News for August, 2025

Welcome to August's round up of news. There has been a lot of it! Far more than just the links I'm giving here, so I hope I've selected the ones of most general interest. It keeps coming, too, with news breaking even as I type...

 

"About those tariffs for Norway..." (Wikimedia)

In organising the articles, I did consider whether or not to dispense with 'the ugly' sub-sections and group those articles into their own section called 'What Donald did Next'. It would be easier to avoid for those who browse on a 'need to know' basis! However, as there have been a few ugly acts from other parties, I'll stick with tradition.

Environment

Quite a few good news pieces on efforts to preserve one species or another. The question is whether that progress can be maintained generally.

Rakali: fighting crime, and cane toads.(David Todd via ABC)

 The Ugly

•  Trump's war on climate solutions is why Puget Sound oyster fishers and farmers can't get together and have nice things.
• War on climate?... about that. America's EPA is proposing to revoke the finding that greenhouse gases are a health hazard.  (The phrasing employed by EPA reps. is deliberate, and appalling). A-and, see below.
• With  
• Wildlife reserves are considered a good thing in general, but what if they are used to force indigenous people off their ancestral lands, as is happening in Kenya? It brings into question what role human beings, as a species, play in the environment. 

The Bad

•  From the bags choking turtles to the microplastics in your gonads, plastics have become an environmental scourge. Recycling appears to be a dubious strategy, at best. There was some hope that the problem would start to be addressed this month at the UN plastics treaty negotiations, but negotiations collapsed with no agreement.
• Global supplies of fresh groundwater are rapidly diminishing.
• Queensland continues to the state clearing land at the greatest rate. 
• An observation of what effect a monoculture of maize can have on insect populations.
• Spain is suffering record summertime temperatures. And bushfires. Smoke emissions shot to record levels in one week.
• Wildfire smoke is a killer: a bigger one than was previously realised (in California, at least) 
• South Australia's algal bloom woes continue, with local businesses suffering losses, and a local elder likening the results to 'watching Uluru be destroyed'. 
• Meanwhile, dead turtles bleeding from the eyes have been washing up off NSW. Cause unknown.
• This is ... bizarre. Study finds a rash of sex reversal in lorikeets and kookaburras. The reasons for this are currently unknown.

The Good 

• Sea stars have been dying off for decades. Now we know the pathogen responsible (it's cholera related)
• Lord Howe Island was declared rodent free in 2023, and the indigenous wildlife has exploded.
• Bettongs now have an 8000 hectare reserve that's cat and fox free. It's a converted farm. What will they do with the place?
• In news that was new about six years ago, Australia's rakali (a native water rat) have figured out how to eat cane toads without dying. Indeed, it transpires that a few other Australian natives have also learned some tricks.
• When it takes thirty years for the hatchlings to return to breed, monitoring turtle populations is a long-term activity. 
• They were thought to be competitive and aggressive toward each other, but it seems whales and dolphins really do get along.
• So far, SA's toxic algal bloom hasn't adversely affected the right whale nurseries there.
• Commercial bee die-offs have been becoming depressingly common. It doesn't help their chances if the nectar substitutes are found to be missing trace nutrients. Adding them back works wonders.
• Chytrid fungus has been devastated frog populations globally. Now we have an answer: frog saunas! (yes, really. You can even build them.)
• A followup article considering Australia's obligations following last month's ICJ decision on liability for climate related damages. 
• A satellite able to measure the biomass in forests.
• ACF was the only environmental group invited to the Economic Roundtable Summit recently held by Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers. The delegates set their goals for stronger environmental protections, and went in with understandably low expectations. They were pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Climate

If weather is the colour of the day, climate is the palette from which those colours are drawn. Weather disruptions have been becoming increasingly common and widespread. The North has been getting barbecued in its Summer juices, and the South has been placed in the freeze.

Ocean surface Temperatures, Aug 31, 2025. (Climate Change Institute, University of Maine)

 The Ugly

•  While geo-engineering techniques may be required to bring some relief from the extremes of global warming, they introduce a variety of new risks, and should be considered only as a last resort. Certainly not without public consultation, and not just at the behest of a 'secret group of billionaires' with more money than public support.
• Trump recently had his very own climate report produced by the EPA to justify the proposed rollback of the 2009 'endangerment finding' on greenhouse gases. Scientists condemn it as a farcical document prepared exclusively by denialists, and relying on old, debunked findings.
• Since this report clearly runs contrary to previous climate reports, he's having them rewritten.
• Trump's NASA appointments are planning to shut down two carbon monitoring systems.
• It has just been revealed that a large gas tank in Darwin has been leaking substantial amounts of methane for decades, without anybody doing anything about it.

The Bad

• It's summer in the northern hemisphere: record temperatures in southern Europe, 400 people dead from heat related issues in Arizona, serious wildfires in Canada.
• It's winter in the Southern Hemisphere: record floods and rainfall in NSW. Snow cutting highways in... New England!?
• Insurance companies are careful monitors of risk, with premiums set according to the perceived level of risk. The accounts given above highlight how certain risks are increasing due to climate change. The risk that homes in some regions will not be insurable, or saleable is also rising.
• For the first time, meltwater has been observed to burst through Greenland's ice cap.
• Abrupt changes in Antarctica due to global warming are now being seen, threatening rapid sea level rise and species extinctions.

The Good 

• Despite the loss of the MethaneSat last month, the program is continuing in some capacity, with monitoring flights being conducted over parts of the US.
• The Australian Government is soon to release its 2035 emission reduction targets. We hope it reflects the wishes of nearly 8 in 10 Australians, who back stronger climate action.

Energy

As Donella Meadows pointed out, systems (such as politics and energy grids) are complicated beasts prone to counter-intuitive behaviour. So, while solar and battery uptake has been skyrocketing, wind power has ground to a halt, and gas demand is picking up. What's going on? Not all the answers will be provided here, but some of the links might lead to further insights.

A 'Don' from another age.

 The Ugly

• This wind farm was all but complete, until Trump stopped it.
• Using tariff threats and general bluster, Trump is intent on shutting down all renewable projects, including those in other countries. This is one of the reasons investments are dropping.

The Bad

• The biggest domestic user of gas is Australia's gas companies. They use more gas to power export terminals than the entire manufacturing sector.
• 10 regional towns in Victoria are to be cut off from their compressed network gas supply by the end of next year. On the one hand this is good: gas usage needs to end, sooner rather than later. On the other, it's very bad if residents are left scrambling for alternatives. That's capitalism for you.
• While renewables are rapidly increasing, it is not yet offsetting the increase in fossil fuel usage.
• Investment in new wind energy projects is losing out to battery storage.
• Trump is forcing US coal power stations to continue running at an economic loss, currently to the tune of $13.1 billion pa. 

The Good 

• Despite the slowdown in big investments, domestic rooftop solar and battery installations remain strong.
• The last twelve months has seen a marked increase in solar power usage in Africa.
• Australia has launched a Senate enquiry into how anti-renewable astroturf groups are being funded.
• Solar panels are useless at night! ... or are they? 

Housing

There's not a lot to report this month, but the items seemed to fit into the three categories evenly. 

The Ugly

•  People can't afford housing so, yes, of course you sell off two thirds of your public land to private investors to build on.

The Bad

•  From Maui, a case study in what happens to a community after a disaster strikes it.

The Good 

•  Professional chefs are slowly coming to realise that induction cookers are superior to gas.

Transport

To walk, cycle, or take the EV? We're not in a position to be able to decide on these alone, yet.

To quote William Gibson: "The future is here, but is unevenly distributed."

 The Ugly

• The EU has just signed up to agree to 'mutual recognition' of vehicle standards with the US. This means large American vehicles with lower safety standards (like the cybertruck) will be permitted on European roads. This smells of Trump's tariff bludgeon. If you have any familiarity with the narrow winding lanes of Europe and the UK, you will appreciate that this is a recipe for disaster.

The Bad

•  While not terrible, the actual range of some EVs isn't quite what was advertised.
• Australian Government looks to charge EV drivers for road use. (This was tried in Victoria, but was found to be an illegal state excise. It may be allowed at a federal level, but there are other ways to ensure drivers share the maintenance costs fairly.)
• Australia's emissions are slowly improving, but not in the transport sector. 

The Good 

• Low car cities have many benefits.
• Car reduction in Paris has led to air pollution reduction.
• Bikes are a faster way to achieve net zero cities (from 2021).
• Despite the findings on EVs above, the range of EV batteries has been rapidly improving. What about their useful lifespan? That is turning out to be longer than usually thought. Indeed, it probably exceeds the lifetime of most vehicles. (Even then, it has potential to live on in a general power bank.)

Resistance

Developments here have been rapid, and very unpleasant. It has only been 2-3 weeks since Trump sent ICE agents and a backup of National Guard into Washington DC to remove the criminals, homeless,  illegals, and the general feeling of safety and well-being of residents. He is already preparing to do the same to Chicago and possibly New York. RFK Jr is also pressing ahead with his anti-vax agenda.

However,  some disturbing developments are also noted in Australia and the UK.

The National Guard: coming soon to a US state capital near you (New Yorker)

 The Ugly

• Trump is now openly waging war on homeless and undocumented people. Having started in Los Angeles, he has now sent ICE and the National Guard into Washington DC, and intends to extend the pogrom to Chicago and New York. Despite the crime rate being at historical lows, National Guard are now patrolling DC with firearms. This is not something you want to be greeted with when going out to a restaurant (which are, unsurprisingly, reporting substantial drops in custom), and definitely not when taking children to school. (do they arrest undocumented people at school drop-offs? Yes, they do.)
• Who thinks it appropriate to abruptly arrest and deport:
• violinists?
• fire fighters on active duty?
• a young woman who's lived  in the US since she was 4? (has voluntarily left for Honduras after six months held in squalid conditions) 
• hundreds of unaccompanied Guatemalan children? (a District judge has placed a temporary restraining order on this)

• The top directors of the CDC have now been forced out, leaving RFK Jr to fill the positions with his own brand of quackery (the new acting director is on record as having promoted organ harvesting). This will have (literally) grave consequences if allowed to stand. It is also worth noting that Kennedy's anti-vax policies (something he lied about in his confirmation hearing) possibly encouraged the serious shooting incident at the CDC offices that resulted in the death of an officer, and several hundred spent shells.

The Bad 

• The Albanese Government is presenting a bill to waive 'procedural fairness' in order to streamline some deportations. It should be borne in mind that 'procedural fairness' is put in place to prevent an excess of 'streamlining'.
• Inconvenient? Sections of the US Constitution were removed from Government websites.
• Are some votes more equal than others? The US Supreme Court appears to be positioning itself to revoke the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
• Welcome to merry England, where free speech is... what's that? Daubing military aircraft is certainly a misdemeanour, and probably a crime. An act of terrorism, though? 474 protesters were recently arrested in London for displaying signs referring to the forbidden phrase 'Palestine Action' (by law, it could get them a couple of years in prison).
• The revolving doors between Federal Ministries and Lobby groups must be stopped.

The Good 

• The pushback by DC residents may not make the news, but it's there, and effective.
• Several US states are coordinating to release their own vaccine guidelines, separate from the (now compromised) CDC. 
• Brazil justices ignore the US sanctions placed on them for their handling of the criminal charges against ex-PM and despot Jair Bolsonaro (a Trump ally)
• When the ex-CDC directors were escorted from the building, the entire staff walked out with them.
• Trump has tried to fire a governor of the Federal Reserve, but she isn't going without a fight.
• Florida's book banning legislation has been ruled unconstitutional and struck down. 
• The tariff cudgel that Trump has been wielding to enforce his foreign policy agendas on other nations (eg 'Hey, EU? Buy our/my oil!') has just been deemed unconstitutional by a 7-4 decision by the Federal Appeals Court, after it upheld a ruling by the Court of International Trade. (Supreme Court has yet to weigh in, though, so...)
• Florida, having outlawed rainbows, recently restored a commemorative pedestrian crossing to its standard colours. Local activists then got busy with the chalk paint.

Plaigue 

AI may be a boon to civilisation... one day but, misleading and energy hungry, this LLM iteration clearly isn't it.

However, it is certainly proving to be an investment for the fossil fuel industry!

 

Another AI generated image? No, the emissions from the 35 gas generators powering Musk's xAI centre (Gas Outlook)

The Ugly

• What do a teenage boy, and a 56 yo tech veteran have in common? They both used AI confidants that amplified their thoughts of depression and paranoia, leading them to commit suicides and murder.
• Secretary for the Interior says the quiet part out loud in claiming all data centres should be powered by fossil fuels.
• AI may have the ability to extend demand for shale oil (the most polluting form) 

The Bad

• Over 100 people have died in the Italian Alps this Summer. The reasons are varied, but a notable one is the over-reliance on AI to give accurate trail information, 
• Tail wagging Doge? Elon Musk's xAI data centre is powered by 35 gas generators, pumping pollution (including unburned methane) into the atmosphere and affecting residents up to 20 miles away.
• An AI data centre in Wyoming will create a power demand 5 times greater than the people living there. (This excess demand for resources is a concern being echoed by the City of Hume in Melbourne's North)
• ... but how much power does AI use? Google has recently been pushing the idea that it isn't very much at all, if you consider the median usage for each individual query. This is bunkum, as Ketan Joshi explains
• Is the AI driving an economic bubble? I've been of that opinion for a while now and, surprisingly, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman agrees. If it collapses? All those contracts for fossil fuel power stations will still be in operation.

The Good 

• Can AI be used to identify the anonymous masked 'agents' currently kidnapping people off the streets in the US? Should it?
• Professors at UNSW are pushing for students to use AI in generative art courses. Students aren't having it. (To be fair, the position of the two parties is a *little* more nuanced than that)