Around The Web

Labor's reset on climate and jobs is a political mirage

The Conversation - Wed, 2019-10-30 09:53
On the issue of a retreat from coal, Albanese is trying to walk both sides of the highway by wandering down the middle. Peter Christoff, Associate Professor, School of Geography, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Alberta to pursue C$30/t carbon charge, alter benchmarks in large emitter programme

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2019-10-30 09:05
Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) government on Tuesday unveiled its overhaul of the province’s output-based pricing system (OBPS), maintaining the regime’s carbon charge but weakening industry production benchmarks in what could become a potential point of contention with the Canadian federal government.
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Energy Insiders Podcast: Cleanco pumps up for Queensland duck curve

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2019-10-30 08:21

Queensland budget jackie trad palaszczuk cleanco - optimisedCleanco chair Jacqui Walters discusses plans and strategies as Queensland’s newest generation company prepares to enter the market this week.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Cleanco pumps up for Queensland duck curve appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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'The climate doesn't need awards': Greta Thunberg declines environmental prize

The Guardian - Wed, 2019-10-30 08:01

The teen activist implored politicians and people in power to ‘listen to the best available science’ in an Instagram post

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has refused to accept an environmental award, saying the climate movement needed people in power to start to “listen” to “science” and not awards.

The young climate activist, who has rallied millions to her “Fridays for Future” movement, was honoured at a Stockholm ceremony held by the Nordic Council, a regional body for inter-parliamentary cooperation.

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Butterflywatch: how climate change is clipping UK wings

The Guardian - Wed, 2019-10-30 07:30

Lack of suitable habitat is just one reason many butterfly species are not moving north as expected

It seems miraculous that any butterflies can survive a month of rain, but as soon as the autumn sun emerges so do red admirals and the occasional painted lady, en route for the sunnier south.

The 59 British species are perfectly adapted for our weather but adjusting to rapid climate change is more challenging, as two new studies led by scientists from the University of York show.

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AGL signs huge battery storage deal, hails “dawn of battery age”

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2019-10-30 07:27

AGL signs deal for four big batteries in NSW totalling 200MW/400MWh with Maoneng

The post AGL signs huge battery storage deal, hails “dawn of battery age” appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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Vattenfall’s ETS-covered output eases as hydro output ramps back up

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2019-10-30 07:18
Swedish utility Vattenfall saw its fossil-based production ease over the third quarter as hydro reservoirs filled from very low levels, while thermal output was still up 3.6% year-on-year over the first nine months.
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ANALYSIS: California offset spreads tightening as competition grows, views on invalidation shift

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2019-10-30 07:13
WCI offset spreads are growing tighter as more Golden California Carbon Offset (G-CCO) sellers participate and stakeholders alter their views on how invalidation risk may influence prices, market participants and developers told Carbon Pulse.
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Emissions panel convenes to examine new ways to meet targets

ABC Environment - Wed, 2019-10-30 06:35
The Federal Government will today announce a $1 billion fund for new energy generation projects in order to help make the grid more reliable.
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Protecting the places we love: here are 7 ways our nature laws must be fixed

The Conversation - Wed, 2019-10-30 05:24
Environment Minister Sussan Ley has announced a review of Australia's nature laws. The poor state of our biodiversity shows we must do a better job of protecting the places we love. Jan McDonald, Professor of Environmental Law, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Technical Specialist, Forest Carbon, Fauna & Flora International – Cambridge, UK

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2019-10-30 04:53
FFI is seeking a qualified candidate for the position of Technical Specialist, Forest Carbon. You will play a vital role in the technical design and implementation of pioneering REDD+ projects in high carbon stock and high conservation value landscapes in Liberia, Vietnam and Mozambique.
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Food for thought on our carbon footprint | Letters

The Guardian - Wed, 2019-10-30 04:33
Artificially grown ‘meat’ has the potential to reduce carbon emissions, argues Patrick Cosgrove. As for Extinction Rebellion, its aims couldn’t be clearer, according to Mark Haworth-Booth

The close correlation between diet and environment that has been demonstrated by Michael Clark at the University of Oxford (Healthy food choices best for people and planet, study shows, 29 October) is interesting and potentially important. I hope the researchers will extend their studies into the environmental impact of what is variously known as cultured, in vitro or lab-grown meat. These products are now reaching consumers and prices will fall. Ostensibly, they appear environmentally beneficial.

The “meat” is grown from cell samples painlessly extracted from a small number of animals, so killing and long-distance freighting is eliminated. Methane from domestic ruminants will be drastically reduced. Forests need not be supplanted by grazing or soy production for animal feed. Land can be released for growing more plant-based food or to be returned to nature. If it can also be shown that environmental harm is curbed, the role these products can play will be crucial in reducing greenhouse gasses. More research is required as soon as possible.
Patrick Cosgrove
Chapel Lawn, Shropshire

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Quadruple rainbow photographed in Orkney

BBC - Wed, 2019-10-30 03:47
The photographer who captured the image of the third and fourth arcs described the sight as "amazing".
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Do you know an owl from an albatross? Test your bird knowledge in this quiz

The Guardian - Wed, 2019-10-30 03:00

What Australian bird has a sharp, five-inch toe that is capable of disembowelling you? Take this quiz to find out if you’re a fully fledged bird nerd or someone who needs to look up in the trees a bit more often

Which of the following is not a real Australian bird?

Howard’s duck

Latham’s snipe

Bourke’s parrot

Abbott’s booby

What Australian bird has a sharp, five-inch toe that is capable of disembowelling you?

Emu

Bustard

Cassowary

Ibis

What has been the most commonly seen bird every year of BirdLife Australia’s Aussie Backyard Bird Count since 2014?

Australian Magpie

Rainbow Lorikeet

Noisy Miner

Common Myna

In what country does Australia’s Welcome Swallow spend the winter?

Papua New Guinea

Philippines

England

Australia

Which ‘Australian’ bird is not endemic to Australia?

Australian Brush-turkey

Australian Raven

Australian Bustard

Australian Logrunner

Which migratory Australian seabird washed up in their thousands on the Alaskan coast earlier this year?

Short-tailed Shearwater

Little Penguin

Providence Petrel

White-faced Storm-Petrel

What is the smallest Australian bird?

Silvereye

Weebill

White-winged Fairy-wren

Zebra Finch

What species was “Karak”, the mascot of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games?

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Galah

Gang-gang Cockatoo

Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo

What bird has been observed starting fires in order to flush out its prey?

Black Kite

Straw-necked Ibis

Black-breasted Buzzard

Galah

“Custard Head” is the unfortunate colonial name for which species?

Australian White Ibis

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Brown-headed Honeyeater

Pale-headed Rosella

As of 2019, what is the only species of bird to known to have gone extinct on the Australian mainland?

Night Parrot

Paradise Parrot

Orange-bellied Parrot

Golden-shouldered Parrot

Which Australian bird is known to ‘kidnap’ the young of other members of its species?

White-winged Chough

Bell Miner

Wedge-tailed Eagle

Great Bowerbird

After the supply ship Sirius was wrecked off Norfolk Island in 1790, Australia’s second British settlement would have starved to death if it wasn’t for which hapless species of breeding seabird?

Masked Booby

Sooty Tern

Australian Pelican

Providence Petrel

What percentage of magpies swoop?

10%

20%

30%

50%

Which of these birds does not build a mound to incubate its eggs?

Malleefowl

Brolga

Brush-turkey

Orange-footed Scrubfowl

Which of the following is not a native Australian bird?

Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Magpie

European Goldfinch

European Greenfinch

Riflebirds are part of which more famous bird family?

Birds-of-paradise

Bowerbirds

Hummingbirds

Lyrebirds

The Glossy Black-Cockatoo exclusively eats the seeds of which type of tree?

Eucalypts

Banskias

She-oaks

Wattles

The booming call of which bird is thought to have inspired the bunyip myth?

Brolga

Australasian Bittern

Australian Bustard

Emu

The word ‘cockatoo’ is thought to have originated from which language?

English

Dutch

Malay

Noongar

18 and above.

Uber twitcher. Be prepared for people to avoid you at parties.

13 and above.

Impressive. On the verge of being a true bird-nerd.

7 and above.

Not too bad. Keep looking up!

0 and above.

Hmm, looks like you don't know your owls from your albatross.

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Coalition anger as dam water flows out to sea in drought-hit Queensland

The Guardian - Wed, 2019-10-30 03:00

Decision taken to reduce Paradise dam to 42% capacity amid concerns over its structural integrity in the event of a flood

Four hundred million litres of fresh water is flowing out to sea from storage in drought-afflicted Queensland every day, sparking a fresh rift between Coalition MPs and the state’s Labor government.

As the federal government considers a fresh round of drought measures to respond to the record dry spell, the Queensland government has angered federal MPs by releasing more than 100,000 megalitres of water from the Paradise dam over a 10-week period.

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LCFS Market: California prices extend highs ahead of data release

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2019-10-30 02:18
California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit prices set new all-time highs on Monday, coming ahead of the programme’s quarterly data release later this week.
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Rising sea levels pose threat to homes of 300m people – study

The Guardian - Wed, 2019-10-30 02:00

Figure based on new analysis of coastlines is more than three times previous estimate

More than three times more people are at risk from rising sea levels than previously believed, research suggests.

Land that is currently home to 300 million people will flood at least once a year by 2050 unless carbon emissions are cut and coastal defences strengthened, says the study, published in Nature Communications. This is far above the previous estimate of 80 million.

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Global climate emergency: Which issues should we focus on next?

The Guardian - Tue, 2019-10-29 23:47

We’d like you to tell us what you’ve liked about the Guardian’s reporting on the climate crisis and what you’d like us to explore in more depth

At the Guardian, we believe the climate emergency is the defining and most urgent issue of our time, and we know it’s the issue our readers feel most passionately about.

Covering the climate crisis is a priority for all our editors and in the last month, we have published the Polluters project – an in-depth investigation into the fossil fuel industry, and the structures behind it – which has gained much attention from readers and news organisations around the world. We also launched our landmark Climate Pledge, which laid out the Guardian’s short and long-term commitments to the environment.

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Bus-sized fatberg weighing 40 tonnes cleared from London sewer

The Guardian - Tue, 2019-10-29 23:44

Blockage in Greenwich prompts Thames Water to reissue warning about waste disposal

A 40-tonne fatberg the size of a double-decker bus has been cleared from a London sewer by Thames Water engineers who pulled out some of it by hand.

The mass of fat, grease and other materials that weighed the same as three red buses, was discovered earlier this year clogging up a sewer in Greenwich, the water company said.

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EU Midday Market Brief

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2019-10-29 23:21
EUAs lifted clear of €25 early on Tuesday as UK lawmakers appeared poised to agree a December election that could break their deadlock over Brexit.
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