Aussie Enviro

And in hot regional areas of Australia it could be used on dam reservoirs so as not to take up land used for other purposes but also to reduce water evaporation and produce extra energy.

“What we found is that offshore floating solar systems can generate more electricity over their lifetime – about 12% more than land-based systems under the same conditions.

“Because of this higher energy output, they also achieve greater carbon emission reductions. In simple terms, even though both systems use similar technology, placing solar panels on water can make them more effective.”

This is partly due to the cooling effect of the surrounding water, which conducts heat away from the solar panels more efficiently than air. The electrical efficiency of solar cells decreases as ambient temperatures increase, so this effect is particularly helpful in warm climates.

https://connectsci.au/news/news-parent/9388/Floating-solar-could-help-power-nations-with

Existing outdoors in nature is good for humans both mentally and physically. It’s a well-documented phenomenon! Though why this is the case is still being explored.

New research has discovered one mechanism underlying the benefits of nature.

The study published in the journal Environment International links contact with nature to increased life satisfaction through positive experiences of living in and experiencing the world through the body (body appreciation).

These findings are very important imo and particularly so to help children and young people who have body image challenges. For details see https://connectsci.au/news/news-parent/9379/How-being-in-nature-improves-life-satisfaction

If you want to treat yourself to some amazing images and learn more about the complex world of plants, check this out.

Conservation councils across Australia warned the move could fast-track mining, energy and land-clearing projects while undermining protections for nationally significant ecosystems and animals, such as the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and critically endangered species.,,

Environmental advocates warned the agreements would give state and territory governments power to approve projects that would impact world heritage areas, wetlands and threatened species.

“Federal nature laws should be administered by the federal government – it’s that simple,” said Conservation Council of the ACT Executive Director, Simon Copland.

“Devolution is reckless and gives rise to potential conflicts of interest, where states and territories, who are often the key backers of destructive projects, are handed powers to assess and approve them.”

Here's another Aussie special! Delmas are legless lizards and there are about 45 species of them in Australia and Papua New Guinea. I believe 22 of them are endemic to Australia. Some are more endangered than others.

This short video gives you a great overview on delmas and how to know them apart from snakes. They are cuties!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZFyQqUVoQA

This is an analysis for those who are interested in the details, which I know it's not everyone, but here is the overall conclusion (bolding is mine)

Overall, this budget continues Australia’s long-term underinvestment in nature.

While there are small short-term funding extensions for key biodiversity programs, they fall well short of what is needed to prevent extinctions, restore ecosystems and meet national environmental commitments. At the same time, the Government is investing heavily in streamlining environmental approvals and devolving powers to states, with a strong focus on process rather than environmental outcomes.

Nature underpins Australia’s economy and wellbeing - continuing to run down our natural assets while failing to adequately invest in their recovery is environmentally and economically short-sighted.

Lifting nature’s share of the federal budget to just 1% would provide enough funding to meet most of the Australian Government’s environmental commitments. Recent research undertaken by Monash University for the Biodiversity Council found that most Australians believe that at least 1% of the federal budget should be dedicated to nature protection.

Does our government care at all?

US mining company Alcoa’s strip-mining of Western Australia’s jarrah forest is under further investigation after its “deliberate repeat breach” of environmental laws that destroyed habitat for protected species – including black cockatoos, quokkas and numbats – and cost it $40m to avoid prosecution.

News of another federal investigation piles more pressure on Alcoa’s bauxite mining in south-west WA, which threatens Perth’s water supply, has destroyed about 280 sq km of jarrah forest, none of which the company has rehabilitated in 60 years, and when refined into alumina, results in mercury-laden emissions, contaminated groundwater and millions of tonnes of unstable toxic bauxite residue.

Alcoa is pushing the WA and federal governments to approve an expansion of its northern Huntly mine, much of it around Perth’s largest drinking water dam, the Serpentine.

Read and be astonished by this plain-looking bird. It is better than a plane! And, of course it is endangered by all the man-made threats we have created.

The Bar-tailed Godwit reminds me that conservation isn’t just local. Protecting Australian wildlife means protecting global ecological systems and migratory pathways. These birds connect Siberia, China, Korea, Alaska, Australia and New Zealand into one living story. And there’s something special about that.

... Their future depends largely on whether the world can restrain its appetite for endless coastal development and fossil fuel-driven climate disruption. For me, the Bar-tailed Godwit is a reminder that some of the greatest wonders on Earth aren’t loud or flashy. Sometimes they are quiet birds on a mudflat near Broome or Shanghai, preparing to do something almost unimaginable.

Australia’s High Court yesterday heard its first ever climate case. It's been asked to decide whether decision-makers must consider the likely climate impacts of fossil fuel projects on the communities where the mines operate.

The case revolves around a single coal mine in New South Wales, but it could have a much wider impact. When the High Court makes a ruling, it sets binding legal precedents...

This case comes after the International Court of Justice last year found nations are legally obliged to prevent harms caused by climate change. Recent advances in climate attribution science make it possible to link emissions from individual fossil fuel projects to measurable climate damage, such as extreme heat, heat-related deaths and coral reef loss.

The court’s decision could establish a precedent that the full climate impacts of fossil fuel projects must be assessed in the local area, including emissions from fuel burned overseas.

Or it could keep the status quo, where the impact of Scope 3 emissions on the local area aren’t given significant weight.

Communities, boardrooms and governments will be watching closely when the High Court hands down its decision. Given Australia’s role as a major fossil fuel exporter, the world will be watching too.

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/32635550

More than 800 tiny, technicoloured northern corroboree frogs have been released into the wild in the Brindabella National Park in southern NSW to try to bolster the numbers of one of Australia's most critically endangered amphibians.

Weighing just 2–3 grams and no bigger than a paper clip, the 842 frogs were born and bred at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in a special quarantine facility designed to keep out a deadly fungus that had driven the species to the brink of extinction.

Pest animals and weeds cost Australian agriculture more than $5 billion a year.

Funding cuts for critical programs were announced in last night's budget, concerned farm and environment groups say.

FFS..

“You’ve pulled $1.3 billion out of hydrogen, solar and battery programs because industry uptake was slower than hoped.

“Meanwhile fossil fuel subsidies hit $16.3 billion this year, up 9.4%. That’s faster than the NDIS. It’s also faster than the renewable hydrogen industry you just defunded for growing too slowly. The Fuel Tax Credit Scheme alone is $10.8 billion – about eight times what you took off clean energy.“

Australia has the sun, the wind, the minerals and the engineers. We’re losing the race because other governments turn up and support their clean tech industry. You don’t have to. But it would be nice.”

Thomas Nann, the CEO and co-founder of Newcastle-based energy storage company Allegro Energy, likened the cuts to “cancelling the gym membership because you haven’t lost weight yet.”

I sure hope so.

I live in a regional area where there a wild dogs and there are dingoes. There's also Council wild dog baiting programs and I wonder how many dingoes are being killed. The community seems to be divided between those who see dingoes as pests and can't tell the difference between them and wild dogs and those who revere them. We need all the help we can get to co-exist.

A new study has found a clear link between air pollution exposure and the risk of ending up in hospital. It's a battle Julia Ovens knows only too well.

The Australian Government has released the National Environmental Standard for Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) for public consultation.

The Standard is a key piece of the reform package that requires close examination. It will act as the primary ‘checklist’ for decision-makers to determine whether impacts on threatened species and ecosystems, World Heritage Areas and other nationally important environmental values are acceptable.

It is critical that we get these changes right. The populations of Australia's threatened species are, on average, less than half the size they were in 2000...

There are four key areas where the Standard falls short.

1. The draft Standard says proponents can meet the Standard if they follow the right process, regardless of the outcome.

2. Only protecting "irreplaceable" habitat areas means vital corridors and areas important for climate resilience could be lost.

3. The Standard doesn’t adequately address cumulative impacts. The Standard does not require cumulative impacts (‘death by a thousand cuts’) to be considered for individual projects, but only for strategic assessments and regional plans.

4. The Standard doesn’t include monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement.

Please read the details at: https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/news/four-major-problems-with-the-draft-national-environmental-standard

AND

Tell you MP nature needs a stronger Standard: https://biodiversitycouncil.org.au/take-action/have-your-say-mnes-standard-public-consultation

CALL ON Treasurer Jim Chalmers to invest at least 1% of the budget in nature!

(I can already see some responses: 'waste of time', etc, etc. However, repeating the message will get more notice than giving up. Please don't give up!)

Nature gets just 0.1% of the federal budget. That’s nowhere near enough to protect our landscapes, wildlife, and way of life for future generations...

We have the world’s highest mammal extinction rate, and 17 ecosystems – from forests to coastal mangroves – are on the brink of collapse. The solution is simple and it pays for itself.

We’re calling on the Australian Government to invest at least 1% of the budget in nature to:

• Keep our wildlife and landscapes healthy for future generations

• Boost productivity by 40% – on par with the biggest pro-growth reforms

• Cut disaster recovery costs

• Improve public health

• Strengthen Australia against climate impacts...

95% of Australians [Biodiversity Council survey] want to see more spent on protecting nature. But when we meet with politicians in Canberra, they tell us they aren’t hearing that from voters. Let’s change that.

Add you name and we’ll deliver this petition to: Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Environment Minister Murray Watt

There's so much to know about the Platypus, it's too long to go into here. I'll just give you some of the main facts and if you're interested, check out the links or do a search yourself. They are AMAZING!

Platypuses, like echidnas, are monotremes which are mammals that lay eggs.

They are well-suited to their semi-aquatic life. Their streamline body and a broad, flat tail are covered with dense waterproof fur, providing excellent thermal insulation. They self-propel through the water by using their front, short, webbed limbs, and the partially-webbed hind feet act as rudders. The tail is used for storage of fat reserves and the strong claws on its feet for burrowing and moving on land. Males possess a horny spur on their ankles, which is connected to a venom gland in the upper leg, making the Platypus one of the few venomous mammals. This spur is used when fighting other males in mating season!

Platypus can be found (though less and less) from the tropical rainforests of far northern Queensland to cold, high altitudes of Tasmania and the Australian Alps. The species was once found in the Adelaide Hills and Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia. Now it is extinct from that state, except for the introduced population on Kangaroo Island.

When not foraging, the Platypus spends most of the time in its burrow in the bank of the river, creek or a pond. They are active all year round, but mostly during twilight and in the night. During day, they stay in their burrow.

They feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates. The average foraging periods last for 10-12 hours per day. A Platypus closes its eyes, ears and nostrils when foraging underwater and its primary sense organ is the bill, equipped with receptors sensitive to pressure, and with electro-receptors. It stays underwater between 30-140 seconds, collecting the invertebrates from the river bottom and storing them in its cheek-pouches. It then chews the food using its horny, grinding plates, while it floats and rests on the water surface.

There's lots of videos and other info you can look up. Here's just three links you might like.

This is an engaging interview with a British scientist who has made it a bit of a mission to discover all he can about our Platy: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/jack-ashby-is-an-expert-on-platypus/106636826

Here's a short video of David Attenborough (seeing it's his birthday) explaining the story of the impact the Platypus had on the British scientific establishment when it was first found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBRVueeH0mg

And here's a longer video of the latest Platy discoveries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ABN5dLK3L4

Study lead author Professor James Watson from the University of Queensland said the Australian Government is working toward a national commitment to conserve 30% of our lands, waters and seas by 2030.

“Between 2010 and 2022, conservation areas have increased from covering 12.1% to 22.3% of the continent. That is an increase of almost 750,000 square kilometres of land and freshwater environments under protection.

“Despite the large increase in the area protected, benefits for threatened species and ecosystems have been limited because many of these new reserves are being established where it is easiest - not where they are most needed.

There's a 2min video in the text which gives more detail and shows some of the species which are particularly threatened.

We need to stop pretending every “alternative fuel” is equally serious. Some are essential. Some are niche. Some are distractions. Biofuels aren’t the answer to road transport. They’re land-hungry, inefficient, contested, and too easily captured by industries that want to keep the world burning stuff.

In March 2020, a team of ocean scientists set out to observe, document, and characterize deep-sea biodiversity in the Cape Range and Ningaloo Canyons - regions off Western Australia, where little exploration had taken place. Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor, along with their underwater robot, Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) SuBastian, collected beautiful visual surveys and sampling of the environment, providing important evidence for the unique life forms and geologic structures of this little-studied region. The remote Western Australian coast is well known for its immense diversity of evolutionary significant fauna, but this celebrated area remained almost unexplored until this first-of-its-kind expedition.

In February polling by DemosAU showed 80% of Queenslanders value forest protection and recreation in public native forests above timber production.

Fifty-six percent of Queenslanders want an end to native forest logging, and an overwhelming majority across the political spectrum (70-80%) back incentives to grow more timber plantations. Only 20% of participants identified timber production as the most important use of native forests.

In light of this clarity of public sentiment, the Crisafulli Government needs to urgently review all values of State-owned native forests, as it finalises its Future Timber Plan 2050 five-year action plan. The Plan is expected to lock in native forest logging.

“A thorough review of all forest values should be an urgent priority, and should come before these public assets are sold off to loggers for another 25 years, Queensland Conservation Council protected areas campaign manager Nicky Moffat said.

“Public native forests should be opened up for camping, bushwalking, bird watching, environmental education and other respectful outdoors activities that Queenslanders enjoy.

https://www.queenslandconservation.org.au/poll_forest_protection_recreation_over_logging

This scenario [re plants] is getting especially bad in the Arctic, the Mediterranean and Australia, the study found. In the Arctic it's because the temperature is warming four times faster than the rest of the globe and in Australia it's driven more by rainfall changes...

An interesting tribute article with some thrilling video footage.

it seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living - David Attenborough

💚 🩷 💙

Research shows that eucalyptus bark could be used to clean polluted water, filter dirty air and capture carbon dioxide.

Eucalyptus bark is usually stripped from logs and treated as waste. The new study, published in the journal Biomass and Bioenergy, describes a technique of turning the bark into a porous form of carbon that can trap pollutants which flow through it.

Finding a use for the forestry by-product came as a surprise to the researchers.

https://connectsci.au/news/news-parent/9302/Barking-up-the-right-tree-for-cleaner-air-and