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A new study of the man o’ war jellyfish found popular remedies like lemon juice and shaving foam make stings worse. Vinegar followed by heat is most effective

What should you do if a jellyfish stings you? Scientists have found that applying vinegar is the best solution, and that popular remedies including urine, lemon juice, and shaving foam could make the situation worse.

A recent study in Toxins, which investigated the efficacy of various remedies for stings from the Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis) concludes that rinsing with vinegar before applying heat is the most effective treatment. The commonly recommended treatment of seawater and ice was found to cause more harm than good.

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Gas infrastructure and exploration attracted the lion's share of new energy announcements in the 2017 federal budget Sean Heatley/Shutterstock.com

The budget contains several measures designed to boost energy security, including:

• A$90 million to expand gas supplies, partly through increased unconventional gas exploration

• a potential Commonwealth buyout of an expanded Snowy Hydro scheme

• up to A$110 million for a solar thermal plant at Port Augusta

• monitoring of gas and electricity prices by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Below, our experts react to the measures.

Gas price problem far from solved

Roger Dargaville, Deputy Director, Melbourne Energy Institute, University of Melbourne

The budget contains a broad range of funding in energy-related areas, with a significant focus on gas resources, making A$78 million available for onshore unconventional gas exploration and reform in the gas markets, and A$7 million for studies into new gas pipelines to South Australia, from both Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Interestingly, there is A$110 million in equity available (but not guaranteed) for a solar thermal plant in Port Augusta. And most notably, the government has proposed purchasing the Snowy Hydro Scheme from the New South Wales and Victorian governments, ensuring that the scheme stays in public hands.

The budget also includes A$13 million for CSIRO to improve energy forecasting tools, and A$8 million for the ACCC to investigate consumer energy pricing issues.

Overall, the budget highlights the government’s desire to do something about gas prices, but offers little to make a significant difference to a very difficult problem. Gas market reform and new pipelines are unlikely to reduce the exposure of the domestic market to price rises driven by international exports.

Importantly, there is little new funding in the budget directly relating to reducing carbon emissions and meeting the pledges made in the Paris Agreement (a 26-28% emission reduction relative to 2005 levels by 2030). Also noteworthy is the removal of funding for research into carbon capture and storage.

‘On energy this budget is small fry’

Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, Grattan Institute

The budget does little more on energy than endorse the government’s deal with Senator Nick Xenophon on corporate tax cuts, complemented by modest commitments to energy security, more gas and better regulation.

Government facilitation of gas development and beefing up the energy capability of the Australian Energy Regulator and the ACCC are simple logic, and the one- off payment to pensioners to help with electricity bills will be welcomed by them.

Major public funding for further feasibility studies is a little more questionable. If the gas crisis can’t galvanise support from pipeline companies and gas consumers for pipelines, why would governments reach a different conclusion?

And finally, one can only speculate as to why the federal government is contemplating buying out the NSW and Victorian governments’ share of Snowy Hydro. Presumably it is because the feds are concerned about securing support for the proposed expansion.

In summary, on energy this budget is small fry ahead of major policy decisions that rest on the forthcoming Finkel Review of the National Electricity Market next month, and the climate change policy review later in the year.

A step towards radical energy reform?

Hugh Saddler, Honorary Associate Professor, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, Australian National University

Few announcements in the budget speech are more emblematic of complete policy reversal than the announcement that the Commonwealth would buy the shareholdings in Snowy Hydro Limited of the governments of NSW (58%) and Victoria (29%), to add to the 13% currently owned by the Commonwealth. This comes almost exactly 11 years after Prime Minister John Howard, responding to vociferous public opposition, pulled the plug on plans by all three governments for a public float of their entire shareholdings. What is more, Treasurer Scott Morrison has now announced that, once owned by the Commonwealth, Snowy Hydro would remain in public ownership.

This announcement of course accompanies the government’s Snowy 2.0 proposal, for a fivefold increase in the Snowy scheme’s current 500 megawatt pumped storage capacity (at Talbingo). This was used, after commissioning in 1974, to allow inflexible coal fired power stations to operate with constant output levels day and night, but is now almost never used. This presumably reflects commercial decisions by Snowy Hydro, as it trades in the National Electricity Market.

The rationale for Snowy Hydro 2.0 is to facilitate operation of a grid with a high share of renewable generation, by smoothing out variations in wind and solar supply. Does this announcement mean that the government envisages moving away from a strictly commercial approach to using the assets of the Snowy scheme? Is this a first step towards radical restructuring, or even dismantling, of the National Electricity Market?

Stronger legislation needed

Alan Pears, Senior Industry Fellow, RMIT University

The detailed A$265 million energy package includes a number of useful measures to strengthen the weak regulatory culture of the energy sector that has allowed our energy crisis to evolve. But it is still limited: strong legislative reform and active support of emerging competitors will also be needed. It is a modest investment compared with recent multibillion-dollar energy cost increases. If it is successful, it will deliver vary large net benefits to the economy by limiting energy price increases. Unfortunately, past efforts to fix the energy situation have largely failed to deliver real outcomes: we need clear objectives for outcomes, and a mechanism to implement contingency strategies if they are not achieved.

In a context of increasing urgency for stronger action on climate, and the reality that the global “burnable carbon” budget is very limited, investment to encourage more gas development seems misplaced. More emphasis on energy efficiency, renewables and smart energy systems would make much more sense. Energy efficiency already saves billions on energy costs and could save much more, while renewable energy is becoming cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives. They also help to achieve our climate targets. And fossil fuels are responsible for almost three-quarters of Australian emissions, so we need strong action to meet our international obligations.

The extension of the A$20,000 tax write-off for small business spending on equipment is a measure that, at least for small businesses, offsets a significant barrier to investment in energy efficiency. Firms will also be able to continue to claim the write-off to improve the economics of investments in on-site renewable energy and storage. Of course, the problem still remains for spending over A$20,000 by small businesses, and for larger businesses.

The energy security plan, which includes funding for ACCC to police energy industry behaviour is only a small step towards fixing the disastrous failures of energy policy and a transition to a 21st century energy policy framework. Much more will need to be done.

Hugh Saddler is a member of the board of the Climate Institute

Alan Pears has worked for government, business, industry associations public interest groups and at universities on energy efficiency, climate response and sustainability issues since the late 1970s. He is now an honorary Senior Industry Fellow at RMIT University and a consultant, as well as an adviser to a range of industry associations and public interest groups. His investments in managed funds include firms that benefit from growth in clean energy. .

Roger Dargaville works with the consortium of EnergyAustralia and Arup that have been funded by ARENA to conduct the PHES feasibility study. He has previously received funding from ARENA to undertake energy system modelling studies.

Tony Wood holds shares in energy and resources companies through his superannuation fund.

Between 1934 and 1940 the UK built 280 miles of cycle paths with Dutch guidance. A Kickstarter campaign to rescue these lost cycle paths needs support

In September 2012 the Google Street View car drove slowly along a road in Twickenham, London. It had to reverse when the driver found three wooden bollards blocking its way. The road was not a road at all, it was a cycleway. A cycleway built in – wait for it – 1937.

Originally surfaced with red concrete, the cycleway has faded to light pink but the granite kerbs are still in situ and, fooling the Street View navigation algorithms, it looks like a narrow road instead of the normal kind of “crap cycle lane” we are so unhappily used to in the UK.

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Sally Modystach | Director of Healthy Environs

Sally is the Director of Healthy Environs, a sustainability and community wellbeing consultancy. Her work focuses on promoting healthy communities through projects and partnerships at the local level. Sally holds a Masters in Public Health and has wide-ranging skills in community health strategy, health promotion and corporate social investment.

Deborah Davidson | Director of dsquared Consulting

Deborah is an ESD Consultant with over 15 years of experience in sustainable design, rating tools and environmental management. She is a Director of dsquared Consulting, a local consultancy with a reputation for assisting clients in minimising their environmental impact and improving sustainable outcomes on projects.
Deborah is currently working on projects that combine energy efficiency, indoor environment quality and wellbeing, in commercial office, education and healthcare sectors.

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Adelaide City Council | City Switch

/ MEDIA PARTNER
Environmental Science Media

/ ORGANISING GROUPS
Living Future Institute of Australia - living-future.org.au
Adelaide Sustainable Building Network - adelaidesbn.com.au

Cast: AdelaideSBN

Tags: sustainability, green cities, healthy building and wellbeing

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Stephen Choi | Executive Director of Living Future Institute of Australia

Stephen Choi is a UK-qualified Project Architect and Australian-qualified Project Manager. He has led sustainable design teams at small and large practices before founding a not-for-profit environmental building consultancy and becoming the Living Future Institute of Australia's Executive Director. Stephen’s work has included the development of global environmental assessment methods, designing and managing building retrofits, and embedding sustainable development into educational curriculum. Several of his projects – both private and public sector – have been recognised in the industry for progressing “green building”.

/ EVENT SPONSORS
Adelaide City Council | City Switch

/ MEDIA PARTNER
Environmental Science Media

/ ORGANISING GROUPS
Living Future Institute of Australia - living-future.org.au
Adelaide Sustainable Building Network - adelaidesbn.com.au

Cast: AdelaideSBN

/ PRESENTER BIO
Darren Bilsborough | Studio Leader, Hames Sharley

Darren Bilsborough is Director of Hames Sharley and the Adelaide Studio Leader. Darren is highly regarded for his understanding of the economics of sustainability and creating competitive advantage in the development of city precincts and commercial buildings. A former Adjunct Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University in WA, he is widely acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of the green building movement in Australia.
Darren’s has built deep trust in Government over many years as represented by a direct appointment from the South Australian Minister of Environment to the Premier’s Round Table on Sustainability in late 2003 which allowed Darren the opportunity to provide input to State Government policy.

/ EVENT SPONSORS
Adelaide City Council | City Switch

/ MEDIA PARTNER
Environmental Science Media

/ ORGANISING GROUPS
Living Future Institute of Australia - living-future.org.au
Adelaide Sustainable Building Network - adelaidesbn.com.au

Cast: AdelaideSBN

Yet more remains are presented of the extraordinary naledi people who appeared to cache their dead.

The critically endangered orangutan is under threat from hunting and habitat deforestation. A new book, The Orangutan’s World, is a photographic celebration of this great ape and its rainforest home in southern Borneo

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Australia’s energy sector must be the source of the bulk of emissions reductions achieved through to 2030 if we are to reach our national target.

Waltham Brooks, West Sussex The golden reed along the river’s edge vibrates with the pulsing, chattering songs of the warblers

It’s a cold morning, and a glistening coating of frost clings to the green surfaces of the vegetation that is still in the shade. The sun is reaching through the trees, and plumes of mist rise from the river’s surface as it warms.

The golden reed along the river’s edge vibrates with the pulsing, chattering songs of reed warblers and sedge warblers – the sound of a wetland summer. They began to return to Waltham Brooks about a month ago, and now I count more than 30 singing around the reserve. I hear a whirring from a sedge warbler in the brambles next to me, and I turn to watch as it inches up to the top of the bush.

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Repower Port Augusta and the Australian Services Union SA/NT have expressed solidarity with former power station workers and are calling on the Weatherill Government to bring a new future to Port Augusta.

Coalition appears to be rapidly backtracking on Paris climate treaty as ABC's Four Corners falls into the same trap of relying too heavily on lobbyists. They interviewed the wrong people.

US utility that’s been powering its customers with coal for half a century has decided the best version of its future self is entirely coal-free.

By 2030, you probably won’t own a car, but you may get a free trip with your morning coffee. Transport-As-A-Service will use electric vehicles and will upend two trillion-dollar industries. It’s the death spiral for cars.

Nissan says it has developed a prototype EV that can run 550km while keeping the cargo capacity, external dimension as current LEAF.

Gemini windpark off the coast of the Netherlands will eventually meet the energy needs of about 1.5 million people, according to its owners

Dutch officials have opened what is being billed as one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, with 150 turbines spinning far out in the North Sea.

Over the next 15 years the Gemini windpark, which lies some 85km (53 miles) off the northern coast of the Netherlands, will meet the energy needs of about 1.5 million people.

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Rooftop solar installations in Australia continue record-breaking trend in first four months of 2017, with WA the biggest mover.

Defending decision not to finance mine, Brian Hartzer says coal needed for economy to 2050 can be met by existing mines

The Adani Carmichael coalmine is not needed to support the economy, the Westpac chief executive has said in defence of his bank’s decision not to finance the mine.

On Radio National on Tuesday, Brian Hartzer said Westpac’s decision to set a climate policy, which in effect rules out financing the Adani Carmichael coalmine, was based on its acceptance that climate change should be limited to 2C by 2050.

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Friends of the Earth urges other retailers to follow suit after studies show damaging effects of neonicotinoids on bees

All flowering plants sold by B&Q are to be grown without using pesticides that are harmful to bees, the retailer has announced.

A series of scientific studies have shown that bees are exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides in fields and suffer serious harm from the doses they receive. The European commission has drawn up draft legislation to ban the pesticides, citing “high acute risks to bees”.

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