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Merimbula shark attack: beach closed after woman bitten on NSW far south coast
Woman, 63, taken to hospital after being bitten on hip and back
A 63-year-old woman has been taken to hospital after being bitten by a shark at Merimbula’s main beach.
The woman was bitten on her hip and back at about 7am on Saturday.
Continue reading...Mathias Cormann: OECD will now be led by a clean energy and climate wrecker
OECD's new head is not a climate denier: The reality is much worse: he understands the threat, but has actively worked to make it worse through his policy actions.
The post Mathias Cormann: OECD will now be led by a clean energy and climate wrecker appeared first on RenewEconomy.
CP Daily: Friday March 12, 2021
While financials boost, regulated entities slash California carbon holdings
EU Climate Law negotiations advance, but fail to reach breakthrough
Australia's voluntary and state-based schemes are failing to enforce plastic targets
Exclusive: Government review finds no companies have been investigated or penalised over packaging in the past four years
Australia is likely to miss all of its own targets to rid the environment of plastic unless there is a major overhaul of its management and enforcement, conservationists and waste industry representatives say.
A government review found no state or territory had investigated or penalised a company over their performance on packaging waste in the past four years.
Continue reading...EU Market: EUAs’ record stretch hits fourth day for 10% weekly rise
US Carbon Pricing and LCFS Roundup for week ending Mar. 12, 2021
Scientists unlock mysteries of world's oldest 'computer'
The Guardian view on Johnson's coalmine: political gain at planetary cost | Editorial
The Biden administration is calling out politicians, like the prime minister, who pay lip service to the climate emergency while peddling greenwash policies
It must have seemed a clever Johnsonian ruse. Build a deep coalmine – the first in decades – in Labour’s historical heartland and put yourself on the side of working-class northern voters who want jobs and against environmentalists who, one could slyly suggest, prefer saving the planet than local communities. Boris Johnson thought, no doubt, with a cunning that has wrongfooted many opponents, that he could frame the argument in such terms and still meet his “net zero” targets because the vast majority of Cumbrian coal would end up for export rather than domestic use (it’s too sulphurous to be used to make steel in Britain). The result is that the greenhouse gas emissions would end up on some other nation’s books when carbon budgets were calculated. Not dissimilar to his view of cake, Mr Johnson was saying that his policy on coal is “pro having it and pro heating it”.
The problem for Mr Johnson was that the Biden administration was having none of it. The US had the good sense to understand the implications if Britain was allowed to press ahead with a plan to dig out coal and send it abroad without busting its own carbon budget. If everyone took the same view, the world would be toast. The US reasons that if jobs are the issue, then use state investment in green technologies for coal-free steel. Within days of John Kerry, the US climate envoy, warning Mr Johnson that coal has no future, the government conceded it would be “calling in” the planning application for the Cumbrian mine. Importantly Mr Johnson would not be shamed into a U-turn in the run-up to the UN’s Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in November.
Continue reading...Cumbria mine: what will the public inquiry look at?
Communities secretary cited climate change and controversy for ‘calling in’ deep coalmine decision
A public inquiry is to be held into plans for the UK’s first new deep coalmine in decades after the communities secretary “called in” the decision on the project, taking it out of the hands of local government.
Facing a legal challenge, Robert Jenrick reversed his decision not to intervene in the dispute, having previously said it was a local matter. In his decision, he cited new climate change advice and rising controversy over the plans, following vocal criticism from government scientific advisers and leading scientists.
Related: Robert Jenrick orders public inquiry into Cumbria coalmine
Continue reading...EU ETS-financed Innovation Fund receives over 200 applications for small-scale projects
Green jobs in Cumbria could far surpass posts in coalmine, report says
Estimate comes after government reversed its position that mine plan did not conflict with climate policy
More than 9,000 green jobs could be created in Cumbria, according to a report, far more than the 500 jobs promised by a planned coalmine in the county.
The report was published the day after the communities secretary reversed his original decision that the mine did not conflict with national policy and was a local matter. Robert Jenrick cited rising controversy and new climate advice as reasons for the U-turn.
Continue reading...Road pollution affects 94% of Britain, study finds
Exclusive: Roads make up 1% of the country but the pollution produced may harm wildlife everywhere
Pollution from roads affects virtually every part of Britain, with 94% of land having some pollution above background levels, according to research.
Roads, which occupy less than 1% of the country, “form vast, pervasive and growing networks, causing negative environmental impacts”, the scientists said.
Continue reading...AI reveals 1,000 'dark discharges' of untreated sewage in England
Paper says machine learning could prove crucial tool in efforts to improve quality of country’s rivers
Nearly 1,000 “dark discharges” of untreated sewage from two water company treatment plants in England have been detected by scientists using artificial intelligence to map spills.
The use of machine learning to shine a light on the scale of pollution from untreated effluent being spilled into rivers could be a crucial tool in efforts to improve the quality of rivers, a paper says.
Continue reading...Australia Market Roundup: Forestry project earns large first ACCU batch, as hydrogen pilot marks milestone
Etna: Life beneath the volcanic dust of repeated eruptions
Pollutionwatch: how much Sahara desert dust do we breathe?
Dust that swept Europe in February affects weather systems but also contains many allergens
Saharan dust high in the skies over Europe caused some spectacular sunsets in February. Many of us found dust on our cars, and Alpine snow has been stained orange, but finding out how much Saharan dust we are breathing has always been difficult. For decades we have been measuring the amount of particle pollution in the air, but not what it is made of. However, university-run air observatories in London, Birmingham and Manchester are now making real-time chemical analysis. They showed that silicon, aluminium, calcium and iron particles from Saharan dust were the main particle pollutants in all three cities on Saturday 20 February and that the dust was breathed by Londoners for the next two days.
Saharan dust events are common in Mediterranean countries. It is also carried west on Atlantic trade winds. Dust from north Africa fertilises the Amazon, but it also causes air pollution problems in Caribbean islands and the southern US.
Continue reading...Slugs and snails crawl back to top of RHS annual garden pests chart
Gastropods back as No 1 while honey fungus is worst disease in year when lockdowns fuel gardening craze
Slugs and snails are back at the top of the pests chart, after a year in which people spent more time tending their gardens, said the Royal Horticultural Society.
The charity’s 25th annual pest and disease ranking – based on enquiries from gardeners – reveals that slugs and snails, a mainstay of the rankings over the years, topped the 2020 list for the first time since 2017, with gardeners reporting damage to crops such as potatoes and beans.
Continue reading...VivoPower International PLC announces contract for 200 MW Blue Grass Solar Farm
VivoPower International PLC has recently been awarded a contract to complete all electrical works for the 200 MW Blue Grass Solar Farm located near the town of Chinchilla in the Australian state of Queensland.
The post VivoPower International PLC announces contract for 200 MW Blue Grass Solar Farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.
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