|
|
Date: 22 February 2024 at 09:03:15 GMT+11
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Feb 22
Post of the Day
Four reasons rooftop solar will grow to dominate Australia’s electricity market
Tristan Edis & Ric Brazzale
For the past four years Green Energy Markets has produced projections of solar PV and stationary battery system installations for the Australian Energy Market Operator. These are used to help inform AEMO’s Integrated System Plan and Statement of Opportunities planning exercises for both the NEM and the Western Australian SWIS.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
National Wildlife Day – USA
Climate Change
Climate change threatening the ‘conveyor belt of the ocean’ – podcast
Scientists from across the globe are converging in New Orleans this week for the world’s largest ocean sciences conference. It’s the first time the event has taken place in-person in four years, due to the pandemic. A key focus this year- how climate change is impacting ocean circulation. It coincides with new study that has found the Atlantic circulation – which helps regulate the global climate system – is at risk of total collapse.
Removing UK climate protesters’ defence ‘could erode right to trial by jury’
Attorney general’s attempt to end climate protesters’ use of consent defence is slippery slope, says KC
University of Florida student senate passes ‘green new deal’
In a rebuke to Governor Ron DeSantis’s denialism, the student body calls for campus-wide measures to tackle the climate crisis
Viruses that can help ‘dial up’ carbon capture in the sea
Researchers begin applying lessons learned from the ocean to soils
National
Plibersek warns clothing industry must turn back on ‘fast fashion’, as she considers intervention
Weighing up whether to intervene in the clothing industry to divert clothes going to landfill, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says the churn of fast fashion must shift.
The capacity of rooftop solar in Australia will eclipse the country’s entire electricity demand in coming decades, according to a report that charts the technology’s rise.
New Australian environment laws would not stop widespread deforestation, organisations say
Three groups familiar with draft conservation laws say they do not go far enough and may allow political influence on development decisions
Chris Bowen SLAMMED over Electric Vehicles [$]
Shadow Energy Minister Ted O’Brien has launched into Chris Bowen over his Electric Vehicle policy.
The simple question green bullies and liars must be asked [$]
Andrew Bolt
The latest science suggests Australia’s efforts to tackle global warming are almost literally insane and too many of us are still not asking one key thing.
Why economist Richard Holden is wrong on energy [$]
Ross Garnaut and Rod Sims
Here is our response to Richard Holden’s common misrepresentations and distortions of our carbon solutions levy proposal.
Robin Smit
Australian passenger vehicles are emitting 50% more carbon dioxide (CO₂) than the average of the world’s major markets. And the real-world situation is even worse than official figures show. That’s the finding of a new study comparing the CO₂ emissions performance of cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles in Australia and overseas.
Hard to kill: here’s why eucalypts are survival experts
Gregory Moore
They can recover from fire. Grow back from a bare stump. Shrug aside bark loss that would kill a lesser tree. Endure drought and floods.
Victoria
More than a week after deadly storms tore through Victoria, knocking out power to more than half a million customers, the lights are still out in some hard-hit areas of the state.
Total fire ban issued for much of Victoria as hot, stormy weather returns
Victorians face warnings of extreme heat and another storm threat just a week after a fire destroyed 46 homes in Pomonal and an intense storm killed a man in Gippsland.
Researchers celebrate frog conservation win ‘decades in the making’ with high country release
Biologist Deon Gilbert says this month’s Victorian release of 70 juveniles from a spotted tree frog breeding pool is incredibly heartwarming.
Greener ‘water batteries’ a step closer thanks to breakthrough by Melbourne researchers
RMIT team develops method that could replace common lead-acid batteries, offering a safer and more recyclable alternative
‘It’s a net zero cargo solution’: could Victoria become home to an airship renaissance?
French startup hoping to develop Ballarat manufacturing hub says dirigibles will transport freight too cumbersome for road or aid to inaccessible locations
Sting in the tail of Vic’s summer: Swarms of ‘aggressive’ wasps [$]
Victorians are reporting swarms of wasps nesting near their homes and of being chased, “attacked” and painfully stung multiple times.
Kevin the swan lost three mates. Now he’s in love with Whitney Houston
Resembling a Shakespearean tragedy, the romantic history of Kevin the black swan has taken another turn, delighting locals who frequent the Reservoir park that he calls home.
Victorian blackouts cast misinformation over grid reliability [$]
Matthew Warren
Electricity is so political that a technical fault was spun in erroneous directions by all sides of the renewables debate.
New South Wales
As bushfires encroach on towns, cultural burning aims to give residents a clear path out of danger
Residents on NSW’s South Coast felt trapped with nowhere to flee to but the beach during the Black Summer bushfires, but the state government is trialling a possible solution.
Arson cases rise with one NSW regional town reporting rate up to eight times state average
Crime data extracted by the ABC shows big spikes in arson offences across New South Wales, with some regional areas reporting rates up to eight times the state average.
Tiny endangered turtle twins hatch from same egg in 1-in-3000 event amid efforts to save the species
When scientists discovered seven baby Bell’s turtles in a batch of six incubated eggs in the NSW Northern Tablelands recently, they were initially stumped.
To farmers, these tiny bats are worth a lot more than just their weight in pests
Insectivorous bats are tiny, quiet and worth about $63 million to the cotton industry. A study of the creatures, some of which are under threat, has been expanded in NSW.
Why asbestos mulch crisis is just the tip of a lethal iceberg
Matt Peacock
If we are to be free of this health scourge, all asbestos must be removed from our built environment and safely disposed of.
Queensland
Rural lobby groups and farmers ramp up their opposition to a project that aims to store carbon dioxide in Australia’s biggest underground freshwater reservoir.
Cape York Peninsula’s Land & Water Plan seeking insights on top priorities and threats
Cape York Natural Resource Management is initiating a new Land and Water Plan to oversee natural resource management on Cape York Peninsula.
Tidal wave of capital transforms Queensland into renewables and critical minerals superpower
Matt Pollard et al
The sunshine state is at the precipice of transforming from a legacy coal and gas petrostate to a renewable energy superpower. It is in the process of unleashing its once-in-a-century opportunity to lead the world in exporting decarbonised critical minerals and metals key to the global energy transition.
South Australia
Weed that costs farmers $100 million a year could help create sustainable cement alternative
Prickly paddy melon is a major problem for the Australian agricultural industry but researchers say it may have potential to reduce soil erosion and offset the construction industry’s large carbon footprint.
Govt moves to dump higher household bin charge [$]
The state government will introduce legislation to stop councils charging extra for kerbside rubbish collection fees on the basis of how much bins weigh – but the Local Government Association says councils never proposed it in the first place.
Would you swim in the Brisbane River?
Courtney Kruk
The Greens want to follow Paris’s lead and make the Brisbane River swimmable in time for the 2032 Olympics, but do locals want to take the plunge?
Tasmania
Grinder sparks ignite grass blaze leading to bushfire warning
Water bombers are being used to control a bushfire at Bonnet Hill as emergency services put out a warning.
Electric bus trial hits snag, paused until ‘teething issues’ fixed [$]
Metro Tasmania has paused a two-year trial of four battery electric buses after “teething issues” emerged, but the Rail, Tram and Bus Union says “due diligence” should have been done before the trial began.
Zoodoo celebrates safe arrival of baby swifties [$]
Southern Tasmanian wildlife park Zoodoo is successfully breeding critically endangered swift parrots.
Labor promises energy upgrade funding for landlords [$]
Labor will offer incentives for landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of rental properties.
Rail groups wants light rail back on election agenda [$]
In the lead up to the 2010 election, the Committee of the Hobart Northern Suburbs Rail Action Group (HNSRAG) felt that they had been largely successful in their campaign.
TasCOSS: Energy efficiency upgrades needed for low-income households
TasCOSS welcomes a focus on energy affordability in this election campaign, in particular Tasmanian Labor’s announcements to cut and cap Tasmanian electricity prices and remove connection/disconnection charges.
Precautionary principle fail: Greens will overhaul environmental laws [$]
The Greens say current environmental laws in Tasmania do nothing to protect critical habitat and threatened wildlife, and if voters want to change they need to act at the polls.
Sustainable Living Festival: Learning how to live ‘circular’ today [$]
Maybe you feel like taking an electric car for a test drive, learning how fermentation works, or even learning how to fix that broken part of your bicycle?
Northern Territory
‘They deserve no less’: Red Centre rangers get massive boost [$]
From a dusty old shed to an airconditioned hub, the rangers of the Red Centre have received a massive upgrade.
More green energy on the horizon for the Wurrumiyanga community
The NT government has announced the Wurrumiyanga Solar Infill and Energy Storage Pilot Project is closer to completion, with the battery energy storage system currently being tested in Berrimah.
Traditional Owners critical of $28.8million federal funding for Beetaloo Basin research
Traditional Owners from the Beetaloo Basin have criticised the federal government after it confirmed a probe into whether millions of dollars of public funds were given to oil and gas companies through a research and development scheme that explicitly excludes fossil fuel exploration.
‘They poop on cars, they poop everywhere’: Feral peacocks wreak havoc on outback town
If you find yourself in need of a pet peacock, the tiny outback town of Elliott can help. Locals have found a unique solution to deal with about 30 fine-feathered fowls running wild in the town.
Western Australia
Residents in WA’s north on cyclone alert, while Nullarbor fire cuts crucial road link in south
WA’s emergency services are facing a challenging period, with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Lincoln re-intensifying off WA, and a bushfire forcing the closure of the critical Eyre Highway.
Citizen scientists discover weird and wonderful creatures on WA coast
Experts say the WA-first sighting of a rare crab and photos of a strange anemone on Broome’s beaches highlight the untapped wonders off Australia’s coasts.
Record fox cull to give scientists fresh insight into the diet of Southern WA feral predators
Scientists from Murdoch University will analyse the stomach contents of feral foxes after West Australian farmers culled hundreds of animals near the Stirling Range.
West Australians back lifting export ban for onshore gas [$]
Almost twice as many Western Australians support opening up the state’s onshore gas fields for international export than those who oppose the plan, new polling shows.
In Western Australia, it’s too damn hot, I tellsya! I’m going troppo! [$]
Patrick Marborough
Mining megacorps have evisercated my fair state for untold billions. Now we’re baking in the job’s final, sweltering days.
Sustainability
Eating to save nature? Embrace potatoes, ditch meat and track your beans
The impact of meat on the environment is well known, but what about staples such as rice and legumes?
Hydrogen hopefuls stare into valley of death as electrolyser bubble pops
Hydrogen electrolyser manufacturers are staring into the valley of death, as the hype-fuelled valuations of 2021 come crashing down around their years. Some are still optimistic.
Potassium depletion in soil threatens global crop yields
Potassium deficiency in agricultural soils is a largely unrecognized but potentially significant threat to global food security if left unaddressed, finds new research.
Los Angeles demonstrates the effectiveness of sponge city infrastructure
In the midst of unyielding downpours, Los Angeles’ innovative “sponge” infrastructure successfully captured 8.6 billion gallons of water, providing enough resources to support more than 100,000 households for an entire year.
Japan innovates with climate bonds to fund green technology
Japan, leveraging its technological prowess, has become the first country to issue sovereign bonds specifically for funding climate change initiatives and green technology.
Labour must act to save the environment – here’s my three-point plan
George Monbiot
Carbon budgets that add up, proper protection for Britain’s land and sea, and replacing GDP with a wellbeing index
Nature Conservation
Panama Canal expansion rewrites history of world’s most ecologically diverse bats
The two jaw fragments are the oldest bat fossils from Central America
Genetic insights and conservation challenges of Nara’s sacred deer
Researchers unravel the sacred deer conundrum by navigating through genetic identity, conservation efforts, and the complex dynamics of human-wildlife conflict
Artificial reefs have been proposed as a means of diverting diving pressure from the natural reef to alternative sites, thus preserving both dive tourism and the coral reef.
Jeremy Bird et al
One of the world’s largest programs to eradicate multiple predators and pests has started to restore the island and its once vast nesting colonies to their former glory.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
This email and any files transmitted with it may be confidential and legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must not disclose or use the information contained in it.
If you have received this email in error, please notify us by return email and permanently delete the document.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this country and their continuing connection to land, waters and community.
We pay respect to their elders past and present and to the pivotal role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play in caring for country across Australia.