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Australia's leaders 'wilfully blind' about climate change, says former NAB chief

The Guardian - Mon, 2015-08-03 13:26

Cameron Clyne says he doesn’t think anyone has ‘grasped quite how revolutionary’ the emergence of renewable energy will be

Australia’s political leaders are “wilfully blind” to the challenge of climate change, with the country at risk from an “economically reckless” reliance upon fossil fuels, the former head of the National Australia Bank has warned.

Cameron Clyne, who was chief executive of NAB from 2009 until he stood down last year, said he doesn’t “think any of us have grasped quite how revolutionary” the emergence of renewable energy will be, warning that Australia cannot continue to be wedded to carbon-heavy fuels such as coal.

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Climate models are even more accurate than you thought | Dana Nuccitelli

The Guardian - Fri, 2015-07-31 20:00

The difference between modeled and observed global surface temperature changes is 38% smaller than previously thought

Global climate models aren’t given nearly enough credit for their accurate global temperature change projections. As the 2014 IPCC report showed, observed global surface temperature changes have been within the range of climate model simulations.

Now a new study shows that the models were even more accurate than previously thought. In previous evaluations like the one done by the IPCC, climate model simulations of global surface air temperature were compared to global surface temperature observational records like HadCRUT4. However, over the oceans, HadCRUT4 uses sea surface temperatures rather than air temperatures.

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Draft policy statement: Engage Early - Indigenous engagement guidelines

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2015-07-31 15:02
The Department of the Environment is releasing a draft set of guidelines for public comment from 17 August 2015 to 12 October 2015.
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Draft policy statement: advanced environmental offsets under the EPBC Act

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2015-07-31 14:36
The Department of the Environment is releasing the policy statement as a working draft for public comment from 17 August 2015 to 12 October 2015.
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Cecil the lion mural painted outside dental practice in Minnesota – video

The Guardian - Thu, 2015-07-30 17:45
Artist Mark Balma discusses why he is painting a huge mural of Cecil the lion outside Walter Palmer's dental practice in Minnesota. Palmer received widespread condemnation for hunting and killing the lion in Zimbabwe. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Palmer's office on Wednesday demanding the dentist be extradited to face charges in Zimbabwe. Palmer has said he believed the hunt was legal and didn't know about the lion's status

Watch the full interview with artist Mark Balma Continue reading...
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Warning - potential scam involving the purchase of puppies

Department of the Environment - Thu, 2015-07-30 15:44
The Department of the Environment is urging people to be aware of a scam involving the purchase of puppies.
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Threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats

Department of the Environment - Thu, 2015-07-30 14:09
This threat abatement plan establishes a national framework to guide and coordinate Australia's response to the impacts of feral cats on biodiversity.
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Activists hang from bridge in Portland to block Shell's Arctic vessel

The Guardian - Thu, 2015-07-30 06:31

Greenpeace climbers in Oregon city say they plan to spend days hanging from the bridge but Shell maintains the Fennica will be off after ‘final preparations’

A group of environmental activists rappelled off a bridge in Portland, Oregon, shortly before 3am PT, in a bid to block a key vessel in Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet leaving the city’s port.

Related: The new cold war: drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic

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Cecil the lion's killer joins long list of big game hunters skewered on social media

The Guardian - Thu, 2015-07-30 04:55

From the King of Spain to America’s most famous hockey mom, proud displays of animal trophies haven’t always been met with congratulations online

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, poor Cecil the lion no longer sleeps tonight. After news broke that the beloved big cat was killed by a dentist from Minnesota, the hunter, Walter Palmer, quickly became “the most hated man in America who never advertised Jell-O pudding on television”, according to Jimmy Kimmel.

Palmer is reportedly receiving death threats and a deluge of horrible Yelp reviews, and it probably goes without saying that his patients are likely hunting themselves – for a new dentist. But Palmer is by no means the first big game trophy hunter to get skewered online for their exploits.

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Jimmy Kimmel has emotional response to death of Cecil the lion - video

The Guardian - Wed, 2015-07-29 23:29
US talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel gives an emotional response to the death of Cecil the lion, a cherished creature at Zimbabwe's Hwange national park. The host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! says he was saddened to hear the lion was killed by an American hunter earlier this month. Kimmel becomes visibly upset while speaking about the incident, and later prompts viewers to donate to a wildlife research unit

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Richard Branson urges against shark hunting following Mick Fanning attack

The Guardian - Wed, 2015-07-29 21:02

Virgin founder calls for sharks to be protected, not killed in retribution, following top surfer’s amazing escape from an attack in South Africa

Sir Richard Branson has called for sharks to be protected rather than hunted down and killed in the wake of an attack on one of the world’s leading surfers.

The billionaire entrepreneur called for restraint following Mick Fanning’s encounter with a shark on the coast of South Africa, in which he fought it off by punching the predator on the back.

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Killer of Cecil the lion was dentist from Minnesota, claim Zimbabwe officials

The Guardian - Wed, 2015-07-29 02:00

Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force alleges trophy hunter shot one of Africa’s most famous lions near Hwange national park

Conservationists in Zimbabwe have accused an American man of being the alleged killer of Cecil, one of Africa’s most famous lions and the star attraction at the Hwange national park.

On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the man thought to have paid $50,000 (£32,000) for the chance to kill Cecil was not a Spaniard as originally believed, but US citizen Walter Palmer, from a small town near Minneapolis. The man left the lion skinned and headless on the outskirts of the park, the ZCTF’s Johnny Rodrigues said in a statement.

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Proposal to grant an export permit for a rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) under exceptional circumstances

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2015-07-28 15:03
The Minister is considering granting a permit to export one (1) Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) as a household pet to Canada. Comments close 4 August 2015.
Categories: Around The Web

Wild beluga congregate in Canada's Hudson Bay – in pictures

The Guardian - Tue, 2015-07-28 01:37

Explore.org, Polar Bears International, Frontiers North Adventures and a group of wildlife experts have launched a wild beluga livestream, broadcasting footage from a boatcam that will follow the whales as they migrate to a small estuary on Hudson Bay. The livestream will run until 21 August, with a guide narrating footage from above and below the water

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SENG Victoria news - July 2015

Newsletters VIC - Mon, 2015-07-27 22:30
SENG Victoria news - July 2015
Categories: Newsletters VIC

As if Australia didn't have enough spiders – 13 new species found in Queensland

The Guardian - Mon, 2015-07-27 17:35

A team of scientists, teachers and Indigenous rangers find new arachnids during survey of the Cape York peninsula in Queensland’s far north

Thirteen new species of spider have been discovered on Queensland’s Cape York peninsula – adding to the thousands of known species that give Australian wildlife its fearsome reputation.

The new species were found by scientists, teachers and Indigenous rangers during a 10-day journey to the largely unsurveyed area.

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Chairs’ Update 24 July 2015 | Commonwealth Marine Reserves Review

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2015-07-27 16:45
Find out the latest updates on the Commonwealth Marine Reserves Review.
Categories: Around The Web

The mystery of the poisoned seagull: is this the start of the fightback?

The Guardian - Sat, 2015-07-25 18:00

They’ve divebombed pensioners. They’ve eaten tortoises. Now a seagull has been found dead in Bridport. Tragic accident or mob-style warning? Our gumshoe found a tale of starling-swallowers, salmonella – and a second victim

“They sent you all this way to ask about a seagull?” The taxi driver looked at me in the mirror. In his eyes, I saw confusion, maybe a little fear. I smiled wearily. Not now, I thought. Not him, too. No more talk of seagulls. It had been a long couple of days. I was so nearly out of Saigon I could hear the rotor blades thumping above.

By Saigon, of course, I mean Bridport, west Dorset, a seaside market town of charity shops, estate agents and bad local art galleries. By rotor blades, I mean seagulls. For the past 36 hours I had thought about little else. If you gaze at the seagull long enough, I learned, it gazes back at you. You wonder whether it has a demonic quality. A seagull will do strange things to a man.

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Wild boar numbers on the rise despite cull in the Forest of Dean

The Guardian - Sat, 2015-07-25 01:21

Survey reveals population has nearly doubled to over 1,000 despite significant increase in number of animals culled every year

Wild boar numbers in the Forest of Dean have nearly doubled since 2013 despite an increase in the number culled, according to the Forestry Commission.

Results of an annual thermal imaging survey estimate the population is now more than 1,000 animals.

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Mick Fanning on shark encounter: 'Thanks for not eating me!'

The Guardian - Tue, 2015-07-21 16:20

Surfer says it may be months before he goes back in the ocean after the terror of escaping a shark while competing in South Africa

Surfer Mick Fanning says it could be months before he gets over the shark attack in South Africa, but says he will return to the water.

A shaken Fanning appeared at a media conference of about 150 journalists in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon to recount fighting off a shark while competing at the J-Bay Open in South Africa.

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