Post of the Day
The world is reducing its reliance on fossil fuels – except for in three key sectors
Dramatic changes in energy industry and EVs reducing fossil fuel use, but shipping, aviation and industry a long way from net zero
On This Day
Shrove Monday – Christianity
Climate Change
Atlantic Ocean circulation nearing ‘devastating’ tipping point, study finds
Collapse in system of currents that helps regulate global climate would be at such speed that adaptation would be impossible
US climate scientist Michael Mann wins $1m in defamation lawsuit
Scientist wins award against conservative writers who said his work was ‘fraudulent’ and that he ‘molested and tortured’ data
More than half of Vanuatu’s visitors are Australian. Could climate change hurt tourism?
It’s just 2.5 hours flights away from Australia and one of our most popular tourism destinations. But things are heating up in more ways than one.
California faces inevitable megafloods due to climate change
California is on the brink of experiencing catastrophic megafloods, a consequence of escalating climate change.
National
Acoss report says $2bn federal fund and coordinated policies would reduce costs, protect against heat-related illness and reduce emissions
Snake catchers are helping change long-held attitudes against the reptiles
Snake catcher Michael Gibson is hopeful Australians have been shifting away from fearing and killing snakes to valuing their role in the ecosystem.
Bushfire survivors call for communities to support shift to renewables
Activists opposed to energy projects shouted outside federal parliament on the anniversary of Black Saturday, as survivors of the firestorm called for communities everywhere to support the shift to renewable power.
Red versus blue: Why the right gum tree matters in a healthy wetland
Most of the 1,000 different eucalyptus tree varieties are native to Australia but not all belong in a pristine wetland.
Labor’s ‘winning’ fuel efficiency standards bid [$]
Kurt Johnson
The federal government is calling its New Vehicle Efficiency Standard proposal a ‘win, win, win’ deal – for consumers, the cost of living and the climate.
Climate 200’s plan for the next election [$]
Rick Morton
The teals’ gains were the Liberals’ losses in the last election – for the next one, the movement behind these successful independent campaigns is targeting vulnerable Nationals seats.
Climate change inaction risks the health of all Australians [$]
Shaun Watson
Shifting to renewables like wind energy is a big part of the solution. Picture Shutterstock
Farmers should shed National Party and fight for their interests
John Longhurst
Australian farmers should begin asserting their rights rather than being co-opted by the National Party to oppose action on climate change.
Victoria
In a small part of regional Australia, one council is thinking outside the box to ensure all residents have the chance to snare a “home among the gumtrees”.
New South Wales
Sydney Water’s plans to fix creek banks will ‘wipe out’ platypus habitat, conservationists say
A court has ordered Sydney Water to repair eroded banks of a Penrith creek, but a possible fix has alarmed conservationists.
Sydney’s 90m-year-old climbing galaxias fish may have been wiped out by school building works
The species can climb waterfalls and reaches back to Gondwanaland – but there are fears polluted runoff has proven fatal
The seven NSW train stations on track for major accessibility upgrades
Four railway stations in Sydney and three in regional areas of NSW will receive makeovers at a cost of about $186 million.
Loophole leaves police powerless to breath test e-bike riders [$]
More than 500 people across the state have been injured while riding e-bikes in the past year. But it’s the number of people who are intoxicated when they crash that has prompted trauma surgeons to speak out about the dangers of e-bikes.
Brunswick Heads locals clash with a developer planning to turn an 18-hectare stretch of bushland with threatened species into housing to alleviate the region’s homeless rate.
ACT
‘Dog leg’ past national institutions back on the table for Canberra’s light rail extension
An updated planning document for the Canberra light rail’s extension over Lake Burley Griffin to Woden has seen a previously discussed route option resurface.
‘You’re gonna eat bugs’: Climate fears and conspiracies at Canberra renewables protest
A crowd gathered on the lawn of Parliament House on Tuesday this week to protest the government’s plan to implement “reckless renewables”.
The government travel plan that should outrage Canberrans
Jo Pybus
Every motorist should be outraged at the ACT government’s Active Travel Plan.
Cost remains critical light rail question [$]
Canberra Times editorial
There were two important developments this week in the long-running story of light rail’s Woden extension
Queensland
Environment minister delays decision on one of Queensland’s biggest wind farm developments
Ark Energy wants to build the $1 billion wind farm west of Cairns but conservationists have expressed concern about the location, which borders a national park that is home to several endangered and threatened species.
Teal candidates hard to find in Queensland as Climate 200 seeks to spark community action
With less than nine months before an election, lobby group is yet to find an independent candidate who aligns with their values
Queensland wind farm delay raises red flags with green groups, as lines blur on environment
The decision to further delay environmental approvals for a major wind farm proposed for Queensland’s Tablelands region has raised red flags for green groups, who say this is the third time the federal government has pushed out the deadline for a decision on the project, leaving the community and industry in limbo.
South Australia
Second king penguin spotted acting ‘happy’ in South Australia, 2,500km from nearest colony
A Port Neill local filmed a juvenile king penguin on a beach on Wednesday, nearly two weeks after a sighting of what was possibly the same bird in the Coorong.
Transport Minister backs Riverlea rail link – but says more population growth needed
Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis says there should be a passenger train service to the Riverlea housing estate in Adelaide’s north, but the area is “not developed to the point yet where you could justify a rail line”.
Farmer sentenced for unlawfully clearing native vegetation [$]
A South Australian landowner has been convicted for unlawfully clearing native vegetation to install an irrigation system.
Tasmania
Australia’s biggest union warns feds over Maugean skate [$]
The largest trade union in Aus issues a warning to the federal Environment Minister as the fight to protect the endangered Maugean skate in Macquarie Harbour heats up.
Grants to improve waste management
Improvements to waste management systems will be boosted by $3 million funded through grants from the Tasmanian Landfill Levy that supports the transition of the waste and resource recovery industry.
Northern Territory
Commercial fishing boats to continue use of gillnets in popular NT rivers
Commercial fishing boats can continue allowed to deploy thousands of metres of fishing nets in the Roper and Daly river systems under a short-term plan.
Western Australia
More than 40,000 people caught up in sulphur dioxide toxic smoke warning in Perth
A factory fire in Perth’s heavy industrial complex has seen a toxic smoke warning issued for more than 40,000 people living in nearby suburbs.
‘Housing delivery’ concerns partly behind move to reject plan aimed at saving Perth’s tree canopy
The WA government confirms it will reject a plan to protect mature trees put forward by two Perth councils, and instead develop its own urban greening strategy.
WA farmers at odds over potential for wind turbines on prime agricultural land
State-owned energy provider Synergy is looking at setting up a wind farm south-east of Margaret River, and is reaching out to landholders to put turbines on their properties.
Whiteman Park tramway to link up with Morley to Ellenbrook train line
Light rail has finally come to Perth, but it’s using 80-year-old technology and the tracks will be built by TAFE students using scrap from other Metronet projects.
Sustainability
Green satanic mills: dirty price of a clean future
It’s the place EV buyers don’t see. An Indonesian fishing village transformed into an industrial epicentre designed to underpin the world’s electric vehicle sector. The reality is ‘a mess’.
Scuttling his flagship green policy, Sir Keir Starmer has imperilled his credibility
Andrew Rawnsley
This sorry saga is not encouraging if it is a precedent for how Labour will handle the hard choices that it will face in government
Permaculture showed us how to farm the land more gently. Can we do the same as we farm the sea?
Scott Spillias
As wild fish and other marine species get scarcer from overfishing and demand for ‘blue foods’ grows around the world, farming of the ocean is growing rapidly. Fish, kelp, prawns, oysters and more are now widely farmed. The world now eats more farmed seafood than wild-caught.
Environment: Humans don’t make history – we play host
Peter Sainsbury
How germs made history. Greenhouse gas emissions keep rising but USA and Europe are still the major causes of global warming.
Nature Conservation
Monarch butterfly numbers decline sharply in Mexico
A significant drop in monarch butterfly populations in Mexico raises concerns.
Foul fumes pose pollinator problems
Scientists have discovered that nighttime air pollution — coming primarily form car exhaust and power plant emissions — is responsible for a major drop in nighttime pollinator activity.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
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