Friday, March 29, 2024

CATEGORY

Climate

Soy exciting for NSW producers

Emma Pritchard. A new variety of soybean developed in the Clarence Valley will significantly boost productivity and profitability for growers across the state ... the new variety called Gwydir is an early maturing plant which provides greater crop security and is well suited to a variety of climates ... Gwydir is also the first variety in NSW which is resistant to soybean leaf rust.

Book review – Fires, Farms and Forests – A Human History of Surrey Hills, north-west Tasmania

The author has set himself an enormous task to survey in depth the history of the Surrey Hills district of north-west Tasmania. Fires, Farms and Forests represents the culmination of much detailed and careful research, combined with the author’s extensive personal experience as a forester, and, in particular, his role managing the native grasslands and buttongrass moorlands on Surrey Hills. All this enables the author to weave a story which encompasses both general history as well as specialist insights into the management of land and forests.

Australia could still become a leader in climate change mitigation, says industry report

A new whitepaper has been released which seeks to identify the challenges that stand between Australia and netzero2050, and suggests ways the Australian agriculture industry can take a leading role in reaching global targets.

Climate change impact report remains confidential

Geoff Helisma. “The [Climate Change Impact Assessment] CCIA is confidential science that needs to be articulated through the development of strategies, planning and reports that will inform business, community and other LGAs” : Acting GM Laura Black ... "We have to take climate change adaptation far more seriously ... In my view, this [CCIA] report should be in the public domain; it’s a matter that should be open to public scrutiny”: Mayor Ian Tiley.

New zero-emission aircraft fleet to launch in WA

WA companies Aviair and HeliSpirit have partnered with global company Eve Air Mobility, part of the Embraer Group, to bring new zero-emission electric aircraft to WA within the next four years.

Carbon footprint reduced by 45 per cent, Charles Sturt goes even greener in 2022

Charles Sturt University has contracted with Iberdrola Australia to supply renewable grid electricity for its large market sites from the Bodangora Wind Farm. The contract, established with support from energy consultant World Kinect Energy Services, will account for more than 95 per cent of Charles Sturt’s total grid electricity consumption.

Australian grain: a leader in low emissions intensity production

A report released by GRDC, Australian Grains Baseline and Mitigation Assessment, has found that the Australian grains industry exhibits low greenhouse gas emissions for each tonne of grain produced compared to other grain producing regions and countries, including the EU, USA, Canada, Russia and Ukraine.

Government awards major project status to WA urea fertiliser project: Taylor

Strike Energy Limited has been granted Major Project Status for Project Haber, its $3 billion urea manufacturing facility in the Narngulu Industrial Area, near Geraldton, Western Australia. The project will produce up to 1.4 million tonnes per annum of urea from clean hydrogen and natural gas.

Investors show confidence in Patriot Hydrogen following an oversubscribed capital raise

After an oversubscribed capital raise, Australia’s leading-edge envirotech company, Patriot Hydrogen, is working full steam towards installing the first-ever Patriot unit in mid-2022 at Kimberley Clean Energy’s Kilto Station project near Broome, Western Australia. The modular hydrogen production unit will form part of Kimberley Clean Energy’s fossil fuel substitution strategy, with plans to add a hydrogen system in the next stage.

Opportunities for improved fire management in Australia: John O’Donnell

John O'Donnell analyses recent positive US policy developments and land management commitments aimed at confronting the US wildfire/ bushfire crisis and finds that there is much Australia might learn from the US strategy.

Hang on, what about inadequate fuel reduction burning and consequent build up of 3 D fuels? : John O’Donnell

John O'Donnell provides a number of points in response to CSIRO findings on fuel loads, prescribed burning, climate change and forest fire activity in Australia over the last three decades.

We’ve learnt nothing from Black Summer

Einstein supposedly said that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Australia’s current approach to forest management is insane ... Now the Senate’s Finance and Public Administration Committee has published “Lessons to be learned in relation to the Australian bushfire season 2019-20”. It would be amusing if not for the ongoing dire consequences.

Three million hectares land opens to carbon farming

More than three million hectares of unallocated Crown land in Western Australia will be released for carbon farming opportunities, to help the state reach its 2050 net zero target. With the price of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) expected to increase significantly by 2030, areas of WA's crown land estate are highly sought after for carbon farming initiatives.

New partnership for rehydration and restoration

Community Landcare representative organisation, National Landcare Network, is pleased to announce it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with leading agricultural research, education and advocacy organisation, the Mulloon Institute. The MoU will deliver ‘Catchment Scale Restoration and Rehydration Pilots’ across the country.

Carbon farming safeguards welcomed by farmers

“One of the big concerns is that ‘Carbon Farms’ don’t require a workforce and don’t spend money in town ... Farmers are good land managers and take care of their neighbours, but there is a concern that if these forests aren’t actively managed they become a haven for pest animals and plants, and become a fire hazard as we saw two summers ago” : NSW Farmers President, James Jackson

Nationals secure sustainable carbon farming safeguards: Littleproud

The last consultation period on new Emissions Reduction Fund rules to enhance monitoring of pest and weed management in ERF projects and manage impacts on agricultural production and regional communities has opened. The rules will give the Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud, the power to prevent certain types of large ERF native vegetation projects ... from going ahead where there is evidence that the project would have an adverse impact on agricultural production or communities.

Carbon Count officially launches soil carbon measurement platform globally

Carbon Count has announced that its flagship soil carbon project management software has concluded its beta testing phase and is now available to soil carbon project managers across the globe ... the Australian owned and designed SaaS platform streamlines the entire process of running a soil carbon project into a clear and simple workflow; facilitating the trade of soil carbon credits for agricultural consultancies and their landholder clients.

Farmers buy Western District net zero aggregation from US giant

US-backed agricultural investment firm Laguna Bay is selling the Woorndoo Aggregation broadacre cropping portfolio in Victoria’s Western District for about $70 million to two local farming families. It marks the next step in Laguna Bay’s selldown of its Australian assets, arriving one year after it offloaded Banongill Station, also in the Western District, for $80 million to a consortium of local farming families.

Flicking the switch on Australia’s biggest battery

Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio has officially launched the battery − developed by renewable energy specialist Neoen and located at the Moorabool Terminal Station near Geelong. The 300-megawatt Tesla system is the largest battery in the southern hemisphere and created more than 150 jobs during construction.

We need a new shared vision for Australia’s forests: Forestry Australia

Recent catastrophic bushfires and reports of threats to species have highlighted concerns about the management of Australia’s forests. Most prominently, there are increasing concerns that forest management is failing to ensure forest health, build ecosystem resilience and protect threatened species. These concerns are real, but the key drivers are not well understood. A body of opinion and media coverage often presents timber harvesting as the primary threat to forest ecosystems and suggests that creating more national parks will protect threatened species and habitats and reduce the risk of severe bushfires. Yet the situation is far more complex.

CSIRO climate cop-out ignores the science

Dr Canadell said in response to my comment: “Our study doesn’t discuss forest management.” This statement is Not True ... Dr Canadell and his colleagues failed to consider critical evidence which demolishes the CSIRO argument.

Forest fires and climate change: CSIRO responds

Dr Pep Canadell. Our study doesn't discuss forest management. In our paper we show that the TREND in mean annual fire area is driven unequivocally by the TREND in mean annual FFDI (a weather index), ie by the changing climate. Forest management is important locally but varies substantially regionally and between states.  We expect it contributes, along with other factors, to the unexplained variance (20-25%) in the relationship between FFDI and fire area that occurs nationally.

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