https://www.wired.com/story/lawns-are-dumb-but-ripping-them-out-may-come-with-a-catch/
Date: 26 September 2022 at 6:53:16 am AWST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Daily Links Sep 26
Post of the Day
Can the success stopping the ozone hole be applied to climate change?
It’s been 35 years since the Montreal Protocol helped heal a hole in the ozone. Can those lessons curb climate change in less than 30 years?
On This Day
Rosh Hashanah – Judaism
Martyrdom of Imam Reza – Iran
Navaratri – Hinduism (until Oct 5)
Ecological Observance
World Environmental Health Day
Johnny Appleseed Day – USA
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Climate Change
Pope Francis pins hopes on young people to abandon fossil fuels and preserve planet
Pope Francis has pinned his hopes on the efforts of young people to tackle climate change and preserve the planet.
Climate change protesters in Nairobi demand compensation from rich nations
Hundreds of protesters concerned about climate change took to the streets of Nairobi demanding compensation from rich countries for the damage done to Africa.
Frozen Planet: Filming climate change in action on an Arctic glacier
Shooting sequences for the BBC’s new Frozen Planet series brought Raymond Besant up close to the dramatic effects of climate change in the Arctic.
Lawns are dumb. But ripping them out may come with a catch
Meticulous turf is environmentally terrible. Yet grass does have one charm: It “sweats,” helping cool the local area.
What many progressives misunderstand about fighting climate change
Alec Stapp
Private investment in clean-energy technology is skyrocketing, and even Big Oil is starting to realize there is no future in fossil fuels.
The various forms of worldwide climate inequality
Laura Chinchilla Miranda
Although major economies bear the largest responsibility for curbing the devastating effects of climate change, all countries must adopt responsible policies to mitigate the damage and protect their most vulnerable inhabitants.
The world cannot ignore the global food crisis
Cary Fowler
August was the 452nd consecutive month that the global average temperature exceeded the 20th-century average for the same month. To climatologists, 452 adds up to climate change.
Manchin’s energy permitting reform bill is a failure of democracy
Kate Aronoff
Whether the outcome will be good or bad for the climate remains unclear. The process, though, was terrible.
National
Singapore to sign ‘green economy agreement’ with Australia
During their first face-to-face meeting since Anthony Albanese’s election win, the prime ministers are expected to sign a new “green economy agreement” to streamline climate-friendly financing and technology development.
Fancy a flutter this spring? Your butterfly spotter’s guide for south-eastern Australia
Butterflies are getting ready to burst forth in their annual race to reproduce, but there are worrying signs the carnival may soon be over for some.
Billion-dollar shock as energy grid renewal costs become clear
Australian consumers have been told to brace for big hikes in their power bills after a watchdog revealed the true cost of overhauling the grid to deal with the renewable energy transition.
The company building the 1,700km Inland Rail track says the project will help move freight during big rain events, but some farmers say weather-proofing the line could devastate livelihoods.
What botanical gardens can tell us about climate change
Botanic gardens are nice places for walks and picnics but they’re also playing an important role in combating climate change.
Fire more than twice the size of Malta burns through remote SA, WA and NT
The fire, which started last Monday, is burning grasslands in the far north-west of South Australia.
The safeguard mechanism: Australia’s emissions trading scheme in all but name
Adam Morton
From the time it was created, the mechanism has been subject to obfuscation. Labor is about to try and make it work, but it won’t be smooth sailing
The government must turn off the flow of taxes to fossil fuel industry
Jack Egan
News broke recently that nearly $2 billion in public subsidies for polluting fossil fuel projects promised under the previous Coalition government have not been spent.
Word of advice: don’t follow us Brits down the net-zero path [$]
Nigel Farage
Australia is embarking on the same mad, self-destructive road we’ve been on in the UK, where the next six months now depend completely on one single factor: the weather.
Victoria
After 95 years of asking for a train station, this ‘transport slum’ almost missed out
A dream shared by generations of residents came true this last week when the Andrews government confirmed it would build a new train station at Keilor East.
Airport rail is 60 years in the making, let’s not get it wrong
John Hearsch
There have been calls for the link for decades, but we must also address the dire needs of Melbourne’s booming west.
For centuries Country has been scarred. Traditional Owners must be put in charge to help it heal
Paul Paton
When we talk about a cultural landscape, we are using Western terms and concepts to explain something for which there is no easy translation.
ACT
Electric cars make the weekend more fun. Canberrans have known this for decades
Andrew Leigh
Among Australian economists, few public servants are as revered as Roland Wilson, who ran the Treasury, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Labour, serving both sides of politics. Yet Wilson wasn’t just a great public servant, he was also one of Canberra’s first electric vehicle owners.
Queensland
150 turbines, 200 jobs: State splashes $780m on massive wind farm [$]
The Palaszczuk government has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to help develop Australia’s largest publicly owned wind farm.
Qld risks being laughed out of the room on climate: Greens [$]
The Greens say Queensland is at risk of breaching the Paris Agreement unless the government overhauls its energy production
Qld fishing being hijacked by Green extremist thinking [$]
Peter Gleeson
The latest Palaszczuk Government fishing ban has been masqueraded as some sort of ‘save the fish’ campaign. What rubbish.
South Australia
Adelaide’s most dangerous suburbs for cyclists [$]
South Aussie cyclists are fed up with safety solutions that go nowhere – as the RAA reveals the worst spots for cyclist crashes in Adelaide.
Tasmania
Dead whales removed from West Coast beach following mass stranding [$]
Most of the whale carcasses on Ocean Beach near Strahan have been removed following a mass stranding.
More people migrating to Tasmania to escape extreme heat, new study finds [$]
Climate change is motivating more Australians to move to Tasmania, a new study finds.
Western Australia
The libraries of things bringing back neighbourhood sharing
Two new community initiatives offering the opportunity to borrow everything from chainsaws to party supplies are aiming to reduce waste and bring back the tradition of neighbourhood sharing.
Cut fences and increased biosecurity risks see pastoralists urge tourists to ‘work with them’
Travellers to outback Western Australia in search of gold or wildflowers should consider the biosecurity risk they pose when accessing] livestock properties, pastoralists say.
Sustainability
Could electric planes bring back short-haul flights? Some aviation experts think so
Over the past 40 years flight paths have been reduced across Australia, but some believe electric technology could see more short-haul flights between regional cities open up again.
Flood gardens to combat drought and biodiversity loss, says Natural England
Experts say ditching concrete and creating mini wetlands could help water systems cope better with effects of extreme weather
Humans are dosing Earth’s waterways with medicines. It isn’t healthy.
Medicines, chemical formulations that alleviate much human suffering, can also be significant pollutants, with active ingredients often excreted from the human body and entering waterways.
The good news that gets buried by the bad
Peter Dykstra
Habitat loss. Climate change and its impacts. Mass extinctions. Pollution and its impacts. Every once in a while, maybe it’s a good idea for someone like me to shut up and talk about the victories – even if they’re small. Here are but a few.
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