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Date: 5 December 2023 at 8:37:55 am AEDT
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Dec 5
Post of the Day
Cells of people living in greener areas age more slowly, research finds
Many studies have shown that people living in greener neighborhoods have several health benefits, including lower levels of stress and cardiovascular disease. But new research indicates that exposure to parks, trees and other green spaces can slow the rates at which our cells age.
On This Day
International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
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Kathryn Bowen et al
As global leaders gather in Dubai for COP28, health has finally landed firmly on the climate change agenda, with the first “health day” at the annual UN climate summit taking place yesterday (December 3).
Viv Forbes
The world’s rich and famous, plus an army of publicists, hangers-on and mendicants, are attending the COP28 meeting in Dubai, the ostentatious 7-star play-ground capital of United Arab Emirates where even the police drive luxury sports cars.
COP28: with a ‘loss and damage’ fund in place, protecting climate refugees is more urgent than ever
Dalila Gharbaou
It has taken decades, but the complex and increasingly urgent issue of “climate mobility” has gradually become central to international climate negotiations.
Breakthrough deal on Loss and Damage: What next for COP28?
Sacha Shaw
The Global Stocktake, the report card on climate action for parties (countries), is shaping up to be the fight of COP28.
Geoffrey Lean
Sultan Al Jaber’s claim that green policies damage economic growth is wrong and highly damaging
Rooftop solar installs smash record as households turn to bigger systems, put pressure on coal
Rooftop solar installs smash monthly records in November, as system sizes reach nearly 10kW and the coal industry faces another big bite out of its midday market lunch.
Rabbit numbers have boomed in recent years. Here’s how the looming El Niño dry might change that
Australia’s rabbit population has boomed during these past wet years, but drying conditions should finally give landholders a chance to fight back.
Meeting health challenges of climate change in Australia
The Australian Government has presented its first National Health and Climate Strategy, outlining a whole-of-government approach to the health and wellbeing impacts of climate change.
New report reveals key sustainability priorities for legal profession
Indigenous Reconciliation, climate action, modern slavery, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals are all key issues the legal profession needs to be focusing on in 2024, a new report has revealed.
Frontbenchers Paul Fletcher and Bridget McKenzie part of group of nine MPs who will be in Dubai funded by Coalition for Conservation and Environmental Leadership Australia
Electric hatchbacks recalled due to charging danger
The GWM Ora electric hatchback has been recalled in Australia due to a programming error.
PM told it’s time for nuclear switch [$]
Labor and union figures are pushing the government to lift the nuclear ban, as polling reveals urban voters prioritise cheaper and reliable energy ahead of the renewables rollout.
Two charts in Australia’s 2023 climate statement show we are way off track for net zero by 2050
John Quiggin
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced Australia is “within striking distance” of the government’s 2030 emissions reduction target.
Anti-offshore wind farm fishing group is chaired by a former Liberal MP [$]
Cam Wilson
The Australian Fishing Trade Association says it’s non-partisan after a Greenpeace investigation found links to the Liberal Party.
Rachel Withers
Sussan Ley is kidding herself if she thinks all is forgiven in the teal independent seats
Cruel summer ahead – why is Australia so unprepared?
Susan Harris Rimmer
Extreme heat events are without doubt the greatest risk to the right to life caused by climate change. And this has major implications for those providing key social services to lessen inequality.
PM should listen to hardheads [$]
Australian editorial
Senior Labor figures and union leaders urging the Albanese government to lift its ban on nuclear energy to protect jobs and help achieve net-zero emissions should be listened to carefully.
Victoria
‘The fact that we’re still having to attend meetings – four years down the track – is just a disgrace. It is so depressing,’ says one local
New South Wales
Guttural, breathy mating calls of male koalas trigger new tracking devices
The distinctive call of male koalas looking for a mate has been programmed into sensors that are speeding up research into where the threatened animals live.
Snowy Hydro told to clean up pollution problems inside park [$]
The Snowy Hydro project has struck another snag with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issuing it with a clean-up notice for contaminated drill and blast spoil within the Kosciuszko National Park.
A home among the gum trees: will the Great Koala National Park actually save koalas?
Tim Cadman and Danielle Clode
It’s a visionary idea: a national park for koalas. Conceived over a decade ago, the idea gained prominence after Labor took the idea to three successive elections in New South Wales. Now they’re in office and have finally begun putting commitment to action.
Queensland
McLaren partner with Great Barrier Reef Foundation in climate pledge
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s managing director says the partnership with McLaren will be vital for the organisation’s efforts to restore the reef.
Cyclone moving towards QLD coast
A tropical cyclone is brewing 1600km away from Australia’s east coast, intensifying as it makes its way towards Queensland.
Road to ‘rorts’: Voters’ reality check for government [$]
More than three out of five voters in a key Queensland electorate believe governments use road funding promises to get a leg-up at elections rather than for the greater good.
South Australia
Anagu rangers play key role in researching rare species of frog
A frog species so rare that it’s yet to be named is the focus of a project combining new technology and traditional Aboriginal knowledge.
Council’s push to wean Adelaide CBD off gas [$]
By 2025, all new houses built in the city should be electrified rather than connected to gas, according to a draft Adelaide City Council climate policy, which outlines a need to electrify 500 gas-connected homes and businesses every year.
Extinction Rebellion protestors hold line amid COP28 climate warning
An abseiling member of Extinction Rebellion triggered tough new anti-protest laws in South Australia earlier this year. As international climate change negotiations continue at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, meet the members still risking arrest in their fight for urgent action.
Tasmania
Coles, Woolworths and Aldi ‘responsibly sourced’ salmon labels may be misleading, watchdog told
Environmental groups allege some of the supermarkets’ salmon is from Tasmanian farms reportedly having ‘catastrophic’ impact on ancient Maugean skate
New evidence reignites push for ban on engineered stone [$]
Game-changing new research conducted by a Tasmanian academic has rejuvenated the push for engineered stone products to be banned after the study made some startling discoveries.
Northern Territory
Traditional owners of toxic McArthur River Mine seek to speed up sacred site protection talks
Traditional owners have set up a new negotiating body to try to speed up sacred site and compensation talks with mining giant Glencore over the toxic McArthur River Mine in the Northern Territory.
Western Australia
Rio Tinto plans new solar, battery project for its newest Weipa bauxite mine
A 12 MW solar and 8.8 MW/2.1 MWh battery will power Rio Tinto’s new mine near Weipa and reduce diesel energy consumption by a third.
Chinese bulk carrier officer ‘absent-minded’ when he dumped waste off WA coast, court hears
Between 2,000 and 3,000 litres of bilge water containing sulphur and other waste was dumped into the ocean near Esperance in 2020. The company that owns the ship and its captain could face hefty penalties.
Traditional Owners want Sandfire CEO sacked, restitution after artefacts destroyed
Traditional Owners of Indigenous cultural sites in the Mid West that were destroyed by a copper miner but not reported for five years have called for restitution over the incident.
Sustainability
Sellafield: ‘bottomless pit of hell, money and despair’ at Europe’s most toxic nuclear site
Sellafield, a huge nuclear dump on the Cumbrian coast in north-west England, covers more than 6 sq km (2 sq miles).
A greener clean: three ways to eco-proof your cleaning routine
Conventional products can be bad for your health and for the environment. There are low-waste, biodegradable alternatives.
Lead exposure health consequences: Can it alter your personality?
The EPA’s proposal to get rid of the nation’s remaining lead pipes has brought renewed attention to the harmful health effects of lead exposure.
Can agriculture kick its plastic addiction?
While the plastics used at every step of the farming process can boost productivity, they also pollute the soil and the food we eat. New research has farmers and advocates pushing for change.
Highest count of microplastics found on deep seafloor off Chiba
Massive quantities of microplastics lie on the deep ocean floor 500 kilometers off the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, the highest level ever found on the seafloor anywhere, a group of Japanese scientists has discovered.
Humanity declares war on its children
Julian Cribb
After WWII, a good many people wondered why nobody had put a stop to either Hitler or Stalin, the two greatest butchers of history prior to the modern era, before they could accomplish their wicked designs.
COP28 pledges and realities [$]
AFR editorial
Whatever the outcome in Dubai, the world will end its reliance on fossil fuels not to a political timetable but only when reliable, affordable replacements are a reality.
Nature Conservation
How mounting demand for rubber is driving tropical forest loss
The growing market for rubber is a major, but largely overlooked, cause of tropical deforestation, new analysis shows. Most of the rubber goes to produce tires, more than 2 billion a year, and experts warn the transition to electric vehicles could accelerate rubber use.
The effects of eating plastic are devastating for the camels, causing intestinal blockages, creating lacerations inside their stomachs, and creating a toxic environment for bacteria to grow amid the folds of the plastic.
The unsung heroes fighting against climate change? Fish in the ‘twilight zone’
Fish are responsible for capturing billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute about how they do it.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
p | 1800 223 669 t | @AusConservation
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