Photo of a bull shark caught at Swansea Channel, NSW, according to Offshore Fishing NSW Facebook page.

A PHOTO of huge bull shark caught near Lake Macquarie has created a social media storm.

Facebook page Offshore Fishing NSW shared an image of the dead shark after it was “gut hooked and a huge fight” at Swansea Channel near the NSW city of Newcastle.

“There must be plenty around,” the post said.

The shark towered over the man it was strung up next to and looked to be twice his height but not everyone was impressed with the catch, saying it was a waste of an awesome animal.

“This is pretty sad. Such a magnificent creature. They should be left alone,” one woman posted.

“Unless that shark left HIS HOME and came knocking on your door, he should still be alive and swimming. RIP,” another said.

Others defended it saying people wouldn’t be upset if it was a tuna or marlin.

“So sick of all the shark huggers these days!!!” one man posted.

Another wrote: “the guy caught a fish, it died during the fight … sharks are edible and very tasty at that”.

Protesters in Denver. Picture: David Zalubowski/AP

THOUSANDS of scientists, students and research advocates rallied in the US, Europe and Australia on Saturday to conveying a global message of scientific freedom without political interference.

The rallies began in Australia and New Zealand where thousands marched in support of science, the first of more than 500 marches globally triggered by concern over the rise of “alternative facts”.

The March for Science demonstrations come amid growing anxiety over what many see as a mounting political assault on facts and evidence and fears that research is being excluded from policymaking.

Supporters of science and research gather to take part in the March for Science protest in Sydney. Picture: Peter Parks/AFPSource:AFP

Vocal protesters in Sydney wearing white lab coats called on politicians to support the scientific community, carrying banners reading “without science, it’s just fiction” and “we need thinkers not deniers”.

Hundreds streamed onto the Washington Mall in Washington DC for a festive day of music, speeches and teach-ins by scientists disturbed by the rise of so-called “alternative facts” around crucial issues like climate change following the election of Donald Trump.

Over 10,000 people rallied in Berlin?s March for Science on April 22, according to reports. These videos show demonstrators marching through the city and playing drums. Crowds gathered in towns and cities worldwide to protest against negative political interference in scientific research and development. The marches coincided with Earth Day. Besides Berlin, crowds also marched in Bonn, Cologne, Dresden, Frankfurt and Munich, among others. Credit: Youtube/Kieko M via Storyful

The marchers sought to present a united front, particularly against the Trump administration’s roll back of environmental protection policies and apparent lack of support for climate change.

Ice photographer and filmmaker James Balog, who says he has watched trillions of tons of ice melt, told the Washington crowd that talking about the science of climate change in the face of the Trump administration and climate change deniers is “a battle between objective reality and ideological fiction.”

People carry signs through Times Square in New York. Picture: Bryan R. Smith/AFPSource:AFP

“We didn’t choose to be in this battle, but it has come to the point where we have to fight because the stakes are too great,” said climate scientist Michael Mann, who regularly clashes with politicians.

President Donald Trump, in an Earth Day statement hours after the marches kicked off, said that “rigorous science depends not on ideology, but on a spirit of honest inquiry and robust debate.” Standing on the National Mall with thousands soaked by rain Saturday, Mr Mann said that like other scientists, he would rather be in his lab, the field or teaching students. But driving his advocacy are officials who deny his research that shows rising global temperatures.

A marcher in Miami. Picture: Alan Diaz/APSource:AP

In Gainesville, Florida, more than 1,000 people stretched through the city’s streets.

“Most people don’t know how much funding for the sciences supports them in their lives every day. Every medical breakthrough, their food, clothing, our cellphones, our computers, all that is science-based,” said Pati Vitt, a plant scientist at the Chicago Botanic Garden. “So if we stop funding scientific discoveries now, in 10 years, whatever we might have had won’t be, we just won’t have it.”

Protesters in Times Square during the March for Science in New York. Picture: Bryan R. Smith/AFPSource:AFP

At the event in Nashville, Tennessee, where marchers shouted “science, not silence,” lawyer Jatin Shah brought his sons, a five-year-old who wants to be a dentist and six-year-old who plans to be a doctor. Shah worries about the boys’ futures if money is cut for the sciences.

“I fear that we’re not going to have the planet that you and I grew up on unless we find new ways to make this earth as liveable as possible for as long as we can,” Shah said. “And we’re not going to have as intellectual a society as we should. We need as many people as possible to be educated in the sciences.”

People there carried signs that said “there is no planet B,” “make America think again” and “climate change is real, ask any polar bear.”

A protester holds a placard as scientists and science enthusiasts march through central London. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Marchers in Geneva held signs that said, “Science — A Candle in the Dark” and “Science is the Answer.”

In Berlin, several thousand people participated in a march from one of the city’s universities to the landmark Brandenburg Gate. “’We need to make more of our decisions based on facts again and less on emotions,” said Meike Weltin, a doctorate student at an environmental institute near the capital.

In London, physicists, astronomers, biologists and celebrities gathered for a march past the city’s most celebrated research institutions. Supporters carried signs showing images of a double helix and chemical symbols. In Spain, hundreds assembled in Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.

Thousands of demonstrators attend the demo in Berlin. Picture: Markus Schreiber/APSource:AP

Organisers portrayed the march as political but not partisan, promoting the understanding of science as well as defending it from various attacks, including proposed US government budget cuts under Mr Trump, such as a 20 per cent slice of the National Institute of Health.

Mr Trump’s statement on Saturday said his administration was “committed to advancing scientific research that leads to a better understanding of our environment and of environmental risks.”

The rallies set for more than 500 cities were putting scientists, who generally shy away from advocacy and whose work depends on objective experimentation, into a more public position.

Scientists said they were anxious about political and public rejection of established science such as climate change and the safety of vaccine immunisation.

“Scientists find it appalling that evidence has been crowded out by ideological assertions,” said Rush Holt, a former physicist and Democratic congressman who runs the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“It is not just about Donald Trump, but there is also no question that marchers are saying ‘when the shoe fits’.”

Judy Twigg, a public health professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, was aiming one of her signs at the president. The sign showed the periodic table of chemical elements and said: “You’re out of your element Donny (Trump).”

A photo of Kamilo Beach in Hawaii which is known for its accumulation of plastic debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Picture: Tim Silverwood.

IT’S the dirty secret most of us are harbouring: that stash of plastic bags stuffed in a kitchen drawer or at the back of the cupboard that we kid ourselves we’ll use again. They’re not in the bin, so they’re not doing any harm, right?

But next time you go to the supermarket, take a moment to think about whether you want to be eating those same plastic bags in your food.

Plastics from bags, straws and takeaway coffee cups we use everyday are already making their way into the stomachs of seabirds and fish, and — now they have entered the food chain — we are consuming them too.

The Project’s Waleed Aly this week highlighted how bad plastics are for our environment, launching a campaign to ban plastic bags.

“On average a plastic bag is used for just 12 minutes, so that’s 12 minutes carrying your groceries to the car (and) the pantry and after that it’s tossed away and it takes 1000 years to break down,” Aly said.

“So your great, great, great, great, great … grandchildren will share a planet with the plastic bag that you just used to bring home tonight’s dinner.”

On The Project, Waleed Aly dishes out the dirt on plastic bags and how bad they are for the environment and calls for a ban. Courtesy: Network Ten

Worse, researchers recently calculated that Europeans who ate shellfish like mussels were consuming 6400 microplastics per year, and a third of fish caught in the UK contained plastic.

Will this be you after your weekly grocery shop this weekend?Source:News Corp Australia

Australian surfer Tim Silverwood has backed a plastic ban bag, having seen first hand the terrifying “plastic smog” that is spreading through our oceans.

In 2011, Silverman sailed across what has been known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” in the north Pacific. The area between Hawaii and Canada, part of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, was the first place where the accumulation of plastic in the ocean was discovered in 1997.

Silverwood told news.com.au it wasn’t quite what he was expecting.

“There wasn’t this island of trash, it was more like a plastic smog,” he said.

“The ocean can look pretty normal but if you closely examine it under a microscope it’s terrifying.

“There is enough trash in the oceans to make many islands but it is dispersed across incredibly vast areas and much of it is undetectable to the naked eye.”

This is because plastic that ends up in the ocean often breaks up into tiny particles, less than 5mm in size. This plastic is being absorbed by marine life and can also end up on people’s plates.

“It’s been estimated there are more 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean,” Silverwood said.

“Eight million tonnes of new plastic are going into the ocean every year and we are clearly not doing enough to turn off the tap, to stop it at the source.

“We know this is an issue and many countries are acting. Why isn’t Australia?”

Australians are the second highest producers of rubbish per person in the world, second only to Americans. Each Aussie sends almost 700 kilos of waste to landfill every year and the country uses more than 10 million plastic bags every day.

If we continue with current trends, by 2050 it’s been estimated that there will be more plastic by weight in our oceans than fish.

Kamilo Beach in Hawaii is known for its accumulation of plastic debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Picture: Tim Silverwood.Source:Supplied

DO YOU WANT TO EAT PLASTIC?

Many of us use plastic bags or buy a bottle of water without a second thought, tossing the items in the bin shortly after. However, our plastic can come back to haunt us, sometimes ending up in our oceans and reappearing in our food.

Recently researchers calculated that Europeans who ate shellfish like mussels were consuming 6400 microplastics per year, with unknown risks to human health.

In the UK, a study published last year found a third of UK-caught fish contained plastic.

Microplastics have been found floating in the waters of the Arctic, Antarctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans as well as in deep-sea sediments.

An analysis of waters around Australia in 2013 found there was about 4000 microplastic fragments per square kilometres on average, but this rose to about 15,000 to 23,000 in some areas. Higher concentrations were found near cities such as Sydney and Brisbane.

The plastic is still in relatively small concentrations and international expert Professor Richard Thompson said it was not yet a cause for alarm.

“You would have to eat well over 10,000 mussels a year to reach the quantities of plastics the Belgian studies suggest,” he told The Guardian.

The remains of a sea bird shows the plastic debris inside its body. Picture: AAPSource:Supplied

But he warned that quantities would only increase and if things didn’t change there could be problems 10 or 20 years down the track.

Microplastics are concerning because they may release toxic chemicals into the surrounding water or impact living organisms.

Scientific studies have already recognised the toxic effects of additives such as bisphenol A (BPA), which can leach from microplastics, but the health implications of these particles in the ocean are not yet clear.

While Australia is not one of the top 20 polluters sending plastic into waterways, it has still contributed about 13,888 tonnes of litter every year.

Wildlife workers in Sydney have treated turtles with stomachs full of plastic waste.

A 2015 study found nearly 60 per cent of all seabirds species were found to have plastic in their guts and estimated 90 per cent of seabirds had eaten plastic of some kind.

It also predicted 99 per cent of the world’s seabird species would be impacted by plastic by 2050.

Silverwood said 80 per cent of plastic in the ocean is thought to have been washed there from land. Litter often ends up in waterways after heavy rain through streams and the stormwater system.

“The ocean is downhill from everywhere,” Silverwood said.

“Plastic never goes away, and these items we use for a few minutes — a straw, coffee cups, bottles — they get into the ocean and become a problem for decades, if not hundreds of years.

“Single-use plastic is a massive, massive problem. It doesn’t add up.

“Sure it might be more convenient to use a plastic straw or coffee cup but it’s not convenient for our planet and so we need to respond accordingly.”

Plastic gradually breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. Picture: Tim Silverwood.Source:Supplied

WHAT CAN WE DO?

The Project has called on the state premiers of NSW, Victoria and Western Australia to ban plastic bags, following the lead of other Australian states. People are being urged to support this by contacting their representatives and signing a change.org petition.

Individuals can also make changes in their own lives, refusing to accept bags and other items made from plastic. In fact there’s a growing number of people who are adopting a zero waste lifestyle and have proved it is possible to dramatically reduce the amount of rubbish households produce.

Silverwood is also encouraging people to take action on the rubbish already out there. He co-founded the organisation Take 3 in 2009 to motivate people to pick up rubbish, take a photo and share it on social media with the hashtag #take3forthesea.

“Being a surfer we get so much from the ocean, when you realise how threatened it is … you have to do something,” he said.

“Seeing images of albatross stomachs full of plastic and when you learn they are dying in huge numbers, you realise that’s our trash, that’s our plastic.”

Many people might not think their individual efforts can make a difference but Silverwood said it only took one piece of rubbish to kill wildlife.

“I think of that when I say no to a straw or pick up rubbish, every piece causes harm,” he said.

“So often people think it’s up to someone else to change the world, but we need to be the change we want to see.”

Tim Silverwood, co-founder of Take 3. Picture: Mitch Fong.Source:Supplied

Email: charis.chang@news.com.au | Twitter: @charischang2

Weather warning from the Bureau of Meteorology.

A THUNDERSTORM is expected to hit Melbourne today and parts of regional Victoria are bracing for heavy rainfall as wild weather sweeps the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology says a thunderstorm is expected in hills near Melbourne late this afternoon or tonight.

Melbourne is expected to get up to 10mm of rain today.

A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall has been issued for the Mallee, Northern Country and North Central districts.

Flash flooding is possible, the bureau warns.

“Further rainfall totals of 15 to 30mm are forecast for the remainder of Friday with isolated higher falls of 40 to 60mm possible,” the bureau says.

Weather warning from the Bureau of Meteorology.Source:Supplied

Mildura, Bendigo, Shepparton, Seymour, Maryborough and Castlemaine could be affected.

Highest recorded rain totals since 9am Thursday morning include 56mm at Walpeup, 450km northwest of Melbourne, 52mm at Longerenong, 200km west of Bendigo, and 47mm at Swan Hill on the NSW/Victoria border.

The State Emergency Service warns anyone in a flood affected area should not walk, ride or drive through flood water, stay clear of creeks and storm drains and be alert in areas recently affected by fires that heavy rainfall increases the risk of landslides and debris across roads.

The next severe weather warning update is at 11am.

Check your latest weather here

Originally published as Rude shock as Melbourne braces for storms

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull says Tasmania could become Australia’s battery under a pumped hydro energy plan.

Malcolm Turnbull brought a large present for Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman’s birthday – a plan to turn the island state into the nation’s battery.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency will work with Hydro Tasmania on a feasibility study to massively increase the capacity of its energy scheme, the Prime Minister announced on Thursday.

‘This is far more exciting than any birthday. This will place us as the renewable energy battery of the nation,’ Mr Hodgman told reporters in Launceston.

The premier said it had long been his vision to cement Tasmania’s place as the renewable energy storage centre of the nation.

ARENA will look at how to increase the energy output from Tasmania’s hydro power system and also 13 potential new pumped hydro storage projects, which could more than double the system’s capacity.

PM Malcolm Turnbull says Tasmania could become Australia’s battery under a pumped hydro energy plan.

The agency will put $2.5 million towards the cost of the study.

It is already doing a feasibility study on a large expansion of the Snowy Hydro scheme in NSW to boost energy storage in the national electricity grid.

‘We recognise as the energy system changes, you need the ability to back that up – to store it or to provide the backup power with gas,’ Mr Turnbull said.

‘The energy market is progressing, the evolution of it is very rapid, so I think the sooner we can see the opportunities here in Tasmania, the better.’