Post of the Day
Gareth Kindler et al
More than 1,800 Australian plants and animals are considered at-risk of extinction, and yet protecting threatened species is almost entirely absent from the current election campaign.
On This Day
Eid ul Fitr – Islam
Ecological Observance
Carbon, climate change and ocean anoxia in an ancient icehouse world
A new study describes a period of rapid global climate change in an ice-capped world much like the present – but 304 million years ago. Within about 300,000 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels doubled, oceans became anoxic, and biodiversity dropped on land and at sea.
Vacuuming carbon from the air could help stop climate change. Not everyone agrees
With the climate warming rapidly, scientists are finding that cutting fossil fuels may not be enough. Carbon dioxide emissions may need to be vacuumed right out of the air.
‘it is, at the end of the day, up to all countries to deliver on the commitments they’ve made,’ says the British official who oversaw last fall’s U.N. climate summit in Glasgow.
Oh good, hurricanes are getting so strong that we need a Category 6
Here’s a sign of where we’re at with the whole climate change thing: Scientists are calling for a new categorization in order to accurately describe just how powerful and destructive hurricanes are becoming.
National
One in 25 homes could become uninsurable by 2030, climate report warns
Australia is going to face an “insurability crisis” in under a decade as climate change forces insurance premiums to “skyrocket”, a report from the Climate Council warns.
A reckoning is coming for Australia’s largest river system
Delivery of the $13 billion Murray Darling Basin Plan hangs in the balance with just two years to go before major water saving deadlines must be met. Very few people who have been paying attention believe the water will be found in time. What happens next has divided all sides of politics.
‘Globally irresponsible’: Billionaire Cannon-Brookes to fight AGL coal split
Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has become power giant AGL’s biggest shareholder and declared he will use his stake to vote against the company’s plans for the future.
Adbri lays down new targets to tackle cement’s carbon problem
Cement is vital to the construction sector and green technologies like wind turbines. But its huge carbon footprint is one of the hardest to reduce.
Push for rise in electric vehicles [$]
The Coalition and Labor face calls to increase the uptake of electric cars by introducing a fuel-efficiency standard as well as a cap-and-trade scheme for the vehicle fleet.
Morrison inaction, Ukraine conflict weigh on clean energy investment
Clean energy investors say ongoing frustrations with Australian policy compounded by impacts of Russia invasion of Ukraine.
Coal on election agenda with clash of views over McKell Institute ‘casuals’ report [$]
Federal Resources and Water Minister Keith Pitt says research by the McKell Institute on labour-hire in the coal industry is “union propaganda posing as a report”, and mine workers “should not be fooled by it”.
“God doesn’t think he’s Angus Taylor:” Forrest fires new salvo
Andrew Forrest fires another salvo at energy minister Angus Taylor as he and Mike Cannon-Brookes push the case for green energy.
Gareth Kindler et al
More than 1,800 Australian plants and animals are considered at-risk of extinction, and yet protecting threatened species is almost entirely absent from the current election campaign.
Polls show a jump in the Greens vote – but its real path to power lies in reconciling with Labor
Kate Crowley
A major poll published yesterday suggests the Greens are set to grow as a political force at this month’s election, showing its primary vote has risen markedly from 10% in 2019 to a current high of 15%.
The Coal Coalition: what if the majors cut their own deal? Stranger things have happened
Mark Sawyer
Conventional wisdom is that the high expected vote for minor parties and independents will result in a hung parliament and force either the Coalition or Labor to the negotiating table. But there is an alternative: the Coalition and Labor, governing together to ‘’save the nation’s energy security’’.
Attention Australia: The climate crisis is a health crisis too
Fran Baum and Tony Capon
After more than two years coping with a pandemic, the last thing we want to hear about is another global health crisis. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that as we continue to heat our fragile planet, we face a threat to public health that will eclipse even COVID-19.
Wrong way, not just kidding, on climate change
Ralph Evans
Ross Garnaut has said the leaders are “just kidding” on climate change in the election campaign. It’s worse than that. They are leading us the wrong way.
‘Independents’ want to override our democracy [$]
Tim Wilson
The so-called teal independents are quite open about wanting climate taken out of the hands of voters.
The bigger play behind Cannon-Brookes’ AGL raid [$]
Eric Johnston
Mike Cannon-Brookes has narrowed his focus in the battle for AGL, taking a calculated move to buy him enough time to bring about an early exit from coal.
Albo finds his mojo in push for green metals and EV batteries
Michael Mazengarb
Albanese pitches vision of a green resources sector and revitalised manufacturing to contrast Morrison’s embrace of fossil fuels.
Victoria
Shearwater shock: Dozens of dead birds found in coastal town for fourth straight year
The cause of the latest shearwater kill at Port Fairy’s Griffiths Island remains a mystery, with council workers reporting no signs of fox or dog attacks on the deceased birds.
Delivering an environmentally sustainable Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula Shire is committed to delivering our Climate Emergency response through creating an environmentally sustainable Mornington Peninsula.
Voters believe they’re doing their bit on climate but want govt to do more
Most Australians believe they are playing their part in acting on climate change amid a growing election fight emissions.
Loy Yang A coal plant outage expected to cost AGL at least $73 million
AGL says it will take a big hit to profits due to latest Loy Yang A coal outage, while market grapples with failing reliability and higher costs
New South Wales
This forest boiled alive during the Black Summer bushfires. Two years on, it’s not growing back
Mangrove forests near Batemans Bay were the unexpected victim of the Black Summer bushfires. More than two years on, they have not grown back and researchers cannot figure out why.
Government eyes two-stage opening to flagship Metro amid rising costs
Escalating costs and construction delays have forced the NSW government to consider staging the opening of the Metro rail line.
Decades-long claims backlog highlights NSW native title failure
The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council has condemned successive state governments for their failure to deliver on land rights amid a two-decade claims backlog.
Massive big battery and solar farm proposed for NSW coal country
Australian renewables developer Maoneng unveils plans for a massive four-hour battery and solar farm in the New South Wales Upper Hunter region.
ACT
Canberra’s urban trees receive global recognition
Canberra has been declared an international tree city of the world, joining 138 cities recognised around the world for their leadership in managing urban trees.
Queensland
Indigenous company’s big contract win for Carmichael mine project
A unique approach and professional reputation has helped an Indigenous-owned company secure a contract in central Queensland’s Carmichael mine project.
South Australia
Brush-tailed bettongs doing well after reintroduction to SA mainland
Nationally endangered brush-tailed bettongs have been successfully returned to South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula after being locally extinct for more than 100 years.
Premier drives Twiggy’s clean, green truck of the future [$]
Billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s firm will be considered to build the state’s hydrogen power plant at Whyalla, Premier Peter Malinauskas says after touring his Perth HQ.
Tasmania
Tasmania’s carbon emissions are dropping — and researchers say they know why
Tasmania has gone from being an emitter of carbon dioxide to now removing more than it is emitting to the atmosphere — with researchers saying the turning point was when the logging of native forests stopped.
Masked owl habitat concerns fail to stop tailings dam work in Tarkine rainforest
The Bob Brown Foundation loses its Federal Court bid to halt preliminary works for a controversial mine tailings dam inside the takayna/Tarkine rainforest in Tasmania’s west.
‘Fix’ to forestry laws a first item of business when Tasmanian Parliament resumes this week
The government will introduce legislation seeking to retrospectively fix Tasmania’s forestry laws as one of its first items of business when parliament resumes on Tuesday.
Climate scorecard for federal election candidates in Tasmania
Ratings issued by Tasmanian Climate Collective
Greens presser on logging bill, coronavirus
Transcript of media conference with Tasmanian Greens MPs Cassy O’Connor and Rosalie Woodruff
Launceston forum on community rights vs fossil fuels
Media release – Wilderness Society Tasmania
In an apparent investor briefing, 3D Oil has appeared to confirm that exploration drilling for fossil fuel gas will take place off King Island next year.
BBF: ‘Pro-mining judgement against the environment’
Media release – Bob Brown Foundation
The Federal Court has declined Bob Brown Foundation’s application for a stay of execution for the Pieman River rainforest in southern takayna, and the breeding Masked Owls that rely on this precious habitat for hollows and hunting grounds.
Northern Territory
Mirarr knowledge and technology combine to try heal Kakadu scars
An innovative way of healing Country is underway at the Ranger uranium mine, in the heart of Kakadu National Park.
Fortescue urges joint “Green Pilbara” vision of giga-scale wind, solar and hydrogen
Fortescue Future Industries hints at joining forces with other parties to create a single vision for giga-scale renewable energy projects.
Andrew Forrest is not a god [$]
Aaron Patrick
The mining entrepreneur’s campaign to attract billions in subsidies for his business is a threat to good policy.
Sustainability
They suck your electricity while you sleep. What you need to know about vampire appliances
Working behind the scenes while you’re sleeping, vampire appliances are consuming energy even when they’re turned off. So what exactly are they and will turning them off at the wall make any difference to your power bills? Let’s find out.
Human urine may seem like a crude way of fertilising plants in the era of industrial agriculture, but as researchers look for ways to reduce reliance on chemicals and cut environmental pollution, some are growing increasingly interested in the potential of pee.
Over 137 million in US breathing dangerous air
Over 40 percent of the United States — more than 137 million Americans — live in places where air pollution levels make the air too dangerous to breathe, according to a new study.
Telehealth can play a vital role in reducing carbon emissions
Researchers from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that telehealth appointments saved 2.2 million gallons of gas for patients since the start of the pandemic.
The west can cut its energy dependency on Russia and be greener
Jeffrey Frankel
The Ukraine war has focused minds on win-win policies from ending coal and oil subsidies to raising petrol taxes on petrol
Peter Newman
When you think of an electric vehicle, chances are you’ll picture a car. But there’s a quiet revolution going on in transport. It turns out electrification can work wonders for almost all of our transport options, from electric bikes to motorbikes to buses to freight trains and even to tractors and heavy trucks. There will soon be no need to burn petrol and diesel in an internal combustion engine.
Nurturing nature in schools for enhanced learning
Dianne Vella-Brodrick and Krystyna Gilowska
New research shows that engagement with nature can help enhance attention and memory in school children which are critical for learning
Dartford warbler is welcomed back from near-extinction
RSPB reports 183 pairs
As climate shifts, species will need to relocate, and people may have to help them
Climate change is already affecting plants and animals worldwide and is a growing threat to biodiversity, adding a new layer to the existing challenges of habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, and overexploitation. A new study surveyed the recommendations of scientists for managing biodiversity in the face of climate change, providing a summary of practical guidance and identifying areas in need of further research.
How farmers in Earth’s least developed country grew 200 million trees
In the past 35 years, as scientists begged nations to get serious about reviving forests, one of Earth’s poorest countries added an astonishing 200 million new trees. Experts say other continents should be looking to Niger as a model.
Studies find the seeds of a forest’s renewal after wildfire, drought
By quantifying the seed production of more than 700 trees species worldwide and how each species’ productivity can vary by location, two new studies can help boost the success of efforts to replant and restore forests after devastating wildfires, droughts or other disturbances.
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