Around The Web

History has told us Aboriginal people in Tasmania almost exclusively occupied open plains. Revelations to the contrary could transform modern conservation. Ted Lefroy, Associate Head Research, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Grant Williamson, Research Fellow in Environmental Science, University of Tasmania Penelope Jones, Research Fellow in Environmental Health, University of Tasmania Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

At least one in five vertebrate species on Earth are bought and sold on the wildlife market.

A report on nature in the UK also shows 41% of species have experienced decline.

Exclusive: discovery comes as authorities investigate tonnes of sediment choking creek near development site

Contaminated water has been discovered spilling from a luxury Gold Coast estate development into a Ramsar-listed wetland site, amid a broader investigation into an unfolding “environmental catastrophe” at the once-pristine waterway.

On Thursday the Gold Coast council notified the Queensland Department of Environment and Science that a “private recycled water main” at the Serenity Cove site had broken. Guardian Australia understands the contamination is likely grey water, which authorities advise has the potential to turn septic or breed micro-organisms.

Continue reading...

Quarter of mammals and nearly half of birds assessed are at risk of extinction, says State of Nature report

Populations of the UK’s most important wildlife have plummeted by an average of 60% since 1970, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date.

The State of Nature report also found that the area inhabited by officially designated “priority species” has shrunk by 27%. The species are those deemed most important and threatened, and include hedgehogs, hares and bats, many birds such as the willow tit and the turtle dove, and insects such as the high brown fritillary butterfly.

Continue reading...

With a warning hundreds of wildlife species are at risk in Wales, one Gower farm is helping conservation.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) issued an executive order on Thursday for the state to design a power sector carbon market in alignment with the US RGGI system, a move that could balloon the size of the nine-state programme in the next decade.

Cambodia has asked Germany to consider buying some of its nature-based carbon credits, the government said in a statement, likely putting the country's REDD programme in the frame.

California regulator ARB rebuked a recent academic report on Tuesday, saying it had not invalidated any forest offset credits and only the state agency had the authority to do so.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said there was a need to be "realistic" about renewable energy.

Massive global expansion of tuna fisheries also poses a threat to sharks and other species, says study

Scientists have warned that existing levels of tuna fishing are unsustainable after researchers found that global catches have increased more than 1,000% over the past 60 years.

A study in the journal Fisheries Research estimated that about 6m tonnes of tuna are now caught annually, a rate that “risks driving tuna populations to unsustainable levels and possible extinction”.

Continue reading...

Lara Maiklem talks to Phillip about her life as a modern 'mudlark' scouring for archaeological treasures along the banks of the Thames.

European carbon prices plummeted to a six-month low on Thursday, with technical selling, investor exits, and bearish fundamentals weighing.

Extinction Rebellion activists have sprayed 1,800 litres of fake blood on the Treasury's building in Westminster.

Protesters used an out-of-commission fire engine to drench the front of the building in red liquid and also erected a banner that read: 'Stop funding climate death'

• Extinction Rebellion protesters spray fake blood on to Treasury

• ‘Time is running out’: Extinction Rebellion activists on why they risked arrest

Continue reading...

European researchers have developed a concept for a new aluminium battery which could boasts twice the energy density of previous versions and could be made of abundant materials, resulting in a battery which could reduce production costs as well as its impact on the environment. Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the National Institute...

The post New concept may finally give aluminium battery storage the edge over lithium appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Activists use fire engine to launch water dyed red towards London government building

Four Extinction Rebellion activists have been arrested after spraying fake blood at the Treasury in Westminster from the top of a fire engine.

Dressed in funeral attire, the protesters criticised the UK’s military role in the Middle East, highlighted how UK companies cause large fossil fuel emissions and called on others to rebel.

Continue reading...

Climate change activists sprayed fake blood outside the Treasury - but the jet was too powerful.

Victoria town of Yackandandah adds solar and storage to get one step closer to 100% renewables target.

The post Yackandandah takes another step closer to 100% renewable energy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Greenhouses bigger than O2 centre will be able to grow 10% of UK’s homegrown crop

People in Britain will soon be able to feast on tomatoes grown with the help of a water treatment plant in what backers say is a world first.

One of the UK’s largest clean energy funds has revealed plans to invest £120m in a pair of low-carbon greenhouses in Norfolk and Suffolk, large enough to grow 10% of the UK’s homegrown tomato crop.

Continue reading...

Huge floating boom finally retains debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, creator says

A huge floating device designed by Dutch scientists to clean up an island of rubbish in the Pacific ocean that is three times the size of France has successfully picked up plastic from the high-seas for the first time.

Boyan Slat, the creator of the Ocean Cleanup project, announced on Twitter that the 600-metre (2,000ft) long floating boom had captured and retained debris from what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Continue reading...