Around The Web

A former software analyst and rising opera star has penned a song for the Red Planet.

Exclusive: Concerns about groundwater security at Cherrabah overridden by Campbell Newman’s government

Queensland government experts raised repeated warnings about the long-term sustainability of groundwater extraction at a southern Queensland property which has since been approved to operate as a commercial water mine.

The approval for the 96m litre a year bottled water extraction operation at Cherrabah – in a severely drought-hit area where locals are on water rations and communities at imminent risk of running dry – has raised significant questions about the oversight and regulation of critical water resources in Queensland.

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Carbon Pulse is looking for a Climate and Energy Correspondent to help us bolster and expand our coverage of the EU ETS and other energy and environmental markets, as well as climate and energy policy at a national, EU, and international level.

The Senior Manager, Climate and Financial Regulation will support Ceres’ newly launched Financial Regulators strategy which is aimed at getting US market regulators to address climate change and other sustainability issues as a financial risk. 

The REDD+ and LEDS Specialist will support The Government of Malawi to implement and institutionalize key systems, tools, and technologies that will provide the requisite information base for improved forest monitoring; support REDD+ readiness and forest landscape restoration efforts; and inform sustainable wood fuel supply strengthening within targeted forest reserves.

The Program Officer is a technical role within the American Carbon Registry (ACR), contributing to all aspects of ACR services, including, but not limited to ensuring the highest level of quality for all ACR-registered projects and related offset credits issued by ACR.

Plans for a new mission come months after the Chandrayaan-2 failed to land on the Moon.

A Yorkshire village’s sense of community remains unbroken amid damaged homes, insurance battles and debris

Until November, Fishlake, a small and sleepy Doncaster village with only a couple of cafes, a pub and a church at its heart, was little known to most outside the area.

But after heavy rainfall brought parts of northern England and the Midlands to a standstill, it became the centre of a media frenzy. Approximately 140 of about 200 homes in the village were swamped in sewage-contaminated floodwater after the River Don burst its banks.

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Australia’s south-east devastated by fires that have left nine people dead and hundreds of homes destroyed since Christmas

• Australia’s bushfire towns battle on, despite what they have lost: supplies, power, houses, ‘the lot’

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Winning images from the year’s national and international wildlife photography competitions

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New rules introduced by International Maritime Organisation expected to reduce certain forms of air pollution

Sulphur will be cut drastically from global shipping transport fuels in 2020, in a move that should reduce some forms of air pollution, and may help towards tackling the climate emergency – but which could also lead to a rise in the price of flights.

From 1 January 2020, ships will only be allowed to use fuel oil with a very low sulphur content, under rules brought in by the International Maritime Organisation. This cut in sulphur content has been more than a decade in the planning, and almost all shipping around the world is expected to comply, or face penalties.

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Residents of Australia’s capital are told to stay indoors and brace for more smog in the coming days

Canberra has experienced its worst air quality on record, as bushfire smoke became trapped by atmospheric conditions and residents were told to stay indoors and brace for more smog in the coming days.

The ACT’s acting chief health officer, Dr Paul Dugdale, said the smoke was the worst since the 2003 bushfires and was “certainly the worst” since air quality monitoring started in the city 15 years ago.

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The move is designed to protect marine life around the Pacific island state.

A group of viruses, of which measles is one, are adept at jumping to species barrier.

Allan, a 1.5 metre corn snake, had been driving to Oldham with its owners for Christmas

A 1.5 metre (5ft) snake named Allan had to be rescued from inside a car after escaping while travelling with its owners over Christmas.

The pet corn snake got out of its vivarium as it was travelling with owner Ellie Bond from Nottingham to Oldham to spend the Christmas break with family.

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge unveil a global prize to tackle climate issues in the next decade.

The measure would ban all "non-essential" private car journeys in the city centre by 2023.

The Wildlife Trust is looking to recruit a deputy warden and a visitor officer to work on the island.

Some of the world’s leading voices on the environment discuss concerns and areas of optimism

At the end of a tumultuous decade for biodiversity, in which a report based on the most comprehensive study of life on Earth warned that “nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history”, we spoke to some of the world’s leading voices on the environment about their greatest fears for the next decade – and also their hopes. As the IPBES report’s authors noted: “It is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global.”

We asked three questions:

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New woodlands and wild places are needed to fight climate crisis and improve people’s health

Half of the nation’s farmland needs to be transformed into woodlands and natural habitat to fight the climate crisis and restore wildlife, according to a former chief scientific adviser to the UK government.

Prof Sir Ian Boyd said such a change could mean the amount of cattle and sheep would fall by 90%, with farmers instead being paid for storing carbon dioxide, helping prevent floods and providing beautiful landscapes where people could boost their health and wellbeing.

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