What is net-zero?

If you are a climate change denier and don’t believe our planet is warming up, or if you don’t believe the science behind the reason for the 1·6°C rise in global temperature anomaly since 1900, or if you don’t believe that the disappearing glaciers, bleaching corals, increased severity and frequency of bushfires and floods, has anything to do with climate change, you need read no further; you don’t need to know what net-zero is.

The current federal Labor Government has a policy that legislates “net-zero emissions by 2050 with a 2035 target of reducing emissions by 62-70% below 2005 levels”.

On the 4^th November, The Nationals announced they do not support net-zero and will “Unleash all our energy, including coal, gas, nuclear and renewables”.

On Thursday 13^th November, Susan Ley, leader of the federal Liberal Party announced “We are not pursuing net-zero, we are pursuing energy affordability and emissions reduction”.

The Nationals and some Liberals point out that Australia contributes just over 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions whereas China for example contributes almost 30%. The flaw in this argument is that we sell nearly 90% of the coal and gas we mine to China and other high contributing countries. We sometimes even buy some of it back for domestic use! On a per capita basis, we are one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. 

Greenhouse gases - particularly carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide - trapped in the atmosphere are overheating the planet. To slow down global warming, the science tells us that we need not only to remove these gasses from the atmosphere but most of all we must stop emitting them.

Most of Australia’s 15 operational coal power stations are ageing and are planned to be phased out by 2038 – Loy Yang Power Station

Net-zero does NOT mean all greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere are eliminated. We will never achieve that. Net-zero is simply the condition where there is a balance between the gases being emitted into the atmosphere and those being extracted. Scientists believe this will stabilize global warming to somewhere less than 2°C above pre-industrial conditions.

Trees and other plants remove carbon dioxide from the air naturally but we will never be able to plant enough trees to achieve net-zero without other strategies. Soils naturally absorb carbon but agricultural practices often make this natural process an unreliable means of extraction.

Worldwide, devastating wild fires are on the increase – Grantville NCR 2019

There are several technological means of extraction that are being examined – direct air capture, biomass removal and storage, carbon mineralization, ocean-based systems (sea-grass and mangrove forests, etc.) – but again, these methods on their own are nowhere near enough to achieve net-zero.

If climate change is to be mitigated, net-zero by 2050 would seem to be a minimal prerequisite. We will never achieve net-zero without drastically cutting our use of fossil fuels. Let’s get real about this.

 

 

 

Pollination

The pollen of a flower contains the genetic material needed for reproduction of the plant. Pollen is made by the male organ of the flower, the stamen. Pollination is the distribution of the pollen to the female organ of the flower, the stigma.

The pollen from the stamen of one flower may be transferred to the stigma of the same flower – self-pollination – or to the stigma of a different flower – cross-pollination.

Very simply, once the stigma has received some pollen, fertilization of the ovules occurs and seed is produced, hence the plant can reproduce.

Plants use water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce sugars (food) and oxygen: photosynthesis. Life as we know it would not exist without plants. Pollination of plants could be viewed as the necessary ecological process that sustains all life.

Pollen may be transferred from stamen to stigma by gravity, wind, and rain, or by animals – birds, bats, possums, lizards, spiders, and insects. Bees, flies, moths, butterflies, beetles, wasps, ants are just some insect families that are responsible for transferring pollen from one flower to another. It is estimated that 70+% of plants rely on insects for their pollination.

The body of this hoverfly is covered in fine 'pollen-catching' hairs

Plants have evolved various strategies for attracting insect pollinators: by providing pollen and nectar for food; by using fragrances of volatile oils; by using visual clues such as colours and shapes. Some of these strategies are very specific. Some species of flowers, some orchids in particular, are ‘engineered’ to attract just one species of insect.

The long beak and tongue of honeyeaters are suited for reaching the nectar of plants such as grevilleas

The sugar-rich nectar is stored in the nectary, generally deep within the flower, requiring the insect or bird, etc. to scuffle about or to have a long tongue to reach it, ensuring pollen grains are attached to its body.

 

PS: One for the lexophiles (or is it the logophiles?); why is it pollination and not pollenation? Aaaahhh, retirement is fun!

 

Wonderful 'woodies'

The Wood Duck, or more correctly, Australian Wood Duck, is a common site in and around urban Drouin. At present, many of our wetland areas will have at least one pair of ‘woodies’ with a clutch of ducklings.

At Thomas Maddock Reserve

The Australian Wood Duck, Chenonetta jubata, (Chenonetta = goose or duck, and jubata = maned or crested) often called the maned goose or maned duck, is certainly a duck and not a goose. Geese have more bones in their necks than ducks and hence have longer necks. Geese are usually larger than ducks, have narrower bills, more elongated bodies, and are nearly always monomorphic. Geese tend to ‘honk’, whereas ducks nearly always ‘quack’.

Our Wood Ducks are grazing ducks, which is probably why they are sometimes referred to as geese.

At Bellbird Park

Woodies have adapted well to urban places – they love our parks, gardens, nature strips, and wetlands. They generally only appear on the water to rest or seek refuge from dogs and excitable children.

At McNeilly Park

Wood Ducks usually nest in a large tree hollow or the fork of a big tree. They will take to an artificial nest box at times. Like other duck species that nest high in a tree, the ducklings must face ‘jump day’ when the time comes to vacate the nest before they can fly – there are many wonderful videos of this amazing act of nature.

Wood Ducks are mostly a sedentary species with perhaps some dispersal occurring as a result of seasonal changes. They have benefited greatly from our farming practices and construction of urban wetlands.

Common, abundant, attractive up close, and welcome.