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Return of the burbot: 'great lost fish' to be reintroduced to UK
Freshwater predatory cod species to make comeback after 50-year absence
Forget dreams of wolves, bears or lynx – the next animal to be restored to the British countryside could be a river bottom-dwelling fish that resembles a giant tadpole.
The burbot, much-maligned for its unprepossessing appearance with a fleshy appendage dangling from its chin, was last sighted in British rivers in 1969.
Continue reading...Europe’s cities are leading the fight against xenophobia and the climate crisis | Ada Colau
Conservative politicians have long declared there is no alternative to capitalism. Many of capitalism’s cruelties, from housing crises and crumbling public amenities to increasingly precarious forms of employment, are most visible in towns and cities. But it’s also in these places that new movements are emerging and rebuilding politics from the bottom up. In cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Berlin and Naples, local activists are defending human rights and public services against a rising tide of anti-immigrant xenophobia and fiscal austerity. We call these urban movements “municipalism”.
By achieving small victories around the world, municipalist movements are proving that there is another way of doing politics – one that begins in the places closest to us. It’s thanks to this movement that someone such as me, a woman from a working-class family who began my political career as a housing activist, can today govern a city such as Barcelona. A tide of municipal movements connects cities across the world, creating networks of alliances and shared objectives. Together, we have put pressure on our national governments and demanded greater powers to fight gentrification, increase the stock of affordable housing, and safeguard our collective right to the city.
Continue reading...Spring arrives earlier than ever recorded in southern US – adding to climate trend
Warming springs can cause plants to bloom earlier, alter hibernation times and locations for migrating animals, and increase insect populations
It’s still officially winter, but spring has already arrived in large parts of the southern US earlier than any point in the official record.
New data from the USA National Phenology Network (US-NPN), which has tracked the onset of spring for the past 39 years, shows that in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, and northern Florida, spring has arrived over three weeks earlier than average.
Continue reading...CN Markets: Pilot market data for week ending Mar. 6, 2020
NZ Market: NZUs cling on to NZ$26, but downside looms
Numbers swell for Australia’s ERF as major players make big offset deliveries
Morrison government to stop funding international collaboration on shift to zero emissions
Exclusive: The five-year Australian-German initiative to transition to new energy and low emissions was due to end in 2022
The Morrison government has told researchers at two of Australia’s leading universities it will break a commitment to fund an international collaboration into what is required to shift to a zero emissions future.
The Australian-German Energy Transition Hub was announced in 2017 by then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and German chancellor Angela Merkel as a collaboration that would “help the technical, economic and social transition to new energy systems and a low emissions economy”.
Continue reading...A snowless winter around Europe – in pictures
Struggling ski resorts are having to get creative as slopes dry out during a record-breaking few months
Continue reading...NSW committee rejects move to protect coal mines from downstream emissions
NSW upper house committee recommends that proposed protections for coal mines from emissions impacts in planning decisions be scrapped.
The post NSW committee rejects move to protect coal mines from downstream emissions appeared first on RenewEconomy.
UK’s CO2 emissions have fallen 29% over the past decade
A 2.9% fall in UK CO2 emissions in 2019 brings total reduction to 29% over decade since 2010, even as the economy grew by one-fifth.
The post UK’s CO2 emissions have fallen 29% over the past decade appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Energy Insiders Podcast: Two paths towards 100% renewables
Windlab’s David Osmond looks at transmission and storage needs for high renewables grid, while ANU’s Bjorn Sturmberg focuses on battery technology.
The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Two paths towards 100% renewables appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Nottingham Trent University study to assess impact of traffic on hedgehogs
CSIRO spin-off, Windlab, looks to Africa after “year of frustration” in Australia
CSIRO spin-off Windlab looks to Africa for renewables growth, after a horror year in Australia characterised by project delays and write-downs.
The post CSIRO spin-off, Windlab, looks to Africa after “year of frustration” in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Vestas secures first order for “low-wind” turbine in China
Vestas has received the first order for its new V155-3.3MW wind turbine designed for low and ultra-low wind conditions.
The post Vestas secures first order for “low-wind” turbine in China appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Edinburgh University researchers use drones to map retreating Andes glaciers
New water mines in Gold Coast hinterland barred for a year amid concerns over bottling industry
Queensland government’s moratorium comes after dozens of bores supplying drinking water to Tamborine Mountain ran dry
The Queensland government has placed a year-long moratorium on new water mines in parts of the Gold Coast hinterland, where drought-hit residents have been campaigning against the impact of the bottled water industry.
Late last year, dozens of bores that supply drinking water to Tamborine Mountain schools, businesses and residents ran dry, with many residents having to wait six weeks for deliveries by truck. The area has three commercial water mines with deep bores that send about 100m litres a year for bottling.
Continue reading...Senior Manager, Economic Analysis, US Climate, EDF – Washington DC
UNSW pledges to divest from fossil fuels by 2025
University of New South Wales to divest from fossil fuels by 2025, in line with Paris climate agreement and to carry on "fine legacy" of its world-leading solar pioneers.
The post UNSW pledges to divest from fossil fuels by 2025 appeared first on RenewEconomy.