Post of the Day
Australian cities failing on walkability
Melanie Lowe
The World Heath Organization has set targets to promote physical activity but an international study shows Australian cities are built around cars rather than encouraging walking
On This Day
‘Our villages, our islands, our young people’ need action on climate change, Vanuatu PM says
Vanuatu’s Prime Minister criticises the slow pace of international negotiations to reduce carbon emissions as “totally out of step” with the threat facing Pacific Island nations.
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Chile’s ‘Climate Constitution’
This week, Chile announced a proposed new constitution written by a democratically elected convention, and it is likely the most legitimate constitution in the world, as it is written boldly in the context of the climate crisis.
Research links national-level greenhouse gas emissions, warming and resulting economic damage
Study provides data on gains and losses attributable to individual countries, including the finding that a group from the world’s leading national emitters of GHGs have caused $6 trillion in global economic losses through warming caused by their emissions from 1990 to 2014.
We studied how Antarctic ice sheet advanced and retreated over 10,000 years
Richard Selwyn Jones
Alarming stories from Antarctica are now more frequent than ever; the ice surface is melting, floating ice shelves are collapsing and glaciers are flowing faster into the ocean.
CSIRO, NREL boost collaboration as net zero becomes “centrepiece” of Aus-US alliance
Australia and the US, led by their premier science agencies, will collaborate on clean tech development, to accelerate the net zero transition.
‘Greatest peace plan of all’: US, Australia say renewable energy cannot be ‘weaponised’
Australia and the US call for the acceleration of the renewable energy transition as a form of insurance, arguing that no country has ever been “held hostage” over access to the wind or sun.
Dead or dying native frogs continue to show up in unusual places
Frog biologists continue to investigate why native frog populations are under attack, including the well-known green tree frog.
IAG joins Net-Zero Insurance Alliance
IAG, Australia and New Zealand’s largest general insurer, whose brands include NRMA Insurance, CGU, AMI, State and NZI, has joined the United Nations convened Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) as part of its overall commitment to achieving net zero
New infrastructure minister says some Coalition projects will be scrapped
Catherine King claims Barnaby Joyce left behind ‘substantial mess’ in portfolio and will prioritise inland rail and redesign grants programs
Australia sees climate crisis as a national security issue, defence minister tells US
Richard Marles delivers speech in US warning of increased militarisation in South China Sea and importance of climate action to Pacific allies
US Energy Secretary welcomes Australia’s ‘exciting’ new climate targets [$]
Australia has signed an agreement with the US to supercharge the development and deployment of new technologies to slash greenhouse gas emissions, as the Albanese government aims to put climate action at the centre of alliance.
Jump in houses for sale that offer cut-price energy bills
It can be tricky to find one close to the centre of the city, but look a little further afield and there are more and more options for home buyers hoping to avoid bill shock.
Fact check: Professor double counts with claim Australia is already at net zero
Ian Plimer suggests Australia is in the clear as the nation has already reached net zero emissions.
Bruce Mountain
Earlier today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave his first major climate change speech, touting Australia’s future as a renewable superpower and promising Labor’s ambitious new renewable target would “unlock $52 billion of private sector investment.”
Australian cities failing on walkability
Melanie Lowe
The World Heath Organization has set targets to promote physical activity but an international study shows Australian cities are built around cars rather than encouraging walking
Richard Denniss
Our federal government pays some people to protect native forests, while state governments pay others to cut them down
Greens need to stop and think before they throw a spanner in the works
Shaun Carney
After so many wasted years, it’s hard to see the value in the Greens undermining the one major party that’s ready to tackle climate change.
Green dreams could leave us all in the dark [$]
James Morrow
From Germany to the Netherlands to Sri Lanka, we are seeing the consequences of rushing into elite green schemes, so why do we think we are immune in Australia.
As rest of the world wakes up on coal, we’re closing it down [$]
Matt Canavan
By the end of the decade almost two-thirds of our coal-fired power could shut. If we struggled to keep the lights on this winter, how are we going to go over the next few years?
Pact speaks business of climate [$]
Australian editorial
Technology remains key to becoming a renewable energy superpower.
Victoria
Safety fears over Melbourne’s bike lanes [$]
A union has sparked renewed debate over CBD bike lanes after raising concerns they are making the city dangerous for road users.
D’Ambrosio: Corella management plan on cards [$]
Bureaucrats are working on a corella management plan, Victorian Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says, with details to be announced soon.
NSW Forestry gets 2.5GW of wind project proposals for state pine forests
Forestry Corp launches formal tender for renewable and storage projects in state pine forests after receiving nearly 50 different proposals.
NSW city goes a week without drinkable water after floods cause contamination
Dubbo looks to climate-proof water supply as council says backup groundwater couldn’t be accessed
Incomplete environmental studies delay Warragamba dam debate [$]
Thirty years after raising the Warragamba Dam wall to protect homes in flood-prone Western Sydney was first proposed, the federal government is waiting on environmental assessments to evaluate the project.
China’s control of solar cell production a ‘global threat’, Sydney Energy Forum warned
Biden’s energy secretary Janet Granholm and International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol say allies must ramp up their own renewable supply chain deals.
Severe erosion leaves Sydney’s beaches ‘sitting ducks’ to future wild weather
Erosion on Sydney’s beaches is nearing a dangerous tipping point, an expert warns, with up to 30 metres stripped off some beaches and another La Niña event expected later this year.
Queensland
National parks funding goes to tourists over managing habitat
Managers of cash-strapped national parks have put spending on visitor facilities ahead of managing the environment, a Queensland study has found.
Outer suburbs still outta the loop when it comes to bike paths, cyclists say
While cyclists close to the CBD enjoy the lion’s share of bikeways, nothing has come of plans to provide safe passage to those in outer suburbs, according to two cycling groups.
Proposal to ban feral pig poison risks Australian biosecurity, opponents say
Readily available poisons used to control feral pig numbers could soon be banned in Queensland, which critics say could heighten the risk of devastating diseases spreading in Australia.
South Australia
Most of SA’s energy via renewables: report
Renewable energy provided almost 70 per cent of South Australia’s electricity needs last financial year, data shows.
Tanya’s ‘mind-boggling’ River Murray warning to SA [$]
The country’s new environment minister has lashed one state and the old government for the spectacular failure of the river rescue plan on a trip to SA.
Tasmania
Aquaculture project receives funding boost to cut emissions [$]
For the past seven years Tasmania has been the only state to achieve its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 target.
Northern Territory
An independently commissioned study of the NT’s largest-ever groundwater licence has found the project “makes no sense” for Territory taxpayers.
Sacred sites watchdog clears Beetaloo Basin gas company of NT songline damage
The subsidiary of a Sydney-based gas company has been cleared of damaging a sacred site in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin.
WA takes first step towards creating huge battery supply chain industry
Western Australia has taken its first concrete step towards establishing a battery materials supply chain in the state.
Shell shuts down world’s biggest floating gas facility as industrial dispute worsens
The energy giant has temporarily halted production on its trouble-plagued, multi-billion-dollar Prelude facility off the WA coast. So what does that mean for gas prices?
Possum-disturbing $1.25b Bunbury road project gets federal green light
In a matter of weeks, work will be able to start on the southern section of the road which will displace 72 critically endangered western ringtail possums.
Sustainability
How microplastics from cigarettes pollute our oceans
CBS 8’s Chief Meteorologist Karlene Chavis breaks down how to filter out our oceans biggest problem: cigarette butts.
India set to take China’s title of world’s most populous country
India now has the same number of residents as China, with each counting more than 1.4 billion residents this year, and is set to pull ahead next year, according to a new United Nations report.
Tips for reducing waste with pets
Pet poo can be toxic to the environment if not disposed of correctly
‘It’s a non-party political issue’: banning the weedkiller glyphosate
The WHO declared it a probable human carcinogen in 2015 and 70-80 UK councils have turned to chemical-free options
Shipping’s dirty secret: how ‘scrubbers’ clean the air – while contaminating the sea
Told to reduce air pollution, the shipping industry could have switched to cleaner fuels – instead, many vessels turned to special devices that simply dump the toxins into the water
This is the ‘first global energy crisis’ and it will get worse [$]
The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that the global energy crisis will worsen as the northern hemisphere winter approached, while voicing confidence that clean energy will help resolve the crunch.
How environmentally responsible is lithium brine mining? It depends on how old the water is
A groundbreaking new study comprehensively accounts for the hydrological impact of lithium mining. Since lithium is the key component of the lithium-ion batteries that are crucial for the transition away from fossil fuels and towards green energy, it is critical to fully understand how to responsibly obtain the precious element.
Prenatal exposure to certain phthalates associated with slightly earlier onset of puberty
A study provides new evidence on the possible effects of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals on sexual development.
How do cells react to micro- and nanoplastics?
Research team examines possible health effects of plastic particles
8 billion morons on an orbiting sewer
Paul Wallis
The human race as usual is growing beyond its means. So are pollution, poverty, resources unreliability, environmental degradation, and arguably, insanity.
Nature Conservation
The surprising consequences of a seaweed switcheroo
In the ocean off southwest England, cold-water kelp is being replaced by a warm-water species, with profound effects for the local ecosystem.
Song of the elusive pygmy blue whale reveals numbers on the rebound
Underwater nuclear bomb detectors have picked up an increasing flurry of song from pygmy blue whales in the Indian Ocean, indicating the subspecies is back from the brink of extinction.
A recent walk among ancient sequoias helped me cope with hard-to-bear news of the world. But those trees are having a hard time coping, too.
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