Post of the Day
Climate blind spot: Report calls for new focus on renewable heat and fuels
Joshua S Hill
New report from REN21 warns that a failure to evolve renewable heat and fuels is prolonging reliance on coal, gas, oil and nuclear.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Arbor Day – Costa Rica
Climate Change
Peter Singer
I wasn’t aware of climate change until the 1980s — hardly anyone was — and even when we recognised the dire threat that burning fossil fuels posed, it took time for the role of animal production in warming the planet to be understood.
Nordic Nah: independent report opens new fault lines in carbon capture and storage’s star projects
Zacharias Szumer
Doubts have been raised about the long-term viability of two of the world’s most-celebrated and most-studied offshore carbon capture and storage projects, raising new concerns over massive government subsidies for the controversial method of removing carbon from the atmosphere
Juan Cole
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday that parts per million of carbon dioxide in our planet’s atmosphere averaged 424 ppm in the month of May, reaching a level not seen for millions of years.
Why climate change is bigger than just environment and weather stories [$]
Lyndal Rowlands
Even political, business and sports journalists find global warming has a place in their rounds — it’s now affecting every aspect of our lives.
National
Ex-Labor minister to head new net-zero agency
Former Labor climate change minister Greg Combet has been picked to head the agency tasked with easing the transition to a renewable energy-fuelled economy.
‘Harsh consequences’ in Pacific over climate inaction
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned of harsh consequences in the Pacific region if the world continues along the track of climate inaction.
Waste flushed down toilets to begin fuelling gas network
Gas companies are betting on biofuels to help decarbonise their pipelines as climate goals threaten to wipe out demand.
New tech to help electric vehicles soak up the sunshine
Using wind, solar or hydro power to fuel an electric vehicle is set to become easier in Australia, with the launch of next-generation car-charging technology.
Govt doubles down on gas price cap despite supply fears [$]
The Albanese Government is standing firm on its policy to “shield” Australians from skyrocketing power prices, despite industry figures warning about its dire impact.
On climate change and health, we have more than one elephant in the room
David Shearman
As consultations continue on development of a National Health and Climate Strategy, it is important to think beyond health services and systems. The Department of Health and Aged Care’s consultation paper has a gaping hole where there should be some serious discussion about phasing out fossil fuels, as we reported recently.
Three simple and effective ways to price carbon
Adam Triggs
Ask 10 economists a question and you’ll get 12 answers. It’s an old gag, and it’s not always true, either.
How we ‘dehumanise’ cyclists sharing the roads
Sarah Collyer, Mark Limb
Getting more people to ride bikes has been flagged as a simple and effective way to improve public health while tackling climate change. However, research has repeatedly found safety concerns deter people from cycling.
Victoria
First big battery at an Australian coal site goes live in Victoria
The battery at the site of the decommissioned Hazelwood power station has the capacity to power about 75,000 homes for an hour during the evening peak.
Victoria comes under pressure to ban new home gas connections
Pressure is building on Victoria to ramp up its gas phaseout, following reports of companies luring consumers to switch from electric appliances to gas.
Halls Gap residents face a fine if caught with a cat as part of a ban that has spanned three decades.
Baby got back(up): Australia embraces the big battery
Miki Perkins
Hazelwood, in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, is the first retired coal-fired power station to host a large-scale battery in Australia. But are we building them fast enough?
New South Wales
Michael Luigi Vitali and Rodney James Hearfield have been charged with assault offences against two local conservationists over an alleged incident in June 2020.
Sydney congestion tax ruled out as NSW government reveals plan for city’s toll roads
Motorists living in some parts of Sydney could be charged different rates to use the city’s motorways, under options being considered by the state government.
‘Lights, camera, action’: Spaghetti junction beneath Sydney months from opening
A massive underground interchange beneath Sydney’s inner west will be opened to motorists within months, completing the final piece of the $17 billion WestConnex motorway and promising to relieve congestion on local roads and the Anzac Bridge.
Renewed push to ban shark nets as report questions catch data accuracy
The NSW government is facing fresh questions about data accuracy, mortality rates, damaged and lost equipment and increased risk to protected species caused by its shark nets program.
Queensland
Melbourne man behind Great Barrier Reef’s ‘insurance policy’ [$]
The world’s first living coral biobank has opened in Australia, with hopes it will house all 400 species of coral from the reef by 2026.
Anti-Adani activist tells followers to ‘light it up’ before fire [$]
The cause of a bushfire on an Adani mine site is under investigation after an activist, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, shared a video standing in front of a blaze and encouraged viewers to “light it up”.
‘Five-star resort’ for Great Barrier Reef coral open for business in Cairns
An insurance policy for the world’s coral will protect hundreds of species from extinction in a special laboratory established to back up the crown jewels of the sea.
The name of the world’s largest sand island is changing. So it should
Ben Groundwater
Name changes like this are vital for the way we as Australians see our country, but also the way the rest of the world sees us.
South Australia
Karina’s father went blind at Emu Field. Now, she’s fighting for a treaty on nuclear weapons
The Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman talked about the devastating effect the testing had on her family, including the loss of her father.
Tasmania
Fish kills and stinking fields: Is Tasmania overloaded with industrial rubbish?
Libby Cooper’s farm overlooks a picturesque river, but what’s happening on a neighbouring area of land has her worried. And she is not the only one.
Northern Territory
Rachel Withers
Labor’s keen support for the pro-gas Middle Arm development in the NT runs counter to its sustainability claims
Western Australia
Urgent search for mystery Perth oil spill plaguing seabirds
Authorities are trying to determine the source of an oil spill affecting seabirds that are being pulled from waterways in Perth’s south “waterlogged” and “starving”.
Conservationists say this is what prescribed burning is doing to WA’s iconic wilderness
Prescribed burning is in place to protect homes and habitats. But environmentalists say it is putting fragile forests at risk.
Port Hedland traditional owners accuse council, Water Corp of disturbing heritage site
Traditional owners in Port Hedland say they were not consulted before the local council carried out work which allegedly left ancient fossilised footprints “desecrated” and threatened rock engravings.
The WA government has spent millions of dollars more than it expected to prop up the failing foreign-owned Griffin coal mine in the state’s south-west, with the total bill now exceeding $23 million.
Sustainability
US government toughens rules on chemicals used to break up oil slicks
Environmental activists sued EPA to update regulations, after thousands of people sickened from Deepwater Horizon cleanup
Belarus starts taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons
Alexander Lukashenko says his country has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons, some of which he said were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Nature Conservation
EU’s biodiversity law under threat from centre-right MEPs
The EPP, the European parliament’s largest group, says it supports climate goals but objects to ‘bad proposal’
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