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Date: 15 July 2023 at 8:33:24 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jul 15
Post of the Day
As heat records break, the climate movement has the right answers – but the words are all wrong
Jonathan Freedland
The fossil fuel industry has spent billions on winning over the public. Green activists must learn from its tactics
On This Day
Climate Change
US will ‘under no circumstances’ pay climate reparations to developing countries
John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate change, told a congressional hearing the government would not contribute to a fund to pay countries that have been damaged by climate-driven disasters.
How do we act morally in the face of climate change?
As climate change produces more misery and fossil fuel capitalists refuse to stop releasing carbon, we will increasingly confront the question asked by Chuck Collins in his new novel: What does moral action look like against such an immoral status quo?
The Arctic is a freezer that’s losing power
As glaciers retreat, methane-rich groundwater is bubbling to the surface. That may be warming the climate, accelerating the Arctic’s rapid decline.
Leaks can make natural gas as bad as coal for climate, study says
The findings cast doubt on the idea that natural gas can serve as a transitional fuel to a future powered entirely by renewables like solar and wind.
Republicans assail Kerry before his climate talks with China
John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy, was criticized by Republicans as being too soft on China, the world’s biggest polluter.
Climate talks chief, who also heads oil company, says world must ‘attack all emissions, everywhere’
The head of this year’s United Nations climate talks is calling for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed on more than seven years ago.
National
Return and earn schemes have diverted tonnes of waste from landfill. For some people, it is also a source of income
Explosion in backyard fire pit sales sparks concerns for health and the environment
Families are turning to backyard fire pits for warmth and entertainment, but it is not sparking a warm, cosy feeling for surgeons dealing with severe burn injuries, and a health researcher with concerns about air pollution.
Australian businesses have been warned not to mislead customers in making environmental claims about their products and services
Yes in my back yard! Sydney and Melbourne activists demand ‘soft density’ to ease housing crisis
Disparate groups frustrated by lack of affordable properties are taking the fight to Nimbys as they campaign to relax planning curbs and reinvigorate suburbs
Major car rental firm swaps petrol for hybrids
One of Australia’s biggest car rental firms has revealed it will offer only hybrid electric versions of passenger cars and SUVs in a bid to meet customer demand for more eco-friendly solutions.
Unsustainable sustainables: Unaffordable power, dodgy brown bags [$]
Vikki Campion
As the PM signs Australia up to a raft of G7 climate agreements, Vikki Campion asks at what point “sustainable” climate moves become untenable for the average Aussie.
Fact check: Green hydrogen’s big promise [$]
Mike Seccombe
Australia’s plan to become a renewable superpower is focused on pouring more money into green hydrogen. Can it live up to the hype?
Victoria
Push to close gender gap to boost cyclist numbers in Melbourne [$]
Transport plans that push gender stereotypes, such as the white, middle-aged male in Lycra, are a barrier to Melbourne becoming a more cycle-friendly city, a researcher says.
New South Wales
Beehives destroyed as deadly parasite found in new area of NSW
Honey producers remain confident varroa mite can be contained despite 23 hives having to be euthanased in state’s central west.
Support for the Voice to parliament is growing in remote New South Wales
Advocates for the Voice are spending time in regional communities across the New South Wales making the case for why the constitutional change is needed.
Don’t invest in Whitehaven Coal, protesters urge Itochu Corporation
Protesters urged Japanese import/export conglomerate Itochu Corporation against investing in Whitehaven Coal.
Inside Cadia, the NSW goldmine at centre of an environmental dust-up
Management says the Newcrest-owned mine is now operating in compliance with licence conditions, but residents and experts remain concerned
Coal power lifeline for NSW power grid [$]
The news that the Vales Point generator shutdown may be delayed by four years comes amid mounting expectations that Origin’s Eraring will also run for longer.
Queensland
Bailey bombshell: Minister knew about $2.4bn blowout weeks ago [$]
The Transport Minister has been forced to admit he knew about the huge cost blowout to his government’s flagship train building program while he was spruiking it using old figures.
Drones are disturbing critically endangered shorebirds in Moreton Bay, creating a domino effect
Joshua Wilson
Drones are increasingly swarming our skies, capturing images, managing crops and soon, delivering packages. But what do the birds make of this invasion of their territory?
South Australia
‘Small likelihood of extra inundation’: High flow caution for Murray
River Murray levels are at a five-month high, with boaties and recreational users told to be careful – and experts weighing in on speculation of further floods.
Tasmania
Jailed mining protester ‘deserves Order of Australia’ says Bob Brown
For the first time in over 10 years an environmental activist is jailed in Tasmania, with the protester telling supporters outside court “if that makes me a dangerous criminal … we are going to need bigger prisons”.
Parents urged to ditch disposable nappies for the cloth economy
The City of Hobart is offering a nappy rebate to help Hobart residents switch to reusable cloth nappies.
Trouble in timber paradise: Sawmillers say industry under threat [$]
The end of native forest logging in Victoria has brought with it unanticipated consequences for Tasmanian sawmills.
Cross-cultural map is as functional as it is beautiful
In the Northern Territory desert, traditional knowledge and art are meeting Western science in a double-pronged approach to biodiversity conservation.
Defence Housing Australia halts Lee Point clearing until August 11: Environmental lawyers [$]
Defence Housing Australia will not clear any land for a controversial housing development at Darwin’s Lee Point until August 11, while the federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek conducts a cultural heritage assessment of the location, Environmental Justice Australia has said.
Sun Cable’s mega $30bn solar power project forges ahead [$]
The Australia-Asia solar cable, poised to be the world’s biggest renewable energy project, has taken a step forward after a meeting in Darwin this week.
My grandmother’s country is under threat and the minister for environment is silent [$]
Mililma May
Binybara, or Lee Point, has deep cultural connections to Indigenous peoples. In less than 30 days, it will be cleared for housing.
Western Australia
Proposed shark-proof enclosures in the Swan River may save swimmers’ lives, but so far only Melville Council is going ahead with the move — and there are also fears they will endanger dolphins that call the river home.
Love plan’s to re-write ‘fundamentally flawed’ heritage act [$]
Josh Zimmerman
Opposition Leader Shane Love has vowed to scrap and re-write the controversial Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act if the Nationals form government following the 2025 election.
Sustainability
In the ‘PFAS Cover-up,’ the Dutch public broadcast service Zembla uncovers what PFAS-producers Dupont and 3M knew of the dangers of their chemicals. Based on hundreds of internal company documents, Zembla reveals that Dupont knew for decades that the PFAS they used were dangerous and were spreading throughout the environment.
Cement can’t be sustainable if it falls apart. This firm may have a fix.
A climate-friendly cement received the first third-party certification that it is structurally and chemically the same as the conventionally produced stuff.
Oil and gas production responsible for $77 billion in annual US health damages: Study
As the nation’s oil and gas output reaches record highs, new research shows that the harms from this boom go well beyond cranking up global temperatures.
The gift of a one dollar bill, plus a referral slip with a stamped envelope, leads to a big increase in success for a California nonprofit.
‘Greenhushing’: Why some companies quietly hide their climate pledges
It is no longer fashionable for some corporations to tout their environmental goals, as right-wing groups target them for public commitments.
Can mobile batteries make dirty diesel generators obsolete?
Emissions-free mobile battery systems are taking on diesel generators as the power source of choice for movie sets, construction sites and disaster relief.
The US may soon get its first new source of nuclear fuel in 70 years
Next-gen nuclear plants could be critical to the energy transition, but first, they’ll need fuel. Centrus has overcome a key regulatory barrier to meeting that need.
‘What’s your p(doom)?’: The risk we’re teaching AI an apocalyptic sleight of hand trick
It started as a dark in-joke. It could also be one of the most important questions facing humanity.
Clean energy 101: EV battery recycling
An interview with Detroit-based Manager Alessandra Carreon about the benefits of a circular battery economy and what needs to happen to make it a reality.
Ask Amory – Your questions answered by RMI cofounder Amory Lovins
In summer 2023, we launched #AskAmory to collect your questions for RMI’s cofounder Amory Lovins, a world-renowned expert on energy efficiency and renewables. Here, we keep a running list of your questions and Amory’s answers.
Why the shipping industry’s increased climate ambition spells the end for its fossil fuel use
Christiaan De Beukelaer and Tristan Smith
A revised strategy to reduce global shipping emissions has emerged from two weeks of intense talks in London. It marks a significant increase in the industry’s climate ambition.
How green is your office tower?
Stephen Miles
Employees now expect better working conditions, and companies that provide environmentally friendly buildings with a focus on health, wellbeing and sustainability are more likely to attract and retain talent.
Nature Conservation
The hottest spot on Earth draws in visitors amid a major heat wave in US
As the US experiences a major heatwave and extreme temperatures are expected to keep rising, tourists are not shying away from the famous desert sites of the country’s national parks.
Deep-sea mining causes huge decreases in sealife across wide region, says study
Scientists caution against rush to mine the seabed, and say it could be decades before the full impact on marine life is known
Time to end war on birds and find a way to coexist, say experts
Discovery that some species build nests from anti-bird spikes highlights growing awareness in UK that deterrents don’t work
Environment charity bids to encircle London in ‘M25 for nature’
CPRE London hopes to surround capital in trees by weaving existing areas of green belt in outer boroughs
Restoring coral reefs by hedging our bets
Madeleine van Oppen
Coral reef restoration needs a set of coral species with traits that, combined, underpin resilience, persistence, and ecosystem services
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