 |
|
|
|
Date: 24 April 2024 at 8:21:04 AM GMT+9:30
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Apr 24
Post of the Day
The myth of plastic recycling needs reevaluation
Eve O. Schaub
The author argues that we must confront the reality that recycling does not make plastic any less harmful or more sustainable, suggesting a move towards reducing overall plastic production.
On This Day
Theravada New Year – Buddhism
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
‘I felt this was an abuse of power’: the climate activist who took on the law and won
Trudi Warner on a year being pursued by government lawyers determined to prosecute her over a jurors’ rights protest
New methods aim to enhance the ocean’s ability to capture carbon dioxide
Researchers and startups are developing innovative marine carbon dioxide removal techniques to increase the ocean’s carbon absorption capabilities. However, doubts about its potential impacts remain.
No bull: How creating less-gassy cows could help fight climate change
A new study has revealed breeding less-flatulent cows and restoring agricultural land could significantly reduce rising methane emission levels, which play a considerable role in climate change.
Feedback loop that is melting ice shelves in West Antarctica revealed
New research has uncovered a feedback loop that may be accelerating the melting of the floating portions of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, pushing up global sea levels. The study sheds new light on the mechanisms driving the melting of ice shelves beneath the surface of the ocean, which have been unclear until now.
National
‘A bomb in the house’: Calls for stronger laws to protect buyers when batteries explode
Summer Van Andel and her younger brother were sitting on their couch when a toy car powered by a lithium-ion battery exploded while on charge in December last year. It’s just one of more than 1,000 fires caused by the batteries in Australia in 2023.
The plan to build a solar industry in Australia relies on a crucial ingredient: Help from China
Twenty years ago China built a solar manufacturing industry on the back of Australian innovation. Now, as Australia tries to build a solar industry of its own, it needs assistance from China.
Parrots are being trafficked to become pets in Australia, and scientists are trying to stop it
You may be familiar with the use of DNA technology for catching criminals and solving crimes, but a group of scientists from Canberra and the UK are using DNA to save trafficked parrots.
More Aussies to buy an electric cars but price a factor
The price of electric vehicles is still proving a speed bump in Australia, a report has found, and government rebates may not be addressing the issue.
Hospitals take scalpel to waste as health sector’s carbon footprint is double that of aviation
Doctors say carbon emissions and waste generated by the health sector pose a massive threat to public health. Healthcare workers are finding novel ways to de-carbonise hospitals, reduce medical waste and re-use medical devices.
Nine projects in “hard to abate” sectors share $330m of federal funds to slash emissions
Companies across cement, alumina, mining, metals and food processing sectors share in $330 million in federal funding to help clean up their acts.
casts
Surge in battery storage capacity changing dynamics of the grid
Giles Parkinson
It may not yet be as spectacular as we are seeing in the grid in California, but the impact of the dramatic rise in battery storage capacity in Australia’s biggest grids is likely to be just as profound.
Dutton’s plan to save Australia with nuclear comes undone when you look between the brushstrokes
Graham Readfearn
The dystopian picture of renewables painted by the opposition leader is full of inconsistencies, partial truths and misinformation
Vastly bigger than the Black Summer: 84 million hectares of northern Australia burned in 2023
Rohan Fisher
It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia’s biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires that tore through 10 million hectares in southeast Australia.
Albanese Government turning Australia into world’s unsustainable mine
Sue Arnold
The Albanese Government is funding a predicted mining boom that will have devastating consequences for the environment.
Charles Hemmings
Many citizens believe that ‘renewables’ are the answer to our energy future because they have been told that, and it gives them a nice cosy feeling.
There is an alternative to neoliberalism, but Australia’s media class won’t tell you that [$]
Christopher Warren
The climate emergency is forcing journalists and columnists into something more honest.
Why is it taking so long to fix our crap environment laws — and why aren’t people ‘chill’ about it? [$]
Miki Perkins
Interrogating the delay to address our inadequate environment laws, what was originally promised, and why the government seems to be dragging its feet.
Victoria
New report offers playbook for Victorian government on how to avoid costly disaster recovery
Victorian infrastructure experts warn extreme weather could cost the state $1 trillion in disaster recovery by the end of the century — but say some low-cost solutions are available.
More women seeking family violence support following triple tragedy in Ballarat
There is a heightened awareness of personal safety following the high-profile deaths of three local women, support services say.
City of Melbourne hits the brakes on bike lane rollout [$]
The City of Melbourne is pressing pause on its plans to roll out protected bike lanes along Flinders, Bourke and Spring streets, saying the works would be “too disruptive” at this point in time.
New South Wales
A parliamentary inquiry into the Rozelle Interchange has heard from Transurban’s general manager for Westconnex, Denise Kelly, who said the toll-road operator warned the previous NSW government about traffic issues before the motorway opened.
Feral pigs attacking humans, killing livestock and destroying crops as numbers explode in NSW
A $13m control program has led to more than 69,000 feral pigs being culled in the state, but landowners say there is plenty more to be done.
The world’s oldest culture is embracing high-tech vertical farming
Vertical farms grow plants quickly, using less water and land than traditional farming. One newcomer to the industry hopes it can put native herbs into supermarkets.
Hunter to ‘die on vine’ if no net zero authority [$]
Unions are warning the government’s proposed net zero economy authority is needed or “regions like the Hunter Valley will die on the vine” as a result of mass power station closures
The mysterious appearance of a sandy beach at a bay in Sydney’s east has caused intrigue for decades, and after a series of large swells it is gone once again
Queensland
The crumbling former tourism resort on Great Keppel (Woppa) Island will be one of the first things to be revived under a new master plan for the lush, tropical island.
South Australia
The Nullarbor Plain is famous for being dry, flat and featureless — but it’s a very different story beneath the surface, with an intricate cave system that has remained mostly
Adelaide’s heritage protection is wafer thin
David Washington
Another piece of Adelaide’s urban soul is under threat thanks to a failing heritage system that allows the damage to be hidden behind a fig leaf.
Tasmania
Native forest logging cleared to go ahead next to Derby’s world-famous mountain-biking trails
A High Court challenge against the “self-regulating” aspect of Tasmania’s public forestry company fails, clearing the way for native forest logging to continue at a coupe near Derby.
Tasmania’s big winners in national cash splash to reduce emissions [$]
Tasmania has taken a significant piece of the $330m the federal government is spending on projects aimed at reducing carbon and emissions.
Blue Derby claim blocked by High Court
Eric Abetz
The Tasmanian Liberal Government welcomes today’s decision in the High Court regarding the Blue Derby logging coupes.
Northern Territory
NT government signs deal to buy fracked Beetaloo Basin gas
Chief Minister Eva Lawler says the nine-year agreement with Tamboran Resources will provide the NT with 40 terajoules of gas per day, starting next year.
Radioactive battle lines drawn over NT mine proposal [$]
Territorians are fighting to expand Kakadu National Park to stop another radiactive scar from being carved into Country.
Larrakia locals have called for the Casuarina Coastal Reserve in Darwin to be returned to their ownership in a submission to the Northern Territory government.
Western Australia
Protests planned as Woodside climate plan goes to vote
Environmental groups are urging Woodside Energy shareholders to reject the oil and gas giant’s climate plan and the re-election of chairman Richard Goyder.
Councillor’s wild BIBLICAL climate change claims
A Shire of Murray councillor described climate change as ‘an act by God to encourage sinners to repent’ during a council debate on how to deal with potential rising tides in the Murray River.
A City of Rockingham councillor is calling for an independent investigation into a local landfill facility due to concerns about groundwater contamination and the handling of hazardous materials.
The latest data shows Western Australia, a state reliant on the resources sector for its economic prosperity, continues to struggle mightily in its efforts to decarbonise.
Goyder will face the music at Woodside AGM [$]
Jennifer Hewett
Even if the chairman now looks certain to survive a substantial protest vote and be re-elected, it all adds up to a firm rebuff of the company’s decarbonisation plan.
Sustainability
Electric vehicle sales set to surge, IEA predicts
EV numbers will be strong this year and Chinese carmakers will increase their dominance, the International Energy Agency predicts.
World must come together to tackle plastic pollution, says chair of UN talks
Ecuadorian ambassador to the UK is hopeful impasse can be overcome at treaty negotiations in Ottawa
From coffee cups to smartphones: How toxic chemicals snuck into every part of your daily life
They keep smudges off your mobile and make your frying pans non-stick. But forever chemicals are linked to cancer, lurking in your blood and nearly every corner of your home.
Hong Kong introduces new measures to curb single-use plastics
Hong Kong has enacted new legislation to halt the sale and distribution of Styrofoam products and single-use plastic cutlery.
World’s oases threatened by desertification, even as humans expand them
Humans have artificially expanded many of the world’s oases, but the water-intensive practice is often not sustainable
Buildings as batteries? For net zero, we need bright spark ideas like this
Ross Gittins
Office blocks have an important part to play in our efforts to limit further climate change. How? Keep reading.
Nature Conservation
After 13 years, no end in sight for Caribbean sargassum invasion
Thousands of people were hurt by sargassum blooms last year in the Caribbean
Climate change affects nutrient cycles in Alpine ecosystems
A recent study reveals that climate change is severely disrupting nutrient retention in alpine ecosystems, particularly impacting the nitrogen cycle vital for plant and soil health.
Deforestation leads to risky dietary changes in Uganda’s wildlife
Animals in Uganda’s forests are consuming virus-infected bat feces as alternative food sources dwindle due to agricultural practices.
Mother trees and socialist forests: is the ‘wood-wide web’ a fantasy?
Daniel Immerwahr
In the past 10 years the idea that trees communicate with and look after each other has gained widespread currency. But have these claims outstripped the evidence?
New Zealand plans to put big developments before the environment. That’s dangerous
Nicola Wheen and Andrew Geddis
Proposed ‘fast-track’ law could see conservation concerns ignored and projects once rejected for environmental reasons given the green light
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.