Canberra records 18 per cent fall in emissions as renewables kick in — RenewEconomy
ACT records 18 per cent fall in greenhouse gas emissions as the territory’s wind and solar supplies come online, but a tougher challenge looms in transport emissions. The post Canberra records 18 per cent fall in emissions as renewables kick in appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Canberra records 18 per cent fall in emissions as renewables kick in — RenewEconomy
Massive Pilbara wind and solar export hub gets environmental green light — RenewEconomy
Western Australia watchdog recommends environmental approval for massive Asian Renewable Energy Hub, including up to 1,743 wind turbines and 2GW of solar. The post Massive Pilbara wind and solar export hub gets environmental green light appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Massive Pilbara wind and solar export hub gets environmental green light — RenewEconomy
CEC says wind and solar could add $50 billion of investment in Covid recovery — RenewEconomy
CEC says Australia’s current pipeline of big solar and wind, alone, could generate more than $50bn of investment, and 50,000 jobs for Australia’s regional areas. The post CEC says wind and solar could add $50 billion of investment in Covid recovery appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via CEC says wind and solar could add $50 billion of investment in Covid recovery — RenewEconomy
Cheap electricity is back in Australia — RenewEconomy
Australia is now enjoying low spot and futures prices for electricity. Cheap power is back. The post Cheap electricity is back in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.
May 4 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “In A Post-Pandemic World, Renewable Energy Is The Only Way Forward” • Pollution affects us all. Not only does it kill seven million of us each year, it makes us more vulnerable to all kinds of respiratory diseases, including, of course, those caused by such viruses as the one that brought us Covid-19. […]
It’s time Coalition listened to experts on climate and energy, and plotted a Green New Deal — RenewEconomy
True story: Morrison sets up new platform for investment in renewable energy power plants, with particularly focus on large scale wind, solar PV and storage. The post It’s time Coalition listened to experts on climate and energy, and plotted a Green New Deal appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Week to 4 May in climate and nuclear news
Well, ya can’t get away from it. It’s always the pandemic! This week, the news moves on to considering the future. Biodiversity scientists warn that future pandemics are on the horizon, if we don’t stop our rapid destruction of nature. With increasing human population, encroaching on wild habitats, there’s increased risk of pathogens transferring between animals and humans.
But also, the pandemic is showing us how our trashed world can heal.
Amidst the continuing propaganda for the (still non existent) new “cheap ” small nuclear reactors, comes the sobering fact that the nuclear industry is in trouble, in this time of pandemic. It’s not just nuclear’s unique safety problem, but now the business problem. As wind and solar power thrive , nuclear power is going down the drain, with low prices and slumping demand.
A bit of good news – Hole in the ozone layer is now closed.
AUSTRALIA
Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) continues attacks on ABC .
Rampant, unmonitored use of water by Australia’s coal industry in time of drought!.
NUCLEAR. Australia: Epidemiology on nuclear radiation?
Flinders Local Action Group want a new process for disposal of Australia’s nuclear waste. South Australian group calls – ” No to radioactive waste on agricultural land in Kimba or South Australia.” Dr Helen Caldicott explains the (virtually eternal) problem of toxic nuclear waste. Beyond Uranium Canberra. Group calls for an end to Kimba waste plan, wants Inquiry into nuclear waste management.
CLIMATE Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor, refuses to release findings of ‘expert panel’ into emissions reductions Australia’s govt betting on a fossil-fuel led recovery – despite expert advice on renewable energy. Why does the Morrison govt hear the experts on coronavirus, but ignore the experts on climate change?
RENEWABLE ENERGY
- AEMO lays out “action plan” to manage 75 pct wind and solar by 2025 . Another record month for rooftop solar, but Covid-19 likely to hit in May.
- Want an economic tonic, Mr Morrison? Use that stimulus money to turbocharge renewables. Paralysis by analysis: Absurd regulatory regime is burying energy transition. Major contractor quits Australia solar market after huge losses on projects. ARENA told to strengthen processes, as decisions on future loom. Deep dive: Why “step change” to high renewables grid will deliver low cost, reliable grid.
- South Australia winemaker completes shift to 100% renewables with solar car park.
- Zero contact and zero emissions: “Covid safe” electric taxis to launch in Sydney. Cherry Tree wind farm delivers first generation to Victorian grid.
INTERNATIONAL
The nuclear pandemic. Nuclear Issues and Epidemiology. Low Oil Prices May Kill Off The Next Nuclear Boom Before It Begins.
New START is the only U.S.-Russian nuclear treaty still in effect. Time to renew it.
Petersberg Climate Dialogue to be held virtually this year. Climate change: lakes and rivers will become drier, increasingly infectious and toxic.
Solar and Wind Cheapest Sources of Power in Most of the World Solar heating.
NO RADIOACTIVE WASTE ON AGRICULTURAL LAND IN KIMBA OR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
RECOMMENDATIONS ……That the National Radioactive Waste Management Amendment (Site Specification, Community Fund and Other Measures) Bill 202 be withdrawn, and an independent inquiry into the management of Australia’s radioactive waste be commissioned.
There are many examples of how this is process has been unfair and wrong…… COMMUNITY CONSULTATION……DEFINITION OF ‘NEIGHBOURS’…… ‘INFORMED CONSENT’…… Community Benefit Packages…… Siting on Agricultural Land….. Double handling of Intermediate Level Waste…. Declaration and Legislation of Selected Site
No Radioactive Waste on Agricultural Land in Kimba or SA Committee ,Submission No 80
“To campaign against any nuclear radioactive waste management facility in South Australia’s agricultural land
and in particular the District Council of Kimba
SUBMISSION TO THE SENATE INQUIRY INTO THE NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
AMENDMENT
The No Radioactive Waste on Agricultural Land in Kimba or SA Committee was established in 2016 to represent the members of the Kimba, Eyre Peninsula and SA community who are opposed to the siting of the National Radioactive Waste Management Facility on Farming land in South Australia.
As both a committee and individuals we have been heavily involved in the 5 year process the Federal
Government has undertaken to site the National Radioactive Waste Facility in Kimba and we would like to thank the Committee for their time and efforts in undertaking this inquiry.
As the Senate Committee would be well aware, the process which led to this point has been long and arduous,
particularly for those who do not support the siting of the facility in the Kimba district. We have had no goal or
prize in sight, only the onerous task of proving our opposition.
The proposal has caused, and continues to cause, significant division within our community, which has been
fuelled by the actions of the Department in their quest to establish support for the facility. There are many
examples of how this is process has been unfair and wrong, and we appreciate the opportunity to put forward
some important facts from our perspective.
COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
The finding by former Minister Matthew Canavan that broad community consent for this facility exists in Kimba,
a basis on which this Bill rests, is tenuous at best. The path that the Federal Government took to making this
finding has been a long road of propaganda, manipulation and promises, and is now completely lacking
justification at its conclusion for the decision made.
The Hawker site was removed from the process due to lack of support as shown in the result of the ballot.
However, there is every probability this same finding would have been made in Kimba had the voting rules been equitable. Continue reading
Scientists Warn Worse Pandemics Are on the Way if We Don’t Protect Nature
Scientists Warn Worse Pandemics Are on the Way if We Don’t Protect Nature https://www.ecowatch.com/pandemics-environmental-destruction-2645854694.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4 Jordan DavidsonApr. 27, 2020 A group of biodiversity experts warned that future pandemics are on the horizon if mankind does not stop its rapid destruction of nature.
Writing an article published Monday by The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the authors put the responsibility for COVID-19 squarely on our shoulders.
“There is a single species that is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic – us. As with the climate and biodiversity crises, recent pandemics are a direct consequence of human activity – particularly our global financial and economic systems, based on a limited paradigm that prizes economic growth at any cost. We have a small window of opportunity, in overcoming the challenges of the current crisis, to avoid sowing the seeds of future ones,” the authors wrote on IPBES.
The authors of the report include the three co-chairs of the comprehensive 2019 IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which found that one million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction within decades. The fourth author, Peter Daszak, is the president of EcoHealth Alliance and is tasked with spearheading the IPBES’ next global assessment, as The Guardian reported.
The authors argue that government stimulus plans need to include sustainable and nature-positive initiatives. “It may be politically expedient at this time to relax environmental standards and to prop up industries such as intensive agriculture, long-distance transportation such as the airlines, and fossil-fuel-dependent energy sectors, but doing so without requiring urgent and fundamental change, essentially subsidizes the emergence of future pandemics,” the authors wrote.
They also fault wanton greed for allowing microbes that lead to novel diseases to jump from animals to humans.
“Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled expansion of agriculture, intensive farming, mining and infrastructure development, as well as the exploitation of wild species have created a ‘perfect storm’ for the spillover of diseases from wildlife to people,” they wrote in their article.
They warn that 1.7 million unidentified viruses known to infect people are estimated to exist in mammals and water birds. Any one of these may be more disruptive and lethal than COVID-19.
With that in mind, the authors suggest three facets that should be considered for COVID-19-related stimulus plans. Countries should strengthen environmental regulations; adopt a ‘One Health’ approach to decision-making that recognizes complex interconnections among the health of people, animals, plants, and our shared environment; and prop up healthcare systems in the most vulnerable countries where resources are strained and underfunded. “This is not simple altruism – it is vital investment in the interests of all to prevent future global outbreaks,” the scientists argue in their IPBES article.
“The programs we’re talking about will cost tens of billions of dollars a year,” Daszak told The Guardian. “But if you get one pandemic, even just one a century, that costs trillions, so you still come out with an incredibly good return on investment.
“Business as usual will not work. Business as usual right now for pandemics is waiting for them to emerge and hoping for a vaccine. That’s not a good strategy. We need to deal with the underlying drivers.”
Their assessment has been supported recently by others in the scientific community. A study published earlier this month blamed human impact on wildlife for the current outbreak, as The Guardian reported.
The authors of the new article end their piece on an optimistic note about nature’s resiliency. “We can build back better and emerge from the current crisis stronger and more resilient than ever – but to do so means choosing policies and actions that protect nature – so that nature can help to protect us,” they wrote.
Rampant, unmonitored use of water by Australia’s coal industry in time of drought!
 Aren’t we in a drought? The Australian black coal industry uses enough water for over 5 million people, The Conversation, Ian Overton, Adjunct Associate Professor, Centre for Global Food and Resources, University of Adelaide, 4 May 20, Water is a highly contested resource in this long, oppressive drought, and the coal industry is one of Australia’s biggest water users. Research released today, funded by the Australian Conservation Foundation, has identified how much water coal mining and coal-fired power stations actually use in New South Wales and Queensland. The answer? About 383 billion litres of fresh water every year. That’s the same amount 5.2 million people, or more than the entire population of Greater Sydney, uses in the same period. And it’s about 120 times the water used by wind and solar to generate the same amount of electricity. Monitoring how much water is used by industry is vital for sustainable water management. But a lack of transparency about how much water Australia’s coal industry uses makes this very difficult. Adani’s controversial Carmichael mine in central Queensland was granted a water licence that allows the company to take as much groundwater as it wants, despite fears it will damage aquifers and groundwater-dependent rivers. Now more than ever, we must make sure water use by coal mines and power stations are better monitored and managed………. No transparencyData on total water use by coal mines is not publicly available. Despite the development of Australian and international water accounting frameworks, there is no reporting to these standards in coal mine reports. This lack of consistent and available data means water use by the coal industry, and its negative effects, is not widely reported or understood. The problem is compounded by complex regulatory frameworks that allow gaps in water-use reporting. A patchwork of government agencies in each state regulate water licences, quality and discharge, coal mine planning, annual reviews of mine operations and water and environmental impacts. This means that problems can fall through the gaps…….. https://theconversation.com/arent-we-in-a-drought-the-australian-black-coal-industry-uses-enough-water-for-over-5-million-people-137591 |
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The human species destroys nature at its peril – pandemic a warning sign
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As Tasmania prepares to enter the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, calls are growing for the crisis to be seen as a warning for the future. The pandemic has had widespread health and economic ramifications across Tasmania. Thirteen people have died, thousands have been quarantined and more than 20,000 people have lost their jobs. While we don’t know exactly what animal species the virus originated from, scientists widely consider bats the likely source. Dr Scott Carver is a senior lecturer at the University of Tasmania who specialises in the ecology and epidemiology of infectious diseases. He said human impacts on the environment can create new contacts with animals and increase risk of pathogens transferring between animals and humans.
“Pathogen spillover between species … happens quite often,” Mr Carver said. “It is just that most pathogens don’t cause really significant health outcomes. Some of them, however, do. “The chance of any one spillover event resulting in an epidemic is low, but if you increase the opportunity for that to happen, through increasing new contacts, then the probability increases.” He said implementing policies to limit the risk of potential future pandemics would benefit both public health and biodiversity. “With a growing human population size and growing human impacts on the environment it is not surprising that you get more of these events happening,” Dr Carver said. “It is incumbent upon us to really take a serious look at the way we treat the environment and think about policies that can limit these sorts of things.” UTAS’s Dr Olivia Hasler believes legislating a law of ecocide could be one way to approach establishing these policies. “Ecocide is an attempt to criminalise human activities that destroy and diminish the well-being and health of ecosystems and species within an ecosystem,” she said. She said the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted how connected we were as a society, and she hoped that would not be forgotten in the recovery effort. “A law against ecocide would provide accountability to those that are in positions of power to make decisions about the use of our resources and shared land,” Dr Hasler said…… https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6743091/human-impacts-on-the-environment-could-be-increasing-the-risk-of-pandemics/?cs=95 |
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Solar heating
Renew Extra 2nd May 2020, Dave Elliott: Solar power prospects are looking good, but for solar heat aswell as solar electricity. It is clear than solar photovoltaic power generation is booming around the world, with over 580 GW of PV solar installed by the end of 2019, and much more expected, but it’s worth noting that there is also a large amount of direct solar heating system capacity in use (470 GW thermal), and that too is also growing.
large inter-seasonal heat stores, allowing summer heat to be used for winter warming via local district heating networks.
augments heat supplied by other means, including from biomass combustion, but new approaches are being adopted which enhance the solar and bioenergy input using large heat pumps. Although (fossil) gas fired heating still often has the edge, solar heating with heat stores can be competitive with other heating sources if district heating networks already exists, as they do in Denmark. And of course the carbon emissions associated with using
fossil gas are then avoided.
https://renewextraweekly.blogspot.com/2020/05/solar-heats-up.html
Australia’s govt betting on a fossil-fuel led recovery – despite expert advice on renewable energy
Trouble with gas: the Coalition is betting on the fossil fuel for recovery – but the sums don’t add upThe Australian government says gas is ‘essential’, but the global view is it’s the second-least desirable source of electricity Guardian, Adam Morton Environment editor @adamlmorton, Sun 3 May 2020 The agency that runs Australia’s electricity last week gave its verdict on how to deliver what would have seemed fanciful not that long ago – a power grid that within five years should at times be able to run on 75% wind and solar energy.
The Australian Energy Market Operator delivered a report on integrating renewable energy into the system with an optimistic message.
As described by its chief, New Yorker Audrey Zibelman, the technical capacity was already there, but markets and regulations would have to be adjusted. There were no “insurmountable reasons” why the grid could not take even higher levels of renewables, as it will need to for Australia to meet the Paris agreement goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions.
The minister in charge of both energy and cutting emissions, Angus Taylor, chose a different emphasis.
In a statement issued as the study was released, Taylor said it had highlighted the challenges of increased amounts of solar and wind given the system needed continuous inertia – support from constantly running “synchronous generation” – to ensure grid stability. He suggested that inertia could come from gas-fired power.
The market operator’s report does not mention gas generation, but the fossil fuel – often described as having half the emissions of coal, though recent studies have suggested it could be much more – is clearly on Taylor’s mind. A few days earlier he had given interviews to Nine newspapers to support the idea of a “gas-fired recovery” from the Covid-19 pandemic, suggesting it may be a focus of future economic stimulus measures……..
Andrew Grant, head of oil, gas and mining with London-based financial thinktank Carbon Tracker, says the global view of gas has flipped from it being seen as a cleaner fuel than coal, to it being the second-least desirable source of electricity. He points to analysis by the International Energy Agency that found global gas-fired power generation must begin to decline later this decade under a sustainable development scenario. “Better than coal is not exactly a ringing endorsement,” Grant says. …….
t there is little evidence that the Australian electricity grid will need more gas power. Last year, it provided about 9% of generation. The market operator assessment suggested this could fall to near zero in the second half of this decade before returning in a much smaller amount – less than a third of what it is now – in the 2030s if the grid was to run at lowest cost……
Simon Holmes à Court, senior advisor to the Climate and Energy College at the University of Melbourne, says the services needed for a secure power grid are increasingly available from sources other than gas, including government-backed large batteries and potentially through adjustments at wind or additions at solar farms……… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/03/trouble-with-gas-the-coalition-is-betting-on-the-fossil-fuel-for-recovery-but-the-sums-dont-add-up
The nuclear pandemic — Beyond Nuclear International
Celebrating a sustainable Earth means eliminating nuclear power and weapons
Here’s who I’m cheering for — Beyond Nuclear International
Indigenous protectors of the Amazon deserve our applause too
via Here’s who I’m cheering for — Beyond Nuclear International
1 This month
25 October – Film –Britain’s Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story – part of the Adelaide Film Festival,
Screening and Conversation
A screening of Britain’s Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story (2024) followed by a talk with 2026 Bettison and James Awardee and Tradtional Owner Karina Lester in conversation with Simone Tur.
When: Sun 25 Oct, 12:00pm-Screening, 1:15pm-Talk
Where: The Mercury
Free admission, register below by clicking on BUY TICKETS and select free event tickets, at end of web page:
https://www.adelaidefilmfestival.org/program/2026/britains-nuclear-bomb-scandal-our-story
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Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
