Daily Links Apr 20

Here’s another possibility for carbon drawdown. Whether or not it is part of the response, supporting research in this direction, rather than misdirecting millions to CCS to allow the fossil fools to keep up business as usual, offers a better return for taxpayers dollars..

Post of the Day

Biodiversity targets may be slipping out of reach – study

Ambitious targets to halt the decline in nature may already be slipping out of reach, research suggests.

 

On This Day

April 20

Volunteer Recognition Day

 

Climate Change

Heatwave: Is India ready to deal with extreme temperatures?

Heatwaves killed more than 22,000 people in India between 1992 and 2015, according to official figures.

 

In ‘No Miracles Needed,’ the technical solutions to climate change are clear. The political ones? Not so much

In his new book, Mark Jacobson tackles the problems of climate change, air pollution, and energy security head-on, offering a hopeful vision of a future powered by renewable energy sources.

 

AI contributes to climate change—here’s how to make it cleaner technology

The environmental impact of AI contributes to climate change, and should be addressed, experts say. But AI can also help improve inefficient processes and reduce global warming.

 

Japan drags its feet over G-7 climate change initiatives

While chair Japan touted an agreement to phase out fossil fuels, a Group of Seven ministers’ meeting here made little progress on climate change initiatives due partly to the nation’s reluctance.


Net zero study finds Australia needs nearly three terawatts of wind and solar

New net zero study says Australia needs up to 3,000 gigawatts of new wind and solar to meet its 2050 target, or turn to gas and CCS.

 

Volcanic microbe eats CO2 ‘astonishingly quickly’, say scientists

Discovery of carbon-capturing organism in hot springs could lead to efficient way of absorbing climate-heating gas


Australia again tops global solar per capita, as world installs 240GW of PV in 2022

Latest data puts Australia at just over 1.1kW of solar per person, giving it top spot on that metric. But China’s “remarkable” PV market growth eclipses all.

 

I dare you to stop proliferating fossil fuels

Jude Isabella

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty helped us not kill each other and all life on Earth. Can we follow the same steps to avoid mutually assured climate destruction?

 

Why are pollies, media ignoring ‘stunning’ climate study?

Andrew Bolt

The latest scientific study reveals politicians are splashing billions of dollars to end a “climate crisis” that doesn’t actually exist. Why are they ignoring the data?

 

National

Experts say Australians will rapidly adopt electric vehicles — as long as the government gets its CO2 standard right

Electric vehicle experts and industry say a fuel efficiency standard will rapidly bring more EVs onto Australian roads, but they differ on how aggressive the government should pursue emissions reduction.

 

How many more electric vehicles will be on the road under the new EV strategy? And will they be cheaper?

You can expect many more EVs on the road in the coming years if the government imposes carbon emission caps on car makers. But how many more people will buy EVs, and will they be cheaper?

 

LPG-powered cars disappearing from Australia’s roads as servos pull the plug on gas

Range anxiety is usually associated with electric vehicles, but declining numbers of LPG vehicles have left their owners worried about where to find the next tank of gas.

 

Pedal to the metal: More models on the way as EV makers told to expand choice

Australian drivers are expected to see more electric cars race into the country after the federal government pledged to introduce a policy forcing automakers to launch more of their greenest vehicles locally.

 

Electric car innovations win $70 million charging boost

New ideas for charging electric vehicles from the outback to the suburbs and inner city will receive $70 million in federal grant funding.

 

Australia has a long history of biocontrols. Not all were cane-toad-level disasters

When biocontrol is done well, it’s the most powerful tool we have to control pests. Here are a few times that biocontrol has helped Australia’s economy and environment.

 

‘They are despairing’: climate crisis weighs heavy on mental health of young Australians

Report shows anxiety over the environment is prominent among teenagers, such as Ruby Bron who feels ‘helpless’ about future

 

Liver cancer rates are rising and climate change could be to blame

The huge rise in liver cancer deaths in Australia could be partly driven by a toxic effect of increasingly warmer temperatures.

 

Why Australia should stop talking up nuclear’s role in $9 trillion energy challenge

Everything but nuclear energy should be thrown at the challenge of reaching net zero emissions, a scheme that would cost as much as $9 trillion by 2060, a report co-authored by the University of Queensland has found.


Native title council’s green alarm [$]

A national alliance of traditional owner groups is concerned about the impact of the green economy on Aboriginal-controlled land.

 

Australia finally has an electric vehicle strategy. How does it stack up?

Hussein Dia

Australia’s first National Electric Vehicle Strategy, released today, details the government’s long-awaited plans to accelerate the adoption of these vehicles.


Bandt v Bowen: what do they really think of each other? [$]

Emma Elsworthy

Don’t be fooled by the Shakespearean theatrics of Labor and the Greens — they get on far better than they let on.

 

The ‘most effective’ EV policy already applies to most of the world’s new cars – but there’s another delay before it happens in Australia

Michael Slezak

The government has released its electric vehicle strategy, which is meant to help get more of the cars into Australia. But it’s not yet clear how much further ahead we are than six months ago

 

Labor’s electric vehicle policy drives Australia forward – but not far

Adam Morton

While committing to a fuel efficiency standard is an important step, a shift to clean cars alone won’t get us where we need to be


Can the EV revolution reboot Australia’s car industry?

Timothy Minchin

Surging electric car sales and stricter emission standards have seen old car plants reopen or retool in the US. Timothy Minchin argues that Australia has the opportunity to rebuild an industry – but must act quickly.

 

Electric dreams still have long way to run [$]

Graham Lloyd

New emissions standards will benefit rich drivers the most.

 

Accelerate EV sales? Put a brake on emissions? Great, but roadblocks remain

Nick O’Malley

Australia, along with Russia, is the only developed nation with no compulsory fuel efficiency standard. That’s about to change, if the federal government has its way.

 

What Rod Sims’ embrace of energy superpower idea means for Australia [$]

Ben Potter

The shift to clean energy seems to be accelerating on virtually every front. Business should give Sims and Garnaut a hearing.

 

Victoria

First sod turned at Australia’s biggest wind and battery project

After more than 15 years and several court challenges, the first stage of the massive 1300MW Golden Plains wind farm is underway in Victoria.

 

Property Council wants government to bypass ‘ineffective’ councils to fast-track planning

In a state budget submission, the council also calls for a shake-up of property taxes and the establishment of a housing affordability council.

 

Hazelwood pit rehab plan risks creating giant lake that’s unsafe for swimming

Environmentalists believe the plan to flood the former Hazelwood coal mine to create a large “pit lake” is too risky, but energy giant Engie says it’s the safest option.

 

New South Wales

Darling-Baaka fish kill ‘pollution incident’

A historic fish kill in New South Wales’ Darling-Baaka River will be treated as a “pollution incident” as the state’s Environmental Protection Agency investigates the cause.

 

‘Big weight off the shoulders’: Warragamba Dam wall-raising shelved

The controversial proposal is dead after the NSW government decided not to proceed with the project due to huge costs and environmental and heritage concerns.

 

ACT

Activists who glued themselves to building take climate fight to hearing [$]

Five activists who claim they glued themselves to a Civic building in a protest blockade have maintained their innocence and will take their climate fight to a hearing.

 

ACT to fork out for product advice to drive electric appliance take-up [$]

Jasper Lindell

Canberrans will be granted access to data from leading consumer advocacy group to help them pick electric appliances for their homes as part of the government’s efforts to shift households from gas by 2045.

 

Queensland

‘Monumental’ Queensland law shift marks an end to the ‘war on drugs’, say advocates

The new laws mean police will issue a warning for first-time minor drug possession and offer a place in a diversionary program. It’s hoped thousands of people will be kept out of jail as a result.

 

Residents driven out of their own backyards as Queensland town becomes bat country

The flying foxes are noisy, smelly, and not picky about where they go to the loo. Giant inflatable people with wavy arms are doing little to scare the creatures, and fed-up residents say attempts to smoke them out are achieving only limited success.


Tasmania

Anger flares over burn-offs [$]

Bob Brown Foundation protesters have let off distress flares to protest forest regeneration burns.

 

‘I don’t need a lecture’: Magistrate chides climate protester

A retired Tasmanian pastor who blocked a busy intersection during a climate protest associated with Extinction Rebellion has been sentenced for a second time in a matter of months.

 

Row over who gets to oversee Aboriginal land [$]

Control of Tasmania’s Indigenous land council – and its land – will be dramatically broadened, prompting claims that the body will be ‘overrun’ by ‘whitefellas’.

 

Massaging the Marinus message

Greg Pullen

Our Tasmanian Liberal government made a brave call in 2020 when it legislated the 200% Tasmanian Renewable Energy Target, which relies on two new high voltage cables under Bass Strait to deliver our hydro and wind energy to mainland Australia. Fast-forward three years, and the energy dynamics on Australia’s eastern seaboard have changed.

 

Northern Territory

Senate inquiry urges more consultation with Traditional Owners before fracking

Traditional Owners and Nurrdalinji Directors, May 2022. Photo supplied.

A long-awaited Senate inquiry into oil and gas exploration in the Beetaloo Basin has called for stronger regulations around carbon offsets and more local consultation.

 

Beetaloo Basin inquiry calls for further scrutiny of Middle Arm’s ‘petrochemicals plant’

A long-awaited Senate inquiry’s final report into fracking in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin has made 14 recommendations.

 

Could this tiny town in the Northern Territory hold the key to Australia’s energy future?

For decades, air conditioners, lights, TVs and fridges would be cut off multiple times a week – sometimes multiple times a day – in the tiny town of Jabiru. Now industry experts want the micro-grid replicated across Australia. 

 

Western Australia

Woodside’s carbon bill from new gas fields could hit $63bn by 2050, report says

Under the new Safeguard rules, the carbon bill alone may kill at least one major gas project that is still in the planning stages.


Woodside backs the Voice but says it won’t commit to following the advice

SBS News’ Chief Political Correspondent Anna Henderson questions the CEO of Woodside Meg O’Neill on the company’s commitment to back the Voice.

Australia-first long duration sodium-sulfur battery deployed at nickel-cobalt mine

Australia’s first large-scale sodium-sulfur (NaS) battery has been deployed at a nickel-copper-cobalt mine in Western Australia.

 

Ningaloo program helps coral warm to task

Scientists are breeding extra-tough coral at Western Australia’s World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef in a bid to beat climate change-induced mass bleaching.

 

Sustainability

Europe seeks drastic cut to BPA exposure

BPA is about to disappear from European burger wrappers, soft drink bottles, canned food liners and all other food packaging.

 

Your engagement ring should be a bike

Nivi Achanta is happier riding an engagement bike than wearing a diamond ring — putting her at odds with an estimated 85 percent of brides in the United States.

 

Fishermen endangered by offshore wind’s political power

Turbines the height of 70-story skyscrapers will soon tower over East Coast fishing grounds. But government regulators with ties to offshore wind developers are downplaying the danger to the marine ecosystem and fishermen’s livelihoods.

 

From scarcity to abundance: The secret of the ‘peace farmers’ of Colombia

Farmer and agronomist Roberto Rodríguez first taught the farmers of Lejanías they weren’t poor. Once they learned this critical lesson, they relied on themselves, their neighbors and nature to thrive sustainably.

 

UN says India will be world’s most populous nation by mid-year

India is on track to become the world’s most populous nation, surpassing China by 2.9 million people by mid-2023, according to data released by the United Nations.

 

Nature Conservation

Ten rivers facing pollution, development, and climate change—and policies that can help

An annual report highlights 10 waterways that have arrived at forks: where public support could determine whether they receive protection.

 

Soil: The endangered species under your feet

Not only do humans depend on soil for 95 percent of our food, it’s the planet’s largest filter for clean water. It’s also a powerful tool for fighting climate change.

 

Threat of mining project returns Okefenokee Swamp to country’s most endangered rivers list

American Rivers ranks Okefenokee Swamp on most endangered list due to threat mining plan poses to water level, Georgia wildlife refuge.

 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is now so huge and permanent that a coastal ecosystem is thriving on it

Scientists have found thriving communities of coastal creatures, including tiny crabs and anemones, living thousands of miles from their original home on plastic debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – a 620,000 square mile swirl of trash in the ocean between California and Hawaii.

 

New species of box jellyfish discovered in Hong Kong

A Hong Kong university team says it has discovered a new species of box jellyfish in the city’s Mai Po Nature Reserve, the first discovery of the venomous species in China’s waters.

 

‘Don’t fool yourself’: billions more needed to protect tropical forests, warns new report

Money could come from carbon markets, donor countries and philanthropists, but radical action is also needed from legislators

 

EU: Major step for ‘deforestation-free’ trade

The European Union is adopting an important new law to require EU-based companies to ensure that their imports and exports are “deforestation-free” and uphold human rights, Human Rights Watch said today.

 

Prevent nature loss, says Nature Conservancy

Larry Clemens

One quarter of plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, and over half of global economic output is dependent on nature.

 



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