One has to hang on hard to retain optimism in the doom and gloom of accelerating carbon emissions and the fossil fools determination to push down hard on that pedal. We have to dispense with the illusion that is CCS, discard completely the nuclear red-herring and reject totally globe-threatening geoengineering. Deal with the need to stop fossil fuel use. Thank you for your article, Peter Boyer. “As always, government is the key.”
From: Maelor Himbury <M.Himbury@acfonline.org.au>
Date: 4 June 2024 at 8:58:43 AM GMT+10
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jun 4
Date: 4 June 2024 at 8:58:43 AM GMT+10
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Jun 4
Post of the Day
A new series published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology highlights how pollution, in all its forms, is a greater health threat than that of war, terrorism, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, drugs and alcohol combined.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Climate change made the recent flooding that devastated southern Brazil twice as likely, a team of international scientists said on Monday, adding that the heavy rains were also intensified by the natural El Nino phenomenon.
Dermot O’Gorman
The landmark ruling by a global maritime court that greenhouse gases constitute marine pollution will have a profound impact on the global climate fight
National
Uber will soon score you on more than just conversational skills, also taking into account the environmental credentials of the cars you hail.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s compliance team has been out in strength to stop companies illegally exporting waste tyres and has intercepted and seized four containers of baled tyres bound for export at the border.
Cycling enthusiasts say Australia can learn from Dutch people-powered pedalling revolution – podcast
If you go to the Netherlands, you’re sure to witness what’s been described as ‘cycling paradise’. But it wasn’t always this way – in the 60s and 70s there was a huge uprising, when Dutch citizens realised large parts of their city would be demolished to give way for cars and motorways. And on World Cycling Day, this story of transformation is inspiring Australian cycling enthusiasts.
The number of large scale solar PV projects under construction in Australia is lowest since 2017, raising fears some contractors will move on.
Peter Boyer
Out of the gloom come glimmers of light, reminders that while climate change’s worst case scenario may be truly disastrous, there will always be reasons to feel better about the future.
Gabrielle Chan
The Coalition’s energy policy is leveraged on regional discontent about renewables. But many farmers don’t want nuclear in their back yard either
Judith Sloan
We’re told South Australia was powered entirely by renewables for seven hours on one particular day. What about the other 17 hours?
Chris Bowen
The fiction uttered by Peter Dutton is that Australia is the only G20 country without nuclear power.
Frank Jotzo
Private investment will have to carry most of the load in a new green economy. But new tax and super policies can help as well.
Joëlle Gergis
In February 2024, I attended the annual conference of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society – the peak group for scientists working in all branches of weather and climate research. Over the past decade, the mood of our gatherings has become increasingly sombre.
Matthew Currell and Adrian Werner
High-profile legal disputes, such as the current case between coal giant Adani and the Queensland government, show Australia’s approach to managing large mining projects is flawed.
Joëlle Gergis
Labor claims gas is critical to the net-zero pathways of Australia’s trading partners. This ignores the exponentially growing affordability of renewables.
Victoria
Apartment towers have been approved in this inner Melbourne area, but for five years the state government has sat on plans to create parkland.
The company behind one of Australia’s largest sources of oil and gas is planning the removal of about half of its platforms, but environmental groups are concerned it will create a toxic dump in Corner Inlet’s wetland.
Shannon Deery
When it comes to the Suburban Rail Loop the Premier is proving that she is not for turning, even as internal opposition to the project erupts around her — and it’s shaping as a critical test of her leadership.
New South Wales
Giles Parkinson
The Eraring deal means that Australia’s biggest coal generator will operate with the same capacity factor as the average solar farm. Baseload is dead, so what does Peter Dutton think he is going to do with a big nuclear plant?
Queensland
Animals cruelly smuggled out of Queensland through international mail are bound and packed tightly without food, water or clean air, the state’s Environment Department says.
Opinion
When it comes to native title claims, many are firmly opposed to giving a minority special rights which could impact others.
Tasmania
Four US zoos will soon be home to eight Tasmanian devils as part of an international effort to rescue the species threatened by a rare form of…
Western Australia
More than 3000 trees across Perth’s best-loved spaces have been destroyed as one of the state’s biggest-ever biosecurity operation ramps up a desperate defence.
Sustainability
Researchers develop a vastly more productive way to convert carbon dioxide into useful materials and compounds.
Cahyani Widi Larasakti
Australia and Indonesia have long had an uneasy relationship, over issues ranging from Timor-Leste’s independence to asylum seekers and bans on live cattle export to the aftermath of the Bali bombings.
Nature Conservation
Only 34 per cent of the world’s surviving forests are old-growth ones, and many are under threat. If California’s Redwood National Park is anything to go by, there is hope, however.
Urgent action now is needed to tackle the major and growing global issue of invasive alien species, says a team of 88 experts from 47 countries.
Snaring — a non-selective method of poaching using wire traps — is widespread in tropical forests in Southeast Asia. Snaring decimates wildlife populations and has pushed many larger mammals to local or even global extinction.
Emma Beddington
The SpongeBob SquarePants fungus and Shakira wasp might sound funny, but there is a rising acceptance that eponyms in the natural world are a legacy of empire and oppression
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
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