Post of the Day
Animals are running out of places to live
Wildlife is disappearing around the world, in the oceans and on land. The main cause on land is perhaps the most straightforward: Humans are taking over too much of the planet, erasing what was there before. Climate change and other pressures make survival harder.
On This Day
Our Lady of Guadalupe Day – Mexico
Ecological Observance
National Tree Planting Day – Malawi
Climate Change
How climate change is impacting people’s decision to have kids in different ways
While some people are steadfast in living child free to reduce their carbon footprint, there are those who say having children is a statement of hope.
Will Congress pass a carbon tax? Mitt Romney says GOP support needed
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall talked about climate change at a Washington Post webinar.
Oil companies ‘could doom global efforts’ around climate change, House committee finds
A report issued Friday by the House Oversight Committee said oil companies had “greenwashed” their public image while continuing to invest in fossil fuels.
National
China, climate and COVID to headline bipartisan Pacific trip for Australian politicians
A cross-party delegation will visit the Pacific region this week for the first time since the Turnbull government.
Greens vow to oppose any plan to compensate ‘greedy coal and gas corporations’
The Greens say they won’t back compensation for coal companies when parliament meets to consider a package aimed at reducing power costs.
More self-driving cars are hitting the road in America, letting drivers relax behind the wheel. But when will Australians be driven around by their own cars?
Bowen launches new assault on gas industry
The Energy Minister is doubling down on his contentious plan to tackle soaring power bills.
Tree-mendous achievement: Grandfather crosses Australia on foot to restore environment
After eight months on the road and battling wind, rain, heat and fatigue, a Sydney grandfather will this week reach his Perth destination, having crossed the continent on foot.
Albanese government looking at laws to force big business to disclose climate efforts
Jim Chalmers will say global investors increasingly see ‘a new harmony between profit and planet’
Labor’s energy plan could go beyond cap in ‘declaration of war’ on industry
Energy producers fear price controls will last beyond a temporary cap negotiated last week after a long-term “reasonable price provision” was included in a consultation paper.
‘Untenable’: Red flags raised over top climate authority roles [$]
Red flags have been raised over perceived conflicts of interests within Australia’s authority on climate change policy with at least four members holding roles in private companies that could financially benefit from its advice to federal government.
Chalmers takes aim at climate ‘greenwashing’ in disclosure shakeup [$]
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is looking at imposing additional penalties for ‘greenwashing’ and may issue Australian government green bonds.
Labor proposal to fix Australia’s broken environmental protection system could revolutionise sector
Adam Morton
But if implemented poorly, it could exacerbate existing problems
Fossil fuel exporters’ $140b profit as bills soar
Tim Buckley
The Albanese government should be applauded for leading national cooperation underpinning our energy transformation.
Winning compromise there for the taking on energy prices
Tony Wood
The Albanese government has just delivered a masterclass on political compromise or created a self-inflicted major headache.
Plibersek’s big ambitions require some big changes
Letters
Readers discuss Tanya Plibersek and whether the environment minister will be able to deliver on her bold promises.
Be suspicious: behind Albo’s masterstroke to cap fossil prices, ease power bills
Michael West
Uncategorized, What’s the scam?
How a foreign aid rethink could help climate goals at home and abroad [$]
Alan March
The government has recently concluded a consultation on new directions for the Australian development assistance program.
Renewable dream yet to weather the storm of reality [$]
Nick Cater
Being blessed with resources is one thing, but capturing them and turning them into electricity quite another.
Price caps could break the local energy market
Ric Johnston
The Albanese government has failed to make the case for such dramatic intervention in the power market.
The risks in Albanese’s energy deal [$]
Jennifer Hewett
The federal government’s deal with the states wraps up its energy package with a neat Christmas bow. How long will it take to unravel?
Labor’s plan to make energy crisis worse [$]
AFR editorial
The domestic energy crisis is more than the result of the Russian war on Ukraine. Labor’s response seems to ban the obvious answer to the crisis of encouraging new gas supply.
Victoria
Victoria rolls out free trams, trains and buses for Christmas and New Year’s merrymakers
Victorians will be able to travel free on public transport on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve in a move the government says will make it easier for families and friends to get together.
How Melburnians are being taken for a ride on broken bus network
Infrequent, slow and confusing. Victoria’s $800 million bus network is delivering poor value for users, a new report reveals.
Fishermans Bend gathers pace but ‘urgent’ action on transport needed
Residents and businesses in Fishermans Bend say the need to extend tram lines to the area is becoming more urgent and there are warnings the freight-heavy roads will struggle with the growing number of people who live and work there.
Hundreds of gang members on youth crime watchlist
Specialist detectives tackling youth crime in Melbourne’s suburbs are making life “as difficult as possible” for the gangs behind recent bloodshed.
One of Australia’s longest-running ecological experiments, recently heritage listed, began with the “legendary” Maisie Carr (nee Fawcett), who had to learn to ride a horse to carry out her work, and became a friend and foe of local cattlemen in Victoria’s high country.
New South Wales
At least a dozen climate activists face jail time under NSW laws used to lock up Violet Coco
A string of protesters linked to Blockade Australia have been charged under the legislation
Poll showdown looms over privatisation [$]
NSW Labor will look to follow Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and start a state-owned clean energy corporation should it win the upcoming election.
First electric yacht enters Sydney to Hobart
The Thomsons found J-Bird rotting in a mooring almost three years ago and rebuilt the former diesel yacht to become fully electric, becoming the first of its kind to enter the race.
Green is the new orange – cartoon
Kudelka
ACT
The intractable problem of light rail [$]
Canberra Times editorial
It’s the latest chapter in what is steadily proving to be a fiendishly difficult and complex problem – Stage 2B of Canberra’s light rail, between Commonwealth Park and Woden.
Queensland
Could growing coral in ‘nurseries’ help to save the Great Barrier Reef?
Pieces of broken coral are being used to help regenerate the reef, but marine scientists say it’s no substitute for action on climate change.
Annette bought a slice of coastal paradise. Now she fears she’ll be the last person to live there
Increasing coastal hazards, including rising sea levels and erosion, are threatening Australia’s small coastal communities. So should they retreat, or stay and try to protect their homes?
Two options considered for Brisbane Metro link to airport
The lord mayor believes the Metro could improve airport connections and service Olympic venues.
Elders’ anger at ALP stance on mining [$]
Annastacia Palaszczuk’s hand-picked head of Queensland’s Department of Resources publicly declared ‘the world needs silica sands’ to help fight climate change as his staff assessed a controversial Labor-linked sand mine proposal.
Coal’s future ‘bleak’, industry predicts [$]
Queensland mining and resources companies say recent state and federal intervention into the coal and gas markets are ‘destroying’ investor confidence.
South Australia
National domestic violence helpline wants only women [$]
The nation’s official anti-domestic violence and sexual harassment hotline is battling in SA to have only women – and those who identify as women – answering telephone calls for help.
Tasmania
Work begins on solar farm in King Island [$]
The state government will be providing a new $50 million loan scheme for commercial and industrial customers as part of the energy saver loan strategy.
Blazing trails: court allows logging near Derby bike tracks [$]
The Supreme Court in Launceston last week ruled that logging in the Krushka’s forest near the famous Derby mountain bike trails can go ahead, after a challenge by an environmental group was refused.
Silver City MTB trails to officially open
Media release – Next Level Mountain Bike and the West Coast Council
Next Level Mountain Bike and the West Coast Council are pleased to announce the official launch of the Silver City Mountain Bike Trails at Zeehan on December 10th 2022. The 35 km trail network includes a wide variety of trails, which capitalise on the rugged, quintessentially west coast landscape and wilderness.
Sustainability
We’ve been discussing the “Anthropocene” for more than two decades, but it’s not an official geological term. A group of scientists are voting this week to try and change that.
How Gautam Adani’s coal empire made him one of the world’s richest men
The tale of Gautam Adani’s giant power plant reveals how political will in India bends in favor of the dirty fuel.
Cities come to the table to fix broken food system
Laura Lee Cascada
Nearly 100 world-leading cities met last month at a climate summit to further solutions that make it easier for people to eat more plant-based options and waste less food.
Dr Paul Collins and population ethics
Stephen Williams
A new discussion paper on population ethics written by Catholic historian Paul Collins on behalf of Sustainable Population Australia is as radical as it is worthy.
Environment: No reasonable prospect of keeping 1.5 alive
Peter Sainsbury
Not one of over 1200 computer simulations provides a reasonable chance of global warming being under 1.5oC in 2100. Climate protester jailed for 15 months in NSW.
Nature Conservation
The 164-square-kilometre island — slightly smaller than the New York suburb of Brooklyn — has seen tension grow in recent years between old families, who want to raise cattle on their ancestral lands, and authorities focused on conservation.
From flickering fireflies to lowly dung beetles, insects are vanishing
Amid deforestation, pesticide use, artificial light pollution and climate change, insects are struggling — along with the crops, flowers and other animals that rely on them to survive.
As the world scrambles to halt biodiversity loss, ‘things are getting worse’
More than one quarter of the more than 150,000 species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species are threatened with extinction
It’s the elephant in the room: Can we grow the economy without destroying nature?
Gareth Hutchens
The “growth” paradigm dominated post-war economic development, but what has it done to the planet?
Political expediency fuels a reckless drive to electric cars [$]
Bjorn Lomborg
If EVs are so good, why do we need to subsidise them and ban petrol and diesel alternatives?
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