Date: 10 October 2023 at 8:43:35 am AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Oct 10
Post of the Day
Climate crisis costing $16m an hour in extreme weather damage, study estimates
Analysis shows at least $2.8tn in damage from 2000 to 2019 through worsened storms, floods and heatwaves
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Arbor Day – Guam
Arbor Day – Poland
Climate Change
California to require big firms to reveal carbon emissions in first law of its kind
Measure signed into law by Gavin Newsom on Saturday is strong blueprint for national climate accountability, experts say
National
Mass carp herpes infection scheme delayed again, critic rues waste of ‘golden opportunity’
Federal and state agricultural ministers have agreed to further research into the potential release of a carp herpes virus into Australian waterways, but an expert says doing so risks wasting more time and money.
‘Unusually warm temperatures until next year’: Heatwave and bushfire alert for eastern Australia
The Bureau of Meteorology has just released its outlook for the coming season, detailing the risk of tropical cyclones, floods, heatwaves, fires and storms.
Hope for power bill relief as eastern Australia’s wholesale electricity price tumbles
September quarter average fell to $63 a megawatt hour partly thanks to milder winter and increased renewables
Bowen’s $387b nuclear price tag ‘doesn’t make sense’ [$]
A Westinghouse Electric executive argued bringing nuclear into the energy grid could be done far more cheaply, as the Coalition said it would consider overturning the ban.
Squadron Energy to spend $20b on renewables by 2030 [$]
Squadron expands to become Australia’s biggest renewables’ player after its $4.2 billion purchase of CWP Renewables late last year.
The race towards to a clean energy future is driving a momentous increase in demand for critical minerals. But just what those minerals are in Australia is up for debate — and it will have a major impact on the future of life as we know it.
Energy Summit confirms stuttering transition is not on track [$]
AFR editorial
The scale and complexity of the task requires all hands on deck, rather than ruling out any feasible transition pathway on political grounds.
When it’s hot in the city, let green spaces do the sweating for you
Mayen Huerta
Everyone needs access to urban green spaces, not just those in more affluent areas
Turning green to gold, Australia has to make its own luck in the race to renewables
Anna Freeman
It seems that Australia’s a-ha moment has now arrived in the clean energy transition – the realisation that having natural ability alone doesn’t make you a winner.
Power to the people: Why rooftop solar is key to Australia’s renewables target
Rachel Williamson
Distributed energy resources are the only renewable sector growing fast enough to help Australia meet its energy goals, and overcome vested interests.
So you want to buy a heat pump? Here’s how
Tim Forcey
Heat pumps are the most efficient heating technology ever invested. But with 69 brands and 420 different models on the market, and no energy star rating system for heat pumps, buying one can be confusing.
Victoria
Paris streetscapes, Berlin vibes: Call to revamp Melbourne’s ‘missing middle’
The Yes in My Back Yard movement wants to see six-storey, mixed used development on all residential land near train and tram stops.
Queensland
Mother Nature sends a long-forgotten street to a watery grave
It might have seemed a canny investment at the time, but what was prime waterfront land in the town of Yaamba 160 years ago now lies at the bottom of the Fitzroy River. And until recently, it carried a small fortune in unpaid rates.
Genex solar deal may spark Twiggy’s huge hydrogen plans for Brisbane
Genex and Fortescue have struck a deal for an offtake of energy that would trigger the go-ahead of Australia’s biggest solar farm at Bulli Creek and provide green electricity to the planned Gibson Island hydrogen and ammonia project in Brisbane.
Premier to unveil multibillion-dollar desalination plant to avoid debate [$]
A multibillion-dollar desalination plant is tipped to be built in South East Queensland amid cracks in the state Labor government about how to secure the booming region’s future water supply.
Batteries to cost $18b more than pumped hydro to firm Qld renewables [$]
Meeting Queensland’s long-duration energy storage task for its renewable energy zones would have cost $18 billion more with batteries than pumped hydro.
South Australia
Energy bill complaints rise as SA households grapple with cost of living
Complaints about energy and water billing to South Australia’s independent ombudsman increased 26 per cent last financial year, with the result attributed to rising electricity prices and broader cost-of-living pressures.
South Australia is going to need a bigger battery to keep the lights on in evening peak
South Australia may need a much bigger battery to avoid risk of potential supply shortfalls in the evening peaks of summer from 2026/27.
Jess Marsh et al
The Nullarbor is one of Australia’s iconic natural places. It’s renowned as a vast and mostly treeless plain. But hidden beneath this ancient landscape is an immense network of caves.
Northern Territory
Traditional owners say an ancient rock shelter in WA’s north is in a “fragile state” and was impacted by Rio Tinto’s blasting, despite the company concluding it had suffered “no structural damage” as a result of the explosions.
Sacred site at popular NT hot springs impacted by government-constructed bore
The ABC can reveal a sacred women’s site in the Northern Territory has been impacted by government infrastructure at a popular tourist hot spring.
Western Australia
Magpies don’t like living under flight paths either, but they have few options to move
We often hear urban magpies calling and singing. Now, a researcher is studying what impacts our own noises are having on the birds, which can have trouble finding new homes due to the species’ territorial nature.
Transport minister apologises for disruption as first half of new Bayswater station opens
Businesses breathe a sigh of relief as the southern platforms at the new train station open, but there is still a long way to go to turn the inner-city Perth suburb into a major transport and housing hub.
The battle over the climate is escalating, and nowhere more than in Western Australia, where a new generation of protesters is prepared to break the law to make their point.
Sustainability
Microplastics detected in clouds hanging atop two Japanese mountains
Findings regarding clouds above Mount Fuji and Mount Oyama highlight how microplastics are highly mobile.
Making solar energy as clean as can be means fitting square panels into the circular economy
As solar projects surge nationwide, the demand is increasing for recycling solutions that will keep photovoltaic panels out of landfills and their energy-producing elements in the sun.
The hunt for a new way to tackle clothing waste
Scientists in the US are trying to find enzymes or bacteria that will decompose manmade fibres.
Why choosing an induction stove is a gateway decision for getting rid of gas from our homes – SwitchedOn podcast
Chef and kitchen consultant Luke Burgess on why induction stoves are so efficient and why he thinks they are unlikely to be superseded any time soon.
Nature Conservation
Climate change could increase pressure on declining American kestrel population
Changes in the timing of spring could cause a mismatch between their nesting behavior and the availability of food for their chicks.
‘Without water, there is no life’: Drought in Brazil’s Amazon is sharpening fears for the future
The extreme drought sweeping across Brazil’s Amazon rainforest is already impacting hundreds of thousands of people and killing local wildlife.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
p | 1800 223 669 t | @AusConservation
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