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Date: 25 June 2023 at 8:14:46 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jun 25
Post of the Day
Effect of volcanic eruptions significantly underestimated in climate projections
Researchers have found that the cooling effect that volcanic eruptions have on Earth’s surface temperature is likely underestimated by a factor of two, and potentially as much as a factor of four, in standard climate projections.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Arbor Day – Philippines
National Catfish Day – USA
Climate Change
21st century economic growth will be slower than we thought
Countries will need to cooperate financially to successfully adapt to climate change
Will engineered carbon removal solve the climate crisis?
A new study explored fairness and feasibility in deep mitigation pathways with novel carbon dioxide removal, taking into account institutional capacity to implement mitigation measures.
Climate action plans mobilize limited urban change, researchers report
Adaption and mitigation efforts might be improved with inclusivity and transparency
Inside Charm Industrial’s multimillion-dollar bid to remove CO2 with plants
The high-flying startup claims to have locked away more carbon than any other venture by turning plant waste into crude-like oil and injecting it underground.
Global warming accelerates CO2 emissions from soil microbes
It is projected that by the end of the century, CO2 emissions from soil microbes will escalate. Recent model estimates further show that microbial CO2 emissions in the polar regions will increase twice as much as in the rest of the world. In cold regions, the primary driver behind the higher CO2 emissions by microbes is attributed to soil moisture, whereas in other geographical zones, the rise in temperature is associated with increases in emissions.
El Niño: how the weather event is affecting global heating in 2023
Planet is being hit by double whammy of global heating and emerging El Niño
The climate emergency demands a ‘woke’ response
Robert Taylor
In politics today “woke” is a popular though often misunderstood slogan. Many Republicans use it disparagingly to label what they consider progressive or leftist ideas. While its origin, and core, have to do with racial justice, it is now widely used to criticize anything that promotes tolerance, fairness, compassion and due regard for the well-being of others.
Get ready for another wet, hot American summer, thanks to fossil fuels
William S Becker
As of June 1, there had already been 18,300 fires in the U.S. this year, most of them human-caused. Fossil fuels are fouling the air, too. The American Lung Association reports more than one in three Americans breathe unhealthy air because of pollution from vehicles and power plants.
Fighting for their lives: Why children are taking the battle over climate change to court
William S Becker
Children worldwide are the victims of a profoundly fundamental injustice. They and future generations are victims of a carbon cartel in which governments and the fossil fuel industry are ruining their hopes for the future.
When it comes to rich countries taking the environment seriously, I say: vive la France
George Monbiot
Emmanuel Macron’s government is at least doing the bare minimum to avert the planetary crisis – and putting the UK to shame
National
Parasitic roundworm discovery boosts biological battle against tree-killing wasp
Scientists find a new biocontrol measure to fight the destructive Sirex wasp, that attacks the softwood pine trees we rely on to build our homes and furniture.
There’s a growing push for more ‘resilience’ in Australian houses. So what does that look like?
After losing his home in the Black Summer bushfires, Greg Webb spent almost $300,000 on extras to disaster-proof his new house. Are such designs a blueprint for the future?
Transmission tunnel vision: There’s a lot of space for wind, solar and batteries on local networks
Amid the hand-wringing on transmission delays, more and more renewables experts argue there is huge capacity for wind, solar and storage on local networks
Fast-growing BYD launches Dolphin EV, Australia’s cheapest electric car. Here’s how it compares
Latest vehicle from Build Your Dreams, which in less than a year has become our second-biggest electric vehicle seller, has a starting price of $38,890
Bird with a wire: How to track one of Australia’s rarest species
Scientists are testing a new way to keep track of young orange bellied parrots, one of Australia’s most beloved (and difficult to locate) threatened species.
Victoria
This toxic waste dump in Victoria contained everything from PFAS to asbestos — and even cash and a dog wrapped in a mattress — buried in 32 locations, some the size of AFL fields. Now $40 million later, the clean-up is almost complete.
Fears bus driver shortage will add to commuter chaos [$]
Buses will replace trains along much of Melbourne’s rail network in coming weeks, but there are “serious concerns” that a shortage of drivers will create a very “messy” situation.
ACT
Turning poo into produce: Canberra’s plan to make fertiliser from human waste
Spreading human waste onto crops may not sound appealing, but a multi-million-dollar Icon Water scheme is hoping to turn Canberra’s sewage into a valuable farming product.
Residents fear Canberra kangaroo cull ‘massacre’ doesn’t add up [$]
Protest group Save Canberra’s Kangaroos claims the ACT government should halt the current cull of kangaroos because its counting methods are faulty and leading to “a massacre” of the native animal.
Cost-of-living budget help to push ACT towards zero emissions target [$]
More Canberra households will soon have access to sustainable energy with financial assistance from the government.
Queensland
A Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland survey after last year’s floods found Sandy Creek, which skirts the edges of western Brisbane and Ipswich, is home to a significant platypus population.
Climate protester plays possum atop Brisbane coal train [$]
A climate change protester charged after climbing aboard a coal train in Brisbane has appeared in court with her face painted as a possum.
South Australia
Higher efficiency catalyst key to green hydrogen
The race to make the widespread use of intermittent renewable energy a reality has taken a step forward with new research by experts from the University of Adelaide who are improving the efficiency of iridium-based catalysts.
Northern Territory
Two Torres Strait Elders are sailing to Vanuatu on a rainbow boat to highlight this issue
Uncle Paul Kabai and Uncle Pabai Pabaiare are joining other activists on a Greenpeace ship for a climate-inspired journey.
Western Australia
Locals unite to reject groyne plan to save Perth’s northern beaches
Residents rail against a Perth council’s proposal to install more than a dozen groynes along a 5-kilometre stretch of beach to prevent a receding coastline from wiping out roads or even homes.
Three starving rare penguins recovering after washing up on WA coast — 4,000km off-course
Seabird experts are worried after three frail Fiordland penguins were found on beaches near Esperance in a single week, when they should have been at a breeding site in New Zealand.
Rinehart and Forrest’s heritage warnings increase pressure [$]
Australia’s two richest people and mining magnates have warned the Cook Government’s new heritage laws will have far-reaching consequences that would lead to higher costs and lengthy delays.
Intrusive heritage laws may drown West Aussies in red tape [$]
Neil Thomson
The past two weeks have seen an unprecedented response to concerns about the implementation of the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws, with a recent parliamentary petition garnering almost 30,000 signatures.
Sustainability
New study reveals global reservoirs are becoming emptier
Over the past two decades, global reservoirs have become increasingly empty despite an overall increase in total storage capacity due to the construction of new reservoirs. Researchers used a new approach with satellite data to estimate the storage variations of 7,245 global reservoirs from 1999 to 2018.
City buildings could blow air taxi future off course
Air taxis may be coming to our cities in the near future, but a new study warns regulations will need to address dangerous wind gusts around city buildings and other urban infrastructure.
Perovskite solar cells set new record for power conversion efficiency
These novel solar cells achieve an impressive stabilised efficiency of 24.35% — the highest for perovskite solar cells (active area of 1 cm2) to date
Vastly more sustainable, cost-effective method to desalinate industrial wastewater
Engineers are developing a cutting-edge process that can reduce energy consumption and cost of water desalination.
New study reveals irrigation’s mixed effects around the world
Trajectory of irrigation water use in many regions is unsustainable, but practice is vital in managing climate change and future agricultural development, researchers conclude.
Chart: Here’s how the US could get heat pumps in every home by 2050
A new report from Rewiring America lays out the pace of heat-pump deployment that will be needed to hit the country’s ambitious climate targets.
New type of computer memory could greatly reduce energy use and improve performance
Researchers have developed a new design for computer memory that could both greatly improve performance and reduce the energy demands of internet and communications technologies, which are predicted to consume nearly a third of global electricity within the next ten years.
How do you trigger a nuclear weapon? [$]
Before we start on this question, we should say that triggering a nuclear weapon under any circumstances is a really bad idea.
How AI is being used in energy right now – The Carbon Copy podcast
Priya Donti of Climate Change AI and Savannah Goodman of Google describe the different ways artificial intelligence is shaping energy today.
Nature Conservation
Traditional methods cannot give us the insights we need to understand changing ecosystems
If we want to face up to the challenges posed by climate change and other global environmental changes, we need to bring complexity science into the mix with ecology and biodiversity conservation.
Conservation policies risk damaging global biodiversity, researchers argue
‘Green’ farming policies may accelerate global biodiversity loss, two leading academics have warned
Climate change could lead to ‘widespread chaos’ for insect communities
Research explores how a warming world could impact ecosystems and derail the development of new species
Extinct warbler’s genome sequenced from museum specimens
The Bachman’s warbler, a songbird that was last seen in North America nearly 40 years ago, was a distinct species and not a hybrid of its two living sister species, according a new study in which the full genomes of seven museum specimens of the bird were sequenced.
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