Daily Links Jul 23

Post of the Day

Renewables could pass coal as leading global power source next year

Renewable electricity generation could outpace coal as world’s largest source of power in 2024, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency.

On This Day

July 23

Climate Change

A secure gas supply and climate action go hand-in-hand

Richard Morningstar and Paddy Ryan

A global gas crisis has created apparent tensions between energy security and climate action.

As the planet bakes, political agendas stall progress on climate change

Stuart P.M. Mackintosh

For most citizens and voters in America I hope we are at a climate change opinion tipping point. These last few weeks have been a planetary alarm bell. We are endangering our very survival.

Climate change has made air conditioning a necessity

Ashley Ward

The planet just experienced the hottest week in recorded history — and the high temperatures aren’t letting up. When this heat season is over, we’ll have more evidence that America is ill-equipped for the patterns of extreme heat that are now regular occurrences. One of the most obvious gaps is the lack of air conditioning — a key intervention in times of extreme heat.

National

Tensions emerge between state and federal governments over Australia’s energy grid roadmap

Disquiet points to jockeying among jurisdictions and impatience over the rollout of renewables

Behind the bush learning boom: why getting dirty and lighting fires is good for Australian children

Proponents of forest schools argue that outdoor learning improves social interactions and results in fewer gendered play experiences for preschoolers

Seascape: the state of our oceans

Indigenous art unites Australians in a common cause: abuse of the ocean

Coalition says inverters in rooftop solar systems are national security risk

Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien says solar panel inverters made by Chinese companies could be taken over by officials for spying purposes.

Australia commits $50m to find new supply chains for solar, batteries and hydrogen

Australia contributes $50m as part of Quad deal to diversify clean energy supply chains, with focus on solar panels, batteries and electrolysers that produce hydrogen.

Gas lobby forced to pull ad for misleading viewers over “50 pct cleaner” claims

A community panel of Ad Standards finds gas industry commercial breached the advertising code for environmental claims by making an unclear comparison with coal.

New solar panel recycling process recovers 99 pct of silver from cells

UNSW researchers have developed a new way of recovering important metals from end-of-life solar panels – including silver.

Craig Reucassel: We did some tests to find out how many microplastics I have inside me

Peter FitzSimons

Comedian and Chaser satirist Craig Reucassel is hardly an evangelist for responsible behaviour. But when it comes to saving the planet, he’s happy to champion uncomfortable truths.

Increased power bills just the start of looming energy crisis [$]

Peta Credlin

If you think the climate attacks on energy are bad, just wait for what’s coming next as the Albanese government prepares to inflict the same transformations on other parts of our economy.

Extend the RET: Renewables industry has a new battle cry, but will Labor listen?

Giles Parkinson

Investment in new wind and solar is stagnating. An extension to the renewable energy target is being proposed. Here’s how it might work.

Heating with hydrogen: Clean alternative or gas industry pipe dream?

Ajit Niranjan

The gas industry has fought hard for hydrogen as an option to replace gas as a fuel in homes. But how clean is it — and does it make sense as a solution?

Wellbeing survey – cartoon

Andrew Dyson

Victoria

Bushfire threat intensifies in grassy stretches as rural areas dry out

Fire agencies are looking to the Northern Hemisphere for an indication of what is ahead and it is prompting them to urge property owners to get ready for bushfires.

The company turning French fries into eco-friendly cling wrap

The plant-based bio-wrap industry is challenging the dominance of petroleum-based plastics, as consumers become increasingly willing to pay for environmentally friendly alternatives.

How greening permits are bringing a ‘breath of fresh air’ to Melbourne’s gritty laneways

Birds chirping, an array of ferns, succulents and creepers intertwined with sticker and graffiti art and the scent of daphne blossoms mixed with coffee: Welcome to Guildford Lane, a vision of what could be replicated across Melbourne.

Rent hike restrictions and an end to urban sprawl mulled in housing overhaul

Landlords would only be able to increase rent once every two years under planning and housing reforms being considered by the Andrews government.

New South Wales

‘The smell. Oh my God’: Anger grows over Sydney’s rubbish collection debacle

Rubbish is piling up on Sydney streets and attracting vermin because of a protracted industrial dispute that City of Sydney councillors claim is harming the city’s reputation.

Sydney told to embrace ‘greener future’ with electric ferries

The NSW government has announced it will review how to reduce Sydney’s ferry emissions despite weeks earlier announcing it would purchase seven new diesel vessels for the Circular Quay to Parramatta route

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Susan lost everything in the 2019 NSW fires — she’s worried it’s going to happen again this year

NSW fire crews have already responded to more than 800 grass, scrub and bushfires this month. And communities like Susan Alexander’s are turning their attention to preparing their properties for the coming summer.

‘Building on paddocks is much easier’: Why Sydney keeps expanding outwards

Rampant residential development in Sydney’s outskirts is creating infrastructure deserts lacking schools, swimming pools and trees to combat the hot summer months.

Minns’ ‘reach for the sky’ challenged on two fronts

SMH editorial

The aspiration of Premier Chris Minns to “build up, not out” is being challenged, if not undermined, by continued building on the urban fringes and a lack of confidence in high density developments.

Queensland

Citizen scientists capture whale songs in the Whitsundays

The giants of the sea give up their secrets to citizen scientists as tiny microphones capture the songs of humpback whales in the Great Barrier Reef.

Can dingoes and tourists safely coexist on K’gari?

A cull has been ruled out in the wake of dingo attacks but authorities are faced with protecting what locals say are a ‘national treasure’ on the world’s largest sand island

2032 boss clarifies nuclear power comments as Games symbols travel SEQ

Nuclear power should be ‘on the table’ for clean energy overall, he said, as the iconic rings and Agitos go on display around SEQ.

South Australia

Nuclear NIMBY Native Title win exposes disgraceful loophole [$]

Caleb Bond

If Kimba is the standard by which Native Title rights can be used to quash major projects in this country, then we should all be worried.

Sustainability

Aluminum materials show promising performance for safer, cheaper, more powerful batteries

Researchers are using aluminum foil to create batteries with higher energy density and greater stability. The team’s new battery system could enable electric vehicles to run longer on a single charge and would be cheaper to manufacture — all while having a positive impact on the environment.

Researchers investigate new use for plastic bottles

For years, unrecycled plastic bottles have been dumped in landfills. Now, thanks to new research, those bottles may have a second life in that landfill — stabilizing its earth walls.

Billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving baby food containers

Exposure to plastic particles kills up to 75% of cultured kidney cells

Catalyst can control methane emissions in natural gas engines

A catalyst using a single or just a few palladium atoms removed 90% of unburned methane from natural gas engine exhaust at low temperatures in a recent study.

New catalysts for solar hydrogen production

Researchers are developing a layered photocatalyst that can be used to produce hydrogen very efficiently from water.

Unlocking the power of molecular crystals: A possible solution to nuclear waste

Potential applications could lead to a net-zero world

Dry manufacturing process offers path to cleaner, more affordable high-energy EV batteries

Early experiments have revealed significant benefits to a dry battery manufacturing process. This eliminates the use of toxic solvents while showing promise for delivering a battery that is durable, less weighed down by inactive elements and able to maintain high energy storage capacity after use.

Research could pave way to greener, more sustainable products made with renewable carbon

Chief investigators were surprised by the role oxygen played in how carbon-based catalysts performed

Renewable solar energy can help purify water, the environment

 Chemists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated that water remediation can be powered in part — and perhaps even exclusively — by renewable energy sources.

Chart: Wind and solar are outperforming coal on US grid this year

Renewables are making progress in replacing coal, but to decarbonize U.S. electricity by 2035, they’ll need to replace fossil gas too.

Environment: Carbon bombs will explode all hopes of 1.5

Peter Sainsbury

There are over 400 fossil fuel projects each with the potential to release more than 1 Gt of CO2. Serious environmental and human rights problems associated with mining the energy transition’s essential metals. Barry Commoner described the problem and its cause 60 years ago.

Nature Conservation

Avian flu may have killed millions of birds globally as outbreak ravages South America

Virus has spread around the world, with 200,000 wild birds dead in Peru alone and concerns Australia could be next

Long-term changes in waves and storm surges have not impacted global coastlines

Changes in ocean wave and storm conditions have not caused long-term impacts on sandy coastlines in the past 30 years, a new study has found.

Artificial ‘rocks’ from macroplastics threaten ocean health

Plastic waste is a problem on our beaches. Hence, it is largely removed in a coordinated manner within a few weeks. However, it can litter other coasts of the world for many months to years due to unregulated waste disposal. 

Picturing where wildlands and people meet at a global scale

Researchers have created the first tool to map and visualize the areas where human settlements and nature meet on a global scale. The tool could improve responses to environmental conflicts like wildfires, the spread of zoonotic diseases and loss of ecosystem biodiversity.

Some corals may survive climate change without paying a metabolic price

These resilient corals may dominate reef ecosystems of the future

The Pacific slope of Peru is greening, and this is not good news

 Research led by physicists and geographers at the University of Cambridge has unveiled some large-scale changes in the vegetation in the South American Andes which may have dramatic impact on the environment and ecosystems of the region.

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