Post of the Day
Where to next for the human world?
Bob Douglas
Our new government is facing a profoundly difficult and complex world situation, with a string of ten catastrophic threats that are bearing down on humans everywhere.
On This Day
Climate Change
Commonwealth nations end summit with call for action on climate change, trade
A week-long summit of Commonwealth nations has concluded with an agreement to act on climate change and improve trade relations.
Climate change is altering the chemistry of wine
Warming, wildfires and unpredictable weather threaten to disrupt the delicate processes that underlie treasured wines. Researchers and producers are innovating to keep ahead.
National
Cold weather and power prices prompt record interest in batteries and solar
Frigid weather and the upheaval in the energy market has whetted consumer appetite for renewable technologies like home batteries and rooftop solar.
Dutton wise to resist Albo’s green grandstanding [$]
Nick Cater
Turning the 43 per cent emissions reduction target into a legislated straitjacket is less than sensible at a time when the rest of the industrialised world is looking for wriggle room.
Self-interested spruikers skew energy debate [$]
Chris Mitchell
Reporters need to be mature enough to see through the posturing of those who claim the high moral ground on climate.
A clarifying moment for responsible investing and climate change [$]
Adele Ferguson
A subtle shift is taking place in the divestment versus engagement debate, as gas stocks soar and supply shortages call for a sensible transition.
Has business learnt its lesson from climate wars?
Sean Kelly
What is being said on wages mirrors business’s approach to defeating the mining tax and carbon price – actual data was brushed aside in favour of false claims.
A new era as Australia joins historic UN nuclear ban meeting
Tilman Ruff
This week in Vienna, Australia joined a landmark gathering of eighty-three governments to further implement and develop the treaty banning nuclear weapons.
Where to next for the human world?
Bob Douglas
Our new government is facing a profoundly difficult and complex world situation, with a string of ten catastrophic threats that are bearing down on humans everywhere.
Australia should rethink its policy on immigration and population levels
Crispin Hull
Big corporations can so often be relied upon to put their short-term profits over everything else, from the public good right down to even their long-term survival.
New South Wales
Emergency orders in place across NSW to protect bee industry from deadly varroa mite parasite
The movement of bees within New South Wales is halted following the discovery of a deadly parasite at the Port of Newcastle with the potential to decimate the industry.
Forrest LNG venture to seek government help, says Squadron’s new CEO [$]
Andrew Forrest’s import project in NSW is looking for support to bring customers on board, says Eva Hanly, the chief of his private energy company.
Queensland
It may seem harmless but stacking rocks is ‘vandalism’, park ranger says
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has seen an increase in the number of “unsightly and unnatural” rock cairns in recent years, warning the seemingly harmless practice can actually do a lot of environmental damage.
Queensland invested in large-scale batteries in its budget, but there is nothing there for would-be home solar battery users. The Energy Minister says there is not a need, but experts say help with upfront costs could be a “good thing”.
Council to open consultation on bus network changes within months
Brisbane’s bus network has not had a major overhaul in almost a decade.
Native fish population booms after floods improve conditions
The flowing water from this year’s floods brings long-term benefits to native fish, reinvigorates their habitat, and increases food sources, as well as boosting tourism as fishers make the most of the boom.
Northern Territory
With a car park that gets as hot as 60C, workers are finding ways to cool this hospital down
In his 20 years as a hospital doctor, Mark De Souza was increasingly seeing victims of a warming climate. He resolved that becoming an unpaid gardener at work was the answer.
Elusive wren species found on Arnhem Land after months of searching
After months of searching, the yinlinkirrkkirr was found on Stone Country in Arnhem Land in a collaborative effort between scientists and Indigenous rangers.
Western Australia
Bizarre and adorable animal friendships surprise wildlife experts
A gecko curled up with a pygmy possum, a bearded dragon hitching a ride on a kangaroo and a dingo cuddling a chihuahua — nature has a way of adapting to survive, but these unusual animal pairings have surprised ecologists.
Experts say the idea of a pipeline connecting WA’s gas resources to the eastern states should be revisited to shore up energy security, while others believe it doesn’t fit into Australia’s low-emissions future.
Sustainability
World facing real risk of ‘multiple famines’ this year, UN chief warns
As the Group of Seven wealthy countries begins a three-day meeting in Germany, the UN has called for action to help tackle a global hunger crisis compounded by the war in Ukraine.
Russia slashes environmental protections as war rages, economic crisis looms
Russia has quietly made it easier to build pipelines in nature reserves, scrapped regulations on automobile emissions and pushed back measures to reduce pollution as part of a broad rollback of environmental regulations that looks set to gather pace amid the war in Ukraine and a deep economic recession.
Most of the world’s grain is not eaten by humans
Nearly half of all grain is either burned as fuel or eaten by animals
As humans encroach on the natural world, more deadly pandemics are likely to follow COVID. Why?
Nature Conservation
Youth are generation that will help save our ocean and our future, says UN chief
The world must do more to stop the dramatic decline in ocean health, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday, urging young people gathered in Carcavelos, Portugal, for a UN Youth and Innovation Forum to step up because his generation’s leaders had moved far too slow.
Importing water to save the Salton Sea is long overdue
The Salton Sea is drying at a faster speed as temperatures rise and there is less water flowing into it. If we are to reverse the situation, this will demand decreasing water use and increasing the cost of water.
Microplastics might be entering marine food webs from the bottom up
We need to advance our understanding of the effects of microplastics on aquatic ecosystems, especially on small animals at the base of food webs that might be ingesting more of these particles.
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