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Date: 26 March 2024 at 08:44:18 GMT+11
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Mar 26
Post of the Day
If we’re going to electrify everything, we’ll need finance that works for everyone
Francis Vierboom
To achieve net zero, we need an exit plan for everyone where no home is left behind on spiralling price rises and the unplanned decline of the fossil energy system. Here’s what we propose.
On This Day
Climate Change
Santander eases its climate policies amid gas project funding
In a revealing investigation, Santander Bank is shown to have adjusted its environmental guidelines to facilitate the financing of controversial gas projects.
Conservatives’ decade of clean energy and climate leadership
Rich Powell
A decade ago, in 2014, The Guardian ran an article on the verge of Republicans taking complete control of Congress titled, “Meet the Republicans in Congress who don’t believe climate change is real.” For those who have paid attention to the clean energy and climate debate, especially in Congress over the last several years, that list is hilariously ironic.
Natural gas is essential to any realistic path toward greenhouse gas reduction
Ryan Lance
Natural gas was at the top of the agenda this week when global and energy leaders convened in Houston for CERAWeek, an annual gathering to advance solutions to the biggest challenges facing the future of energy and the environment.
National
Late changes to controversial gas laws fail to convince critics fearing approvals fast track
The Greens and several crossbenchers remain concerned by softened powers they fear could be used to fast-track gas projects — but the government may not need their support to pass its legislation.
How dingo wee could make non-lethal management of the native species easier
Australian researchers have found a new natural deterrent for dingoes and it comes from a rather unlikely source: the species’ own urine.
Culture of abandoned camping gear at music festivals sparks young Aussies to lead recycling efforts
Volunteering, recycling and education are just some of the ways music-loving young people are working to reduce the shocking amount of waste generated at music festivals.
Desert rivers flowing and dry lakes full – where Australia’s soaking will move this week
The southern states could be in for a wet Easter weekend as record-breaking rains inundating central Australia are expected to move south.
New ownership deal for Tasmania and Victoria’s clean energy link
A landmark ownership deal has been signed between the Commonwealth, Victorian and Tasmanian governments to deliver the Marinus Link cable that will connect Tasmania to Victoria.
Labor and Coalition cut short debate on offshore gas bill labelled ‘window dressing’
First Nations activists call legislation ‘a betrayal’ while Greens leader tells parliament Labor are ‘climate con artists’
EV does it, Bowen: Albanese grabs wheel [$]
Anthony Albanese has stepped in to overhaul Labor’s fuel efficiency standards plan amid concerns key stakeholders are being carved out and forced to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Electric vehicles, bikes and scooters under spotlight [$]
Emergency services, auto groups, insurers and battery experts will weigh in on the safety of electric and hybrid vehicles at a parliamentary inquiry.
Federal government to fund health-related climate research [$]
Researchers will be able to apply to receive grants from the federal government to undertake studies into how climate change is affecting health.
Gas CEOs dial up warnings as ‘crunch time’ looms [$]
Senex CEO Ian Davies and APA Group’s Adam Watson will warn of a “desperate” need for new gas supply to help cut emissions, and prevent higher costs for customers.
Why the National Electricity Market is on its last legs [$]
Judith Sloan
What started as a market-based dispatch and trading scheme in the late 1990s has descended into a chaotic combination of federal and state rules, regulations and subsidy arrangements.
Why Australia needs a new energy partnership with Japan [$]
Shiro Armstrong
A spat over gas supplies and the huge potential for future fuels means it’s time for a binational body to talk over energy issues.
Canberra vehicle emissions plan has unwelcome smell [$]
Australian editorial
Is this also something long-suffering Australian taxpayers and electricity users can look forward to in the future?
If you’ve got a dark roof, you’re spending almost $700 extra a year to keep your house cool
Sebastian Pfautsch and Riccardo Paolini
If you visit southern Greece or Tunisia, you might notice lots of white rooftops and white buildings to reflect the intense heat and keep residents cooler.
Victoria
Crackdown on dark roofs in plan for growth suburbs to stem the ‘heat island effect’ [$]
Light-coloured roofs would be mandated on new homes on small lots in growth areas under a proposed overhaul of the state’s housing code. But at least one expert has questioned whether the change makes sense for the winter months.
How to avoid eating endangered seafood from the fish-and-chip shop this Easter
Flake and farmed salmon should not make an appearance at your Good Friday fish feast.
Family forced to sell two homes to pay for massive tyre pile clean-up
A disability pensioner secretly stockpiled more than 100,000 old tyres on a farm near Mildura, leaving a deceased woman’s family with a clean-up bill of $900,000.
New South Wales
Endangered frog can coexist with new Olympic Park racecourse
Racing bosses have devised a plan to move Rosehill racecourse to run around a brick pit at Olympic Park that would preserve the habitat of an endangered frog.
How long it will take to stabilise the sinkhole above Sydney motorway tunnels [$]
The sinkhole has forced authorities to review the budget and delivery time for the underground motorway project in southern Sydney.
Queensland
Farmers put heat on coal seam gas project
Dozens of Queensland farmers have turned up the heat on a coal seam gas project backed by multinationals which they say will jeopardise food and fibre production.
Land-use harmony in renewables rollout at the centre of new Queensland roadmap
Gas commission to play key role, with reference groups created comprising landholders, councils, cultural representatives and consumers
Welcome to the dead zone: How floods have left Brisbane’s bayside a murky mess
In the vast, shallow bay that sits off southeast Queensland, a dead zone is steadily growing with each new flood.
Busy Brisbane road being redesigned as tunnel decision looms [$]
The Queensland government is working on concept designs for a major suburban thoroughfare before announcing whether a toll tunnel should go underneath.
Watch out Steven Miles, the koalas are coming for you [$]
Dan Petrie
Sane humans and koalas are set to join forces to defeat the ridiculous thought bubble that is revamping QSAC. And they’re promising a terrible revenge.
South Australia
‘There were thousands’: Spectacular salmon feeding frenzy captured on fisher’s drone footage
Thousands of salmon were spotted surfacing and feeding near Cape Jaffa, South Australia, with one keen fisher capturing a video of the scene from above.
The South Australian government has big plans for Whyalla with a $593 million hydrogen plant in the works. But there is mixed excitement and concern about the pressure on an already difficult housing market.
Tasmania
Swift parrots still in peril, despite revised numbers of surviving birds due to new counting method
While a new method of counting has resulted in the estimates of an endangered bird species being revised upwards, researchers say it in no way means the threat of extinction has lessened for the swift parrot.
This underwater forest is regrowing, bringing ‘hope’ in fight against Tasmania’s warming ocean
Tucked away in a picturesque bay on the Tasman Peninsula is a precious underwater field of giant kelp that’s thriving thanks to a team of determined scientists.
A community taking on the net-zero challenge
Peter Boyer
Five days before Tasmanians went to the polls on Saturday, the World Meteorological Organisation identified what ought to be the runaway top issue of every election campaign in every jurisdiction the world over – Earth’s surface is now above the “safe” global warming limit of 1.5C.
Northern Territory
‘Fluorescent’ green grass brightens red desert after heavy rainfall in southern NT
Cattle stations around Alice Springs celebrate after consistent rain rejuvenates parched land at the weekend and the Todd River flows — a rare sight.
A town like Alice. How a complex, isolated solar grid could provide blueprint for rest of Australia
Giles Parkinson
Alice Springs’ complex isolated grid could provide roadmap on how to manage system and regulatory change as well as technology in the transition to renewables.
Western Australia
Western Australia’s South West has become the latest battleground in the Albanese government’s push to meet Australia’s emissions reduction targets.
How tiny Japanese ‘pocket forests’ could cool Perth’s sweaty suburbs
Originally developed by a Japanese ecologist in the early 1970s, Miyawaki forests have been adopted around the world to help offset rising heat in the suburbs.
Sustainability
Scarcity of fresh water intensifies globally due to climate change and poor management
As climate change impacts grow, securing fresh water for essential daily activities becomes increasingly challenging.
Geothermal is the hottest thing in clean energy. Here’s why
Advances in next-generation geothermal have policymakers and investors excited about the tech’s promise of “clean, firm” power — though many barriers remain.
More efficient use of phosphorus could see limited stocks of the important fertilizer last more than 500 years and boost global food production to feed growing populations. But these benefits will only happen if countries are less wasteful with how they use phosphorus, a study shows.
Greener streets linked to better sleep
Living on a greener street or having views of blue spaces from your home may help you sleep for longer. New research across 18 countries found that living on greener streets — those with visible grass, trees, and vegetation — is linked to better sleep.
Cool paint coatings help pedestrians feel up to 1.5 degrees Celsius cooler in urban setting
A real-world study has shown that the use of cool paint coatings in cities can help pedestrians feel up to 1.5 degrees Celsius cooler, making the urban area more comfortable for work and play.
How nature can alter our sense of time
Ruth Ogden and Jessica Thompson
Do you ever get that feeling that there aren’t enough hours in the day? That time is somehow racing away from you, and it is impossible to fit everything in. But then, you step outside into the countryside and suddenly everything seems slower, more relaxed, like time has somehow changed.
Nature Conservation
Bats’ crucial role in our food supply under threat
A new report highlights how bats, essential for the production of many popular foods and drinks, face increasing dangers.
Seaweed’s champions: How science is changing our view of the ocean’s least loved plants
Kelp forests around the world are threatened by climate change, overfishing, pollution and development. A growing global interest in their critical role in marine ecosystems could help save them, but will it be too little, too late?
Asian hornet may have become established in UK, sighting suggests
Predatory species, which poses huge danger to bee populations, spotted on 11 March, indicating winter stay
EU nature restoration laws face collapse as member states withdraw support
Brussels vote cancelled after it became clear law would not pass final stage with majority vote
Researchers discover evolutionary ‘tipping point’ in fungi
Study reveals how small environmental changes can have a major impact on the shapes of cells and organisms
Bees need food up to a month earlier than provided by recommended pollinator plants
Plant species which are recommended as ‘pollinator friendly’ in Europe begin flowering up to a month too late for bees, resulting in low colony survival and low production of queens.
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
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