Date: 1 March 2023 at 8:41:59 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Mar 1
Post of the Day
Fossil fuels kill more people than Covid. Why are we so blind to the harms of oil and gas?
Rebecca Solnit
Were we able to perceive afresh the sheer scale of fossil fuel impact we might be horrified, but because this is an old problem too many don’t see it as a problem
On This Day
Saint David’s Day – Wales
Ecological Observance
National Horse Protection Day (World Horse Day) – USA
Climate Change
Less roast pork, more lentils needed to reach Denmark’s climate targets – govt adviser
Danes should replace two-thirds of their meat intake with vegetables and other plants as part of efforts to reach the country’s ambitious climate targets
National
Bowen to climate activists: don’t ‘squander this opportunity’
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has taken to personally urging a small but influential group of climate activists to avoid “squandering” the opportunity to ensure Australia cuts emissions over the “most critical decade for climate action” as the government heaps pressure on the Greens to back safeguard mechanism changes.
Diesel and agriculture push emissions higher despite falls driven by wind and solar
Australia experiences slight rise in emissions, as increased use of diesel and jumps in agriculture emissions offset gains from use of wind and solar in the grid.
Rooftop solar set to take mantle as ‘Australia’s biggest power source’ as coal woes hasten
A new report says more than 3.4 million Australian customers have a rooftop solar system, with the rate of new installations running at roughly 300,000 a year, accelerating the decline of fossil fuel-fired power.
Electric ute now on sale, but will it be able to handle Australian farming conditions?
The Chinese-made vehicle will cost you almost $93,000 and is being heralded as a step forward, but doubts are being raised about whether it will pass muster in the agricultural sector.
Senators call for more emissions safeguard details
A carbon price and investment certainty are built into a proposed emissions safeguard but members of a committee scrutinising the changes remain unconvinced.
Investor dissent predicted to escalate as Australia’s biggest emitters accused of failing on climate
Climate action groups are warning some of the nation’s biggest emitters face growing increasingly isolated from shareholders and industry groups if they do not act to reduce their carbon output.
States back plan for report on deadly silica dust ban
States and territories have unanimously backed the commissioning of a report to look at a ban on products containing silica dust.
Transport, farms lift emissions [$]
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 300,000 tonnes last year, despite pollution across the electricity sector falling on the back of more renewable energy.
Australia must set targets for amount of CO2 to be removed from air, scientists say
Australian Academy of Science report says country is behind others in carbon dioxide removal and a nationally coordinated approach is urgently needed
AGL chairwoman calls for ‘realistic’ path to net zero [$]
Patricia McKenzie warns the faster closure of coal plants is not compatible with keeping the lights on.
Why tear down safeguard reforms when you can build them up?
Kurt Winter
Let’s be clear – the Safeguard Mechanism changes alone do not constitute an industrial decarbonisation plan. But is throwing it out the answer?
We can’t just think about floods when it’s raining
Andrew Gissing
Australia has copped the full force of nature in recent years and this onslaught will continue.
Victoria
Woolly lawnmowers: The huge solar farm that hosts 2,000 sheep
Large solar farm in Victoria has more than 2,000 sheep acting as lawn mowers
New South Wales
New 1.7GW floating offshore wind project unveiled in Hunter renewable zone
Spanish developer unveils plans for a floating offshore wind farm in waters set to be declared as Australia’s second official development zone.
‘Globally significant wetlands’ to be protected in NSW’s largest-ever national park purchase
The NSW government has expanded its future national park network with a record-breaking purchase in the state’s north-west, including a vast array of landscapes home to about 50 threatened species.
A new report from a Sydney think tank advises incentives for developers, a First Nations ecology training centre, and turning laneways into active ecologies.
This Australian state is warned of a ‘climate bomb’ as eight new coal mines considered
NSW is the latest state to be condemned by activists over its consideration of eight new coal mines and expansions this year.
Ella Buckland
A year on in Lismore, we can’t afford to forget the people who lost everything they loved – because next time it could be you
ACT
Canberra’s swelling population cause for concern: Lee [$]
Population projections for the ACT are a cause for alarm because the government has failed to future proof the capital, Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee says
Queensland
Queensland warned of extreme heat over the coming days
Scorching heat and damaging winds to impact Queensland over coming days.
‘Raping our reef’: Torres Strait alarm over foreign fishing ‘invasion’
Torres Strait Islanders say foreign fishing vessels are plundering their waters in unprecedented numbers, further threatening their traditional way of life.
Adani rejects debt claims as it tries to restore its reputation
Adani has started an Asian charm offensive and rejected claims that it was negotiating a $US400 million ($A571 million) debt raise against its Queensland coal port business following a disastrous start to the year for the India-based conglomerate.
‘Bolt’ infrastructure spending to population growth, SEQ mayors urge [$]
Infrastructure plans must reflect population growth trends in south-east Queensland, three mayors told the state government on Tuesday.
Queensland Greens push plans to end fossil fuel industry
Greens MP Michael Berkman will table legislation in parliament to wind down the fossil fuel industry by 2030 in a bid to meet Australia’s Paris Agreement obligations.
South Australia
Electric vehicle logging truck trial underway in South Australia as state government watches on
This logging truck can travel up to 500 kilometres on renewable energy, stopping for a five-minute battery swap-over before continuing on its way.
Tasmania
Cable cars backed as Rocky outlines future goals [$]
Tassie’s premier has reaffirmed his government’s support of cable car projects, saying we could look to Switzerland for inspiration, as he outlined commitments to our future.
Northern Territory
Traditional owners want more assurances on Jabiluka uranium deposit
Traditional owners are demanding greater guarantees that uranium mining will never return to the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park as a company backed by Rio Tinto continues to attribute a $90 million value to the untapped Jabiluka deposit.
Territory households and businesses will be slugged with higher electricity costs once Power and Water’s $987-million five-year plan to upgrade its power and water system is approved by the Australian Energy Regulator.
Western Australia
Environmental watchdog called on to probe Alcoa’s mining of WA forests
Alcoa’s mining practices which have already worried the state government may be subject to an independent environmental assessment following a request from an environmental group.
‘State-sanctioned intimidation’: armed police raid home of climate protester who defaced painting [$]
Julia Bergin
A ‘short pink skirt’ and ‘white T-shirt’ were items on a WA police search warrant when climate activist Joana Partyka’s apartment was raided.
You wouldn’t put a cigarette company logo on your child’s uniform, so why is Woodside OK?
James Anderson
In the 1980s and 1990s we got tobacco advertising out of surf lifesaving, and now we need to do the same with fossil fuels.
Sustainability
Corralling ions brings us one step closer to mastering tricky perovskite solar cells
Researchers hope new discovery will help development of perovskite solar cells and more efficient energy storage techniques.
The scientific case against gas stoves
Health experts have known for decades that indoor air pollution hurts children’s’ lungs. Now, there are good alternatives to gas stoves.
Meet the heat pump: An old technology that’s the future of home heating
Around since the 1850s, the appliances are riding a fresh wave of well-deserved hype as technological breakthroughs are making them even more versatile and efficient.
They could kill tens of millions of people annually by 2050 and are among the World Health Organization’s most pressing public health concerns. So what are superbugs and what can we do to stop the risk of life-threatening infections?
Fact check: 5G microwave claim is well and truly cooked
It’s been claimed that research has found people encounter more radiation next to a 5G tower than inside a microwave.
Nature Conservation
Threatened by humans, Kenyan Masai giraffes find new home
Thirteen Masai giraffes in the Moi Ndabi area in Kenya’s Naivasha basin were darted and loaded onto trucks following a rescue effort, after long being threatened by poachers and conflict with local communities.
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