Post of the Day
How to deal with fossil fuel lobbying and its growing influence in Australian politics
Joo-Cheong Tham and Yee-Fui Ng
Will climate action undermine Australia’s democracy? This question might not be as outlandish as it seems.
On This Day
Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus – Eastern Christianity
Gaura Parva – Nepal
Krishna Janmashtami – Hinduism
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Warming planet could mess with our sleep
But a warming planet doesn’t just mean more people may find it harder to get quality sleep. There is also evidence suggesting that sleep disturbance could make it harder for the body to fend off infection, according to a new research paper from Dr. Michael Irwin, a professor of psychiatry and biobehavorial sciences at UCLA.
Climate change threatens Central Asia′s freshwater supply
New research shows what scientists call an irreversible decline in freshwater storage in Asia. The drying up of the Tibetan Plateau, the world’s largest freshwater reserve, would impact billions of people on the continent.
Climate change is a secret driver of inflation
As the pandemic has shown, disruption to supply chains and workers’ productivity drives up the cost of doing business.
Optimism in the climate change fight
Douglas Fischer
So much is happening so quickly. With the climate bill now law, here’s what you need to know.
National
Climate Council calls for auto peak body to stop “blocking road” ahead of EV summit
Ahead of tomorrow’s Electric Vehicle Summit in Canberra, the Climate Council is asking the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) to clear a path for fuel efficiency standards that will save Australians money and lower emissions.
Labor signals new fuel standards in bid to boost electric vehicle uptake
Australia is currently not among the 80 per cent of the global car market now follows ‘Euro 6’ vehicle emission standards, including Europe, the United States, Japan, Korea, China, India and Mexico.
Labor starts talks on major plank of emissions cuts plan [$]
Heavy polluters could be awarded taxpayer-funded grants to help them reduce their emissions, under an option canvassed for one of the Albanese government’s signature climate change policies.
‘No laughing matter’: Kookaburra numbers declining in capital cities
A new study finds that Australia’s iconic kookaburras and galahs are being forced out of our biggest cities by competition for food and habitat.
How climate change could lead to Australian diets becoming less healthy
With supply chains increasingly connected, the effects of climate change are leaving more sectors and social groups vulnerable.
Heatwaves Australia’s deadliest disasters
Blistering summer heatwaves are getting worse and already kill more Australians than any other natural disaster, a new study has found.
Albanese government confident its policy will have bipartisan support, limiting the Greens’ ability to secure any concessions
Announcement at national electric vehicle summit comes as climate change minister seeks input on national EV strategy
Nuclear power push puts heat on Albanese [$]
Peak business groups and unions want an end to the ban on nuclear power, as the government pushes for emissions reductions.
Debt-free Yancoal sells nine times more coal to Europe [$]
Yancoal’s sales to Europe have increased ninefold since the Ukraine war started and chief executive David Moult reckons demand will stay strong for a while.
Albanese stares down Greens as Bandt says safeguard ‘fight has begun’ [$]
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is preparing to stare down the Greens for a second time on climate change, indicating Labor will deliver its election mandate to introduce a reformed safeguard mechanism that allows a future for gas in Australia.
Disadvantaged most at risk as energy stress rises – video
A report by social justice charity the Brotherhood of St Lawrence has found over the past decade energy prices are an increasing problem for those on lower incomes.
You don’t need subsidies to fuel Australia’s EV future [$]
Jennifer Hewett
The national electric vehicle summit in Canberra will focus attention on what the whole car industry agrees is the missing ingredient – a mandated national fuel efficiency standard.
Australia may be heading for emissions trading between big polluters
Ian A. MacKenzie
Could Australia soon have a form of emissions trading? Yes, if Labor’s much-anticipated paper on fixing Australia’s mediocre emissions-reduction framework, released today, is any guide.
Origin spells out plan to keep the lights on [$]
Eric Johnston
June’s east coast energy crisis was a wake-up call for everyone that all of the major players need to come together.
Green BANANA principle is what’s holding us back [$]
Matt Canavan
The new federal government seems beholden to a green agenda that subscribes to the BANANA principle – Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything.
Our emissions measures count for nothing in EU plan [$]
Mike Young
Europe has voted in a carbon tax for imports from countries such as Australia. To save our industries we need to join this conversation quickly.
How to deal with fossil fuel lobbying and its growing influence in Australian politics
Joo-Cheong Tham and Yee-Fui Ng
Will climate action undermine Australia’s democracy? This question might not be as outlandish as it seems.
Infrastructure Australia should be abolished
John Austen
A review of Infrastructure Australia risks putting the cart in front of the horse. It should consider whether the organisation should exist.
Victoria
Residents lose final fight to keep wind farm away from tiny town
A wind turbine farm spanning more than 2,000 hectares is a step closer for the south-west Victorian town of Hawkesdale, despite objections from a group of locals.
Victoria’s Parliamentary Budget Office says the first two stages of the Suburban Rail Loop will cost $200 billion to build and operate by 2084-85.] The government put total construction costs for the project at $50 billion.
New homes could be built in flood risk zones, town planners warn
Concerns have been raised about the potential for a flood in Victoria and whether enough is being done to prevent homes being built in locations at risk of serious flooding.
New South Wales
Platypus research needed in northern NSW following bushfires, floods
Working in small boats and wading through creeks during the night, researchers have been out searching for signs of platypuses in northern New South Wales.
Cumberland Plain conservation plan will not protect koalas
The Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan will not protect koalas or other threatened species, says Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP and planning spokesperson, after the final plan was released today.
Regulator approves spend on stage one of massive HumeLink project
AER approves costs for first stage of HumeLink, Transgrid’s multi-billion dollar transmission upgrade proposed to connect Snowy Hydro 2.0 to the grid.
Track lowered and bridges raised. Report outlines Inland Rail’s impact on southern communities
An environmental impact statement on the Albury to Illabo section of the project outlines significant impacts on several communities.
‘They’re wrong’: Barnaby Joyce rejects review of billion-dollar dam in his electorate
Barnaby Joyce continues to back the proposal for a new dam near Tamworth, despite a damning review from Infrastructure Australia.
Shark nets to stay, NSW government says [$]
The fate of shark nets on our most famous beach has been decided after the Sydney mayor whose electorate includes Bondi Beach asked for them be removed— prompting warnings that swimmers would die.
The floods tell us the river is sick. We should listen to Indigenous knowledge to help Country heal
Oliver Costello
The only way to learn is from the river, like our old people did when they sat on its high banks of red and green
Queensland
Research centre to tackle global pollution with ‘green’ plastic
A new University of Queensland-led training centre is set to become a hub for world-leading research in ‘green’ plastic.
E-scooter safety needs to be treated as a ‘matter of urgency’
The Queensland government has been urged to bring in increased legislation — something which this Queensland lawyer said can’t come soon enough.
Cheap power or disaster? Qld coal mine a major test for Albanese
A proposal for a Queensland coal mine needed for a key power station will be an early test for the Albanese Government as it seeks to balance net zero with the need for “cheap power”.
Small coastal town with a big kangaroo problem
Residents in a Queensland coast town carry a big stick if they dare to venture out on an afternoon walk, after seven reported kangaroo attacks in the past 12 months — including one where a woman received a broken leg.
From failed visions of lavish destinations to cyclone damage so severe redevelopment was abandoned, island resorts have been a source of heartache for the state’s tourism sector.
South Australia
Would you pay an extra $12,000 in rates to have your power lines put underground?
Residents of a small coastal town have agreed to fork out tens of thousands of dollars to have one less interruption to their ocean views.
Turning oyster baskets into placemats: This surgeon has a plan for Port Lincoln’s fishing waste
Port Lincoln accumulates thousands of tonnes of waste from the fishing and aquaculture industries. This startup company aims to re-use end-of-life ropes, nets and buoys.
SA recycling system set for overhaul
The state government is set to introduce reverse vending machines to make 10c recycling refunds easier and is also considering whether to expand the container deposit scheme to include wine and spirit bottles.
Tasmania
Transport company cops hefty fine over creek pollution [$]
A Tasmanian company has been fined thousands of dollars after polluting a creek in 2019.
Call for faster progress on strengthening Tasmanian climate legislation
Media release – Climate Tasmania and the Tasmanian Independent Science Council
Whilst claiming leadership on the urgent issue of climate change, it has been nine months since the Tasmanian Government’s climate change bill was tabled.
Frontier Energy says solar can deliver low cost green hydrogen at WA project
Frontier Energy says it can potentially produce green hydrogen at a cost well below industry estimates due to its proximity to existing infrastructure.
Recreational fishers ‘shocked and disappointed’ as rules around catch tighten
Sustainability fears lead to a proposal to halve the catches in a popular West Australian fishery, but the recreational sector is not happy with the changes.
30kph ‘safe’ streets are popping up around WA to encourage cycling, but are they working?
The WA government is set to drop the speed limit to 30kph on close to a dozen more streets in Perth and regional WA after seeing an increase in pedestrians and cyclists in areas where the speed limit has been lowered.
Could this be a glimpse into the future of Perth’s shopping strips?
Cars are the literal “elephant in the room”, a team of researchers argue, as they put forward a vision for more pedestrian-friendly shopping strips around Australia.
Sustainability
Greenpeace activists in Germany protest troubled Uniper over Woodside gas support
Overnight Greenpeace activists in Dusseldorf protested against German energy giant Uniper’s plans to buy gas from Woodside Energy’s controversial Scarborough project in Western Australia.
Ukraine warns of Zaporizhzhia ‘disaster’ as Russia rejects UN proposal to demilitarise the area
Russia says it could shut down Europe’s largest nuclear power plant due to the threat of shelling, a move Kyiv says would increase the risk of a nuclear catastrophe there.
World could save 700 mn tonnes of CO2 if people cycled more, study shows
The world would save nearly 700 million tonnes of carbon pollution each year — more than Canada’s annual emissions — if every person adopted the Dutch way of life and cycled on a daily basis, new research shows.
Greenland’s Indigenous population favours extracting and exporting sand from melting ice sheet
A national survey of close to 1000 adults in Greenland (where approximately 90% of the population is Indigenous) conducted by a McGill University-led research team has found that a surprisingly large majority – 3 out of 4 Greenlanders – support extracting and exporting sand left by the melting ice sheet.
Europe’s plan to wean itself off Russian gas just might work
Russia has made good on threats to reduce supply—leaving the EU to navigate several tough winters of energy squeezes.
By design: from waste to next-gen carbon fiber
Research from Washington University in St. Louis may soon lead to lighter, stronger carbon fiber materials and stronger plastics with a gentler environmental impact. The main ingredient necessary for these improvements is lignin, a compound that is essential for most plants but considered a waste product by industry.
New method to break down ‘forever chemicals’ shows promise, study says
The toxic chemicals, PFAS, are now thought to be contaminating drinking water supplies for over 200 million Americans
Are they having a laugh? Mums in labour a climate pain, activists say [$]
Women giving birth may be steered towards using opioids instead of nitrous oxide, “laughing gas”, because environmental activists are concerned about its carbon footprint.
Burying just 5 percent of power lines can improve resilience in hurricane-prone regions
As extreme weather events become more intense and compound one another, more climate-resilient infrastructure is needed to better protect vulnerable populations.
In search of sustainable food sector
New proteins, wild berries and experimental food production. Could this be the key to more sustainable food production? The FINEST innovation centre is planning to investigate this as part of a four-year project.
America’s environmental policy is actually crystal clear — but ignored [$]
William S. Becker
It’s not clear what the U.S. Supreme Court had in mind recently when it ruled the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) does not yet have the authority to regulate climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions.
Nature Conservation
Museum collections indicate bees increasingly stressed by changes in climate over past 100 years
Scientists from Imperial College London and the Natural History Museum today published two concurrent papers analysing UK bumblebee populations.
Can sculptures help coral reefs bounce back?
Underwater sculptures are becoming a trend on degraded reefs. Are they helping the reef recover, or are they just a tourism draw?
Great white shark encounters are increasing due to climate change
The odds of a great white shark encounter are increasing. Scientists say that rising water temperatures due to climate change are allowing juvenile sharks to expand their territory.
Warming oceans may force New Zealand’s sperm and blue whales to shift to cooler southern waters
Frederik Saltre et al
The world’s oceans are absorbing more than 90% of the excess heat and energy generated by rising greenhouse gas emissions.
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