Post of the Day
Around the world, people are using a USC Price professor’s research to make their cities healthier and more sustainable.
On This Day
Krishna Janmashtami – Hinduism
Ecological Observance
National Tree Planting Day – Pakistan
Climate Change
‘Historic moment’: Biden signs landmark climate and healthcare bill into law
President Joe Biden and Democrats hope the “historic” spending package will boost their popularity with voters ahead of the November elections.
Today, the White House released state fact sheets highlighting how the Inflation Reduction Act tackles the climate crisis in states across the country and how families and communities can benefit from a clean energy future.
Grim truth about our ‘green’ future [$]
Andrew Bolt
Insects for dinner, homes the poor can’t afford to heat, and cars only the rich can buy — that’s the world we’ll soon live in thanks to climate activists.
The world needs more gas, and a speedy decision on Sunrise [$]
AFR editorial
A permanently deadlocked project in the Timor Sea is no use to anyone.
Farmers seek out renewable energy options
Farmers wanting to increase their renewable energy footprint are facing too many hurdles, an energy conference will hear.
Climate change bill hearings to begin
An inquiry into the Albanese government’s planned climate change bill will begin two days of hearings in Canberra.
Government’s key climate reduction policy open for consultation
The Australian government will begin consulting industry and broader stakeholders on how to strengthen the centrepiece of its commitment to reduce emissions by 43 per cent this decade.
Labor wants safeguard mechanism to cut emissions from big polluters by up to 6% a year
Consultation paper suggests annual rates of emissions cuts, with tradable carbon credits rewarded to companies cutting pollution quickly
Pandemic made Australians more sustainable
The COVID-19 pandemic, rather than the threat of climate change, has spurred Australians to become more sustainable, according to new research.
The ridesharing app making sustainability strides
Not all those driving on the Uber app constantly feature regularly in their riders’ social media posts. But, then again, not all drivers drive a Tesla.
Emissions safeguard has failed: minister
The federal government is beginning consultations about lowering the safeguard mechanism, which was put in place to ensure large companies reduce their emissions.
Climate laws ‘back door ban’ of new coal [$]
The government’s climate change legislation will make it easier for activists to challenge projects in court, Tony Abbott warns.
Switching off: the risk to a clean energy grid rollout
Asma Aziz and Iftekhar Ahmad
A national clean energy grid will require 10,000 kilometres of new high-voltage transmission lines and towers. Regional and farming communities along the routes will need to be on board for it to happen, but there is already pushback.
Chris Briggs and Rusty Langdon
In just eight years time, the Labor government wants Australia to be 82% powered by renewable energy. That means a rapid, historic shift, given only 24% of our power was supplied by renewables as of last year.
10 images show just how attractive Australian shopping strips can be without cars
Matthew McLaughlin et al
Think of a typical Australian shopping street: parked cars occupy the prime public space in front of the shops. But we could instead create a place that’s good for business and is beautiful too. It would attract customers while being good for our physical, mental and social health.
Australia is well-placed to be world’s renewables pioneer
Matthew Warren
Look past politicised and arbitrary targets, and this country has a better chance than the northern hemisphere of making renewables work.
Victoria
Become Nature Steward this spring
Do you want to connect with nature, support your local environment and meet others in your community? The City of Ballarat is partnering with Outdoors Victoria to facilitate the first intake for the Nature Stewards program.
Digging in: Matthew Guy’s gamble on scrapping Victoria’s suburban rail loop
Liberal leader says health will be prioritised, but Labor is happy for an election on the issue
Solar to cut carbon and costs at Queen Victoria Market
The City of Melbourne is boosting sustainability in the Queen Victoria Market precinct, powering up more than 650 solar panels to cut carbon emissions and electricity costs.
Lord Mayor demands second Metro tunnel as councils clash over city’s future
Mayors representing inner-ring Melburnians want the state government to boost social connectivity but in the outer suburbs social dislocation is in focus.
Whopping new cost of Suburban Rail Loop revealed [$]
Explosive documents predict the most expensive project in the state’s history will cost more than double the Andrews government’s initial estimate.
Right call, wrong reasons to pull brakes on Suburban Rail Loop
Chip Le Grand
Matthew Guy is offering voters a false choice between a hospital bed or a seat on a train.
New South Wales
Concerns after ‘coal chunks’ found in Royal National Park river [$]
An environmental group has raised concerns about a plan to reintroduce platypus into the Royal National Park after they were “shocked” to find water polluted with chunks of coal.
Wiradjuri elder rubbishes consultation claims as bike track over sacred site causes stir in Orange
Senior Wiradjuri Elder Uncle Neil Ingram says Orange City Council failed to properly consult with the local Indigenous community about a proposed mountain bike trail on Gaanha-bula (Mount Canobolas).
The five key findings from inquiry into NSW floods
A report into the catastrophic 2022 NSW floods uncovers leadership failures, a lack of preparedness and unreliable rain gauges. Here’s what you need to know.
NSW govt unveils western Sydney koala plan
The NSW government has released a new conservation plan it says will fast-track development in western Sydney while protecting koala habitats.
Case for $1.3bn NSW dam ‘poorly substantiated’, Infrastructure Australia finds
An independent review of the Dungowan Dam business case reveals it would reap nine cents for every dollar invested, should it go ahead.
People living in ‘high-risk’ flood areas should relocate ‘urgently’, inquiry finds
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says the state cannot keep developing in areas that are at high risk of floods as an inquiry hands down 28 recommendations over this year’s devastating floods.
EPA inspection confirms trees in Ellis State Forest lawfully harvested
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has conducted an inspection at Ellis State Forest, inland from Coffs Harbour, in response to allegations that four giant trees had been unlawfully harvested and seven giant trees were damaged during forestry operations.
Samantha Hepburn
Federal parliament has been rocked by extraordinary revelations that Scott Morrison secretly assumed control of numerous ministries, including the resources portfolio, in the last term of government. The then prime minister went further and used his new powers to knock back a gas-drilling proposal off the New South Wales coast.
ACT
Coles to trial banning plastic produce bags in Canberra
Plastic single-use fresh produce bags will be removed from the 12 Coles stores in the ACT by the middle of next month.
Queensland
Trial of cyclist, scooter speed monitors prompts call for more bikeway investment
A new council trial of flashing awareness signs on one of Brisbane’s busiest shared pathways is met with mixed responses from cyclists and pro-pedestrian groups.
BHP pauses coal investments in Qld over royalty hikes
The decision means investment into the new Blackwater South coal mine in central Queensland is now paused.
Queensland MP accuses Morrison of ‘one of the biggest election deceptions’ in Australian history
Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni raises questions about who approved a delay in releasing national energy prices until after the May election
Coal’s spell over Labor continues as BHP plays it cool – now all we need is Rudd
John McCarthy
BHP has played its cards well and now the Palaszczuk Government once again appears to be bedevilled by coal and seemingly determined to make a re-run of the Rudd Government’s super profits tax debacle.
Tasmania
‘The Aussie version of finding big foot’: What’s the deal with those Tasmanian tiger sightings?
Partners in a new science venture say a living baby Tasmanian tiger might be as little as 10 years away. But before we start seeing them in fenced-off areas of the wilderness, let’s take a look at what led to its extinction in the first place.
This Tasmanian wind farm proposal is now a major project. What’s it all about?
The multi-billion-dollar North East Wind project has been given a helping hand by the state government, but what is the plan?
Transport company found guilty of polluting creek [$]
A transport company has pleaded guilty to polluting a well-known Tasmanian creek with truck-wash concentrate, leading to fish deaths.
Should we bring back the thylacine? We asked 5 experts
Signe Dea
In a newly announced partnership with Texas biotech company Colossal Biosciences, Australian researchers are hoping their dream to bring back the extinct thylacine is a “giant leap” closer to fruition.
Western Australia
Tanya Plibersek urged to ‘stand up for the people’ and block $4.5b fertiliser plant proposal
The federal Environment Minister says she is carefully considering an application to build a fertiliser plant that opponents say would threaten ancient rock art in the Pilbara.
The WA government says FOGO is key to the war on waste — but a massive 25,000 tonnes of household organic food and garden waste is sitting idle with no solution on what to do with it.
Sustainability
‘People are the problem’: Nepal’s holy Bagmati River chokes on sewage, trash
Tainted by garbage and raw sewage that is dumped directly into the waterway, Nepal’s holiest river has deteriorated so greatly that today it is also the country’s most polluted.
Seoul won’t seek own nuclear deterrent, South Korean President says
Yoon Suk-yeol says his government has no plans to pursue nuclear weapons, despite growing North Korean nuclear threats.
Agriculture innovations help fight climate change, protect food security
B.C. companies continue to develop and adopt agritech to create new products and farming processes that will help famers mitigate the impacts of climate change and boost the province’s food security and food economy.
Investigation into plastic pollution moves inland
New research highlights the increasing threat of microplastics to global farming and food production.
Circular economy to boost 2030 agenda for sustainable development
Circular economy is a brilliant concept that has found its way not only in elevating various aspects of our lives but also in solidifying future plans and goals for a sustainable society.
Around the world, people are using a USC Price professor’s research to make their cities healthier and more sustainable.
What happens to waste after oil spill clean up?
Images of damaged coastlines, oily sheens, containment booms and endangered wildlife are part of every offshore oil spill. And while a response team arrives and the clean up gets underway, UBC Okanagan researchers are now exploring how to effectively handle the waste created from that spill.
Proximity to fracking sites associated with risk of childhood cancer
Pennsylvania children living near unconventional oil and gas (UOG) developments at birth were two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with leukemia between the ages of 2 and 7 than those who did not live near this oil and gas activity, after accounting for other factors that could influence cancer risk, a novel study from the Yale School of Public Health finds.
RebuiLT, or how to build house sustainably
The Low-Tech Lab in Lausanne has been part of the Unipoly association of EPFL since 2021 and aims to popularize the low-tech approach already found in several other European universities. Its showcase project rebuiLT is one of EPFL’s interdisciplinary MAKE projects and seeks to reuse parts of a building being demolished to create a community pavilion in Ecublens.
Can water quality trading effectively reduce water pollution?
An article published in Contemporary Economic Policy provides a comprehensive review of experiences with water quality trading programs worldwide over more than four decades.
Research method predicts region’s likelihood of having fish with toxic levels of methylmercury
Consuming methylmercury-contaminated fish poses a hazard to human health. New research published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry may help environmental resource management officials predict which regions are likely to have fish with high concentrations of this toxin, without the need for extensive testing.
The fog of war: How Santos seized its moment to develop Alaskan oil
Elizabeth Knight
In the space of six months, what was previously branded “environmental pillage” now reads to some as the virtuous brand of “energy security”.
Ice age conditions after even “limited” nuclear war would starve billions
Tilman Ruff
An important new study published in Nature Food on 15 August by Lili Xia and Alan Robock of Rutgers University together with colleagues around the globe shows just how dangerous even a “limited” nuclear war in one part of the world would be.
Nature Conservation
Scientists are warning us the Mediterranean Sea is warming, and it will devastate marine life
Normally, seas serve the planet by absorbing 90 per cent of the Earth’s excess heat, but that’s only possible when they’re in a healthy condition.
When and where to protect forests
Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Colorado Boulder developed a mathematical model to determine what forests should be prioritized for conservation investments to protect species and reduce extinction risks.
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