Post of the Day
Labor’s plan for Murray-Darling Basin angers upstream states
Federal Labor is coming under fire from its own side of politics, with the Victorian government slapping down its Murray-Darling Basin policy.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
National Nuclear Technology Day – Iran
Climate Change
Experts discuss global goal for climate finance for first time
Last month, experts met in Cape Town for the first time to discuss the new collective quantified goal on climate finance.
Melting ice caps may not shut down ocean current
Most simulations of our climate’s future may be overly sensitive to Arctic ice melt as a cause of abrupt changes in ocean circulation, according to new research led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Thousand a day displaced by climate change, but they aren’t protected like refugees: Expert
The Australian climate law expert who has been appointed to the United Nations says a thousand people are day are already being displaced by climate change, but because they do not face persecution and many do not leave their home countries they do not fit the legal definition of a refugee.
Are the Paris climate goals still within reach? – podcast
Global cooperation and innovation remain core to climate progress.
Carbon capture and storage is making a comeback – podcast
Despite the technology’s spotty track record, planned global CCS capacity is up 50%
National
The High Court has cleared the way for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to call an election, dismissing an application to challenge a federal branch takeover of Liberal preselections in New South Wales.
Labor’s plan for Murray-Darling Basin angers upstream states
Federal Labor is coming under fire from its own side of politics, with the Victorian government slapping down its Murray-Darling Basin policy.
Nats blow up over Labor’s water plan [$]
Labor has not ruled out using water buybacks as part of its plan to deliver an extra 450GL to the river by 2024, infuriating the National Party.
Why Aussie native plants are surging in popularity
It’s been decades since native plants were considered a fashionable commodity, but renowned horticulturist Graham Ross, says this generation will bring about major change.
Defence blocks access to advice on location choice for Australia’s nuclear submarines base
Labor demands government reveal how it shortlisted Brisbane, Newcastle and Port Kembla as potential sites for base
Latest IPCC report offers key lessons for Australia but is anyone listening?
The climate authority has warned it is now or never to cut emissions but will MPs on the campaign trail heed its warning?
Climate 200 ‘a party of privilege’ [$]
Climate 200 is facing accusations of white privilege after the campaign funding group twice knocked back a Tibetan human rights advocate seeking support for the upcoming election.
Do you want soul with that? Pandemic’s legacy ushers in an era of ‘woke capitalism’
Consumers will pay more for a product with purpose. That’s according to an Insight report from the Commonwealth Bank, which states social purpose is now something that can give a product a premium of as much as 10 per cent.
The mums and dads behind Australia’s climate action plan
Suzie Brown is the non-executive director of Australian Parents for Climate Action, an organisation supporting parents across the country to fight for a safe climate future for their kids.
Deportation sends warning to wildlife traffickers
Sussan Ley
A Malaysian man has been removed from Australia after serving a jail sentence for attempting to export Australian native reptiles overseas.
The Sharma decision and climate change
Martin Slattery and Amal Naser
A recent decision of the Federal Court has found that the Minister of Environment does not owe a duty of care to protect children from the future harm that will be caused by climate change.
National security demands we aim for a vastly larger population
Bradley Perrett
Australia’s security, quite possibly its survival as an independent country, demands more people – a lot more people. We need a plan for massively expanding the population and distributing it comfortably.
A net-zero Greens utopia will bring Australia to its knees [$]
Vikki Campion
If the Greens slash defence spending, how will they pay for their free uni, childcare, parental leave, and welfare utopia — and protect our nation at the same time.
PK’s climate change segment U-turn [$]
Gerard Henderson
Patricia Karvelas says climate change caused devastating storms on the East Coast. Her guest professor wasn’t on the same page.
Why renewables are key to Australia’s national security [$]
Christopher Joye
We need to eliminate the country’s 80 per cent dependence on foreign oil and beef up electrification of key infrastructure.
How climate-friendly is an electric car? It all comes down to where you live
Robin Smit and Hussein Dia
If you’re thinking about buying an electric vehicle, whether due to soaring fuel prices or to lower your greenhouse gas emissions, where you live can make a huge difference to how climate-friendly your car is.
Budget 2022 embraces the environmental folly of Big Australia 2.0
Stephen Saunders
The Coalition’s plan to increase net migration ignores the already present danger of the climate crisis.
Welcome to Australia, a thrilling experiment in carbon capture [$]
Bernard Keane
In this article from coal and gas journal Fossil World, Australia’s innovative business model of being totally controlled by fossil fuel companies earns rave reviews.
Love of coal is as scary as the severe weather
Letters
As we see another tumbling rainfall record following the record-breaking floods, I feel afraid of the future which is no longer unknown but predictable and frightening, just as scientists have been warning for years.
Victoria
Easter swimming banned in popular Gippsland Lakes as toxic algae bloom surfaces
Authorities are urging people to avoid swimming in lakes adjacent to Metung, Paynesville, Eagle Point, Newlands Arm, and Wattle Point on the eve of the school holidays after an algae outbreak.
New South Wales
Filthy floodwater and sewage fouls famous Ballina, Byron beaches, threatening Easter holidays
Untreated sewage is spilling into flood-ravaged rivers from Lismore each day, and a “substantial” health risk on nearby beaches is causing havoc for seaside business owners who are “on their knees”.
Plan to ban dark roofs abandoned as NSW government walks back sustainability measures
Policy announced by previous planning minister shelved despite experts saying lighter roofs reduce ‘heat island effect’
Gomeroi traditional owners vote against agreement with Santos for Narrabri gas project
Court hearing will determine if Santos can progress coal seam gas development without consent of native title claimants
Cycleway and outdoor dining: Plans for new CBD promenade revealed
One of Sydney CBD’s busiest streets will be transformed into a tree-lined boulevard under plans to widen footpaths for al fresco dining and add a separated cycleway that will provide a missing link in the city’s bicycle network.
ACT
Wet weather creates dangerous conditions in ACT parks
Families heading away for Easter have been urged to take care in ACT parks, with rangers anticipating increased visitor numbers during more dangerous than usual conditions.
Queensland
How a clever home invention is helping clean masses of styrofoam from beaches
With a few days of tinkering and a fair bit of creativity, two Queensland mates have designed a vacuum to rid their beloved beaches of foam that washed up in the floods.
Bundaberg Mayor and former police minister in the Newman government, Jack Dempsey, says he will contest the seat of Hinkler as an independent at the upcoming federal election, saying the sitting member is “out of touch”.
With a mountain of debris finally cleared away, Brisbane River to reopen this weekend
Sixty salvaged vessels, 40 pontoons, 60 navigation aids and a sunken CityCat. That’s some of what made up the 6700-tonne mountain of trash and debris fished from the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay – and as far away as Fraser Island – in the wake of the late February-early March flood deluge.
Business as usual: one coal project killed off, another kicks off
The delayed Olive Downs coal mine in central Queensland has started its $1 billion construction.
South Australia
‘Extremely rare’ conservation success story as sea lion net deaths drop by 98 per cent
SA’s endangered sea lion population has been given a chance to bounce back after a decade-long marine conservation program.
Victorian floods stall Cooper Energy gas production
Flooding in eastern Victoria during a planned shutdown at its Gippsland processing plant has stifled Cooper Energy’s production, potentially costing the Adelaide-based company millions in lost sales.
Tasmania
Hot fish: Tassal breeding salmon for rising temperatures
Tassal is trying to selectively breed its salmon to cope with warmer water in a race against expected rising temperatures.
On Bass Strait aquaculture standards consultation …
Guy Barnett
The Tasmanian Government is committed to a vibrant and sustainable aquaculture industry – one that strives to be world leading, innovative and underpinned by strong regulation.
Western Australia
Older than first thought, new dating method shows Yirra sacred Indigenous site at least 50,000 years old
New archaeological findings from a sacred site prove the Yinhawangka people’s existence in WA’s eastern Pilbara region date back more than 50,000 years.
Perth’s riverside property owners in the dark over growing flood risk
New data shows property values in some Perth suburbs could collapse because of climate change-fuelled flooding with South Perth, Cannington and East Perth most at risk by 2050.
Independent report backs Woodside buying BHP oil and gas assets
Woodside is a step closer to becoming one of the10 biggest companies in Australia after KPMG concluded that its planned purchase of BHP’s oil and gas assets was a good deal.
Sustainability
Putin’s nuclear brinkmanship is making some countries nervous. But how real is the threat?
As Vladimir Putin holds out the threat of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, tensions between Russia and the West are bringing Cold War-era anxieties back to the surface.
Annual bird count in UK gardens raises hopes for greenfinch
RSPB scientists say small increase in sightings points to first signs of recovery of beleaguered species
Drone technology gives us the eyes of gods. Could it help us save arctic seals?
Philip Hoare
Images of harp seals taken from hundreds of miles above show their plight. They should spur us to action
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