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Date: 23 March 2023 at 9:05:52 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Mar 23
Post of the Day
Some 26 per cent of the world’s population does not have access to safe drinking water and 46 per cent lack access to basic sanitation, according to a new report launched on the eve of the first major UN conference on water in over 45 years.
On This Day
First Day of Ramadan – Islam
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
3000+ billion tons of ice lost from Antarctic Ice Sheet over 25 years
Scientists have calculated that the fastest changing Antarctic region - the Amundsen Sea Embayment - has lost more than 3,000 billion tonnes of ice over a 25-year period.
Public acceptance of fossil fuel subsidy removal could be improved in developing countries
People might be more positive to the removal of fuel subsidies if told where the money would be spent instead.
New climate paper calls for charging big US oil firms with homicide
Oil companies have come under increasing legal scrutiny and face allegations of defrauding investors, racketeering, and a wave of other lawsuits. But a new paper argues there’s another way to hold big oil accountable for climate damage: trying companies for homicide.
What to expect when you’re expecting an El Niño (the answer might surprise you)
Carly Tozer and Nandini Ramesh
We found La Niña and El Niño are good indicators of wet and dry conditions in eastern Australia as a whole. But at some locations, including Sydney, they do little to shift the normal odds of wet and dry conditions.
Somalis are dying because of a climate crisis they didn’t cause. More aid isn’t the answer
Abdirahman Abdishakur
Despite billions spent on the humanitarian response, Somalia faces another year of drought and hunger. We desperately need money, but it needs to be better spent
UN’s dud predictions are laughable [$]
Andrew Bolt
The ludicrous cherrypicking alarmism of the United Nations report on global warming is trying to scare us with obvious tricks.
How scientists know the climate is changing – Fear and Wonder podcast
Michael Green and Joelle Gergis
Earlier this week, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Synthesis Report, bringing together six previous assessments on the state of the Earth’s climate.
Bob Brown renounces Australian Conservation Foundation life membership over Labor’s climate policy
Conservationist criticises ACF for working to strike a deal on safeguard mechanism and undermining the Greens’ position.
St Baker seeks $200 million in new fund focused on EVs, flying cars and energy
St Baker family seeks to replicate success of first energy innovation fund with a new $200m vehicle focused on the energy transition and electric mobility.
Rich lister to fund lobby group to strengthen climate laws and accelerate transition
Alan Schwartz is investing millions into a group he hopes will bring together business and NGOs.
Battery industry could be worth $27 billion to Australian economy by 2030
The full battery opportunity won’t be unlocked, however, unless Australia puts in the policy and industry legwork first.
Climate change inaction could spell bad news for Australian fisheries as waters warm
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report has a dire forecast for the world’s fisheries yields — and Australia isn’t immune.
Pacific nation’s concern over Australia’s coal plans
A Pacific Islands leader has expressed concern over Australia’s coal and gas project plans, saying the country would not support ‘ongoing, new’ Australian projects.
PM flags nuclear treaty still on cards
Anthony Albanese has signalled Labor still plans to sign an international treaty on nuclear weapons amid concerns about the AUKUS deal.
Watchdog complaint accuses Etihad of greenwashing
Environmental group Flight Free Australia has lodged a formal complaint with the consumer watchdog against Etihad Airways for alleged greenwashing.
More than 500 common species of fish, seaweed, coral and invertebrates that live on reefs around Australia have declined in the past decade, a study has found, as experts warn “not all is well in the ocean”.
Predict and prepare: supercomputer ready to protect coastline
Dr Adele Morrison is confident upgrades to the Gadi supercomputer will help her research future ocean temperature change around Antarctica and prepare Australian coastlines for rising sea levels.
Solar and wind still best bets for deep, rapid and low cost emission cuts
Giles Parkinson
Solar and wind will deliver easily the biggest, quickest and lowest cost emission cuts over the next 10 years in race for 1.5°C.
Frustration and factures as Greens play game of climate chicken [$]
Jennifer Hewett
With time running short, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen is sounding increasingly frustrated with the Greens.
Critical Decade: is the government concerned about the future?
Keith Mitchelson
We all want a better future for our children, and our grandchildren. The Government however seems unconcerned whether there is going to be a future at all.
Which bit of the basic science are you having trouble with, Australia? – cartoon
David Pope
Victoria
Menindee’s fish kills have shocked Australia this week. Now it’s Victoria’s turn
Authorities are blaming algae and last year’s floods after thousands of fish — some up to a metre long — are discovered floating dead in the state’s north-west.
Andrews’ gas ignorance misleads the nation, drives power prices higher
Robert Gottliebsen
Rather than bury his head in the sand Daniel Andrews should acknowledge Victoria’s gas reserves not only exist, but have been measured by the most qualified people in the world.
New South Wales
Menindee residents await water testing results, as clean-up begins of mass fish carcasses
Millions of rotting fish carcasses are starting to be cleaned up in far west New South Wales, prompting additional water-quality monitoring downstream.
NSW Liberals accuse Minerals Council of feeding poll data that undermines Matt Kean to the media
Government source says people were asked questions such as ‘do you agree Matt Kean is responsible for pushing up energy prices?’
Frustration builds over stalled Wyangala Dam wall-raising promise after years of delays
A promise to raise the Wyangala Dam wall near Cowra has come to a halt, with no business case or environmental impact statement prepared ahead of the state election.
State of no dissent: Liberals, Labor double down on protest laws despite Coco judgement
Wendy Bacon
Labor and Liberal parties doubled down on their support for harsh anti-protest laws after a District Court judge overturned a 15 month prison sentence given to activist Deane Violet Coco last year.
Next NSW government must do much more on water and climate
Jacqui Mumford
Yesterday, 22 March 2023, the planet observed World Water Day, which highlights the sustainable management of precious water resources and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people across the globe who are living without access to clean and safe water.
ACT
Work begins on National Library land renewal despite tree’s pest status [$]
Poplar trees designated as pests and banned from being planted in the ACT are being replaced at the National Library of Australia on heritage grounds.
Three years of La Nina has improved ACT water quality but it’s not all good news [$]
Fewer platypuses were spotted during the recent survey than in 2020.
South Australia
Top bureaucrat to head SA environment watchdog
A senior Department of Premier and Cabinet executive has been appointed CEO of the state’s Environment Protection Authority.
Fish return to Coorong after River Murray’s salt-flushing flood
As thousands of dead carp and bony bream continue to wash up on Fleurieu Peninsula beaches, new life is appearing in the Coorong and Lower Lakes as River Murray flooding flushes out water once too salty for fish to survive.
Why are millions of fish dying upstream from SA?
Richard Kingsford
A huge fish kill is occurring on a stretch of oxygen-depleted Darling River. Richard Kingsford says there’s more to it than the impact of blackwater and flooding, but governments are listening.
Tasmania
Committee on Aboriginal Water Interests meeting begins
A meeting of the National Committee on Aboriginal Water Interests is being held in Hobart this week, with members travelling from across the country to attend.
Sustainability
Adani Group: Chhattisgarh tribes’ year-long protest against tycoon’s coal mine
Deep in the jungles of central India, forest-dwelling tribes are marking the one-year anniversary of a continuous agitation against a new coal mine to be developed by the Adani Group. In recent months, they’ve received a show of support from high-profile politicians and celebrity activists. But in this David vs Goliath battle, a victory for the tribes will be hard won.
Cascading failures in urban traffic systems tied to hidden bottlenecks
Scientists have developed a modeling technique to study urban traffic flows and show that their model can be used to find previously unknown bottlenecks.
Solar industry feeling the heat over disposal of 80 million panels
Renewable energy experts have come up with an environmentally-friendly plan to dispose of solar panels at the end of their life.
As the effects of climate change bite into their bottom line, alpine tourism operators are looking for innovative ways to future-proof their businesses.
Pressure grows on shipping industry to accept carbon levy
World Bank among those urging levy to fund climate action in developing world and encourage fleets to upgrade
India’s capital bets on more e-buses, solar energy to curb pollution
India’s New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, is betting on expanding its fleet of electric buses and using more solar power in the next three years to improve the city’s air quality, its finance minister said on Wednesday.
Offshore oil is about to surge
Oil executives love to talk about the energy transition. But for all the platitudes about technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture, most are doubling down on what they know best. Oil.
Dieselgate: Millions of ‘extremely’ polluting cars still on Europe’s roads, says report
The research group that first exposed the scandal say ‘it’s not over’ and that governments must act
Nature Conservation
‘Gone from Earth’: Worrying declines in Australia’s shallow marine species
The “most comprehensive assessment of marine species population trends to date” finds a majority of Australia’s shallow-water reef species have declined over the past decade from all around the continent.
Going beyond English is critical for conservation
Research in languages other than English is critically important for biodiversity conservation and is shockingly under-utilized internationally, according to an international research team.
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