Post of the Day
Humanity is on track to cause one million species to go extinct, according to UN report
Even as American politicians uselessly quibble over whether climate change is real (it is) and how humanity should address it, the natural world does not need humanity to humansplain to them that the Earth is becoming uninhabitable.
On This Day
Climate Change
Fed up with net-zero climate goals, activists call for ‘real zero’
Net zero — which calls for a neutral carbon impact through the removal of the same amount of emissions from the atmosphere that an entity releases — has drawn backlash from activists and some experts.
Reasons to be optimistic about the economy and the environment
Kevin Coldiron
Are the cumulative effects of climate change so severe that the Earth will be nothing but a rotating cinder in 50 years? No. And here’s why we should be optimistic about the future.
Leah C Stokes
Mr. Manchin’s legacy will be climate destruction.
National
Greens party open to 43 per cent climate target as a minimum, pushes for ban on new coal projects
The Australian Greens party says it is reserving the option to vote against the federal government’s upcoming legislation on Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target.
Greens stoush on mining could threaten government’s climate bill
A disagreement over the approval of new coal mines is emerging as a sticking point in negotiations between the Greens and the government that could sink its climate change bill.
Prof Ian Chubb, who is leading a review of the controversial scheme, says there are also credible voices defending it
Hydrogen fuel stations to be built between Sydney and Melbourne under $20m plan
NSW and Victorian governments say at least four refuelling stations will be built along Hume Highway
Just two gigalitres of a promised 450GL have been delivered so far ahead of the overdue Water for the Environment Special Account review
Lib senator mulls backing Labor on climate bill
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg will consider supporting Labor’s climate change bill as business groups urge the Coalition and the Greens to back Anthony Albanese’s package.
Climate debate shaping up ahead of Parliament’s return – podcast
Labor’s plan to enshrine a 43 per cent by 2030 emissions reduction target could be tested when parliament returns later this month. The Greens and incoming independents want even more ambition, while the Coalition is opposed to locking in the goal with legislation.
Over-population: The unpopular political hot potato
Sue Arnold
With Australia’s ecological footprint putting us among the top five consuming nations of the world, our politicians must tackle the issue of population growth as part of future climate change policy.
Robbing Australia: profits soar for gas giants, royalties and tax languish
Michael West
Foreign gas giants Shell, Chevron, Exxon are enjoying an explosion in revenue while paying virtually no income tax and forking out just spare change in royalties. What’s the scam?
John Hallam
Australia needs to show leadership in the area of nuclear disarmament, and of more immediate importance, (like, ‘….could happen next week’), of nuclear risk reduction.
Victoria
How a major investment in solar slashed energy bills for these dairy farmers
Irrigation could costs these Gippsland dairy farmers up to $80,000 a year. But a large investment in renewable energy has slashed that — and the system could pay for itself in just seven years.
Victorian Coalition finally signs on to cut greenhouse by 50 per cent
The Victorian Coalition is promising to legislate an emissions reduction target of 50 per cent by 2030, if it wins the November state election.
New South Wales
How can you help koalas in a bushfire? This app will tell you
After koalas were unexpectedly found in the Blue Mountains, an app has been made to help save the animals and other wildlife during emergencies such as bushfires.
Sydney’s CBD to remain scooter-free after council rejects trial
NSW will begin trialling electric scooter rentals this month, but Sydneysiders won’t be able to ride them in the CBD after the City of Sydney council decided not to participate in the state government scheme.
Could a bigger dam save Sydney from flooding? The question plaguing the city
As thousands of residents turn their attention to the mammoth clean-up effort after heavy rain and flash flooding smashed them for the third time this year, the question over whether the Warragamba Dam wall should be raised has reared its head again.
Inside the war room where the fight against the varroa mite is raging
From an office block in rural NSW the battle to save Australia’s honey bees from destruction is being waged.
ACT
The green way to go: The rise of cremations and alternative burials
In a dark storage room beneath Canberra’s Norwood Park Crematorium sits row after row of plastic boxes — each with a silent story to tell.
ACT sets date for ban on new fossil fuel cars [$]
New fossil fuel-powered vehicles will be banned in the ACT from 2035, with the territory set to become the first Australian jurisdiction to announce plans to phase out internal combustion engines.
Queensland
Queensland’s electric vehicle charging network to extend west
Motorists behind the wheel of electric vehicles will soon have more options to recharge their cars beyond Queensland’s coastal EV highway.
Tasmania
Ahead of a potential change in law to ban conversion practice in Tasmania, a petition being pushed by the Christian lobby says the community has been “taken by surprise” by the push to outlaw conversion practices and urges it be reconsidered.
Hydrogen firm targets mid-2024 start [$]
Eighty-five years on from the Hindenburg zeppelin’s final flight, and the hydrogen industry is again looking to set things on fire – this time in Tasmania.
Opportunity for bold action on Tamar lost
Examiner editorial
Another day and another plan has been presented to fix the estuary. Time moves at a glacier pace when it comes to solving the issues faced by kanamaluka/Tamar Estuary.
Western Australia
From mussels to ancient fish, WA freshwater species continue to decline
River flows in WA’s South West region have fallen 70 per cent in 50 years and for previously widespread species like Carter’s freshwater mussel, time is running out.
Sustainability
The five big energy suckers supercharging your power bill — and how to fix them
Whether you are looking to save money to offset the rising cost of living, or keen to do your bit to slow climate change, keeping an eye on energy consumption in your home, cutting back where possible and developing new energy-efficient habits, can have a big impact. Here are five areas to focus your efforts.
Free public transport better for climate and inequality
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is on board with the extension of half-price public transport, but once again calls on the Government to go further and make public transport free – for good.
Penny Mordaunt pledges to create ‘millions of green jobs’ if elected Tory leader
Penny Mordaunt has told Conservative critics of net zero that “environmentalism and conservatism go hand in hand” as she vowed to create “millions of green jobs” if elected leader.
Global heating, human development could drive future waves of disease in east Asia
Global heating is leading dozens of bat species to migrate to southern China and southeast Asian countries, amid growing concerns that the climate crisis could fuel more zoonotic disease and further deadly pandemics.
‘Big guns’ keep the world on nuclear high alert
Helen Caldicott
With Russia and the U.S. currently on the warpath during the escalating conflict in Ukraine, the world is again at serious risk of nuclear disaster.
Radioactive portents on a burning earth
Andrew Glikson
According to Fermi’s Paradox, the failure to date to achieve radio communications between Earth and extraterrestrial civilisations can be attributed to the short-term self-destruction of technological civilisation by means of contamination of air, water and land by lethal substances, and the creation of deadly weapons. In the 20-21st centuries this includes saturation of the atmosphere
Nature Conservation
Unusually fatty katsuo fish may foreshadow climate change and threaten Japan’s sushi
Heavier katsuo may mean more money for fishermen, but locals and experts say it indicates climate change and a risk for numbers already under threat due to growing demand and overfishing.
Kenya’s Kuruwitu corals are back, thanks to local conservation drive
A small, quiet village in Kenya has found a new purpose in the fishing industry through a successful marine coral conservation project, the first of its kind in the Marine Protected Areas of the western side of the Indian Ocean.
Kigali summit to outline strategy for nature conservation in Africa
First continent-wide meeting aims to set out plans to halt and reverse habitat and species loss in protected areas on land and sea
The Guardian view on controlling grey squirrels: a question of balance
New methods for tackling their spread hold out hope for more humane management of habitats
Humanity is on track to cause one million species to go extinct, according to UN report
Even as American politicians uselessly quibble over whether climate change is real (it is) and how humanity should address it, the natural world does not need humanity to humansplain to them that the Earth is becoming uninhabitable.
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