature.
Although the Nyonoksa incident did involve fatalities, there is no evidence to suggest it caused as widespread an impact as the Chernobyl incident. Additionally, a post with footage of the Nyonoksa incident does not clarify that it occurred in 2019 and that it was not a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Are microbes the future of recycling? It’s complicated
An enzyme-based recycling technology is poised to go commercial, but questions about cost and scalability linger.
In low-income countries, meat isn’t the problem. Western industrial animal agriculture is
Bringing Western industrial animal agriculture—and its disastrous environmental and health impacts—to low-income countries will do more harm than good.
Ocean plastic is bad, but soil plastic pollution may be worse
The rise of plasticulture threatens the soil and human health. A new U.N. report spells out what’s needed to end it.
Three in four people worldwide support a ban on single-use plastics
Three in four people around the world agree with a ban on single-use plastics such as bags, straws, and water bottles, according to a 28-country survey from marketing firm Ipsos and Plastic Free July, an anti-plastics campaign.
10 steps you can take to fight climate change
Small changes alone won’t stop climate change, but your actions are still worthwhile.
The military’s net-zero agenda – The Carbon Copy Podcast
How the U.S. Armed Forces came to see climate change as a key national security threat.
Wildfires likely to increase by a third by 2050, warns UN
Even previously unaffected countries likely to see uncontrollable blazes, says study, which calls for shift to spending on prevention
The surprising biodiversity hidden in the world’s fragile mangrove forests
New research finds mangroves host thousands of unique insect species — and these trees are more vulnerable than previously understood.
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