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Date: 21 May 2023 at 8:19:25 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links May 21
Post of the Day
New high risk, high reward studies will tackle key unanswered questions about our planet
NERC has invested £25 million in a host of high risk, high reward research projects to tackle critical environment challenges. The 44 projects cover the full spectrum of environmental science including geology, atmospheric science, biodiversity and ecology.
On This Day
Climate Change
How is climate change affecting El Niño and La Niña?
A new study has helped solve a 30-year-old puzzle.
New study reveals possible future health impacts related to climate mitigation
Reduce fossil fuel use and air quality will improve, right? It might not be as straightforward as it appears, according to a Penn State-led research team. They explored almost 30,000 simulated future scenarios and found that some climate mitigation efforts could lead to harmful health impacts in certain geographic areas.
Climate change: A fast-growing India has the world’s fate in its hands
India is taking the initiative, fueled by the growing self-confidence of a country
that’s the world’s most populous and seeing the fastest economic growth this year among the Group of 20 major economies.
Cooling in an era of climate diplomacy
Bhuvan Ravindran & Sonal Kumar
Sustainable cooling is an unmissable strategy of the nations’ net-zero and energy transition roadmaps, and its inclusion in the G20 and COP negotiations is likely to mobilise global cooperation via financial support and technology co-development and deployment.
National
After coal-keeper and solar-stopper, energy ministers disband Energy Security Board
Energy ministers agree to disband ESB and replace it with an “advisory panel” as they seek to fast track the connection process for wind, solar and storage.
Without enough recycling facilities in Australia, some are getting creative with plastic solutions
As a nationwide plastic export ban is temporarily lifted, there’s concern about a lack of onshore recycling facilities in Australia. But it’s inspiring some businesses to find solutions, turning plastic bottle lids into designer products.
Big batteries “cannibalising” gas plants, says AGL, as Torrens BESS charges up
AGL says big batteries are eating its own gas generator profits, but they are also being saddled with unnecessary and expensive kit by AEMO and transmission companies.
Joe Biden and Anthony Albanese meet as Volodymyr Zelenskyy lands in Japan for G7
The US president apologises to the Prime Minister Australian for cancelling his trip to Sydney next week, as they sign an agreement on clean energy and climate action.
Timber trade with China is resuming. So why is this woodchip exporter’s share price falling?
China’s paper stocks are piling up, putting pressure on Australia’s woodchip exporters despite a much celebrated ban on timber exports being lifted this week.
Simple tips to save money on your power bill, while staying warm this winter
When it comes to making the most of your money, where better to start than with one of the most persistent and pesky cost-of-living issues: power bills.
Are we too focused on big energy? – Energy Insiders podcast
Transmission links are front and centre of the energy debate, but Enphase co-founder Raghu Belur says more focus should be on what is consumed and produced at home.
Is it too late to save an Aussie icon from extinction? I asked ‘Dr Koala’
Peter FitzSimons
Koalas are up against the formidable foes of logging and climate change, but solutions exist if we want to grasp them.
Scientist defects as CSIRO is co-opted in controversial deep sea mining venture
Suzanne Arnold
A defecting CSIRO scientist has labelled the agency an “extravagant consulting company” due to its involvement in a controversial deep sea mining project.
Victoria
Derailed again, the decades-long quest for a Melbourne airport train feels like a mirage
Anna Spargo-Ryan
Talk of a rail line has existed longer than the airport, but broken promises and stalled construction make you wonder if it will ever materialise
New South Wales
‘Absolutely fascinating’ moths follow stars, smell and magnetic fields on epic journey
With a brain smaller than a 10th of a grain of rice, bogong moths are born with exceptional navigation skills. Scientists are starting to understand how.
NSW to open second gigawatt scale wind, solar and storage tender on Monday
NSW to open second gigawatt scale tender for new wind and solar capacity and long duration storage. Will eight-hour batteries win the day again?
‘Short window for major reform’: Minns faces test on redevelopment
“Sydney can’t grow by adding another street on the western fringe every other week,” Premier Chris Minns said.
When is it reasonable to obscure a neighbour’s harbour views?
In a decision this week, the Land and Environment Court ruled in a developer’s favour and granted consent for a proposed four-storey residential apartment complex in High Street, North Sydney, which had been knocked back by the council.
Queensland
Sunshine Coast residents who have spent 14 years fighting property giant Stockland over its plans to build a housing estate on a floodplain are preparing to do battle once again.
Queensland details plan to turn regions into green industrial hubs
Queensland unveils plan to grow the renewable energy and green industrial manufacturing and supply chain capabilities of Queensland’s regions.
Coral reefs are dying. Desperate scientists are turning to high-risk strategies
Nearly all tropical reefs will become extinct even if global warming is kept to 1.5 degrees. That urgency has prompted a new effort to save the Great Barrier Reef – with probiotics.
Hundreds of Qld jobs could go in multibillion-dollar Inland Rail mess
Hundreds of workers, most of them in Brisbane, could soon be made redundant because of Queensland project delays and executive-level blunders.
The Isaac coal mine approval is a betrayal of our future
David Shearman
The decision to approve the Isaac coal mine is a betrayal of Australians and indeed people worldwide and as a medical doctor I am justifiably angry.
South Australia
Locals baffled by gigantic mushrooms mysteriously popping up. But what are they?
The Limestone Coast in regional South Australia is well known for its magic-like ghost mushrooms, but massive fungi is sparking the curiosity of locals.
Tasmania
Bachelorette pads, cuddle puddles and solar-powered pests: The secret life of Tasmania’s tiny bees
Tasmania’s native bees aren’t as notorious as the Tassie devil or the swift parrot. But these tiny, unassuming and strangely beguiling bugs are incredibly important to the state’s forests and fields.
Fight for Hobart’s passenger rail ramps up [$]
A group of Hobart rail enthusiasts campaigning against the conversion of the Northern suburbs railway into a busway have taken the next step in their fight.
Western Australia
The surprisingly simple discovery that’s bringing dying trees back from the brink
Twenty years ago, scientists noticed many trees in Perth’s Kings Park were dying. Now two decades of testing and research are finally paying off, and the solution could help revive trees around the world.
Indigenous knowledge key to night parrot’s survival
Indigenous rangers could be critical to the survival of one of the world’s most elusive and endangered birds, the night parrot.
Push to ban shark fishing on beaches to prevent fatalities [$]
Fisheries Minister Don Punch has moved to ban shark fishing at metropolitan beaches.
How US school buses are going electric, in four charts
EVs now make up about 1% of the nation’s school bus fleet, but that figure is rising fast thanks in large part to $5 billion in federal funding.
Why we need transparency in metals recycling to reach climate goals
Post-consumer recycling needs to increase significantly by 2050; better disclosures can speed up that process.
Gautam Adani stocks lose $10 billion in value as MSCI exclusion weighs
“If the shares are priced too low in a QIP issue, it could be seen as a sign of weakness or desperation,” Arpit Shah, a fund manager at Care Portfolio Managers said by email
Environment: Developing a better relationship with Nature
Peter Sainsbury
Jurisdictions are increasingly introducing Rights of Nature provisions into their legal systems.
Nature Conservation
Forest regeneration scheme has created area smaller than Regent’s Park
Just 192 hectares of ‘natural colonisation’ have been established in England under woodland creation offer
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