Fw: Fri.14.8.20 daily digest
  Roderick Smith

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Subject: Fri.14.8.20 daily digest


Roderick.

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Fri.14.8.20 Metro Twitter
Buses replace trains on sections of the Upfield line from until the last train of Sun 15 Nov (level-crossing works at Coburg and Moreland). 
Buses replace trains Newport - Werribee from 20.25 until to 6.10 Sat 15 Aug (works).
Buses replace trains Dandenong - Pakenham from 20.30 to 6.45 Sat 15 Aug (works).
Buses replace trains Ringwood - Lilydale from 20.50 until the last (level-crossing and maintenance works).
Buses replace trains Mordialloc - Frankston from 21.20 until the last train of Sun 16 Aug (level-crossing works).

COVID-19 in Australia, updated at 20.36 on Aug 14, 2020
386 New cases (Aug 14); 8633 Active cases; 12774 Recovered; 361 Deaths.

August 14, 2020 As it happened: Ruby Princess inquiry finds 'serious errors'; Victoria records 14 deaths, 372 new COVID-19 cases on Friday; New Zealand extends Auckland lockdown
- Victoria recorded 14 deaths and 372 new cases on Friday which was a rise on Thursday's tally of 278 new cases of COVID-19 and, sadly, eight deaths.
- The NSW Government is using CCTV to monitor how many people are wearing masks at the busiest five stations in Sydney, if people aren't wearing masks, harsher restrictions could be imposed.  NSW recorded nine new cases on Friday.
- NSW Health has been held responsible for serious, inexcusable and inexplicable mistakes in the Ruby Princess cruise ship debacle, but a special commission of inquiry says the failures came from decisions made by medical experts rather than political leaders. The report was welcomed by cruise operator Princess Cruises but some passengers who contracted COVID-19 aboard the vessel said the inquiry did not go far enough.
- Victoria has recorded 372 new coronavirus cases. A total of 14 deaths from coronavirus in the state were confirmed on Friday, including a man in his 20s who has become the youngest person to die with the disease in Australia.  Epidemiologists have said the state appears to be past the peak in terms of its COVID-19 infection rate. Patient zero in Victoria's calamitous second wave of COVID-19 was not a badly behaved security guard but a night duty manager at the Rydges hotel on Swanston Street, one of Melbourne's  busiest quarantine hotels.
- New South Wales has recorded nine new coronavirus cases, five of which are linked to known infections.
- Queensland has recorded three new coronavirus cases, two of them crew members on a cargo ship.
- Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has criticised his home state's premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, amid rumours the Queensland leader is set to tighten border restrictions further.
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said stage three restrictions in Auckland will be extended by a further 12 days and the rest of the country will be kept under stage-two restrictions. There are currently 49 active coronavirus cases in New Zealand and 13 new cases were confirmed on Friday.
- United Kingdom will impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France on Saturday because COVID-19 infection rates there are too high, the country's transport minister Grant Shapps has confirmed.
<www.theage.com.au/national/coronavirus-live-updates-victoria-seeks-lower-deaths-new-covid-19-cases-nsw-still-facing-ongoing-cases-new-zealand-cluster-grows-to-13-20200813-p55llt.html>


Harmful vehicle emissions to soar as Perth commuters ditch public transport August 14, 2020
Traffic along Perth main roads has soared beyond pre-pandemic levels as commuters continue to shun public transport in favour of driving to the CBD.
Data released by RAC on Friday shows traffic volumes along Perth thoroughfares has gradually increased to surpass those of February, sparking fears harmful emissions could be on the rise.
Congestion in Perth has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. CREDIT:MICHELE MOSSOP
RAC policy and mobility manager Anne Still said lockdowns imposed across the world to prevent the spread of COVID-19 had seen air quality in cities improve.
But she said with more commuters ditching buses and trains in favour of driving for fears of catching the virus, there was a real risk emissions could surpass pre-pandemic levels.
"The transport sector is one of the biggest contributors to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and on a per capita basis, our nation’s emissions are nearly four times the global average," Ms Still said.
The Department of Environment and Energy estimated about 18 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions and 25 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in Australia were caused by transport.
Air pollution also contributed to the deaths of 2566 Australians in 2015 alone, more than twice the number of road deaths in 2018, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Ms Still said Australia lagged behind other countries in tackling emissions and was the only developed nation without a mandatory carbon dioxide standard for new light vehicles.
Data collected by RAC reveals traffic volumes are on track to surpass pre-pandemic levels. CREDIT: RAC
"Australia is facing a huge challenge in tackling harmful vehicle emissions, which is why we need a roadmap from government on how we can accelerate the transition to cleaner transport through
policy, investment and incentives," she said.
In July, WAtoday revealed patronage on the Transperth network had dropped to a historical low during the pandemic, with 150,000 fewer SmartRider transactions a day than the same time a year earlier.
Traffic along Perth's main thoroughfares also increased from about 1 million cars per week in April to 1.4 million in June, which translated into council-owned carparks reaching capacity as early as 8am most weekdays.
The new figures released by RAC show traffic increased to pre-pandemic levels by early July before rising nearly 20 per cent above the average traffic volume in August.
The highest weekday increase was recorded on August 6.
<www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/harmful-vehicle-emissions-to-soar-as-perth-commuters-ditch-public-transport-20200812-p55l3u.html>
* Well many advanced countries are selling these new cars that have no exhaust emissions and can be powered by solar or other renewable energy. If our government wasn't so wedded to the fossil fuel industry we'd have a lot more renewable energy and electric vehicles on the road by now and be well on the way to solving this problem permanently. We'd also reduce our healthcare costs and instead of sending billions of dollars to foreign countries for their oil we'd spend that money on Australian industries and jobs.
* Global temperatures have risen approximately 1 degree Celsius in the last century. If we assume that the sole cause of this is human caused greenhouse gas emissions not celestial variations, natural CO2 cycles, volcanic activity etc. then Australia contributes approximately 1% of these emissions. Transport in Australia contributes about 18% of our emissions and Western Australia has approximately 10% of the national fleet. Given this, a 20% increase in vehicle traffic in WA will be responsible for a global temperature rise of 0.000036 degrees Celsius or, in other words, absolutely nothing. Meanwhile we have a global pandemic causing mass death, disease and economic destruction. Perhaps we can focus on fixing this rather than guilt tripping our residents with left wing fear mongering on an issue that is completely insignificant to the majority of people.
* Massage the maths anyway you want, temperature rises are coming. And it's a global issue, so saying on a 40+ degree day in Perth that "we're only responsible for 0.000whatever degrees of this" is puerile. And why is climate science 'left wing' - spare me. However, Perth people are behaving rationally by avoiding public transport, maybe free masks for PT might help.
* To start with we need higher taxes on 4 wheel drives (SUVs) and trucks and subsidies for electric vehicles.

AUGUST 14 2020 Coal-generated electricity at lowest levels since 1998
<www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6878056/coal-generated-electricity-at-lowest-levels-since-1998>

AUGUST 14 2020 England resumes lockdown easing
<www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6879960/england-resumes-lockdown-easing>


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