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Date: 15 February 2024 at 09:19:12 GMT+11
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Feb 15
Post of the Day
Wind or sun, coal or nuclear; we need a stronger grid and a better debate
Nick O’Malley
Adopting entrenched political positions will not change the physics of the climate and energy crisis facing the nation.
On This Day
Candlemas – Eastern Orthodox Church
Parinirvana Day – Buddhism
John Frum Day – Vanuatu
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Nearly 15% of Americans don’t believe climate change is real, study finds
Denialism highest in central and southern US, with Republican voters less likely to believe in climate science
More than 1,200 major methane leaks from landfills pose severe climate threat
Satellite data reveals more than 1,200 significant methane emissions from landfill sites globally since 2019, with south Asia, Argentina, and Spain as major contributors.
Climate group gains attention through direct action and White House engagement
In a notable shift within the climate activism landscape, the group Climate Defiance has rapidly gained prominence by employing peaceful yet confrontational tactics to challenge leaders and institutions on fossil fuel dependency.
The East Coast’s slow descent into the ocean intensifies threats from sea level rise
A recent study highlights the increasing peril to coastal communities from land subsidence and sea level rise, exacerbated by groundwater depletion.
Are you ready for the collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation? No, you are not – cartoon
First Dog on the Moon
National
First water buybacks agreed in $205 million deal
Australia’s Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has completed the first Commonwealth water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin since 2020.
Difficult to predict fate of Australia-Tuvalu deal on climate and security, intelligence boss says
Senior intelligence officer agrees deal is facing risk of unravelling amid ‘political change and turbulence’ in Pacific nation after elections, Senate hears
$205m cash splash for Basin water recovery [$]
Labor will spend over $200m to recover just under four per cent of remaining water required to deliver on the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
Major parties unite with business to rebuff carbon ‘levy’ plan [$]
The Greens was the only political party to back a carbon tax proposal by former regulator Rod Sims and economist Ross Garnaut, which business said sent shivers up spines.
How Australia could lead the world in reducing global emissions by 9 per cent: Garnaut
Australia could cut anywhere between six and nine per cent of global emissions by doubling down on green export industries, all while powering another round of prosperity to rival the mining boom.
Have climate conversations changed the way Australians are building new homes?
From Edwardian terraces to breezy Queenslanders and snug Californian bungalows, Australia has an eclectic housing history. But as residents seek respite from a warming climate, what does that mean for future home designs?
‘Qld wants to know’: Pressure on LNP as aggressive climate laws tabled [$]
Premier Steven Miles has moved to legislate Queensland’s ambitious 75 per cent emissions reduction target, putting pressure on the Opposition to outline its policy.
Anya Phelan
After the memorable collapse of Australia’s largest soft plastic recycling program REDcycle in late 2022, a new scheme is emerging. It’s remarkably similar, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Politician-free climate policies make sense
Alan Kohler
As I listened to Ross Garnaut and Rod Sims tell the National Press Club how Australia can become a renewable energy superpower, and in fact how to sensibly manage the energy transition in the first place, I thought longingly about Jim Chalmers’ plan to repeal Section 11 of the Reserve Bank Act.
Shift to renewable power is far from fit for purpose [$]
Australian editorial
Storms and temporary blackouts happen. But the loss of power to 530,000 homes and businesses in Victoria has underlined how precarious the state’s baseload energy supply has become.
Victoria
Australia’s oldest-known platypus living in the wild discovered in a Melbourne creek
The discovery of a 24-year-old wild platypus gives researchers and conservationists a greater insight into the longevity of one of Australia’s most unique animals.
How a domino effect disconnected more than half a million Victorian power customers
More than half a million Victorians lost power on Tuesday and some are still without. So what actually happened and when will the power come back on?
Thousands are without power. This is how the system collapsed
The Latrobe Valley’s Loy Yang A is Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant, but it is also old, unreliable and leaves taxpayers exposed.
Mass power outage puts spotlight on sturdiness of transmission towers
Gale force winds have yet again toppled transmission lines, raising questions about the ability of the electricity grid to cope with climate change.
State’s energy minister calls for national approach to energy system resilience as climate change causes more extreme weather events
Businesses threaten to quit Victoria over energy supply [$]
Businesses have warned they will leave Victoria unless the Allan government can outline how it will guarantee energy reliability and affordability.
Victoria’s blackout wasn’t the fault of renewables, but a sign of a system working as it should
Graham Readfearn
Even as the weather emergency was still unfolding, some commentators and politicians couldn’t resist the urge to blame renewable energy
Mad green schemes got us in this electricity mess [$]
Andrew Bolt
Victoria’s government is blaming extreme weather – not themselves – for this latest crisis. But let’s look at how this really played out.
Welcome to Victoria, the blackout state [$]
Susie O’Brien
If hundreds of thousands of Victorians weren’t so focused on when their power will return, they may be asking how one storm can so badly cripple the state’s infrastructure?
Victoria’s blackout crisis is rooted in a decade of Coalition inaction [$]
Tim Buckley
These mass outages would have been avoided, or their impact dramatically reduced with a shortened recovery period, if we’d had large-scale investment in transitioning the electricity grid to renewables.
New South Wales
Calls for register of sites under asbestos probe
The NSW opposition has called for a central register of all sites under investigation for asbestos by the state’s environmental watchdog.
Explainer: Asbestos in Sydney mulch: what are the regulations and should they be tougher?
Contaminated batches of the landscaping product have been found across the city. We examine the rules for suppliers and whether NSW compliance measures are strict enough
Bee all, end all: Combat plan as Varroa mites munch Aussie hives [$]
A northern NSW beekeeper worries the killer Varroa mite has been in Australia longer and spread further than previously thought. It comes as a huge amount of cash has been pledged to fight the incursion.
‘Don’t drink Yass water’: council issues warning [$]
Residents have been told not to drink tap water in Yass, Murrumbateman, Bowning, and Binalong. The council said it was “unsafe”.
City of Sydney council was urged to test parks for asbestos a month ago
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said it would have been unreasonable to test the city’s 400 parks and thousands of garden beds “when there was no indication there was an issue”.
ACT
Canberra skyline: it’s time to build buildings that last [$]
Canberra Times editorial
There was a time when city planners had a vision which wasn’t just based on dreary functionality and immediate cost.
Queensland
Ground temperatures in parts of Brisbane can exceed 70C and that is destined to get worse without a new approach to urban design, planners say.
Mega-hydro decision put on election back burner [$]
Cost estimates for the pumped hydro scheme driving Queensland’s ambitious renewable energy plan could be kept secret from taxpayers until after the October election.
Dam designed by Hydro Tasmania to be demolished [$]
A Queensland dam designed by Hydro Tasmania will be pulled down over safety concerns.
‘You can’t just have people shooting and killing animals and asking questions later’
The killing of a protected species of groper off North Stradbroke Island is being investigated, with three men urged to turn themselves in.
In the dark: Minister learnt cause of power station explosion with public [$]
Energy Minister Mick de Brenni was willingly kept in the dark over what caused the catastrophic explosion at Callide Power Station.
Courtney Kruk
As Brisbane becomes more tropical than subtropical, we need to ensure our urban environment is designed to be safe in even hotter summers to come.
South Australia
Port Pirie Council looks to build region’s green iron future
Magnetite Mines and the Port Pirie Regional Council will jointly evaluate the potential of making the region a green iron production hub.
Tasmania
It’s happening: Here is everything you need to know about Tasmania’s early election
Tasmanians are heading to the polls. Who are the major players, what are the main issues the election will be fought on, and what else will we be watching out for?
What’s important to most Tasmanians in the coming state election? Spoiler: it’s not a stadium
Premier Jeremy Rockliff has called the Tasmanian election for March 23 and voters are turning their minds to what is most important to them. Stateline looks at the issues which top the list of priorities.
Northern Territory
Two Northern Territory cattle stations have been put up for sale, with a specific buyer in mind: companies with a large carbon footprint. The sale could mean a tidy profit for a Sydney-based investor.
Western Australia
The WA Fishing Industry Council says it’s been blindsided by the state government’s decision to increase the recreational catch limit of demersal fish at the expense of the commercial sector.
Locally extinct from Western Australia’s northern Wheatbelt for almost a century, a brushtail possum has been photographed out and about, signalling a landscape-scale conservation success.
Hopes blue gum plantations could help slow the decline of Australia’s timber reserves
Hundreds of blue gum plantations growing across Western Australia could go from paper pulp to high-rise supports as experts look to unlock a vast native timber supply.
The Metronet effect: How will Perth’s biggest public transport project impact house prices?
Metronet is the single largest investment in public transport Perth has seen, with 72 kilometres of new passenger rail and 23 new stations under way. So what will it mean for property prices in surrounding suburbs?
Perth bracing for hottest ever February, with three more days over 40C predicted
The Bureau of Meteorology predicts a third heatwave for Perth in as many weeks, with the city tipped to smash its record for the most days over 40 degrees Celsius in the month.
Sustainability
Lab-grown ‘beef rice’ could offer more sustainable protein source, say creators
Scientist behind hybrid carbohydrate praises its ‘pleasant and novel flavour experience’
Concerns rise over cancer risk from artificial turf in youth soccer
A growing number of young soccer players, particularly goalkeepers, are being diagnosed with cancer, raising questions about the safety of artificial turf fields.
Uncovering the hidden plastics in everyday clothing
Plastics are not just in obvious synthetic clothes but also hidden in many parts of our garments, from threads to zippers.
New York state considers cutting ties with major oil companies
New York State is on the brink of divesting over $1 billion from major oil companies, marking a significant move in fossil fuel divestment.
Nature Conservation
Amazon rainforest could reach ‘tipping point’ by 2050, scientists warn
‘We need to respond now,’ says author of study that says crucial forest has already passed safe boundary and needs restoration
Palm oil deforestation in Indonesia rises, reversing a decade-long decline
After years of decreasing deforestation rates, Indonesia’s palm oil industry has seen a resurgence in forest clearing, particularly on peatlands and in Borneo and Papua.
Mitchell Lyons and Stuart Phinn
The world’s coral reefs are close to 25% larger than we thought. By using satellite images, machine learning and on-ground knowledge from a global network of people living and working on coral reefs, we found an extra 64,000 square kilometres of coral reefs – an area the size of Ireland.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
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