Peter Sainsbury, Pearls and Irritations Journalist Profile

Articles

Environment: Will Labor now protect our environment? If not now, probably never

5 days ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

The world is getting hotter, seas are rising more quickly, oceans are heating faster and freshwater is getting saltier, but Labor’s first-term environmental performance provides little optimism for its second, even though Australia leads the way with solar energy generation.
Environment: Australia’s exported fossil fuel emissions are treble our total domestic emissions

1 week ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

Australia’s exported coal and LNG produce three times more emissions than 27 million Australians. The US wastes prime agricultural land to inefficiently produce energy for cars. Shed snake skin protects young birds. Kosciuszko benefitting from fewer feral horses. Australia’s exported fossil fuel emissions overwhelm our domestic emissionsIn 1990, the generated from the fossil fuels (mainly coal) that we exported were roughly half of Australia’s total domestic emissions.
Environment: Australian Governments sacrifice the environment for dollars and votes

2 weeks ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

The sham of biodiversity offsets for coal mining. Will the climate benefit if Australia hosts the COP in 2026? Albanese further weakens Australia’s outdated environmental protection laws. Biodiversity offsets shamIn February I took the day-long train journey to Narrabri, 500 km north-west of Sydney, for the Biodiversity Offsets. Problems and Consequences conference. Narrabri is close to the Leard State Forest’s critically endangered White box-gum woodland.
Environment: Adopt a tapeworm. Love your lice. Give a leech lunch

1 month ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

Parasites need our help, not our disgust. Electricity usage increases with the temperature, but the price falls as renewables increase. Cyanobacteria’s sliding door moment. Parasites need conserving just as much as their hostsEarlier this month, I was removing some weeds on a Bush Heritage property on the NSW south coast – an area of subtropical rainforest on the escarpment that forms the Great Dividing Range just there.
Environment: Coal, oil and gas still produce three-quarters of all greenhouse gases

1 month ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

Three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions still originate from the burning of fossil fuels in the energy sector. Australia’s legislation regarding environmental destruction is hindering environmental repair. Increasing demand for copper requires more recycling. Greenhouse gases – a (slowly) changing picture You don’t need to know the names of the various greenhouse gases, where they come from or how they work. It’s enough to know just four things:That global warming is real and with us now.
Environment: Rich countries export their social and environmental problems

1 month ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

Self-righteous rich countries export their problems to poor countries. Animal population sizes a third of what they were. Is Direct Air Capture a promising technology? Rich country imports cause poor country problemsThe worlds wealthy nations like to boast about the improvements they have made over recent decades to their living and working conditions and environmental protection.
Sunday environmental round up, 7 March 2021

1 month ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

UKs and Canadas Powering Past Coal promises look hollow, as do many companies net zero commitments. Ecosystems already collapsing globally and in Australia. EVs and loose leaf tea are better for the environment. And a historical quiz.
Sunday environmental round up.

1 month ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

Coal region residents want economic transition. Plastic becoming a significant producer of CO2. Illegal logging and fishing in Myanmar and Mexico. Coals history and futureResidents of the Hunter Valley, the coal capital of NSW, know whats happening, they can see where things are heading and they are looking to all levels of government to help them rise to the challenges and make the transition to a new economic base.
Sunday environmental round up

1 month ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

While humans struggle to do the right thing for themselves and their fellow Earth travellers, animals act to save the world. More helpful information about climate change for Scottys Scottish sojourn. Animals decide to save humanity. Giant redwoods and mountain ashes rapidly disappearing. Tesla blooms as EVs boom.
Environment: Life scientists endorse civil disobedience

1 month ago | johnmenadue.com | Peter Sainsbury

Australias oceans, Greenlands Ice Sheet and Antarcticas sea ice are all feeling the heat. One million species are on the edge of extinction. No wonder life scientists are taking to the streets. Australia is in hot waterAlthough the global warming that has occurred over the oceans is lower than the warming over land, about 90% of the heat that has been added to the Earth by the greenhouse effect has been absorbed by the worlds oceans.