|
|
Date: 6 February 2024 at 08:31:00 GMT+11
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jan 6
Post of the Day
The federal government has detailed its proposal to impose a CO2 standard on new cars. It will have a narrow road to travel to ensure it cuts emissions without driving up car prices.
On This Day
Climate Change
Sea sponge study suggests Earth has already surpassed 1.5C of warming
An analysis of sea sponge skeletons from the Caribbean suggests Earth has already hit 1.7 degrees and could be 2C warmer than before industrialisation in the next six years, but not all scientists are convinced.
‘A deeply troubling discovery’: Earth may have already passed the crucial 1.5°C warming limit
Malcolm McCulloch
Global temperatures have already exceeded 1.5°C warming and may pass 2°C later this decade, according to a world-first study I led. The worrying findings, based on temperature records contained in sea sponge skeletons, suggest global climate change has progressed much further than previously thought.
National
LG solar battery faces compulsory recall after house fires
Australia’s consumer watchdog is weighing up whether to issue a compulsory recall as almost 5000 households remain at risk of a fire caused by faulty solar storage batteries.
Demo against ‘reckless renewables’ as parliament begins
Organisers of an anti-renewable energy protest outside federal parliament want to suspend the rollout of wind and solar farms and protect farmland.
Car emissions policy clash to rev up Dunkley byelection
The government says its scheme to force cleaner cars onto the roads will cut fuel costs while the opposition warns it could push up new car prices.
Lucky one-millionth caller: The frog that sounds like cross between a chicken and a lawnmower
The Spalding’s Rocket Frog has been recorded by one of the world’s largest citizen science projects, which has now hit one million amphibians and counting.
Labor’s fuel efficiency standards mean all new cars could be EVs by 2035, industry group says
Experts say Albanese government plan should provide a greater choice of electric cars but Coalition calls savings claims a ‘lie’
The venomous invader threatening koalas and platypuses
The invasive pests can injure and kill Australian wildlife, particularly defenceless hatchlings, the federal Environment Department has told a parliamentary inquiry.
Grassroots campaigns in favour of clean energy are rallying around Australia ahead of a well-connected anti-renewables rally in Canberra.
Forecasting weather in a changing climate
Peter Boyer
Is the current El Niño, the cyclical Pacific weather phenomenon, breaking down? That’s what the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is saying, predicting that it will happen this southern autumn. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology is not quite so sure.
Motorists get the net-zero charge [$]
Australian editorial
Like so many things in the low-emissions revolution, the likely consequence may be that ordinary people will be called upon to subsidise the green choices of those who are better off.
Dangerous climate tipping points will affect Australia. The risks are real and cannot be ignored
Michael Grose and Andy Pitman
In 2023, we saw a raft of news stories about climate tipping points, including the accelerating loss of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the potential dieback of the Amazon rainforest and the likely weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Ocean Circulation.
Australia should no longer be a happy dumping ground for carmakers
SMH editorial
The Albanese government’s move will ensure efficiency standards for new cars to reduce emissions by more than 60 per cent and force manufacturers to sell more electric and fuel-efficient vehicles or face penalties.
Labor’s vehicle emission shake-up is bigger than you think
Tony Davis
The government’s plan to cut car pollution will have its share of loopholes, that will be exploited with gusto. But they could also bring benefits.
Victoria
Concrete replacement: The Melbourne invention turning toxic soil into bricks
Scientists say the chemical polymer can not only turn toxic waste into harmless bricks, but it could also be cheaper and stronger than normal concrete.
Minister wastes $30,000 to spruik doomed windpower terminal
Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio spent more than $30,000 of taxpayers’ money on a trip to the UK and Europe to spruik the state’s doomed Port of Hastings offshore wind terminal.
Consumers will pay the cost of Allan government’s new carbon tax on trucks, carting containers in and out of Melbourne’s Port.
New South Wales
Staff based at Jindabyne have been the subject of “escalating social media campaigns”, as well as a firebomb threat and the dumping of a decapitated horse head, according to evidence shared during a NSW Upper House inquiry.
Peak-hour trip times to double for commuters during Sydney rail closure
Internal modelling forecasts replacement bus services between Bankstown and Sydenham will take as long as 49 minutes when the rail line is closed.
NSW government says EY’s non-disclosure on policy work ‘reflects poorly’ on system
EY partners grilled at inquiry over failure to disclose Santos contract while working on government’s ‘future of gas statement’
‘Far too long’: 50-year wait for new airport city slammed [$]
New Bradfield plans focus too much on trees and bike paths and not enough on roads and sewage, industry bodies say as they criticised an estimated 50-year completion date put forward by the Planning Minister.
10,000 people are expected to flock to this renewables hub, but where will they live?
The population of the Mudgee region is expected to grow by 10,000 people in the next two years. With families already pushed towards homelessness, a lack of housing could limit its renewable energy transition.
South Australia
Hunters call for end to deer eradication program hoping to be able to continue their sport
The South Australian government wants to get rid of the state’s feral deer population by 2032 but hunters say the way they are doing it is cruel, unfair to landholders, and polluting the environment.
Northern Territory
NT public to have say on croc culling as chief minister flags concern with current numbers
The NT government has released a draft plan to manage crocodiles for the next 10 years, with the population currently over 100,000 in the jurisdiction.
Financial gifts to parties revealed ahead of 2024 election [$]
Territory Labor received tens of thousands of dollars in financial gifts from major gas companies, local developers and mining companies ahead of the 2024 NT general election, new disclosures released by the NT Electoral Commission show, while the CLP did not report any gifts.
Western Australia
Darlngunaya Community into second day with no water supply
A remote Indigenous community in the Fitzroy Valley, in WA’s far north, has gone into day two of having no water supply, locals say.
Kwinana wind farm plan a step towards WA industry’s green dream
Wind turbines in the Kwinana industrial area could help WA in the huge task of replacing coal with cleaner energy.
Sustainability
Paris to increase parking fees threefold for SUVs in bid to promote pedal power
The change will increase parking fees for cars of 1.6 tonnes and more, to 18 euros ($29) an hour in order to discourage “bulky, polluting” cars.
Clean air: Professor outlines ways to get people active and reduce pollution
Better community engagement can encourage more people to use modes of “active transport” – such as walking and cycling – and reduce air pollution in high risk areas, a University of Manchester expert has argued.
Should I worry about microplastics?
These tiny particles are polluting the planet, including our bodies. How bad for us are they really?
Is AI really the biggest threat when our world is guided more by human stupidity?
Nouriel Roubini
There is both hope and hype for what artificial intelligence can do for growth – if politicians can tame its destructive potential
Deadly and destructive forest fires ravage Chile
Forest bushfires raging across Chile have led to the deaths of at least 99 people. Chile’s President Gabriel Boric says that number is expected to grow significantly as authorities introduce a curfew in the hardest-hit areas.
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.