VEN – Good News on Climate Action – Blog
Solar households in virtual power plants a part of ‘Australia’s electricity future’
It might not look like it, but Pippa Buchanan’s house is, in many ways, a very modern type of power plant. By energy reporter Daniel Mercer Tue 18 Feb in abc.net.au Inside the shed at her property in Cowaramup, a rural town about 3 hours south of Perth in Western Australia, a small battery is…
Read MorePay Up. Coal and gas polluters called on to pay for cyclone damage
Media Release from Solutions for Climate Australia As the impacts of Cyclone Alfred begin to land on south east Queensland and northern New South Wales, it is clear that the eventual clean up bill will be in the billions of dollars. It’s past time that coal and gas corporations pay to clean up their mess.…
Read MoreAustralia’s biggest companies turn their backs on flawed carbon offset scheme
Australia Institute Media Release Friday 7 February 2025 The revelation that many of Australia’s biggest companies have quit a government-run carbon offset scheme is real-world, real-time proof that carbon credits don’t work. Less than a week out from The Australia Institute’s 2025 Climate Integrity Summit, it’s been revealed that organisations like Telstra, Australia Post, PwC…
Read MoreAustralia’s has stalled at quitting fossil fuels
“Albanese’s climate report card: ‘D for Delivery’ as progress stalls” The first term of the Albanese government has failed to deliver a promised transformation in Australia’s climate efforts. New government data shows just how bad the failures have been. MICHAEL MAZENGARB in Tempests and Terawatts MAR 01, 2025 see original article As the first term…
Read MoreCost-of-living and the climate crisis
Figure 2 shows that insurance prices have been increasing faster than general prices since 2015 and that this gap has increased significantly since 2022 in the wake of major flooding in eastern Australia. Research from the Actuaries Institute shows that nearly one in eight households – 1.25 million – suffer home insurance affordability stress and…
Read MoreDeep-sea sponge trial nurseries in Apollo Marine Park hope to restock oceans
By Emily Bissland ABC South West Vic Topic:Marine Biology Tuesday 18 February IMAGE IN ARTICLE Sponge gardens are colourful and diverse ecosystems deep on the ocean floor. (Supplied: Jarrod Boord) In short: Sea sponges are ancient animals that filter ocean water. Researchers are creating sponge nurseries to revitalise Apollo Marine Park. What’s next? Scientists hope…
Read MoreNon-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis: The power of NEAT and our two-wheeled time-savers
Our resident Stats Guy sings praises about the ever-helpful, two-wheeled contraptions that give us incidental exercise in droves. TD The New Daily Feb 17, 2025, updated Feb 17, 2025 In last week’s column I claimed to have been in a time machine as I spent time on a campground with the demographic setup of the…
Read MoreDirect air capture of CO2 for solar fuel production in flow
a, Schematics of the system during light-off night operation. b, Schematics of the overall system during light-on day operation. c, The carbon capture unit with chemical CO2 capture and release equations. d, The solar-driven CO2U unit material composition and the relevant reduction and oxidation reactions. RT, room temperature; MFC, mass flow controller; PEI, polyethyleneimine; PET, poly(ethylene terephthalate); EG, ethylene…
Read MoreBig battery starts sending power to the grid near Victoria’s “rhombus of regret”
Size doubled by government grant to 185 MW / 370 MWh. Image: Edify Energy LinkedIn Sophie Vorrath Feb 18, 2025 STORAGE in renew economy The Koorangie big battery has started exporting energy to the grid in north-west Victoria, with the project’s developer Edify Energy marking the “exciting milestone” for the 185 megwatt (MW), 370 megawatt-hour…
Read MoreNovel carbon-based materials to remove hazardous ‘forever chemicals’ in water
https://theconversation.com/farmers-investors-miners-and-parents-how-unconventional-climate-advocates-can-reach-new-audiences-249949 Utilizing lignin and glucose as carbon sources to develop novel materials can remove harmful chemicals in water Date: February 19, 2025 Source: Institute of Science Tokyo Summary: New research has emerged on the development of a novel membrane distillation system and an adsorbent (a substance that can trap chemicals on its surface) for the…
Read MoreFarmers, investors, miners and parents: how unconventional climate advocates can reach new audiences
in The Conversation When you think about climate advocates, you’ll likely picture left-leaning environmentalists who live in cities. This group has contributed to building public support for climate action worldwide, through protests, petitions, lobbying and so on. While a majority of Australians understand that climate change is happening and that humans are the main cause,…
Read MoreAustralia finally enters the global race towards decarbonisation!
The Green Steel Economic Fairways Mapper compares the levelised cost of steel, including production and transport to the port. a) Regional changes across Australia b) Example of how to optimise the system to minimise the levelised cost of producing 1 million tonnes per annum c) Breakdown of costs d) Hourly system performance, in terms of…
Read MoreTrickle recharging using a combination of pumped hydro and battery storage can get rid of gas
Image from Renew Economy Andrew Blakers in Renew Economy Feb 20, 2025 BATTERY COMMENTARY PUMPED HYDRO Pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) provides very cheap energy storage (gigawatt-hours). On the other hand, batteries are cheap for storage power (gigawatts). Hybrid storage comprising PHES plus batteries provides very cheap energy storage AND cheap storage power. Normally, solar…
Read MoreSystems Approach to Crisis Management
in 2 min read•Last Updated on July 25, 2024 in library.fiveable Systems thinking in crisis management takes a holistic view of interconnected elements. It recognizes relationships between stakeholders, organizational structures, and environmental factors. This approach helps identify feedback loops and potential unintended consequences in crisis situations. Applying systems thinking leads to more effective crisis management…
Read MoreThere are many ways Trump could trigger a global collapse. Here’s how to survive if that happens
Image: System Dynamics is the operationalization technique of Systems Thinking and can be used both quantitatively and qualitatively. Causal loop diagrams (CLDs) are the primary tool for using System Dynamics qualitatively. A CLD is a diagram representing the main variables/elements that comprise the system under study and the causal relations that connect these variables/elements. in…
Read MoreNew wind and solar projects are cheaper than new coal and gas plants “in almost every market globally”
Consultancy tips new wind and solar cheaper than new coal: BloombergNEF (BNEF) estimates that electricity from new wind and solar projects are cheaper than new coal and gas plants “in almost every market globally”. BNEF estimates the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from onshore wind could decline to US$37 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in 2025, with…
Read MoreDecades of agricultural innovation has delivered a triple win: more food, more land, more biodiversity
Image: Changes in cropland area due to adoption of improved crop varieties (IV) for periods 1961–1985, 1985–2000, 2000–2015, and 1961–2015. in Baldos et. al. “Adoption of improved crop varieties limited biodiversity losses, terrestrial carbon emissions, and cropland expansion in the tropics.” PNAS. 2025. Higher-yielding crops designed to boost food security and farmer incomes have had…
Read MoreFloating solar tech that harvests clean power and water heads to Australia under new deal
Feb 13, 2025 in Renew Economy Joshua S Hill Singaporean renewable microgrid developer Canopy Power has formed a strategic partnership with Norwegian PV innovator Ocean Sun to accelerate the deployment of floating solar projects across Australia. The two companies plan to introduce Ocean Sun’s patented floating solar technology to the Australian market in an effort…
Read MoreV2G = vehicle to grid. ‘A house battery you can drive around’
How a handful of Australians are selling power from their cars back to the grid Published: February 13, 2025 10.16am AEDT Scott Dwyer in The Conversation Research Director, Energy Futures, University of Technology Sydney Jaime Comberin The Conversation Senior Research Consultant in Energy Futures, University of Technology Sydney Kriti Nagrathin The Conversation Research Principal in…
Read MoreVEN cosignatory on letter to IPCC ahead of 62nd Session – a call to centre equity, real solutions and end reliance on highly speculative technologies
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and government delegates will meet in Hangzhou, China, from 24 to 28 February to take a number of foundational decisions that will shape the scope and outcomes of the Seventh Assessment Cycle (AR7). Delegates will discuss the outlines of all three Working Group Reports as well as the…
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