The Australian
By: Drew Warne-Smith
It was not a deep love of nature that drew Bill McKibben to the environmental cause so much as his love of a good story.
Raised in a Boston suburb, on the east coast of the US, McKibben made his name writing the Talk of the Town column in The New Yorker magazine.
"It was about as urban an occupation as you could get," McKibben, 49, says with a laugh.
The Australian
By: Giles Parkinson
The clean energy debate
The Rudd government's emissions trading scheme may have been deferred and international negotiations on climate change treaties may have stalled, but the global transition to a low-carbon economy is actually accelerating.
The shift is being driven as much by the need for energy security and the chance to win a share of the growing market for clean technology as by the desire to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The Courier-Mail
From: Correspondents in New York
The world faces the nightmare possibility of fishless oceans by 2050 unless fishing fleets are slashed and stocks allowed to recover, UN experts warned.
"If the various estimates we have received... come true, then we are in the situation where 40 years down the line we, effectively, are out of fish," Pavan Sukhdev, head of the UN Environment Program's green economy initiative, said.
Herald Sun
From: AAP
Developers will be able to bulldoze environmentally sensitive land in Sydney if they pay to protect equivalent land elsewhere, under a scheme that puts a dollar value on animals and plants.
NSW Environment Minister Frank Sartor will today announce the first of the state's highly controversial "BioBank" sites with the government purchase of 80 hectares of grassland near Camden as a permanent conservation reserve, the Sydney Morning Herald says.
The Australian
By: Sid Maher
The deadline for tougher emissions standards for cars is likely to be put back after Australian vehicle manufacturers warned they would struggle with the massive investments required to meet the new rules and some imports could be forced off the market.
The Rudd government has planned to start phasing in Euro 5 emissions standards from 2012 and even tougher Euro 6 standards from 2016.
The car industry has opposed the move, arguing that Australian fuel standards are not high enough to support the new emissions regulations.
Northern Territory News
It seems everybody is talking about going green these days. Whether you turn on the TV, flip open a magazine or eavesdrop at your local cafe, everyone seems to be in on the green revolution.
There are so many different ways to incorporate environmentally friendly practices into your family's daily life. Whether you turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, recycle used bottles and boxes or jump on your bike instead of driving, all of these little steps can make a difference.
The Australian
By: Giles Parkinson
The City of Sydney this month begins the process of taking energy generation back to its origins as it sends out final tender documents for a network of tri-generation plants that will reduce the need for council buildings to rely on coal-fired power generation and could, ultimately, take the entire CBD off grid.
Herald Sun
Source: AAP
Australia's chief scientist Professor Penny Sackett has backed a group of eminent international scientists calling for urgent action on climate change.
Professor Sackett said governments everywhere needed to show more leadership on climate change action.
"Even if each one of us on the face of the earth stopped emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, not another ounce into the atmosphere, the temperature would still rise," she told ABC radio today.
The Herald Sun
Source: AAP
Australia has its first hydro-electric plant powered by human waste.
The Sydney harbourside plant, which generates energy by dropping treated waste water down a 60m shaft, was switched on yesterday.
The plant at North Head will reduce carbon dioxide emission equivalent to taking 3000 cars off the road, NSW Water Minister Phil Costa said.
The Australian
By: Paul Kelly, Editor-at-large
The PM lacks the conviction to keep his emissions trading promise
As retreats go, they come no bigger than Kevin Rudd's delaying of his once cherished emissions trading scheme -- one of the most spectacular backdowns by a prime minister in decades.
If you want an equivalent, think of Gough Whitlam delaying Medibank, Paul Keating deferring the float, Bob Hawke folding on the abolition of the tariff or John Howard surrendering on his GST.
The Herald Sun
By: Olga Galacho
Climate change
Scheme delay buys time but renewable sector deems it 'insanity'
The emissions trading scheme has been put on ice for at least 30 months as the Federal Government seeks to calibrate its response to climate change with other nations.
Blaming the Coalition's opposition to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and the "slow progress'' on global action, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday said legislation to curb Australia's emissions would be delayed until the end of 2012.
The Australian
By: Mitchell Bingemann
Alcatel-Lucent, the University of Melbourne and the Victorian government have established a new research centre to investigate how to build energy efficient telecomunications networks.
The new centre, which has been dubbed the Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET), will be jointly operated by Alcatel- Lucent's research arm Bell Labs and the University of Melbourne.
The Australian
By: Steve Creedy
The global financial crisis appears not to have slowed down research into biofuels but industry expectations about its growth and impact have become less certain.
Industry participants, at an environmental conference hosted by US manufacturer Boeing in Sydney this week, were split on how much of Australia's aviation fuel would come from biofuel by 2020, with some opting for less than 5 per cent and others predicting 5 to 10 per cent.
Only one person thought it would be more than 10 per cent.
The Australian
By: Philip King, Motoring Editor
It's still very early days for the electric car, but as with hybrids, it's up to governments to act as testbeds for the technology and as early adopters.
Once upon a time you could tell an employee's seniority by the trim level of the large sedan - a Commodore or a Falcon - in their parking spot. Not any more.
Vehicle shapes are different and so are the brands. The work car park has changed irrevocably.
news.com.au
By: Andrew Ramadge, Technology Reporter
Pots and pans, fence posts and a skerrick of precious metals - that's how your mobile phone could end up after being recycled.
Mobile phone industry recycling program MobileMuster is currently calling on "hoarders" – people who stockpile old phones – to turn their handsets in.
About one third of Australians have two or more old phones stashed away at home, according to industry research.
Learn about News Corp.'s programs and progress toward building a more durable, sustainable business and a cleaner, greener future in their Global Energy Initiative Newsletter.
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The Advertiser
Source: AAP
The Australian Greens have started negotiations with the Government to get an interim carbon levy in place for next year.
Leader Bob Brown today wrote to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd asking him to consider the idea of the Government's climate adviser Professor Ross Garnaut, for a levy of $20 a tonne.
The revenue would be used to help reduce household, commercial, transport and industrial emissions.
The Greens want the plan put to parliament in the next three Senate sitting weeks, and propose a start date of January 1 next year.
The Sunday Telegraph
By: Simon Kearney
Practical environmental solutions must replace sledge-hammer tactics, experts warn national political editor Simon Kearney
"When I found out what was going on, it was like, oh my God I know nothing about program design,'' a public servant says, as if addressing colleagues around the water cooler.
"It's not like DCC (Department of Climate Change) has any expertise in this area. DCC is not a program manager,'' continues the public servant, obviously annoyed about a government decision.
Every cent counts for families faced with skyrocketing power bills, so it's vital your home runs as efficiently as possible.
Follow these 100 tips for keeping your electricity usage down.
The Herald Sun
Source: AP
A national park in the US has lost two more of its glaciers to climate change and many of the rest may be gone by decade's end.
Warmer temperatures have reduced the number of named glaciers in Montana's Glacier National Park to 25, said US Geological Survey ecologist Dan Fagre. "When we're measuring glacier margins, by the time we go home the glacier is already smaller than what we've measured,'' Mr Fagre said yesterday.
The latest two to fall below the 10ha threshold, the minimum size required for the glacier to have a name, were Miche Wabun and Shepard.
Northern Territory News
Source: wire
Homeowners have been urged to take grass roots action to green their homes through a Climate Change on a Shoe String program to complement environmental programs aimed at improving sustainability in Australian homes.
Climate Change on a Shoe String was a simple combination of management and basic upgrading of fittings, many being low cost, according to Archicentre's Queensland spokesman Angus Kell.
The Weekend Australian
By: Bruce Montgomery
Antarctica's ice sheets, once considered to be almost immune to global warming, are now key indicators of change.
Antarctica accounts for 90 per cent of the world's ice and 70 per cent of its fresh water. The average depth of the ice is more than 2000m.
If all of the Antarctic ice melted, it has the hypothetical potential to raise sea levels by 54m, but with the average temperature minus 37C, there is in no danger of it melting.
The Courier-Mail
The phenomenon that is known as Earth Hour has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2007.
As the world embarks on its fourth Earth Hour, it didn't take long for the number of countries and regions participating to set a new record.
More and more governments, businesses and individuals are signing up to make the pledge to show the world what can be done to fight climate change.
Last year 88 countries got involved with Earth Hour, this year at the time of printing 118 countries have signed up with the final figured expected to rise further.
The Advertiser
By: Cathy Alexander
Germany may be a cloudy country - but it has 50 times as much solar power as sunny Australia.
An international study on clean energy conducted by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change has found Australia is far from leading the way.
Australia is considered a good fit for solar panels because it is sunny and has long daylight hours.
The Australian
Source: AFP
Cancun, Mexico: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has listened to and learned from recent criticism, but the threat of global warming is real and must be tackled, the group's head said yesterday.
Rajendra Pachauri, the embattled head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning panel of experts, has been criticised for endorsing climate projections based on faulty or inaccurate evidence.