Post of the Day
We don’t need ‘miracle’ technologies to fix the climate. We have the tools now
Mark Z Jacobson
Wind, water and solar energy is cheap, effective and green. We don’t need experimental or risky energy sources to save our planet
On This Day
Parinirvana Day – Buddhism
Climate Change
Study reveals new clues about how ‘Earth’s thermostat’ controls climate
Rocks, rain and carbon dioxide help control Earth’s climate over thousands of years — like a thermostat — through a process called weathering. A new study may improve our understanding of how this thermostat responds as temperatures change.
Insulate Britain activist jailed for eight weeks for contempt of court
David Nixon disobeyed judge’s order not to mention climate crisis as motivation during trial over road-blocking protest
Rising seas will swamp farmlands, pollute water supplies and displace millions of people much sooner than expected, scientists said last week.
Fact check: US emissions claim pollutes the facts
A claim from Turning Point Australia’s Climate and Energy Forum overlooks some inconvenient facts.
The new climate denial? Using wealth to insulate yourself from discomfort and change
Hannah Della Bosca
While the days of overt climate denial are mostly over, there’s a distinct form of denial emerging in its stead. You may have experienced it and not even realised. It’s called implicatory denial, and it happens when you consciously recognise climate change as a serious threat without making significant changes to your everyday behaviour in response.
‘Save the only planet we have’: Tony Abbott joins climate-sceptic think tank [$]
Emma Elsworthy
The former Australian PM says he has joined the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a UK think tank founded by a ‘climate denier-in-chief’.
National
Two months after the federal government introduced price controls on gas, manufacturers are still struggling to get a fair deal — and the costs are being passed onto consumers
Penny Wong overruled department by sending observer to anti-nuclear treaty meeting
FOI documents reveal officials were nervous that going to Vienna gathering would be a sign of Australia wanted to join the treaty
Five charts that explain how the Australian electric vehicle industry is booming
In the past few years, Australian demand for EVs has skyrocketed. But why are we still lagging other countries?
Canadian mining giant has no plans to spark Newcrest bidding war
Gold mining giant Barrick Gold says it is unlikely to challenge a $24 billion takeover offer for Australia’s Newcrest, reducing the chance of a bidding war.
Coalition to thwart safeguard overhaul [$]
Resistance from the Coalition and the Greens to the government’s revamped safeguard mechanism is threatening to derail its passage through the parliament.
The network of Aboriginal women safeguarding their country and laws [$]
When First Nations women met at a forum unlike any other, they weren’t only creating a shared vision of the future but safeguarding it via a new generation of self-empowered custodians destined to make change.
Which EV will you choose? Part two of our guide to going electric [$]
Last week we ran through the Audi-to-Lexus of battery electric vehicles (known as BEVs or simply EVs) likely to be on offer in Australia in 2023. This week we complete the picture.
Cyclists’ road deaths are a national health emergency. Where’s the outcry? [$]
Robert Lechte
The tragic road death of cyclist Angus Collins has forced a light on Australia’s car-first mentality — a mentality that’s harming motorists and cyclists alike.
A tenth of all electricity is lost in the grid. Superconducting cables can help
Ian Mackinnon & Richard Taylor
If Australia proceeds with plans to modernise its grid without considering superconductors, it will be a huge missed opportunity.
Energy price hikes are coming. Here’s how to soften the blow
Joel Gibson
Households wanting to save can take solace from the fact there are hundreds of dollars between the cheapest and most expensive energy plans.
Road rage over call to cut fuel subsidy
John Hanscombe
You could almost hear the compression braking as the Transport Workers Union, National Farmers Federation and Australian Trucking Association formed up in convoy to run the suggestion off the road.
Victoria
Australia’s sole office paper manufacturing could cease operations if its foreign owners decide to permanently shut its Latrobe Valley white paper mill line. Tomorrow’s decision could affect up to 200 workers and comes after a halt in operations in native timber logging in Victoria.
Zibelman, Finkel join expert panel to advise Victoria on controversial public utility
Team of high profile energy experts selected to guide reboot of Victoria’s State Electricity Commission as a publicly owned renewable energy utility.
Maribyrnong inquiry chair backed flood rules removal – then the waters hit
The head of the Maribyrnong River flood inquiry is facing calls to resign after it emerged he supported changes to planning rules that led to a retirement village building homes in areas swamped during last year’s disaster.
Floods inquiry chair quits over role in swamped retirement village
The head of the Maribyrnong River flood inquiry has resigned after The Age revealed his previous role in supporting planning changes that led to a riverside retirement village building homes in areas swamped during last year’s disaster.
New rules ban building close to dams [$]
New Victorian rules have been released prohibiting residential, industrial, or commercial developments close to dams, including those on farms.
Finkel warns on big renewable challenge [$]
The former chief scientist has joined former Telstra CEO Andy Penn and former energy tsar Audrey Zibelman on the board of Victoria’s government-owned energy operator.
New South Wales
Critics claim proposed gold mine would risk food security, planning panel told
A proposed gold mine in New South Wales jeopardises Australia’s largest bee keeping facility, an independent planning panel has heard.
NSW mining royalty rate freeze to give coal producers ‘certainty’ after price cap, government says
Deputy Premier Paul Toole refuses to reveal how much revenue the state will lose from the mining royalty rate freeze, but says he’s “confident” the announcement will not affect the budget.
Sydney’s next harbourfront park to open next year on former industrial site
The earlier opening of the foreshore park has been made possible by a change in construction techniques for a new motorway crossing of Sydney Harbour.
The farmers fighting gas projects in NSW are politically savvy, but they face a giant in Santos
Gabrielle Chan
The debate over whether land in the Liverpool Plains is used for agriculture or pipelines is uniting generations of families
Kimberley Crofts and Liam Phelan
The decline of the coal industry means 17 mines in the New South Wales Hunter Valley will close over the next two decades. More than 130,000 hectares of mining land — nearly two-thirds of the valley floor between Broke and Muswellbrook — will become available for new uses.
Scientists slam NSW Government for high-risk logging since Black Summer bushfires
Callum Foote
A group of globally renowned scientists have slammed the NSW government for failing to measure the impact of the 2019 Black Summer bushfires and continuing to log native forests at the same rate as before, even in designated high-risk zones
ACT
ACT govt defends night bus cutbacks as ‘customer-focused decision’ [$]
Only a tiny fraction of bus boardings in the ACT during the week are made after 11pm, Transport Minister Chris Steel has said, defending a decision to reduce late-night services this year.
Yes, you are seeing a lot more EVs on the road in Canberra lately
Electric Vehicle Council report huge surge in sales in the ACT
Govt should rethink car park plans [$]
Canberra Times editorial
Canberra’s public transport network can’t do everything for everybody.
Queensland
‘Enormous’ coral find revealed off popular Sunshine Coast beaches
An abundance of healthy, thriving coral along a heavily developed coastline — far beyond what the team expected — has been uncovered by divers and researchers.
Tropical Queensland’s spotted-tail quoll facing extinction
Rapid decline stumps researchers, who theorise traffic collisions, climate crisis, cane toads and inbreeding could play a role
Power to the people: Conservationists say renewables will cut $500 from yearly power bill
A report from the Queensland Conservation Council estimates households will save $500 a year on power bills if investment in renewable energy is fast-tracked and all Queenslanders get a share in the spoils.
Get off the bus! More drivers than ever take toll roads
On November 25, more people used Brisbane’s toll roads than ever before, but public transport’s post-pandemic journey is not going so smoothly.
South Australia
Pigeons in ‘plague proportions’ across Elliston as pest controllers wield air rifles
Thousands of pigeons are gathering across a coastal town in South Australia, with pest controllers using air rifles to shoot some of the birds in the hope the flock flies elsewhere.
Graph of the Day: Solar covers all of South Australia demand for six hours straight
South Australia demand met by rooftop and utility scale solar for six hours straight.
Northern Territory
Anti-fracking group launches Supreme Court challenge to Beetaloo Basin fracking plan
The Central Australian Frack Free Alliance will argue the Northern Territory’s Environment Minister failed to consider the full environmental impacts of new exploration works in the Beetaloo Basin.
Western Australia
As one state pushes for the coal exit, there are warnings from across the energy divide
Plans to wean WA off coal by 2030 are coming under increasing pressure from across the energy divide amid claims the state’s main power system may not be able to cope.
Alcoa mining threatens Perth’s drinking water
Alarming practices by Alcoa near Perth’s biggest dam could shut it down for years, causing water restrictions and potentially billions in water treatment costs.
Residents in parts of Ravensthorpe have been urged to evacuate with an out of control bushfire already burning through more than 3000 hectares.
Sustainability
Protests erupt in India over ongoing Adani Group crisis as losses top $159b
Billionaire Gautam Adani’s companies have been in freefall since last month, with India’s opposition party questioning his closeness with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The singer has been named the inaugural recipient of an award for her sustainability efforts and environmental activism.
Is America ready for a new age of nuclear power?
There’s no way to mitigate climate change without it.
So are nonstick pans safe or what?
There are still no good answers about America’s favorite cookware.
Calculator converts pollution into number of cigarettes
You may have heard warnings about poor air quality, but an online calculator helps put it into a different perspective.
A chat may help convert a peer to a pro-sustainability stance
Study examines conversation as a vehicle for social influence
Stop ‘wishcycling’ and get wise: how to recycle (almost) everything
From contact lenses to blister packs and used dental floss, there are items that perplex even the most dedicated recycler. Here is the expert guide to getting organised – and getting rid of your rubbish
The house and car will merge — and change how we power our lives
The next generation of EV batteries will power your home and feed energy to the grid.
Neighborhood walkability linked to risk of gestational diabetes
A new study finds that higher neighborhood walkability is associated with lower risk of gestational diabetes (GD).
Pesticides are substances intended to kill or repel insects, animals, plants, fungi or pathogens considered to be pests. Though people have used pest control methods for thousands of years, the 20th century was the first time mass-produced synthetic pesticides were used on an industrial scale.
Science has brought to light many concerning health, environmental and economic impacts of pesticides.
The no-jet set: they’ve given up flying to save the planet
With airplanes producing a large amount of climate-warming emissions, a growing number of travelers are signing pledges to keep their journeys on the ground.
Farming, pharmaceutical and health pollution fuelling rise in superbugs, UN warns
Sewage, poor sanitation and a lack of regulation give rise to antimicrobial resistance and threaten global health, report says
Hi-tech new is not enough, we must create a better future
Paul Budde
Innovation needs to be cultural, economic and social as well as technological to address global issues, so businesses must start producing technology that has a “measurable impact” on the world.
Nature Conservation
An El Niño is forecast for 2023. How much coral will bleach this time?
An El Niño would generate many impacts on both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, including the potential for droughts, fires, increased precipitation, coral bleaching, invasions of predatory marine species like crown-of-thorns starfish, disruptions to marine food chains, and kelp forest die-offs.
Great Bear Sea: vast new marine zone a ‘mindset shift’ for conservation
Political and Indigenous leaders hope to replicate success of British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest conservation area
Bird genomes hint at survival during climate change
Stopping the decline of global biodiversity is one of society’s most pressing challenges, but we often have a limited understanding of which species are likely to be most sensitive to population declines under environmental pressures such as climate change.
Organisation warns of ecological disaster as turtles disappear
An “ecological disaster has unfolded in Bermuda” and stripped the waters of key species, according to a conservation and research group.
Bird flu is spreading among mammals. How worried should we be?
Liam Mannix
In Spain, bird flu appears to have spread from mink to mink for the first time. It’s a troubling situation that warrants close attention
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