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The biggest of New Zealand’s government coalition partners has pledged to revise legislation to limit the conversion of productive farmland to forests, if it remains in power after the September election.

William Perry Pendley, Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, has ties to anti-environment and anti-government forces

On 26 June, Donald Trump announced that he plans to nominate William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management. That may not sound like big news, but it is. First of all, the office manages one-tenth of the United States’ land mass and, therefore, massive amounts of fossil fuels. Second, Pendley is linked to two little-known but very dangerous political movements: the so-called Wise Use movement and the anti-government extremists sometimes called constitutionalists or sovereign citizens.

The appointment should not come as a total surprise. Wise Use advocates, who are fiercely opposed to almost any environmental protection laws, have long had exceptional access to the Trump administration. In 2017, Lars Larson, a “journalist” from the alternative rightwing media sphere, crystallized the attitude of the Wise Use movement with a comment he made to then press secretary Sean Spicer:

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Robotic scientists could speed up scientific discovery, while human scientists work from home, developers say.

Swansea University’s 120 kilowatt-hours (kWh) Redflow battery installation is now commissioned and operating, storing and supplying renewable energy on a microgrid that powers the Swansea University Active Building demonstrator.

The post Swansea University deploys Redflow batteries for renewable energy Active Building demonstrator appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A new research hub will work to improve the safety and reliability of energy storage technologies, including batteries.

The post Deakin Uni leads research hub looking beyond lithium for next generation batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.

As the planet continues to warm, extreme weather events such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall are becoming more frequent, intense and longer, according to global weather data. Jim Salinger, Honorary Associate, Tasmanian Institute for Agriculture, University of Tasmania Lisa Alexander, Chief Investigator ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science and Associate Professor Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The federal government today announced $1 billion plan to divert more than ten million tonnes of waste from landfill. But waste management is about more than just recycling. Trevor Thornton, Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Australia ranks second last in world for climate action in the latest assessment of progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, beaten only by Brunei.

The post Australia ranks second worst in world on climate action, outside top 50 on clean energy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Gallium-doped M10 standard silicon wafers (182mm) and Smart Soldering technologies deliver high power performance and long-term reliability.

The post LONGi releases “Technical Brief” for its new Hi-MO 5 module for ultra-large power plants appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A map of existing generation plants in NSW, including coal, gas, biomass, solar and wind.

The post Graph of the Day: Map of NSW generation – wind, solar, hydro, coal and gas appeared first on RenewEconomy.

It's a time of low output for rooftop solar, and the share of large scale wind and solar is also off its peak, but Australia's power prices are still at low levels.

The post Know your NEM: Prices down, despite seasonality of rooftop solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A rural herdsman tested positive for the infection, which can be treated with antibiotics.

Former Socceroos captain calls for Australia to use role as 2023 World Cup hosts to show leadership on climate change.

The post Former Socceroos captain wants Australia to show climate leadership as World Cup host appeared first on RenewEconomy.

New strategies in Arizona, Colorado, Florida and New Mexico signal an abrupt break with fossil fuels.

The post US utilities are skipping the gas ‘bridge’ in transition from coal to renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Barnaby Joyce has a new anecdote about renewables, as the conservative campaign agains wind and solar and in favour of nuclear enters a new phase.

The post Man who wants to be deputy PM compares wind power to rain making gun appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Government hopes to generate $600m in investment and states and territories must match federal contribution to receive funding

The federal government will devote $190m towards new recycling infrastructure, as it looks to divert more than 10m tonnes of plastic, paper and glass waste away from landfill.

The funding, which will be contingent on state and territory governments and industry groups matching the federal contribution, is part of a newly launched Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) that the Morrison government hopes will generate $600m in investment.

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An Electron rocket launched from New Zealand's North Island fails in flight, destroying its satellites.

The science has been settled to the highest degree, so now the key to progress is understanding our psychological reactions

It took me much longer than it should have to realise that educating people about climate change science was not enough. Due perhaps to my personality type (highly rational, don’t talk to me about horoscopes, please) and my background (the well-educated daughter of a high school teacher and an academic), I have grown up accepting the idea that facts persuade and emotions detract from a good argument.

Then again, I’m a social scientist. I study people. I deal mostly in feelings, not facts. A joke I like to tell about myself during speeches is that I’m an expert in the opinions of people who don’t know what they’re talking about. Over the 15 years I’ve been a social researcher, I’ve watched with concern the increasing effects of climate change, and also watched as significant chunks of the electorate voted for political parties with terrible climate change policies.

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The prime minister’s ‘build, build, build’ strategy could harm habitats and reduce wildlife protection, critics warn

The British countryside and its wildlife are at serious risk because of Boris Johnson’s pledge to revolutionise the planning system, leading green groups warn today.

In a joint letter to theObserver, the organisations, which include the National Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Wildlife Trusts, say wide-scale deregulation leading to lower environmental standards and less protection would be a betrayal of promises by Johnson and Michael Gove to deliver a “green Brexit”.

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Attack happened about 2pm on Saturday afternoon while man was diving off Indian Head

A man has died after being attacked by a shark while spearfishing off Queensland’s Fraser Island.

The attack happened about 2pm on Saturday while the Sunshine Coast man, 36, was diving off Indian Head on the eastern side of the island.

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