Around The Web

South Korea has confirmed it plans to allow limited use of international emissions units issued under Paris Agreement rules as well as CDM offsets in its emissions trading scheme after 2020.

They can be roasted for coffee and ground down to make flour – and you can pick them up free at your local park

While foragers harvest mushrooms, nettles and berries, the humble acorn has long been ignored, in the UK at least. That could all be about to change. The Wall Street Journal reports that in South Korea, acorns have achieved “superfood” status, with people devouring “acorn noodles, jelly and powder”. And, last month, the Woodland Trust in the UK published a piece on its website about acorns and how to eat them.

We’re catching on late. Native Americans relied on acorns – rich in nutrients – as a staple part of their diet. They are farmed in China and South Korea, and often ground into flour. Many cultures make acorn “coffee”. They are rich in protein, fats, fibre and essential minerals.

Continue reading...

There were extraordinary scenes in Melbourne on Tuesday, with clashes between protesters and police outside an international mining conference.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has delivered the first of a series of headland policy speeches, putting the party's post-election focus squarely on jobs.

More than 5,700 images were submitted overall by almost 2,000 photographers for this year’s Royal Meteorological Society competition

Continue reading...

Up to 40,000 people across Australia will seek compensation from the Commonwealth over land contamination from chemicals leached from Defence Department bases into nearby properties and waterways. Residents and businesses claim the contamination has left them trapped in devalued properties with water they can't drink or land they can't fully use. It will be the largest ever open class action in Australia.

Panel given less than a month to provide recommendations, despite government’s claims on meeting Paris target

The Morrison government has quietly appointed an expert panel to come up with new ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and given it less than a month to come up with recommendations.

In what is being seen by observers as an acknowledgment that its main climate change policy, the $2.55bn emissions reduction fund, is failing to cut national pollution, the government has appointed a panel of four business leaders and policy experts to suggest options to expand it.

Continue reading...

Albanese sells Labor's clean energy revolution as key to jobs and manufacturing, and promises a future for coking coal industry.

The post Jobs and growth: Albanese recasts Labor’s planned clean energy revolution appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Two tourists both in a serious condition with lower limb injuries after they were bitten off the Whitsundays coast

A British tourist has had his foot bitten off by a shark during a day cruise in the Whitsunday region of north Queensland.

Two men were airlifted to hospital in Mackay, both suffering serious lower leg injuries after being attacked by the shark in Hook Passage, about 30km from the harbour at Airlie Beach.

Continue reading...

The transmission upgrade funded by federal Coalition and NSW not quite what it seems, and will only deliver stated capacity at night, in winter, and when demand is low.

The post Morrison and Taylor’s little big grid plan not quite what it seems appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Environment minister says cutting delays in project approvals could save the economy $300m a year

The Morrison government has promised a review of national environmental laws will “tackle green tape” and reduce delays in project approvals that it said costs the economy about $300m a year.

Hundreds of scientists have asked the government to use a legally required review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) to strengthen the legislation so it could be used to stem a worsening extinction crisis.

Continue reading...

Our prevailing relationship with nature is based on framing the living world as a set of natural resources. This utility-based worldview perpetuates the drivers of ongoing biodiversity loss. Matthew Hall, Associate Director, Research Services, Victoria University of Wellington Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Sydney Opera House commits to become 'climate positive' as iconic building reaffirms commitments to renewables and energy efficiency.

The post Sydney Opera House commits to UN Sustainable Development Goals appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Transport minister Michael McCormack misses the point about autonomous cars, saying only they might be good for grey nomads, and making no mention of electric vehicles.

The post Transport minister avoids electric in rambling speech on driverless cars and grey nomads appeared first on RenewEconomy.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Copper from a prehistoric mine was traded from "Brittany to the Baltic", metal analysis shows.

UNSW students Matthew Holohan and Jed Cruickshank describe the challenge of driving a solar-powered electric car across Australia.

The post The Driven Podcast: Across Australia by solar car appeared first on RenewEconomy.

They might be shameless attention-seekers but narcissists are also likely to be happier people.

More than 20 activists arrested amid violent scenes, with officers accused of being ‘incredibly hostile’

A climate protester has been taken to hospital and more than 20 others have been arrested while blockading an international mining conference in Melbourne after violent clashes erupted between the group and police.

From 6am on Tuesday, hundreds of activists from a dozen different groups began blocking entry to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Continue reading...

In the late 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, Australia made a brief but audacious bid to enter the nuclear arms race, by manufacturing a bomb