Date: 25 July 2023 at 8:44:41 am AEST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jul 25
Post of the Day
Here’s what we know about extreme heat continuing to grip much of the world
Record breaking high temperatures are set to continue for Europe and the US in August, experts warn.
On This Day
Climate Change
As the northern hemisphere burns, experts feel deep sadness – and resentment – while dreading what lies ahead this Australian summer
Greta Thunberg fined for disobeying Swedish police at climate protest
Activist had pleaded not guilty on grounds she acted out of necessity at demonstration that blocked oil trucks in Malmö
The Sundarbans: Severely affected by climate change
The Sundarbans in India’s West Bengal state are one of the largest mangrove forests in the world. But also one of the most disaster-prone areas, where some of the most vulnerable communities live. Why is this region particularly affected?
Pyromaniac Rish! torches climate policy while Europe burns
John Crace
PM sees short-term advantage in smothering green policies while studiously ignoring signs of climate collapse
Could the law of the sea be used to protect small island states from climate change?
Ellycia Harrould-Kolieb and Margaret Young
Climate change will wreak havoc on small island developing states in the Pacific and elsewhere. Some will be swamped by rising seas. These communities also face more extreme weather, increasingly acidic oceans, coral bleaching and harm to fisheries. Food supplies, human health and livelihoods are at risk. And it’s clear other countries burning fossil fuels are largely to blame.
National
Price, speed, quality – and now carbon. Australia to measure indirect emissions from public works
Embodied emissions are notoriously difficult to measure and have largely not been factored into firms’ bids for infrastructure contracts
Widespread fire concern for majority of state after years of heavy rain
As a hot and dry summer approaches, fire agencies are worried fires will sweep across large parts of the state that burnt during the Black Summer Bushfires.
Coalition attacks rooftop solar inverters in new scare campaign against renewables
Coalition turns its anti-renewables rhetoric on to rooftop solar inverters and the threat of Chinese makers as it ramps up its push for nuclear.
Labor reverses Coalition changes to CEFC mandate, adds local content and social licence
Federal Labor lowers benchmark rate of return on investment for green bank from “unrealistic” levels set by successive Coalition governments.
What an El Niño summer would mean for Australia – Full Story podcast
With fires raging through the northern hemisphere and record-breaking global temperatures, experts are warning Australia may be in for a dry, hot El Niño summer, with the threat of bushfires returning.
Time to reset thinking around EV battery longevity [$]
Eric Johnston
A former Tesla research lead is now quietly rewiring EV battery technology at a locally listed company.
AUKUS’ nuclear waste dump is the secret no-one talks about. So what’ll it cost? [$]
David Hardaker
The $360 billion cost of AUKUS might be startling, but on top of that is another undiscussed figure: the cost of building storage for nuclear waste.
How gender and racial exclusion are driving Australia’s megafires [$]
Katherine Wilson
Australia can’t address its crises using the same approaches that enabled them — and white men’s firefighting practices haven’t proved effective.
Victoria
Timber milling is an intergenerational lifeline in Corryong. Many residents will be impacted by the state government’s recent acceleration of the end of native timber harvesting, tipped for the end of the year.
Renters, low-income households left behind in race to turn off gas
Reducing the number of gas appliances in rental and low-income homes will be a major challenge for Victoria as it seeks to meet climate targets.
Petrol pumps to be popular into the 2030s, report finds
Demand for petrol stations will remain high into the 2030s in Australia – years after some countries have banned the sale of fossil fuel vehicles, an energy giant has predicted.
New South Wales
NSW imposes movement restrictions on materials from Queensland in fight against fire ants
The NSW government says it’s taking immediate action to prevent fire ants entering the state after the destructive pest was found 5 kilometres from the border.
Metro West could face significant delays after multibillion-dollar cost blowout
NSW Premier Chris Minns has given the strongest indication yet that the metro line linking Parramatta to the CBD will be pushed back beyond the 2030 completion date.
Residents with excess solar electricity can store it in a community battery – video
Across Australia, community batteries are growing in popularity as a way to support renewable energy generation. They enable storage of excess solar generated electricity, which can be shared locally. The first community battery as part of an Endeavour Energy rollout was switched on in Western Sydney.
NSW Labor continues Coalition’s contempt of koala conservation
Sue Arnold
Despite promises to do better than the previous government in protecting the state’s koalas, NSW Labor has turned its back on the endangered species.
South Australia
Energy hopeful on track for first drill [$]
Alexander Downer-chaired Gold Hydrogen is on track to begin drilling on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula after early testing detected the presence of naturally occurring hydrogen.
Tasmania
Labor outlines solution to interstate forestry threat [$]
State Labor says a Tasmanian first timber policy needs to be established to prevent Tasmanian-grown logs travelling across the Bass Strait to be milled in Victoria.
‘Nothing being done’: Health watch on Tasmanian water supply [$]
Tasmanian scientists concerned about possible links between blue-green algae and illnesses such as motor neurone disease are calling for more vigilant testing of drinking water in river catchments and storage facilities.
Finding common ground is our number one task
Peter Boyer
Last week University of Tasmania geographer Chloe Lucas was announced a winner of the Tall Poppy Science Award for her outstanding work with young people switched on to climate change. Of equal note is her study over many years of people who aren’t switched on at all: people who turn away at any mention of climate.
Northern Territory
Record $6m in funding to help protect NT turtles [$]
Rangers protecting Aboriginal land and waters, including the dolphins, dugongs and turtles that inhabit them, will be able to get their hands on a record amount of grant funding.
Western Australia
‘Not going to work’: Mabo win barrister blasts Heritage Act [$]
One of the top lawyers who won the historic Mabo case has criticised WA’s controversial Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, labelling it ‘unworkable’ in its current form.
Sustainability
New North Sea oil and gasfields will emit as much carbon as 14m cars, report says
Licences UK has approved in last two years will result in carbon dioxide matching annual emissions of Denmark, Greenpeace finds
Fukushima fish with 180 times legal limit of radioactive cesium fuels water release fears
Black rockfish caught in May close to disaster-hit nuclear power station is one of dozens caught in the past year above the legal safety limit
‘Nature is being destroyed’: Russia’s arms buildup in Barents Sea creating toxic legacy
Indigenous people and experts say Moscow’s military push and increased shipping and mining will destroy Arctic environment
Beware the prophets of p(doom), but don’t ignore them
Peter Hartcher
The logic of mutually assured destruction – as in the case of nuclear weapons – will also be essential to protect us from the self-inflicted dangers of artificial intelligence.
Nature Conservation
Moth on brink of extinction found flying at secret Scottish site
Discovery of dark bordered beauty males where caterpillars were released raises hopes species can be revived
Small but mighty: Why Antarctic krill are worth fighting for
If you love penguins, whales and a livable climate, then it might be time to stand up for Antarctic krill.
How Venezuela’s oil industry has devastated the environment
Gas flares and leaking pipelines from Venezuela’s once-booming oil industry, hobbled by U.S. sanctions and mismanagement, are polluting towns and a major lake.
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