Daily Links Jul 8

To err is human … but erring gives humans inclined to oppose the changes we need flimsy, but for them sufficient, reasons to continue errant ways. The Nature Conservancy has lost sight of the main game and fallen prey to egos and power plays. Here’re salutary lessons to people in environment groups of whatever magnitude.

Post of the Day

Treehuggers Anonymous: Why is environmentalism still a dirty word?

Sherryn Groch

Environmentalism has an image problem. So I’m making this turtle our spokesman for the next five minutes – assuming young Nigel here is at least somewhat harder to call a dirty hippy than one suspiciously long-haired journalist.

 

Today’s Celebration

Carnival – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Sunniva Feast Day – Norway

Family, Love and Faith Day – Russia

Family Day – Ukraine

NAIDOC Week

International Town Criers Day

More about Jul 8

 

Climate Change

One climate crisis disaster happening every week, UN warns

Developing countries must prepare now for profound impact, disaster representative says

 

UN official: US can’t ignore that climate change will force 120 million people into poverty

By 2030 alone, we could see a “climate apartheid” scenario where the wealthy pay to escape overheating, hunger and conflict while the rest of the world is left to suffer.

 

Climate change a cold fact of life [$]

David Shelley

Change has been with us forever; earth has been much hotter and much colder so let’s shift focus.

 

National

Australia’s share of emissions up: report

Science and policy institute Climate Analytics says Australia and its fuel exports may be responsible for up to 17 per cent of global carbon emissions by 2030.

 

Australia becoming a global emissions powerhouse, report warns

Australia’s contribution to world carbon emissions could almost triple in the next decade due to the nation’s love affair with fossil fuels.

 

How taxpayers are funding corporate expansion in the Murray-Darling Basin

Australian taxpayers have handed over billions of dollars to big corporations, allowing them to expand irrigation and use more water than ever before in the Murray-Darling Basin under a scheme that’s supposed to be helping the environment.

 

Mutual’s $200m green funding [$]

The nation’s first mutual bank, Bank Australia, is bankrolling a revamped $200 million infrastructure fund.

 

A new climate dilemma for employers [$]

Pilita Clark

On September 20, workers are being urged to join a global climate strike, the latest sign of widening unrest about the problem and a new dilemma for many employers.

 

Why some Australian golf courses may soon become public parks

Jordan Fuller

Due to economic and environmental reasons, golf courses in Australia are being reduced

 

Dung beetles trump MPs in climate action

Carly Noble

A few years’ ago I noticed dung beetles on our beef and sheep farm in central Victoria.

 

Treehuggers Anonymous: Why is environmentalism still a dirty word?

Sherryn Groch

Environmentalism has an image problem. So I’m making this turtle our spokesman for the next five minutes – assuming young Nigel here is at least somewhat harder to call a dirty hippy than one suspiciously long-haired journalist.

 

For once our most powerful union is thinking straight [$]

Tim Blair

Back in 2007, the CFMEU joined everyone on the left in demanding action on climate change — but then Bob Brown and his Greens tried to shut mining down prompting the union to finally start thinking straight.

 

Victoria

Sacred for thousands of years, this lake is now popular with sea changers

Bung Yarnda, also known as Lake Tyers, has a rich Indigenous history as a fishing and camping place for Gunai clans in east Victoria. Now a thriving coastal town, the area faces the pressures of population growth.

 

Plan to radically change food rubbish collection

Many more Victorians could send their food scraps for composting under a new proposal.

 

New South Wales

AGL says Narrabri coal seam gas project won’t ease pressure on prices

A senior executive at energy giant AGL says coal seam gas projects including the contentious Santos-led Narrabri development will do little to ease power prices but cautioned politicians that misguided regulations could have unintended consequences by choking off new supply.

 

‘Test for Kean’: Recycling industry wants organic waste curbs lifted

A stoush is looming in the multi-billion dollar recycling industry with the NSW government expected to make permanent a ban on the use of organic waste as fertiliser for farming.

 

Government pays $35.9m to aid farmers’ conservation

38 landholders will enter into new conservation pacts that will protect more than 9300 hectares of environmentally significant land, including koala habitat.

 

EnergyAustralia paves way for NSW coal power upgrade [$]

The utility expects the Mt Piper coal power plant to keep operating until about 2043.

 

ACT

City Hill land sales not driving light rail decision, Andrew Barr says

The imminent sale of lucrative land around City Hill was not a driving force behind the ACT government’s decision to fast-track construction of light rail through the precinct, Chief Minister Andrew Barr says.

 

Queensland

‘It’s a safety crisis’: Man killed in accident at Central Queensland coal mine

A man is killed in an accident at the Baralaba North mine in the Bowen Basin, while another worker suffers back and spinal injuries in a fall at an open-cut coal mine in the Whitsunday region.

 

There’s a ‘game changer’ on the horizon for electric cars in Australia

Boss of electric car charger company says Brisbane has potential – as Australia’s largest local government – to mirror what the City of Hamburg has done and provide an electric car network.

 

‘I want to do my people proud’: Indigenous ranger’s Simpson Desert mission

An Aboriginal elder from south-west Queensland wants to preserve the 60,000-year-old culture and history of his people and the story of their lives in the Simpson Desert before it is too late.

 

South Australia

Centuries-old native Australian trees are dying in the South Australian outback

Ecologists and scientists are blaming drought and climate change for the death of these native Australia trees that are more than 200 years old.

 

Fishos tangled up in snapper stock crisis [$]

Looming fishing restrictions to restore depleted stock levels for SA’s prized snapper have sparked concern among both recreational and professional fishermen.


Tasmania

Why has this affordable housing project angered so many residents? [$]

Kingborough Council will tonight vote on the contentious Mary Knoll affordable housing proposal, where 56 of 57 submissions received by council were opposed to the development. Find out why this housing project has angered so many residents.

 

Northern Territory

Mass bird kill blamed on fireworks [$]

Fireworks have been blamed for killing up to 50 birds on cracker night after the singed bodies of dozens of rainbow lorikeets were found scattered on the ground

 

Sustainability

UK looks towards a greener future

The UK government has launched a comprehensive Green Finance Strategy to help the nation reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

 

The search for a cleaner, greener plastic

Finding solutions to prevent harmful plastic waste is far from simple

 

Here’s how living in a big city is suffocating your skin

Dull, dehydrated skin is a tell-tale sign of a big-city lifestyle.

 

Road map for electric vehicles in India revisited

Deepak Gupta

We need to lessen the burden of transition from the ecosystem, gross domestic production contribution, and employment of the internal combustion engine car segment

 

What other countries can teach us about ditching disposable nappies

Kelly Dombroski

Vanuatu has banned them outright, while many Chinese families use just one every 24 hours. So why are Australians still sending millions of dirty nappies to landfill every single day?

 

Nature Conservation

Loophole in British ivory ban puts hippos at risk

The British ban on elephant ivory  is killing hippos, conservationists say, as poachers and hunters take advantage of a loophole in the new law.

 

‘The system was broken’: How The Nature Conservancy prospered but ran aground

Persistent complaints of employee mistreatment have upended the mammoth environmental group’s leadership.

 

Ecologists are racing to restore the world’s tropical rainforests

Replenishing depleted rainforests is an urgent global imperative.

 

Now for something completely different …

3 things you need to know about NAIDOC Week

Today begins NAIDOC Week, when those of us who live on the land we now call Australia join together to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

 

 

Maelor Himbury

6 Florence St Niddrie 3042

93741902

0432406862