How satellites are challenging Australia's official greenhouse gas emission figures. Inside a shared workspace for technology start-ups in south-west London, Christian Lelong has a bird's-eye view of some of the dirtiest secrets of Australia's mining industry.
Key points: Methane is more potent than carbon dioxideIt is responsible for more than 30 per cent of global warming to dateAustralia did not sign up to a COP26 commitment to reduce methane levels by 30 per cent by 2030 Using satellite imagery from the European Space Agency combined with meteorological data and atmospheric models, Mr Lelong, the director of natural resources at geospatial analytics firm Kayrros, has been able to measure methane leaks from the fossil fuel industry around the world. Teen environmentalist Plastic Free Boy is now making waves in Far North Queensland. Australia's answer to teenage activist Greta Thunberg is now making waves in Far North Queensland.
Key points: Arlian Ecker, 15, is known affectionately as Plastic Free boy, as he campaigns for a plastic free futureArlian has been compared to fellow teenage activist Greta ThunbergHe is now in Port Douglas filming his latest movie 'Plan B' Thailand's Loy Krathong festival honours rivers, but it's starting to pollute them too. Thais are flocking to rivers and lakes in an annual festival honouring the goddess of water, with the hundreds of thousands of floats adorned with flowers clogging the country's waterways.
The Thai festival is called Loy Krathong and it marks the end of the rainy seasonBelievers symbolically float their misfortunes away and start the new year with a clean slate The thousands of floats made with materials like Styrofoam are polluting the waterways Within hours on Friday, workers began trawling the rivers to fish the offerings back out. The Loy Krathong festival allows believers to symbolically float their misfortunes away on "krathongs" and start another year with a clean slate. The festival is celebrated on the night of the full moon of the 12th lunar month, which traditionally marks the end of the rainy season. New Delhi to close schools, construction sites due to heavy air pollution. Schools in New Delhi will be closed for a week and construction sites for four days as authorities try to protect people from a worsening air pollution crisis.
India's chief justice has demanded the central government address the air pollution in DelhiIndia's negotiators at COP26 pushed for a watering down of wording about coal useThe Air Quality Index in and around Delhi has worsened to 470-499 on a scale of 500 New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said a discussion about a potential complete lockdown of the capital was also underway, but any decision would only be taken after consultation with the central government. Earlier in the day, the chief justice of India asked the central government to come up with an emergency plan to tackle the dangerous smog, calling the situation "very serious". However at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, India was behind a watering down of the the final agreement's wording about coal, altering it to "phase down" rather than "phase out".
Reuters/AP. Mushrooms trained to 'eat' cigarette butts to tackle one of world's biggest litter woes. Scientists around the world are discovering many environmental uses for fungi, and now Australian researchers are hoping oyster mushrooms will solve one of the world's biggest litter problems — what to do with the 4.5 trillion cigarette butts tossed away every year.
Key points: Oyster mushrooms are being trained to feast on cigarette butts to break down their microplastics and create a reusable productIn an Australian first, Wollongong City Council will partner with researchers to address the waste issueCigarette butts are one of the world's biggest litter problems, with 4.5 trillion butts discarded into the environment every year The key, according to fungi researcher Amanda Morgan, is convincing oyster mushrooms that cigarette butts are edible.
Fortunately, training a mushroom to digest a cigarette butt is "like training a baby to eat," Ms Morgan, founder and head of research and development at Fungi Solutions, says. Council collaboration 'a first' Last homes in asbestos-riddled Wittenoom to be demolished, but some want to stay. The former asbestos mining town of Wittenoom has claimed many lives, but it is not enough to deter some who proudly call it home.
Key points: Blue asbestos mining stopped in 1966 but tailings remainThe WA Government officially struck Wittenoom from the map in 2007Three people still collectively own 14 properties After years of compensation offers, the WA government will turn to forcibly removing the remaining properties, under a bill expected to pass Parliament. It is hoped the clearing of the former town site will reduce the attraction for visitors, who ignore significant health warnings of asbestos fibres on the ground and in the air at Wittenoom. Just 12km away lies three million tonnes of asbestos tailings.
Scientists create new type of eco-glitter made from biodegradable, sustainable materials. Glitter is used everywhere from kids' craft projects to cosmetics, but beneath its shiny surface is a dark side.
Key points: Traditional glitter is made of plastic, and while there are some eco-glitters on the market they are not fully made out of plant materialsNow UK researchers have made a new type of glitter made out of a cellulose nanomaterial they say is truly biodegradableIt is the first time that they have been able to produce the glitter on a commercial scale Beyond being annoying like a party guest that refuses to go home, these tiny sparkles are traditionally made of plastic and contribute to pollution. Car makers say lack of emissions regulations putting handbrake on electric vehicles in Australia.
Car manufacturers have found themselves in the unusual position of asking for the government to impose limits on how much their cars can pollute.
Key points: Australia is one of the only developed nations without an emissions standard for car makersOverseas, car brands are punished for high emissions and rewarded for low emissionsBrands are not sending their limited EV stocks to Australia because there is no incentive. Carbon soil projects pivotal in government's net zero plan, but market progress 'slow' Australia is looking to its farmers to bolster the amount of carbon held in soil as part of its plan to become carbon neutral by the middle of the century, but it is not clear to what extent carbon could become a commodity.
Key points: The government will introduce a new method to measure soil carbon by the end of the yearA project developer says Australia "arguably" has the world's most innovative approach to carbon sequestration creditsNot all farmers are looking to the Clean Energy Regulator to monetise soil carbon, but private deals do not count towards Australia's net zero target. Carbon capture and storage: does it work, and does it mean we can keep burning fossil fuels? Does Australia have a bad reputation on climate change?
Among the worst in the world, according to at least one survey of international media and social media content by intelligence and social analytics company Meltwater Australia. But heading into Glasgow, the federal government did commit Australia to a net zero target by 2050. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Download 35.4 MB Though light on detail, the government's net zero plan predicts that investing in "priority low emissions technologies" will achieve 40 per cent of our emissions reduction needed to get us there.
Queenstown's Mount Lyell mine could restart under New Century, but what are its plans for the environment? The potential new operators of the Mount Lyell copper mine on Tasmania's west coast say rehabilitating the environment will be a priority. Key points: New Century Resources has entered into a purchase agreement with the owner of Queenstown's Mount Lyell copper mineNew Century says it can recover metals from polluted local waterwaysThe company's managing director says he's confident the mine will be able to reopen The Queenstown mine has been in care and maintenance for more than five years, after the deaths of three workers in two incidents in 2013 and 2014.
Last year, the mine — which was founded in the 1890s — was put up for sale, but that was delayed due to the pandemic. Supreme Court dismisses councils' battle with Victorian planning minister over Westgate toxic soil. A Supreme Court justice has dismissed proceedings brought by two Victorian councils against the state planning minister over proposals to dump toxic soil in their regions. Two councils challenged a decision that meant toxic soil from the West Gate Tunnel project could potentially be dumped in their areasA site in Melbourne's north-west was chosen instead, but the councils pushed on with the court actionA Supreme Court Justice has dismissed the proceedings The Victorian government picked three locations last year as potential sites to dump toxic soil from the West Gate tunnel project, including a landfill at Ravenhall in Melton, and a former mine site at Maddingley near Bacchus Marsh in Moorabool Shire.
The soil was found to be contaminated with per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS — dangerous chemicals that have been widely used in firefighting foam. Despite the decision, Moorabool and Melton councils pressed ahead with their judicial review. Electric cars and home batteries are already posing a waste problem in Australia. Here's why. Australians may have only just started buying electric vehicles (EVs) and household batteries, but several product recalls are showing why a national plan for dealing with renewable energy waste may already be needed. Key points: Battery recyclers in Australia are currently dealing with a recall by Hyundai and LGRecycling batteries used in electric cars and home energy storage is a new area for the waste management businessA code of conduct is in the works Battery manufacturer LG Energy Solutions (formally LG Chem) has recalled a suite of household batteries after concerns they "may overheat and catch on fire".
Goldfields shire CEO says asbestos, collapsed shafts among 190,000 mine remnants in WA. The chief executive of a small shire in Western Australia says cleared land, open pits, and hazardous materials left behind at abandoned mines are a major concern and has called on the state government to prioritise rehabilitation. Key points: The Department of Mines Industry Regulation and Safety says there are more than 190,000 abandoned mining features in WAThe Shire of Dundas CEO wants the government to prioritise sites where there are open pits, asbestos and arsenicWA collected $12.1 billion in mining royalties last financial year, but only spent $683,000 on rehab Peter Fitchat from Dundas Shire said abandoned mines were scattered throughout the region, which is home to the Great Western Woodlands — the largest and healthiest temperate woodlands in the world.
Mr Fitchat questioned the government's lack of motivation to tap into the Mining Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) established in 2012 to rehabilitate future abandoned mines. Call to prioritise rehabilitation. NT government proposed even lower McArthur River Mine security bond, FOI documents reveal. The Northern Territory government’s mining department proposed an even bigger reduction of the environmental security bond for a massive lead and zinc mine before that bond was controversially slashed last year, according to internal government documents. Key points: The McArthur River Mine's security bond was reduced from $520 million to $400 million late last yearBut FOI documents reveal the NT mining department calculated an even lower bond at $355 millionThe $400 million figure was calculated by the mine itself and independently verified The McArthur River Mine’s security bond — a risk-based deposit held by governments to cover the cost of mining-related environmental harm — was reduced from $520 million to $400 million when a major expansion was approved (without sacred site approvals) late last year.
Research seeks to determine how much extra carbon dioxide can trees absorb to reduce greenhouse emissions. Roundup owner Bayer wins US court case as Australian farmers say they'll stick with APVMA advice. Mercury build-up in Antarctic animals prompts call for permanent monitoring program. Massive oil spill off southern California coast is an 'environmental catastrophe' TNG Limited scraps plan for controversial mineral-processing facility for Darwin Harbour. Hopes for bioreactor innovation to drive sustainable farming, protect oldest New South Wales marine park. Environmentalist Ben Pennings fears Adani legal bill could bankrupt him. Tasmania's coastal waterways earmarked for salmon farming expansion plans. Indonesian President guilty of environmental negligence in lawsuit over Jakarta's chronic air pollution.
Southern Hemisphere's ozone layer hole 'larger than usual' this year. Turtles have to contend with thousands of nets left in the sea. Now there's a new way to help them. Portable CO2 meters could be used to help fight coronavirus transmission, experts say. Clean-up crews respond to large oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida. 'Game changing' study of turtles and plastics on Great Barrier Reef.
Yallourn coal mine failings should be subject of inquiry, environment groups say. New 'flushability' standard will help to end 'fatbergs' from clogging our sewerage network. SA Health data finds Port Pirie children's blood lead levels have risen again due to 'inundated' environment. Biosecurity Queensland investigating two spray drift complaints in new outback cropping area. Concerns grow over owls eating rodents full of deadly household rat poison. Chlorpyrifos pesticide to be banned in the US, Environmental Protection Agency says. Can the Antarctic Treaty protect one of the world's last great wildernesses from climate change? Coal-fired power pollution from Ipswich's Swanbank power station a 'toxic time bomb' for nearby residents.
Why are people still travelling to asbestos-riddled Wittenoom? Disposable face masks prompt anti-waste campaigners to call for sustainable alternatives. Baby turtles ingest more plastic than adults due to how they eat, where they live. NSW coal mine approvals could undo work on net-zero emissions targets, analysis suggests. Australia avoids Great Barrier Reef global embarrassment, but the dangers of climate change remain for the reef. Cleaning up the outback is a bonus as this couple lives the Aussie road trip dream. Polystyrene packaging is being phased out. Here's how you can help alternatives gain traction. Roundup and glyphosate given tick of approval for use in World Heritage area.
Fire on ocean surface in Gulf of Mexico extinguished following gas leak. Hundreds of dead turtles wash ashore in Sri Lanka weeks after cargo ship sinks off coast. Rosebery mine facing significant opposition from protesters concerned about the Tarkine. Call to phase out wood heaters due to health, environmental concerns – but minister says move not supported by community. Possibility of gas exploration near Twelve Apostles angers locals. Peruvian mum awarded 'Green Nobel' for work to create new national park in Amazon rainforest. Critically endangered 'bum-breathing' turtles found where Santos wants untreated water to go. Mediterranean Sea oil spill approaches Corsica's east coast. Dead St Kilda mangroves raises concerns of 'concrete corrosion' in infrastructure, meeting held with officials.
Sea of Marmara algal bloom, dubbed 'sea snot', alarming Turkish scientists and fishermen. Ampol ordered to pay $200,000 over Kippax petrol station leak into groundwater.