Post of the Day
Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show
Toxic particles from tyre wear almost 2,000 times worse than from exhausts as weight of cars increases
On This Day
Ecological Observance
National Prairie Day – USA
National Trails Day – USA
Climate Change
Paying lip service to Indigenous knowledge won’t fix climate change
Len Necefer
Native scholar weighs in on the United Nations’ suggestion that Indigenous knowledge might help us survive the climate disaster.
National
Traditional owners say there’s ‘unfinished business’ with native title — and it’s all about water
Three decades on from the landmark decision that paved the way for Indigenous people to reclaim their land, many First Nations say the next step is simple: to claim full rights to their waterways and seas.
Knock-on effect: Greens to target ‘quiet Australians’ with winning campaign template
Having claimed three Brisbane seats by door-knocking and listening, party now has sights set on the suburbs
Decision was ‘entirely his own’, assistant minister for charities, Andrew Leigh says, and government will work with sector to ‘fix fundraising’
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
Woolworths, Big W to phase out reusable plastic bags
Major supermarket Woolworths will soon no longer offer shoppers reusable plastic bags in stores, but rival Coles will not be following suit.
How much does solar power cost to install and is it worth it?
Rising electricity bills have some people warming to the idea of solar power. So how much does it cost to switch to solar and how long will it take to pay off? We asked the experts.
Labor backs coal to fix power crisis [$]
Resources Minister Madeleine King says coal-fired power generation must step up to help reduce soaring energy prices, while casting doubt on pulling the “trigger” to force export gas into the domestic market.
Government in talks to release gas supplies – podcast
The new government is pushing ahead with a key election promise with the Prime Minister writing to the Fair Work Commission, as electricity prices soar for consumers, driven by the gas shortage.
After the Coalition’s failure, there is no higher duty than being Australia’s environment minister
Amelia Young
The portfolio carries the fate of Australia’s unique constellation of lifeforms, and the world will be watching whether we choose to let them thrive
Four reasons Australia’s gas and electricity prices are sky-high – and what’s being done about it
Tony Wood
A rare combination of international and domestic events has created a perfect storm for the new government
We can’t fix the climate without fixing our democracy
Alice Drury
At the election, Australians told its leaders two things: we want decisive action to help stop the climate crisis, and greater integrity in our political system. With the most progressive Parliament seen in decades, there is now a once-in-a-generation opportunity to achieve both.
Why the ‘Voice’ will divide us in dangerous ways [$]
Andrew Bolt
The Albanese government’s plan to create an advisory parliament called the “Voice” is not about giving Aborigines a voice in politics, it’s a smokescreen for apartheid.
Labor will ignore its mandate on climate unless activists apply pressure
Tom Tanuki
After promising better climate policy, Labor has disappointed many by forging ahead with new fossil fuel projects.
Cold welcome: another chapter in Labor’s hard luck story
Mark Sawyer
No sooner back in office and the ALP is hit with a crisis: the gas shortages plaguing the east coast. Labor seems doomed to get the call from the electorate just as trouble is brewing.
Dark side of the boom: energy prices leave few winners — while the rest of us lose [$]
Bernard Keane
Energy exporters are enjoying windfall profits, while households are getting belted by surging energy prices and stagnant wages. Our options are limited — but there are some available.
Why don’t we hear ‘I told you so’ more? [$]
Leslie Cannold
Even as evidence mounts that climate change is very real and very dangerous, those who warned us aren’t crowing about it.
Labor gets mugged by global energy reality [$]
The coal and gas supply crisis shows that old energy can’t be dumped before the new is ready to pick up the load.
Victoria
Spring into Nature Stewards program
Residents with an interest in their local environment and great outdoors are encouraged to apply for Greater Geelong’s Nature Stewards program.
City of Melbourne urged not to put brakes on bike lanes
The City of Melbourne could find solutions to ensure delivery drivers have access to CBD streets without abandoning plans for new bicycle lanes.
Within 500 metres, every 10 minutes: Grand public transport plan for Melbourne
The chief of the Committee for Melbourne says more of us need to live close to regular transport to better connect outer suburbs to the CBD.
Short on cash and without a plan, but work on city’s new park to begin
Work is set to begin on a scaled-down version of Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp’s ambitious Greenline linear park project, despite a lack of state government funding.
The riches flowing from Victoria’s ‘new gold rush’
The gold rush of the 1850s transformed Victoria, but for all the precious metal extracted back then, some believe as much again lies waiting to be discovered.
Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop might be pushing s— uphill
Jon Faine
The collapse in patronage on all forms of public transport since the pandemic began demands we ask if our biggest transport project should be re-imagined.
New South Wales
Albanese warned to power up on energy [$]
The failure of a major coal-fired unit at AGL’s Liddell Power Station has exacerbated pressure on the national power grid as Anthony Albanese eyes a short-term response to the energy crisis.
Renewal of wood supply contracts spells disaster for native forests on North Coast
Nature Conservation Council media release
The NSW Government today has locked in another five years of public native forests by extending most North Coast Wood Supply Agreements to 2028.
NSW must deliver robust, climate-ready Water Resource Plans as matter of urgency
Nature Conservation Council media release
The Federal Government and water management agencies must use all available powers to make NSW deliver robust, climate-ready Water Resource Plans (WRPs) as required under the Basin Plan as a matter of urgency.
Native critters bounce back after Black Summer bushfires [$]
Such was the extent and intensity of the Black Summer bush fires, which cut a wide swathe of destruction through the south-east forests of NSW, that in their immediate aftermath there was concern that some of our treasured native critters might struggle to rebound.
‘Never seen that before’: Brush turkeys are turning carnivorous in Sydney suburbs
Demonstrating a behaviour eerily reminiscent of their Jurassic ancestors, a pack of brush turkeys has been filmed in Sydney’s Northern Beaches ravenously devouring the carcass of a bandicoot.
ACT
Ngunnawal traditional owners announce plans to lodge native title claim over ACT and parts of NSW
The Ngunawal Nation Traditional Owners Network Group announces its intention to lodge a native title claim over the Ngunnawal people’s traditional boundaries and footprint.
Queensland
With 180 turbines, construction begins on Australia’s largest wind farm
In Traprock country, west of Warwick, construction on the MacIntyre Wind Precinct has begun, soon to produce 1,026MW of energy to power up to 700,000 homes.
Public servants accused of major mine safety cover-up [$]
A veteran mine safety officer says lung disease is widespread in the coal industry and accuses senior public servants of helping to cover it up
Committee fails to back calls for integrity change [$]
A government-controlled committee has refused to openly support calls to boost the autonomy of the state’s Integrity Commissioner by allowing the official to manage its own staff.
How an island once famous for its canned turtle soup is now helping save the Great Barrier Reef
Scientists from around the world come to Heron Island in the hope of fighting the impacts of climate change at ground zero, a stark contrast to the island’s dark history of exploitation and slaughter.
Whyalla set for hydrogen jobs boom
Whyalla in South Australia’s mid-north is set to become a global leader in the emerging hydrogen sector.
Too much rain for wetlands – pull the plug! [$]
Heavy rain this week was the first test for the new Victoria Park wetlands, but all was restored after a bit of fine-tuning
The Aboriginal family fighting to protect their heritage in South Australia – video
In South Australia one Aboriginal family has spent decades fighting to have their cultural heritage protected. Their efforts have resulted in a new benchmark, regulating the way multinational companies engage with traditional owners.
Tasmania
Tassie trucking: How you can own a share of new hydrogen fleet [$]
A Bell Bay green hydrogen company which hopes to start production next year and establish a Tasmanian fleet of hydrogen-powered heavy vehicles, is selling shares online to raise $2.5m.
Australian Christian Lobby opposes bid to ban conversion therapy [$]
Australian Christian Lobby Tasmanian director Christopher Brohier voices opposition to a Tasmanian Law Reform Institute’s report.
Tassie power bills shock: Get ready for a big jump [$]
The government has warned Tasmanians to get ready for a ‘significant’ jump in the cost of power. When we can expect higher bills.
On Mole Creek & Kooparoona Niara National Parks …
Media release – Jacquie Petrusma, Minister for Parks
It was my pleasure today to table in Parliament the statutory rules to expand the Mole Creek Karst National Park.
Seagrass slimed by fish farm pollution
Media release – Bob Brown Foundation
Bob Brown Foundation has released new footage of crucial seagrass habitat being smothered by algae caused by a nearby Tasmanian salmon farm. The seagrass habitat is situated in Long Bay, connected to the wider bay of Port Arthur, which is flanked by the award-winning Port Arthur World Heritage Site and the Tasman National Park.
Government indifference to people’s concern is inexcusable
Peter Boyer
Cambria was the name given to a generous tract of land overlooking Great Oyster Bay and Freycinet Peninsula, allocated by Governor William Sorell to George Meredith, who had arrived from England in 1821.
Western Australia
WA supplies may be tapped to aid energy crisis
The federal government is talking to Western Australian gas producers to free up supplies for the east coast, as the nation battles an escalating energy crisis.
‘Strongly against new projects’: Forrest’s LNG venture hits out at Santos, Woodside gas plans
Billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s energy venture has warned against green-lighting new gas fields to tackle unfolding price shocks.
Once ‘out of their mines’, WA’s EPA now seems ahead of its time
Pilloried by WA’s daily newspaper with the headline, ‘Out of their mines’, the EPA’s carbon offsets plan may have gained traction if released just a year later.
WA home to four of the 10 most polluted postcodes in the country
In WA, major mining towns Tom Price, Kalgoorlie and Newman were included in a list of the top 10 most polluted postcodes in Australia, alongside Collie in the South West.
Perth Hills residents cut off as Western Power cracks down on decrepit poles
Herne Hill resident Louise Hay was left using generators for 10 days and hit with a hefty fee after Western Power subcontractors cut off her power
Development closing in on Perth’s most biodiverse wetland to face EPA scrutiny
Several applications for rezoning and developments around the Greater Brixton Street Wetlands – which contains more than 500 species of plants – are being examined by WA’s independent environmental watchdog.
Bill Hare
The Albanese government has this week thrown its support behind what’ll be one of Australia’s most polluting developments: the Scarborough-Pluto gas project in Western Australia.
Australia’s energy crisis: 3 ways the Albanese government can ease pressure on your power bills
Tim Nelson and Joel Gilmore
Australia is in the grips of an energy crisis, with electricity generation prices roughly 115% above the previous highest average wholesale price ever recorded.
Scarborough gas – cartoon
Kudelka
Sustainability
Global plastic waste on track to triple by 2060, OECD report finds
A new report has found only nine per cent of plastic globally is recycled. It also found that during the pandemic, the overall use of plastics dropped but single-use plastic waste increased.
Stockholm+50 issues call for urgent environmental and economic transformation
The Stockholm+50 environment conference came to a close on Friday with a call for real commitments to urgently address global environmental concerns, and for a just transition to sustainable economies, that work for all.
Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show
Toxic particles from tyre wear almost 2,000 times worse than from exhausts as weight of cars increases
The regenerative farm working to improve soil without fertilisers
As the Ukraine war and climate crisis act as a wake-up call for the industry, one UK farm is leading the way
Sustainability standard allows fashion industry to ramp up emissions
The index used to certify sustainability in New York’s Fashion Act is tied to apparel giants like Patagonia and Walmart.
Pandemic-related pollution is clogging the environment, with potentially deadly consequences.
Why a ‘greenwashing’ crackdown should have come as no surprise
Stephen Bartholomeusz
On Tuesday, about 50 German police raided the Frankfurt offices of Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm, DWS Group and sent shockwaves through the $US30 trillion ($41.8 trillion)-plus environmental, social and governance sector. DWS and the sector should, however, have seen it coming.
Environment: An asset for profit or a space for children to thrive?
Peter Sainsbury
Is the natural environment to be commodified for profit or cherished to help children and adults thrive?
Organic farming is turning a food crisis into a catastrophe [$]
Bjorn Lomborg
The disaster in Sri Lanka is proof that organic farms are not able to feed the population.
Nature Conservation
Bangladeshi coastal communities plant mangroves as a shield against cyclones
Bangladesh’s southwestern coastal districts are prone to tidal surges, which can become extreme during cyclone seasons, with surges as high as 3 meters (10 feet).
The vanishing Rio Grande: Warming takes a toll on a legendary river
The Rio Grande has long been impacted by withdrawals for agriculture and other uses. Now, rising temperatures and an unprecedented drought pose a grave and growing peril to the river and its ecosystems.
New Audubon study: Climate change threatens bird populations in the National Wildlife Refuge system
Left unchecked, warming temperatures and increased climate threats could affect environmental conditions for half of the birds throughout all of the system’s refuges.
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.