Post of the Day
Chart of the Day: Breaking down Australia’s household and trade emissions
The biggest source of Australian household emissions is the car you drive, while the trade emissions don’t include burning of coal and gas overseas.
On This Day
Ascension Day – Western Christianity
Climate Change
Curbing other climate pollutants, not just CO2, gives Earth a chance
Slashing emissions of carbon dioxide by itself isn’t enough to prevent catastrophic global warming, a new study by scientists at Duke and four other universities shows. But if we simultaneously also reduce emissions of methane and other often overlooked climate pollutants, we could cut the rate of global warming in half by 2050 and give the world a fighting chance.
Climate activists disrupt Shell’s annual shareholder meeting – video
Dozens of climate protesters disrupted Shell’s annual shareholder meeting, chanting slogans and holding banners as Shell Chair Andrew Mackenzie was forced to temporarily suspend the event.
How plate tectonics, mountains and deep-sea sediments have maintained Earth’s ‘Goldilocks’ climate
Dietmar Müller et al
For hundreds of millions of years, Earth’s climate has warmed and cooled with natural fluctuations in the level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Over the past century, humans have pushed CO₂ levels to their highest in 2 million years – overtaking natural emissions – mostly by burning fossil fuels, causing ongoing global warming that may make parts of the globe uninhabitable. What can be done?
National
This is what will happen to all those election posters after polling day
The thousands of campaign posters and T-shirts that have littered electorates for weeks live on after the votes are counted.
Chart of the Day: Breaking down Australia’s household and trade emissions
The biggest source of Australian household emissions is the car you drive, while the trade emissions don’t include burning of coal and gas overseas.
Months of more rain likely as BOM report links global warming to flood disasters
The Bureau of Meteorology reports a perfect storm of factors led to devastating flooding across Queensland and NSW and climate change may have made them worse. And it warns key indicators are pointing to more heavy rain this winter and spring.
Using waste to make low-carbon plasterboard could be the future of construction
An Australian company is working to turn industrial waste and sequestered carbon into building products like plasterboard.
Key allies ‘welcome’ new government’s position on climate change, Anthony Albanese says
The prime minister shared light-hearted moments with US President Joe Biden at the Quad leaders’ summit, with climate change a key topic on the agenda.
Coles reusable bags are not genuinely reusable
According to the Boomerang Alliance, Coles Supermarkets in their recent announcement about using marine plastic waste in plastic bags are undermining their own Together to Zero Waste strategy by failing to meet genuine standards for reusability.
Green groups say Australia’s biggest polluters have been allowed too much “wriggle room” under a scheme designed to lower carbon emissions. But will things be any different the new federal government?
Will renewables ‘ramp up’ under Labor?
From the legislation of emission reduction targets to the advancement of electric vehicles, what is set to change for energy and resources lawyers – particularly in the wake of an election platform that was “big on aspirations but much lighter on detail”?
New Coalition MP was founding member of club promoting climate science denial
LNP member for Flynn, Colin Boyce, signed international statement rejecting climate crisis and criticised science in state parliament
Julien Vincent’s Market Forces organisation started with a spare laptop and a spare bedroom before raising the ire of the former Coalition government
ScoMo’s dirty little secret – electricity price hikes, hidden during poll, to be revealed
A surge in wholesale energy prices is putting pressure on energy retailers to pass on a hike in prices to consumers with a likely rise expected to be revealed Thursday.
Coal, gas tipped to live on despite Labor’s climate push
Australia’s coal and gas exporters could face higher hurdles to develop new projects and stricter emissions limits under the Albanese government, but analysts are not expecting drastic policy changes as Labor vows it will not buckle to pressure from the Greens.
Cannon-Brookes boost as super fund HESTA to vote against AGL coal split
The $68 billion superannuation giant HESTA has confirmed it will reject AGL’s controversial demerger at a vote next month, saying it believes the board’s proposal to spin off its coal-fired power stations into a standalone company will hamper Australia’s transition to a low-carbon future.
Analysis: What’s next for Safeguard Mechanism under Albanese
Reputex
Positive sentiments may be returning to Australia’s carbon markets, but what’s in-store for the Safeguard Mechanism under an Albanese government?
Household power bills jump as Coalition hands energy market mess to Labor
Sophie Vorrath & Giles Parkinson
First rise in household bills announced, conveniently delayed until after election as Coalition hands its energy mess to Labor and the cross bench.
Neighbourhood Batteries: To bring power to the people, you need to listen to what they want
Hedda Ransan-Cooper et al
Does the value of neighbourhood batteries stack up? And do they cut emissions? Local communities will want to know.
Cocktail talk: Labor struts both sides of street on energy as Madeleine King mooted for gas ministry
Callum Foote
Australia’s new Labor government is committed to a transition to clean energy and a cut in emissions of 43% by 2030. But the MP touted to become the new energy minister is giving forthright backing to the oil and gas industries.
Matt McDonald
Before the 2019 federal election, many people expected Australia would vote for faster climate action. That, of course, didn’t happen. But just three years later, the climate election arrived at last. The question is – what changed?
The election shows the conservative culture war on climate change could be nearing its end
Matthew Hornsey et al
Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s shock loss to an independent running on a climate action platform wasn’t a fluke event. “Teal” independents have ousted five of Frydenberg’s colleagues, all harvesting votes from conservative heartland and all calling for more action on climate change.
Albanese connects the domestic and foreign policy dots on climate
Bernard Keane
The prime minister deftly provided another reason for going further and faster on climate policy at the Quad meeting in Tokyo.
John Quiggan
As the fallout continues from the federal election result, Professor John Quiggan examines tangible options for Labor’s climate change policy.
Michael Slezak
There were all the signs that 2022 was going to be the climate election — and the election results on the weekend speak for themselves
Here’s a crazy idea for the Liberal Party – sensible policies
Alan Kohler
Apparently the Liberal Party now has to decide whether to move to the right or to the left.
Nationals leadership spill is yet another battle in climate wars
Mike Foley
Barnaby Joyce’s leadership of the Nationals is set to be challenged by contenders who have been galvanised by his stance on climate change.
Global warming con making green shysters rich [$]
Andrew Bolt
A senior banker who downplayed the risk of climate change to investors has been silenced. So as Labor vows to spend billions on green schemes, who is getting rich on the global warming con?
How fast will Labor move for a greener economy? [$]
Glenda Korporaal
Macquarie director Jillian Broadbent still remembers she had to argue the merits of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation when the Coalition was elected in 2013.
I am a climate scientist – and this is my plea to our newly elected politicians
Nerilie Abram
The 2022 federal election will go down in history as Australia’s climate change election.
The new climate challenge: toughening targets, avoiding new conflicts
Peter Christoff
To stick rigidly to the 43% target will prove infeasible in the short term and politically self-harming in the longer term. Tougher targets are inevitable.
Victoria seeks smarter ideas than solar taxes to manage grid voltage
Victoria seeks input into long-term strategy for managing grid voltage, and an alternative to constraints on rooftop solar.
Andrews government moves to jail native forest logging protesters
Protesters attempting to prevent or disrupt native forest logging in Victoria would face 12 months’ jail, or $21,000 in fines, under laws introduced to state parliament this week.
Budget backs Nillumbik’s commitment to climate action
More than $14 million will be spent on capital works projects and Nillumbik’s commitment to climate action will get be strongly supported in the 2022-2023 Budget, which was endorsed by Council last night.
New South Wales
‘Net full of death’: Platypuses found in illegal yabby trap
Four platypuses and one native water rat have been found dead in an enclosed “opera house” style trap in NSW, prompting calls for more action on the deadly devices.
State’s first hydrogen bus to hit Central Coast streets
The state’s first trial of a hydrogen-powered electric bus will begin on the Central Coast later this year, as the NSW Government transitions its fleet to zero emission technology.
Probe into reburial of Mungo remains over traditional owners’ objections
The NSW environment department will investigate after the remains of some of the earliest modern humans discovered in Australia were removed from storage and reburied.
Queensland
Scientists plead with Albanese government for swift action to save the reef
Marine scientists say they hope a new-look parliament will lead to more ambitious climate targets amid more frequent coral bleaching events.
‘People have them in their hair in bed’: Mouse plague hits Queensland’s North Burnett
A mouse problem has reached plague proportions in the North Burnett, with residents reportedly being bitten in their sleep and produce stores being overrun by thousands of rodents every night.
The small town aiming to become Queensland’s top electric car destination
When it comes to capitalising on environmentally conscious daytrippers, one Queensland town is pulling out all stops.
Wind farm deal to lift Queensland’s investment in renewables to $10 billion
A $350 million wind farm for central Queensland was likely to be developed in central Queensland after a deal between global energy company EDF and CS Energy.
Rural rump unmoved by climate shift, but farmers cast an eye to the future
While rural and regional Queensland may have decided to stay with the conservative status quo on Saturday night, farmers are expressing their desire to embrace new technology to drive down carbon emissions in line with the imperatives of the incoming Albanese Labor government.
‘Clean as green’ – Qld hydrogen maker’s plan to decarbonise energy
With perfect timing following the election of a Labor Government, Brisbane-based Synergen Met is promising to deliver technology to create a “turquoise hydrogen” from methane and potentially a negative CO2 process.
Double-whammy strikes koalas as second virus threatens populations
A virus similar to HIV in humans is causing koalas to succumb to chlamydia more readily, giving clues as to how to save the species, UQ researchers have found.
Mine ‘had no secret emissions allowance’ [$]
A former environment regulator for the Queensland government has denied Mount Isa Mines had a ‘sweetheart’ arrangement that allowed it to emit greater amounts of lead.
Tasmania
Meander Valley residents to get FOGO bins amid waste service changes [$]
Meander Valley Council has announced several changes to waste services in the hope of securing a more sustainable future for the municipality.
Children frolicking in faeces due to sewage scarcity, group claims [$]
Two groups are at loggerheads over a sewerage system at a popular Tasmanian tourist destination, with claims children are swimming in faeces-contaminated water.
Northern Territory
Traditional owners vow to keep fighting billion-dollar gas project despite losing court battle
Indigenous traditional owners say they won’t give up their opposition to Santos’s proposed Timor Sea Barossa gas field and pipeline to Darwin, after they suffered a court defeat in South Korea.
Western Australia
Fortescue facing big native title compensation claim in Pilbara
The Yindjibarndi traditional owners won a landmark native title case in the Pilbara in 2020 in a David-and-Goliath battle with mining giant Fortescue Metals Group, however, negotiations over royalties for mining iron ore on their land fell through. Now they are launching legal action against FMG for compensation.
‘Two incredibly painful years’: Juukan Gorge anniversary renews calls for heritage protection
The Juukan Gorge explosion that destroyed almost 50,000 years of history made headlines across the globe. Two years on, the fight to stop it from happening again continues.
Sustainability
Does size of air pollution particles affect person’s risk of death from stroke?
Living in areas with higher air pollution is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital death from stroke, and the risk varies depending on the size of the air pollution particles, according to a new study published in the May 25, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A vicious cycle of oxygen loss threatens water quality in lakes, new Virginia Tech study says
Scientists have recently confirmed that the world’s lakes are rapidly losing oxygen. With a seven-year, whole-ecosystem study, a team of freshwater scientists at Virginia Tech has been one of the first to take the next step in asking: What does it mean for water quality that oxygen is declining globally?
Experts call on governments to start including animal welfare in sustainable development governance
Scientists and other experts are calling on governments to start including animal welfare in sustainable development governance now in order to work towards a healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable world for all.
High prices make the wealthy feel entitled to unsustainable goods
High prices may not deter wealthy people from buying unsustainable goods – instead, they might actually trigger those in the upper class to buy these products, according to a new Penn State study.
Scientists make plastic more degradable under UV light
Scientists at Bath found that incorporating sugar units into polymers makes them more degradable when exposed to UV light.
Corporations pledge to buy ‘green’ at Davos gathering
A global buyers’ club of more than 50 companies, including Microsoft and Ford Motor, say they will buy “green” steel, aluminum and other commodities by 2030.
Applying war theory to the hyperthreat of climate and environmental change
Elizabeth Boulton
PLAN E, a new climate and environmentally centred security strategy, proves the world’s security forces are endangering us all.
Nature Conservation
Is it still ethical to collect butterflies for science?
The last 30 years have seen the rise of butterflying, a spiritual sibling to bird watching that involves identifying and photographing the insects rather than capturing them.
Critically endangered monarch butterflies expand toehold in Mexico
Researchers are quietly hopeful after recording an increase in the number of critically endangered monarch butterflies arriving in Mexico after a decades-long population collapse.
Regrow, not reuse: How restoring abandoned farms can mitigate climate change
Around the world, hundreds of millions of acres of land are being abandoned. Land regeneration could restore habitats and sequester carbon, but this is unlikely to happen without policy interventions, according to a new study in Science Advances, which shows that much of the land is eventually recultivated.
The race to protect the deep sea – Full Story podcast
The world may be on the verge of a ‘deep sea gold rush’ with mining companies and countries – including the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru – vying for the rich minerals found on the deep seafloor. Environmentalists and other Pacific nations are calling for a moratorium on this mining, until more can be learned about its impact.
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