Regrow Qld - Chinese air pollution down, Australia's renewable power up, UK closes coal power.
My friends,
I’m not sure why I didn’t know that beavers were native to the UK, after all beaver was a favoured material for hat making. I just assumed they were only native to the US.
I have some sympathy with UK activists releasing native beavers in an unauthorised manner - 100,000 pages for a release application is bureaucracy run mad!
It’s important to make sure that animals are released where they will survive and thrive, otherwise you risk doing more harm than good.
Beavers are often blamed for flooding, but this is to misunderstand their role in the landscape. They actually reduce damage from flooding as their dams slow the water down. As we know in Australia, small leaky dams and structures across rivers improve water penetration to the land either side of the river, and slow down floodwaters.
I’m so pleased to see this rewilding concept taking shape across the UK. May there be many more.
Much love,
Anna
Good News
This weeks’ Good News comes from Forge the Future newsletter -
New research shows that China’s efforts to rein in its air pollution have added two years to average lifespans, with pollution down 41% over a decade.
The UK government has decided not to defend legal challenges against two planned oil fields off the coast of Scotland, in a victory for campaigners.
For the first time, Australia generated less than half of its power from coal, as wind power boosted renewables output over the last week.
The UK’s last remaining coal power plant has received its final delivery of coal, with the plant to shut down completely at the end of September.
Desalination Plant for Gladstone - Current proposed location - South Trees
You can have a look at the website here:
https://gladstonedesal.phillipsgroup.com.au/
At the moment GCC is broadly in favour of a desalination plant (although the devil is always in the details!). We do need to secure our water supply, and we have seawater close to industry, which makes this a sensible option. The bonus is that as our rainfall becomes ever less reliable, desalination will provide emergency water for our urban areas.
The Klamath River Flows Free
From Fix the News - 90 seconds that will make your day:
Reducing Bat Deaths
Australian windfarm operators are being urged to embrace a simple measure used overseas that scientists say could dramatically reduce the number of bats killed by turbines.
Curtailment – lifting the wind speed at which turbines start spinning – is used in some European countries and parts of the US and Canada, but rarely in Australia. A global study published in the journal BioScience found it was an effective way to limit bat deaths.
Most wind turbines “cut in” at wind speeds of about 3 metres per second and reach maximum output at between 10 and 15m/s. The researchers found increasing the speed at which turbines start turning to 4.5m/s reduced bat deaths on average by 40%. Greater reductions were possible at a higher cut in speeds.
Final word
As the weather heats up, please be extra cautious with your campfires. No one wants to be the cause of a bushfire!
Make sure to fully extinguish your fires with water—just covering them is not enough.
Most importantly, enjoy your time in the great outdoors!
