Date: 19 July 2023 at 8:58:19 am AEST
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jul 19
Post of the Day
Traditional owners win legal challenge to stop nuclear waste facility
Traditional owners on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula have won a legal challenge to stop the federal government building a nuclear waste facility near Kimba.
On This Day
Hijra – Islam
Climate Change
Consider the heatwave and floods: can we still save the planet for our children? I think we can
Gaia Vince
It is easy to despair as we leave one geological epoch and enter another. Our situation is dire, but we can address it
The Guardian view on Europe’s heatwaves: warnings from Hades
Guardian editorial
Searing temperatures from Spain to Greece underline that the climate emergency cannot be put on hold while other crises are prioritised
National
Low recycling rates in the gun as war on waste fires up
With just 12 per cent of Australia’s plastics recycled, the federal government has announced a push to process more waste and track recycled products from their origin to supermarket shelves.
Craig Reucassel learnt two things that shocked him while making the new War on Waste series
The host of War on Waste takes us behind the scenes of the latest series and discusses what derailed national momentum to reduce waste and how we can get back on track.
Industries wary of sector net zero plans
Labor’s sector-specific decarbonisation plans must take into account the impact of environmental offsets on farming and the increase to house prices, the industry has warned.
Majority of voters believe Australia’s migration intake is too high
As the government plans to overhaul the migration system, 59 per cent of voters believe the intake should be lowered from its current projection.
Second net-zero squeeze on way [$]
Australian editorial
Bowen puts the nation behind the international curve on nuclear.
Blackouts, disastrous price rises on crusade to net zero [$]
Robert Gottliebsen
Victoria and WA are on a knife edge, and people I trust say if Origin’s Eraring Power Station shuts in 2025, it will be almost impossible for NSW to avoid total blackouts in some areas.
Andrew King
The Northern Hemisphere summer has brought one extreme event after another – from heatwaves to wildfires and floods. It comes as the world likely heads into an El Niño pattern, which brings a higher chance of hot, dry weather in much of Australia.
Zacharias Szumer
Environmental lobby group takes two Federal government finance bodies to court over concerns they are funding destructive projects — and not being upfront about the consequences
Victoria
Offshore wind power developer surveys Bass Strait in race for first permits
A Japanese-owned wind power developer is pressing ahead with a bid to build one of Australia’s first offshore wind farms, kick-starting surveys of Bass Strait.
Rural Victoria neglected as electricity infrastructure ages [$]
Old energy infrastructure means a South West Victorian primary school can’t have airconditioning, while a nearby footy club can’t turn on their oval lights.
Congratulations on killing the Commonwealth Games, now axe the Rail Loop [$]
Marion Terrill
While the announcement from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has sparked disappointment and outrage for some, for others, it’s created a sense of relief that perhaps, this time, the grown-ups are in charge.
New South Wales
As red fire ants continue their march south towards NSW, farmers are calling for border checkpoints and industry groups are demanding a massive funding injection to stop them
Battle over a seawall at Wamberal Beach continues as geotechnical work begins
Despite ongoing community protests, geotechnical works have begun for a proposed seawall on a New South Wales Central Coast beach that suffered severe storm damage during 2020.
A ‘very dangerous decision’: Climate change groups abhor court approval of $400m coal mine expansion
Activist groups have continued to challenge the decision to expand a coal project in NSW, which is set to emit the equivalent of Australia’s total annual CO2 emissions and cost $400 million.
Queensland
It’s not yet clear whether the dingoes involved in the latest attack that took place on K’gari will the euthanased.
Possible euthanasia of high-risk dingo ‘supported’ by indigenous group [$]
The director of the Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation says the group will support the euthanasia of a “high-risk” dingo on K’gari, but also wants the behaviour of tourists to come under scrutiny.
How the wealthy inner city has syphoned away funding from growth areas
The wealthy inner Brisbane suburbs had been receiving vastly more funding for crucial infrastructure than the areas of major population growth for over a decade, according to a new study.
The price of daylight hasn’t changed, so why are our renewable costs on the rise?
John McCarthy
A new grid-scale battery known as “big Bessie” near Rockhampton has been switched on as a new report found that the cost of renewable energy technology costs had risen 20 per cent in the past year but it was still the cheapest form of new-build generation, according to the CSIRO.
Tasmania
Developers could bypass councils under proposed new Tasmanian planning laws
A proposal to reform Tasmania’s planning laws, allowing big developments to bypass councils, could result in more social housing, while projects like the cable car and AFL high performance centre may also be considered.
Contract awarded for Tolosa Park Dam transformation
The Glenorchy community will soon see increased construction activity at Tolosa Park as work gets underway to decommission the old dam and transform the site into parkland.
Recycling firm ordered to stop dumping toxic waste residue [$]
Tasmania’s environmental protection watchdog has taken urgent action against a recycling firm to stop it disposing toxic waste that could harm marine environments or human health.
Alleged illegal hazardous waste dumps investigated [$]
Hundreds of tonnes of hazardous waste materials have allegedly been illegally dumped at sites across Tasmania’s north and northwest, with an environmental agency calling for information.
Western Australia
Tree planting tizzy illustrates cultural heritage complexity [$]
Josh Zimmerman
The exact details of what triggered the cancellation of a second tree planting event remain somewhat murky but one thing is clear: when it comes to WA’s new Aboriginal heritage laws, confusion reigns supreme.
Sustainability
UK taps Rolls-Royce to drive nuclear energy [$]
UK Energy Secretary Grant Shapps is set to launch an international competition for small nuclear modular reactors.
Dumping doubts: Releasing Fukushima’s wastewater
Binoy Kampmark
Controversy surrounds the fate of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster, with some so-called experts claiming its release to be safe.
Alexander Howard
One of the most haunting poems of the 20th century, T.S. Eliot’s The Hollow Men (1925), concludes:
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
Nature Conservation
Forests burn north of Athens as fires weaken in Greece’s south-east and west
A wildfire intensifies overnight and sweeps along forests north of Athens for a second day, as firefighters manage to contain other blazes south-east and west of the Greek capital.
How AI can help us protect turtles and dugongs
Scientists are using deep learning AI to develop new techniques to help monitor marine animal populations in an effort to improve conservation outcomes.
White-tailed eagle chick hatches in England for first time in 243 years
Conservationists ‘utterly elated’ at arrival of first offspring since release of 25 of the eagles on Isle of Wight
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
p | 1800 223 669 t | @AusConservation
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