Battlelines drawn over Australia's hydrogen 'fork in the road’

A potential stoush is brewing over the future source of energy to power Australia's prospective hydrogen exports, with several states lining up to support renewables over coal at this Friday's energy ministers summit in Perth.

Chief Scientist Alan Finkel will kick off this Friday's COAG
 energy council meeting in Perth with a discussion about hydrogen.

Chief Scientist Alan Finkel will kick off the COAG energy council meeting - the only such gathering in 2019 - with a presentation on Australia's National Hydrogen Strategy, according to a copy of the agenda obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Read the stray from The Sydney Morning Herald by Peter Hannam and Mike Foley - “Battlelines drawn over Australia's hydrogen 'fork in the road’.”

The race to save coffee

CENTROAMERICANO, a new variety of coffee plant, hasn’t sparked the buzz of, say, Starbucks’s latest novelty latte. But it may be the coolest thing in brewing: a tree that can withstand the effects of climate change.

Climate change could spell disaster for coffee, a crop that requires specific temperatures to flourish and that is highly sensitive to a range of pests. So scientists are racing to develop more tenacious strains of one of the world’s most beloved beverages.

In addition to Centroamericano, seven other new hybrid varieties are gradually trickling onto the market. And this summer, World Coffee Research ­— an industry-funded nonprofit group — kicked off field tests of 46 new varieties that it says will change coffee-growing as the world knows it.

“Coffee is not ready to adapt to climate change without help,” said Doug Welsh, the vice president and roastmaster of Peet’s Coffee, which has invested in WCR’s research.

Read The Washington Post story by Caitlin Dewey - “The race to save coffee.”

Farmers and gas companies have long fought over CSG and fracking but National Farmers Federation wants energy solution

A row is brewing among farmers over the Federal Government's push to get more gas exploration.

Coal seam gas wells in an area south
of Chinchilla in southern Qld, near
the Tara residential estate in 2010.

Many farmers have fought CSG development on their land for decades, and in Victoria and the Northern Territory, farm groups have lobbied hard for moratoriums on fracking.

But the peak national lobby group, the National Farmers Federation has other ideas and has called for a national summit on reducing energy costs.

Read the ABC story - “Farmers and gas companies have long fought over CSG and fracking but National Farmers Federation wants energy solution.”