Post of the Day
World risks descending into a climate ‘doom loop’, warn thinktanks
Report says simply coping with escalating impacts of climate crisis could override tackling root cause
On This Day
Climate Change
New study settles long-standing debate: Does agricultural erosion create a carbon sink or source
Over the last decade, researchers have sounded the alarm on soil erosion being the biggest threat to global food security.
North American mountain vegetation is rapidly shifting higher as the climate warms
In mountainous western North America, vegetation cover has moved upward at a rapid rate over the past several decades, according to a study published in PLOS Climate by James R. Keller at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
Building higher islands could save the Maldives from sea-level rise, says study
Artificially raising island heights or building completely new higher islands have been proposed as solutions to sea-level rise in the Maldives and other low-lying nations.
As disaster strikes again, an urgent call to step up planning and preparation efforts
At least four people have died in Aotearoa/New Zealand, where authorities have declared a State of Emergency and the country faces a massive, long-term recovery following the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Fact check: Oslo sea level claim is in choppy waters
A YouTube video checking the “relentless sea level rise against actual data” omits key information on the Norwegian capital.
Regulators urged to address greenwashing by some of the world’s most powerful companies
Melissa Sweet
A new report investigating the climate pledges of some of the world’s wealthiest companies is likely to prove useful reading for many in the health sector.
National
Bowen says no to coal and gas ban, yes to more “sensible” discussions with Greens
Shh, the grown-ups are talking! Bowen declines Greens’ offer on coal and gas ban, but wants to continue “sensible negotiations.” Can a middle ground be found?
Call for urgent overhaul of Australia’s monitoring of ‘astronomical’ plastic pollution problem
Australian Academy of Science points to over-reliance on volunteers and says more regular surveys needed
Government will intervene if voluntary codes don’t fix recycling debacle: Plibersek
If codes fail to fix the crisis revealed by the collapse of REDcycle, the government is prepared to regulate.
‘Stop talking and start acting’: Greens urged to back Labor
Investor groups urged all sides to back the federal government’s new safeguard mechanism.
Multiple states under heatwave warnings
A national heatwave is sparking major fire warnings across multiple states.
Hard-ball Pocock a new hurdle for PM [$]
The independent senator becomes the latest challenge for the Albanese government with his push for tougher carbon price caps and credit standards.
Labor wants to revamp the safeguard mechanism to meet its climate targets. This is how it will work – and how it may not
Fact check: Climate claim BOMs in attempt to rewrite temperature history
A Facebook user has claimed that temperatures in Australia have actually cooled over the last century.
Adam Bandt is wedged by Greens’ overreach on emissions legislation
Michelle Grattan
If Peter Dutton is caught in a classic rock-and-hard-place dilemma over the Voice to Parliament, the same could be said for Greens leader Adam Bandt on the safeguard legislation to underpin the government’s climate policy.
Stop tossing your spent vapes and e-cigs: you’re breeding a new waste pandemic
Michael Odei Erdiaw-Kwasie and Matthew Abunyewah
Vaping, or using electronic cigarettes, not only pollutes the surrounding air, it also creates a new contaminated e-waste stream.
Mark Chou et al
News headlines about local government in Australia often have a familiar storyline: councils should stick to their “core purpose […] to collect rubbish, fix local roads and keep rates down”. However, our newly published research shows most Australians expect more from their local councils, and that includes climate action.
I’ve lived in Melbourne’s CBD for 20 years. Here’s what’s changed
Tim Richards
Living in Melbourne’s city centre for two decades has gifted me a strange mental jumble of cafes, shops and bars that have come and gone, surviving as ghosts in the memory of a long-term city resident.
Nuclear weapons uncertainty must be resolved
Age editorial
Not so long ago, the merest hint that Australia was dabbling in nuclear anything with our US allies would have provoked citywide protests.
Joining a ‘Buy Nothing Group’ changed my life. Here’s how it works
Maida Pineda
The gifting economy can save money, help the environment and build community.
Don’t kid yourself. The climate wars ain’t over yet [$]
Jacob Greber
All sides are busy trying to figure out who would have more to lose if the safeguard mechanism dies in the Senate.
Labor must hold the line on its key emissions policy [$]
AFR editorial
The safeguard mechanism surely deserves a better name. The clunky title conveys nothing to Australians of its importance as the centrepiece of the government’s carbon strategy.
Ministers hit the pedal to accelerate Australia’s electric vehicle uptake
David Ritter
The Albanese Government is determined to undo the Coalition’s failure in keeping Australia up to speed with the rest of the world in electric vehicle policy.
Will Steffen: the dilemma of pioneer climate scientists
Andrew Y Glikson
The name of Will Lee Steffen will stand tall as a pioneer earth systems and climate change scientist at our critical time when the life support systems of our planet are increasingly threatened.
Victoria
An Australian trial hopes to tackle the “staggering” amount of food waste generated by apartment dwellers by trialling the use of dehydrator machines that turn food scraps into fertiliser.
New South Wales
Warrior huntsman one of three new species discovered during Alps Bush Blitz
The 11-day Australian Alps Bush Blitz expedition uncovers three new species of spider, and arachnologist Joseph Schubert hopes to find more.
Residents fed up with ‘eyesore’ algae-infested lake [$]
It’s the kind of red sea no one wants to visit as algae takes over a western Sydney lake, causing a pungent smell and threatening wildlife.
Kean’s PEP11 ‘ban’ is all hot air
Anne Hyland
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean came out swinging against a controversial gas exploration project off the NSW coast, known as PEP11. But he can’t stop it.
Queensland
Recycling scheme fails to hit targets but contract won’t be crushed
Queenslanders are missing out on more than $60 million while the state’s 10¢ recycling scheme fails to hit its mandated targets.
South Australia
Homes hit by fire near Port Lincoln, CFS says, as blaze takes hold in local dump
It is currently unknown exactly how many properties have been lost amid a bushfire on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula — but the CFS has indicated that the impacted structures include homes.
SA’s planning minister wants to reshape debate over urban sprawl
Planning Minister Nick Champion believes urban sprawl has become a “whipping boy” in the perennial debate over new housing, and is flagging a shift away from “arbitrary” government targets for infill housing and greenfield development.
Tasmania
Cradle project ‘questions’ over proposed cable way
There are serious questions over the future of the proposed Cradle Mountain cable way, a Liberal Senator says.
Robbins Island wind farm passes hurdle after heated council meeting
A contentious wind farm proposal for Robbins Island in Tasmania’s far north-west gets council approval the Greens say is in the “worst place” environmentally but the project still faces hurdles.
Northern Territory
‘Toxic’ mine site poses century of risk, court told [$]
A mine will have to be monitored for 1000 years for spontaneously combusting waste, floodings and toxic material leaching into water, a court has heard.
Indigenous rangers say climate change is killing turtles off the NT coast
Ranger groups from across the Northern Territory say turtle numbers are declining, as rising sea levels are drowning nests and eggs are being cooked in higher temperatures.
Western Australia
A former Santos employee has accused the oil and gas company of covering up the severity of an oil spill he alleges killed dolphins off WA’s coast.
Temperatures set to soar above 50C in parts of Western Australia
Dangerous conditions have been forecast in Western Australia this weekend with near-record temperatures set to skyrocket above 50C, prompting a bushfire warning from officials.
Forrest, Stokes split on East Perth power station revamp
The East Perth power station project appears to have become collateral damage in the row between billionaires Andrew Forrest and Kerry Stokes.
Sustainability
Common chemicals may harm sperm and pregnancies, growing evidence shows
Chemicals called phthalates—found in everything from detergent to plastic shower curtains—are tied to lower sperm counts and more miscarriages.
The next step toward electric cars just becoming cars is playing out on your TV screen.
Soaring fuel bills may push 141m more into extreme poverty globally – study
Researchers say Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven up household energy costs by between 62.6% and 112.9%
Double your money? Researchers tests co-benefits of farming crops with solar
Yet another research project investigates the benefits – and challenges – of optimising land use by pairing solar farms with agricultural crops.
‘Total’ household energy costs soar up to 113 per cent as full toll of global crisis revealed
Up to 140 million extra people could be tipped into extreme poverty worldwide by an energy crisis that has sent prices soaring more than 100 per cent for many households, a report finds.
EU says “renewable hydrogen” valid only for electrolysers linked to new wind and solar
The European Union has finally published its official legal definition of renewable hydrogen, including a strict “additionality” clause.
Reality check: Gas stoves are a health and climate problem
Policymakers and consumers alike are reconsidering the health risks and climate damage associated with gas stoves. Here are six simple truths to guide the conversation.
AI can track bees on camera. Here’s how that will help farmers
Malika Nisal Ratnayake et al
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a new way to track the insect pollinators essential to farming.
My KeepCup is dirty and my dress cost $27. Is there any hope for me?
Genevieve Novak
The pressure to shop ethically ignores the reality that nothing we do actually matters.
Realizing the green jobs promise
Raul Alfaro-Pelico et al
The switch to a carbon-free economy is the biggest economic opportunity of our era. The International Energy Agency and other analysts have predicted that this wave of market-driven innovation will create two to six “green jobs” for each fossil fuel job lost.
Nature Conservation
In “The Darkness Manifesto,” Johan Eklöf asks humans to dim the lights
Light pollution is disruptive to many species, from corals to bats to the humans who put up all those lights. “The Darkness Manifesto” urges us to reconsider our drive to dispel the dark.
Study finds watching TV is good for the planet
A new paper in Annals of Botany indicates that watching nature documentaries makes people more interested in plants, potentially provoking an involvement in botany and ecology.
High intensity fires do not reverse bush encroachment in an African savanna
A decade-long experiment on the use of high-intensity fire to control bush encroachment in South Africa’s Kruger National Park (KNP) has revealed that, despite an initial short-term effect, these fires did not result in a meaningful reversal in bush encroachment in the long-term.
Japan’s new whaling ‘mother ship’ being built to travel as far as Antarctica
Whaling company says construction of new vessel will help ‘pass on our whaling culture to the next generation’
The global bird flu pandemic is now so bad, many countries are considering vaccination
A highly pathogenic strain of bird flu is decimating poultry, wild birds and other animals in many parts of the world, driving some countries to consider the taboo topic of vaccination.
Fishing communities create marine refuges to protect Chile’s biodiversity
In Chile’s Valparaíso region, artisanal fishers have created grassroots marine reserves to protect marine biodiversity.
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