From: Maelor Himbury <M.Himbury@acfonline.org.au>
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2026 at 8:47 am
Subject: Daily Links Aug 12
To:
Don’t despair about what’s happening to our planet. That’s what they want you to feel
George Monbiot
There are social tipping points when the seemingly impossible suddenly becomes inevitable. Good journalism plays an essential role in helping drive these shifts and shows us how real change can happen
On This Day
Royal National Agricultural Show Day – Queensland
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Thousands of hectares burnt as El Niño intensifies Indonesia’s dry season
The land lost to wildfires in Indonesia so far this year is double the area burnt in 2023, one of the hottest years on record.
‘Climate whiplash’ is not simply a buzzword, but a symptom of a warming planet
Scientists use the terms “weather whiplash” and “climate whiplash” to describe dramatic swings between different kinds of extreme weather. And as the world continues to warm, research suggests these whiplash events will only become more common and severe.
Trump administration ends support for flagship Arctic climate reports
The Trump administration is ending federal support for the flagship annual report on the state of the Arctic and how the region is changing due to climate pollution, according to two people familiar with the situation.
AI’s potential climate benefits outweighed by role in boosting fossil fuels, study finds
Modelling finds AI-driven productivity gains in coal, oil and gas enable more emissions than applications in renewables avoid
National
Australia’s biggest new gas plants sail through EPBC queue in just over two weeks
As wind generation proposals get stuck in EPBC limbo, plans for what could be the biggest new gas plant in Australia have been given the all-clear in just weeks.
Fire is both friend and foe for Australia’s wildflowers
Many of Australia’s floral species have evolved over millions of years alongside fire, but are bushfires becoming too frequent for some flowers to survive?
Bird flu vaccine to be rolled out to vulnerable species in captivity
A vaccine will be rolled out to protect Australia’s native species from the deadly H5N1 bird flu, with a focus on birds in captivity.
Magnus Söderberg
Australian homes and cities are increasingly producing and storing their own power.
Australia’s EV boom has caught policymakers napping
Ian McAuley
The rapid shift from petrol cars to electric vehicles is eroding fuel excise faster than governments expected. A replacement road user charge is inevitable, but a rushed or fragmented scheme could create new problems of fairness, privacy and administration.
What happens when your EV runs low on a regional road trip? I found out
Ben Groundwater
We needed to make it to Falls Creek before dark and couldn’t afford to wait. So, we made the call to wing it to the next charging point.
Victoria
State rocked by ‘dangerous’ 100mm deluges
A cold front has triggered dozens of flood warnings across one Aussie state – with one town facing serious flooding risk after a nearby river peaked at 12.7m.
Educators on the line in proposed Zoos Victoria job cuts
Job cuts at Zoos Victoria will be determined within weeks as unions urge the organisation not to cut staff who teach students about wildlife and conservation.
Coalition proposes bill to protect Victorian farmland [$]
The Victorian Opposition will introduce a bill that would make developers give agricultural land the same planning weight as environmental and cultural heritage protections.
New South Wales
‘Burning along our songlines’: Collaborative demonstration burn strengthens culture
An Aboriginal corporation has partnered with the largest holiday park group in New South Wales to conduct a demonstration cultural burn at Scotts Head on the state’s Mid North Coast.
Six months on: Zero illegal e-bikes crushed, new laws not in place [$]
The Minns government has failed to crush a single illegal e-bike – apart from the one used in their media photo-op – six months after the Transport Minister announced new police powers.
Commuters rather cop fine and park illegally amid carpark chaos [$]
Decades of poor planning have left Sydney commuters fighting for car spots before sunrise, with politicians now demanding urgent action on our transport crisis which is getting worse by the day.
Queensland
Trees felled as Traditional Owners push for emergency protection for Barrambin / Victoria Park
Yagara Magandjin Aboriginal Corporation has called for an immediate halt to tree clearing at Barrambin / Victoria Park as concerns grow over the absence of First Nations cultural heritage from the Que…
Small but promising signs of recovery on Great Barrier Reef
Surveys show coral cover increased in several parts of the reef, partly due to monsoons bringing cooler weather.
South Australia
State Govt owed money as creditors pull plug on SA energy company
An SA company founded by high-profile economist Ross Garnaut has been sent into liquidation as creditors try to claw back more than $1 billion owed.
Northern Territory
‘A slap in the face’ for Territorians: Minister slams Labor’s data centre rule [$]
The Commonwealth’s renewable energy mandate for data centres has sparked fury in the Northern Territory, with its business minister warning billions in investment now hangs in the balance.
Western Australia
The Perth council trying to ban data centres
As power and water demands spark national concern, a major Perth council could become the first local government to make the facilities a “prohibited use”.
Sustainability
One year on and the global plastics treaty ‘is going backwards’
A new Aid to Negotiations document for the Global Plastics Treaty has been released a year after Geneva’s collapse, but campaigners warn it dilutes key measures and retreats from the ambition needed to end plastic pollution.
The return of the caspian tiger: how a species feared extinct has come back to Kazakhstan
The wild capture and release of a female big cat into a nature reserve is the first step towards reintroducing a population that hasn’t been seen for 70 years
Gabrielle Kuiper
In Pakistan, a country with 250 million people and a GDP per capita of about $A2,300, the extraordinary citizen-led solar boom did not come out of nowhere.
Gabrielle Kuiper
Washington let arms control die. Don’t repeat the mistake with AI
Christopher Tang
Nuclear arms control worked not because rivals trusted each other, but because compliance could be verified. AI governance now needs the same kind of infrastructure before competition outruns our ability to contain the risks.
Nature Conservation
Can Florida’s ‘coastal corridor’ project safeguard wildlife and boost economy?
Conservationists have created a ‘coastal corridor’ of ocean-based projects designed to preserve and nourish vulnerable marine life
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the world’s largest accumulation of marine plastic
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