Whilst doing a totally unrelated search of my Twitter archive today, I found these two gems from consecutive Christmases 2013 and 2014 about Minister Against The Environment, Greg Hunt. Did I miss something in 2015?
Overfishing or warming sea levels? There seem to be more jellyfish in the oceans and while they've been annoying summer beachgoers since time immemorial they are also capable of interfering with electricity generation outlets.
Al Jazeera English picks up some of the story:
The Daily Mail reported on July 6 how jellyfish forced the shutdown of the Orot Rabin power station in Israel.
A week earlier, both reactors at the Torness nuclear power station on the Scottish coast were shut down because of a sudden influx of jellyfish.
That was far from the first time that nuclear reactors have been shut down because of marauding jellyfish, as this analysis from Discovery News explains.
But there is also evidence that jellyfish are able to thrive in ocean Dead Zones where other marine life cannot, hence a disproportionate increase in their presence. Here is a presentation from the US National Science Foundation which paints a vivid picture on the rising presence of jellyfish in our oceans.
Point six of their presentation: "Four hundred vast Dead Zones in world oceans are too polluted for almost all life except jellyfish."
(This item is my contribution to Blog Action Day 2010, whose topic this year is "Water".)
Australia is being confronted with a national dilemma which has a major impact on its society and the environment, and it will take a huge amount of wisdom, courage, co-operation and, yes, pain to reach a stable outcome.
An amazing dust storm over Sydney this morning, the result of a number of remarkable climatic events. A big cold front, the result of unseasonably warm September weather, whipping up huge amounts of dust from the central Australian drought, bringing strong winds to the eastern seaboard of New South Wales and dumping its load all over Sydney and Newcastle.
Here's my Flickr slideshow of pics that I took this morning, and the ABC's extensive reportage.
Press release just in from Peter Garrett's office, starting with the funniest opening sentence since "Call me Ishmael":
"Highlighting the Australian Government’s commitment to world best practice environmental standards, a uranium mine in South Australia has been approved subject to strict approval conditions which will ensure no credible risk to the environment."
The theme for 2009: "Conserving land and water = Securing our common future"
More information at UNEP.
A more detailed review of this brilliant documentary to come. In the meantime here is the trailer, followed by my Twitter review:
#sff "The Cove" Something sinister is happening to dolphins at Taiji. See this powerful, heartbreaking doco. Be angry. Be very angry. 9/10
Theme for 2009: Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change
Host: Mexico City.
A koala visited the NSW Minister for the Environment, Carmel Tebbutt, today in a plea to save his forest in the south-east of the state from woodchipping.
5% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020. (Maybe 15% if the rest of the world pitches in.)
$4 billion compensation package to the coal industry.
Stacks of free emissions permits on offer.
Emissions from logging/deforestation exempt.
More later. Pardon me while I take my shoes off...