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"THE frequency of tropical cyclones is at its lowest level in 1500 years in Western Australia and the lowest in 550 years in Queensland, a team of researchers has found. The new study also shows the number of cyclones lashing Australia has dropped greatly since the industrial revolution, suggesting that global warming might be causing a decline in the extreme events sooner than expected. A team of scientists led by Jordahna Haig, of James Cook University in Queensland, will publish their results in the British journal Nature today"

"THE Newman Government has back-flipped on a proposed plastic bag ban amid concerns of a voter backlash. A day after telling The Courier-Mail the ban was being considered as part of an overall waste strategy, Environment Minister Andrew Powell has confirmed he's now changed his mind. A spokeswoman for Mr Powell said the Government was no longer considering a ban on plastic bags and in a statement Mr Powell cited cost of living issues as the main concern."

"To explain the latest 20% rise of electricity cost in Queensland, look no further than the free market reforms kickstarted in the 1990s"

"We've been witnessing a quiet revolution in the wind turbine field with the unveiling at Geelong, in Victoria, of the first Eco Whisper wind turbine, developed by Queensland based company, Renewable Energy Solutions Australia (RESA). The unveiling in Geelong, yesterday, was particularly significant as the major Victorian regional city is making a big play to become a centre for renewable energy in Australia."

"Half of Australia's states and territories have now banned single-use, lightweight plastic bags, the latest being Tasmania. And while they are Australia's least-populated states and territories, pressure is growing on the governments of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia to do the same."

"The "sunburnt country" of Australia has now passed the milestone of having a substantial 3 gigawatts of solar power installed, RenewEconomy has reported. That amounts to over 1.1 million (1,157,000) solar systems installed nationwide, on 14% of all dwellings. In the state of South Australia, 25% of households have solar installed. In the very sunny northern state of Queensland, solar has reached the 1 gigawatt mark, which amounts to 22% of dwellings."

"These maps are based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator, the Australian Government agency tasked with the administration of the Renewable Energy Target. For each postcode and local government area, the map shows the estimated percentage of dwellings that have a PV system and the total photovoltaic capacity installed. Most of the PV systems in Australia are small-scale rooftop installations; however there are a number of larger-scale PV power stations with a capacity of more than 100 kW. These power stations are indicated by individual markers. Live performance data is available for systems in the Desert Knowledge Precinct in Alice Springs, and at the University of Queensland."

"Giles Parkinson First, the good news. Australia will, as expected, comfortably meet its Kyoto emission reduction target, and won't get into trouble with the international community when its report card is due at the end of 2012. Even though emissions from the electricity sector will have grown by 51 per cent from 1990 through to 2012, the last-minute deal negotiated at Kyoto by Senator Robert Hill - which allowed Australia to claim reduction of land clearing after levelling half of Queensland just before the baseline year - means it will deliver on its generous national quota of 108 per cent of its 1990 emissions. It will likely come in at just over 106 per cent, and will no doubt give itself a gold star for doing so. Now, the bad news. The task of meeting Australia's pledge to the Copenhagen Accord has just gotten a lot harder. The government's latest emissions trajectory report reveals emissions growth shows little sign of abating in the short term, and may accelerate because of the impact of the massive LNG projects off the north-west of the country and increased coal exports."

"Due to its reliance on fossil fuel, Australia's power system is now among the least resilient of its global competitors. The three part series, "Delivering a competitive Australian power system" seeks to address this issue. This paper, the final in a three part series examining the competitiveness of Australia's power system, seeks to identify a pragmatic strategy to transition Australia to a resilient power economy at reasonable cost and in an age of uncertainty. The resilience of a country's power economy refers to its ability to meet power requirements while withstanding supply shocks and environmental constraints. For a country's power economy to be competitive, it must be both affordable and resilient."