Peter Sainsbury

Peter Sainsbury is a retired public health worker with a long interest in social policy, particularly social justice, and now focusing on climate change and environmental sustainability. He is extremely pessimistic about the world avoiding catastrophic global warming.

Peter's recent articles

Are surgeons just a little bit less careful when operating on their birthdays?

Yes, if you think the ops necessary, Doc, of course Ill have it. Just so I know, are there any risks? And how long will I be in hospital? Thanks, see you in theatre. Oh, by the way, you wont be operating on me on your birthday, will you, Doc?

Sunday environmental round up, 20 December 2020

We finish the year with suggestions for getting the COP process back on track, delays to the federal governments plans to get the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act off track, confirmation that Australian coal does produce less CO2, and graphs showing the healthiness and cheapness of solar power. Best wishes for Christmas. Back on January 17th.

Sunday environmental round up, 13 December 2020

The Amazon rainforest and Pacific islands are increasingly threatened by climate change but rich nations prefer spending on their military forces rather than climate change. A little-known hero of threatened species protection receives a posthumous tribute but Jeff Bezoss philanthropy is not so fortunate. Pardalotes feature in Indigenous culture.

Sunday environmental round up, 6 December 2020

Theres a new kid on the block: nature-based solutions. Child prodigy or juvenile delinquent? Fossil fuel producing nations need to show more application. AIHW examines the health effects of last summers bushfires and the NSW electricity plan graduates with a distinction. China could try harder to protect wild animals.

Sunday environmental round up, 29 November 2020

Despite COVID, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise. Does increasing complexity in societies explain the collapse of civilisations? Western Australia is failing to adequately protect sharks and Australia is taking risks with imported flowers. China has an each-way bet on energy: big on renewables; big on coal.

Sunday environmental round up, 22 November 2020

Wealthy people and wealthy nations cause it but its the poor and vulnerable who suffer the most from climate change. Adani is behaving badly in Australia but moving into renewables in India. Recycling plastic recycling. Spotted and striated, pardalotes charmalot.

Sunday environmental round up, 15 November 2020

Sustainable human development eludes almost all nations. Action to prevent virus spill-overs to humans looks like a good investment. Economic growth and emissions cuts can co-exist (IMF says). Environmental suggestions for Bidens first 100 days. Legged-legless-legged skinks.

Sunday environmental round up, 8 November 2020

Wind and solar are getting cheaper and cheaper and financial institutions and countries are increasingly turning away from fossil fuels, but 100% renewable energy is a long way off. Protecting wild places and returning agricultural land to nature can prevent biodiversity loss and help tackle climate change.

Sunday environmental round up, 1 November 2020

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing presents a major threat to security and fish stocks. Seagrasses and snow leopards suffering from environmental destruction. Aussie coal companies turning to the Canadian Rockies. Insights into what might be influencing American votes on Tuesday.

Does anyone really believe we are going to avert a climate catastrophe?

An energy transition is underway but it is too slow to avert a climate catastrophe and it ignores many other environmental and social challenges that need tackling now. Capitalism has got us into this mess but doesnt have the tools to get us out of it. Perhaps ecosocialism and Extinction Rebellion provide some answers.

Sunday environmental round up, 25 October 2020

The absorption of solar energy by the earth is getting faster and faster. This is having dramatic effects on the dynamics, chemistry and life of the oceans, and bringing Hothouse Earth closer. Over half of residents of the USA are now concerned about climate change. Farmers in the Riverina create Bittern-friendly rice fields.

Sunday environmental round up, 18 October 2020

Plastics: littering the ocean floor, not being recycled, not easily replaced, may or may not provide oil and gas producers with a prosperous future. Populations of vertebrates have declined by 68% in 50 years.

Sunday environmental round up, 11 October 2020

A look at current figures to see if China going carbon-free will destroy Australias coal industry. COVID is bad enough but some people have had COVID and extreme weather events to deal with. Governments have an opportunity to use the COVID recovery to clean up international trades supply chains and emissions. How to buy sustainable fish.

Sunday environmental round up, 4 October 2020

Developing countries need help to avoid the clutches of the fossil fuel industry. Action is needed right now to combat climate change and the UKs NHS is up for the challenge. 64 world leaders commit to Living in Harmony with Nature to reverse biodiversity loss but Australia and Indonesia must have lost the invitation. China out in front on renewables.

Sunday environmental round up, 27 September 2020

Despite presidents and SUV drivers doing their bit for oil, the industry is going down the drain. China steps into the global climate action vacuum. Dr Fauci calls for a new relationship with nature to reduce the likelihood of more emerging infectious diseases. WH Auden praises the USA.

No, Scotty, gas did not choose itself. You chose it.

Morrison claimed that gas chose itself to replace the Liddell power station. No, be honest Scotty, you and your mates chose gas.

Sunday environmental round up, 20 September 2020

One in four chance that global warming will exceed 1.5oC at least once in next five years, and floods, water scarcity and food insecurity are set to create more displaced persons. Climate change is one of seven factors increasing the likelihood of another pandemic. Killer cats!

Sunday environmental round up, 13 September 2020

Per head of population Australians produce a lot of greenhouse gases but with the right support household consumption and emissions can be reduced. Unfortunately, governments are currently more enthusiastic about subsidising fossil fuels. Shippings emissions continue to rise. The USAs emissions in four charts.

Sunday environmental round up, 6 September 2020

COVID is increasing deforestation but the Australian government moves rapidly to put fast-tracked development above the environment. Computer geeks start monitoring the sources of CO2 emissions and Indigenous groups use the law to challenge governments to protect their lands and lives. Sharks mount a media campaign to improve their image.

Sunday environmental round up, 30 August 2020

Food may be glorious but the way we produce and consume it can be bad for health and the environment. Unfortunately, we cant even rely on national dietary guidelines to give us good advice. Shareholders want Whitehaven Coal to exit coal. McKinsey produces recommendations for a low-carbon, high growth recovery and electric cars can be part of that. Up to 10,000 koalas died in the bushfires but NSW continues to log their habitat.

Sunday environmental round up, 23 August 2020

A rich man takes some lessons from COVID and a businessman tells us how to correct the failings of the EPBC Act. Scotty has a heatwave named after him. Canada loses an ice shelf and the French say Non to a bicycle ad. But, bad news ...

Sunday environmental round up, 16 August 2020

CO2, CO2, and CO2: an oil pipeline in the USA reopens, coal mines and CSG wells in NSW look for approval, Feds give green light to more emissions, gas flaring increases, while Texas mothballs its carbon capture and storage poster-child and blows the other states away with wind energy. French scientists use AI recognise individual Zebra Finches.

Sunday environmental round up, 9 August 2020

Renewables may be cheaper and growing faster than fossils but its emissions that matter and countries Paris agreement ambitions are a long way short of salvation. Maybe Doughnut Economics holds the key to a happier, more sustainable society and maybe mangroves can save Africas eastern coastline. A talented 13 year-old sings for the truth.

Sunday environmental round up, 2 August 2020

Sombre statistics about the murder of environmental activists but better news about the economic as well as environmental and human benefits of protecting large areas of land and sea. Ongoing coal consumption may incinerate the Paris Agreement targets but that doesnt wont stop Australia exporting it as long as possible, even if Australia itself is rapidly transitioning to renewables. Gas is no better.

Sunday environmental round up, 26 July 2020

The NTs moratorium on seabed mining expires soon. Invasive animals and plants are a serious and growing threat to the environment and humans. Japan moves away from funding overseas coal-fired power but inadequate climate action renders CO2 removal from the atmosphere more likely.

Sunday environmental round up, 19 July 2020

Australia becomes the worlds largest exporter of coal and gas and joins other rich countries pouring billions into supporting fossil fuels during the COVID pandemic. Time magazine wants rapid action on climate change and doesnt think a re-elected Trump will deliver. Greta Thunberg displays her frustrations and intelligence and an engaging wryness. More problems identified with deep-sea mining.

Sunday environmental round up, 12 July 2020

A physical trip to the USA looks unlikely in the foreseeable future so Im taking you on a virtual tour this week. Stories about the effects of warming on life in the largest and smallest states, the harmful effects of heat and air pollution on pregnant women and their foetuses, and, in better news for the environment and humans, three oil and gas pipelines hit stormy weather. And dropping into the UK on the way home, even the Royal Family is abandoning fossil fuels.

Sunday environmental round up, 5 July 2020

Disgraceful behaviour at home and in the United Nations allows Australia to meet its Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions targets, while our overall environmental performance scores high and low. Corruption and money laundering exposed at the root of the illegal trade in wild animals, and climate change affects deer migration patterns in the USA. Fossil fuels harm your pocket as well as your health.

Sunday environmental round up, 28 June 2020

Stories from the USA, Britain and Australia about the links between Black Lives Matter, climate change and inequality. Investment in renewable energy continues to climb but it remains woefully inadequate to head off a climate catastrophe. Abandoned oil and gas wells spew out methane but Themeda Green brings happiness.

Sunday environmental round up, 21 June 2020

Three graphs to stimulate the little grey cells: Norways domestic and exported greenhouse gas emissions, global electric car sales and changes in CO2 emissions during COVID. Plus, India plans to become a global renewable energy powerhouse (with Gautam Adanis support) and plastics fly to the wilderness.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 14 June 2020

What do organisations green promises mean and are they keeping them? Contrasting fortunes for insects: the locust plague in Africa and Asia is set to grow massively but overall insects are in serious decline globally. And they are not alone: species are being lost at an alarming rate globally and Australia is leading the way, although we are starting to do a better job of monitoring our negligence.

Health inequalities: plus a change, plus c'est la mme chose

The poorest Australians are twice as likely to die before age 75 as the richest, and the gap is widening. People living in socially disadvantaged areas and outside major cities are much more likely to die prematurely, our new research shows. The study [] reveals this gap has widened significantly in recent years, largely because premature death rates among the least advantaged Australians have stopped improving.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 7 June 2020

The politics of prevarication and inadequate action from Rio in 1992 to Paris in 2015 is followed by stories of the ongoing investment in fossil fuels rather than renewables by G20 governments and major oil and gas companies. China has the potential to generate 60% of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and solar microgrids deliver the goods in emergency situations.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 31 May 2020

Its not difficult knowing what to do to prevent an environmental and human catastrophe. Whats difficult is making it happen and starting it now, especially in Australia. Todays articles highlight some recommendations for governments. Finally, a couple of wins in court, and reproduction and Raymond Chandler.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 24 May 2020

A guide to the Australian governments plans for the post-COVID recovery and bureaucrats and scientists talk with feeling about Australias Climate Wars. Cyclone Amphan hits India and Bangladesh, providing a current example of the increasing frequency of strong tropical storms. Worldwide, animals big and small are going extinct, and Australia is working hard to fuel the trend.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 17 May 2020

In the absence of urgent climate action, rising temperatures over the next 50 years will render much of the globe uninhabitable for humans and trees. But global fossil fuel consumption is still rising and a NSW coal company has repeatedly and grossly underestimated the CO2 emissions when its coal is burnt. A pandemic caused by a coronavirus: what a surprise. NOT! And Madagascars remarkable flora and fauna.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 10 May 2020

Australians think they have it tough with bushfires, coronavirus and bleaching of the Reef but the people of Pacific and African nations have a multitude of other problems to cope with as well few of which they caused. Are the worlds governments up to the challenge of creating the structural change needed during the post-COVID recovery? CO2 emissions may be down this year but will it last? And will it make any difference to the worlds melting glaciers and ice sheets?

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 3 May 2020

Two stories from India: creating environmentally sustainable, healthy cities for the post-COVID world and the installation of cheap solar energy signals the end of coal. Plus, Joseph Stiglitz summarises some principles the Australian government should adopt post-COVID, a literary interlude and a summary of carbon capture and storage.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 26 April 2020

Ecosystems are likely to collapse sooner and more abruptly than previously thought, which is not surprising considering Trump continues to destroy the environmental in the USA. We can do better: the post-COVID recovery can be used to promote environmental sustainability and we have the technology to halve greenhouse gas emissions every decade. You can do your bit - make a submission to the review of the EPBC Act in the next 5 days.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 19 April 2020

Theres a plan to decarbonise the industrial sector by 2070 but the burning question of the moment is whether coronavirus will spell the end of the line for fossil fuels. I doubt it but coal, oil and gas are all struggling in different ways. Getting bored? Build a hotel.

PETER SAINSBURY. Corona-myths: shifting the blame to preserve privilege. Part 2 of 2.

PETER SAINSBURY. Corona-myths: shifting the blame to preserve privilege. Part 2 of 2.

In Part 1 I explored seven myths about coronavirus that are being used to obscure the truth, shift responsibility and perpetuate existing power and privilege. In Part 2 I examine the failure over the last twenty years of governments and corporations to fulfil their risk management responsibilities to prevent and prepare for a viral pandemic. We need a new breed of managers if we want the post-COVID world to tackle the serious problems besetting humanity in the 21st century.

PETER SAINSBURY. Corona-myths: shifting the blame to preserve privilege. Part 1 of 2.

Myths about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, who is to blame and characteristics of the global response abound. In Part 1 I explore seven myths, the most significant being that the pandemic could not have been predicted. These myths are being used to obscure the truth, shift responsibility and perpetuate existing power and privilege.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 12 April 2020

Biodiversity features heavily this week: a distressing update on bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef but good news that the right action now could restore the Earths oceans to good health by 2050; the Tasmanian government hellbent on logging native forests; and the decline of Spotted Frogs in the USA heralding bad news for humans. Finally, a cause and effect conundrum.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 5 April 2020

Coronavirus is yet another serious disruption to daily life in Africa, while the Brazilian President prefers clearing the Amazon to managing the epidemic. Two reports from WWF highlight the contributions that nature-based solutions can make to solving global problems but not everyone agrees. Coal no longer cheap.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 29 March 2020

If you cant beat em, join em. How will a coronavirus-led recession affect CO2 emissions? Will health improve from cleaner air with fewer vehicles on the road? How can governments use stimulus packages to protect the vulnerable and hasten the transition to a low carbon, environmentally sustainable, just world? And good news for Torres Strait Islanders: $25m to cope with sea level rise.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 22 March 2020

Marine and coastal environments are the focus this week: how The Blue Acceleration poses threats to natural environments, economies, lives and homes through ocean warming, melting ice caps, changes in ocean currents, sea level rise and even bushfires. And some early attempts to protect flood-prone areas in the USA.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up, 15 March 2020

Teck Resources withdraws from an oil sands mining project in Alberta Canada and Equinor oil company pulls out of drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight, even though the project has already received Australian government approval. Coronavirus is just one of a string of dangerous new infections caused by the clearing of forests by multinational agribusinesses. Ongoing coal mining in India is causing extreme human suffering as well as warming the planet.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up.

Three articles from the USA, all with relevance for Australia. Economist Jeffrey Sachs analyses the costs and timelines for decarbonisation; activist and writer Bill McKibben provides an overview of climate change and climate action at the start of the decade; and essayist Mary Annaise Heglar discusses the relationship between climate change and racism and oppression. Finally reports from the Victorian and NSW governments about their responses to the bush fires.

PETER SAINSBURY. Sunday environmental round up.

Without the services provided by nature, humanity could not exist so why do we keep destroying nature? Financial institutions have cold feet about investing in Albertas oil sands and the Premier directs a blow torch at their bellies. A follow up to last months Siemens story and hints for environmentally sustainable alcohol intake. Finally, a reminder that the Great Barrier Reef is still in danger.

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