Date: 27 March 2023 at 8:54:45 am AEDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Mar 27
Post of the Day
Australia’s climate targets could go up in smoke amid planned increase in coal, gas use: report
Su-Lin Tan
New research shows 116 new government-approved fossil fuel projects due to start before 2030 will emit 4.8 billion tonnes of emissions by then. That amount is vastly more than proposed reduction in emissions; ‘clearly, Australia’s climate policies are not working’
On This Day
Climate Change
Climate: A ‘greenwashing’ crackdown in Europe hasn’t gone down well [$]
Campaigners have broadly welcomed the drive to curb the burgeoning corporate greenwashing trend but say that a months-long lobbying effort has “substantially watered down” the directive to such an extent that the measures are now too vague to sufficiently address the problem.
Facing floods: What the world can learn from Bangladesh’s climate solutions
The world’s worst cyclones hit Bangladesh. Floods are devastating. Yet death tolls are falling. The country’s climate disaster strategies offer lessons for all coastal communities.
There’s no greater feminist cause than the climate fight – and saving each other
Fatima Bhutto
When my country, Pakistan, flooded last year, women faced particular suffering. That’s true around the world
National
We can start the urgent work of curbing climate pollution
Kelly O’Shanassy
Let’s stop crawling and join the sprint.
Labor is just pretending to be tough on climate change
Ross Gittins
The government’s safeguard mechanism legislation has loopholes so wide open as to make a coalminer sing.
Media’s carbon omissions fuel climate hype [$]
Chris Mitchell
Most environment writers in the mainstream media knowingly ignore inconvenient facts about the climate.
ALP to mark Earth Hour by pausing all fossil fuel donations for 60 mins – satire
The Shovel
“These are the type of big sacrifices we all need to make”
Victoria
Domain Road trams may be gone for good after Metro Tunnel works end
Trams may never return to Domain Road in South Yarra. The Transport Department is weighing up whether to make a six-year detour from the Botanic Gardens’ doorstep permanent when construction on the nearby Metro Tunnel underground station finishes.
I realised the fat-tailed dunnart was under threat. Here’s how I got the species officially listed
Emily Scicluna and Jim Radford
Saving endangered species is an uphill battle in Australia, the mammal extinction capital of the world. But the first step, threatened species listing, can be confusing, tedious and time-consuming.
New South Wales
NSW Nationals ‘disappointed’ with election results as some suggest Liberals need to ‘navel gaze’
The Nationals have failed to regain seats in what was once party heartland in western NSW, as divisions in the Coalition parties come under scrutiny after its NSW election loss.
Former NSW Treasurer Matt Kean rejects calls to run for Liberal Party leadership
“I have a young family and I would love to spend a little more time with them,” he said.
Mining boss denies intimidating pre-election call
With Labor leader Chris Minns on the verge of claiming a majority government in NSW’s Legislative Assembly, a debate about the next leader of the Liberals is underway.
Who are Labor’s ‘new working class’, and how did they help turn the state red?
A third of the nearly 400,000 public sector workers across NSW are women, and a third are aged under 35 — they are now seen as the “biggest supporters of the red side of politics.”
‘Vigilantes’ target cyclists on new $15 million bike path
Tacks and nails have been thrown on to a new multimillion-dollar bike and walking track in northern NSW in an act of sabotage that has left riders stranded and the local community fuming.
All energy to be poured into keeping lights on [$]
Putting a halt to spiralling household electricity bills and ensuring NSW’s energy security have been declared top priorities for the incoming Minns government.
Libs punched in the head because they can’t take a hint [$]
Andrew Bolt
The Perrottet government becomes the latest to learn that Liberals who sound like Labor and act like Labor will get beaten by Labor.
ACT
ACT tip life extends as new high school emerges over the hill
The new East Gungahlin High School will have the Mitchell tip as its nearest neighbour for years, with the ACT government going to tender on a project management model which will keep the existing resource management site operating for more than a decade.
Queensland
‘Second M1’ set to relieve Brisbane-Gold Coast traffic by 60k trips daily
The commute between Queensland’s two biggest cities will soon get faster after the first sod of soil was turned on the Coomera Connector on Sunday.
South Australia
Flood of wildlife on Mighty Murray [$]
As River Murray floodwaters recede, ecologists are recording rarely seen sights and sounds as flora and fauna are re-emerging across the region.
Tasmania
Dirty nappies, dog poo: Calls to clean up Tassie island [$]
Bruny Island is known for being clean, green and pristine, but one community group says there needs to be a better solution to keep it that way after a rise in tourists dumping their rubbish.
State’s new strategy to harness 9 million tonnes of organic waste [$]
The state government will invest $10.1 million to upgrade ageing fossil fuel boilers at 20 schools, hospitals and correctional facilities across Tasmania as part of its new bioenergy strategy.
Northern Territory
Aussie community wins long fight for clean water [$]
It’s hard to imagine, but a community located just five minutes from Alice Springs has been waiting decades for access to clean drinking water.
Surge in fires sparked by exploding e-scooter batteries
A rise in sales of e-bikes and e-scooters has seen a surge in fires sparked by exploding batteries, with cheaper models often to blame.
The way of water: Can anything be done to save our disappearing beaches?
Mark Naglazas
Fremantle’s popular and cherished South Beach is being impacted by erosion, like many beaches around the country. What are we prepared to pay to save this important part of the Australian way of life?
Sustainability
Lithuania to call for sanctions over Russian plan for nuclear weapons in Belarus
Lithuania said on Sunday it would call for new sanctions against Moscow and Minsk in response to Russia’s plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
The promise of kelp-powered flight
Kelp is fast and relatively easy to grow, and already a vital food in many parts of the world. Martha Henriques asks whether it could also power the aircraft of the future.
Environment: Rapidly closing window of opportunity to achieve a safe, sustainable future
Peter Sainsbury
New IPCC report documents a threatening climate-present and a bleak climate-future. Alcoa failing to rehabilitate the lands it has destroyed once mining stops. Shortage of integrity not gas behind our gas problems.
Michael Naylor
As New Zealand considers how to better prepare for a future affected by climate change, the insurance sector needs to be part the discussion on where and how we build our homes.
How safe are nuclear powered submarines?
Richard Broinowski
The acquisition of nuclear-propelled submarines has been enthusiastically embraced by Albanese, Dutton, most of their benches, and their collective military-industrial backing chorus. In considering where the submarines will be based, questions about radiation leaks and accidents have been shunted to a back burner.
Nature Conservation
Deep-sea mining for rare metals will destroy ecosystems, say scientists
Businesses want to trawl for nickel, manganese and cobalt to build electric cars and windfarms
Human structures infringe on nearly 80 percent of biodiverse hot spots
When they looked at plans for upcoming development, the researchers found a potential 292 percent increase in the number of zones containing mines, oil and gas, or energy-related infrastructure.
America’s forests are ‘present and vanishing at the same time’
The nation’s forests stand at the juncture of “nostalgia and progress,” beloved but threatened now by the ravages of climate change.
Brazil evicts gold miners from Amazon rainforest
Brazil has ousted almost all illegal gold miners from the Yanomami territory, its largest indigenous reservation, and will remove miners from six more reserves this year, the head of the federal police’s new environmental crimes division says.
I am haunted by what I have seen at Great Salt Lake
Terry Tempest Williams
Evaporation from heat and drought accelerated by climate change, combined with overuse of the rivers that feed it, have shrunk the lake’s area by two-thirds.
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