From: Maelor Himbury <M.Himbury@acfonline.org.au>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2026 at 8:45 am
Subject: Daily Links Sep 18
To:
Post of the Day
The world relies on this hidden water buffer. A ‘super’ El Niño is coming
A decade-long decline in freshwater reserves is raising concerns about future water security.
On This Day
Ecological Observance
Climate Change
Global heating contributes to record, with a warmer atmosphere able to hold more water, scientists say
2025 was among driest years on record for world’s rivers, study finds
Analysis of global resources reveals depletion in world’s water savings bank to 42% below normal levels last year
Here’s what one team of scientists thinks happened in Nepal’s deadly flood wave
The catastrophic August flooding on the Nepal-China border was influenced by a complex cascade of factors, many of which were worsened by human-driven climate change, according to a new scientific analysis by more than 20 international experts.
Andy Burnham: UK must fully commit to reaching net zero by 2050
Exclusive: PM, who is facing pressure over whether to approve North Sea oil and gasfields, makes strongest comments yet on issue
Trump’s love of fossil fuels is about more than money
Moira Donegan
The US decision to remove limits on coal and gas plant emissions is rooted in a perception of manliness in these industries
The Guardian view on the Nepal-Tibet floods: a spur to action on climate
Guardian Editorial
New research links last month’s disaster to fossil fuel pollution. Supporting disaster-hit countries must be at the centre of climate politics
National
Australia’s population grows by more than 390,000 people in 12 months
New data shows Australia’s population has grown by 1.4 per cent over the past year.
Solar panels going to landfill while Labor’s $25m recycling scheme on hold
Australian Council of Recycling says it has had ‘no clarity about the nature of the complaint’ that delayed program announced in January
The green transition is going better than you think: Debelle [$]
The former RBA deputy governor says economics, rather than climate policy, is driving the shutdown of the country’s coal-fired power plants.
Solar recycling industry calls on government to unpause pilot, reboot it before end of year
Solar recycling industry calls on federal government to make an “immediate legal and procedural intervention” to unblock the national pilot and get it going before year’s end.
Can a new alliance fast-charge Australia’s electrification push? – SwitchedOn podcast
Australia is a world leader in rooftop solar and home batteries are booming. But electricity only accounts for around 21 per cent of the energy we consume.
So why are we still burning so much gas, petrol and diesel when renewable electricity is increasingly cheap and abundant?
Australia’s approaching summer fills me with dread. I’m not equipped to battle 40C
Rebecca Shaw
When people say they love the heat, I presume they either have air conditioning or are lying
What does a good data centre future look like? And how do we get there?
Matthew Benetti and Eleanor Guerra
Australia is in the middle of a rapid data centre rollout. Warehouses full of computer servers that run the artificial intelligence (AI) tools society increasingly uses are being built at pace, and they draw heavily on essential resources.
Climate change versus logging? That misses the point
David Lindenmayer, Kita Ashman
Climate change and logging are not competing threats to native forests. Their effects compound one another, increasing emissions, fire risk and pressure on biodiversity.Climate change and logging are not competing threats to native forests. Their effects compound one another, increasing emissions, fire risk and pressure on biodiversity.
Unlocking industrial decarbonisation through integrated land-use planning
Climateworks Centre
Decarbonising heavy industry will require a significant increase in renewable electricity generation and transmission infrastructure. Using spatial land-use modelling and Gladstone, Queensland, as a representative industrial case study, this policy brief shows how future energy demand can be met while managing competing land-use priorities and supporting economic and environmental outcomes.
Victoria
Wilsons Prom’s Sealers Cove track reopens after five years
The road to repair Sealer’s Cove is a tale straight from the pages of Swiss Family Robinson and includes helicopters, barges, and a temporary camp and mess hall created to get the job done.
‘Better outcomes for waterways and Country’: DJAARA releases first Environmental Water Plan
The collaborative use of traditional knowledge and western science promises stronger outcomes for Country and its waterways, a major Victorian Aboriginal representative body says as it unveils it’s ne…
New South Wales
Landcare group prepares for new battle against billion-dollar mine
Approval for a proposed silver mine in Central NSW was overturned in a legal challenge by a landcare group, but the project is set to be reassessed by the Independent Planning Commission.
Why the story of urchin barrens and kelp forests is more complex than we thought
Jeremy Day
It’s not hard to find a long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii) on rocky walls and in underwater forests comprised of golden kelp (Ecklonia radiata) and crayweed (Phyllospora comosa) in southeast Australia.
High Court: look at the work, not the paperwork. Is BHP looking?
Michael West
Two courts, nine years apart, have said the same thing: look at the work, not the paperwork. Both times, the trail runs back to BHP’s Mt Arthur coal mine.
Nationals MP David Littleproud is backing more coal-fired power stations and nuclear energy to underpin the enormous energy requirements of a $32bn data centre.
New laws on mining objections ‘hacking at safety net’
Proposed laws in Queensland would restrict who can object to a mine and give politicians greater control over whether objections are heard in court.
Troika up for green refinery ask for policy to be spelled out [$]
A $3bn refinery study hangs in the balance in Brisbane as Australia seeks to nail down a domestic low carbon fuels industry. As it dithers, builders, banks and suppliers are reluctant to join.
The Brisbane suburbs that are bus stop black holes [$]
The shops are just a six-minute drive away, but if you want to use public transport to get there from this growing Brisbane suburb, you’ll have to walk for 40 minutes.
South Australia
Nearly 1,700 sea dragons reported dead during SA’s algal bloom
Dragon Search SA has studied reports of dead sea dragons made during the state’s harmful algal bloom amid hopes of boosting numbers as breeding season nears.
Barges reach Adelaide shores as multimillion-dollar dredging begins
Beachside locals are raising concerns over large barges starting a new dredging operation along Adelaide’s coastline.
Northern Territory
These tiny crocodiles may be at risk, but they can’t be listed as ‘threatened’
The Northern Territory’s tiny crocs are freshwater crocodiles not a separate species. Despite this, some scientists think the crocs are unique and need special protection.
Sustainability
The weaponisation of disaster: Inside the new security thinking – Outrage + Optimism podcast
This summer, extreme heat killed tens of thousands of people across Europe. The number killed by terrorism was, as our guest puts it, very very small. So why are the institutions built to keep people safe still organised almost entirely around the second one?
Nature Conservation
New cat species identified in Bolivia for first time in more than a century
New species of wild cat was discovered in Bolivia’s Yungas forest and is smaller than the average domestic cat
After losing much of its forests in recent decades, the country’s people have led the way in planting saplings across the country as part of the government’s Green Legacy Initiative
Across South Africa, natural springs are more than sources of freshwater. Some are places of healing, spiritual cleansing and rituals, where communities collect water and maintain longstanding cultural connections with the environment.
‘It’s beautiful when it’s clean’: the Argentine neighbourhood saving a contaminated river
Sewage, dog carcasses and industrial waste clog Argentina’s second most-polluted river. Meet the activists cleaning it up
Maelor Himbury | Library Volunteer
Australian Conservation Foundation | www.acf.org.au
1800 223 669
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