Post of the Day
Eye-watering cost of fossil fuels revealed
Shocking new research reveals how much fossil fuel industries receive from government subsidies per minute.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Talks on new UN climate report go down to the wire
Negotiations between scientists and governments over a key United Nations climate report were going down to the wire on Sunday, as officials from major emerging economies insisted that it should recognise their right to development.
The fruits of science denial: If you think today’s GOP is crazy, see what’s waiting in the wings
The craziness that 40 years of focused attacks on science and fact has given us is not diminishing.If you don’t get it that the two parties are not the same, you have not been paying attention
Rather than seeing the climate challenge as overwhelming or hopeless, experts say, we should treat it as a call to action.
National
Why are coal companies continuing to invest in NSW as the world sprints in the other direction?
The NSW government is labelled “hypocritical” for allowing the coal industry to prolong operations despite its aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as prices for the fossil fuel soar.
Plant emissions at five-year low: NPI data shows
The release of the latest NPI data again reveals a drop in emissions from coal-fired generators.
New projects to protect Australia’s threatened wildlife
More than 60 of Australia’s priority native species, from the Brush-tailed rock wallaby to the Eltham copper butterfly, are set to benefit from more than $12 million in grants thanks to the Morrison Government’s Threatened Species Strategy Action Plan 2021-2026.
Dr Sophie Scamps calls for parliamentary inquiry into health impacts of climate change
The climate crisis facing Australia requires a first of its kind federal strategy to protect the health and mental health of Australians, independent candidate for Mackellar Dr Sophie Scamps said today.
Eye-watering cost of fossil fuels revealed
Shocking new research reveals how much fossil fuel industries receive from government subsidies per minute.
Carbon offset producers question buyer motives [$]
Some Indigenous groups and farmers responsible for creating carbon credits sought by major businesses are worried they will enable more emissions.
Labor can’t match us in the regions: Taylor
Labor will never match the Coalition’s spending in regional Australia because it doesn’t have the representatives in parliament to fight for it, a Liberal minister has said in an election-eve pitch to country voters.
Tree scheme fails to deliver on $38m replanting promise [$]
No trees have been planted under the Morrison government’s $37.5m regional investment corporation plantation loan program, designed to repair bushfire areas.
Ley refuses to stop work at ancient Indigenous site [$]
A plea to halt work on a $4.5bn urea plant to protect ancient Indigenous rock art has been knocked back by Environment Minister Sussan Ley.
These companies say their carbon pipelines would curb climate change. Farmers object
Three companies want to build carbon capture pipelines through a large swatch of the Midwest they say will help curb climate change. Carbon capturing involves removing the carbon dioxide emissions from an industrial process and then piping to be stored elsewhere.
The whistleblower calling Australia’s carbon credits system a ‘sham’ – Full Story podcast
Prof Andrew Macintosh spent years working on the integrity of the Australian government’s carbon credit system which gives credits for projects such as regrowing native forests after clearing. Now, he’s turned whistleblower, claiming this system is ‘a fraud’ on the environment, taxpayers and consumers – a claim that energy and emissions reduction minister Angus Taylor has described as ‘completely unfounded’.
Australia plans to be a big green hydrogen exporter to Asian markets – but they don’t need it
Andrew Blakers and Cheng Cheng
In its latest budget, the federal government has promised hundreds of millions of dollars to expand Australia’s green hydrogen capabilities.
Australia needed a reform budget with climate at its centre [$]
Allegra Spender
Instead, what we got was short-term giveaways from a government focused on securing its future while ignoring everyone else’s.
Victoria
Victoria to restore area five times size of Melbourne with $31m boost to private land conservation
BushBank scheme aims to revegetate parcels of private land to create habitat for endangered wildlife and capture carbon
‘Not fit for purpose’: new noise benchmark needed for Melbourne’s third runway, group says
Victorian Transport Action Group says standards recommended by World Health Organization are needed
Heard the one about the climate apocalypse? How to joke about the end of the world
When Jordan Barr was writing a comedy festival show on existential dread and climate anxiety, she worried about her audience might feel.
Secret plan to dump toxic soil on training site [$]
While Jim Birch was spending thousands of dollars on a new training centre, the Andrews government was secretly assessing the site to store toxic West Gate Tunnel soil.
Melton Council says government neglect put it ‘on road to ruin’ [$]
A western suburbs council claims it has missed out on its share of $4.7bn in roads funding and slammed governments for neglecting its booming suburbs.
Plan to bring cheap, clean energy to Victoria [$]
A massive underground cable designed to bring clean and cheap energy to Victoria from Tasmania could cut 140 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and create 2800 jobs.
Bushfire-hit areas bracing for deluge [$]
Parts of East Gippsland – hit so hard by Black Summer bushfires – recorded up to 186mm of rain in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, with more on the way.
Suburban Rail Loop hampered by lack of open planning process
Jago Dodson
It is not surprising if politics has influenced the Commonwealth decision not to fund the Suburban Rail Loop.
New South Wales
As water levels rise so too does the pressure to stop building houses on flood plains
Residents of flood-prone Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley near Sydney say real estate agents should have to advise buyers of risks
The tough task threading a train line through Sydney’s crown jewel
A $1 billion-plus upgrade of Australia’s busiest railway station has thrown up plenty of challenges for construction workers and engineers.
ACT
The trend for building large houses in Canberra is unsustainable and can’t continue
Canberra Times editorial
If you’ve been noticing the kinds of new houses going up in your neighbourhood in recent times, you probably won’t find the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics surprising.
Queensland
Landmark climate change legal battle leaves courtroom for remote tropical island
In a Queensland first, those opposed to a major coal mining project will give evidence on country and not just in the courtroom.
In the living mosaic of the Atherton Tablelands, mabi forest is being restored
It will take ‘hard yakka’ and a couple of hundred years to rebuild north Queensland’s critically endangered mabi rainforest
‘Wild dogs’ in controversial photograph taken in outback Queensland identified as ‘pure’ dingoes
So-called “wild dogs” pictured strung from trees in western Queensland last year were 99.9 per cent “pure” dingoes, a genetic researcher says.
South Australia
Revealed: The beaches we’re loving to death [$]
A pandemic-led domestic tourism boom has put enormous pressure of some of SA’s most beautiful beaches. But now local communities are fighting back.
Tasmania
Another milestone reached in Marinus Link project
The question of how the Marinus Link energy interconnector will be paid for remains answered despite the announcement of more funding from the state and federal governments towards the project.
Neuron Mobility study shows e-scooters ’embraced’ by residents
One of two companies involved in the City of Launceston’s 12-month E-scooter trial has offered an update and overview of the initiative’s first quarter.
Scrivener Dam to get $38.5 million federal funding upgrade
The dam keeping Lake Burley Griffin fed will get a $38.5 million upgrade thanks to federal funding announced in Tuesday’s budget.
Lake Pedder the perfect symbol of fluid allegiances
Barry Prismall
I saw it driving into North Hobart. A large electronic billboard, sitting atop a pub: Restore Lake Pedder.
Northern Territory
Larrakia people’s fight for treaty still fresh 50 years after 3m-long petition mailed to royals
In 1972, Darwin’s traditional owners raised their own flag and made their voices heard as they pushed for recognition. Although the Queen never got back to them, they never gave up the struggle.
Western Australia
Neon replaced by pastels, and where are the sea slugs? Signs of coral bleaching at Ningaloo Reef
Top marine scientists say Western Australia’s World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef is at further risk of coral bleaching, with signs of heat stress on the northern fringes, as unusually hot water moves from Indonesia down the WA coast.
Environmental group disputes ‘negligible’ impact of Santos’ WA oil spill
An environmental group has disputed claims by ASX-listed energy giant Santos that the leakage of up to 25,000 litres of oil from a facility on an island off WA’s Pilbara coast was a “minor spill”
Study points to cat poo as the culprit in cold case of WA penguin deaths
Thirteen otherwise healthy looking little penguins at the West Australian island died in 2011-12 and have now been found to be infected with a disease that originates from cat faeces.
Sustainability
Coal India achieves record production of 622 MT in 2021-22
State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) on Friday reported a record coal production in FY22 at 622.6 million tonnes, registering an annual growth of 4.4 per cent. In 2020-21, coal production stood at 595.2 million tonnes (MT).
Explainer: Who has nukes, and what do Russia’s nuclear threats mean?
The world’s nuclear arsenal started to seem irrelevant – until Putin put his nation’s on high alert. What is the likelihood of him using nukes, and how effective is “deterrence” today?
There’s good reason to worry about the health risks of plastics
An emerging domain of research shows that plastic consumption and pollution harms human health — particularly for the world’s lower-income communities.
What world can learn from Indian environmental ethos
India’s environmental philosophy stems from the basic belief that man is an extension of the planet — man and planet enjoy mutually inseparable and interdependent relationships where existence of man is dependent on the well-being of the planet.
A draft now being debated, which must be completed by July 5 and ratified in a national vote before September, would recognize the climate crisis and guarantee the rights of nature and animals.
We just can’t quit fossil fuels, can we?
Peter Dykstra
This past Thursday was an important anniversary in our stormy marriage to fossil fuels.
Photos show increasing numbers of rare one-horned rhinos in Indian national park
The rare rhinos which roam Kaziranga National Park in north-eastern India have been increasing in numbers, thanks to stronger police efforts against poaching and artificial mud platforms which keep the animals safe from floods.
In the ocean, it’s snowing microplastics
Tiny bits of plastic have infiltrated the deep sea’s main food source and could alter the ocean’s role in one of Earth’s ancient cooling processes, scientists say.
The death knell of desertification
Desertification is caused by poor land management such as over-cropping, over-grazing, improper irrigation practices, and deforestation.
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.