Post of the Day
Here’s why many electric vehicles are so expensive
Battery costs are keeping the price of electric vehicles higher than their gas-powered counterparts, analysts say.
On This Day
August 20
Saint Stephen’s Day – Hungary
Ecological Observance
National Honey Bee Day – USA
Renewable Energy Day (Akshay Urja Diwas) – India
Climate Change
China issues national drought alert as temperatures rise and rivers dry up
A national “yellow alert” is declared as regions from south-west China to Shanghai in the Yangtze delta experience weeks of extreme heat.
Study connects climate hazards to 58% of infectious diseases
Climate hazards such as flooding, heat waves and drought have worsened more than half of the hundreds of known infectious diseases in people, including malaria, hantavirus, cholera and anthrax, a study says.
Algeria: Dozens killed in wildfires
Fatal fires are an annual fact of life in Algeria where climate change has churned about a rapid desertification in the north African nation.
60 million years of climate change drove evolution and diversity of reptiles
Just over 250 million years ago during the end of the Permian period and start of the Triassic, reptiles had one heck of a coming out party.
New Zealand’s climate fight is threatening its sheep stations
Horehore Station, a sheep and cattle farm, sprawls across 4,000 acres on New Zealand’s North Island, its jagged expanse of uneven hills and steep gullies blanketed in lush green grass.
National
The price of fuel is set to rise. Here’s why and how much it could cost you
Australian motorists are about to feel the pinch at the bowser yet again as the fuel excise cut is set to expire in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
The government is planning to grow Australia’s electric vehicle market. How will it do it?
Australia is significantly behind other comparable nations when it comes to the low emissions cars, with just eight options on the market under $60,000.
AGL mulls investor demands to quit coal in the 2030s
AGL, the nation’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, says it is aware of significant shareholder pressure for its remaining coal-fired power stations to close in the 2030s as a strategic review into the company’s future heads into its final weeks.
Australia’s biggest power providers are seemingly failing to cash in on the energy crisis. Why?
Record high energy prices are proving to be no picnic for the country’s biggest power providers. So who is ‘making out like a bandit’?
Wind farms facing bird-safety curbs [$]
Wind farm development in Australia may be checked by a proposed new requirement to assess the cumulative impact on bird species of multiple projects in the same region.
Inaugural Electric Vehicle Summit gears up national plan – podcast
The Federal Government has outlined plans to get more electric vehicles on the road in Australia at the inaugural national E-V summit. Flagging a consultation paper to be released next month, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen says it’s time Australia catches up in the race to get rid of fossil fuel cars.
New rules for not-for-profit tax reporting “need to be re-evaluated”
A leading industry figure and tax expert warns there are multiple issues with in-coming tax reporting changes for not for profits, which take effect from July next year.
Even our biggest power generator bears scars of ‘unprecedented’ six months
Australia’s largest generator AGL Energy has posted a slump in full-year profit amid “unprecedented” market conditions even as it continues to search for a new boss.
AGL leadership farce: Blind to climate science, and still in the control room
Tim Buckley
AGL gives another clear example of a board unable to respond to climate science, the speed of technology transition, or global experience of the energy transition.
If Labor is serious about electric vehicles, fixing the fringe-benefits tax is the next step
Michael Pascoe
Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Friday nudged a little closer to making Australia take electric vehicles seriously, but Labor is not there yet.
Gas permit appeal in limbo after ScoMo admission [$]
James Campbell
An admission by an MP that the “looming” federal election influenced Scott Morrison’s rejection of a gas exploration permit will cause headaches for Albanese.
Greens so blinded by love they ignore obvious solution [$]
Vikki Campion
The Greens’ devotion to wind and solar as the cornerstone of our energy grid is ludicrous but they will not listen to an alternative view as they proved in the Senate this week.
Forget the climate wars, we need to fight for climate peace [$]
Ebony Bennett
As people gathered for the electric vehicle summit in Canberra yesterday, the hope in the air was palpable. But despite the Albanese government’s rhetoric, the so-called climate wars are far from over. In reality, the fight for meaningful climate peace is only just beginning.
Buttering us up for the return of the fuel excise? [$]
Megan Doherty
Have you been driving around for petrol and seen that unleaded is going for $1.84 and thought, “Oh, that’s cheap?”
Labor in cloud cuckoo land on our energy future [$]
Scott Hargreaves
The government’s plan to ‘Rewire the Nation’ will fail. Here’s why…
You don’t need subsidies to fuel Australia’s EV future [$]
Jennifer Hewett
The national electric vehicle summit in Canberra will focus attention on what the whole car industry agrees is the missing ingredient – a mandated national fuel efficiency standard.
Victoria
Sludge from housing development continues to flow into river six months after first reported
Residents say the flow of sediment from a Ballarat housing development site is turning the river a “completely unnatural” colour and leaving a thick sludge build-up on plants and the river bank.
Graph of the Day: Wind energy delivers two thirds of Victoria demand for first time
Wind energy sets new record share of 69 per cent of demand in the state of Victoria.
‘Toxic’ soil blunder leads to costly WGT hold ups [$]
One million tonnes of soil dug from the West Gate Tunnel project was decontaminated at a special facility— only for it to be found it wasn’t toxic at all.
Andrews government fights to keep rail loop docs secret [$]
The state government is being accused of a cover-up in its bid to keep agendas and meeting minutes from the Suburban Rail Loop Authority a secret.
Dire warning by timber industry amid job losses [$]
Unions say Victoria’s timber workers need a JobKeeper-style payment to keep the industry alive as hundreds of workers are stood down amid crippling shortages.
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor reveals her triumphs and regrets [$]
Lord Mayor Sally Capp says Melbourne Council has learnt lessons from the city’s controversial bike lane project, but she still stands by the plan.
Queensland “super-hybrid” green hydrogen project gets Indigenous name and support
Mammoth Sunshine Hydro pumped hydro renewable energy project partners with Gidarjil Development Corporation and Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG).
A dead pig, some cassowaries and an unholy fight over the Daintree
Two charities are raising millions to buy up blocks in the towns of the Daintree Rainforest and restore them to their natural state. The locals say there is nothing to ‘save’. The battle is heating up.
‘Designed to kill coal industry’: New slapdown over royalty hike [$]
The company behind the controversial Carmichael mine has accused the state government of using royalty hikes to kill the state’s mining industry ‘to win a few votes in inner-city Brisbane’.
Inside Queensland’s green wave [$]
Paddy Manning
The success of the Greens in Queensland may be a tipping point for the party nationally, as its grassroots campaigners see voters ready to embrace its blend of politics and activism.
South Australia
As seas rise, sand carting won’t be enough to save our beaches [$]
Trucks carting sand will be needed on Adelaide’s beaches for years to come … and you can thank climate change. But we need more creative solutions to solve coastal erosion.
Tasmania
Tassie’s environmental battlegrounds: Inside the eco-warzones [$]
Tasmania is no stranger to environmental protests – in fact, we hit global headlines 40 years ago during the Franklin River campaign and the term ‘Greenie’ was born. Now the modern ecowarriors have no plan of backing down anytime soon.
Northern Territory
PM discusses climate change, Voice to Parliament during Torres Strait visit – podcast
Anthony Albanese says he found strong support for his referendum plan, with hopes that an Indigenous Voice will benefit Torres Strait Islanders on a range of issues.
Tiwi Islanders to give evidence in legal challenge to Santos’ Barossa Gas Project
The Federal Court will travel to the Tiwi Islands on August 22 to take evidence from Traditional Owners on Country who oppose the approval of Santos’ Barossa Gas Project.
Western Australia
‘Take the pain’: Fisheries Minister responds to ban outrage [$]
Fisheries Minister Don Punch has told WA’s commercial and recreational fishing industries to ‘take the pain’ as they brace for new rules banning them from catching the State’s most prized species.
Can mining-led WA handle a 43 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030?
Of all the states in Australia, WA has the most work to do to meet the federal government’s target of reducing emissions by 43 per cent in the next seven years. Can it be done?
‘Burn above all else’: WA’s bushfire mitigation strategy criticised by scientists
A group of scientists warns WA’s approach to prescribed burns aimed at preventing the threat from bushfires is putting rare plant and animal species at risk.
Woodside’s industrial-size attempt at reputation washing
David Ritter
Given the worsening climate crisis, there should be no place for fossil-fuel reputation washing by world-class polluter Woodside Energy in our public institutions — most certainly not our schools.
Sustainability
The petrochemical industry is convincing states to deregulate plastic incineration
A new report finds that bills to loosen restrictions on so-called “chemical recycling” are on the rise.
The country’s efforts to tackle climate change have been caught up in a fresh wave of misinformation about renewable energy, thanks to a news website with ties to the oil and gas industry.
Are indoor vertical farms really ‘future-proofing agriculture’?
Heralded as the next step in food production, this practice is gaining ground in the US. But are they really a greener alternative to traditional farming?
As Europe eyes Africa’s gas reserves, environmentalists sound the alarm
In the wake of an energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries are turning to Africa for its natural gas reserves.
Here’s why many electric vehicles are so expensive
Battery costs are keeping the price of electric vehicles higher than their gas-powered counterparts, analysts say.
Biden’s climate law is ending 40 years of hands-off government
For America to decarbonize, it must re-industrialize.
This Dutch design swaps one car parking space for 10 bikes
A ‘fietsvlonder,’ or bicycle platform, lets a neighborhood trial the change from car parking to bike parking to get used to the switch—and see if there’s a demand—before it’s made permanent.
Cigarette butts: how the no 1 most littered objects are choking our coasts
An estimated 4.5tn tobacco filters are littered each year and many end up in oceans with deadly consequences
Ants can be better than pesticides for growing healthy crops, study finds
Harnessing natural insect power can. with proper management, have higher efficacy than resorting to harmful chemicals.
Putin warns of ‘large-scale catastrophe’ and agrees inspectors should visit Ukraine nuclear plant
Russia and France have called for international inspectors to visit Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant amid increasing alarm over a potential catastrophe.
Researchers discover what causes cell ‘batteries’ to run down
Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered how mitochondrial turnover – a critical cellular function – begins.
Surprising attractiveness of hurdle to developing safe, clean and carbon-free energy
Scientists have discovered the remarkable impact of reversing a standard method for combatting a key obstacle to producing fusion energy on Earth. Theorists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have proposed doing precisely the opposite of the prescribed procedure to sharply improve future results.
Coal is poised to replace iron ore as a source of super profits [$]
The global scramble to secure coal from anywhere but Russia has it in a position to replace iron ore as the market’s next source of super profits.
East Timor plays the China card in Sunrise gas battle [$]
If Australia’s Woodside won’t, China will – East Timor threatens to call on Beijing to get the Greater Sunrise gas piped to where it wants it.
India may delay coal plant closures in blow to climate action
Officials are considering a proposal to shutter less than 5 gigawatts of existing capacity by the end of the decade as the nation grapples with surging electricity demand and a global energy shortage, according to people familiar with the matter. That compares with plans drawn up in 2020 that proposed shuttering about 25 gigawatts by the same date.
What if China saved the world and nobody noticed?
Nick O’Malley
If pending US efforts on renewable energy are extraordinary, the revolution underway in China is truly staggering.
This week with Peter Sainsbury on catastrophic ‘Climate Endgame’
Peter Sainsbury
Scientists call ignoring ‘Climate Endgame’ dangerous. Biden’s persistence navigates the Inflation Reduction Act through Congress. Renewables keep getting cheaper.
Nature Conservation
Once destroyed for poisoning cattle, the race is now on to save these ‘dinosaur’ plants
They pre-date the Jurassic era, come in hundreds of varieties, and Brad Pitt is said to be a fan. But cycads face a growing threat from land clearing and zealous collectors.
Poland says toxic algae may explain Oder River fish die-offs
The Polish government says experts have found toxic algae in water samples from a river on the Polish-German border. Thousands of dead fish have appeared along the Oder River after mass die-offs in recent weeks.
Yangtze River at record low as China tries to ‘induce’ rainfall with cloud-seeding
Asia’s largest waterway, the Yangtze River, is now at record low levels amid a historic drought and record-breaking heatwave in China, with the country now attempting to induce rainfall with cloud-seeding planes.
Forest fires are burning twice the area of trees as 20 years ago
And as those trees burn up, they release carbon emissions that add to climate change and lead to even more fires.
In a warming climate, we need to radically rethink how we conserve nature
Parks and refuges aren’t enough to preserve America’s environment. Land, water, and wildlife need to be protected everywhere.
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