Sunday 25 July 2021

The world can see evidence of Australia's methane pollution from space

 

Bloomberg Green, 22 July 2021:


Potent methane plumes have been detected in a key coal mining district in Australia, one of the world’s biggest exporters of the commodity, underscoring the fossil fuel’s role in exacerbating climate change.


Clouds of the invisible greenhouse gas, which is over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth in its first couple decades in the atmosphere, were spotted near multiple mines last month, an analysis of European Space Agency satellite data by geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS showed.


Methane detected over the Bowen Basin on June 21. Source: Kayrros SAS


Two large clouds of methane were spotted over the Bowen Basin on June 21, and were visible across more than 30 kilometers each. While Kayrros attributes the clouds to the coal sector, the plumes were diffused and could have come from multiple sources.


The leaking of methane into the atmosphere has come under increasing scrutiny as awareness grows over their harmful global warming effects. Scientists view reducing emissions from the fossil fuel industry as one of the cheapest and easiest ways to hold down temperatures in the near term, especially as improving technology makes it easier to identify polluters.


Efforts to curtail coal use have largely focused on the large amount of CO₂ generated when it’s burned, but mining the fuel is also problematic because producers can release methane trapped in underground operations to lower the risk of explosion. The coal sector is forecast to account for about 10% of man-made emissions of the gas by the end of the decade, according to the Global Methane Initiative.


The Bowen Basin is a key producing region for Australia, the world’s top exporter of metallurgical coal used in steel-making. For every ton of coal produced in the region, an average 7.5 kilograms of methane is released, according to Kayrros. That’s 47% higher than the global average in 2018, the geoanalytics company said, citing International Energy Agency data.


When contacted about the larger of the two plumes, Queensland’s Department of Environment and Science said it didn’t receive notice of methane releases in the two days through June 21. Coal mining companies have reporting obligations under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme that is regulated by the federal government, the department said.


Saturday 24 July 2021

Quote of the Week

 

Scott Morrison is the Billy Joel of Australian politics – a hollow master of pastiche” [The Guardian headline to a Peter Lewis article on 6 July 2021]


AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL POLLING: Compare The Pair

 


Oh what a difference a year and one global pandemic make......



19 July 2020



















18 July 2021






Newspoll is an Australian opinion polling brand established in 1985, exclusively published by News Corp’s The Australian newspaper and administered by UK based market research and data analytics group, YouGov. The business name "Newspoll" is registered to Nationwide News Pty Ltd a subsidiary of News Corp.


Meme of the Week and Image of the Week

 

via 
@Biggy1883

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison leaving COVID-19 press conference, IMAGE: Brisbane Times,13 July 2021



Friday 23 July 2021

In NSW the COVID-19 community transmission count & hospital admissions grow in this highly infectious Delta Variant Outbreak

 



Scanning electron microscopic image of a cell infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles, shown in yellow. IMAGE: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

 

According to NSW Health data the number of community transmitted COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the Delta Variant Outbreak now stands at 1,652 men, women and children including 5 deaths as of 8pm on 21 July 2021


Those five deaths represent est. 8% of all COVID-19 deaths which occurred in the New South Wales population.


It only took the virus until Day 36 of this variant outbreak to infect 1,652 NSW residents. In 2020 the original COVID-19 virus took until about Day 214 to reach that level of cumulative community infection in the state.


Between 4-10 July 2021 a total of 97% of all COVID-19 infections had been contracted by community transmission - as opposed to 52% in the second half of 2020. 


From 12 June to 10 July 2021, 100% of locally acquired cases were genome sequenced and found to be the Delta variant of concern and 51% of overseas acquired cases were identified as having COVID-19 variants of concern Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1) and Delta/Kappa (B.1.617)]. 


As of 21 July this year, est. 44% of the state's total locally acquired COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began occurred in the last 36 days. 


According to a news report, on Wednesday 21 July 2021 there were 106 people being treated for this virus in hospital, an increase of 11 from Tuesday. Some 23 of these are patients have been placed in intensive care and 11 of these are being ventilated.


The Delta Variant Outbreak has now spread to regional/rural New South Wales and as of 12.01am on 21 July, an est. 60,342 people across Orange City, Blayney and Cabonne local government areas are under a stay-at-home public health order until 28 July 2021.

 

According to a 19 July 2021 Northern NSW Local Health District media release more than 40 close contacts of 2 infectious people who travelled through Chinderah near Murwillumbah on 13-14 July have been placed in 14-day home isolation.


UPDATE: By 8pm on 22 July 2021 the total number of locally acquired infections since the start of the Delta Variant Outbreak in NSW has reached 1,788 cases, including 6 deaths. The NSW Premier announced a State of Emergency will be declared.


NOTE:


All weekly epidemiological reports issued by NSW Health have a time lag of around 6-8 days before publication, however these reports possibly allow for a clearer understanding of how this outbreak is progressing.







NSW Health daily media releases giving overnight breakdowns of new infections can be found here:


SARS-CoV-2
IMAGE: NIAID



Thursday 22 July 2021

Copy of NSW Public Health (COVID-19 Temporary Movement and Gathering Restrictions) Amendment (No 10) Order 2021 under the Public Health Act 2010, courtesy of the Member for Lismore



Office of the NSW Labor MLA for Lismore, Janelle Saffin, media release, 21 July 2021:


Seeking COVID clarity for business, workers & residents


LISMORE MP Janelle Saffin this week sought clarity from the Office of the Minister for Health on the NSW Government’s working from home direction in regional New South Wales and other related COVID-19 issues.


Ms Saffin said she had raised local businesses’ concerns after Public Health Orders had mistakenly lumped in regional NSW with Greater Sydney, where employers were REQUIRED to direct employees to work from home where reasonably practicable.


Thankfully, those Public Health Orders were quickly amended and the advice is that employers in regional NSW must ALLOW people to work from home where reasonably practicable,” Ms Saffin said.


There is a difference in these working from home directions as they apply to Greater Sydney and to here, so hopefully this will clear up any confusion for employers and employees.”


The amended Public Health Orders are attached.


Ms Saffin said she had also sought clarification as to whether anyone, including tradies, could leave the lockdown areas of Greater Sydney to travel to regional NSW for essential work.


Locals are contacting me concerned that people are coming here from Greater Sydney,” Ms Saffin said.


Here is the Office of the Minister for Health’s response:


For residents of Greater Sydney (other than those living in the Fairfield, Canterbury Bankstown and Liverpool Local Government Areas who are not exempted workers), it is a reasonable excuse to leave your residence for work – but only when it is not practicable to work from home.


People who travel more than 50km outside Greater Sydney for work they are unable to do from home must not enter a premises for work unless they have been tested for COVID-19 in the preceding seven days. Workers must have evidence of the test available for inspection on request by an employer, occupier of the premises, or the police.


We note that any person whose place of residence or usual place of work is in Greater Sydney must still follow the stay at home rules while they are outside Greater Sydney – that is, they should not go to a restaurant or a pub or go shopping for anything other than essential goods. They should only spend time at work and their accommodation while working in regional NSW.


Ms Saffin said she had also expressed the concerns of the local community that we don’t know where the close contacts of the COVID-positive removalists from Chinderah Service Centre and the Coffs Harbour locations went after they were exposed to COVID-19.


I asked for an update on the contact tracing that has occurred,” Ms Saffin said.


Office of the Minister for Health’s response:


For privacy reasons, NSW Health does not disclose details about venues unless there is a public health reason.


When a confirmed COVID-19 case attends a venue while possibly infectious, NSW Health carries out a risk assessment on that venue to determine whether other people may have been exposed and whether there is a public health risk.


Risk assessments may be re-evaluated as new evidence emerges, for example evidence of transmission of COVID-19 in a specific venue after further contact tracing has occurred.


Further to this, where contact tracing has allowed NSW Health to get in touch with every possible contact at a venue, and it is determined there is no public health risk, a venue will cease to be listed as a venue of concern on the NSW Health site (if it was even listed in the first place).


Mindful that Minister Hazzard is extremely busy dealing with COVID outbreaks, Ms Saffin has requested that he brief all regional and rural MPs on what is being done to keep regional communities safe.



ATTACHMENT


Public Health (COVID-19 Temporary Movement and Gathering Restrictions) Amendment (No 10) Order 2021 under the Public Health Act 2010


NSW Government Gazette, 20 July 2021, Number 331 "Health and Education" by clarencegirl on Scribd


ENDS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


NSW Public Health (COVID-19 Temporary Movement and Gathering Restrictions) Order 2021_210720_10.44am by clarencegirl on Scribd

Wednesday 21 July 2021

Regional rents continued to outpace capital city rents in 2021


Maitland Mercury, 20 July 2021:


Rents across regional Australia surged by 11.3 per cent in the year ending June 2021, the highest annual growth figure since data firm CoreLogic began records in 2005.


Increases were most pronounced in Tasmania's South East region, including Bicheno, Bruny Island and Huonville, with combined rents for houses and units increasing a whopping 23.7 per cent to $430 per week.


Tasmania aside, many of the largest gains were found in regional Queensland, Western Australia and NSW, with many traditional tourist hotspots seeing the greatest growth.


The Richmond-Tweed region, home to well-known lifestyle enclaves like Ballina, Byron Bay and Lismore recorded regional NSW's highest increase, with combined rents rising by 19.0 per cent over the 12 month period to $620 per week.


Immediately south to Richmond-Tweed, the Coffs Harbour-Grafton region recorded combined rental growth of 16.7 per cent to $525 per week.


In the Southern Highlands-Shoalhaven region, which includes Nowra, Berry and Mittagong, rents rose 15.8 per cent to $549 per week.


Rents in regional Victoria recorded lower increases. The Latrobe-Gippsland region, which includes population centres such as Sale, Bairnsdale and Morwell, recorded the greatest increase in combined dwelling values at 10.4 per cent.


CoreLogic's Head of Research Australia, Eliza Owen said that regional Australia had been suffering from low levels of rental stock, likely contributing to an increase in prices…..


Regional rents continued to outpace capital city rents in the most recent quarter, though there are signs that both markets may be slowing, according to Ms Owen.


Regional rents increased by 2.7 per cent during the quarter compared to a 1.9 per cent for capital cities, both down on the previous quarter…….