|
|
Date: 29 June 2023 at 9:02:49 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jun 29
Post of the Day
Rusty Langdon and Elsa Dominish
We are seeing the biggest changes in our energy and transport systems since industrialisation. By 2026, global renewable energy generation is expected to match total fossil fuel and nuclear output. Building the wind and solar farms, batteries and electricity networks we need to run our system on renewables will use a huge array of mined minerals, known as “transition minerals”.
On This Day
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul – Western Christianity
Eid Al Adha – Islam
Ecological Observance
International Day of the Tropics
Climate Change
Climate crisis linked to rising domestic violence in south Asia, study finds
Increase of 1C in average annual temperature connected to more than 6% rise in physical and sexual domestic violence
We’re having a violent meltdown: The human costs of global warming — and of our response to it
Despite the fact that, in recent weeks, more than 100 million North Americans have been inhaling lungfuls of smoke from those Canadian wildfires, we’ll probably continue to ignore the pummeling so many here are enduring daily while carbon dioxide continues to accumulate overhead.
So what if fossil fuel lobbyists have to declare themselves at Cop28? That won’t curb their power
Amy Westervelt
Oil and gas companies don’t just have a seat at the Cop table: they are in charge of the table
The rising ocean will extinguish more than land. It will kill entire languages
Anastasia Riehl
As the climate crisis forces migration, so native tongues wither, too. But it’s not too late to intervene
A renowned economist’s new idea for stopping climate change
Peter Coy
Carbon-linked bonds could save carbon pricing from its fatal flaw.
First Dog on the Moon
And that is why my life is NOT WORTH LIVING RIGHT NOW
National
Why coal-producing communities will need more than just hydrogen to adapt to clean future
A new report from the Centre for Policy Development looks at the unique challenges facing a range of Australia’s most coal and gas-exposed communities, including the Hunter, Pilbara, Latrobe and Gladstone regions.
Red meat sector’s target of net zero emissions is ‘ambitious’ and needs ‘more investment’
New research shows a 65 per cent carbon emissions reduction in the industry since 2005 but a lot more investment will be needed if the sector is going to reach its carbon neutral target by 2030.
A deadly new tool is being rolled out that will kill feral cats by spraying them with a toxic gel, as part of a five-year plan to reduce the enormous impact the predators are having on native wildlife.
Consumers, communities guide mining on sustainable path
A mining conference has heard values-driven consumers don’t want ‘dirty’ electric cars that use unsustainable minerals in their production.
Young Australians far less likely than parents to shift to right as they get older, report finds
Coalition faces uphill battle in future because Generation Z are seen sticking with progressive views in later life, thinktank says
‘Whatever it takes’: the activists who risk prison to shatter Australia’s climate complacency
Protesters are taking increasingly extreme action to protest ecological collapse – and new, more draconian laws are failing to stop them
Hydrogen-powered trucks primed to roll out in Australia
The first hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck will take to Australian roads within months as part of a deal with PepsiCo that one Queensland minister said would set Australia up as a “global green energy provider”.
Developers face environmental audits [$]
More than 1000 offsets will be audited in a crackdown on developers who in some cases are building car parks rather than planting trees to offset emissions.
Think you could be treasurer? Try this ‘build your own budget’ interactive
The Parliamentary Budget Office releases a sophisticated “build your own budget” interactive.
Australia risks failing on renewable energy – but two steps could help fix that
Adam Morton
Relying on Australia’s natural solar and wind advantage won’t be enough to drive the rapid change that’s needed
Electricity is not cheaper and cleaner than gas. Here’s why
Brett Heffernan
Not all gases are the same. The ACT’s ban on new natural gas connections does not apply to LPG, which makes perfect sense. The ACT government’s timeline for transitioning away from natural gas by 2045 is in perfect sync with the schedule for replacing all conventional LPG with renewable, zero-emitting LPG over the same timeframe.
Treasurer: Mining isn’t going away, in fact it’s more important than ever [$]
Jim Chalmers
The global transformation to renewable energy represents a generational opportunity for Queensland and Australia,
Australia front and centre in world’s transition to net zero [$]
Peter Mayfield
Critical minerals will be central to our transition to net zero. The world needs them, and Australia has them.
Sweden’s botched ‘green dream’ a warning to us all [$]
Peta Credlin
Our government is doubling down on the green dream, despite more and more energy experts arguing the transition is going too far and too fast.
Australia’s energy grid is in trouble [$]
Matthew Warren
There is serious and widespread disquiet across the operational end of the electricity industry about how long before something goes bang.
Plibersek — hypocrite, climate vandal, or maybe just obeying the law? [$]
Bernard Keane
Should ministers be able to make decisions regardless of what the law says? That’s what critics of Tanya Plibersek seem to want.
Contradictory maze of government policies threatens 1.5°C end goal
Rachel Williamson
“The left hand of the government does not know what the right hand is doing.” Why Australia needs an over-arching strategy for a 1.5°C target.
Energy industry loses plot again as greed trumps strategy and regulator fails consumers
Giles Parkinson
Price rises imposed on electricity consumers are reaching absurd levels. The energy industry appears to have lost the plot in its latest lunge for short term profits.
Victoria
For more than half a century, the Mobil oil refinery was at the heart of Melbourne’s industrial west. But since its closure two years ago, vastly different hopes for the site’s future have emerged.
Take a sneak peek at one of Melbourne’s new underground train stations
The ABC has been given exclusive access to one of five new underground stations being built as part of the Metro Tunnel Project. Despite some cost overruns and controversy, test trains are expected to start running later this year.
Commuter challenge: Quickest way from the west to the city [$]
We put five modes of transport to the test to see who can get through peak-hour travel chaos the fastest.
Four community batteries to store solar, boost the grid in Melbourne’s north
Four batteries to be installed across the northern suburbs of Melbourne by network company Jemena, with the help of federal government grant funding.
“Cheaper, cleaner power:” Consultation opens for new Victoria offshore wind zone
Community consultations to open for new offshore wind zone in Southern Ocean that could host 14GW of capacity and have first generation by 2030.
Power-crazy Dan’s SEC a costly joke [$]
Andrew Bolt
Daniel Andrews sold us a fraud with his election promise to bring back the State Electricity Commission and we’re now seeing how catastrophically pointless the scheme is.
New South Wales
Logging fears for NSW koalas as government urged to fast-track $80m reserve
The Labor government has promised to create the Great Koala National Park connecting 300,000 hectares of state forests and existing national parks between Coffs Harbour and Kempsey to protect koala populations.
You call that a winter? Sydney has driest June since Crocodile Dundee debuted
The last time Sydney had such a dry June, Paul Hogan was the name on everyone’s lips, not El Nino.
Oxford St cycleway back up for debate as officials hit the streets [$]
With a clipboard in hand, Transport for NSW officials have hit the pavement to speak to those impacted by the contentious Oxford St cycleway project which has divided business owners and residents.
Push for new powers to capture roaming ‘predator’ cats [$]
A Sydney council will advocate for rangers to have the power to capture unowned cats and make allowing pet cats to roam illegal in a bid to protect native wildlife.
Cultural fishing court cases costing taxpayers millions as deadline for law change looms
Legal uncertainty over the rights of Indigenous cultural fishers in NSW is leading to expensive court cases, with some dropped at the last minute.
Commuters get reprieve from Opal fare rises as changes considered
The NSW government has delayed any increase in Opal fares until later this year as it considers changes to the ticketing system for the state’s public transport which has yet to fully recover from a pandemic-induced slump in patronage.
Bowen kicks off capacity scheme with doubling of NSW battery tender to replace coal
Labor begins roll-out of Capacity Investment Scheme, more than doubling size of auction in NSW to fill a gap created by planned coal plant closures.
Miss Piggy and her feral friends need a price on their heads [$]
Brad Emery
Bring back the bounty! No, not the two-piece chocolate covered coconut treat.
Queensland
‘Not logical’: Experts question Queensland government plans to build mega pumped hydro
Questions are being raised over the feasibility of the Queensland government’s pumped hydro schemes announced last year.
Demand for critical minerals is booming — but new mines in Australia are years away
Australia is on the cusp of another mining boom in critical metals to feed the world’s insatiable appetite for technology and renewable energy, with Queensland looking to position itself as a world leader in exports.
Is mining ok? Not really, but that’s no reason to take a chainsaw to a knife fight
John McCarthy
The World Mining Congress came to Brisbane this week with a message that the industry should not be afraid to say mining is okay. But it’s not. Not in Queensland, anyway.
South Australia
No turning of the tide in battle to protect Adelaide’s beaches from coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is washing sand away from some of Adelaide’s most popular beaches at a rapid pace, with a state government review still months away from completion.
Tasmania
Study confirms hydrogen export from Tasmania ‘feasible’ [$]
Tasmania’s hydro power and growing wind generation capacity could allow the state to become one of the most competitive producers of green hydrogen in the world, according to the report of a joint feasibility study by the Tasmanian government and the Port of Rotterdam released on Wednesday.
Line Hydrogen eyes production within months as Tasmania project gets green light
Development approval secured for George Town green hydrogen plant in Tasmania, with plans to start producing by the end of the year.
‘Seconds of tension’: Photographer speaks after protest arrest [$]
A photographer determined to put a stop to logging near a swift parrot nesting site in a Tasmanian forest has been arrested and charged over his protest action
Northern Territory
Stone artefacts discovered 14m underwater at Australia’s deepest known ancient Aboriginal site
Researchers say the discovery in an underwater passage off the Pilbara coast provides “critical” evidence of major changes in the landscape.
Western Australia
Backlash at handling of WA’s new Aboriginal heritage laws forces major change
The WA Government has made a raft of eleventh-hour concessions to its controversial new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act just days from its July 1 implementation.
Aboriginal Heritage Act troubles finally stick to Teflon Tony
Zak Kirkup
In the final weeks of Western Australia’s 2020 Parliamentary session I worked with then-Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt on the state government’s proposed Aboriginal cultural heritage laws. Modernising ’70s-era laws that reflected outdated perceptions of Aboriginal heritage was a pretty tough ask.
Sustainability
Sweden dumps renewables target as it seeks more nuclear power
The country has changed its legislated climate targets to 100 per cent “fossil-free” energy – meaning no coal or gas – by 2040 and carbon-neutral by 2045.
Renewables supply more than half German electricity demand in first half of 2023
A very sunny May, delivering record monthly solar power input, helps set a new record for German renewables. And June promises to take it higher again.
The ugly side of beauty: Chemicals in cosmetics threaten college-age women’s reproductive health
Finding cosmetics that are free of hormone- disrupting chemicals often means paying more. An epidemiologist explains the risk, particularly for young women.
A legal researcher studied court cases in 30 countries to see what works.
Regenerating hope: the power of a good narrative – Changing the Bog Standard podcast
In this episode of Changing the Bog Standard, host Dan Ilic chats to filmmaker and activist Damon Gameau about the power of a good narrative, and the importance of creating a new one
How plastics are poisoning us [$]
Elizabeth Kolbert
Plastics release and attract toxic chemicals, and appear everywhere from human placentas to chasms thirty-six thousand feet beneath the sea. Will we ever be rid of them?
Nature Conservation
Report reveals cruelty of Bali’s wildlife tourism
Hundreds of animals in Bali and Lombok are being exploited for tourists’ entertainment, an animal welfare charity claims.
Caribou could save tundra from rising heat and shrinking ice
Scientists in Greenland found that tundra vegetation fares better when caribou and muskoxen are around to dine on encroaching, heat-loving shrubs.
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.