One degree

The Advertiser

Keith Murdoch House, home of The Advertiser, has been singled out as being one of the best sustainable commercial buildings in the city by UK-based designer Peter Head.

But more existing buildings needed to be retrofitted across Adelaide to achieve emission reduction targets, he said. "The solutions to climate change require new ways of approaching our cities,'' Mr Head said. Keith Murdoch House uses 40 per cent less energy than a typical office building and uses solar panels to heat water and collects rainwater from the roof.

The Australian

Farmers have applauded a research breakthrough by Australian scientists linking temperatures in the Indian Ocean and rainfall in the southeastern states of Australia.

The researchers, who believe they have discovered what drives crippling drought, have detailed for the first time how a variable and irregular cycle of warming and cooling of ocean water dictates whether moisture-bearing winds are carried across the southern half of Australia.

The Courier-Mail
By: Brian Williams

Scientists fear the world's first localised climate change extinction of a major mammal species might have occurred in north Queensland.
An expedition into the cloudy forests of the Carbine Range to find the beautiful white lemuroid ringtail possum has failed.

The possum has not been seen on the Carbine Tableland, northwest of Cairns, in nearly four years and it is feared a temperature change of 0.8C is to blame.

The Mercury
By: Michael Stedman

Rising sea temperatures present a significant challenge to Tasmanian salmon, a new report has found -- but the industry is confident it can adapt.

The report by the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute and CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship confirmed average temperatures in southern Tasmanian waters would increase by 1 to 3 degrees by 2030.

At times water temperatures in Tasmania already approach the upper thermal limits for salmon which can cause stress, disease and death.

"Rising water temperatures associated with global warming would increase thermal stress and the consequent risk of disease outbreaks,'' said report co-author Alistair Hobday.

The Advertiser
By: Laura Anderson, Canberra

Australians are facing "enormous'' health risks as a result of climate change, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has warned.

Senator Wong said climate change had increased the incidence of infectious diseases, bushfire-related injuries and heat-related deaths and illnesses.

"By 2020, for example, the number of heat-related deaths in our capital cities is projected to double to about 2300 a year,'' she said.

"We are likely to see more food-safety related illness; and dengue fever is likely to spread southwards.''

Responding to these concerns, the Federal Government today will announce a $10 million study entitled Human Health and Climate Change.

The Australian
Source: Australian Associated Press

Antarctica is now confirmed to be melting and not bucking the global warming trend as previously thought.

US researchers have pored over data from satellites and weather stations in the biggest ever study of the frozen continent's climate and found it's warming after all.

Barry Brook, director of the University of Adelaide's Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability, said the finding was alarming.

The Courier-Mail
By: Graham Readfearn

Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels for transport and electricity in Queensland rose by two million tonnes last year, a report has claimed.

But last year's sharp spike in oil prices helped cut petroleum emissions across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Rupert Posner, Australian director of charity The Climate Group, which compiled the report, said the paper "clearly demonstrates that our reliance on coal for electricity is our biggest problem when it comes to cutting our greenhouse gas emissions''.

The Advertiser
By: Clare Reddie, Science Reporter

If every South Australian saves an extra 70 litres of water a day, we would each do more to save the River Murray and Lower Lakes than our Victorian counterparts.

Victorians have been set a target of using no more than 155 litres of water each a day.

South Australia's newly appointed Commissioner for Water Security, Robyn McLeod, says we can match - or better - that target.

The Fiji Times

While it is unlikely that Nadi will be under water by 2028, there will be frequent floods as rising sea levels inhibit the river's ability to drain the area.

Meteorologist Neville Koop was responding to estimation made at a recent climate change seminar in Sydney where scientists said the 52 island nations of the South Pacific would suffer as a result of climate change.

The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) predicted a rise in sea level rise by 59 centimetres by 2100.

Herald Sun

Scientists fear the already declining growth rate of the Great Barrier Reef's corals will stop completely by 2050 -- killing off the reef and making way for algae. A new report shows the most robust corals have slowed in growth by more than 14 per cent since the "tipping point'' in 1990.

The paper, published in the international journal Science and written by scientists Dr Glenn De'ath, Dr Janice Lough and Dr Katharina Fabricius, shows evidence of a decline in the calcification rates in the Great Barrier Reef corals. The Australian Institute of Science paper claims the decline has been caused by a combination of rising sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification.

The Weekend Australian
By: Robert Lee Hotz Source: The Wall Street Journal

The exceptionally unusual becomes the new normal, writes Robert Lee Hotz

Three independent research groups have concluded that last year was a comparatively cool one on planet Earth -- a feverish chill on our warming world.

The year's average global temperature was the 9th or 10th warmest since reliable record-keeping began in 1850, and the coldest since the turn of the 21st century, according to separate surveys by the UN's World Meteorological Organisation, NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, and the US National Climatic Data Centre.
Each used slightly different methods to rank 2008 based on world-wide land and sea-surface temperatures through to November. For the time being, no one knows whether this temperature drop heralds a lasting retreat from global warming or a temporary dip.

The Courier-Mail

Addressing the challenge of climate change is not simply a matter of waiting for someone to set the rules for us to follow

Last year it was droughts. This year it could well be flooding rains, if scientists' forecasts of a pending period of high cyclonic activity prove correct.
Australia's changeable weather has always had a significant place in our national psyche but its influences on public policy seem to be more prominent than ever before. This time last year, the Bligh Government's fortunes were tied to delivering the $9 billion water grid in time to stave off massive water shortages in southeast Queensland. Federally, the new Rudd Government was under strong pressure to agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 per cent by 2020.

The Mercury
By: Cathy Alexander Source: AAP

Climate change is fast becoming a political headache for Kevin Rudd.
Australia took a crash course in climate change last year. But did we pass the final exam?
After initially posing as a green dream team, the Rudd Government has toned down its rhetoric and opted for solid policy. Australia will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, but not at the speed some scientists believe is needed to save the planet.

News Limited’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint has taken a significant step with a list of over 90 projects submitted to the Federal Government that are currently being implemented or having significant engineering assessments conducted.

The projects go much further than required under the Federal Government’s Energy Efficiencies Opportunities (EEO) Act, demonstrating that One Degree continues to be a priority for News Limited despite economic challenges.

These, and other, projects have been identified through 16 site audits across Australia over the period since One Degree was launched in June 2007. Now more than 80% of News Limited’s carbon footprint has been audited, along with the development of an “energy audit checklist” to be rolled out across smaller offices and rented premises in the coming months.

The cost of implementing all of these projects is significant; however the projects with potential will pay for themselves in terms of reduced energy consumption within an average of 2.2 years. If all are implemented, they will save a combined 16,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – or 10% of News Limited’s total emissions - each year.

Select the link below to download a PDF copy of News Limited’s EEO public report.

The Advertiser
By: Cathy Alexander, Canberra

More households will qualify for up to $7500 to install solar panels after changes to a Federal Government rebate.

The Government yesterday announced it would scrap an unpopular means test, which restricted the rebate to households earning less than $100,000. The means-tested rebate was worth up to $8000.

Under the new system, to operate from July next year, the rebate will be smaller but everyone - households, businesses and community groups - can access it, regardless of income.

The Herald Sun
By: Megan McNaught, environment reporter

We may be wondering where the sun is this December, but it has been our 15th-hottest year on record, according to the world's peak weather body.

The World Meteorological Organisation yesterday released its results for the year, which showed that Australia was heading for an average temperature of 22.18C for the year, 0.37C warmer than average.

Globally, we are experiencing our 10th-hottest year on record and have an average temperature of 14.31C, which is 0.31C above average.

The Mercury
Source: AP

US President-elect Barack Obama has named an environmental and energy team that he said signalled his determination to tackle global warming quickly and develop alternative forms of energy.

He vowed to "move beyond our oil addiction and create a new hybrid economy''.

Obama selected Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu as energy secretary and Carol Browner, a confidante of former vice-president Al Gore, to lead a White House council on energy and climate.

Australia continues to lead the world as the number one recycler of old newspapers. The recently released Australian newspaper recycling statistics' for 2007 indicate that 76.7% of old newspapers were recovered for recycling - a slight increase over the previous year. Australia has held this position as the “number one recycler” for the last five years. Recovered newspapers are recycled to make new newsprint and products such as egg cartons, insulation and cardboard.

Through recycling their old newspapers which are then turned into new newsprint and other products, Australian’s have the potential to save more than a million tonnes of carbon emissions each year. That’s the same as taking 250,000 large cars off the road for a year.

The Australian
By: Ross Garnaut

Moving to equal per capita emissions offers the best hope of getting an agreement on greenhouse gas reductions, insists Ross Garnaut

The UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland, focuses attention on the importance and difficulty of achieving international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

No country acting alone -- not even the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, the US and China -- can cause the risks of dangerous climate change to fall substantially by its actions alone. A co-operative effort involving all substantial economies is required.

The Courier-Mail
By: Peter Michael

North Queensland is "ground zero'' for global warming, experts warn.

Forget melting ice caps, when it comes to climate change, the state's vulnerable reef and rainforest is Australia's "canary in the coalmine''.

Rainforest is dying, some animal species are on the brink of extinction, and mass coral bleaching events kill entire marine ecosystems.

Rising temperatures of man-made climate change - estimated at up to 1.2 degrees every year - threaten to make the state hotter, storms wilder, cyclones more frequent, and sea levels higher.

The Courier-Mail
By: Graham Readfearn

Most people stepping out for a day at the beach wouldn't leave their home airconditioner running and the lights on all day.

But when people go on holiday, many tend to leave their eco-senses at home.

"It can be a bit frustrating for us when guests leave their rooms at 9am and come back at six and they leave their airconditioners on all day,'' says Robin Ross, 54, who runs the Comfort Inn Mermaid Beach Motel on the Gold Coast.

The Weekend Australian
By: Kate Hardie-Buckley, William Shrubb
Source: Additional reporting: Matthew Clayfield

As the financial crisis tightens its grip, more Australians are opting for two wheels over four.

With petrol still about $1 a litre, the worry of climate change and the pressure to get fit, people across the country -- indeed, the world -- are turning to bicycles as their first choice of transport and leaving their cars behind.

The Weekend Australian
By: Cameron Cooper

Environmental awareness is the way to go in commercial buildings, writes Cameron Cooper

Green-collar jobs are shaping as one bright spot in an industry coping with issues including climate change, emissions trading and the international financial crisis. The spotlight is switching to a new breed of specialist who understands and embraces sustainable design and development.

Green buildings, once seen as marginal and expensive to construct, are in. Energy-sapping skyscrapers are out.

The Advertiser
By: Shane Wakelin, presenter for Al Gore's Climate Project

Some of my most treasured memories of growing up in South Australia come from times spent in the world-renowned wine regions. The Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the Coonawarra region have been the setting for many happy times as a child and, more recently, as places to enjoy good food and great wine with family and friends.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I think about how climate change could devastate these special places. It gets me wondering whether my children will be able to enjoy them as I have.

The Cairns Post

Scientists are predicting a higher-than-average risk of coral bleaching this summer - and calling on industries and communities to reduce pressures on the Great Barrier Reef.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority climate change director Paul Marshall said climate change was causing rising summer sea temperatures and coral reefs were increasingly at risk from mass coral bleaching.