Post of the Day
‘You can’t put the fire out while you’re pouring petrol on it’ – Adam Bandt on working with Labor for climate action – Australian Politics podcast
Greens leader Adam Bandt talks to political editor Katharine Murphy about the upcoming parliament, Labor’s 43% emissions target, and the need to work together to achieve sustainable climate goals
On This Day
Seventeenth of Tammuz – Judaism
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Forum leaders declare climate emergency
The Pacific’s scorecard for Australia’s new climate policy is in: An improved effort but must do better.
UK Health agency warns of ‘national emergency’ as temperature predicted to hit 40C
Britain’s Met Office has issued its first-ever “red” warning for exceptional heat, saying record temperatures early next week will put even healthy people at risk of serious illness and death.
How thunderstorms in Fiji are melting Antarctica’s glaciers
Antarctica has lost roughly 3 trillion tonnes of ice since the early 1990s, raising the question of what the world could look like as its ice retreats.
Traveling in Chile reveals effects of climate change
The stunning beauty of Patagonia is tinged with sober reminders of the effects that climate change is having on the landscape and wildlife.
Effects of climate change are already changing life on the Seacoast
Sea levels are rising, and communities are scrambling to adapt to the new reality.
The seas are rising on Pacific islands nations – but so is their powerful resistance
Ellen Fanning
As the climate crisis threatens their existence, an assertive new collective are using their leverage as a flashpoint in geopolitical tensions
National
Expectations of China backflipping on Australian coal ban grow as country’s economic pain deepens
Expectations that China’s leader Xi Jinping will reverse his unofficial ban on Australian coal imports are growing as the country’s economic problems continue to mount.
Australians are installing rooftop solar like never before
Rooftop solar panels and small batteries are driving Australia’s rapid shift towards renewable energy. Some 30% of detached homes on Australia’s national grid have these systems installed. By 2050, this proportion could reach 65%.
Plan to save Australia is ‘impossible’
One idea to prevent more blackouts in Australia could see electricity prices fall but one state has dismissed it as “impossible”.
Human right to water needs relational lens
The right to water should not just be viewed as an individualistic, competitive human rights lens but a relational one that can progress the legal discourse in Australia.
Ongoing focus on disaster management needed to avoid kneejerk reactions from one event to the next
Albanese’s 2030 emissions target rejected by climate experts
The government’s emissions reduction goals are consistent with international action that would deliver more than 2 degrees of global warming.
Federal government seeks to pull plug on Victoria’s electric vehicle tax, WA in the firing line
Federal Labor has joined a legal bid to strike down Victoria’s controversial electric vehicle tax, which could have implications for WA which wants to pursue similar charges.
Labor goes global in power struggle [$]
The government is doubling down on renewable energy as it ties climate change to national and energy security.
How Australia can ease Germany’s energy emergency [$]
Australia has a reputation as a safe and reliable energy supplier. So, can it help meet Germany’s demand for energy sources that substitute Russian deliveries?
Lion is working on a new brew: carbon neutral [$]
Stuart Irvine, the outgoing CEO of Lion, says customers want companies to take major steps to reduce carbon emissions. But it’s a tougher challenge than most for the brewer.
‘You can’t put the fire out while you’re pouring petrol on it’ – Adam Bandt on working with Labor for climate action – Australian Politics podcast
Greens leader Adam Bandt talks to political editor Katharine Murphy about the upcoming parliament, Labor’s 43% emissions target, and the need to work together to achieve sustainable climate goals
Lock in 43 per cent emissions cut and then build on it
SMH editorial
The Greens are right the government’s emissions target is inadequate but it is a big step forward and can be reviewed later.
‘Wellbeing’ budgets are a ruse that fail to deliver progress [$]
Simon Cowan
So Australia will follow New Zealand’s ‘lead’ in introducing a wellbeing-focused budget. Labor has been flagging the desire to adopt this approach for years now.
So you want to host a COP? How to win the UN climate talks
Nick O’Malley
Australia has taken its first steps to secure the rights to co-host the UN’s key climate talks with its Pacific neighbours, but there is a long and complicated path ahead.
Kathryn Lucas-Healey et al
Rooftop solar panels and small batteries are driving Australia’s rapid shift towards renewable energy. Some 30% of detached homes on Australia’s national grid have these systems installed. By 2050, this proportion could reach 65%.
Will Timor Sea oil and gas go begging?
Carol Dance
The Attorney-General dropped the case against Bernard Collaery on July 7. Dreyfus’ announcement has greatly improved our relationship with Timor Leste and opened the door for smoother negotiations between Australian oil and gas companies and the Timorese government. That relationship is now oiling the wheels for further explorations in the Timor Sea
The case against prescribed burning to fight bushfires [$]
Karen Middleton
Scientists hope the belated listing of fires as a threat to forest species can stop the destructive use of hazard-reduction burning.
The obstacles to Australia becoming a green superpower [$]
John Hewson
The concept of Australia becoming a renewable energy superpower should be a no-brainer. A clean-energy revolution is under way that will drive societies around the globe to a low-carbon existence. This will rival in significance the Industrial Revolution, which was driven by fossil fuels – coal-fired power, and petrol and diesel engines.
Greens must choose between ‘moderate’ and ‘inadequate’
Letters
Age readers discuss the Greens’ position on the Labor government’s proposed climate change legislation.
Victoria
Council unleashes herd of goats in Melbourne park to revitalise lizard habitat
The City of Melbourne has unleashed a herd of goats in Royal Park to help revitalise the environment of the White’s skink.
Karaaf Wetlands and stormwater system assessments to guide future
To help Council and several government and private organisations get a clearer picture of the impact stormwater runoff from housing in north Torquay is having on the Karaaf Wetlands, two independent assessments are underway.
Stronger focus on climate change in Budget
Corangamite Shire Council will dedicate more than $800,000 towards climate change and sustainability initiatives in this year’s budget.
Carving out new habitat for storm-affected wildlife
Hollows carved into trees could soon become home to species like the greater glider, brush-tail phascogale and Red-browed tree creeper, which lost important habitat in the June and October 2021 storms that affected more than 80,000 hectares of the Wombat State Forest.
Go west: Council unveils 20-year plan for inner Melbourne
The city of the future will be denser and greener as western parts of inner Melbourne become the new Fitzroy and Collingwood and pedestrians and bikes increasingly take priority.
How you could score $4K clean energy rebate [$]
Thousands of dollars in solar panel and battery storage rebates will be up for grabs under an ambitious Liberal pre-election plan.
Tractors take to the streets as farmers protest Western Renewables Link
A sea of tractors throughout the main streets of Ballarat on Friday ferried farmers protesting proposed high-voltage transmission lines as high as 85 metres that will crisscross agricultural land.
The state government is increasing our bushfire risk right now
David Lindenmayer
In allowing VicForests to perform salvaging in Wombat State Forest, the Andrews government is increasing the likelihood and severity of bushfires. It must stop today.
Australia is grappling with its worst ever energy crisis. Does Victoria hold the key to a fix?
Daniel Mercer
As state and federal energy ministers strive to solve the nation’s power crisis, Victoria is looming as a gatekeeper to a possible solution.
New South Wales
How big is the wild dog problem in NSW? Some say it’s ‘marginal’
Wild dogs are estimated to cost New South Wales more than $25 million a year, but the government’s own data shows minimal numbers of livestock are killed by wild dogs.
Help stop our homes washing away [$]
Wamberal residents are calling for emergency measures to let them install home-saving rock walls after large seas swallowed their backyards. Others are not waiting for permission.
‘A complicated murder mystery’: What’s killing Sydney’s frogs?
As hundreds of people report sick and dead frogs across Australia, scientists are yet to find the cause of a second wave in what they call a “frog pandemic”.
Bushland developers say they’re open to a land swap over biodiversity fears
A NSW Far South Coast property developer says his company is open to a land swap after community concerns were raised about a residential project’s potential impact on biodiversity.
ACT
Lower speed limits for Canberra streets must be backed by evidence: NRMA [$]
Any move to lower or change speed limits in the ACT should follow a comprehensive consultation process and be evidence based, the NRMA has said.
Do Canberrans care more about big houses than sustainable living?
As the pandemic locked families inside their homes, an extra bedroom to convert into a study for working-from-home needs became increasingly popular, but are bigger homes more important to buyers than living sustainably?
Queensland
New sensors speed up blue-green algae detection
Blue-green algae levels will now be able to be detected in just hours instead of days thanks to new high-tech sensors installed at the Ross River Dam.
Girraween National Park upgrades winner
The recent $3.3 million upgrade to Girraween National Park has proven a hit, with hundreds of families experiencing the new facilities over the school holiday period.
Tasmania
A large part of Oliver’s farm could be turned into a storage dam — but he worries he doesn’t get a say in it
Farmers in Tasmania’s north facing the compulsory acquisition of their land say the consultation process is hollow and law changes are needed to make sure forcibly acquiring land is a “last resort”.
Government considers a move to make salmon companies pay rent on farms [$]
Rents for marine farming leases are under consideration by the government as it develops a new 10-year salmon plan for Tasmania.
Northern Territory
Dozens travel thousands of miles to urge action on water security in a ‘fight for survival’
As fears over water security and aquifer mining grow amid a push for NT development, residents demand to be included in decisions that they say impacts their future.
Western Australia
Gas giant Chevron falls further behind on carbon capture targets for Gorgon gasfield
While scale of shortfall is uncertain, conservationists claim admission is proof the project isn’t working
Hiding in plain sight: Scientists discover 76,000 hectares of mangroves in WA
Despite access to satellite technology for decades, we are only now getting an idea of the true extent of the North West’s mangrove system.
More research needed to protect a key part of Kimberley culture
On Bardi country, mangroves have been a central part of life for thousands of years. Traditional Owners want more research into what makes these systems so special.
Sustainability
Technology optimizes renewable energy generation from malting barley bagasse by beer industry
A scientific article just published by four Brazilian and two American scientists reports gains in electric and thermal energy obtained when brewer’s spent grain (barley bagasse), an abundant waste produced by the beer industry, is treated with ultrasound before undergoing anaerobic digestion, a microbiological process involving consumption of organic matter and production of methane.
George Monbiot wins Orwell prize for journalism
Author recognised for his decades-long commitment to neglected environmental issues
Dutch farmers feel they face an impossible pollution ultimatum: Sort it or sell up
Farmers in the Netherlands are up in arms over plans requiring nitrogen pollution to be slashed. But why this sudden explosion of protest, and could it spread elsewhere?
Adrian Fernandez-Perez et al
Think about the last time you bought something expensive to make yourself feel better after a disappointment or when you treated yourself with a fancy and expensive dinner after some accomplishment.
Improving water conservation through combined efforts
Muhammad Adnan
As water conservation becomes increasingly vital, governments and the public must work together to find solutions.
Environment: Four actions to help the oceans help us
Peter Sainsbury Our seas are already seriously threatened and more dangers are emerging but four marine strategies will deliver for human health, the environment and the economy. A circular economy in the food and agriculture industry will dramatically reduce biodiversity loss.
Nature Conservation
Whole-site management of Marine Protected Areas can lead to 95% increase in reef species
The whole-site management of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) can increase the total abundance of reef species within its borders by up to 95%, according to new research.
This is in contrast to regions where only known features are conserved, with species abundance increasing by just 15% in those areas compared to others where human activity is allowed to continue unchecked.
Jessica Turner and Alexandra Whittaker
The beloved Asian elephant Tricia died at Perth Zoo this month at the ripe old age of 65, making her one of the world’s oldest elephants.
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