Date: 9 January 2023 at 8:28:15 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jan 9
How climate change is affecting what’s on the shelves at your local supermarket
Despite advances in technology and infrastructure, transport supply chains have begun to face new challenges in getting groceries to consumers.
On This Day
National
Electric planes sound like a fantasy but they may be the future for short-haul in Australia
With net zero technologies for long-haul flights still far in the future, opportunities may lie with smaller operators flying shorter distances
Tax breaks drive EV savings but there’s a long wait for cars
Tax concessions could save some buyers tens of thousands of dollars at the same time as supply shortages may make electric vehicles hard to get hold of in the near future.
Teal split on coal company compo [$]
Federal teal independents Kylea Tink and Zoe Daniel are split over the Albanese government’s compensation package for coal companies.
Are too many candles damaging the air quality in your home?
Svetlana Stevanovic
Having rampant fragrances in our indoor air can dramatically impact air quality, coming with a host of potential problems
Companies still lack bankable incentives to invest in net zero [$]
Blair Comley
Business leaders talk a great deal about climate change and sustainability. But what happens in the boardroom and shop floor can be a very different story.
The argument for more fossil fuel energy [$]
Nick Cater
Far from making the world “unliveable”, ultra-cost-effective fossil fuel energy has transformed a harsh continent into an unnaturally liveable place.
Victoria
Illegal dumping costing charities millions [$]
Charities are losing millions of dollars a year as Melbourne’s donation bins and recycling hubs are turned into dumping grounds.
New South Wales
Scientists alarmed at discovery of sick frogs in polluted national park river
Scientists raise concerns about the health of frogs in the Royal National Park, after sick amphibians were found near the site of coal mine pollution.
Sawmills squeezed by timber supply shortage [$]
After three years of fires and floods, sawmills in northern New South Wales are struggling to find reliable supplies of timber.
Can Sydney’s ‘third city’ live up to the hype?
Over 114 hectares near Sydney’s second airport, the government is starting to build a 22nd-century city. But will it work?
ACT
ACT government told lowering Parkes Way would help provide windfall
The ACT government was told nearly a decade ago lowering Parkes Way would create enough new land to cover the costs of the major project and the government would even receive an extra windfall from the sales.
Governments elsewhere have invested in non-tram solutions called buses [$]
Mark Parton
Andrew Barr and Shane Rattenbury’s $3 billion proposed tram to Woden arriving in 2034 will do nothing to improve public transport outcomes.
No end in sight for recycling debacle [$]
Canberra Times editorial
You’d think a small city like Canberra, which has long prided itself on its general progressiveness on many issues, would have worked out its recycling situation by now.
Queensland
Brisbane will deliver the first ‘climate-positive’ Olympics. That’s going to require sacrifices
Brisbane is contractually obligated to deliver the first “climate-positive” Games, but what does the concept actually mean and how will we achieve it? An expert says sacrifices will be required.
Tasmania
How a network of trail cameras in Tasmania’s wilderness is building a ‘pristine baseline’
Kenji Sabine moved to Tasmania for a low-paying gig exploring the state’s most remote locations, but when funding dried up he said he’d do it for free.
Flying into Hummocky (Mount Chappell Island) and landing on the grass airstrip feels a bit like arriving at Jurassic Park — and just like in the film, mystery surrounds the island’s reptile inhabitants.
Northern Territory
Scientists stumble on strange bush tomato while hiking in national park
A spontaneous detour led the group to the new species of plant, which has dozens of unique spines resembling a ladder.
Western Australia
Do bobtail lizards keep snakes away from your yard?
Reptile experts say a persistent rumour has circulated for decades that shingleback lizards, also known as bobtails, keep snakes away.
Chevron struggles to fix WA gas plant as Alcoa boots up diesel [$]
Chevron says it needs two more days to resolve technical issues that have caused a breakdown at its Wheatstone domestic gas plant – the third WA gas plant to break down this summer.
WA dishes out land for $70 billion of Pilbara green megaprojects
Australia’s much-hyped future exporting green hydrogen and steel has moved closer with the allocation of vital industrial land to seven projects.
Clean-up from WA’s worst ever floods could take years
The fallout from the worst floods in WA history is only now beginning to be felt, with authorities warning that the scale of the clean-up ahead will mean months — or maybe even years — of work ahead.
McGowan government serves no one by detonating Perth urban growth plan
Neil Thomson
Our community deserves more. A government that can walk and chew gum at the same time: that is, protect endangered species while delivering affordable housing.
Sustainability
Single-use plastic cutlery and plates to be banned in England
‘A plastic fork can take 200 years to decompose’, said environment secretary Thérèse Coffey
This 3D printed house is made from wood chips and sawdust
With the abundant availability of wood waste, university researchers started to wonder if sawdust might be a new kind of building block.
Road to nowhere: why the suburban cul-de-sac is an urban planning dead end
Timothy Welch
The cul-de-sac is a suburban trap. It’s virtually useless as a road, doesn’t support public transport, cycling or walking, and doesn’t work well as a play or gathering place. Its literal translation from the French is “bottom of a sack” – which sounds a lot less glamorous, you’ll agree.
Misreading climate change in Bangladesh
Camelia Dewan
To what extent may the promise of future growth worsen Bangladesh’s current problems of environmental degradation, pollution (air, water, soil, noise), and structural health inequalities both today and in a climate uncertain future?
Nature Conservation
New Indonesia capital imperils ancient Eden with ‘ecological disaster’
The Indonesian government plans to move its capital away from the sinking Jakarta, but there are fears the industrial activity will destroy the biodiversity that makes Nusantara so appealing.
Empty nests: Why UK’s winter bird numbers are in sharp decline
Fewer and fewer migrant species, which used to be seasonal fixtures, are flying to our shores as the climate crisis takes its toll on their habitat.
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