Post of the Day
The early closure of coal-fired power stations is expected to prevent deaths, reduce asthma attacks, and save hundreds of millions of dollars in health costs.
On This Day
Shrove Monday – Christianity
Climate Change
Thinktank linked to tech giant Canon under pressure to remove ‘dangerous’ climate articles
Some Canon Institute for Global Studies posts call the climate crisis ‘fake news’ and compare Greta Thunberg to a communist
Climate emergency a ‘national security’ concern, says Red Cross
On eve of alarming IPCC report, organisation warns governments to treat crisis on a par with war and peace
US Supreme Court will hear biggest climate change case in a decade
The Supreme Court could handcuff President Biden’s climate change agenda — and restrict federal agencies from enacting new regulations governing health, workplace safety and more.
Climate impacts should be a regular part of war coverage
Algernon D’Ammassa
War coverage typically stops short of its implications for climate change. This obscures how war damages our ability to address an existential threat.
The best climate science you’ve never heard of
Michael E. Mann et al
One of the biggest obstacles to avoiding global climate breakdown is that so many people think there’s nothing we can do about it. They point out that record-breaking heat waves, fires, and storms are already devastating communities and economies throughout the world.
National
ACM readers’ survey: Climate, health and political integrity top federal election issues
The issues Australians want their political leaders to act on and the questions they need answers to before they cast their vote in 2022 have been declared.
Art in Nature coming to Australia
Australia Art in Nature will showcase artworks by Australian children and youth through an online art gallery and in a music video that will be released on March 22 for World Water Day.
Eucalypt regeneration is lagging behind in some areas burnt in the Black Summer fires. You can help.
Call it a eucalypt, corymbia, a myrtacea, you can even include the angophora: the gum tree is as great an emblem of Australia as you can imagine.
‘Not credible’: Key investors pushed for AGL to speed up coal exit before takeover bid
Key institutional investors privately pushed AGL’s board to bring forward the closures of its coal-fired power plants to the 2030s for at least a year before Mike Cannon-Brookes launched an $8 billion takeover bid for the company.
Why eco-tourism is the way forward
Eco-tourism is on the rise as travellers make more environmentally and socially responsible choices. Once we thought only about where we wanted to go; now we wonder where our children or grandchildren will be able to go.
The early closure of coal-fired power stations is expected to prevent deaths, reduce asthma attacks, and save hundreds of millions of dollars in health costs.
Hot lithium market drags exploration sector to fresh records [$]
With record spending on drilling, five consecutive quarters of record cash inflows and a booming IPO market, the exploration sector is enjoying a golden era.
Opposition hints at changes, but will ‘uphold the letter and spirit’ of Murray-Darling Basin Plan
Federal Labor hints it will seek to tear up a major agreement about how water could be recovered for the environment across the Murray-Darling Basin if it wins this year’s election.
The free market can’t lead a clean energy transition
Lyndal Rowlands
Decarbonization won’t be achieved through market-led solutions. It’s only by democratizing the economy and resisting privatization that a meaningful and sustainable transition to green energy can be won.
AGL said no to an $5 billion bid, but it isn’t over – here’s how takeover bids work
Ian Ramsay
Australian companies are being taken over like never before. On Saturday February 19 a consortium involving tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and Canadian asset manager Brookfield offered A$5 billion to buy AGL Energy.
Back off nanny, legalising e-scooters will kill the buzz
Sue Williams
Let’s not risk a fun, carefree, responsible form of transport becoming crushed by stifling bureaucracy.
Reporters swallow spin on coal power closures [$]
Chris Mitchell
Many at the Nine newspapers were starry-eyed about their local tech hero bidding for an old-fashioned power company so he could close down its coal-fired generators ahead of time.
We need national unity to act on the climate emergency
David Shearman
The basic science underlying the climate emergency indicates that green house emissions must stop this decade. This now seems unlikely and we need a national unity government to make us more secure from its consequences.
Victoria
Cheaper, cleaner, faster – new technology for better lithium batteries
Researchers from Monash University have taken another step towards the holy grail of renewable energy: the ability to store it cheaply. The team have created a new lithium-sulfur battery interlayer that promotes exceptionally fast lithium transfer, also improving the performance and lifetime of the batteries.
New South Wales
Transport chief warns of sticking points as Sydney trains return to full timetable
A week after the rail network was shut down, Sydney Trains will reinstate a full weekday timetable for rail services on Monday, but it comes with a warning.
ACT
Halving of waste collection frustrates food scrap suburbs
A decision to halve garbage pick-ups in Canberra’s food waste trial suburbs is being met with resistance, with some families relying on relatives to dispose of excess rubbish.
We can have horses or Kosciuszko National Park, not both
Letters
The Kosciuszko National Park is right next door to us. It is also very close to the hearts of the many Canberrans who are dismayed at the devastation of the natural landscape by the large numbers of feral horses. They are multiplying by the year and threatening even our own territory.
Queensland
Wivenhoe Dam capacity above 180pc and rising despite staged releases, more rain falling
Water’s being released from Wivenhoe Dam, but Seqwater says the situation is very different from 2011 when authorities released large volumes of water contributing to extensive flooding.
Hatching season underway on Avoid Island, an ‘ark’ for vulnerable species
Welcome to the turtle nesting oasis with a healthy population of death adders and a somewhat ironic name.
Around the suburban Brisbane hills, lazy creeks have become torrents
Many residents of Brisbane’s hilly inner suburbs have found streets and parks off-limits as floodwaters gush towards the river.
Andrew Forrest begins work on green hydrogen hub, confirms $3b for renewables farm
The build for a green hydrogen manufacturing hub is now underway in central Queensland, as Andrew Forrest confirms a separate $3 billion investment in a solar, wind and battery farm, in the same region.
Kimberley Reid and Andrew King,
The severe floods in southeast Queensland this week have forced hundreds of residents to flee the town of Gympie and have cut off major roads, after intense rain battered the state for several days. The rain is expected to continue today, and travel south into New South Wales.
Why Labor won’t welcome green frauds to Central Queensland [$]
Robert Schwarten
If the Greens think they can repeat Bob Brown’s stunt of bringing an anti-mining convoy to Central Queensland, they’ve got another thing coming.
Premier gambles on weather easing before city inundated [$]
Hedley Thomas
If Annastacia Palaszczuk blows this – if emergency Wivenhoe Dam releases flood the city with the water stored for too long – it will be unforgivable.
Tasmania
In Tasmania’s north eastern forests, the mountain-biking hub of Derby is caught between its past and its future, as logging machinery rolls into town.
Five-year fallow deer plan outlined following calls for support
The Tasmanian government has outlined a plan to combat the rising problem of wild fallow deer across the state.
Launceston City Council celebrate success of single-use plastics policy
The City of Launceston have announced the implementation of its single-use plastics policy as a significant success.
‘It’s not rocket science’: how the world’s fastest parrot could be saved
Adam Morton
While swift parrot numbers plunge, their Tasmanian breeding grounds are still being logged. It’s a recipe for extinction, experts say
Sustainability
Ukraine says Putin’s nuclear alert threat is a pressure tactic
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister says Vladimir Putin’s public decision to put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert is aimed at piling more pressure on his country as negotiators prepare for talks.
Improved fuel cell performance using semiconductor manufacturing technology
A research team in Korea has synthesized metal nanoparticles that can drastically improve the performance of hydrogen fuel cell catalysts by using the semiconductor manufacturing technology.
Environment: Destroying wetlands increases methane emissions
Peter Sainsbury
We’re destroying wetlands and their methane is killing us. Big Oil can’t be trusted but nor can the EU’s climate commitments. Boomers leave their great grandkids a tenth of what they enjoyed.
Antarctica’s pristine snow besmirched with horrid black pollution, scientists say
Antarctica is showing some worrying signs of pollution in the form of a black carbon layer blanketing the snow, caused by tourists burning fossil fuels.
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