Shut up and watch the cricket: Morrison stokes embers of climate denial

How good’s the cricket? Australia thrashed Pakistan and is all over New Zealand. David Warner’s scoring at will, Marnus Labuschagne is emerging as a new batting superstar, and Steve Smith is taking unbelievable catches.

Last-minute attempts to seal a deal on Kyoto credits and carbon markets. 

Enough, prime minister Scott Morrison wants us to think, to take our mind off the drought, the soaring heatwaves, the horrific bushfires, the suffocating smoke – the ashes of living things, plants and animals, incinerated in the inferno – the dangers to our health and the fear for our own and our children’s future.

Morrison’s Orwellian trope was born on the night of the federal election victory where he invoked the image of the “quiet Australian”.

It was not immediately clear whether this was just a thank you, or an instruction. It is increasingly obviously the latter. Unless you’re the Murdoch media shouting in his ear, or donors or business backers, Morrison’s Coalition doesn’t want to hear from you. The rest of you can shut up and watch the cricket.

Read the story from RenewEconomy by Giles Parkinson - “Shut up and watch the cricket: Morrison stokes embers of climate denial.”

Minor earthquakes emerge as major threat to UK fracking

Protests, legal challenges and planning rejections have failed to stop the return of fracking in Britain, but the government’s regulations on earthquakes are fast emerging as the biggest threat to the nascent shale gas industry.

 Cuadrilla’s fracking well at Little Plumpton
 ( with Blackpool Tower behind) in Lancashire.

The energy company Cuadrilla has been forced to stop work at its Preston New Road site in Lancashire twice in four days – on Friday last week and on Monday – due to minor earthquakes occurring while it was fracking. The tremors breached a seismic threshold imposed after fracking caused minor earthquakes at a nearby Cuadrilla site in 2011.

Read the story from The Guardian by Adam Vaughan - “Minor earthquakes emerge as major threat to UK fracking.”

Less laundry less often: how to lighten the washday load on the environment

The clothes we wash and wear each week might seem unconnected to the growing plastic pollution crisis in our oceans but a sobering truth is emerging.

 Front-loading washing machines use far less energy and water.

With each wash, synthetic fabrics shed thousands of plastic particles, leading to broad-scale contamination of waterways. Now it appears we’re drinking that plastic, with a study of tap water in various countries finding 83% of samples were contaminated with plastic fibres.

Doing the laundry has other environmental implications, too, from the water and power used to the harmful substances hidden in common detergents. A more natural approach to laundry is crucial for the health of humans and the planet, so consider our practical steps on how to make the switch.

Read The Guardian story - “Less laundry less often: how to lighten the washday load on the environment.”

Utopia or nightmare? The answer lies in how we embrace self-driving, electric and shared vehicles

Emerging transport disruptions could lead to a series of nightmare scenarios and poorer transport systems unless we have sensible and informed public policy to avoid this. Of course, some foresee a utopian scene: self-driving electric vehicles zipping around our cities serving all our transport needs without road accidents or exhaust fumes. But the shift to this transport utopia might not be as straightforward as some think.

In a newly published paper, we explore some potential problems linked to vehicle electrification, autonomous vehicles, the sharing economy and the increasing density of cities. We examined what could happen if these four trends are not all properly managed together.

Read by the piece on The Conversation by Michael Kane and Jake Whitehead - “Utopia or nightmare? The answer lies in how we embrace self-driving, electric and shared vehicles.”