Sarah Berry
The AGE
31 December 2022
The AGE recently serialised these 6 short articles.
They were written by Sarah Berry, a SLEEP expert.
You may find some of the suggestions useful.
- What happens when we sleep?
- Rethink a perfect night’s sleep
- Light up your circadian rhythm
- Quest to rest: from pills to pillows
- Daily hacks for sweet dreams
- Chase not; let sleep come to you
How to learn a language (and stick at it)
John Gallagher
psyche.co
30 December 2022
Forget about fluency and how languages are taught at school: as an adult learner you can take a whole new approach
Will Lockett
Medium.com
29 December 2022
Is this a good idea?
More information is HERE.
How supermarket design influences what you put in your trolley
Nicola Heath, Rosanna Ryan and Teresa Tan
ABC News
28 December 2022
It’s time to do your grocery shopping. You’ve got your reusable bags and your shopping list. You’ve written down everything you need to prepare meals for the week: staples like bread, milk and eggs, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and healthy snacks for the family. But there’s a lot more that’s happening in the supermarket that influences what you put in your trolley.
Robert Roy Britt
Medium.com
27 December 2022
Walking, and more of it, is great for health, but let’s be reasonable, science says
Why it’s becoming nearly impossible to be healthy in Australia
Dr Sandro Demaio
ABC News
26 December 2022
It seems counterintuitive. That in a country as rich as ours, and with a world-class health system, 50 per cent of Australians now live with chronic disease. You can view Magda Szubanski’s program for free on ABCiView here https://iview.abc.net.au/show/magda-s-big-national-health-check
Would you eat food made from plastic?
Abby
MEDIUM.COM
25 December 2022
How scientists are transforming plastic waste into food-safe ingredients
How to Talk to Anyone at a Christmas Party
Various Authors
Forge Magazine
24 December 2022
The holidays are a time of warmth, cheer, and awkwardness. Here’s how to enjoy even the trickiest conversations.
Donna Lu
The Guardian
23 December 2022
International study projects up to 80% of emperor penguin colonies will be ‘quasi-extinct’ by 2100
The climate changed fast this year, and institutions responded
Bill McKibben
New Yorker
22 December 2022
2022 saw record heat and floods around the globe, but also, at last, major legislation in this country.
Labor facing test of green credentials in logging fight
Mike Foley
WAtoday
21 December 2022
Key crossbench senators say Labor must end the native timber industry to meet Australia’s commitment to a new international deal to protect nature.
‘Historic’ agreement reached at UN conference to halt biodiversity loss by 2030
ABC News
20 December 2022
The global framework comes on the day the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, is set to end in Montreal.
PM backs intervention when free market fails
Shirt-fronting vested interests
COP15: Biodiversity experts share 6 reasons why our environment is not yet doomed
Benji Jones
VOX
19 December 2022
While it’s hard to ignore the warning signs, there are plenty of reasons to still have hope for our planet’s future
Corey J. A. Bradshaw and Giovanni Strona
The Conversation
18 December 2022
Climate change is one of the main drivers of species loss globally. We know more plants and animals will die as heatwaves, bushfires, droughts and other natural disasters worsen.
Computer modelling predicts climate change causing cascading animal ‘co-extinctions’
Eugene Boisvert and Anisha Pillarisetty
ABC News
17 December 2022
The variety of animal species found in locations across the globe could be cut by more than quarter by the end of the century, a new study finds.
The top 12 climate developments of 2022
Laurie Stone
RMI
16 December 2022
The past year saw amazing developments in climate, energy, and more that will make a difference for years to come.
Australia needs much more solar and wind power, but where are the best sites? We mapped them all
Cheng Cheng et al
The Conversation
15 December 2022
Renewable energy’s share of Australia’s main electricity grid has more than doubled from 16% to 35% in five years, and the federal government wants this figure to reach 82% by 2030.
Fusion breakthrough thrills physicists, but won’t power your home soon
Eric Wesoff
Canery Media
14 December 2022
A nuclear fusion milestone (with frickin’ laser beams!) is a big deal. Alas, it could be decades before fusion might actually help clean up our energy system.
What’s the point of all the money in the world if there’s no planet?
Zoë Wundenberg
The Canberra Times
13 December 2022
We can be quite short sighted, can’t we? As a society, as a person, we often fail to see value in things that we won’t live to see come to fruition. And yet our evolution is based on the vision of a few daring souls who lay the foundation for greatness that was still to come.
Marine life hit by ‘perfect storm’ as red list reveals species close to extinction
Patrick Greenfield
The Guardian
11 December 2022
Unsustainable human activity putting dugongs, abalone shellfish and pillar coral at risk of disappearing, says latest IUCN update
Violet Coco is not alone: the climate activists facing jail
Joe Hinchliffe, Sean Ruse and Michael McGowan
The Guardian
10 December 2022
Lee Coaldrake was 18 when she joined protests in Brisbane against South Africa’s rugby tour of Australia in 1971.
Animating the Carbon Cycle: Earth’s animals vital allies in CO2 storage
Mark Hillsdon
MONGABAY
9 December 2022
Wildlife, as big as elephants and as small as spiders, are important players in the carbon cycle, and scientists say that supercharging ecosystems with animals could enhance terrestrial and marine carbon sinks.
‘Fate of the living world’ will be decided at Cop15, say scientists
Damian Carrington
The Guardian
8 December 2022
Leading researchers say the UN biodiversity summit is ‘vastly more important’ than the recent Cop27 climate meeting
The biodiversity crisis in numbers – a visual guide
Patrick Greenfield
The Guardian
7 December 2022
Nature is under threat as never before, but what does that actually mean? We explain what is at stake – and why action at Cop15 is more crucial than ever
Addressing climate change will not “save the planet”
Christopher Ketcham
VOICES
6 December 2022
The dismal reality is that green energy will save not the complex web of life on Earth but the particular way of life of one domineering species.
In a new book, Annie Proulx shows us how to fall in love with wetlands
Kiley Bense
Inside Climate News
5 December 2022
These vital carbon sinks and havens for biodiversity, rarely encountered, are disappearing three times faster than forests.
Big floods rejuvenate our landscape, but they also have a ‘sting in the tail’ for nature
Rachel Carbonell
ABC News
4 December 2022
Floods are critically important for many plant and animal species, but scientists fear back-to-back extremes of flood, fire and drought are causing significant environmental damage — and say we don’t know the full picture.
Beyond solar: Here’s what the clean energy future might look like
Emily Pontecorvo
GRIST
3 December 2022
Five scenes show how direct air capture, carbon capture, and hydrogen hubs could be integrated into the U.S. economy.
54% of projects extracting clean energy minerals overlap with Indigenous lands, research reveals
Deanna Kemp et al
The Conversation
2 December 2022
Vast quantities of minerals are needed to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. Minerals and metals are essential for wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries for electric vehicles. But Indigenous peoples have raised concerns about more mining on their lands and territories.
From the Amazon to Australia, why is your money funding Earth’s destruction?
George Monbiot
The Guardian
1 December 2022
Fossil fuels, fisheries and farming: the world’s most destructive industries are protected – and subsidised – by governments
Hamish Clarke et al
The Conversation
30 November 2022
Without strong climate action, forests on every continent will be highly flammable for at least 30 extra days per year by the end of the century – and this fire threat is far greater for some forests including the Amazon, according to our new study.
Women’s participation is crucial to fight climate change
Carolina Mayen Huerta
Persuit
29 November 2022
For a sustainable future we need to bring women and girls to the forefront of the fight against climate change – a shift from the most affected by climate disasters to key players in energy transition
Climate concern the main reason voters swung to independents at federal election, study finds
Adam Morton and Katharine Murphy
The Guardian
28 November 2022
Nearly half of voters who switched to an independent candidate at 2022 election did so because of climate fears, researchers say
Lisa Cox
The Guardian
27 November 2022
Growing list facing extinction and underresourcing of conservation means plans have not been updated
The Amazon forest is reaching a tipping point and starting to collapse
Terrence McCoy
The Washington Post
26 November 2022
Dusty wells. Streams ebbing away. Pristine reserves aflame. Some scientists think the tipping point is already here.
Embrace what may be the most important green technology ever. It could save us all
George Monbiot
The Guardian
25 November 2022
Never mind the yuck factor: precision fermentation could produce new staple foods, and end our reliance on farming
State of the climate: what Australians need to know about major new report
Matthew England
The Conversation
24 November 2024
Our climate has warmed by an average 1.47℃ since national records began, bringing the continent close to the 1.5℃ limit the Paris Agreement hoped would never be breached.
Arianna Skibell
POLITICO
23 November 2022
Global coal use is not declining — and may actually produce a record amount of planet-warming pollution by the end of the year.
Five crucial issues in fight to save planet – and what Cop27 did about them
Robin McKie
The Guardian
20 November 2022
This month’s environmental summit opened as our planet wilts under the impact of climate crisis. Here we examine five key areas and assess what success – if any – was achieved in Egypt
Our leaders had a final chance to halt climate breakdown. They failed each and every one of us
George Monbiot
The Guardian
19 November 2022
It’s a miracle that any one of us is alive today. Those with the power to grant that miracle to future generations chose not to
Peaking: Why fossil fuel demand peaked in 2019
Kingsmill Bond, Sam Butler-Sloss
RMI
18 November 2022
Renewable growth and efficiency gains inevitably crush fossil fuel growth
Is recycling the problem, not the solution?
Liam Mannix
Sydney Morning Herald
16 November 2022
Recycling does not work as an industry – and evidence suggests it just makes us consume more.
Half Australia’s ‘rubbish’ can be recycled
Katelyn Catanzariti
New Daily
14 November 2022
Australians recycle nearly 30 times the amount they did in the mid-1990s – an increase from seven per cent to more than 60 per cent of all disposed materials, a waste audit has revealed.
There are now 8 billion of us — but soon we’ll hit a decline we’ll never reverse
Casey Briggs
ABC News
13 November 2022
This week, the world’s population ticks over a historic milestone. But in the next century, society will be reshaped dramatically — and soon we’ll hit a decline we’ll never reverse.
Global greenhouse gas emissions are supposed to be coming down. We just hit a record high
Nick Kilvert
ABC News
12 November 2022
Fossil carbon emissions bounced back to a record high this year and are likely to keep climbing, with scientists saying we’ll cross 1.5C of warming early next decade.
To those who sneer at activists blocking roads: what are you doing to save the planet?
Polly Toynbee
The Guardian
11 November 2022
The Tories’ despicable plan to imprison protesters is unlikely to stop those who fear imminent climate catastrophe
Our buildings are driving us closer to ‘climate hell’ – how do we get back on course to net zero?
Anna Hurlimann et al
The Conversation
10 November 2022
More and more of the world’s people are feeling the impacts of climate change. As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said when COP27 opened this week: “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”
Coles, Woolworths plastics recycling scheme collapses, secret stockpiles revealed
Chris Vedelago and James Dowling
Brisbane Times
9 November 2022
The company behind soft plastic collection points at Coles and Woolworths has admitted it has not been recycling the items.
Why it’s becoming nearly impossible to be healthy in Australia
Dr Sandro Demaio
ABC News
8 November 2022
It seems counterintuitive. That in a country as rich as ours, and with a world-class health system, 50 per cent of Australians now live with chronic disease.
Christopher Wright et al
The Conversation
7 November 2022
As world leaders assemble for the United Nations climate change conference (COP27) in Egypt, it’s hard to be optimistic the talks will generate any radical departure from the inexorable rise in global carbon emissions over the past two centuries.
You can pay to offset carbon on everything from flights to utilities. Does it actually do anything?
Aleisha Orr
SBS News
6 November 2022
Whenever you pay to offset carbon on a purchase, does it actually help change the world? Here are your questions answered.
VicForests logged ‘without knowing where gliders live’ and failed to protect them, court finds
Richard Crabtree
ABC News
5 November 2022
A court has found the methods VicForests use to protect endangered gliders in Gippsland and Central Victoria are “inadequate” and ineffective, in a significant win for two small environmental groups.
How natural disasters have shaped Australians attitudes to climate change
Jess Davis
ABC News
3 November 2022
Over the past 15 years, Australians have weathered myriad natural disasters including catastrophic bushfires, droughts, and floods and a new report shows attitudes to the threats posed by climate change have shifte.
Jess Davis
ABC News
2 November 2022
Many countries’ pledges to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions depend partly on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by relying on projects such as planting trees and restoring degraded ecosystems, but a new report has found the promises are unrealistic.
Interest in Melbourne Cup slips with more than half of Australians uninterested, poll suggests
Sarah Martin
The Guardian
1 November 2022
Nearly half of those surveyed (45%) believe it promotes ‘unhealthy’ gambling and a third (34%) say it normalises animal cruelty
96% of humans feel global warming: Study
AFP
Global Times
31 October 2022
Whether they realized it or not, some 7.6 billion people – 96 percent of humanity – felt global warming’s impact on temperatures over the last 12 months, researchers have said.
Is Australia’s growing love of Halloween endangering our wildlife?
Natasha May
The Guardian
30 October 2022
According to an online warning, decorations such as fake spiderweb ‘take a terrible toll’ on birds. We ask the experts how big a problem it is
When wind and solar replace fossil fuels, we will use less energy, save money, and won’t be as sick
Giles Parkinson
Renew Economy
29 October 2022
Modelling for Australia economy shows rapid switch to renewables will save energy, save money, and deliver considerable health benefits.
Daniel Merino and Gemma Ware
The Conversation
28 October 2022
Humans do a lot of different things to the environment, and there aren’t many natural processes – aside from an asteroid impact or the like – that can rival the scale of change brought on by human activity. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to three experts who study different ways that people are affecting how plants and animals evolve – and how humanity has become the single biggest driver of evolutionary changes on Earth.
Cut meat consumption to two burgers a week to save planet, study suggests
Fiona Harvey
The Guardian
27 October 2022
Climate crisis report says ‘we are not winning in any sector’ as experts call for urgent action on fossil fuels
Virtually all children on Earth will face more frequent heatwaves by 2050
Nina Lakhani
The Guardian
26 October 2022
New Unicef report finds that in even best-case scenario 2 billion children will face four to five dangerous heat events annually
Renate Egan
The Conversation
25 October 2022
The cost of turning sunlight into electricity has fallen more than 90% over the last decade. Solar is now the cheapest form of newly built energy generation.
The iconic Pillars of Creation have been captured like never before
Maddy Morwood
ABC News
25 October 2022
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a spectacular and highly detailed landscape of the iconic Pillars of Creation in new pictures released by NASA.
Australia lacks a fuel efficiency standard — you could make it happen
David Ritter
Independent Australia
24 October 2022
A fuel efficiency standard would be a critical measure in fixing the climate crisis and it’s up to the public to make their voices heard.
Andrea La Nauze
The Conversation
22 October 2022
About 30% of Australian homes have rooftop solar panels installed – the highest uptake of any nation. Their popularity has been helped along by government subsidies that reduce the upfront costs of the technology.
A showdown on reparations is looming for UN climate talks
Fred Pearce
Yale Environment 360
21 October 2022
Developing nations have pushed demands that rich nations provide compensation for climate-caused “loss and damage” atop the agenda for next month’s climate talks in Egypt. With the U.S. and EU resisting, analysts say this key issue must be addressed if COP27 is to be a success.
Andrea La Nauze
The Conversation
About 30% of Australian homes have rooftop solar panels installed – the highest uptake of any nation. Their popularity has been helped along by government subsidies that reduce the upfront costs of the technology.
Giovanni Torre
National Indigenous Times
17 October 2022
Indigenous Protected Areas now make up more than half of the land in Australia’s National Reserve System with the new Aṉangu Tjutaku IPA, but concerns have been raised about cuts made to key federal support staff by the former Commonwealth government.
Should you install solar panels to beat rising power prices?
Jessica Irvine
The Age
16 October 2022
If you can afford the upfront cost, the economics of solar power have definitely swung in the direction of being something to seriously consider.
30 ways environmentalists can participate in democracy
John R. Platt
The Revelator
15 October 2022
Voting on election day is job one, but the planet needs your civic commitment every other day of the year, too.
Features of a sustainable society
Stephen Williams
Pearls and Irritations
14 October 2022
A sustainable society would have the following 12 features. It is ‘better, not bigger’ and should receive a high score on the Sustainable Development Index and Genuine Progress Indicator.
Half the world’s bird species are in decline – podcast
Nick Thorpe (BBC)
SBS News
13 October 2022
One in eight of the world’s bird species is threatened with extinction and many more are in decline, according to a new report issued by Birdlife International. Last month in the Hungarian capital Budapest, experts from Europe, Africa and Asia discussed what can be done – including ways to strengthen the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement, first signed in 1999
Why climate protesters are targeting art
Angus Dalton
The Age
12 October 2022
European activists are affixing themselves to centuries-old masterpieces. The trend is catching on here too.
Climate tipping points could lock in devastating changes – how close are they
David Armstrong McKay
Renew Economy
11 October 2022
A new assessment into parts of the climate system that are sensitive to “tipping” delivers some sobering conclusions.
Survey reveals 95% of families want help to be more energy efficient at home as cost of living soars
Australian Parents for Climate Action
10 October 2022
Nearly 95% of Australian families have had to cut their spending on essentials such as food and heating over winter, as the cost of living skyrockets.
What drives ecosystems to instability?
Anne Trafton
MIT News
9 October 2022
Trying to decipher all of the factors that influence the behavior of complex ecological communities can be a daunting task. However, MIT researchers have now shown that the behavior of these ecosystems can be predicted based on just two pieces of information: the number of species in the community and how strongly they interact with each other.
Men and their cars: Cities aim to break up the love affair
Giovanna Coi
Politico
8 October 2022
Men and women make different travel choices — understanding those is key to achieving pollution and climate targets.
Why climate change could make it harder for you to get a home loan – and hit your property’s value
Emilia Terzon
ABC News
7 October 2022
The insurance industry admits that some parts of the country will become increasingly difficult to insure as extreme weather takes hold. What does this mean for bank loans that are underwritten by them?
Euan Ritchie et al
The Conversation
6 October 2022
Australia’s dire and shameful conservation record is well established. The world’s highest number of recent mammal extinctions – 39 since colonisation. Ecosystems collapsing from the north to the south, across our lands and waters. Even species that have survived so far are at risk, as the sad list of threatened species and ecological communities continues to grow.
Nuclear Power: the right’s giant red herring
Ralph Evans
Pearls and Irritations
5 October 2022
Politicians of the Right keep suggesting Australia should build nuclear power stations. Why? They are slow to build, very expensive and potentially risky, and we have far better alternatives. Their aim is to divide and to wedge. We should treat it as a giant red herring.
What koalas need most from us this World Animal Day
Jeannet Kessels
The Canberra Times
4 October 2022
Since 1970, when I was five years old, the world has lost 70 per cent of its wildlife. The remaining 30 per cent are under accelerating threat, not only from human encroachment and habitat loss, but through climate change..
Here comes the catastrophocene…
Julian Cribb
Pearls and Irritations
3 October 2022
The good news is that the Anthropocene is almost over. It will have been the shortest geological epoch in all of Earth history. The bad news is that the Catastrophocene is just beginning.
Cop15 is an opportunity to save nature. We can’t afford another decade of failure
Phoebe Weston
The Guardian
2 October 2022
Ahead of the UN biodiversity conference, our reporter reflects on lessons of hope and change in three years reporting with the Guardian’s age of extinction team
Huge expansion of oil pipelines endangering climate, says report
Damian Carrington
The Guardian
1 October 2022
More than 24,000km of pipelines planned around world, showing ‘an almost deliberate failure to meet climate goals’.
Pumped hydro is the driving force of Queensland’s new energy plan, but how does it work?
Sarah Richards
ABC News
30 September 2022
Queensland is planning to build the world’s largest pumped hydro facility to reach it’s new renewable energy goals.
Want to phase out fossil fuels? We must fundamentally change our buildings
Joseph Allen, Parichehr Salimifard & Jonathan Buonocore
The Washington Post
29 September 2022
We can’t simply “electrify everything.” We must also adopt energy-efficient technology.
UN urges investment in clean, sustainable tourism, as numbers bounce back
United Nations News
28 September 2022
International tourism is showing strong signs of recovery, with tourist numbers rising to 57 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. On World Tourism Day, marked on Tuesday, the UN is calling for a major global rethink of the sector, to ensure that tourism is sustainable, and benefits local communities.
The dirty dozen: 12 pesticides that are banned elsewhere but still used in Australia
Anne Davies and Donna Lu
The Guardian
27 September 2022
Australia still uses dozens of chemicals that are banned in other countries – including the UK and US – because they are toxic to humans, animals or the environment
Can the success stopping the ozone hole be applied to climate change?
Kyle Bagenstose
USA TODAY
26 September 2022
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?
Why ‘best before’ food labelling is not best for the planet or your budget
Louise Grimmer and Nathan Kilah
ABC News
25 September 2022
In Australia we produce 7.6 million tonnes of food waste every year — about 300 kilograms per person. About 70 per cent of what we throw out is still edible. Why aren’t we following the UK and USA in removing some of these labels?
How to make buildings green and efficient
Energy Insiders podcast
Giles Parkinson & David Leitch
RenewEconomy
24 September 2022
Green Building Council’s Davina Rooney on low carbon concrete, microgrids, and taking emissions out of the built environment.
‘Governments must invest to cut energy costs’
a.r.u.
23 September 2022
Governments must deliberately use public investment and regulation to rapidly scale-up clean energy technologies to bring down costs, achieve global climate goals and boost economies worldwide, according to a major new report launched today by leading international economists and energy policy experts.
A ‘genius’ inventor has a plan to decarbonise Australia — and he needs your help
James Purtill
ABC News
22 September 2022
Australia’s race to net zero will partly be a nationwide home renovation project. And it starts with your hot water system.
Exotic disease threat on the rise as climate change alters habitats, scientists say
By Hannah Jose et al
ABC Rural
21 September 2022
Climate change isn’t just expanding the environments were deadly diseases can occur, it’s also making their spread more likely as weather events become more extreme, researchers say.
Climate change threatens up to 100% of trees in Australian cities, and most urban species worldwide
Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez et al
The Conversation
20 September 2022
Our study published today in Nature Climate Change found climate change will put 90-100% of the trees and shrubs planted in Australian capital cities at risk by 2050. Without action, two-thirds of trees and shrubs in cities worldwide will be at potential risk from climate change.
Jeff Sparrow
The Guardian
19 September 2022
Along with subsidising big polluters, governments are setting in place repressive anti-protest laws to protect them
Extreme hunger soaring in world’s climate hotspots, says Oxfam
Fiona Harvey
The Guardian
18 September 2022
Charity says 19 million people facing starvation in report highlighting link with extreme weather
Euan Ritchie
The Guardian
17 September 2022
Just one day after the Queen’s death, another deeply sobering study related to the dangers of exceeding 1.5C of global warming was published
Australia is funding just one-tenth of its fair share of global climate action, study finds
Sarah Martin
The Guardian
15 September 2022
Wealthy high-polluting countries to face growing calls from poorer nations to help cover cost of extreme weather and sea-level rises
World is ‘heading in wrong direction’, UN warns, as pollution tops pre-pandemic levels
West Cornwall’s Coast Local Radio Station
14 September 2022
Widespread lockdowns made little dent in pollution rates, which have now returned from a temporary dip to above pre-pandemic levels, the United Nations has confirmed as it warned the world is “heading in the wrong direction”.
Study shows ‘unprecedented’ changes to world’s rivers
National Science Foundation
13 September 2022
In the past 40 years, humans have caused unprecedented, consequential changes to river sediment transport, according to a new study by scientists at Dartmouth, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and published in Science.
Reasons for (cautious) optimism: the good news on the climate crisis
Adam Morton
The Guardian
12 September 2022
Every fraction of a degree of global heating avoided makes a difference. Here are some reasons for hop
Planting trees not always an effective way of binding carbon dioxide
Louise Rütting
University of Gothenburg
11 September 2022
Tree-planting has been widely seen as an effective way of binding carbon as carbon dioxide levels rise in the atmosphere. But now researchers are warning that forests on nutrient-poor land won’t be an additional carbon sink in the long term.
Amid so much depressing climate news, here’s a new book to inspire healthy climate action
Claire O’Rourke
Croakey Health Media
10 September 2022
The unending bad news on climate can be overwhelming and enervating. However, a new book, Together We Can, seeks to help people and communities move beyond being “climate freaked-out” to connecting up and taking collective action.
Labor’s climate bill has just cleared parliament. What does this mean for Australia?
Jessica Bahr
SBS News
9 September 2022
Labor’s climate bill has officially cleared the Senate, paving the way for a 43 per cent emission reduction target and goal of net zero emissions by 2050 to become law. Here’s what you need to know.
What happens if the climate and ecological crisis is framed as a national threat?
Liz Boulton
Pearls and Irritations
8 September 2022
For 30 years, the risk of dangerous climate change, which would render the Earth uninhabitable for most species, has been treated as a scientific and economic governance issue. Partly due to historic norms, but also due to legitimate concerns about securitisation, these have been strictly civil matters.
By Richard Denniss – The Conversation – 7 September 2022
Fossil fuel subsidies from major economies including Australia reached close to US$700 billion in 2021, almost doubling from 2020, according to new analysis by the International Energy Agency and OECD.
Collapse of G20 talks sparks fear of ‘backtracking’ on climate pledges
By Joe Lo – Renew Economy – 6 September 2022
Climate and energy ministers clash over climate finance, methane, shipping, carbon levies and the world’s warming limit at talks in Bali
Does carbon capture and storage mean Australia can keep burning fossil fuels?
By Samantha Dick – ABC News – 5 September 2022
The technology is being hailed as one way Australia can open new oil and gas projects while simultaneously combating climate change. But there are doubts CCS is up to the task.
IPCC reports are the beacon of climate science. These scientists say they have to be stopped
By Nick Kilvert – ABC News – 4 September 2022
Fed up with what they saw as inaction by policymakers, three climate change scientists called on their colleagues to withdraw from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reporting process.
Study: People who lack compassion for environment are also less emotional in general
From Michigan News- 3 September 2022
In a series of online experiments in the U.S., U-M graduate student Logan Bickel and psychology professor Stephanie Preston examined the emotional responses of more than 600 people in a variety of contexts. People not concerned when viewing pictures of damage to the environment – such as oil spills on fire in a gulf – also did not feel bad about other images including crying babies, officers in distress, injured athletes, wounded soldiers and even moldy food.
Carbon capture doomed to fail, report says
From The New Daily – 2 September 2022
Pumping carbon under the sea from gas rigs or storing it underground “simply won’t work” as a climate solution, an independent energy researcher warns.
Global fossil fuel subsidies almost doubled in 2021, analysis finds
By Damian Carrington – The Guardian – 1 September 2022
Support amid huge industry profits is a ‘roadblock’ to tackling climate crisis, says International Energy Agency
The age of ‘the car is king’ is over. The sooner we accept that, the better
By John Vidal – The Guardian – 31 August 2022
Accidents and pollution are making road vehicles untenable. With public transport and ride-sharing, their demise can’t come soon enough
Support for fossil fuels almost doubled in 2021, slowing progress toward international climate goals
From OECD – 30 August 2022
Major economies sharply increased support for the production and consumption of coal, oil and natural gas, with many countries struggling to balance longstanding pledges to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies with efforts to protect households from surging energy prices, according to analysis released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Energy Agency.
Why are rivers drying up? Global droughts are turning waterways to dust
ByBrian K Sullivan – Bloomberg – 29 August 2022
Waterways have dried to a trickle thanks to droughts and heat waves that owe their origins to climate change.
Electric car-ready homes will help firm up the power grid, Ed Husic says
By Peter Hannam – The Guardian – 28 August 2022
Governments urged to plan for emerging technologies that will allow bidirectional charging so vehicle batteries can power homes
Carbon offsets have serious issues. Is it even possible to fix them?
By Adele Peters – Fast Company – 27 August 2022
Offsets are an increasingly popular way for companies to reach net-zero goals, but many of them just don’t work.
‘I feel my heart breaking today’ – a climate scientist’s path through grief towards hope
By Joelle Gergis – The Conversation – 26 August 2022
I have spent hundreds of hours trawling through countless UN reports and scientific papers until my eyes sting and I can no longer absorb any more information. I feel overwhelmed and saturated with sorrow.
By Mark Diesendorf – The Conversation – 25 August 2022
Energy consumption – whether its heating your home, driving, oil refining or liquefying natural gas – is responsible for around 82% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The road to new fuel efficiency rules is filled with potholes. Here’s how Australia can avoid them
By Robin Smit et al – The Conversation – 24 August 2022
Last week, federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen officially put fuel efficiency standards on the national agenda, saying the measure would reduce transport emissions and encourage electric vehicle uptake.
Can Africa be continent of solutions to climate crisis?
From United Nations Climate Change – 23 August 2022
As senior government officials and non-state actors prepare for 2022 Africa Climate Week in Libreville, Gabon (29 August – 2 September) a reflection on Africa’s untapped potential to provide solutions to the global climate crisis, by Ibrahim Thiaw, Acting Executive Secretary of UN Climate change.
Avoiding plastics and using a reusable coffee cup to save the environment? Maybe you’ve been duped
By Anna Kelsey-Sugg & Paul Barclay – ABC News – 22 August 2022
It’s big businesses, not individuals, that need to change if we are to address environmental issues.This author says clever marketing has made us think otherwise.
Diet for a hotter climate: five plants that could help feed the world
By Cecilia Nowell – The Guardian – 21 August 2022
Will climate action undermine Australia’s democracy? This question might not be as outlandish as it seems.
Here’s why many electric vehicles are so expensive
BY RACHEL FRAZIN – The Hill – 20 August 2022
Battery costs are keeping the price of electric vehicles higher than their gas-powered counterparts, analysts say.
The UN says access to a healthy environment is a human right. Here’s what it means for Australia
Meg Good
The Conversation
18 October 2022
The United Nations recently declared that access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a universal human right.
Giovanni Torre
National Indigenous Times
17 October 2022
Indigenous Protected Areas now make up more than half of the land in Australia’s National Reserve System with the new Aṉangu Tjutaku IPA, but concerns have been raised about cuts made to key federal support staff by the former Commonwealth government.
Should you install solar panels to beat rising power prices?
Jessica Irvine
The Age
16 October 2022
If you can afford the upfront cost, the economics of solar power have definitely swung in the direction of being something to seriously consider.
30 ways environmentalists can participate in democracy
John R. Platt
The Revelator
15 October 2022
Voting on election day is job one, but the planet needs your civic commitment every other day of the year, too.
Features of a sustainable society
Stephen Williams
Pearls and Irritations
14 October 2022
A sustainable society would have the following 12 features. It is ‘better, not bigger’ and should receive a high score on the Sustainable Development Index and Genuine Progress Indicator.
Half the world’s bird species are in decline – podcast
Nick Thorpe (BBC)
SBS News
13 October 2022
One in eight of the world’s bird species is threatened with extinction and many more are in decline, according to a new report issued by Birdlife International. Last month in the Hungarian capital Budapest, experts from Europe, Africa and Asia discussed what can be done – including ways to strengthen the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement, first signed in 1999
Why climate protesters are targeting art
Angus Dalton
The Age
12 October 2022
European activists are affixing themselves to centuries-old masterpieces. The trend is catching on here too.
Climate tipping points could lock in devastating changes – how close are they
David Armstrong McKay
Renew Economy
11 October 2022
A new assessment into parts of the climate system that are sensitive to “tipping” delivers some sobering conclusions.
Survey reveals 95% of families want help to be more energy efficient at home as cost of living soars
Australian Parents for Climate Action
10 October 2022
Nearly 95% of Australian families have had to cut their spending on essentials such as food and heating over winter, as the cost of living skyrockets.
What drives ecosystems to instability?
Anne Trafton
MIT News
9 October 2022
Trying to decipher all of the factors that influence the behavior of complex ecological communities can be a daunting task. However, MIT researchers have now shown that the behavior of these ecosystems can be predicted based on just two pieces of information: the number of species in the community and how strongly they interact with each other.
Men and their cars: Cities aim to break up the love affair
Giovanna Coi
Politico
8 October 2022
Men and women make different travel choices — understanding those is key to achieving pollution and climate targets.
Why climate change could make it harder for you to get a home loan – and hit your property’s value
Emilia Terzon
ABC News
7 October 2022
The insurance industry admits that some parts of the country will become increasingly difficult to insure as extreme weather takes hold. What does this mean for bank loans that are underwritten by them?
Euan Ritchie et al
The Conversation
6 October 2022
Australia’s dire and shameful conservation record is well established. The world’s highest number of recent mammal extinctions – 39 since colonisation. Ecosystems collapsing from the north to the south, across our lands and waters. Even species that have survived so far are at risk, as the sad list of threatened species and ecological communities continues to grow.
Nuclear Power: the right’s giant red herring
Ralph Evans
Pearls and Irritations
5 October 2022
Politicians of the Right keep suggesting Australia should build nuclear power stations. Why? They are slow to build, very expensive and potentially risky, and we have far better alternatives. Their aim is to divide and to wedge. We should treat it as a giant red herring.
What koalas need most from us this World Animal Day
Jeannet Kessels
The Canberra Times
4 October 2022
Since 1970, when I was five years old, the world has lost 70 per cent of its wildlife. The remaining 30 per cent are under accelerating threat, not only from human encroachment and habitat loss, but through climate change..
Here comes the catastrophocene…
Julian Cribb
Pearls and Irritations
3 October 2022
The good news is that the Anthropocene is almost over. It will have been the shortest geological epoch in all of Earth history. The bad news is that the Catastrophocene is just beginning.
Cop15 is an opportunity to save nature. We can’t afford another decade of failure
Phoebe Weston
The Guardian
2 October 2022
Ahead of the UN biodiversity conference, our reporter reflects on lessons of hope and change in three years reporting with the Guardian’s age of extinction team
Huge expansion of oil pipelines endangering climate, says report
Damian Carrington
The Guardian
1 October 2022
More than 24,000km of pipelines planned around world, showing ‘an almost deliberate failure to meet climate goals’.
Pumped hydro is the driving force of Queensland’s new energy plan, but how does it work?
Sarah Richards
ABC News
30 September 2022
Queensland is planning to build the world’s largest pumped hydro facility to reach it’s new renewable energy goals.
Want to phase out fossil fuels? We must fundamentally change our buildings
Joseph Allen, Parichehr Salimifard & Jonathan Buonocore
The Washington Post
29 September 2022
We can’t simply “electrify everything.” We must also adopt energy-efficient technology.
UN urges investment in clean, sustainable tourism, as numbers bounce back
United Nations News
28 September 2022
International tourism is showing strong signs of recovery, with tourist numbers rising to 57 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. On World Tourism Day, marked on Tuesday, the UN is calling for a major global rethink of the sector, to ensure that tourism is sustainable, and benefits local communities.
The dirty dozen: 12 pesticides that are banned elsewhere but still used in Australia
Anne Davies and Donna Lu
The Guardian
27 September 2022
Australia still uses dozens of chemicals that are banned in other countries – including the UK and US – because they are toxic to humans, animals or the environment
Can the success stopping the ozone hole be applied to climate change?
Kyle Bagenstose
USA TODAY
26 September 2022
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?
Why ‘best before’ food labelling is not best for the planet or your budget
Louise Grimmer and Nathan Kilah
ABC News
25 September 2022
In Australia we produce 7.6 million tonnes of food waste every year — about 300 kilograms per person. About 70 per cent of what we throw out is still edible. Why aren’t we following the UK and USA in removing some of these labels?
How to make buildings green and efficient
Energy Insiders podcast
Giles Parkinson & David Leitch
RenewEconomy
24 September 2022
Green Building Council’s Davina Rooney on low carbon concrete, microgrids, and taking emissions out of the built environment.
‘Governments must invest to cut energy costs’
a.r.u.
23 September 2022
Governments must deliberately use public investment and regulation to rapidly scale-up clean energy technologies to bring down costs, achieve global climate goals and boost economies worldwide, according to a major new report launched today by leading international economists and energy policy experts.
A ‘genius’ inventor has a plan to decarbonise Australia — and he needs your help
James Purtill
ABC News
22 September 2022
Australia’s race to net zero will partly be a nationwide home renovation project. And it starts with your hot water system.
Exotic disease threat on the rise as climate change alters habitats, scientists say
By Hannah Jose et al
ABC Rural
21 September 2022
Climate change isn’t just expanding the environments were deadly diseases can occur, it’s also making their spread more likely as weather events become more extreme, researchers say.
Climate change threatens up to 100% of trees in Australian cities, and most urban species worldwide
Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez et al
The Conversation
20 September 2022
Our study published today in Nature Climate Change found climate change will put 90-100% of the trees and shrubs planted in Australian capital cities at risk by 2050. Without action, two-thirds of trees and shrubs in cities worldwide will be at potential risk from climate change.
Jeff Sparrow
The Guardian
19 September 2022
Along with subsidising big polluters, governments are setting in place repressive anti-protest laws to protect them
Extreme hunger soaring in world’s climate hotspots, says Oxfam
Fiona Harvey
The Guardian
18 September 2022
Charity says 19 million people facing starvation in report highlighting link with extreme weather
Euan Ritchie
The Guardian
17 September 2022
Just one day after the Queen’s death, another deeply sobering study related to the dangers of exceeding 1.5C of global warming was published
Australia is funding just one-tenth of its fair share of global climate action, study finds
Sarah Martin
The Guardian
15 September 2022
Wealthy high-polluting countries to face growing calls from poorer nations to help cover cost of extreme weather and sea-level rises
World is ‘heading in wrong direction’, UN warns, as pollution tops pre-pandemic levels
West Cornwall’s Coast Local Radio Station
14 September 2022
Widespread lockdowns made little dent in pollution rates, which have now returned from a temporary dip to above pre-pandemic levels, the United Nations has confirmed as it warned the world is “heading in the wrong direction”.
Study shows ‘unprecedented’ changes to world’s rivers
National Science Foundation
13 September 2022
In the past 40 years, humans have caused unprecedented, consequential changes to river sediment transport, according to a new study by scientists at Dartmouth, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and published in Science.
Reasons for (cautious) optimism: the good news on the climate crisis
Adam Morton
The Guardian
12 September 2022
Every fraction of a degree of global heating avoided makes a difference. Here are some reasons for hop
Planting trees not always an effective way of binding carbon dioxide
Louise Rütting
University of Gothenburg
11 September 2022
Tree-planting has been widely seen as an effective way of binding carbon as carbon dioxide levels rise in the atmosphere. But now researchers are warning that forests on nutrient-poor land won’t be an additional carbon sink in the long term.
Amid so much depressing climate news, here’s a new book to inspire healthy climate action
Claire O’Rourke
Croakey Health Media
10 September 2022
The unending bad news on climate can be overwhelming and enervating. However, a new book, Together We Can, seeks to help people and communities move beyond being “climate freaked-out” to connecting up and taking collective action.
Labor’s climate bill has just cleared parliament. What does this mean for Australia?
Jessica Bahr
SBS News
9 September 2022
Labor’s climate bill has officially cleared the Senate, paving the way for a 43 per cent emission reduction target and goal of net zero emissions by 2050 to become law. Here’s what you need to know.
What happens if the climate and ecological crisis is framed as a national threat?
Liz Boulton
Pearls and Irritations
8 September 2022
For 30 years, the risk of dangerous climate change, which would render the Earth uninhabitable for most species, has been treated as a scientific and economic governance issue. Partly due to historic norms, but also due to legitimate concerns about securitisation, these have been strictly civil matters.
By Richard Denniss – The Conversation – 7 September 2022
Fossil fuel subsidies from major economies including Australia reached close to US$700 billion in 2021, almost doubling from 2020, according to new analysis by the International Energy Agency and OECD.
Collapse of G20 talks sparks fear of ‘backtracking’ on climate pledges
By Joe Lo – Renew Economy – 6 September 2022
Climate and energy ministers clash over climate finance, methane, shipping, carbon levies and the world’s warming limit at talks in Bali
Does carbon capture and storage mean Australia can keep burning fossil fuels?
By Samantha Dick – ABC News – 5 September 2022
The technology is being hailed as one way Australia can open new oil and gas projects while simultaneously combating climate change. But there are doubts CCS is up to the task.
IPCC reports are the beacon of climate science. These scientists say they have to be stopped
By Nick Kilvert – ABC News – 4 September 2022
Fed up with what they saw as inaction by policymakers, three climate change scientists called on their colleagues to withdraw from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reporting process.
Study: People who lack compassion for environment are also less emotional in general
From Michigan News- 3 September 2022
In a series of online experiments in the U.S., U-M graduate student Logan Bickel and psychology professor Stephanie Preston examined the emotional responses of more than 600 people in a variety of contexts. People not concerned when viewing pictures of damage to the environment – such as oil spills on fire in a gulf – also did not feel bad about other images including crying babies, officers in distress, injured athletes, wounded soldiers and even moldy food.
Carbon capture doomed to fail, report says
From The New Daily – 2 September 2022
Pumping carbon under the sea from gas rigs or storing it underground “simply won’t work” as a climate solution, an independent energy researcher warns.
Global fossil fuel subsidies almost doubled in 2021, analysis finds
By Damian Carrington – The Guardian – 1 September 2022
Support amid huge industry profits is a ‘roadblock’ to tackling climate crisis, says International Energy Agency
The age of ‘the car is king’ is over. The sooner we accept that, the better
By John Vidal – The Guardian – 31 August 2022
Accidents and pollution are making road vehicles untenable. With public transport and ride-sharing, their demise can’t come soon enough
Support for fossil fuels almost doubled in 2021, slowing progress toward international climate goals
From OECD – 30 August 2022
Major economies sharply increased support for the production and consumption of coal, oil and natural gas, with many countries struggling to balance longstanding pledges to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies with efforts to protect households from surging energy prices, according to analysis released today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Energy Agency.
Why are rivers drying up? Global droughts are turning waterways to dust
ByBrian K Sullivan – Bloomberg – 29 August 2022
Waterways have dried to a trickle thanks to droughts and heat waves that owe their origins to climate change.
Electric car-ready homes will help firm up the power grid, Ed Husic says
By Peter Hannam – The Guardian – 28 August 2022
Governments urged to plan for emerging technologies that will allow bidirectional charging so vehicle batteries can power homes
Carbon offsets have serious issues. Is it even possible to fix them?
By Adele Peters – Fast Company – 27 August 2022
Offsets are an increasingly popular way for companies to reach net-zero goals, but many of them just don’t work.
‘I feel my heart breaking today’ – a climate scientist’s path through grief towards hope
By Joelle Gergis – The Conversation – 26 August 2022
I have spent hundreds of hours trawling through countless UN reports and scientific papers until my eyes sting and I can no longer absorb any more information. I feel overwhelmed and saturated with sorrow.
By Mark Diesendorf – The Conversation – 25 August 2022
Energy consumption – whether its heating your home, driving, oil refining or liquefying natural gas – is responsible for around 82% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The road to new fuel efficiency rules is filled with potholes. Here’s how Australia can avoid them
By Robin Smit et al – The Conversation – 24 August 2022
Last week, federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen officially put fuel efficiency standards on the national agenda, saying the measure would reduce transport emissions and encourage electric vehicle uptake.
Can Africa be continent of solutions to climate crisis?
From United Nations Climate Change – 23 August 2022
As senior government officials and non-state actors prepare for 2022 Africa Climate Week in Libreville, Gabon (29 August – 2 September) a reflection on Africa’s untapped potential to provide solutions to the global climate crisis, by Ibrahim Thiaw, Acting Executive Secretary of UN Climate change.
Avoiding plastics and using a reusable coffee cup to save the environment? Maybe you’ve been duped
By Anna Kelsey-Sugg & Paul Barclay – ABC News – 22 August 2022
It’s big businesses, not individuals, that need to change if we are to address environmental issues.This author says clever marketing has made us think otherwise.
Diet for a hotter climate: five plants that could help feed the world
By Cecilia Nowell – The Guardian – 21 August 2022
Will climate action undermine Australia’s democracy? This question might not be as outlandish as it seems.
Here’s why many electric vehicles are so expensive
BY RACHEL FRAZIN – The Hill – 20 August 2022
Battery costs are keeping the price of electric vehicles higher than their gas-powered counterparts, analysts say.
What makes a healthy city?
From USC Price – 18 August 2022
Around the world, people are using a USC Price professor’s research to make their cities healthier and more sustainable.
1 in 4 Australians is lonely. Quality green spaces in our cities offer a solution
From Xiaoqi Feng and Thomas Astell-Burt – The Conversation – 17 August 2022
Australian adults feel lonely, and the impacts can be dire. Loneliness increases our risks of depression, diabetes, dementia, self-harm and suicide. But likening it to a disease and proposals to treat it with a pill miss the point: we’ve been building for loneliness over many decades and decision-makers have been asleep at the wheel.
For 110 years, climate change has been in the news. Are we finally ready to listen?
From Linden Ashcroft – The Conversation – 16 August 2022
On August 14 1912, a small New Zealand newspaper published a short article announcing global coal usage was affecting our planet’s temperature.
To be real on climate, Labor must end logging of native forests
From John Quiggin – Independent Australia – 15 August 2022
A significant step toward boosting Labor’s lacklustre climate policy would be to end the logging of native forests and dump the disastrous Emissions Reduction Fund inherited from the Coalition.
We take our trees for granted — here’s how to help them out
Presented by Gemma Conroy – ABC News – 14 August 2022
We depend on trees more than we think, so it’s important that we take care of them. Here’s how Australians are looking after our trees.
Tanya Plibersek on Labor’s plans for Australia’s environment – Australian Politics podcast
Presented by Katharine Murphy – The Guardian – 13 August 2022
Australia’s environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, talks to Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy, about how Labor will decide which mines get approval and which don’t, whether or not the Albanese Labor government will institute a climate trigger — and how do we prepare for an eventual drought in Australia?
Labor must amend trade agreements that allow foreign companies to sue the government over energy and climate policies
By Patricia Ranald – The Guardian – 12 August 2022
Foreign companies should not be able to sue the government for taking action on climate change
Cross-sector push for more energy efficient homes
By Danielle Kutchel – PRObono – 11 August 2022
More than 100 organisations are pushing for an update to Australia’s building code to improve energy efficiency, with hopes for a raft of benefits.
We need more protected areas, but that’s not all
By Tara Lohan – The Revelator – 10 August 2022
New research supports efforts to designate more land and water to save biodiversity and fight climate change — but we need to protect better, as well as more.
A report has found Australians could have saved billions through fuel efficiency standards. Here’s how
By Nicholas McElroy – ABC NEWS – 9 August 2022
A report says Australian motorists could have saved $5.9 billion on fuel costs if efficiency standards were introduced in 2015. Let’s have a look at what the paper says.
Giraffes, parrots, and oak trees, among many species facing extinction
From UN News – 8 August 2022
Around one million species are facing extinction, according to a report from IPBES, an independent intergovernmental science and policy body supported by the UN.
The $8 billion Australian industry that’s creating thousands of tonnes of landfill waste
By Kate Ashton – ABC News – 7 August 2022
Make-up brands and retailers are now introducing recycling programs so old cosmetics waste can be turned into new products, but how effective are they and what makes the packaging so hard to recycle in the first place?
Climate activism can’t leave out the built environment — it generates half of emissions
By Michael Shank – The Hill – 6 August 2022
With Indonesian islanders suing cement producers for climate damages recently, buildings are getting much-needed attention for their carbon-heavy footprint.
Striking graphs that show humanity’s domination of the Earth
By Matt Simon – WIRED – 5 August 2022
An easy-to-use database quantifies our shake-up of the planet, from fossil fuels to farming to plastics. But there are a few bright spots.
Dramatic improvement in coral cover seen in parts of Great Barrier Reef
By Michael Slezak & Penny Timms – ABC News – 4 August 2022
Record coral cover is being seen across much of the Great Barrier Reef as it recovers from past storms and mass bleaching events. But the new coral taking over is leaving the reef more vulnerable to future devastating impacts, according to the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).
What is climate-neutral aviation and how do we get there?
By Sarah DeWeerdt – Anthropocene – 3 August 2022
Emissions other than carbon dioxide – especially contrails, which are well known to have a warming effect – are responsible for two-thirds of aviation’s climate impact. But these emissions aren’t covered by current international climate agreements and other efforts to mitigate climate change.
Solar is the cheapest power, and a literal light-bulb moment showed us we can cut costs and emissions even further
By Bruno Vicari Stefani et al – The Conversation – 2 August 2022
Recent extreme weather events have underscored the need to cut the CO₂ emissions that are driving up global temperatures. This requires a rapid transition of the energy economy to renewable energy sources, the cheapest being solar photovoltaics (PV). And our newly published research points to a way we can drive down costs of the shift even further using cheaper forms of silicon for highly efficient solar panels.
No miracle tech needed: How to switch to renewables now and lower costs doing it
By Mark Z Jacobson – The Hill – 1 August 2022
A new system could result in a 63 percent lower annual energy cost worldwide.
Greening the greyfields: how to renew our suburbs for more liveable, net-zero cities
By Peter Newman et al – The Conversation – 30 July 2022
Our ageing cities are badly in need of regeneration. Many established residential areas, the “greyfields”, are becoming physically, technologically and environmentally obsolete. They are typically located in low-density, car-dependent middle suburbs developed in the mid to late 20th century.
UN expert: Historic day for human rights and healthy planet
From The United Nations – 29 July 2022
A UN expert hailed the adoption of a historic resolution by the United Nations General Assembly today, recognising for the first time, that everyone, everywhere, has a human right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
Labor has introduced its controversial climate bill to parliament. Here’s how to give it real teeth
By John Quiggin – The Conversation – 28 July 2022
Earlier today, the federal government introduced its hotly awaited climate change bill to parliament. Despite the attention and controversy it’s attracted, the proposed legislation – as it stands – would be almost entirely symbolic.
Nature’s deteriorating health is threatening the wellbeing of Australians, the State of the Environment report finds
By John Turnbull and Emma Johnston – The Conversation – 27 July 2022
For the first time, the new State of the Environment report explicitly assessed the dependency of humans on nature. We, as report authors, evaluated trends and changes in the environment’s health for their impact on human society. This is described in terms of “human wellbeing”.
Urban patchwork is losing its green, making our cities and all who live in them vulnerable
By Gregory Moore – The Conversation – 26 July 2022
One delight of flying is seeing our familiar landscapes in a new way from above. At low altitude most of us know where things are, but as we ascend it becomes difficult to determine the local details, and we begin to see a bigger picture. Sometimes this bigger picture can be scary.
4 lessons for Albanese government in making its climate targets law
By Anita Foerster et al – The Conversation – 25 July 2022
As the new parliament sits for the first time this week, one issue will be in sharpest focus: enshrining a climate target into law. The Albanese government’s pre-election promise was to cut Australia’s emissions 43% on 2005 levels, by 2030.
Following the dire State of Environment report, greater investment in Landcare is needed
By Doug Humann – The Canberra Times – 24 July 2022
I’ve been around long enough to see dozens of State of the Environment reports, but this report is different.
A penguin farm in the Australian desert: a thought experiment that reveals the flaws in our environment laws
By David Lindenmayer – The Conversation – 23 July 2022
Imagine this fictitious scenario. The federal environment minister announces government approval for a large-scale penguin farm near Alice Springs. It will produce 300,000 penguins each year for the high-end feather market in Europe.
Labor won’t overhaul environment laws until next year. Here are 5 easy wins it could aim for now
By James Watson – The Conversation – 22 July 2022
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek this week acknowledged the grave state of Australia’s environment and pledged new laws to go before parliament next year.
Overwhelmed by environmental disaster? Here’s a scorecard to inspire optimism
By Claire O’Rourke – The Sydney Morning Herald – 21 July 2022
The nation’s environment report card is inescapably bleak, but that doesn’t mean there is no good news or reason to believe in positive action.
After a decade in the wilderness, Labor still lost on the environment
By Mike Foley – The Age – 20 July 2022
The Albanese government has emerged from a near decade in opposition without a plan to tackle the slow train wreck that is Australia’s extinction crisis.
Days of Rage
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 19 July 2022
System change is – and has always been – our only realistic means of defending the living planet.
Humanity is on track to cause one million species to go extinct, according to UN report
By Matthew Rozsa – AAP – 18 July 2022
Even as American politicians uselessly quibble over whether climate change is real (it is) and how humanity should address it, the natural world does not need humanity to humansplain to them that the Earth is becoming uninhabitable.
Fact check: Minuscule wind and solar production claim needs a jolt of truth
By Georgina Jerums – AAP – 17 July 2022
Climate change sceptics say some renewable energy sources are almost negligible in terms of electricity production in Australia.
‘You can’t put the fire out while you’re pouring petrol on it’ – Adam Bandt on working with Labor for climate action – Australian Politics Podcast
By Katharine Murphy – The Guardian – 16 July 2022
Greens leader Adam Bandt talks to political editor Katharine Murphy about the upcoming parliament, Labor’s 43% emissions target, and the need to work together to achieve sustainable climate goals
Australia’s central climate policy pays people to grow trees that already existed. Taxpayers – and the environment – deserve better
By Andrew Macintosh et al – The Conversation – 15 July 2022
The federal government has launched an independent review of Australia’s central climate policy, the Emissions Reduction Fund, after we and others raised serious concerns about its integrity.
Forests are becoming less resilient because of climate change
By Adam Vaughan – New Scientist – 14 July 2022
An analysis of two decades of satellite data shows that forests in arid, tropical and temperate regions are becoming less able to bounce back after events such as drought and logging.
Australian cities failing on walkability
By Melanie Lowe – Persuit – 13 July 2022
The World Heath Organization has set targets to promote physical activity but an international study shows Australian cities are built around cars rather than encouraging walking
World population to peak and decline sooner than previously thought
By Abul Rizvi – Brisbane Times – 12 July 2022
The latest update of the UN’s World Population Prospects confirms we are now in sight of a time when the human population will cease to grow and be in ongoing decline.
Plant-based meat by far the best climate investment, report finds
By Damian Carrington – The Guardian – 11 July 2022
Non-animal proteins can play critical role tackling climate crisis, says Boston Consulting Group
Climate emergency actions are needed not just promises
By Nigel Howard – Pearls and Irritations – 10 July 2022
Labor didn’t so much win the election gaining only 32% of the primary vote – they just didn’t lose it quite as badly as the Coalition, scraping into government because they were not as reprehensible on climate and integrity
Energy charter treaty makes climate action nearly illegal in 52 countries. How can we leave it?
By Chamu Kuppuswamy – Renew Economy – 9 July 2022
Energy companies in the EU, UK and Japan are using the treaty to sue governments over policies that interfere with fossil fuel extraction. Can it be overruled?
New snapshot of corporate emissions reduction progress
From MIRAGE – 8 July 2022
For the first time, a snapshot has been published of the progress being made by some of the biggest companies in Australia towards their climate ambitions.
What is the Corporate Emissions Reduction Transparency report?
Australia’s finally acknowledged climate change is a national security threat. Here are 5 mistakes to avoid
By Robert Glasser – The Conversation – 7 July 2022
The climate policies of the former Morrison government were widely panned – largely for a weak commitment to cutting emissions and a slow transition to renewable energy. But amid all the shortcomings, arguably the biggest was the Coalition’s neglect of security threats posed by climate change.
Nature restoration no substitute for cutting fossil fuels
By Kate Dooley and Zebedee Nicholls – Persuit – 6 July 2022
While restoring ecosystems is crucial for planetary health, it’s no substitute for preventing emissions from fossil fuels
To stop risky developments in floodplains, we have to tackle the profit motive – and our false sense of security
By Brian Robert Cook and Tim Werner – The Conversation – 5 July 2022
In the aftermath of destructive floods, we often seek out someone to blame. Common targets are the “negligent local council”, the “greedy developer”, “the builder cutting corners”, and the “foolish home owner.” Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, as Sydney’s huge floods make clear.
Gas Lies: as super profits ramp up so too does the fossil fuel propaganda war
By Michael West – Michael West Media – 4 July 2022
As fossil fuel corporations reap fabulous profits at the expense of Australian gas and electricity customers, the gas lobby is running a propaganda campaign calling for Australia to power the world, help Ukraine, let “the market” do its thing. The reality is there is no market
Victoria to drop gas for cheaper green renewables
By Mibenge Nsenduluka – The New Daily – 3 July 2022
Victoria will end incentives for residential gas products by the end of next year as it encourages residents to embrace sustainable alternatives amid a national energy crisis.
‘We don’t have to pretend anymore’: Greens ready to bail on D.C.
By Zack Colman – Politico – 2 July 2022
Environmentalists and many of their Democratic allies are preparing to focus on state capitals as the places to press for action on climate change — going back to a strategy they employed during the Trump era.
Net zero nuance: commentary on decarbonising the grid misses the mark on batteries and nuclear
By Graham Readfearn – The Guardian – 1 July 2022
One claim from the past week is based on a nuclear plant that hasn’t been built and another confuses the role of battery storage
We were first warned about C02 emissions in 1851. Why didn’t we listen?
By Nawal Al-Hosany – The National News – 30 June 2022
Carbon dioxide levels are the highest ever in human history. As shocking as this moment is, it should arrive as no surprise. We have passed plenty of warning signs on the road that has led us here.
No miracle tech needed: How to switch to renewables now and lower costs doing it
By Mark Z. Jacobson – The Hill – 29 June 2022
The world is experiencing unprecedented fuel price increases, energy blackmail between countries, up to 7 million air pollution deaths per year worldwide and one climate-related disaster after another. Critics contend that a switch to renewable energy to solve these problems will create unstable electricity grids and drive prices up further. However, a new study from my research group at Stanford University concludes that these problems can be solved in each of the 145 countries we examined — without blackouts and at low cost using almost all existing technologies.
Harsher anti-protest laws targeting environmentalists are putting greed before green
By Bob Brown – The Guardian – 28 June 2022
Penalties for peaceful action are now the same as for aggravated assault
I never thought I could face arrest and imprisonment campaigning for climate action
By Greg Rolles – The Guardian – 25 June 2022
Fire, floods and other natural disasters are increasing, but the people trying to prevent the climate crisis face jail and fines simply for sitting on roads
Clean energy revolution isn’t just a techno-fix – it’s about capturing hearts and minds
By Bjorn Sturmberg et al – The Conversation – 24 June 2022
The Black Summer bushfires devastated parts of the Eurobodalla region in New South Wales. Then earlier this year, the area was hit by floods. As climate change threatens to bring more severe and frequent extreme weather events, how can we help future-proof such communities?
Global Warming: Why the problem is worse – and solutions simpler – than you thought
By Douglas Fischer – Environmental Health News – 23 June 2022
How do you cut through the fog around climate change and get to a solution?
Climate impact of food miles three times greater than previously believed, study finds
By Graham Readfearn – The Guardian – 21 June 2022
Researchers estimate that carbon emissions from transporting food are about 6% of the global total, with fruit and vegetables the largest contributor
Watch out for “net zero induced technical faults” – they might be contagious
By Giles Parkinson – Renew Economy – 18 June 2022
Right wing think tank says “real Australians” are being hit by “net zero induced” technical faults in coal plants. And we wonder how we got in this mess.
Watch out for “net zero induced technical faults” – they might be contagious
By Giles Parkinson – Renew Economy – 18 June 2022
Right wing think tank says “real Australians” are being hit by “net zero induced” technical faults in coal plants. And we wonder how we got in this mess.
Now is the perfect time to increase coal royalties to fund Australia’s energy transition
By John Quiggin – The Guardian – 17 June 2022
The usual trade-off between maximising revenue while protecting industry’s long-term future no longer applies
Australia’s National Electricity Market was just suspended. Here’s why and what happens next
By Joel Gilmore and Tim Nelso – The Conversation – 16 June 2022
Australia’s energy market operator has just suspended the National Electricity market. That means instead of the price for wholesale electricity being set competitively, the market operator (AEMO) sets fixed prices and will take a greater role in directing which power stations generate energy and when
Air pollution lowers global life expectancy by more than two years: Report
By Kristina Marusic – Environmental Health News – 15 June 2022
Air pollution takes 2.2 years off global average life expectancy, according to a report published today.
Small nuclear reactors may still have a big waste problem
By Gregory Barber – WIRED – 14 June 2022
A new generation of reactors promises a nuclear energy renaissance, but critics say the US needs to figure out what to do about its radioactive garbage first.
WOOD
By Nick Baker and Anna Whitfeld – ABC News – 13 June 2022
Wood ‘shaped the whole of human history’, says this expert, which is why we must protect trees
Mother Nature: Economic growth is sending her bankrupt
By Keith Presnell – Independent Australia – 13 June 2022
For life as we know it to persist, we must acknowledge there are natural limits to growth. Economic growth equals increased demand, which is simply not sustainable in a finite world.
Question mark over ‘integrity’ of Australia’s carbon offset scheme as tree nurseries inundated with orders
By Claire Moodie – ABC News – 12 June 2022
Demand for native trees is soaring as Australia heads to net zero but there are lingering doubts over some types of carbon offset schemes, as industry insiders call for an urgent review.
Slow 2050 net-zero scenarios not worth the paper they’re written on, say economists
By David Spratt – Renew Economy – 11 June 2022
Leading economists blow a hole through the main tool used to produce the slow net-zero scenarios embraced by climate policymakers.
Electric cars – Great idea, but not a panacea
By Thomas L. Knapp – The Lebanon Reporter – 10 June 2022
Instead of subsidizing electric cars, governments should stop subsidizing fossil fuels. Free markets will always solve these kinds of problems faster, better, and with fewer unintended consequences than government propaganda and force.
How Australia’s expanding environmental movement is breaking the climate action deadlock in politics
By Robyn Gulliver – The Conversation – 9 June 2022
The federal election saw voters’ growing concern about Australia’s laggardly response to climate change finally addressed, with teal independents garnering seats in Liberal heartland and record votes for Greens candidates.
Australian coal mines are leaking ‘up to 10 times more’ methane than reported, study finds
By Nathan Morris – ABC News – 8 June 2022
Researchers find “massive under-reporting” of methane emissions from Australian coal mines — but new technology could make a huge difference. So why isn’t it being used?
Non-carbon emissions could ‘bump’ global temperatures above 1.5C within seven years, research warns
By Harry Cockburn – Independent – 7 June 2022
Even if all human-made greenhouse gas emissions were halted immediately, there’s a two-thirds chance the planet will exceed its warming limit of 1.5C, according to study into the extent of heating locked into the world’s climate by previous pollution.
After winning the climate election, Labor must be the climate government the whole world needs
By Bill Hare – The Guardian – 6 June 2022
For years Australia was a roadblock to global climate action. It’s time we returned to the right side of history
We’re turning American, inured to mass deaths
By Michael Pascoe – New Daily – 5 June 2022
For Australia, more than 15,000 COVID deaths this year is an acceptable price to pay for not taking the virus seriously anymore, for ditching the inconvenience of wearing masks, for not pursuing the ventilation recommendations. The same problem we have in getting people to take climate change seriously.
Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show
By Damian Carrington – The Guardian – 4 June 2022
Toxic particles from tyre wear almost 2,000 times worse than from exhausts as weight of cars increases
Gen Z and environmental issues: How to earn young consumers’ trust
By Jacopo Paoletti – Forbes – 2 June 2022
Nowadays, some of the most discussed and relevant topics among Generation Z appear to be sustainability and environmental issues.nd the story of how it all came to pass serves as a valuable lesson in modern campaigning
How climate campaigners dusted themselves off, flipped the script, and won the 2022 election
By Annabel Crabb – ABC News – 1 June 2022
This was the election at which Australians quietly but unmistakably allied themselves with action on climate change. And the story of how it all came to pass serves as a valuable lesson in modern campaigning
In the race against time to cut emissions, companies’ supply chains are key
By Terry Slavin – Reuters – 31 May 2022
The question of how the hundreds of companies that have set net-zero commitments are actually going to deliver on them has taken on greater urgency in the wake of the UK Met Office’s recent assessment that there is an even chance global temperatures will overshoot the “safe” limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next five years.
Greenhouse gas pollution trapping almost 50 percent more heat than 30 years ago
By Rachel Frazen – The Hill – 30 May 2022
Planet-warming gases are trapping more and more heat in the atmosphere, holding in significantly more heat than they were in previous decades, a new assessment has found.
Victorian and Tasmanian governments under fire for laws that target environmental protesters
By Adam Morton and Adeshola Ore – The Guardian – 29 May 2022
Anti-logging protesters reject state governments’ claims new laws are necessary to protect workers’ safety
‘That was the first time, as a child, I realised I could make a difference’: The young activists leading the climate fight
By Erin Stutchbury and Taryn Priadko for Late Night Live – ABC News – 28 May 2022
Their journeys to activism have been very different, but they have faced similar challenges as young women of colour fighting for climate justice.
People must be ‘heart’ of climate action
From University of Exeter – 27 May 2022
Tackling the climate crisis can only be achieved by ‘placing people at the heart of climate action’, researchers say.
Chart of the Day: Breaking down Australia’s household and trade emissions
By David Leitch – Renew Economy – 26 May 2022
The biggest source of Australian household emissions is the car you drive, while the trade emissions don’t include burning of coal and gas overseas.
Greenhouse gas pollution trapping almost 50 percent more heat than 30 years ago
By Rachel Frazin – The Hill – 25 May 2022
Planet-warming gases are trapping more and more heat in the atmosphere, holding in significantly more heat than they were in previous decades, a new assessment has found.
Labor must move quickly on climate and energy: Here’s a list of things to do
By Giles Parkinson et al – Renew Economy – 24 May 2022
Labor needs to move quickly on climate and energy. A trip to Japan for the Quad meeting should be followed by a visit to a wind or solar farm.
The federal election result shows a shift in Australian politics
By Antony Green – ABC News – 23 May 2022
Australia has a new prime minister, but Labor’s path to victory has been unlike any election in history.
Sick of the election? Go for a walk and let nature heal your soul
By Warwick McFadyen – The Age – 22 May 2022
Let posters be folded, let corflutes be stacked away. The campaign is over.
By Michael Slezak – ABC News – 21 May 2022
Australia’s environment — the places and animals that make the continent unique — has been a conversation point over the past few years. But it’s been paid relatively little attention during the election campaign.
What the major parties’ climate policies mean for global warming
By Mike Foley – Brisbane Times – 20 May 2022
The run-up to the 2019 federal election was dominated by the Coalition’s scare campaign over the cost of Labor’s more ambitious climate policy. Three years on, the public and business community want greater climate action and the major parties are competing over who has the best plan to reach net zero emissions.
By David Shearman – Pearls and Irritations – 19 May 2022
The most urgent and vital decision that the Minister could make to help secure a sustainable future for Australia would be to establish a scientifically based national independent Environmental Protection Agency with statutory powers.
6 books about the climate crisis that offer hope, recommended by experts
By Euan Ritchie et al – The Conversation – 18 May 2022
We asked six environmental experts to each nominate a book about the climate crisis that offers hope.
I want my vote to count for nature: how do the major parties stack up?
By Sarah Bekessy and Brendan Wintle – The Conversation – 17 May 2022
The animals and plants at risk of extinction finally made it onto the political agenda last week, as Labor and the Greens launched biodiversity policies ahead of the federal election.
By RMIT ABC Fact Check – ABC News – 16 May 2022
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Australia has achieved a reduction in emissions of 20 per cent on 2005 levels, which he says is greater than New Zealand, Canada and the OECD. RMIT ABC Fact Check investigates.
This app allows you to find threatened species in your area — and petition your local member
By Nick Kilvert – ABC News – 15 May 2022
Researchers have created a new web-based tool that allows users to find the threatened species in their electorate and then petition their local member, in order to put biodiversity loss on the election agenda.
The end of Adani? Investment giant says coal miner has revealed Carmichael closure plan
By John McCarthy – IN Queensland – 14 May 2022
Investment manager Vanguard says coal giant Adani has revealed that its Carmichael mine would be closed in order for the company to “fit within the parameters of a 1.5 degree warming scenario”.
Revealed: the ‘carbon bombs’ set to trigger catastrophic climate breakdown
by Damian Carrington and Matthew Taylor – The Guardian – 13 May 2022
Exclusive: Oil and gas majors are planning scores of vast projects that threaten to shatter the 1.5C climate goal. If governments do not act, these firms will continue to cash in as the world burns.
A ‘fig leaf’ for fossil fuels: Coalition’s ‘clean’ hydrogen plans nothing but greenwashing, critics say
By Daniel Mercer – ABC News – 12 May 2022
Plans by the federal government to develop a “clean” hydrogen industry in Australia have been branded greenwashing by critics who say taxpayer money is being used to subsidise fossil fuel activities.
How an unpredictable climate of change in Queensland could affect the election – Full Story podcast
By Ben Smee – The Guardian – 11 May 2022
In Queensland, a big swing away from the Labor party in 2019 was a decisive factor in their defeat. However the political landscape in some seats has shifted, largely due to the rise of minor parties, a series of climate disasters, and an evolving view on the future of coal in key rural seats.
How do the major parties rate on climate policies? We asked 5 experts
By Jake Whitehead et al – The Conversation – 10 May 2022
Poll after poll suggests climate change is one of the most pressing issues for Australian voters. Of the 10,000 people who responded to The Conversation’s #SetTheAgenda poll, more than 60% picked climate change as the issue most impacting their lives.
The rush to renewable energy means a new mining boom. But first, Australia needs to make some tough choices
By Angus Grigg, Jeanavive McGregor and Lucy Carter – ABC News – 9 May 2022
Electric cars, solar panels and wind turbines — green technology relies on what can be a dirty industry. Why acting on climate change may require a massive increase in mining.
Time to ditch the pump? Find out what the parties are offering around electric vehicles
By Angelica Silva – ABC News – 8 May 2022
Soaring petrol prices across Australia have sparked fuel security concerns. But it has also sparked hope in Australians — hope that their future government will invest in a transport system that isn’t reliant on oil, but electricity. Here, we break down what the major parties are offering around electric vehicles.
Americans Are Missing a Key Stratum of Modern Knowledge
By Kendra Pierre-Louis – The Atlantic – 8 May 2022
To understand how climate change is altering our planet, it helps to know a little Earth science.
Google data reveals many Australians are climate curious — even if they won’t admit it
By James Purtill – ABC News – 7 May 2022
Discussion of climate policy may be conspicuously absent this federal election campaign, but Google search data suggests the warming of the planet is weighing on voters’ minds — at least more so than in 2019.
Wondering what a hotter Australia will feel like? India’s heatwave could offer a terrifying glimpse of the future
By Avani Dias and Som Patidar – ABC News – 6 May 2022
More than 1 billion people in India and Pakistan are sweltering through a record-breaking heatwave. Is this a taste of things to come for the world?
How much are you willing to pay to help reduce carbon emissions? Vote Compass has the answer
By Bridget Brennan – ABC News – 5 May 2022
How much would Liberal, Labor and Green voters be prepared to spend each year to help prevent climate change? Vote Compass has the answer.
Climate action: how does your super fund stack up?
By Michael Quelch – The Sydney Morning Herald – 4 May 2022
More than 1,800 Australian plants and animals are considered at-risk of extinction, and yet protecting threatened species is almost entirely absent from the current election campaign.
Find out what threatened plants and animals live in your electorate (and what your MP can do about it)
Gareth Kindler et al – The Conversation – 3 May 2022
Climate action: how does your super fund stack up?
An analysis of 32 large super funds shows the extent to which some maintain exposures to companies whose businesses are involved in fossil-fuel extraction, or related power generation.
Satellites detect cow burps, a major methane source, from space
From SBS News – 2 May 2022
For the first time, satellites from space have pinpointed the location of methane emissions from cows which could prove useful in measuring and setting emissions targets for the livestock industry, thought to be responsible for around 15 per cent of the world’s total of greenhouse gas emissions
Has the cotton industry finally answered its critics?
By Lara Webster, Michael Condon, and David Claughton – ABC Rural – 1 May 2022
For years environmental groups have put the industry under the microscope, saying the “thirsty” crop should not be grown on the driest continent. After decades of work, the industry now claims to be one of the most water-efficient in the world.
As animal seed dispersers go the way of the dodo, forest plants are at risk
By Sharon Guynup – MONGABAY – 30 April 2022
Birds, bats, elephants, apes, rodents and many other animal species spread plant seeds throughout the world. But as those animal populations diminish, so do the plants that rely on wildlife to shift their range, especially as climate change worsens.
Global warming risks most cataclysmic extinction of marine life in 250m years
By Oliver Milman – The Guardian – 29 April 2022
Global heating is causing such a drastic change to the world’s oceans that it risks a mass extinction event of marine species that rivals anything that’s happened in the Earth’s history over tens of millions of years, new research has warned.
Net zero by 2050 will hit a major timing problem technology can’t solve. We need to talk about cutting consumption
By Mark Diesendorf – The Conversation – 28 April 2022
Many climate activists, scientists, engineers and politicians are trying to reassure us the climate crisis can be solved rapidly without any changes to lifestyle, society or the economy.
Australians reluctant to go electric or change behaviour for climate change
By Michael Mazengarb – Renew Economy – 27 April 2022
Australians amongst the least likely to change behaviours to reduce climate impact.
‘Worst it’s ever been’: a threatened species alarm sounds during the election campaign – and is ignored
By Lisa Cox – The Guardian – 26 April 2022
Warnings of dramatically escalating extinctions in Australia over the next two decades seem to be falling on deaf ears
Now we know the flaws of carbon offsets, it’s time to get real about climate change
By Declan Kuch – The Conversation – 25 April 2022
Last month former carbon market watchdog Andrew MacIntosh blew the whistle on Australia’s carbon offset market. He described the scheme as a “rort” with up to 80% of carbon offsets “markedly low in integrity”.
Lesser known ozone layer’s outsized role in planet warming
By Jules Bernstein – Science Daily – 24 April 2022
New research has identified a lesser-known form of ozone playing a big role in heating the Southern Ocean — one of Earth’s main cooling systems.
Where do the major parties stand on climate change?
By Angelica Silva – ABC News – 23 April 2022
Let’s break down the climate change policies of the major parties: Coalition, Labor and Greens.
Earth Day 2022: How much do you know about climate change? Take our quiz
By Ethan Freedman – Independent – 22 April 2022
How well have you followed news coverage of the climate crisis in the last 365 days? Take this quiz to find out.
Why are nature-based solutions on climate being overlooked?
By Fred Pearce – Yale Environment 360 – 21 April 2022
Nature-based initiatives have proven effective in making communities more resilient to climate change. But international funding has shortchanged such solutions in favor of more costly and less efficient engineering projects.
Coalition spending on fossil fuel subsidies tops $1.3 billion in first week of campaign
By Michael Mazengarb – Renew Economy – 20 April 2022
Just a week into the federal election campaign and the Morrison-led Coalition has already spent nearly $1.3 billion on fossil fuel subsidies.
12 foolproof ways to get cars out of cities
By Kimberly Nicholas – Fast Company – 19 April 2022
A new study ranks the 12 most effective measures that European cities have introduced, ranging from the ‘carrot’ of bike-to-work schemes to the ‘stick’ of removing free parking.
1.5C vs 2C. What difference can just half a degree of global warming really make?
By Nick Kilvert – ABC Science – 18 April 2022
The chance to limit warming to 1.5C is slipping away. But will difference will it make if we overshoot by half a degree or so?
This should be a climate change election
By Bob Douglas – Pearls and Irritations – 14 April 2022
Anthony Albanese and his colleagues could surely storm to victory if they enthusiastically acted on the arguments presented by climate experts. They would certainly attract the support of the millions of Australians who understandably fear the consequences of our current, disastrously inadequate approach to this topic.
Signals of a warmed world: Endless Australian rain and 20 years of American drought
By Laura Chung – The Age – 13 April 2022
As rain continues to batter Australia’s east coast, the drought on the west coast of the US is entering its third decade and cities are grappling with how they manage dwindling water supplies.
Climate change is killing off soil organisms critical for some of Earth’s ecosystems
By Elizabeth Pennisi – Science – 12 April 2022
Lichens can’t take the heat, with disastrous implications for arid places.
One issue matters more to top economists than any other this election: climate change
By Peter Martin – The Conversation – 11 April 2022
Offered a menu of issues to choose from as the most important in the May 21 election, Australia’s top economists have overwhelmingly zeroed in on one.
Water is the new carbon
By Jay Famiglietti et al – Circle of Blue – 10 April 2022
Global water security is increasingly threatened. Accounting for water use and risk ought to have the same urgency with which we address carbon.
Labor’s plan for Murray-Darling Basin angers upstream states
From ABC News – 9 April 2022
Federal Labor is coming under fire from its own side of politics, with the Victorian government slapping down its Murray-Darling Basin policy.
Four lessons for cities in the latest IPCC Report
By Mia Reback – RMI – 8 April 2022
The latest IPCC report cannot emphasize enough that what cities do in the next decade matters. Urban populations are projected to increase from 55 to 68 percent of the world’s population, while greenhouse gas emissions in cities are already substantial and continue to rise. Despite cities’ significant contribution to climate change, the IPCC finds that they also represent a huge opportunity for ambitious climate action — if swift and aggressive measures are taken.
On top of drastic emissions cuts, IPCC finds large-scale CO₂ removal from air will be “essential” to meeting targets
By Sam Wenger and Deanna D’Alessandro – The Conversation – 7 April 2022
Large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods is now “unavoidable” if the world is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to this week’s report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Helping humanity limit global warming can enable adaptation too, urges King’s College IPCC expert
From King’s College London – Mirage – 6 April 2022
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report outlines what the world can do to mitigate climate change – that is, what we can do between now and 2030 to limit global warming.
What Australian cities can do to pull their weight on global warming
By Xuemei Bai – Sydney Morning Herald – 5 April 2022
Unless we take immediate steps, the world will not limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Research reveals how much fossil fuel industries get from government subsidies
By Daniela Pizzirani – NEWS.COM.AU – 4 April 2022
Shocking new research reveals how much fossil fuel industries receive from government subsidies per minute.
Climate change poses one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime. But is it a ‘secondary issue’ this election?
By Michael Slezak – ABC News – 3 April 2022
A quick glimpse at what the two major parties are spruiking as we move from the budget to the election shows climate change has dropped in priority
Losing hectare of wetlands could cost upward of $8,000 in flood damages
By Hannah Druckenmiller – Resources for the Future – 2 April 2022
A first-of-its-kind article coauthored by scholars at Resources for the Future (RFF) and Columbia University in the journal American Economic Review finds that the loss of a hectare of wetlands (roughly the size of two and a half football fields) costs society an average of $1,900 in flood damages per year. In developed areas, that figure jumps to more than $8,000.
The Razor’s Edge of A Warming World
By Emily Atkin and Caitlin Looby – GQ – 1 April 2022
As we hurtle toward an ever-hotter future, GQ spotlights the places whose very identities depend on a simple calculation: If we limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, these places could be saved. In a 2-degree scenario, they would be irredeemably lost.
The unsustainable secret of almost half of Australia’s ‘sustainable’ funds
By Charlotte Grieve – The Sydney Morning Herald – 31 March 2022
Is it ethical to invest in fossil fuels? Turns out almost half of Australia’s sustainable fund managers think so.
Reading up on plastics and climate change
By Sueelen Campbell – Yale Climate Connections – 30 March 2022
It’s become widely accepted that plastic waste is a gigantic global problem. But is it a climate-change problem, too? Answers to this trickier question are becoming clearer, as these articles demonstrate.
Tens of billions of dollars’ worth of property facing climate and erosion risk, analysis shows
By Melissa Brown – ABC News – 29 March 2022
Analysis finds climate change is threatening coastal homes, property values and the ability for buyers to secure bank loans and insurance.
Energy efficiency guru Amory Lovins: ‘It’s the largest, cheapest, safest, cleanest way to address the crisis’
By John Vidal – The Guardian – 28 March 2022
One of the leading advocates of energy conservation explains why this could be a turning point for climate economics
Road traffic in European cities exposes 60 million people to noise levels harmful to health
From Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) – Science Daily – 27 March 2022
A study assessed the levels of noise generated by road traffic and examined its impact on health in 749 European cities. The findings show that nearly 60 million adults are subjected to unhealthy levels of vehicle-generated noise. Compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) noise-level guidelines could prevent 3,600 deaths annually from ischemic heart disease alone.
In 20 years of studying how ecosystems absorb carbon, here’s why we’re worried about a tipping point of collapse
Caitlin Moore et al – The CONVERSATION – 26 March 2022
From rainforests to savannas, ecosystems on land absorb almost 30% of the carbon dioxide human activities release into the atmosphere. These ecosystems are critical to stop the planet warming beyond 1.5℃ this century – but climate change may be weakening their capacity to offset global emissions.
Tory MPs call the green transition ‘unaffordable’. Europe is proving that’s a lie
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 25 March 2022
The latest wave of climate deniers claim green schemes are ‘unaffordable’. Success stories from around Europe prove that’s not true
Ensuring that transformation of global energy sector is people-centred
From Anders Hoffmann – IEA – 24 March 2022
Ministers, industry leaders and stakeholders from civil society met today at an event in Paris organised by the International Energy Agency to discuss how to ensure that their clean energy transition policies are people-centred and inclusive.
Rich countries must stop producing oil and gas by 2034, says study
By Matthew Taylor – The Guardian – 23 March 2022
Poorest states should be given until 2050, says research aiming to set out fair way of ending fossil fuel economy
Sustainable forest use helps tackle climate crisis and achieve SDGs
From the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – 22 March 2022
From drinking a glass of water to building a house, forests are precious resources for people’s lives and are key to solving many global challenges, including the climate crisis and poverty, according to a new report developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the European Forest Institute (EFI).
Greens and climate independents: a true test of this country’s political carrying capacity?
By Mark Sawyer – Michael West Media – 21 March 2022
The Australian Greens had the environmental vote sewn up. But the 2022 election may be the one where the tide went out for the party after 40 years of passion and picketing and manoeuvring. It may be the election where parliamentary activism on clean energy is entrusted instead to a breed of reassuring, female ‘’climate leaders’’ who better reflect the aspirations of middle Australia
Can Renewable Energy Really Power the World?
By Joseph Nightingale – MEDIUM.COM – 20 March 2022
Another year; another climate conference. As world leaders gather to make new promises bolder and better than before, the clock ticks ever closer to climate catastrophe. This year’s agenda is the same as every other year: how to reduce fossil fuel emissions without rocking the boat.
Energy Crisis? Why Are We Not Building Thorium Reactors?
By Phi – MEDIUM.COM – 20 March 2022
Energy is one of the defining topics of our times. Not just because clean energy is in increasing demand, but because our conventional energy sources will most likely be depleted by the end of the century.
The Scariest Climate Disaster Isn’t on Earth. It’s Between Our Legs.
By Eugenio De Lucchi – MEDIUM.COM – 20 March 2022
Martha and her husband Chris searched for young women online twice a week. After a day of work, they would pour a glass of wine and –for thirty minutes– would scan profiles of attractive and interesting women in their twenties.
Email from Major General Peter Dunn, AO
Email from Major General Peter Dunn, AO – Climate Council – 19 March 2022
The whole region around my home in Lake Conjola was devastated by
bushfires back in January 2020. By February, we were flooded. I
remember feeling frustrated, as my community was torn apart by one
disaster after another, with little warning, or preparation.
The Black Summer fires were so large they altered the ozone layer — something never seen before
By Genelle Weule – ABC News – 18 March 2022
Record amounts of smoke from Australia’s 2019/2020 bushfires may have caused changes in the atmosphere that caused a drop in ozone levels, a study suggests.
1 million homes at risk of flooding by 2030, new modelling shows
By Elizabeth Redman – Brisbane Times – 17 March 2022
Climate-induced flooding risks both the value of homes and the ability to borrow against them.
The two animals inflicting a staggering annual death toll on Australia’s native wildlife
By Nick Kilvert – ABC Science- 16 March 2022
Cats and foxes are killing more than 2.6 billion mammals, reptiles and birds every year in Australia, and more species will be lost if we don’t ramp up pest control, experts say.
Permafrost peatlands approaching tipping point
From University of Leeds – 15 March 2022
Researchers warn that permafrost peatlands in Europe and Western Siberia are much closer to a climatic tipping point than previous believed. The frozen peatlands in these areas store up to 39 billion tons of carbon — the equivalent to twice that stored in the whole of European forests.
Recycle like our planet depends on it
By Alan Duffy – The Sydney Morning Herald – 14 March 2022
Australians have 4.2 million broken mobile phones lying around in homes and businesses across the country, which make up a treasure trove of valuable resources.
Reconceiving self-interest to reverse global warming
By Keith Mitchelson – Pearls and Irritations – 13 March 2022
Humanity faces a self-interest choice – destruction of our economies, societies and environment with unfettered global warming, or a massive transformation that eliminates man-made carbon outputs.
Nuclear scientists say Chernobyl fears may be unwarranted
From SBS News – 12 March 2022
After reports of power cuts to Chernobyl many feared that it would affect the cooling system leading to the spent fuel contained there overheating and leading to a disaster. Thankfully these nuclear scientists say that this worst-case scenario is unlikely because time and physics are on our side.
Unprecedented is no reason to be unprepared
By Amanda McKenzie CEO – Climate Council – 11 March 2022
As people up and down the east coast of Australia are left reeling after yet another “unprecedented” climate-fuelled disaster, many are rightly asking: where are our leaders?
Plants humans don’t need are heading for extinction, study finds
By Sofia Quaglia – The Guardian – 11 March 2022
Bleak picture for biodiversity as analysis of over 80,000 species forecasts more losers than winners
This is the future for natural disasters: the cavalry won’t be coming
By Jenna Price – The Sydney Morning Herald – 10 March 2022
Know your neighbours and their circumstances. Accelerating climate change will soon outstrip the capabilities of the ADF and SES: communities are the only thing you can rely on.
Human-induced disease outbreak in animals causes cascading ecological effects
From Yale University – Science Daily – 9 March 2022
The increased spread of human-induced diseases to wildlife poses a growing challenge for ecosystem conservation
Women leading the fight against climate change
By By Professor Jaqueline Peel, Professor Kathryn Bowen, Dr Belle Workman, Rebekkah Markey-Towler, Dr Carla Pascoe Leahy, University of Melbourne – PERSUIT – 8 March 2022
Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by climate change. But they are also at the forefront of global efforts fighting for change
Scientists warn seawalls can make rising waters worse in the long run
By Joe Lo – Climate Home News – 7 March 2022
Green buffers like mangroves are generally better for protecting coastal communities than concrete defences, although they are not always an option
The world is unpredictable and strange. Still, there is hope in the madness
By Rebecca Solnit – The Guardian – 6 March 2022
The world that is coming is something we can work toward but not something we can foresee
Ukraine is in an environmental crisis too
By Gregory Barber and Matt Simon – WIRED – 5 March 2022
Russia’s attack is literally tearing the country apart, polluting air and water. Ukrainians will suffer long after the conflict ends.
Ukraine is a climate story. Because everything is a climate story
By Sammy Roth – LA Times – 4 March 2022
Europe is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas, and security experts told me accelerating the global transition away from fossil fuels – and toward clean energy – could help limit Vladimir Putin’s geopolitical influence.
Nations sign up to end global scourge of plastic pollution
From the United Nations – MIRAGE – 3 March 2022
Heads of State, environment ministers and other representatives from 175 nations, endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi on Wednesday to end plastic pollution, and forge an international legally binding agreement, by the end of 2024.
These are the ecosystems Australia stands to lose in the next decade
From ABC News – 2 March 2022
Some of Australia’s iconic and unique natural ecosystems are headed for irreversible damage if we keep emitting carbon at current rates, climate experts warn. But they’re not necessarily the ones you might expect.
The facts we need to face if Australia’s coastal towns are to survive devastation
By Harry Creamer – The Sydney Morning Herald – 1 March 2022
Climate is changing rainfall, so we need to build to withstand more destructive floods.
‘The air will be cleaner the next day’: The health benefits of closing Australia’s coal-fired power stations
By Ben Millington – ABC Newcastle – 28 February 2022
The early closure of coal-fired power stations is expected to prevent deaths, reduce asthma attacks, and save hundreds of millions of dollars in health costs.
Noise pollution is becoming a public health menace
Podcast from SBS News – 27 February 2022
Noise can have a major impact on people’s well-being, according to the new Frontiers Report published in the United Nations Environment Program.
Ukraine, war and our world
By Douglas Fischer – Environmental Health News – 26 February 2022
It is hard to think about the environment when lives are being torn asunder by war.
Limitless power arriving too late: why fusion won’t help us decarbonise
By Ian Lowe – The Conversation = 25 February 2022
I first heard the standard joke about fusion as an undergraduate physics student in the 1960s: Fusion power is fifty years away – and probably always will be.
Wildfires likely to increase by a third by 2050, warns UN
By Phoebe Weston – The Guardian – 24 February 2022
Even previously unaffected countries likely to see uncontrollable blazes, says study, which calls for shift to spending on prevention
Global plastic consumption has quadrupled in 3 decades, says OECD
From La Pensa Latina – 23 February 2022
Plastic consumption has quadrupled over the past three decades while its production has doubled from 2000 to 2019 to reach 460 million tonnes, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says.
National Parks are for protection not development – new national poll
Media Release by National Parks Australia Council – MIRAGE – 22 February 2022
New national polling confirms that the vast majority of Australians do not want to see prime protected areas like National Parks compromised by commercial or large-scale development. Research undertaken by National Parks Australia Council, a coalition of state-based conservation groups, shows just how protective Australians are of our national parks and reserves.
How Australia’s geology gave us an abundance of coal – and a wealth of greentech minerals to switch to
By Melanie Finch and Emily Finch – The Conversation – 21 February 2022
Two recent announcements hint at a seismic shift about to hit Australia’s coal industry.
Fusion Takes Yet Another Massive Leap Forward
By Will Lockett – MEDIUM.COM – 21 February 2022
JET may have just found the path to unlimited clean energy.
Reality check: The green inflation myth
By Kingsmill Bond, Sam Butler-Sloss, James Newcomb – RMI – 20 February 2022
The latest myth of the energy transition is that green technologies are driving inflation because they are expensive and rising in price. The reality is in fact the opposite. The faster the world deploys renewables, the more money we will save in energy costs.
It might be time to take methane removal seriously
By Gregory Barber – WIRED – 19 February 2022
An alarming spike in the second-most-damaging greenhouse gas is giving wind to a once fringe idea: Take it out of the air.
Pollution responsible for more deaths than COVID-19 says UN report
From SBS News – Reuters Video – 18 February 2022
Experts are calling for immediate bans on certain toxic chemicals in the wake of a UN report saying that pollution from global governments and companies is responsible for more than nine million premature deaths per year, predominately affecting marginalised, indigenous and low-income populations.
45,000 marine species are at-risk: What’s most vulnerable?
From University of Queensland – Science Daily – 17 February 2022
A framework for identifying the most vulnerable marine species will boost global conservation and policy efforts against anthropogenic climate change.
Conservation has a human rights problem. Can the new UN biodiversity plan solve it?
By Katie Surma – Inside Climate News – 16 February 2022
Creating conservation areas is a key part of the United Nations 30 by 30 plan. But poorly designed and managed “fortress conservation” parks have been rife with human rights abuses.
UN climate chief says stakes ‘never been higher’ in fight against global warming
From Francois Gemenne – President of Ecosphere – 15 February 2022
The stakes in the fight against global warming are higher than ever, the UN’s climate science chief said Monday as nearly 200 nations met to finalise what is sure to be a harrowing report on climate impacts.
The green bucket list
By Peter Dykstra – Environmental Health News – 14 February 2022
When you’re immersed in environmental science and environmental politics, it’s sometimes hard to step back and measure progress. Here are a few gains and victories to charge your batteries.
Here’s how to demolish the most common excuses for climate crisis apathy
By Elizabeth Cripps – The Guardian – 13 February 2022
Every one of us now has a duty to do something, if not for ourselves then for the survival of future generations
This article from The Age of Monday 31 January 2022 (Page: 6) reports that Electric car sales are charging ahead. However new electric cars are expensive. Why not consider a second hand electric car from Japan? The Good Car Company sells second hand electric cars on the internet. |
The environmental activists bringing the climate crisis to the courtroom
By Kieran Pender – The Guardian – 12 February 2022
There’s a growing trend of climate litigation around the world. Here’s a look at the Australian cases likely to make headlines this year
This is the straw that could help break the cycle of climate change
By Peter Kageyama – Tampa Bay Times – 11 February 2022
One small action – such as banning plastic straws – repeated over and over can help solve global problems.
Climate change robbing Australia of rain, increasing fire risk
By Tracey Ferrier – The NEW DAILY – 10 February 2022
Vast swathes of Australia have already lost 20 per cent of their rainfall and the country’s fire risk has gone beyond worst-case scenarios developed just a few years ago, a renowned climate expert says.
How overfishing threatens the world’s oceans—and why it could end in catastrophe
By Amy McKeever – National Geographic – 9 February 2022
Decades of harvesting the seas have disrupted the delicate balance of marine ecosystems—despite global efforts to mitigate the damage.
In underground waterways, an endangered ecosystem
By James Gaines – UNDARK – 8 February 2022
In an increasingly thirsty world, scientists warn of the risk of losing the strange creatures that live in groundwater.
Native birds have vanished across the continent since colonisation. Now we know just how much we’ve lost
By Michelle Ward – The Conversation – 7 February 2022
In the 250 years since Europeans colonised Australia, native birdlife has disappeared across the continent. Our new research has, for the first time, registered just how much Australia has actually lost – and our findings are astonishingly sad.
One NSW government body eats through 1% of world’s carbon budget
From MIRAGE – 6 February 2022
Since the Paris Agreement took effect five years ago, the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) and its predecessor, the Planning Assessment Commission, have approved projects responsible for 3.2 billion tonnes of climate pollution, new analysis shows.
Jobs and decarbonisation: how Australia should manage the transition
By Jeremy McEachern and Warwick Smith – Pearls and Irritations – 5 February 2022
The move away from fossil fuels will be felt unevenly across Australia: the communities most exposed to these changes must lead our response.
Climate catastrophe now inevitable without emergency action
By Ian Dunlop – Pearls and Irritations – 4 February 2022
By relying on consultants for policymaking, the government avoids making any serious contribution to the global effort to minimise temperature rise.
Plastics clampdown is key to climate change fight, EU environment chief says
By Kate Abnett – REUTERS – 3 February 2021
Progressive reduction of fossil fuel-based plastics is crucial to tackling climate change, the EU’s top environmental official said, ahead of a United Nations meeting to launch talks on a world-first treaty to combat plastic pollution.
Extreme heat in oceans ‘passed point of no return’ in 2014
By Damian Carrington – The Guardian – 2 February 2022
Formerly rare high temperatures now covering half of seas and devastating wildlife, study shows
Meet the next generation of climate influencers
By Zeina Mohammed – CLIMATEWIRE – 1 February 2022
A YouTube comedian. An Antarctic researcher. A 15-year-old animal rights activist. These three luminaries are among 16 artists and influencers Harvard University highlighted last week as part of the school’s effort to call attention to content creators who are inspiring social change and fighting climate misinformation.
How can Australia plan for fossil fuel job losses?
By Jess David – ABC News – 31 January 2022
New modelling predicts up to 300,000 jobs could be lost as our export trading partners decarbonise, so what can be done?
Birds are remarkable and beautiful animals – and they’re disappearing from our world
By Kim Heacox – The Guardian – 30 January 2022
In the past half century, North America has lost a fourth of its birds. Earth is now a coalmine, and every wild bird is a canary
Scientists say no to Solar Geoengineering
From MIRAGE – 29 January 2022
More than 60 senior climate scientists and governance scholars from around the world have launched a global initiative calling for an International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering
The gap between Australian climate policy and the science is closing far too slowly – we have to keep up the pressure
By Lenore Taylor – The Guardian – 28 January 2022
Tiny steps towards net zero are being undermined by new fossil fuel projects. An election year offers the chance to hold our politicians to account
The media needs to get better at interrogating hydrogen
By Ketan Joshi – Renew Economy – 27 January 2022
Most media coverage of a big new brown coal hydrogen project greenwashed the news and talked up CCS. An accident on Morrison’s website shows us why.
The price tag for a net zero transition: $3.5 trillion a year
By Adele Peters – Fast Company – 26 January 2022
But that’s still cheaper than doing nothing.
Building relational wealth will help us survive climate change
By Todd Khozein – Forbes – 25 January 2022
Resilient economies built on relational wealth take pains not to cause harm to the environment or to the majority of humanity. Instead, they recognize that humans thriving in a healthy natural environment yields significantly greater and more balanced economic prosperity.
5 ways climate change boosts tsunami threat, from collapsing ice shelves to sea level rise
By Jane Cunneen – The Conversation – 24 January 2022
The enormous eruption of the underwater volcano in Tonga, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, triggered a tsunami that reached countries all around the Pacific rim, even causing a disastrous oil spill along 21 beaches in Peru.
Australia must jump on board the e-bus express
By Karl Kruszelnicki and Bridie Schmidt – The Sydney Morning Herald – 23 January 2022
Why all the fuss about electric buses? They are part of a long-term plan to shift away from fossil fuels. And long-term planning is essential to drive forward.
Catch 2050: Demand for solar panels presents ‘global warming risk’ through raw material production
By Jasmine Hines and Paul Culliver – ABC News – 22 January 2022
The global community will need almost 60 times more solar power to reach net zero emissions by 2050, but the emissions-intensive aluminium required to do so presents an environmental risk, a new study has found.
Doomsday Clock unchanged: scientists
From Australian Associated Press – The Canberra Times – 21 January 2022
The Doomsday Clock has remained at 100 seconds to midnight for a third year in a row as scientists said the world is “no safer” than it was this time last year.
What does 2022 hold in store for climate action? – Please Explain podcast (14 minutes)
By Jessica Irvine – The Age – 20 January 2021
Today on Please Explain, national climate and environment editor Nick O’Malley joins Jess Irvine to discuss the outlook for climate action this year.
Chemical pollution has passed safe limit for humanity, say scientists
By Damian Carrington – The Guardian – 19 January 2022
Study calls for cap on production and release as pollution threatens global ecosystems upon which life depends
Nearly half of GDP in cities at risk of disruption from nature loss
By Zack Budryk – The Hill – 18 January 2022
Loss of biodiversity and nature could put up to $31 trillion of cities’ gross domestic product at risk, according to research by the World Economic Forum.
Environment 2022: let’s put the blah blah behind us and demand change
By Nigel Howard – Pearls and Irritations – 17 January 2022
The cheery end-of-year messages from climate activist groups didn’t resonate with me. The reality is that we’ve run out of time for dangerously comforting delusions about our “achievements”.
Charities are sick of fighting off attacks by the Morrison government
By Andrew Leigh – The Guardian – 16 January 2022
Public policy debates are enriched through the voices of charities. But the Coalition believes volunteers should be seen, not heard
Five myths about plastics
By Rebecca Altman – The Washington Post – 15 January 2022
No, bioplastics are not (necessarily) more sustainable than conventional plastics. Plus, here are 4 more fallacies that need to be fixed if we are going to shape plastics policies correctly.
Australia: Climate policy harms rights record
From Human Rights Watch – 14 January 2022
The Australian government’s failure to take ambitious climate action and its support for the fossil fuel industry contributes to the global climate crisis and mars the country’s human rights record, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2022.
We study ocean temperatures. The Earth just broke a heat increase record
By John Abraham – The Guardian – 13 January 2022
Last year the oceans absorbed heat equivalent to seven Hiroshima atomic bombs detonating each second, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
Losing It
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 12 January 2022
Faced with the gathering collapse of the biosphere, and governments’ refusal to take the necessary action, how do we stop ourselves from falling apart?
Nature outcomes in 2021: the good, the bad and the sad
By Daisy Barham – Pearls and Irritations – 12 January 2022
Australia’s natural environment won some significant skirmishes in 2021 but serious challenges for biodiversity and ecosystems remain.
Global warming: the nine essential questions for candidates at election 2022
By Mike Scrafton – Pearls and Irritations – 11 January 2022
Providing thoughtful answers should be the minimum requirement for candidates. Even more exhaustive answers should be demanded of cabinet hopefuls.
The last 7 years have been the warmest on record as planet approaches critical threshold
By Rachel Ramirez – CNN – 10 January 2022
The last seven years have been the seven warmest on record for the planet, new data shows, as Earth’s temperature continues its precarious climb due to heat-trapping fossil fuel emissions.
Australia has a chance to lead the way in rescuing humanity
By Bob Douglas – The Canberra Times – 9 January 2022
Three Australian writers – Julian Cribb, Toby Ord and Andrew Leigh – have recently contributed significantly to the world literature on the subject of catastrophic and existential threats to the human species.
The future of water: Floating cities, geothermal power and water scarcity
From DW -Living Planet – 30 minute audio
As climate change raises temperatures, water is being pushed in new and more extreme directions. But are there ways we could use water to our advantage, environmentally?
Time for a plebiscite on Big Australia
By Simon Cole – Independent Australia – 7 January 2021
With a federal election looming, it’s worth raising the question to the Australian people whether or not we should increase our population.
Would the Murray-Darling Basin survive another Millennium drought?
By Daniel Keane – ABC News – 6 January 2022
The Millennium drought didn’t just expose river beds — it also exposed deep tensions between environmental and economic interests. More than a decade has passed since that drought broke, but is the Murray-Darling Basin better placed to fend off the consequences of another protracted dry spell?
Sea temperatures inch towards record high but marine ecosystems could suffer
By Laura Chung – The Sydney Morning Herald – 5 January 2022
Swimmers hoping to cool down in the deep blue will find ocean temperatures almost as warm as on the beach with sea temperatures inching towards record-breaking highs.
Did we blow our last, best chance to tackle climate change?
By Justin Worland – TIME – 4 January 2022
In mid-2020, after the pandemic had settled in, I wrote in a TIME cover story that the stars had aligned to make 2020 and 2021 the “last, best chance” to keep the world from experiencing the worst impacts of climate change. Now, 18 months later, the world seems poised to blow it.
Why Cop26 coal power pledges don’t go far enough – visualized
By Niels de Hoog and Ashley Kirk – The Guardian – 24 December 2021
See coal phase out progress to date, and why the current pledges are not enough to limit warming to 1.5C.
The top 15 climate developments of 2021
By Laurie Stone – MRI – 23 December 2021
This past year saw many memorable moments from vaccine rollouts to a new Ghostbusters movie to Bernie Sanders’ mittens going viral. But it also saw real progress on climate action. Here we list our top 15 climate developments of 2021, in no particular order.
Covid and Christmas used to hide failure to protect Great Barrier Reef
By Greenpeace – Mirage News – 22 December 2021
Greenpeace Australia Pacific has slammed the Morrison Government’s decision to release a report on the status of the Great Barrier Reef just days before Christmas when many Australians are distracted by the festive season and surging covid cases.
What a Carve Up
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 22 December 2021
Border walls are as harmful to ecology as they are to humanity.
2021: When the hard climate stuff started looking doable
By Julian Spector – Canary Media – 21 December 2021
A roadmap is now emerging for decarbonizing the sectors that used to look most daunting, from steelmaking to shipping.
Transmission lines to play a big role in clean energy future
By Lesley Hughes – The Canberra Times – 20 December 2021
When people think about climate action, they picture solar panels and wind farms, but there’s another less well-known but just as crucial ingredient in Australia’s clean energy shift.
Economic planners do not reckon with climate crisis bearing down on us
By David Shearman – Pearls and Irritations – 19 December 2021
The current population of 25 million may be Australia’s limit, unless we are prepared to reduce our lifestyle footprint.
The year in climate
By Bill McKibbon – The New Yorker – 18 December 2021
A summer that really scared scientists.
Hope is a natural resource too, and it can sometimes feel in short supply.
From Greenpeace International – MIRAGE – 17 December 2021
Here are 10 important and inspiring wins for people and the planet this year: let’s joyfully celebrate them and renew our strength to keep pushing for change in 2022.
Climate change has crashed Earth’s ‘air-conditioners’, risking rest of planet
By Sarah Kaplan – WAtoday – 16 December 2021
The ice shelf was cracking up. Surveys showed warm ocean water eroding its underbelly. Satellite imagery revealed long, parallel fissures in the frozen expanse, like scratches from some clawed monster. One fracture grew so big, so fast, scientists took to calling it “the dagger”.
Productivity Commission calls for new public transport fares and fees on cars
By Shane Wright – WA Today – 15 December 2021
A discussion paper on the future of public transport has called for changes including higher peak fares, while supporting congestion charges and higher parking costs.
How $2.8 billion of your money is spent — it grossly favours Coalition seats
By Katina Curtis and Shane Wright – THE AGE – 15 December 2021
Liberal electorates received three times more taxpayer money than Labor-held seats, as a detailed analysis of more than 19,000 grants reveals a highly politicised system rife with uneven spending. See the funding your electorate received.
Coal’s ‘absolutely massive’ environmental catastrophe
By James Bruggers – InsideClimate News – 14 December 2021
There’s a new international push to make systemic, long-lasting environmental devastation like coal extraction a crime called “ecocide.”
How the fossil fuel industry is gaslighting Australia
By Rebecca Huntley – The Monthly – 13 December 2021
Australia has largely fallen behind the rest of the world when it comes to action on climate change. But while polls show a majority of Australians actually want to phase out our reliance on fossil fuels and move to renewables, there are some who are uncertain on how this future looks. Today, Rebecca Huntley on how the fossil fuel lobby has influenced their hearts and minds.
Study suggests India could economically meet electricity demand through renewables by 2030
From The Economic Times – Energyworld.com – 12 December 2021
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) this week released an in-depth study of India’s future power system investments which suggested that India could economically meet electricity demand through renewables by 2030.
The year in water, 2021
By Brett Walton – Circle of Blue – 10 December 2021
If nothing else, the last 12 months of floods, fires, droughts, and other meteorological torments delivered an uncomfortable message. Extreme events are happening more often. And they are happening almost everywhere.
Plants buy us time to slow climate change – but not enough to stop it
By Priyanka Runwal – EurekAlert – 9 December 2021
An international team of researchers used a novel methodology combining remote sensing, machine learning, and terrestrial biosphere models to find that plants are photosynthesizing more, to the tune of 12% higher global photosynthesis from 1982 to 2020. In that same time period, global carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere grew about 17%, from 360 parts per million (ppm) to 420 ppm.
Hiding in plain sight: How plastics inflame the climate crisis
By Marina Schauffler – The Maine Monitor – 8 December 2021
The plastic industry could soon surpass coal in greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, its growing climate impact is largely unnoticed.
Climate change is robbing us of this one amazing part of nature
By SIMON BUTLER AND CATRIONA MORRISON – INVERSE – 7 December 2021
The sounds produced by the natural world are changing, which means that the benefits we gain from being in nature are likely to be changing too
Climate change and rising interest in renewable energy
By Dr Omer Javed – Pakistan Today – 6 December 2021
According to a recent International Energy Agency report, renewables will account for about 95 percent of the increase in global power-generation capacity from now to the end of 2026, with solar power alone providing about half of the increase.
Is this the secret to saving humanity?
By Dewi Cooke – The Age – 5 December 2021
The better question for our future selves might not be, what world do I want to leave behind, but what world am I proud to leave?
Labor’s climate policy puts Australia in the race
By Jacqueline Peel & Rebekkah Markey-Towler – Melbourne Uni. – 4 December 2021
The Labor Opposition’s climate policy is more ambitious and in line with COP26, but will need accelerated action
Species at risk of extinction in Victoria
By Benita Kolovos – The NEWDAILY – 3 December 2021
Thousands of animals and plants could become extinct in Victoria thanks to climate change, invasive species and habitat loss, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
PECAN Newsletter
By Deborah Sykes – PECAN Connittee – 2 December 2021
Coal use to peak in 2026 as renewables surge past forecasts
By Mike Foley – WAtoday – 2 December 2021
A new international report reveals an optimistic forecast for clean energy, but it poses a fresh challenge to a Labor party that is yet to reveal its climate policy.
Coal power plants are killing millions with air pollution and must be closed, research finds
By Michael Mazengarb – Renew Economy – 1 December 2021
Research finds climate policies alone won’t address health concerns of fossil fuels, with six million deaths from power plant pollution avoidable by 2050.
Calling climate change a ‘crisis’ doesn’t do what you think
By Kate Yoder – grist.org – 30 November 2021
A study recently published in the journal Climatic Change is among the first to examine the effects of using climate crisis and climate emergency.
How much would it cost to reforest Australian farmland for carbon credits?
By Angus Mackintosh – ABC Rural – 29 November 2021
Offsetting agricultural emissions through reforestation would cost a fair chunk of farm profits, new research suggests. So what’s the best way to tackle agricultural emissions?
Australia’s spy agency predicted the climate crisis 40 years ago – and fretted about coal exports
By Graham Readfearn – The Guardian – 28 November 2021
In a taste of things to come, a secret Office of National Assessment report worried the ‘carbon dioxide problem’ would hurt the nation’s coal industry
Australia’s Black Summer of fire was not normal – and we can prove it
By Garry Cook et al – The Conversation – 27 November 2021
The Black Summer forest fires of 2019–2020 burned more than 24 million hectares, directly causing 33 deaths and almost 450 more from smoke inhalation.
Australian climate activists battling increased repression and surveillance, new report says
From SBS News – 26 November 2021
Climate protesters are being targeted by harsh penalties, inappropriate police powers and surveillance, according to a new report.
5 big ideas: how Australia can tackle climate change while restoring nature, culture and communities
By Rachel Morgain et al – The Conversation – 25 November 2021
Australia’s plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050 relies heavily on unproven technologies to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, among other things.
World needs up to 140TWh of long duration energy storage to meet net-zero goals
By Sophie Vorrath – Renew Economy – 24 November 2021
New report says energy storage of eight hours and more will be crucial to shift to renewables, and we’ll need a lot of it between now and 2040.
How the chemicals industry’s pollution slipped under the radar
From The Guardian – 23 November 2021
The industry consumes more than 10% of fossil fuels produced globally and emits an estimated 3.3 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, more than India’s annual emissions.
The little guys are leading efforts to combat climate change
By THE OLYMPIAN EDITORIAL BOARD – 22 November 2021
Don’t let the Glasgow climate summit get you down. This battle is being won from the bottom up.
Domino Theory
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 21 November 2021
Our last, best hope of averting systemic environmental collapse is to use the peculiarities of complex systems to trigger cascading political regime shifts.
Australia’s R&D spend too low to fund future climate change technology breakthroughs: experts
By Doug Dingwall – The Canberra Times – 20 November 2021
Australia’s scientific triumphs have a hard time entering the nation’s folklore. It may be why the passivated emitter and rear cell, or PERC, isn’t as widely celebrated as it should be.
Revealed: the places humanity must not destroy to avoid climate chaos
The Guardian – 19 November 2021
A tiny proportion of world’s land surface hosts carbon-rich forests and peatlands that would not recover before 2050 if lost.
More Australians are turning to EVs, but a few key issues are hampering uptake
By Amy Bainbridge and Lucy Kent – ABC News – 18 November 2021
A growing number of Australian car lovers are turning to electric vehicles — but experts and industry figures say more can be done to encourage uptake and lower prices.
I’m an expert in what makes good policy, and the Morrison government’s net-zero plan fails on 6 crucial counts
By Nadeem Samnakay – The Conversation – 17 November 2021
The Morrison government’s recent plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 has been widely criticised by scientists, environmental organisations, journalists, politicians and more.
Deforestation can raise local temperatures by up to 4.5℃ – and heat untouched areas 6km away
By Sally Thompson et al – The Conversation – 16 November 2021
Forests directly cool the planet, like natural evaporative air conditioners. So what happens when you cut them down?
The ultimate guide to why the COP26 summit ended in failure and disappointment (despite a few bright spots)
By Robert Hales and Brendan Mackey- The Conversation – 15 November 2021
After two hard-fought weeks of negotiations, the Glasgow climate change summit is, at last, over. All 197 participating countries adopted the so-called Glasgow Climate Pact, despite an 11th hour intervention by India in which the final agreement was watered down from “phasing out” coal to “phasing down”.
Wealth Curse
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 14 November 2021
Why do we tolerate the massive environmental impacts of the very rich?
Nations reach climate deal at COP26 after compromise on coal
By Jack Hawke – ABC News – 14 November 2021
Government negotiators from nearly 200 countries have adopted a new deal on climate action after a last-minute intervention by India to water down the language on cutting emissions from coal.
Government releases its modelling underpinning the net zero emissions target
By Georgia Hitch – ABC News – 13 November 2021
To save spending your time sifting through the government’s modelling for its net zero by 2050 plan, here are a few of the key takeaways.
Green warriors find killer weapon in war on fossil fuel giants
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard – The Age – 12 November 2021
The climate movement has found its killer weapon in the war on fossils and the global multinational complex. It is mobilising human rights law to force through drastic decarbonisation and judges are playing along.
Looting By Other Means
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 11 November 2021
What the rich nations owe the poor is not climate aid or climate loans. It’s climate reparations.
‘Existential crisis’: United States and China stun COP26 with joint climate change pact
By Nick O’Malley and Bevan Shields – Brisbane Times – 11 November 2021
John Kerry called the joint declaration a “roadmap for our present and future collaboration” on climate change.
Tech can’t fix the problem of cars
By Shira Ovide – Bangladesh Times – 10 November 2021
Devoting our attention to exciting new electric and driverless cars may give us a pass from confronting a deeper question: How can we make our lives less dependent on cars?
Why putting rooftop solar on low-income rooftops is an “economic no-brainer”
By Sophie Vorrath – RENEW ECONOMY – 9 November 2021
Should rooftop PV subsidies be redirected to low-income households only? New study shows why supporting hardship customers with solar could be a better deal.
Australia needs to lift its game on R&D spending to reach net zero
By Katina Curtis – The Sydney Morning Herald – 8 November 2021
A reliance on technological advances to cut emissions in the federal government’s net zero plan means Australia needs to significantly lift its investment in research and development, with the sector looking for a $2.4 billion fund ahead of next year’s election.
Wind and solar could power the world’s major countries most of the time
By University of California at Irvine – Science News – 7 November 2021
With the eyes of the world on the United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, strategies for decarbonizing energy infrastructure are a trending topic. Yet critics of renewables question the dependability of systems that rely on intermittent resources.
Groundtruthed
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 6 November 2021
Almost everything being said by powerful governments at COP26 is a distraction from the crucial task: keeping fossil fuels in the ground.
Thoughts for young activists
By Rex Weyler – MIRAGE – 6 November 2021
During this year — the 50th anniversary of Greenpeace — I’ve had occasion to speak with ecology and human-rights activists around the world. In some cases, young activists have asked my advice about how to achieve results.
Does climate change have us licked?
By Waleed Aly – The Age – 5 November 2021
The giant contradiction at the heart of climate politics is that it is a collection of national leaders pursuing national interests while trying to solve a borderless, global problem.
COP26 needs to proclaim end of coal
By Felix Horne – Human Rights Watch – 4 November 2021
“Glasgow must be the COP that consigns coal to history.” Those were the words in July of Alok Sharma, president of the United Nations Climate Conference (COP26). With world leaders gathered in Glasgow this week, the need to phase out coal has never been more urgent if humanity is to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
Surface Tension
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 3 November 2021
Our survival depends on piercing the glassy surface of distraction, and ceasing to obey.
5 ways climate change will affect plants and animals
By Tara Lohan – The Revelator – 3 November 2021
Warming temperatures, stronger storms and rising seas present a cascade of challenges that researchers are racing to understand.
Factbox: COP26: What would success look like at the climate summit?
By Kate Abnett and Valerie Volcovici – REUTERS – 2 November 2021
Making a final assessment of the progress achieved over the two weeks of the COP26 talks in Glasgow will be complex. Unlike past climate summits, the event won’t deliver a new treaty or one big “win”.
Our climate demands we change the world right now. The good news? We can
By Rebecca Solnit – The Guardian – 31 October 2021
Glasgow has to be a turning point. There is no other option
High cost of electric vehicles make Australians hesitant to buy
By Rob Harris – The Age – 30 October 2021
The high cost of an electric vehicle is the reason half of Australians remain hesitant in making the switch away from petrol or diesel cars, new polling reveals, with more than a third of drivers saying they’re not considering one as their next purchase.
Simon Holmes à Court: ‘If it works, the payoff will be enormous’
By Brook Turner – The Age – 30 October 2021
The son of Australia’s first billionaire has become the face of a burgeoning independents movement some say heralds a tectonic shift in our political landscape. Their focus? Climate change. Their target? Disgruntled small-l liberals.
The battle to get here was ugly, but the impact of Joe Biden’s climate plan will be huge
By Jonathan Freedland – The Guardian – 30 October 2021
Yes, there have been compromises. But this is the biggest ever plan to curb emissions and, ahead of Cop26, will send a signal to the world
Who’s who in Glasgow: Your quick guide to the COP26 climate talks
By Michael Mazengarb – Renew Economy – 29 October 2021
Who’s going? What will they talk about? RenewEconomy’s guide to COP26 in Glasgow.
Soils can’t hold enough carbon to offset Australian emissions, experts say
By Michael Condon and Joshua Becker – ABC Rural – 28 October 2021
Australia’s plan for net zero includes “dangerous” soil carbon assumptions, relies on farmers to “bail out the fossil fuel industry”, and could be too expensive, experts say.
If all 2030 climate targets are met, the planet will heat by 2.7℃ this century. That’s not OK
By Andrew King and Malte Meinshausen – The Conversation – 27 October 2021
If nations make good on their latest promises to reduce emissions by 2030, the planet will warm by at least 2.7℃ this century, a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found. This overshoots the crucial internationally agreed temperature rise of 1.5℃.
The world is nowhere near to kicking its dirtiest habit
By Thomas Biesheuvel and Samuel Dodge – The Age – 26 October 2021
Never in human history has a tonne of coal cost more. Governments and utilities across the globe are willing to pay record sums to literally keep the lights on. That’s the bruising reality that global leaders must face at the high-stakes climate talks in Glasgow this month as hopes fade for a deal to end the world’s reliance on the dirtiest fuel.
Miracle of Reduction
By George Monboit – The Guardian – 25 October 2021
To avert environmental disaster, we need sudden and drastic change. Impossible? No, it has been done before.
Making a difference can be in your hands
By Henrietta Cook – The Age – 24 October 2021
As world leaders debate the best ways for nations to tackle climate change, citizens can feel powerless to do much that makes any difference.
There are no real climate leaders yet – who will step up at Cop26?
By Greta Thunberg – The Guardian – 23 October 2021
Like other rich nations, the UK is more talk than action on the climate crisis. Something needs to change in Glasgow
Climate pollution from plastics to outpace coal emissions in US by 2030
By Elizabeth Gribkoff – Environmental Health News – 22 October 2021
With dozens of new plastics manufacturing and recycling facilities in the works, the U.S. plastics industry will release more greenhouse gas emissions than coal-fired power plants by 2030, say the authors of a new report.
The folly of gas: Most new gas generators not viable, says Carbon Tracker
By Joshua S Hill – Renew Economy – 21 October 2021
Australia is hitching its future to a “gas-led recovery”, but new report says gas plants are not viable because renewables and storage are cheaper, and cleaner.
How the climate crisis is transforming the meaning of ‘sustainability’
By Raz Godelnik – Fast Company – 19 October 2021
Companies have been taking a ‘sustainability-as-usual’ approach to the climate crisis—a slow and voluntary adoption of commitments—but that may soon come to an end.
The energy crisis and how it could cost us all
By Ian Verrender – ABC News – 18 October 2021
The world appears to be staring down an energy crisis that would deliver ammunition to those wishing to slow the pace of climate change reforms and could see the dreaded return of stagflation
Electric Vehicles Are About To Get Crazy Cheap
By Brayden Gerrard – The Mobilist – 16 October 2021
Electric cars are nearing a major milestone that will propel adoption to new heights. Note this is a USA article. How long will it be before the same can be said in Australia?
Electronic waste from just this year will outweigh the Great Wall of China
By Elizabeth Gribkoff – Environmental Health News – 16 October 2021
This year, each of us will throw out, recycle, or shove into a desk drawer an average of 16.8 pounds of old phones, laptops, toasters, and other electronics and appliances, according to the UN — a total of 63.3 million tons of electronic waste worldwide.
Forget net zero – let’s have a ‘fossil freedom day’
By Mark Lynas – The Guardian – 15 October 2021
Imagine if we knew that sometime in 2047 we would definitively move on from the industrial revolution
Can we get more people to care about the climate crisis?
By Jeff Beer – Fast Company – 14 October 2021
Thirty-five years ago, four words from Stevie Ray Vaughn mobilized an entire state to clean up its act. Now we need a simple, powerful climate crisis message to mobilize the masses.
Fire Front
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 13 October 2021
Destroying the world’s living systems and draining its wealth are not perversions of capitalism. They are capitalism.
How a Computer From MIT Predicted the End of Humanity in 1973
By Andrei Tapalaga – History of Yesterday – 10 October 2021
The software used is called “World 3 system” and it predicted that the world will come to an end provoked by humanity in 2040
The Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index
SOLABILITY – 10 October 2021
Published since 2012, the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI) is the most comprehensive ranking of countries currently available. The GSCI measures competitiveness of countries based on 131 measurable, quantitative indicators derived from reliable sources, such as the World Bank, the IMF, and various UN agencies. The 131 indicators are grouped into 5 sub-indexes: Natural Capital, Resource Efficiency & Intensity, Intellectual Capital, Governance Efficiency, and Social Cohesion.
Australia could ‘green’ its degraded landscapes for just 6% of what we spend on defence
By Bonnie Mappin, James Watson and Lesley Hughes – The Conversation – 9 October 2021
The health of many Australian ecosystems is in steep decline. Replanting vast tracts of land with native vegetation will prevent species extinctions and help abate climate change – but which landscapes should be restored, and how much would it cost?
What to know about COP26, 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow
By Brady Dennis – The Washington Post – 8 October 2021
“We must get serious. And we must act fast,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said recently, noting the world is “seemingly light years away” from meeting its climate goals.
Electrify everything and go renewable. Turns out it’s much cheaper than thought
By Giles Parkinson – Renew Economy – 5 October 2021
A fully electrifed home powered by renewables will need less than 40% of the energy of its fossil-fueled counterpart. And save thousands.
Also watch this 5 minute video from the ABC 7.30 Report on 4 October 2021.
Household energy savings could also hold the key to emissions reductions
Marine heatwaves could wipe out an extra six per cent of a country’s fish catches, costing millions their jobs
From ScienceDaily – 3 October 2021
Extremely hot years will wipe out hundreds of thousands of tons of fish available for catch in a country’s waters in this century, on top of projected decreases to fish stocks from long-term climate change, a new study predicts.
‘Wilderness’ evokes untouched landscapes. But is it time to stop using the word?
By Jo Khan – ABC Science – 2 October 2021
What image does the word ‘wilderness’ conjure in your mind? We don’t all perceive it the same way, and, for some, it means nothing at all.
How to explore the IPCC interactive climate change atlas
By Sara Kiley Watson – Popular Science – 1 October 2021
Climate scientists have long been saying that a few degrees of temperature change could mean a heck of a lot for the global climate. That warning has become even louder since the release of the most recent IPCC report last month.
Australia’s $333b pot of gold beyond fossil fuel ‘valley of death’
By Georgie Moore / AAP – INQUEENSLAND – 30 September 2021
Australia could reap $333 billion by 2050 from selling green energy overseas, according to a report pressing for rapid action to avoid a “valley of death” in the country’s exports.
Morrison and the Quad just committed to ending coal power by 2040, at the latest
By Michael Mazengarb – Renew Economy – 28 September 2021
As the Coalition went to war with itself over emissions targets, Quad leaders recommitted to goals that would require Australia to exit coal power by 2040.
Stepping up when adults don’t: ‘It’s just so real for us right now’
By Meg Keneally – The Guardian – 26 September 2021
Call it the Greta Thunberg effect – young people are carrying the burden of fighting for their future when it comes to the climate crisis
‘Good ideas, good work and good luck’: Australian grassroots campaigners on how they got it done
By Sally Dillon – The Guardian – 25 September 2021
From town hall meetings to QR codes and crowdfunding, three environmental campaigners share the practical tips that helped make their work effective
Spirited Away
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 25 September 2021
How the counterculture fell prey to the far-right’s conspiracy theories.
Could the financial sector solve climate change as diplomacy stumbles?
By Felicia Jackson – Forbes – 24 September 2021
The ECB is warning climate change costs could be 5x the cost of transition. As climate risk goes mainstream, could investor concern drive climate action as international diplomacy struggles to reach agreement?
Climate change: How to plant trillions of trees without hurting people and the planet
By Benji Jones – VOX – 23 September 2021
Large tree-planting initiatives often fail – and some have even fueled deforestation. There’s a better way.
The world is hungry for solar panels. Why did we stop making them?
ABC Science / By technology reporter James Purtill – 19 September 2021
Every day of the year, Australia installs about 1,000 rooftop solar systems; those black rectangles appearing on rooftops everywhere represent billions of dollars spent on silicon, glass and a little bit of metal.
On The Cusp
By George Monbiot – The Guardian – 15 September 2021
Earth systems could tip before 2050. We urgently need more stringent climate targets.
What would it take for antivaxxers and climate science deniers to ‘wake up’?
By Clive Hamilton – The Guardian – 13 September 2021
Facts are puny against the carapace of denial when people’s sense of self is at stake. However, in the case of Covid deniers, imminent death seems to do the trick
Jane Goodall still has hope for humanity. Here’s why
By Karen Tong and Meredith Lake for Soul Search – ABC Radio – 11 September 2021
Amid a changing climate and the COVID-19 pandemic, Jane Goodall shares her life lessons on hope.
Yes, it is entirely possible for Australia to phase out thermal coal within a decade
From John Quiggin – THE CONVERSATION – 9 September 2021
In a UK study published today in Nature, scientists found Australia must keep 95% of coal in the ground if we have any hope of stopping the planet warming beyond the crucial limit of 1.5℃.
20 meat and dairy firms emit more greenhouse gas than Germany, Britain or France
From The Guardian – 8 September 2021
Livestock companies with large emissions receive billions of dollars in funding, campaigners say
Over 200 health journals call on world leaders to address ‘catastrophic harm to health’ from climate change
From Science Daily – 7 September 2021
Over 200 health journals across the world have come together to simultaneously publish an editorial calling on world leaders to take emergency action to limit global temperature increases, halt the destruction of nature, and protect health.
Climate change means Australia may have to abandon much of its farming
From Andrew Wait and Kieron Meagher – THE CONVERSATION – 6 September 2021
The findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest Australia may have to jettison tracts of the bush unless there is a massive investment in climate-change adaptation and planning.
Climate change: Spiralling cost of weather disasters shows dramatic impact of just one degree of warming
THE SCOTSMAN – 2 September 2021
The weather of 1970s Scotland may not seem all that very different to the weather we experience today, judged by the perhaps hazy memories of those who were around at the time. However, on a global scale, the insurance industry will have noticed a huge difference.
Solar keeps on getting better: Cheaper, more efficient and bigger returns on energy
By Fereidoon Sioshansi – Renew Ecomomy – 28 August 2021
The energy payback time for solar PV can be less than a year, meaning it will produce 20 times the energy needed to produce it over a 20 year lifespan.
Australia’s biggest climate poll shows support for action in every seat
By Nick O’Malley and Miki Perkins – Sydney Morning Herald – 30 August 2021
The survey of 15,000 Australians found 67pc believe the government should do more to tackle climate change, including a majority in all 151 national seats.
Farmers manage more than half the country. We all have a stake in them getting it right
Gabrielle Chan – The Guardian – Sun 29 Aug 2021
If you eat, you have an interest in farming. If you care about the environment, you have an interest in farming. Yet Australia has no national agriculture strategy
Dead Line
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 19th August 2021
Future corporate profits are officially more important than life on Earth.
Is democracy getting in the way of saving the planet?
Kate Aronoff – The Guardian – 26 August 2021
Our climate is in crisis, but authoritarians and technocrats don’t have the answers
What burgers and bananas can teach us about fighting climate change
Canary Media – 24 August 2021
We can’t just build renewables. We have to stamp out fossil fuels.
Australia on verge of electric cars boom amid sharp jump in sales figures
The Age – 23 August 2021
Australian sales of electric cars have risen at record levels in the past six months amid state government incentives as the industry forecasts greater price parity and consumer choice over the next 24 months.
GEOENGINEERING
The Age – 22 August 2021
This article from today’s AGE explains the pros and cons of Geoengineering.
Young people jettisoned on climate, vaccines and housing
The Age – 20 August 2021
Some young Australians are now so desperately unhappy with government inaction they feel being arrested and fined is actually less of a cost than the cost to their future if nothing is done.
Three in four people think climate change is reaching an irreversible ‘tipping point’
Yahoo!News – 19 August 2021
Three out of four people now believe that the world is approaching an irreversible ‘tipping point’ due to the actions of the human race, a survey has found.
Pandemic and digitalization set stage for revival of a cast-off idea: Personal carbon allowances
KTH, Royal Institute of Technology – 17 August 2021
Researchers say the time may be right for many industrialized nations to resurrect an idea once thought to be unfeasible: personal carbon allowances (PCAs). The concept, they report, has stronger possibilities due to a worsening climate crisis, changes in personal behavior due to the COVID-19 crisis and advances in artificial intelligence and information and communications technologies.
Good news: Some climate change impacts are ‘reversible.’ Here’s what that means
Emily Chung · CBC News – 16 August 2021
Carbon removal can reverse temperature changes in the long-term, but can’t stop sea level rise
Effectively removing CO2 from the atmosphere
Paul Scherrer Institute – 15 August 2021
Researchers have investigated the extent to which direct capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the ambient air can help to effectively remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The result: With careful planning, for example with regard to location and provision of the necessary energy, CO2 can be removed in a climate-effective manner.
Heatwaves and hope: The message from the IPCC climate report
Dan Jervis-Bardy – 11 August 2021
The exact word wasn’t used in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. But read between its many explicit and alarming references to the threat of increasingly prevalent heatwaves, fires, floods, droughts and rising sea levels, and the message, if not the word, is there in bold. Hope.
This is the most sobering report card yet on climate change and Earth’s future. Here’s what you need to know
Pep Canadell,Joelle Gergis, Malte Meinshausen, Mark Hemer, Michael Grose
10 August 2021
Earth has warmed 1.09℃ since pre-industrial times and many changes such as sea-level rise and glacier melt are now virtually irreversible, according to the most sobering report yet by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Seven top takeaways from the IPCC’s latest climate science assessment
Peter Hannam – 9 August 2021
Every seven years or so, like a recurring global spasm, scientists from around the world update their understanding of how the planet is heating up, what the impacts will be and what we might do about it.
The gift we should give to the living world? Time, and lots of it
George Monbiot – 9 August 2021
Planting 10 saplings does not replace a twisted old oak. ‘Slow ecology’ is the only way to preserve and restore ancient habitats
Monday’s IPCC report is a really big deal for climate change. So what is it? And why should we trust it?
David Karoly – 8 August 2021
On Monday, an extremely important report on the physical science of climate change will be released to the world. Produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the report will give world leaders the most up-to-date information about climate change to inform their policies.
The call to pull carbon out of the atmosphere
https://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/beyond-emissions-the-call-to-pull-carbon-out-of-the-atmosphere-20210806-p58gia.html
THE AGE – 7 August 2021
The Swedish scientist Kenneth Möllersten was at a conference in Cairns back in 2000 when an idea came to him that has become woven into the very fabric of international climate change politics, an idea some see as dangerous, some as fanciful, and others as crucial to stabilising the world’s atmosphere.
Eight technologies that could eliminate nearly all emissions by 2035
https://reneweconomy.com.au/get-serious-eight-technologies-that-could-eliminate-nearly-all-emissions-by-2035/
RENEW ECONOMY – 6 August 2021
Stanford’s Tony Seba says world has technologies to achieve rapid emission reductions. We just need to deploy them at speed and scale.