Post of the Day
Is recycling the problem, not the solution?
Liam Mannix
Recycling does not work as an industry – and evidence suggests it just makes us consume more.
On This Day
‘Life is not easy’ – displaced people bear the brunt of the climate crisis – podcast
Internally displaced people, or I-D-Ps, are on the frontlines of the climate emergency. Many are living in climate hotspots, where they typically lack the resources to adapt to an increasingly hostile environment. People from the displaced communities have been sharing their stories at COP27 in Egypt.
Fear of backsliding on Glasgow pledges dominates Cop27
Tentative drafts are emerging but some countries appear to be seeking to water down commitments agreed last year
‘In Delhi I can see the climate catastrophe unfolding before my eyes’
Rahul Raina splits his year between his homes in Oxford and Delhi, cities where the fallout from the climate crisis is being felt in starkly different ways.
Climate activists slam fossil fuels, protest restrictions
Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate slammed world leaders Tuesday who persist in backing new fossil fuel projects as other activists held a symbolic human and environmental rights protest and called for financing for vulnerable nations suffering devastating impacts of climate change.
‘Brazil is back’ as leader of fight against climate change, Lula to tell Cop27
Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s attendance at the Cop27 summit has boosted his country’s credibility on climate change, with other nations feeling hopeful of receiving his support.
BBC climate editor removed after questioning Russian delegation on Ukraine at Cop27 – video
Justin Rowlatt and his camera operator were led from the room after questioning Russia about the environmental damage caused in Ukraine
My suffragette grandmothers are now seen as heroes. Today’s climate protesters will be too
Helen Pankhurst
Whether or not you agree with their tactics, activists blocking roads and stopping traffic are on the right side of history
John Vidal
It’s time to ditch the generations-long argument between those who blame overpopulation and those who worry about consumption
National
Climate change, human rights, Taiwan and Russia discussed in formal meeting with Xi says Albanese
Anthony Albanese says he and Mr Xi discussed positions on climate change, human rights, Taiwan and Russia.
Federal government pledges to recycle all plastics by 2040
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says despite the collapse of a major soft plastics recycling scheme, the federal government has set a target to recycle or reuse 100 per cent of plastic waste by 2040.
‘History has been made today’: Cannon-Brookes scores big win over AGL board
Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes scores a resounding victory at AGL’s annual general meeting, with all four of his independent director candidates appointed to the energy giant’s board.
New directors will press AGL on shift to clean energy [$]
The four Grok-nominated directors elected to the AGL Energy board on Tuesday have called for the company to be ambitious in reducing its carbon emissions.
Energy prices are soaring, so why are taxpayers helping out new solar? [$]
The surge in energy prices is little help to new renewable projects, prompting the Clean Energy Finance Corp to step back in with support for solar and wind.
Australia is back on climate change: Bowen
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has used his speech to the COP27 summit to declare Australia is ready to work on the world stage to tackle the issue.
Why is so much of Australia flooding right now?
Full dams and saturated soil from three consecutive years of La Niña events leave a landscape with little ability to absorb more rain
Aussies hit electric vehicle speed bumps
Four in every five Australians have concerns about making the swap to an electric vehicle, new research has found, with price, range and charging issues topping their list of potential speed bumps
Why the collapse of soft plastics recycler REDcycle could be a good thing for the environment
The REDcycle program accounted for a small amount of Australia’s soft plastics and put the onus on the consumer. Advocates say manufacturers and retailers need to take responsibility for the huge amount of plastic created.
An electricity price cut delivered by Christmas? Here’s what could happen
Peter Martin
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said he’ll have a system in place to deal with rising energy prices by Christmas. Now, thanks to one of his most trusted confidants, we can piece together a pretty good picture of what lies ahead
Public transport should be free, accessible and reliable
Millie Costigan
In a cost of living crisis, the last thing we should be paying for is commuting to work.
Keep-It-Wild launches campaign against parks privatisation
Media release – Keep-It-Wild
The ‘luxury walk’ model is booming across Australia, leading to increased interest in the money-making potential of putting commercial developments in our national parks.
There are bigger shocks to come for AGL [$]
Jennifer Hewett
Mike Cannon-Brookes got his wish for a revamped board but that’s only the start of the decarbonisation challenge ahead for shareholders and for the entire energy market.
Cannon-Brookes shakes up AGL: what now for Australia’s biggest carbon emitter
Mark Humphery-Jenner
“What is a grok?” asked a shareholder at AGL’s 2022 annual general meeting at the Melbourne Recital Centre on November 15, as those assembled struggled with the reality being forced on Australia’s biggest carbon emitter by Australia’s third-richest person.
Countless reports show water is undrinkable in many Indigenous communities. Why has nothing changed?
Bradley J. Moggridge et al
Tap water in more than 500 remote Indigenous communities isn’t regularly tested and often isn’t safe to drink, according to a water industry report released last week. In some communities, drinking water contained unacceptable levels of uranium, arsenic, fluoride and nitrate.
Multinational tax integrity and tax avoidance by the fossil fuel industry: Part 1
James Guthrie and Adam Lucas
This is the first instalment of a two-part series based on our recent submission to the Australian Government regarding tax transparency and the fossil fuel industry. The first part examines Australia’s global fossil fuel transnational corporations’ problems and tax practices. The second part provides recommendations for minimising their tax avoidance practices.
Fake Twitter accounts abuse Adani critics and spread pro-fossil-fuel content [$]
Cam Wilson
Activists, groups and media criticising Adani have been piled on in tandem by Twitter accounts belonging to people who don’t exist.
Victoria
Labor accused of ‘stupid politics’ over climate scorecard in Hawthorn
Labor attacks Greens over its role in a climate change scorecard. But the genuine community groups behind it say it’s a smear that won’t pay off for Labor.
Barcelona in Melbourne? Call for city to develop car-free ‘superblocks’
A pioneer behind Barcelona’s initiative wants Melbourne to adopt the same model, limiting traffic on the Hoddle grid and freeing up public space to encourage walking and cycling.
Rain, rising rivers continue to pose flood threat to Victoria
The flood emergency is far from over in Victoria, with the weekend’s deluge putting extra pressure on saturated waterways and catchments, and a beach on the Mornington Peninsula has closed after a landslip.
Dams can help fight future floods, scientists say. This is how it can be done
In Victoria, dams operate by prioritising water storage over flood mitigation. But experts say they can be re-purposed to provide more resilience for the communities that live below them.
Voters reject radical shake-up for Melbourne [$]
While the CBD is desperate to lure visitors back, controversial bike lanes and a proposed second injecting room could keep millions of people a year away.
Herald Sun fiction writers setting Victorian Election media agenda
Paul Begley
The mainstream media has turned the Victorian State Election into an assault on the character of Premier Dan Andrews.
Victoria needs a plan to get off gas, not an impossible promise to burn more
Jono La Nauze
Victoria Coalition leader Matthew Guy’s campaign promise to “turbocharge” gas production can only be described as a hoax.
New South Wales
Council moves forward on forestry approvals — just as the state government backs down
Just as the NSW government ditched its controversial native forestry bill, a council in the state’s north voted to give up its right to approve native forestry activities.
Property developers will have to consider spiritual health impact of projects
Property developers will have to show the impact of building projects on the spiritual health of residents in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, amid claims a local council is pandering to selfish Baby Boomers and retirees.
Kean not keen on Perrottet’s adviser [$]
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has publicly refused to support Premier Dominic Perrottet over his appointment of former Snowy Hydro chief executive Paul Broad as a special energy adviser.
Horton flows and dipoles: The science behind NSW floods
The frequency of extreme rain means parts of the state simply can’t absorb more water. Here’s how it happens.
Sue Arnold
In showing complete ignorance towards the plight of endangered koalas, NSW Premier Perrottet has diminished chances of re-election next year.
Rebel ex-MP says Coalition will pay at the polls for reigniting koala wars [$]
Anton Nilsson
Catherine Cusack says the Liberals choosing the Nationals over koalas showed it was ‘screwing up’ protecting the beloved native animal.
ACT
Community battery could power next stage of new north Canberra suburb
A community battery-storage system in Jacka, one of Canberra’s greenfield suburbs, could become the model for zero-emissions power in Canberra, the ACT government believes.
Namadgi park blaze answers on hold
The unfortunate adjournment of the coronial inquiry into the 2022 Orroral Valley fire that devastated almost a third of the ACT means Canberrans now have to wait even longer for answers to the many questions about the events of January 27, 2020.
Queensland
Controversial New Acland coal mine expansion begins
Preliminary earthworks begin for a coal mine in southern Queensland after an approval process spanning 15 years.
Thriving domestic tourism sees another tropical Queensland island snapped up by Australian developer
Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays is the latest to be sold to an Australian investor amid a resurgent domestic tourism industry, although the future remains unclear for some dilapidated sites.
Australia’s ‘carbon capital’ charts a course away from fossil fuels and a boom-bust cycle
Queensland’s Gladstone council is pinning its hopes on a 10-year energy transition plan, amid concerns for its future in a net zero world
New bus station to transform Gabba into slick transport hub
A council source has revealed the likely site of the Gabba precinct’s new Metro bus station, which will facilitate easy access to Cross River Rail and the future Olympic stadium.
South Australia
Authorities warn thousands of Riverland shacks and homes will be disconnected from power
Authorities warn that approximately 2,000 shacks and homes will be disconnected from electricity in South Australia’s Riverland in the coming weeks.
Solar and wind power shutdown forecast as SA remains cut off from national electricity grid
Wind farms and rooftop solar installations could be switched off in the coming days to protect SA’s energy grid, with experts warning of the risk of more blackouts following the weekend’s extreme weather. The state remains cut off from the national electricity market after key infrastructure was toppled in the state’s east.
Alexander Downer-backed hydrogen play to raise $20m [$]
In an Australian first, Gold Hydrogen is looking to raise $20m in a bid to drill the precious energy resource straight out of the ground.
Tasmania
If you want to get rid of feral deer, the sound of Richard Fidler could help
As farmers around the country grapple with how to keep feral deer at bay, a study in Tasmania finds voices like those of ABC presenter Richard Fidler may hold the key.
‘Missed opportunity’: Traditional owners snubbed [$]
The creation of an Aboriginal owned and run national park was a key recommendation of the Pathway to Truth-Telling and Treaty Report. Find out why the bid is being ignored.
Tree felling puts survival of endangered species at risk [$]
Protestors and wildlife warriors fearing for the future of swift parrots have swung into action this week with one of the campaigners describing the logging as “ecocide.”
TAMP uncovers massive fish farm use of antibiotics
Media release – Tasmanian Alliance for Marine Protection
In another mockery of the claim to be “world’s best practice”, it’s been revealed that the salmon industry has dumped more than a tonne of antibiotics in the waters around Bruny Island this year.
Northern Territory
Carbon abatement company pays nearly $30 million for NT cattle station
Corporate Carbon Group aims to complement Ban Ban Springs’ cattle production with a savanna fire management carbon project.
Western Australia
‘Folding up’ restraint may be banned as Banksia Hill summit announced by WA government
The use of a ‘figure four’ or ‘folding up’ restraint technique in WA correctional facilities is set to be reviewed, with Premier Mark McGowan also announcing a meeting with key stakeholders over Banksia Hill Detention Centre.
The head of a south coast Indigenous corporation believes the state government should formalise joint management agreements over national parks before developers are invited to start businesses within their boundaries.
How to wipe out two-thirds of your car trips – then hop in your EV
Patrick Walker and Wayne Bradshaw
There are a couple of levers that when pulled will transform our fuel-guzzling city. Here are simple ideas to advocate for them – and what to do while you wait.
Sustainability
The global population is hitting 8 billion — here’s how that will change the way you live
The world’s population is about to hit 8 billion. So what does it mean for society? ABC data analyst Casey Briggs and ANU demographer Liz Allen answered all your questions
NZ scientists strive to stop cows from burping to reduce methane gas emissions – podcast
Australia has recently pledged to increase its environmental game, funding renewable energy projects and pledging to reduce methane emissions in some of the country’s biggest industries. Our New Zealand neighbours look to be on a similar path, with efforts underway to tackle methane in agriculture.
Cop27 sponsor Coca-Cola named ‘top plastic polluter’ for fifth year in row
Cop27 sponsor Coca-Cola has been named the top plastic polluter for the fifth year in a row, enraging climate activists worldwide.
Coal plant operators shirking responsibilities on ash cleanup, report contends
Drinking water wells in at least 15 communities across the US have been contaminated by metals from the coal ash.
Matthew Selinske et al
Today is the Day of Eight Billion, according to the United Nations.
The future will be powered wirelessly
Paul Budde
The technology to achieve wireless power transfer is advancing, which could revolutionise everything from energy transmission to electric …
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