2009 October: Climate
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David Shukman, Arctic to be 'ice-free in summer', BBC, 2009 Oct. 14 (the Arctic Ocean could be largely ice free and open to shipping in summer in as little as ten years' time)
Andrew Darby, Labor cold on icy heirloom, The Age, 2009 Oct. 14 (Environment Minister Peter Garrett yesterday confirmed Labor has dropped the idea of pushing World Heritage listing for Antarctica; advocates of the listing argue the additional layer of protection for the frozen continent is needed for future generations, with a mining ban under the Antarctic Treaty open to re-negotiation from 2048; Labor went to the last election promising to push for World Heritage status, but the commitment has been removed from its current policy platform)
Paul Hudson, What happened to global warming?, BBC, 2009 Oct. 9 (this headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998)
Tom Arup, Climate model foretells 2050, The Age, 2009 Oct. 23 (a research project commissioned by the British Government reveals regional temperature increases from global warming could be much higher on land surfaces)
AAP, Residents told to flee bushfire at Rockhampton, The Age, 2009 Oct. 19 (residents of Rockhampton suburb Frenchville yesterday were urged to evacuate as a “terrifying” bushfire threatened homes in the central Queensland city; across the state, firefighters weary from battling hundreds of fires in the past month attended more than 40 blazes, some of which may have been deliberately lit)
Philip Hopkins, Indian investors back oil venture, The Age, 2009 Oct. 19 (Indian investors, with US backing, have embarked on a multimillion agribusiness venture in NSW that aims to become a big oilseed processor and exporter, and eventually produce biofuel)
Helena Merriman, Swedes divided over bunny biofuel, BBC, 2009 Oct. 15 (residents in Stockholm are divided over reports that rabbits are being used to make biofuel)
Jason Koutsoukis , Bible-guided explorer seeks the Oily Grail, The Age, 2009 Oct. 12 (convinced that God gave the Jews a fair share of the massive fossil fuel deposits found elsewhere in the Middle East, John Brown has devoted the past 26 years of his life to finding out where God hid the oil in modern Israel)
Sarah Mukherjee, Warning over global oil 'decline', BBC, 2009 Oct. 8 (there is a "significant risk" that global production of conventional oil could "peak" and decline by 2020, a report suggests)
Adam Morton, Aid for poor vital to climate deal, The Age, 2009 Oct. 21 (Australia will face renewed pressure to commit funds to help poor nations tackle climate change; leaked European Union documents show it is set to announce a multibillion-dollar plan to shape a proposed Copenhagen treaty)
John Garnaut, Reaching unison on road to Copenhagen, The Age, 2009 Oct. 16 (Australia and China are becoming unlikely allies in the struggle to keep alive hopes of a meaningful new climate change agreement at Copenhagen, with overtures by Climate Change Minister Penny Wong being well received in Beijing)
John Garnaut, China warns Australia on world pact, The Age, 2009 Oct. 14 (a Chinese adviser believes the world will forge a new climate change pact at Copenhagen in part because China is recognising it can lead the world on clean technology)
Richard Black, UK 'needs step change' on climate, BBC, 2009 Oct. 12 (the government needs new policies not based on the market if it is to meet climate targets, say official advisers)
Richard Black, UN climate talks split on treaty, BBC, 2009 Oct. 9 (the latest round of UN climate talks in Bangkok ends with divisions between nations over the shape of a new global treaty)
Guardian, Maldives politicians dive deep to raise climate alert, The Age, 2009 Oct. 9 (the country, a collection of atolls and islands in the Indian Ocean, stands less than two metres above sea level, and as climate change causes seas to rise it will probably be the first nation to sink beneath the waves; under the threat of that looming watery Armageddon, President Mohamed Nasheed has announced plans to hold a cabinet meeting under the sea, before the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen this December)
Adam Morton, Emissions pledges not up to the mark, The Age, 2009 Oct. 8 (with 60 days until the Copenhagen climate summit, an analysis found targets proposed by rich countries would cut emissions 10-24 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020; these were not enough to reach the 25-40 per cent the industrialised world has agreed is necessary based on the advice of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
Cecilia Tacoli, Climate migration fears 'misplaced', BBC, 2009 Sep. 29 (fears of millions of "climate refugees" crossing national borders are not supported by evidence on the ground; we will fail to protect the world's most vulnerable people if misconceptions about migration continue to shape policies)
Rare Purple Hairstreak is spotted, BBC, 2009 Oct. 6 (a rare butterfly is spotted hundreds of miles from its usual habitats)
Peter Ker, Dams filling, but no easing to stage 2 yet, The Age, 2009 Oct. 17 (Melbourne would retreat to stage 2 water restrictions within days if the State Government were to abide by water restriction trigger levels)
Adam Morton and Royce Millar, Brumby warned of power shortage, The Age, 2009 Oct. 16 (Victoria could face widespread power disruptions due to the closure of two of its four brown coal power stations in the next decade as Australia reduces its greenhouse gas emissions, according to high-level advice before the State Government; the scenario, one of several possibilities outlined in confidential cabinet documents obtained by The Age, is consistent with a campaign by power generators to win more compensation under the Federal Government's emissions trading scheme)
Peter Ker, Cascade of water losses forecast, The Age, 2009 Oct. 15 (losses in the tens of millions of dollars are expected to be revealed by Victorian water authorities this morning, as the cost of flawed water planning begins to hit home; Victoria's 19 water authorities will be among hundreds of organisations whose annual reports will be dumped upon State Parliament this morning)
Mex Cooper, Clay Lucas, Thousands join Ride to Work Day, The Age, 2009 Oct. 14 (lycra-clad enthusiasts mixed with sharply-dressed office workers at a free breakfast held at Federation Square for participants between 6am and 9am)
Melissa Fyfe, Water crisis as bad as a war: ALP, The Age, 2009 Oct. 11 (because of the highly sensitive nature of its water plan, which included the Wonthaggi desalination plan and the north-south pipeline, the Government did not tell the six bidding advertisers its solutions to fix Melbourne's water problems)
David Rood, Spring rain a fillip for dam levels, The Age, 2009 Oct. 10 (heavy September rains have lifted Melbourne's water storages above the level they were at this time last year)
Peter Ker, Meet Lake Hindmarsh, back from the dead, The Age, 2009 Oct. 9 (the march of the Wimmera River has now exceeded all expectations, with the front of the river trickling into Jeparit, one of Victoria's most parched towns, on Tuesday; by Wednesday the town's foetid weir had been breached and water was flowing into nearby Lake Hindmarsh, bringing signs of life to the deathly landscape)
Peter Ker, Query on question mark punctuates desal controversy, The Age, 2009 Oct. 7 (the consortium building Victoria's desalination plant discovered that recently, when a pickle over punctuation threw its bid into an eleventh-hour redesign)
Peter Ker, Rivers 'at risk' in licence renewal, The Age, 2009 Oct. 6 (fears for human and environmental health have failed to deter the Brumby Government from reissuing 9200 licences for cattle to roam freely through Victorian rivers)
Marian Wilkinson, High tide for housing, The Age, 2009 Oct. 19 (the NSW Premier will give beachfront property owners threatened by coastal erosion and sea level rises more rights to build sea walls and barriers to protect homes, despite fears it will severely damage some of the Australia's best beaches)
Maldives cabinet makes a splash, BBC, 2009 Oct. 17 (the government of the Maldives has held a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the threat of global warming to the low-lying Indian Ocean nation)
Giancarlo Rinaldi, Sheep help retain farmhouse heat, BBC, 2009 Oct. 9 (it is highly unusual for anyone to welcome being "fleeced" during the building of their new home)
Luke Harding, Mammoth clue to climate change?, The Age, 2009 Oct. 13 (Russian experts say that the question of why the mammoth died out may shed light on our own prospects of survival in a world gripped by rapid climate change)
Richard Black, 'Scary' climate message from past, BBC, 2009 Oct. 10 (refined measurements of past climate suggest some current political targets on CO2 are "playing with fire")
Paul Hudson, What happened to global warming?, BBC, 2009 Oct. 9 (this headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998)
Adam Morton and Royce Millar, Brumby in cash plea for polluters, The Age, 2009 Oct. 23 (confidential state cabinet papers obtained by The Age show that the Federal Government agreed to review the $3 billion compensation for Victoria's brown coal-fired stations under the emissions trading scheme, after the state intervened on the generators' behalf)
Ross Gittins, Rudd buys off business on carbon trading, The Age, 2009 Oct. 19 (if they can get their act together, the Liberals—minus the Coalition's climate-change deniers—plan to let the emissions trading scheme through the upper house provided the Government agrees to yet more expensive concessions to business interests claiming to be adversely affected by the scheme)
Tom Arup, Canberra baulks at pledge to clean up coal plants, The Age, 2009 Oct. 14 (Australia has rejected an approach by the British Government to promise not to build any new coal-fired power plants without “significant” carbon capture and storage technology)
Barry Park, No backing for electric sports car, The Age, 2009 Oct. 14 (a boutique car maker has hit out at the Federal Government's lack of support for small business after it was refused help to develop Australia's first all-electric production sports coupe)
Eric Johnston, Insurers blame disasters for rises, The Age, 2009 Oct. 12 (insurers have defended a recent round of price increases for home owners, saying it follows years of unusually high frequency of large natural disasters, culminating with this year's devastating bushfires)
Michelle Grattan, Senator joins ranks against carbon deal, The Age, 2009 Oct. 8 (as the revolt against any early Opposition deal with the Government spreads, shadow parliamentary secretary Brett Mason has dismissed Malcolm Turnbull's arguments for a possible pre-Copenhagen deal on emissions trading)
Tom Arup, Opposition sees red on bad pink bat plan, The Age, 2009 Oct. 7 (the Government has also received 1270 complaints from households about the quality of the installation of ceiling pink bats under the Government's scheme, which is part of its economic stimulus package in response to the global financial crisis and provides households with up to $1600 to insulate their homes)
Stephanie Peatling, Toe green line or we will walk, Rudd told, The Age, 2009 Oct. 4 (the Climate Institute, the Australian Conservation Foundation and WWF Australia have written to both sides of politics this weekend, saying they would campaign against the emissions trading scheme if further compensation was given to polluting industries)
Peter Ker, No federal bid for giant farm station, The Age, 2009 Oct. 1 (one of Australia's biggest water entitlements is likely to remain in the farm sector after the Commonwealth last night ruled out a bid for Queensland's famous Cubbie Station)
Adam Morton, Birds in serious decline after prolonged drought, The Age, 2009 Oct. 22 (an unprecedented investigation of Victoria's bird life has found it is collapsing, with two out of three woodland species in significant decline; the 12-year research into native species found that generations of land clearing and more than a decade of drought linked to climate change has reduced numbers for more than 80 species)
Allyson Fonseca, Volunteer frog finders hop in to help, The Age, 2009 Oct. 5 (Melbourne Water's manager of waterways, Chris Chesterfield, said frogs were a key barometer of environmental health but climate change was taking its toll)
Peter Ker, Dams filling, but no easing to stage 2 yet, The Age, 2009 Oct. 17 (Melbourne would retreat to stage 2 water restrictions within days if the State Government were to abide by water restriction trigger levels)
Peter Ker, Cascade of water losses forecast, The Age, 2009 Oct. 15 (losses in the tens of millions of dollars are expected to be revealed by Victorian water authorities this morning, as the cost of flawed water planning begins to hit home; Victoria's 19 water authorities will be among hundreds of organisations whose annual reports will be dumped upon State Parliament this morning)
'Space clown' hosts global show, BBC, 2009 Oct. 10 (circus entrepreneur Guy Laliberte hosts a global water-awareness performance from on board the International Space Station)
Peter Ker, Watery eyes on Shepparton, The Age, 2009 Oct. 5 (as the world's most populous nation contends with severe drought and water shortages, technology from northern Victoria could soon be part of Chinese efforts to make every drop go further)
Peter Ker, No federal bid for giant farm station, The Age, 2009 Oct. 1 (one of Australia's biggest water entitlements is likely to remain in the farm sector after the Commonwealth last night ruled out a bid for Queensland's famous Cubbie Station)
AFP, Boat plea as Philippine floods swamp towns, The Age, 2009 Oct. 10 (thousands of people are stranded amid worsening floods in the northern Philippines after heavy rain forced authorities to release water from an overflowing dam; local officials made urgent pleas yesterday for inflatable boats and helicopters to rescue those stranded in Pangasinan province)
AP, AFP, High landslide risk as typhoon batters Japan, The Age, 2009 Oct. 9 (Typhoon Melor, bringing gusts of up to 198 km/h, was cutting a swathe across densely populated central Japan - the first tropical storm to make landfall since 2007, the weather agency said; it brought heavy rain and strong winds that ripped roofs off houses, damaged walls and toppled trees, blocking roads and railways in central Japan)
Mud slides kill four in Sicily, The Age, 2009 Oct. 3 (at least four people are dead and 20 missing after a river of mud flooded parts of the Sicilian city of Messina as the area was hit by heavy rain)
Filipinos evacuated as new typhoon looms, The Age, 2009 Oct. 3 (Parma, packing gusts of 230 km/h, was forecast to hit rural areas in the north of the Philippines' main island of Luzon before dawn today)