Post of the Day
Forked Tongue: Facebook is in News Corp’s league on subverting climate science
Elizabeth Minter
Facebook is up there with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp when it comes to sowing the seeds of doubt about climate science, conducting just six fact checks a month on billions of posts
On This Day
Climate Change
Half of emissions cuts will come from future tech, says John Kerry
US climate envoy says people will not have to give up quality of life to achieve some of net zero goals
Fighting climate change means taking laughing gas seriously
Agriculture researchers seek ways to reduce nitrous oxide’s impact on warming.
Boris Johnson’s advisers may push for a virtual Cop26. He should ignore them
Fiona Harvey
The UK must risk an in-person meeting in Glasgow if this crucial climate conference is to be a success
Forked Tongue: Facebook is in News Corp’s league on subverting climate science
Elizabeth Minter
Facebook is up there with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp when it comes to sowing the seeds of doubt about climate science, conducting just six fact checks a month on billions of posts
National
$2b fuel security package hoped to keep remaining oil refineries in Australia
Australia’s two remaining oil refineries in Queensland and Victoria will be encouraged to stay put under a $2 billion plan designed to shore up the nation’s fuel security.
Australian grid used the least coal on record last summer as renewables shone
Coal-fired power consumption in Australia hit a record low for the first three months of 2021 as cheaper renewables took hold.
Coalition farm policy quietly grows climate plan alternative
Ambitious policies launched by the federal government could deliver similar outcomes to a carbon price and take the sting out of the climate culture wars.
Governments told to drive a harder bargain on transport megaprojects
Taxpayers are forking out too much for big road and rail projects, a new study has found.
Your next Uber ride could be electric [$]
A company that says it is Australia’s biggest leaser of vehicles to ride-share drivers has just placed the country’s largest order for electric vehicles.
Rise of transport megaprojects adds to Australian taxpayers’ risk of paying too much
Owain Emslie
When governments decide to build a new road, bridge or train line, their first concern should be getting it at the cheapest possible long-term price for a given quality standard. But our new report, Megabang for Megabucks, shows cost management is rarely top of mind for governments. And, with the trend towards ever-larger projects, the risk that a lack of competition for contracts will push up prices is very real.
Victoria
Why cost of major projects are blowing out [$]
An explosive report has lifted the lid on why major projects — like the West Gate Tunnel and Metro Tunnel — are costing taxpayers more than promised.
Westgate ‘toxic soil’ to be dumped elsewhere [$[
The stalled Westgate Tunnel project has finally got the greenlight to go as three sites to dump the toxic soil plaguing the project are approved.
Brendan Wintle et al
Australia’s forest-dwelling wildlife is in greater peril after last week’s court ruling that logging — even if it breaches state requirements — is exempt from the federal law that protects threatened species.
New South Wales
Hunter Valley: Green strategy for coal country [$]
A consortium of major domestic and international energy players has devised a $2bn plan to fast-track Australia’s first hydrogen valley in the heart of the nation’s biggest coal province, using renewable energy to build an export industry and secure jobs in NSW.
Coal no more: it’s time to future-proof our communities
Sophie Nichols
If I was to describe in one word, what the upper Hunter Valley needs to be in the future, the word would be innovative.
ACT
Mice are moving into homes and sheds across the Canberra region, much to the dismay of locals
In 25 years of living in Murrumbateman, Dan and Jenny have never seen so many mice around their home. To make matters worse, baits and traps are in short supply.
Royalla quarry proposed for environmentally protected land
Just under a year ago Kieran Hynes moved his family to the northern end of Royalla to escape the perceived health risks associated with living beside a quarry in the border town’s south.
South Australia
Solar casts $5bn shade on prices [$]
Power firms usually reap billions as we crank up aircon in summer. Not this time, as solar and mild days crunched prices.
Jobs as huge carbon project takes massive step forward [$]
A giant SA carbon project creating thousands of jobs for decades has passed a significant milestone – but it can now avoid all public consultation.
Northern Territory
Matt put a solar power battery on his bike shop. He won’t put one on his home. Here’s why
Matt King’s reason for not installing a household battery highlights how much energy policy, subsidies and basic household economics impact consumer uptake of home battery storage. But industry proponents say changes are on the way.
Inconsistent and incomplete data hides increasingly consolidated land ownership in outback Australia
Fabled land or false narrative: what is the modern outback?
One of the world’s last great untamed areas needs protection. In Guardian Australia’s new series, we examine the challenges it faces and meet those caring for it
Western Australia
Northern Territory Traditional Owners likely to testify at Juukan Gorge inquiry
Committee members from the Juukan Gorge inquiry into the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves in Western Australia have travelled to tiny Borroloola, about 60km from the mine, for informal talks with concerned native title holders.
Sustainability
Why the landmark Bretton Woods deal is as relevant today as in 1944
Larry Elliott
Countries came together early and decisively to fix a broken global system. The same ambition is needed today
With technology, coal can be part of the energy future [$]
Michelle Manook
The past month has been appropriately climactic for the coal industry and all energy sources.
Nature Conservation
Could ‘engineered’ coral save the planet’s reefs from destruction?
London Zoo’s latest exhibition shows how scientists hope to halt the devastation caused by overheated oceans
Divers remove 200lb of trash from Lake Tahoe in one day – video
Scuba divers removed about 200lb of garbage from California’s Lake Tahoe on Friday. The dive was part of a six-month effort to rid the lake of fishing rods, tyres, aluminium cans, beer bottles and other rubbish accumulating underwater.
UN project looks for ways to keep waterways plastic-free
A global UN initiative takes a deep dive into reducing debris in the Ganga Basin.
There’s a time and a place for trees – don’t transplant them for our amusement
Rowan Moore
Making an exhibition out of living things rather defeats any environmental message they are supposed to convey
—
return email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.