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Peter Dutton says nuclear ‘will make electricity cheaper’ but critics say Coalition costings a ‘fantasy’
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Bowen lashes Coalition plan to keep ageing coal-fired power stations open beyond middle of next decade
Under the Coalition’s plan, ageing coal-fired power stations would stay open beyond the middle of the next decade when most of the operators say they’ll have to shut – is that realistic?
The biggest threat to reliability in our energy system is coal-fired power now. We are dealing with … outages, breakdown, on a daily basis and that is what is the biggest threat to the reliability of our energy system and it’s a recipe for blackouts to keep ageing coal-fired power stations in the grid for longer.
What they have also done is very clearly in their costings of their own policy rejected the CSIRO and Aemo’s work. Now, CSIRO and Aemo have been talking about the cost of nuclear since way before we were in office as being the most expensive form of energy available.
Fundamentally what the Coalition is asking the Australian people to believe is this: that they can introduce the most expensive form of energy and it will be end up being cheaper. It won’t pass the pub test. It won’t pass the sniff test because it is just a fantasy.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
12/12/2024 - 14:59
12/12/2024 - 09:00
Changing state guidelines to lift the wind speed at which turbines start spinning won’t notably affect energy generated, government consultants say
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Victoria will consider changing windfarm guidelines after government research found lifting the wind speed at which turbines start spinning could significantly reduce bat deaths without notably affecting the energy generated.
Ecologist Emma Bennett has estimated between 25,000 and 50,000 bats die annually from collisions with the about 2,300 wind turbines operating in Victoria.
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12/12/2024 - 07:00
Average user generates greenhouse gases equal to driving an extra 123 miles in gasoline-powered car a year, data shows
TikTok’s annual carbon footprint is probably larger than that of Greece, according to a new analysis of the social media platform’s environmental impact, with the average user generating greenhouse gases equivalent to driving an extra 123 miles in a gasoline-powered car each year.
Estimates from Greenly, a carbon accounting consultancy based in Paris, place TikTok’s 2023 emissions in the US, UK and France at about 7.6m metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) – higher than those associated with Twitter/X and Snapchat in the same region.
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12/12/2024 - 07:00
Contamination thought to stem from the heavy application of pesticides containing TFA, a type of PFAS
Mineral water from several European nations has been found for the first time to be contaminated with TFA, a type of PFAS “forever chemical” that is a reproductive toxicant accumulating at alarming levels across the globe.
The finding is startling because mineral water should be pristine and insulated from manmade chemicals. The contamination is thought to stem from the heavy application of pesticides containing TFA, or compounds that turn into it in the environment, which are used throughout the world.
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12/12/2024 - 06:00
Climate researchers share theories behind apparent surge, though none have a full understanding yet of what has happened
Scientists are still puzzling over the reasons behind a streak of unexpected, record heat that scorched 2023 and into this year, sparking fears that the climate crisis could be moving faster than previously thought.
Is it the clouds? Or shipping? Or maybe a huge volcanic eruption?
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12/12/2024 - 00:00
Our natural soundscapes are falling silent as bird populations decline. To improve our lives, we must invest in conservation
Imagine you’re walking across rolling hills that stretch for miles, with warm sunshine and the chirping of birds all around.
This peaceful and serene scene is an increasingly rare one in the modern world.
It goes to show how important nature is for humanity on so many levels and hopefully a study like this supports more investment and help in retaining as well as improving our natural soundscapes.
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12/11/2024 - 19:01
UK Energy Research Centre says there is ‘very little room for error’ to avoid delays and protect vulnerable people
Labour’s plan to switch to a clean power system by 2030 faces “significant challenges” to avoid delays and prevent vulnerable households paying higher bills, experts have warned.
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has said there is “very little room for error” in meeting the government’s plan to create a 95% low-carbon electricity grid by the end of the decade.
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12/11/2024 - 19:01
Developers in England deliver 53% of features such as trees and bird boxes demanded in planning permissions, study says
Nearly half of the nature-friendly enhancements promised by developers building new homes have failed to materialise, according to a study of almost 6,000 new houses.
Developers are failing to keep legally binding pledges to boost wildlife when building new homes, according to the survey by University of Sheffield academics for Wild Justice.
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12/11/2024 - 17:59
A dozen marine scientists, film-makers, musicians and conservationists, including Tim Winton, John Butler and Dr Ben Fitzpatrick, have made an epic voyage to Scott Reef, one of Australia’s wildest and most remote coral reefs, to document the threats posed by Woodside’s Browse gas proposal. Woodside’s Burrup Hub is the biggest new fossil fuel project in the southern hemisphere and, if approved, would emit more than 6bn tonnes of CO2 by 2070
Australia’s north-west reefs teem with life – but they are also at the centre of a massive fossil fuel expansion
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12/11/2024 - 14:53
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John Pesutto defies calls to resign after being ordered to pay $300,000 for defaming Moira Deeming
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News bargaining code announcement expected today
The youth minister, Anne Aly, spoke with ABC News Breakfast just earlier ahead of the news bargaining code announcement, expected today.
What I can say is that the government believes that journalists should be fairly compensated for the work that they do, that there is a current regime in place but that’s not working. And so that’s why the government has turned its attention to updating this code and ensuring that social media companies pay for the news that they use as content on their platforms.
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