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Washington state scientists found inside the basketball-sized nest about 500 live specimens in various stages of development

When scientists in Washington state destroyed the first nest of so-called murder hornets found in the US, they discovered about 500 live specimens in various stages of development, officials said Tuesday.

Among them were nearly 200 queens that had the potential to start their own nests, said Sven-Erik Spichiger, an entomologist leading the fight to kill the hornets.

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Historical museum specimens have helped to solve a long standing scientific monkey puzzle.

Norway's EV revolution is massive, but what more needs to be done to cut transport emissions?

The post Norway’s EV revolution shows us the urgency of government action on transport appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A trio of California-based dairy digesters are seeking biogas-to-electricity pathways under the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), continuing the year-long trend of projects shifting over from the California Carbon Offset (CCO) market.

Alberta carbon offset values surged by 20% in recent days after the provincial government confirmed that the excess emissions charge under its Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) programme will rise by C$10 next year, matching the increase in Ottawa’s CO2 pricing mandate.

In the UK, we face a long, cold winter without these travellers and I cannot wait for their return

During the summer, as swallows hawk for insects high over our Somerset home, they are a daily embodiment of hope and joy. When they disappear, for the colder, darker half of the year, they leave a corresponding gap in our hearts.

We often say that swallows fly south for the winter. Yet, although they do travel 6,000 miles to South Africa, it is only our winter they miss – when they arrive, they enjoy a second spring and summer.

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If Biden can wrest free of the Obama-era gas curse, it's going to be a massive and unprecedented win for climate. Then we can really begin the celebrations.

The post Biden’s key climate threat is America’s gas-fired curse appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Utility Dominion Energy plans to build a RGGI allowance bank and cover roughly a fourth of its annual obligations via quarterly cap-and-trade auctions, with the Virginia-based company aiming to recouping these costs on electricity bills, according to newly published documents.

At least 40 parrots returned to a remote breeding site in Tasmania so far this year following intense efforts to boost numbers

Scientists are cautiously celebrating the best year in a decade for what may be the world’s most critically endangered parrot after at least 40 birds returned to a breeding site in remote Tasmania.

Orange-bellied parrot numbers have fallen so sharply in recent years that scientists consider it at risk of extinction within five years. Just 23 birds arrived at the species’ breeding site at Melaleuca, deep in the Tasmanian World Heritage Wilderness Area, last spring.

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European carbon prices receded on Tuesday, pulling back slightly after Monday's huge COVID vaccine-fuelled rise amid supply pressures and fundamental weakness from milder weather.

While much of the world moves towards zero-carbon economies, a NSW mega-plan for new renewables may set up the state as an energy superpower. Tim Nelson, Associate Professor of Economics, Griffith University Joel Gilmore, Associate Professor, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

At the start of the cyclone season in the Pacific, weather forecasters are changing their warnings to focus less on weather information and more on the damage expected from an impending storm. Sally Potter, Hazard and Risk Management Researcher, GNS Science Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Ukraine will launch a system for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of emissions in 2021, the country’s environment minister announced on Tuesday, a milestone in the design of a national carbon market.

EU negotiators agreed on Tuesday a deal for the bloc’s €1.074 trillion seven-year budget and a €750 billion coronavirus recovery fund, with tighter scrutiny for climate spending part of the final package.

When Joe Biden formally takes over the presidency in January he will face some of the greatest crises to hit the US in recent history: a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, a devastated economy, a rapidly overheating climate and a deeply fractured nation.

The Guardian's Lauren Gambino looks at how Biden and the vice-president-elect, Kamala Harris, plan to 'heal' the country after four years of Trumpism – and the challenges they will face with the prospect of having to navigate these times without a majority in the Senate

• How Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the fight for America’s soul – video

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Roy Smith made his "exciting" discovery while trawling through wrongly-identified shark fossils.

UK scientists show how astronauts on the Moon or Mars could one day mine for metals using bacteria.

In spring, canola crops burst into flower in the Riverina and central west regions of NSW, creating a sea of yellow. Tourists have been travelling to farms to photograph the coloured landscape as an alternative to travelling interstate during lockdown

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Research shows birds also flock to waste centres on weekdays when rubbish is delivered

Super-smart gulls flock to school playgrounds shortly before break times in order to hoover up the scraps, a study has shown. The birds also target rubbish dumps, but mainly on weekdays when fresh waste is being delivered.

Having a snack snatched from your hand by a greedy gull is already a common, if unwelcome, occurrence. But the latest research shows the birds are even smarter than thought: they know where and when their meals are being served.

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Czech utility CEZ continued to be less heavily hedged than in recent years over Q3, while its relatively resilient coal generation is set to tumble next year following a deal to sell its biggest facility.