Earth’s atmosphere just crossed another troubling climate change threshold

For the first time since humans have been monitoring, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have exceeded 410 parts per million averaged across an entire month, a threshold that pushes the planet ever closer to warming beyond levels that scientists and the international community have deemed “safe.”

Recent CO2 measurements at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.

The reading from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii finds that concentrations of the climate-warming gas averaged above 410 parts per million throughout April. The first time readings crossed 410 at all occurred on April 18, 2017, or just about a year ago.

Carbon dioxide concentrations — whose “greenhouse gas effect” traps heat and drives climate change — were around 280 parts per million circa 1880, at the dawn of the industrial revolution. They’re now 46 percent higher.

Read the story by Chris Mooney from The Washington Post - “Earth’s atmosphere just crossed another troubling climate change threshold.”

Dear Mr Adani 'invest in solar not coal'

Read this letter to "Mr Adani" - 

We are leaders from many faith traditions and communities across Australia. We are writing to you to ask you to abandon your proposed mine and instead use the same money to invest in solar energy in North Queensland.

‘Summer-like' heat to nudge late-season heat records across south-east

A burst of heat from inland Australia is set to sweep across the country's south-east in coming days, challenging records for this late in the year, meteorologists said.

Wind whips up the dust over a dry farm in the Deniliquin region.

"Summer-like conditions will linger for several days," Kim Westcott, a meteorologist with Weatherzone, said.

The low-pressure trough will transport to the south-eastern states some of the warmth that has been baking north-western WA. That region set late-season Australian heat records of just shy of 46 degrees on both March 28 and 29.

Read Peter Hannam’s story from The Age - “‘Summer-like' heat to nudge late-season heat records across south-east.”

US weather latest: Parts of country colder than Antarctica or Mars

US officials are urging residents to help the vulnerable as a deep freeze sets in across half the country, bringing colder temperatures than those Antarctica or parts of Mars. 

Rochelle Carlotti, 28, shovels steps near her home after a record snowfall in Erie, Pa.

Forecasters warned people to be wary of hypothermia and frostbite from the arctic blast sweeping across from the Midwest to the Northeast, where the temperature, without wind chill factored in, plummeted to -35C degrees in parts of New York state. 

In Antarctica, temperatures are currently around -16C. 

The prolonged, dangerous cold weather has sent advocates for the homeless scrambling to get people off the streets and to bring in extra beds for them. Warming centres were also set up in some locations.

Segundo Rivera and Sean Stuart told The Boston Herald they were not comfortable spending the night in a shelter.

Read the story on the Independent by Lucy Pasha-Robinson - "US weather latest: Parts of country colder than Antarctica or Mars”.

Lightweight plastic bags to be banned in Victoria

Single-use lightweight plastic bags will soon be banned across Victoria.

Premier Daniel Andrews has committed
to banning lightweight plastic bags.

The Andrews government has committed to outlawing plastic bags following the lead of supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths who announced their own bans earlier this year. 

The latest announcement comes after intense lobbying from environment groups who had been pressuring the Andrews government to adopt similar bans already introduced by other states.

The bans mean consumers will most likely need to bring their own shopping bags or buy other bags from retailers.

Read the story by Benjamin Preiss in today’s Melbourne Age - “Lightweight plastic bags to be banned in Victoria.”

Tony Abbott launches warning shot on climate policy

Tony Abbott has fired a telling shot across Malcolm Turnbull's bow, warning that any energy package agreed to in cabinet must also pass a party room wary of anything approaching a clean energy target or other subsidy scheme for renewables.

Warning shot on energy: former prime minister Tony Abbott,
 pictured with then-assistant treasurer Josh Frydenberg
at Parliament House in March 2015.

It came as the Turnbull government received more bad news in the fortnightly Newspoll series, prompting Mr Abbott to declare a future return to the leadership was possible but would occur only if he was drafted by colleagues, which he described as "almost impossible to imagine”.

Signalling that Coalition MPs will be no rubber stamp on energy, the dumped former prime minister said the backbench deserved "plenty of chance to digest" the formula.

Mr Abbott's blunt message sets the stage for another showdown over a policy area that has divided moderates and conservatives within the Coalition for a decade, and become a constant cipher for simmering leadership rivalries.

Read Mark Kenny’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “Tony Abbott launches warning shot on climate policy.”