Post of the Day
Almost half of Earth’s land surface ‘needs protecting’. The positive is we have a headstart
Researchers identify more than 40 per cent of the Earth’s land surface area that needs protecting in order to avoid an impending ecological “crisis”.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Bonn Climate Change Conference set to kick off next week
The upcoming Bonn Climate Change Conference (6-16 June) is set to kick off next week, designed to prepare for the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in November this year.
Fury of El Nino and La Nina will intensify with warming: study
A Monash study published today suggests extreme weather conditions, spurred by El Nino and La Nina events, will increase in frequency and intensity in direct correlation with the magnitude of warming.
House Republicans to introduce climate change strategy with eye on midterms
The strategy released by House Republicans contains few new policy ideas.
The dangerously hot future is here. How will we respond?
Bill McKibben, dirty deals & unrecognizable seasons
We talk to environmentalist Bill McKibben about what the war in Ukraine really shows us about the climate crisis and a key aspect people have been missing in the fight against it.
For 50 years, governments have failed to act on climate change. No more excuses
Christiana Figueres et al
Conflict and Covid make these troubling times, but national leaders must cooperate and take action now
“Bin fire:” Bowen says Coalition left energy markets “ill-prepared,” as prices spin out of control
Bowen’s first press conference as climate and energy minister focuses on energy crisis, and the “bin fire” left by the Coalition.
Australia’s gas crisis is much worse than you might think. Get ready to pay more for everyday items
Australian manufacturers facing massive increases in gas prices are warning they could be forced to close. Consumers will also pay more, adding to cost-of-living pressures.
How going 100 pct renewables will shield one part of Australia from surging power prices
With the electricity market in crisis, one Australian jurisdiction could be shielded from higher prices thanks to buying 100 per cent renewables.
We must meet our climate challenges head on, together
Delegates at the River reflections annual water conference today heard about the challenges we all face due to climate change and how we must work together to make the Murray-Darling Basin ready for a more variable, drier and hotter future.
Minister vows ‘climate wars will end’
The Albanese government has declared it will end the “climate wars”, pledging to take action through ambitious emission reduction targets.
Worried about rising energy prices? Here are some simple ways to lower your power bills
Little things like home insulation hacks and avoiding the dryer are important – and if you’re struggling, you can ask for help
Can anything be done about the ‘perfect storm’ in Australia’s energy markets?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, squeezed gas retailers and a cold snap are combining to put pressure on the grid
Ex-fire chief predicts Labor will strengthen 2030 climate target after meeting minister
Greg Mullins says Chris Bowen’s invitation to meet with experts is a ‘stark contrast’ to outgoing Coalition government
EnergyAustralia fined millions after ‘life threatening’ error
EnergyAustralia has been handed the largest ever penalty imposed under Australia’s national energy retail law, according to the energy regulator, for failing to register people who use life-saving medical equipment.
‘They’re doing the complete opposite’: Greens rage over ALP’s ‘addiction’ [$]
An incoming Queensland Greens MP has lashed out, after the Albanese government refused to rule out increasing coal-fired power output to deal with energy shortages.
Demand for clear path to net zero [$]
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has called for an overarching framework to help the sector decarbonise and overhauling the way the Commonwealth funds projects.
The push for more sustainable clothing
The puffer jacket is a garment worn by all ages and body types, so when outdoor clothing retailer Kathmandu pondered the tonnes of textiles that end up in landfill it made sense to rethink the company’s best-selling category.
The green club: Sustainable hotels find power in numbers [$]
A growing number of operators are joining collectives that invest in protecting what they most rely on for success – Mother Nature.
Labor’s rewiring the nation plan is the wrong answer [$]
Bruce Mountain and Peter Harris
Centralised control of state-based power grids will create more electricity industry white elephants. Incentivising storage investment is a better option.
Albanese government mugged by gas crisis as it faces challenge of managing expectations
Michelle Grattan
Labor knew it would inherent a cost-of-living problem – it campaigned on it. But it didn’t expect the dramatic crisis in gas prices Australia is suddenly facing, driven by events in Europe, outages at coal-fired power stations and other factors.
4 reasons our gas and electricity prices are suddenly sky-high
Tony Wood
Gas users and the incoming government are describing Australia’s sudden east coast energy crisis as “apocalyptic” and “a perfect storm”.
Samantha Hepburn
Australia’s east coast has been plunged into an energy crisis just as winter takes hold, which will see many people struggle to heat their homes due to soaring gas bills.
Rachel Withers
Labor’s energy minister’s door may be open, but is that true of his mind?
Can Australian gas help the world navigate the climate crisis? Or is it just more hot air?
Graham Readfearn
The path to net zero is plagued by claims that LNG is less dirty than coal, but there is practically no evidence to back them up
The war footing required to save us from the energy crisis
Innes Willox
Mobilisation, coordination, trade-offs, strategic goals and some very tough decisions all need to made to help the country through the immense energy affordability crisis it’s facing.
After a decade in the freezer, climate voices welcomed back to Canberra
Nick O’Malley
Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s first meeting was designed to send a clear message that the government is serious about its climate policy.
Vulnerable suffering at hands of climate catastrophists [$]
Rita Panahi
It should be a source of national shame that in a first-world nation blessed with abundant natural resources we have so many unable to warm their home in winter.
Gas disaster just part of energy mess [$]
Terry McCrann
Welcome to the rest of your lives. The gas crisis is going to get worse because Australia has quite deliberately and specifically reduced supply.
Energy crisis the legacy of the Coalition’s fossil fools
Letters
The Coalition promised its “gas-led recovery” would lead to lower energy prices (“Cold snap fires new fear over gas price”, June 2). What has our millions of dollars of subsidies to the sector gained us?
Energy crisis presents an opportunity for plain talk [$]
Australian editorial
Albanese must seize price spike to bring order to low-emissions task.
Understanding carbon credits vital on road to net zero [$]
Blair Comley
As business around the world change gear on climate action, the early adaptors with a clear strategy to cut direct emissions are likely to benefit in the long term.
Labor gets mugged by global energy reality [$]
AFR editorial
The coal and gas supply crisis shows that old energy can’t be dumped before the new is ready to pick up the load
Victoria
Victorian police officer acquitted of assaulting man in custody
Sergeant Andrew Scott has been acquitted of two counts of injuring a man in his custody at the Mallacoota police station in a police interview room in 2017.
Backlash from residents, business halts council plan for more city bike lanes
After building 19km of protected bike lanes in two years and with plans for another 71km, a negative reaction over parking and congestion has prompted a City of Melbourne about-face.
‘It’s dead’: No funds for East West Link, new minister says
The Albanese government’s new infrastructure minister says Melbourne’s contentious East West Link project is “dead” and won’t receive any federal funding under Labor.
Report of the Inquiry into renewable energy in Victoria
Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee (Vic)
The Inquiry into renewable energy in Victoria was referred to the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee in 2020. The Committee was at that time engaged in two major inquiries, and therefore was only able to commence this inquiry properly at the beginning of 2022.
New South Wales
Mating calls recorded in the Kosciuszko National Park could reveal a previously undiscovered habitat for the endangered species.
‘Most critical failure’: Water compliance chief blasts NSW over Murray Darling Basin Plan
The former Deputy Premier of NSW says there’s no legal way to enforce compliance in his home state because of the government’s failure to produce water resource plans.
NSW Dungowan Dam project in murky water as state funds dry up
Tamworth farmers bemused as dam championed by Barnaby Joyce faces uncertain future
Colongra gas-fired power station running at historic high levels to stabilise energy grid [$]
The Colongra gas-fired power station on the NSW Central Coast has been running at historically high levels in recent months in an attempt to sure up an increasingly unstable electricity grid.
Santos seeks to speed up Narrabri gas as energy crisis hits home
Santos managing director Kevin Gallagher will attempt to fast-track the oil and gas giant’s controversial Narrabri coal-seam gas project by up to a year amid the worsening east-coast energy crunch a “frightening” lack of new projects to boost local supply.
‘Get more coal power’: Labor’s environmental 180 amid gas crisis [$]
Aussie’s critical gas shortage has Labor scrambling to convene an emergency meeting among states, and a grim warning to heavy energy users to cutback if the “gas bin fire” eventuates.
Dam managers face huge challenge to stop flooding from near-record wet
Burrendong Dam was almost empty in early 2020, but now the region is experiencing a near-record wet period, with dam managers working furiously for the past nine months to contain the massive volumes of water.
ACT
Emission reduction brush off ‘disappointing’: commissioner
The ACT government has rejected a recommendation to expand its emission-reduction target to include greenhouse gases produced outside the territory, citing difficulty in measuring as the major constraint.
Kosciuszko koala sightings spark hope for natives in Namadgi
Surveys of koalas in Kosciuszko National Park indicate populations exist in other unexplored regions, including Namadgi, research has found.
“Golden age of renewables” hailed at official launch of Australia’s biggest wind project
Spanish energy giant Acciona Energía has hailed a “golden age of renewables” at the official launch event for the start of construction at Australia’s biggest wind farm to date – the 1.026GW MacIntyre project in Queensland.
How can you avoid a shock and keep your power bill under control this winter?
It’s the third day of winter and temperatures are dropping to single digits, which means Queenslanders are firing up the heaters and bracing for an eye-watering power bill. So how can you curb the cost?
It’s meant to be good for gut health, but could probiotics save the reef?
Probiotics, found in yoghurt and fermented vegetables, are often promoted to improve gut health. Now, researchers think they could play a vital role in helping coral survive against threats to the Great Barrier Reef.
South Australia
Traditional Owners take Federal Government to court over nuclear dump plan
Traditional Owners have called on the new federal Labor government to scrap plans for a nuclear waste dump in South Australia.
Posh thickos: Pasin backs away from ally’s ‘woke’ climate rant
A high-ranking SA Liberal declared “the left” had no place in his party in an unearthed rant against teal MPs that labelled climate change an unscientific “fever”.
Tasmania
Gas shortage not a risk, says Premier
Premier Jeremy Rockliff says Tasmania is not facing an imminent gas supply shortage, despite a warning from the Australian Energy Market Operator.
“Insidious”: Push for single use plastic ban [$]
Nearly a year ago, the Hobart City Council enforced a ban on single use plastics for takeaway. Now the Greens are hoping to take the idea a step further.
Tassie runs on hydro power, so why are residents facing bill shocks like the mainland?
Adam Langenberg
The Tasmanian energy market operates differently to mainland states — but that does not mean it is immune from the pressures they’re facing
On ‘wood banks’ becoming reserves …
Shane Broad
Minister for Parks Jacqui Petrusma has today effectively locked up 22,500 hectares of the Liberals so called “wood bank.”
Government handouts continue for resources sector
Media release – Guy Barnett, Minister for Resources
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is the strongest supporter of the state jobs-rich mining and forestry sectors which are delivering more jobs and a vital economic boost for our state.
Northern Territory
Uluru’s waterfalls spring to life as rock disappears into clouds
Uluru’s dormant waterfalls came to life after rain transformed the desert landscape into a wintery wonderland only very few people get to see.
Western Australia
Last-ditch bid to stop Gnangara pine removal and save black cockatoos
A referral has been made to the Environmental Protection Authority to try and stop the Gnagara Mound pines from being cut down by the end of next year.
Sustainability
Rescue us from our environmental ‘mess’, UN chief urges Stockholm summit
Global wellbeing is at risk – and it’s in large part because we haven’t kept our promises on the environment – UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday.
Traffic noise slows children’s memory development, study finds
Pupils’ vital attention skills harmed by ‘toxic’ peaks of road noise heard from the classroom
Glyphosate weedkiller damages wild bee colonies, study reveals
Most widely used pesticide in history harms critical ability of bumblebee to regulate nest temperature
Russia’s war on Ukraine will have toxic environmental impacts that span decades
In late May, a large plume of pink smoke erupted from a chemical plant and rose above apartment buildings in Ukraine’s eastern city of Severodonetsk. The smoke was toxic — it came from a tank of nitric acid that was struck by Russian military forces.
Biden wants to ‘rebuild’ the EPA. He doesn’t have the money to do it
Biden promised to reinvigorate the EPA as part of his push to tackle climate change and ease the pollution burden placed on poor and minority communities. The agency’s budgetary woes are preventing the nation’s top pollution regulator from doing its job.
Is Pakistan paying attention to existential environment crises?
Pakistan is facing an acute water shortage and climate change is damaging crops. The public health system, meanwhile, is in a disarray. To deal with these challenges, the country’s authorities need long-term planning.
‘Consequences will be dire’: Chile’s water crisis is reaching breaking point
From the Atacama Desert to Patagonia, a 13-year megadrought is straining Chile’s freshwater resources to breaking point.
‘The smoke enters your body’: A toxic trash site in Kenya is making women sick
As rubbish piles up on a vast dumpsite, the women who sift through it for their livelihood are suffering reproductive health problems that scientists say have been overlooked.
Nature Conservation
Almost half of Earth’s land surface ‘needs protecting’. The positive is we have a headstart
Researchers identify more than 40 per cent of the Earth’s land surface area that needs protecting in order to avoid an impending ecological “crisis”.
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