Post of the Day
Rich countries must stop producing oil and gas by 2034, says study
Poorest states should be given until 2050, says research aiming to set out fair way of ending fossil fuel economy
On This Day
Ecological Observance
National Near Miss Day – USA
Climate Change
Wildfires caused by global warming ‘are accelerating global warming’
Wildfires blazed around the world last summer, burning land from California to Siberia – and the carbon released is accelerating global warming.
Universities must reject fossil fuel cash for climate research, say academics
Open letter from 500 academics likens fossil-energy funding of climate solutions to tobacco industry disinformation.
Underwater permafrost is a big, gassy wild card for the climate
You’ve probably heard of permafrost, the frozen carbon-rich land. But it’s also thawing under the sea, burping up planet-warming gases.
′Forgotten people′: Sundarbans′ climate refugees forced to move again
Sagar Island in India’s Sundarbans delta has been the destination for climate refugees from neighboring islands. Now it too is succumbing to rising sea levels.
Ask an ecology expert: how is the climate crisis changing our seasons?
Early springs and long, hot summers are disrupting migration and mating patterns.
Temperature records have been sent tumbling simultaneously in parts of Antarctica and the Arctic. Here’s what’s happening.
Rich countries must stop producing oil and gas by 2034, says study
Poorest states should be given until 2050, says research aiming to set out fair way of ending fossil fuel economy
In a world on fire, stop burning things
Bill McKibben
The truth is new and counterintuitive: we have the technology necessary to rapidly ditch fossil fuels.
Dana M Bergstrom et al
Record-breaking heatwaves hit both Antarctica and the Arctic simultaneously this week, with temperatures reaching 47℃ and 30℃ higher than normal.
Carbon offsets can’t be the cheap and easy way to net zero [$]
Barry Sterland and Sarah Hunter
The only genuine way businesses can meet the ESG expectations of investors is by making real cuts to their carbon emissions a priority.
National
How much is it costing the Australian government to send 70,000 tonnes of coal to Ukraine?
The federal government is remaining tight-lipped about the cost of a deal made with Whitehaven Coal to ship thermal coal to Ukraine.
Premiums ‘quadruple’, timber plantations unprotected as insurers flee bushfire-stricken forests
As insurance premiums skyrocket and insurers refuse coverage to fire-prone timber plantations, experts warn the consequences could be felt far beyond the forestry industry.
The Morrison government has announced another $50 million towards gas infrastructure projects, but analysts have warned the investment could be counterproductive to Australia’s net zero ambitions.
Recycling infrastructure funding only one part of solution
The National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) has today welcomed the Federal Government’s commitment to invest more in recycling infrastructure, following the Prime Minister’s $60 million announcement for advanced technology through the Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF).
Minister for Resources and Water, Keith Pitt today marked World Water Day, acknowledging the theme for 2022: Groundwater – making the invisible visible.
Climate crisis is greatest threat to Australia’s future and security, former defence leaders warn
Open letter calls on politicians to make climate a primary focus in election year and ‘address this clear and present danger’
No plan to get coal to Ukraine, the department says
Callum Foote
Wielding a chunk of coal, Scott Morrison told us not to be afraid. Now his government is shipping 70,000 tonnes of the fuel to Ukraine. Australia’s product is harnessed to ‘’help’’ a nation under siege from Russia while giving Australia much-need brownie (coal) points on the world stage.
Why our charities should be free to criticise hopeless policy
Jenna Price
Charities work on our behalf, collectively. But time and again this federal government tries to silence them.
Coming of age: research shows old forests are 3 times less flammable than those just burned
Philip Zylstra
As coal-fired climate change makes bushfires in Australia worse, governments are ramping up hazard-reduction burning. But our new research shows the practice can actually make forests more flammable.
Rachel Withers
The Coalition dismisses climate warnings as “politicisation” and “chattering” – even when they’re coming from the polls
The good oil on energy security is more than gas [$]
Australian editorial
The lesson from Europe is for all of the above: coal, gas, oil, nuclear.
Victoria
Continuing Yarra’s journey towards zero net emissions
Yarra City Council continues to make strong progress in its implementation of its Climate Emergency Plan.
RMIT fast tracks carbon neutral target to 2025
RMIT University is bringing its carbon neutral target forward by five years, after achieving the biggest on-site emissions reduction of any tertiary institution in Australia.
Push to probe pollies’ bullying claims
An independent panel could examine workplace safety within Victorian parliament amid claims the laws are “out of step” with community expectations.
Shrine to plane in 30 minutes: New Anzac station to cut airport journey by 2029
Melburnians will be able to travel from the new Anzac station, near the Shrine of Remembrance on St Kilda Road, to the airport in a little over 30 minutes, the Andrews government has pledged.
Councils’ rubbish deal crumbles over 25-year trash commitment
A plan to process the rubbish from 15 local government areas in Melbourne’s south-east is on the brink of implosion after the councils, which are pushing households to reduce their weekly garbage, were asked to commit to minimum levels of waste for the next 25 years.
Andrews vows to crack down on dodgy duck hunters
Daniel Andrews has warned duck hunters there will be consequences for breaking the rules as animal rescuers claim shooters are “blatantly” flouting the law.
New South Wales
White Bay to go green in ‘world first’ sustainable power plan
A multimillion-dollar investment to install a new, green power supply at White Bay Cruise Terminal has been revealed, set to bring the port kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
Air pollution in White Bay to continue until at least 2024
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne is urging the NSW Government to end the decade-long delay and begin work immediately on providing Ship to Shore power for The White Bay Cruise Terminal.
Could a brumby reserve solve Kosciuszko’s wild horse conundrum?
A Snowy Mountains resident says the debate about the High Country’s wild horses could be solved by establishing a “brumby reserve” that would bring jobs to the region.
Queensland
Environment Department shrouds UNESCO mission to Reef in secrecy, keeps agenda under tight control
With the Great Barrier Reef undergoing a severe and widespread coral bleaching event it is vital that a UN mission currently in Australia to survey the Reef’s health is allowed to see the climate damage to the Reef firsthand, Greenpeace Australia Pacific says.
Annastacia Palaszczuk fears over Queensland’s tourist hotspot
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she’s troubled by reports of another coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef as an international team arrives to assess whether the site is healthy enough to retain its World Heritage status.
Huge cost blowout causes some farmers to withdraw support for new Queensland dam
Irrigator says governments need to triple spend if Emu Swamp dam is to proceed and it would provide some of Australia’s most expensive water
NFTs give us the chance to own a piece of the Great Barrier Reef
Anyone can own a virtual piece of the Great Barrier Reef under an ambitious plan to revolutionise charity-based conservation.
Who said King Coal was dead? New Hope investors get $250m payout as prices boom
Coal producer New Hope is set to pay out $250 million to shareholders after it posted a $330 million profit for the six months to January, a huge turnaround on the $55 million loss for the same period in 2021.
PM’s $5.4bn green light for mega dam project in north Qld [$]
Scott Morrison has pledged $5.4bn to build what would become Queensland’s largest dam, creating 10,000 jobs and opening up an irrigation area bigger than the entire Gold Coast.
Gas blast: Major shakeup of LNG market in the works as domestic supply dwindles
Queensland’s LNG producers face a major shakeup after the competition watchdog said they had not delivered on their promises and had created a shortfall in gas supplies for the east coast because of the failure of their field development in the state.
Traditional Owners win 26-year long Native Title battle in south-east Qld
The Kunja people say the determination is an “awakening” for their people, who can now focus on instilling language, identity and culture into the younger generations.
Energy transition will test Queensland’s resilience like never before – we need to act now
Anne Tiernan and James Boyle
Unlike disaster management, there’s no playbook for the shift to green energy. With more than half of all jobs at risk in some LGAs, here’s how Queensland can ensure nobody is left behind
Jess Harwood
Just remember to look exactly where the government tells you
Tasmania
Court action launched against government member’s landclearing plan
A court challenge has been launched against a plan by Liberal parliamentarian John Tucker to clear more than 1800 hectares of native forest on land he owns in the North-East.
The legacy of Lake Pedder: how the world’s first Green Party was born in Tasmania 50 years ago
Benjamin J. Richardson
Fifty years ago this week, the world’s first “green” political party was born in Tasmania after the state government purposefully flooded the magnificent Lake Pedder.
Northern Territory
A pending Supreme Court decision over alleged sacred site damage in Kakadu National Park could have implications for the protection of other sacred grounds, a senior custodian believes.
Federal funds for Aboriginal talks missing
Millions of dollars promised by the Morrison government for Northern Territory traditional owner talks about Beetaloo Basin oil and gas production have not been received, a Senate inquiry has been told.
Gas industry CEO tells Senate inquiry NT fracking cannot happen without traditional owners’ consent
Traditional owner Johnny Wilson lives within 20km of fracking wells in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. This week, the peak body for oil and gas attempted to quell his concerns.
NT’s potential as powerhouse for renewable energy for Southeast Asia as solar projects grow
The world’s largest solar energy project should revolutionise how power is sources in southeast Asian countries – and it’s happening in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Traditional owners target international financiers in legal bid to block billion-dollar gas project
Tiwi and Larrakia elders fear their sea country could be impacted by Santos’ Barossa gas project in the NT, one of the biggest developments announced in the Australian oil and gas sector in recent years.
‘We still worry’: Mirarr watch cautiously as mine cleanup begins
After four decades of operation, the Ranger Uranium mine is being rehabilitated. The cost of work has blown out by $1 billion, and Traditional Owners are keeping a watch on the cleanup.
Western Australia
‘Really worrying’: $65 trillion climate group to probe Woodside’s CSIRO report
Climate Action 100 will examine the scientific report buried by Woodside after it undermined key climate claims ahead of the company’s annual general meeting in May.
Asbestos removal employees charged over dumping in bushland
Two employees of an asbestos removal business have been taken to court for allegedly dumping the toxic substance in bushland near Casuarina Prison.
Sustainability
Despite warnings, a destructive African dam project moves ahead
A massive hydroelectric dam under construction in Tanzania threatens to flood part of a famed game reserve and deprive villages and mangrove forests of water, experts warn. But fear of the country’s authoritarian government has silenced critics.
With Europe phasing out Russian energy over Ukraine, African countries sense an opportunity
Suppliers in Africa’s energy markets are looking to partner with investors in Europe who can no longer rely on Russian natural gas, which has long been their dominant source.
The smaller bombs that could turn Ukraine into a nuclear war zone
Military experts say a new generation of nuclear weapons has raised the risk that Mr. Putin might introduce less destructive atomic arms into the battlefields in and around Ukraine.
Bitcoin miners want to recast themselves as eco-friendly
Facing intense criticism, the crypto mining industry is trying to change the view that its energy-guzzling computers are harmful to the climate.
What happens to used solar panels? DOE wants to know
Figuring out how to recycle old panels — or reuse parts like the precious metals often contained in them — is a looming challenge.
Bayer presses for U.S. Supreme Court review of a second Roundup cancer case
Bayer AG has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case claiming that its glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer, the second time in less than a year that the company has petitioned the high court over a jury award related to the products.
Johnson announces aim for UK to get 25% of electricity from nuclear power
PM meets industry bosses to discuss new power stations, with several reactors slated for closure as energy demand rises
Pharmaceutical water pollution detected deep in the Brazilian Amazon
Amazon Basin urban centers are contaminating the Amazon, Negro, Tapajós and Tocantins rivers with pharmaceuticals and wastewater, with still largely unknown impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
How your caffeine addiction is hurting marine life
Lab trials show caffeine has a range of negative effects on marine species.
5 reasons to love (and protect) freshwater mussels
These aquatic heroes do so much to keep freshwater ecosystems healthy — and we’re killing them off at a record pace.
Revealed: ships may dump oil up to 3,000 times a year in Europe’s waters
Collaborative investigation shows ships regularly discharge ‘bilge’ water illegally instead of treating it, with toxic effect on marine life
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