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Date: 22 January 2023 at 8:17:46 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jan 22
Post of the Day
We are at war, with no strategy adequate to the challenge
Andrew Gaines
Unlike the Ukraine war, the war I am referring to is not a military war; it’s our battle for planetary health, and we have no strategy adequate to the challenge.
On This Day
Climate Change
New carbon offset standards ‘should bring greater scrutiny’
Industry body working on new way to reassure customers schemes will protect the environment
The climate crisis threatens economic stability – why are central bankers divided?
Howard Davies
Jerome Powell and Mervyn King reject taking on climate policy, while Mark Carney and Christine Lagarde say action is vital
National
After the flood: what an El Niño might mean for Australia’s ecosystems
Scientists are fearing the worst, predicting dangerous bushfire weather, fiercer heatwaves and severe coral bleaching across the Great Barrier Reef
Snail rail: why are trams in Australian cities running slower than they were 100 years ago?
Sydney’s light rail network is among the slowest in the country, new analysis shows, and tram lines around the country share similar problems. Can anything be done to speed them up?
How drones are helping keep the lights on
At the end of a twisting, tree-lined road north of Brisbane is a hidden clearing where one of the country’s most advanced drones is taking off.
Inside the race to make recycling solar panels more profitable
Used solar panels cannot go into landfill, but recycling them is difficult and the profit margins are slim. Now, researchers say they have found an easy way to refine a substance from the panels that is worth more than $60,000 per kilogram.
Political debate rages over energy intervention – podcast
The federal government says its intervention in the energy market is already yielding results, with wholesale prices falling last month.
Country living is about community – so why are we building inhospitable estates?
James McKenzie Watson
New developments are good for growth but the boom in fortified homes is undermining what regional towns do best
Cat owners must take responsibility, or face fines
Letters
It’s time to stop talking and do something about 1.7 billion native animals killed by cats each year.
Victoria
‘Significant risk’ to Mildura community as Murray Valley encephalitis mosquito detections grow
Health authorities warn there is a “very high” risk of human cases of Murray Valley encephalitis in coming weeks, as detections rise in the northern Victorian city of Mildura.
Melbourne’s e-scooter trial is nearing an end. Here’s what the data shows us
As a trial draws to a close, it looks like Melbourne and Ballarat’s e-scooters could be here to stay. Here’s what the data shows us about our uptake of the at-times controversial vehicle.
New South Wales
An ‘exciting time’ as Tasmanian devil ‘insurance’ program breeds success at Aussie Ark
Tasmanian devil joeys born last year in a mainland breeding program have been captured and “audited”, with researchers saying they appear healthy and happy.
Is it time to turn western Sydney into a city of fountains? It might help beat the heat
A combination of water technologies and cool building materials are more effective at tackling urban heat than greenery, a study has found
ACT
Better public transport for cross-border travel but no resolution to ticketing issues
Queanbeyan, Googong and Tralee will receive the lion’s share of 90 new additional weekly bus services from Monday, January 23 in response to the demand for better public transport connectivity between the NSW border town and the ACT.
Queensland
Farmers, environmental groups say coal mine’s water licence should never have been approved
Environmental groups are planning fresh legal action against the New Acland Coal mine, arguing a permit obtained by the mine is “a licence to take or interfere with water”.
South Australia
Protesters plan to ‘stop’ the Tour Down Under
Extinction Rebellion “rebels” have glued themselves to, and thrown paint over a building, as they reveal plans to stop the Tour Down Under.
Tasmania
Symphy is replacing her garden with native plants. Here’s how she’s doing it
Symphy Huggins has always loved the outdoors, but it’s only been in the past five years she’s turned her hand to gardening — and she has found native plants are great at replacing the traditional English garden styles.
‘Roadkill capital of the world’: Plea for drivers to slow down [$]
Baby wombat Noel was rescued from the side of the road after his mum was killed and he was left injured by a driver on Christmas Eve.
Recycling plant caused 140,000 litres of water contamination [$]
A Launceston metal recycling firm is under EPA orders after its waste material combusted, sending plumes of smoke across the city and leading to the contamination of 140,000 litres of water.
Western Australia
Terrifying number of sharks tagged in WA waters revealed [$]
Fisheries officials have already tagged a terrifying number of great white sharks in the first three weeks of this year — twice as many as in all of 2022 — it’s been revealed.
Sustainability
Sections of Bosnian river become floating garbage dump as floods hit the Balkans
Decades after the devastating 1990s wars that accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia, the Balkans lag behind the rest of Europe, both economically and with regard to environmental protection.
We need to learn to live with less steel
Steel is one of the most important materials in the world, integral to the cars we drive, the buildings we inhabit, and the infrastructure that allows us to travel from place to place. Steel is also responsible for 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Mixture of crops provide ecological benefits for agricultural landscapes
There are often too few flowering plants in agricultural landscapes, which is one reason for the decline of pollinating insects. Researchers ave now investigated how a mixture of crops of faba beans (broad beans) and wheat affects the number of pollinating insects. They found that areas of mixed crops compared with areas of single crops are visited equally often by foraging bees.
A team of five young researchers from four European universities have together developed a free, fun and factual boardgame to demonstrate the role of soil systems in overcoming challenges of the future in a sustainable manner.
Exploring the 74,963 different kinds of ice – video
There are somewhere between 20 and 74,963 forms of ice because water can do all kinds of weird stuff when it freezes.
Environment: Guterres: ‘the ecosystem meltdown is cold, hard scientific fact’
Peter Sainsbury
Tell it like it is, António: ‘climate disaster, death sentence, insanity, inconsistent with human survival’.
Nature Conservation
Rare animal-on-human fatal attack in Alaska renews interest in polar bear patrols
For isolated communities at the top of the world, keeping polar bears out of town is key to coexistence.
Vulnerability of red sea urchins to climate change depends on location
A new study of red sea urchins, a commercially valuable species, investigated how different populations respond to changes in their environments.
Forests face fierce threats from multiple industries, not just agricultural expansion
Intact forests are important climate regulators and harbors of biodiversity, but they are rapidly disappearing. Agriculture is commonly considered to be the major culprit behind forest loss, but the authors of a new article show that agriculture isn’t solely to blame.
Collision risk and habitat loss: Wind turbines in forests impair threatened bat species
A scientific team has now demonstrated that wind turbines in forests impair endangered bat species: Common noctules (Nyctalus noctula), a species with a high risk of colliding with rotor blades, are attracted to forest wind turbines if these are located near their roosts.
Chile prepares threatened condor chicks for release into the wild
Conservationists hope to free two chicks born in captivity as part of a project to boost Chile’s ailing population of Andean condors.
Just one degree can change a species
Even seemingly small changes in the climate can change the number of animals and plants in an area and how species behave, new research shows. Natural history collections provide valuable insight.
Soil organisms are essential for the maintenance of city parks and gardens
City parks and gardens support a rich and diverse community of soil organisms including bacteria, fungi, protists and invertebrates, which often go unnoticed compared with eye-catching plants and animals.
Why Asia-Pacific tropical seas flourish with marine life
A new Flinders University study has found why Southeast Asian seas produce more fish than the world’s largest coastal upwelling regions combined.
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