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Muddy, coastal marshes could store more carbon as sea levels rise, scientists reveal.

Droughts, heat waves, bushfires and rising temperatures are driving ecosystems towards collapse

Australia’s forests are being reshaped by climate change as droughts, heat waves, rising temperatures and bushfires drive ecosystems towards collapse, ecologists have told Guardian Australia. Trees are dying, canopies are getting thinner and the rate that plants produce seeds is falling. Ecologists have long predicted that climate change would have major consequences for Australia’s forests.Now they believe those impacts are unfolding.

“The whole thing is unravelling,” says Prof David Bowman, who studies the impacts of climate change and fire on trees at the University of Tasmania. “Most people have no idea that it’s even happening. The system is trying to tell you that if you don’t pay attention then the whole thing will implode. We have to get a grip on climate change.”

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A judge ruled that the government had failed to take into account the latest scientific evidence.

Court finds scientific evidence against fracking not taken into account by government

The UK’s high court has found the government’s new planning guidance on fracking to be unlawful.

The environmental campaign group Talk Fracking took legal action, arguing that the updated guidance failed to take account of scientific and technical developments on the environmental impact of fracking.

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The Insight probe's efforts to drill down below the surface of Mars appear to have hit some stony obstructions.

Scientists ensure the constant monitoring of the White Continent will continue unbroken into the 2030s.

Trump’s push to expand oil and gas drilling is eroding protections for some of America’s most at-risk wildlife

When America was choosing its national animal, Benjamin Franklin was determined the bald eagle shouldn’t prevail. The eagle, Franklin said, was a “bird of bad moral character” with a better option being the turkey, which Franklin considered pleasingly courageous if a little “vain and silly”.

Franklin’s view didn’t prevail, of course, but turkeys very nearly outlasted bald eagles in the US. Shot, poisoned and made homeless by rampant habitat destruction, there were just a few hundred nesting bald eagles left in the 1960s before a determined conservation effort ensured the national symbol wasn’t snuffed out.

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Labour chides environment secretary over lack of primary legislation or follow-up actions

The environment secretary, Michael Gove, has been labelled the “minister for consultations” after it emerged his department had launched 76 since he took office but had only passed one piece of primary legislation.

The findings show Gove has launched consultations at a rate of nearly four a month since he took office, covering topics from a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles to animal welfare.

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With the wolf population dwindling in a Michigan park, four were trapped in Ontario and transported by helicopter

At a remote national park, four Canadians were recently airdropped into a dizzying new life in America.

They are expert moose hunters, accustomed to cold climates, and covered in fur.

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Tesla's premium electric car range expands and drops price, with a new Standard Range option for the Model S added to Australian configurator.

The post Tesla slashes Model S and X prices with new standard range appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Sono Motors' first production solar car is no longer just on drawing board - and it's bigger, longer and roomier.

The post Sono reveals first design of solar EV – Sion appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia is within its rights to use carryover Kyoto credits to meet its Paris goals, but experts find it hard to believe a Labor government would do so because the move would be seen internationally as undermining the Paris Agreement.

After Rocky Hill ruling, firm claims open-cut project in NSW will make ‘negligible contribution’ to global emissions

The company behind a proposed coalmine in the Bylong Valley in New South Wales has claimed the project will make a “negligible contribution” to global climate change, in a fresh submission responding to the historic Rocky Hill judgment.

Kepco, the South Korean company that plans to develop an open-cut mine in the valley, has written to the state’s independent planning commission in light of the NSW land and environment court’s ruling in February that the Rocky Hill mine in Gloucester should not go ahead, in part because it was not compatible with efforts to combat climate change.

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Climate Council’s Greg Bourne on why scientists and researchers are so outraged by Coalition givernment’s fake claims on emissions.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Coalition’s fake news on climate and energy. appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Shorter hibernation period may accelerate demise of Britain’s only venomous snake

The adder, Britain’s only venomous snake, has for the first time been confirmed as being active in every month of the year.

Adders normally hibernate underground from October to March, a strategy designed to enable them to survive a cold winter, but with warmer weather have now been seen throughout the year.

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Elevated levels of lead have been found in schools across the US, alarming experts who say it is particularly harmful to children

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An independent online platform designed to connect corporate energy buyers with renewable energy developers has attracted more than 7,000MW of large scale wind and solar projects.

The post Desperately seeking PPAs: 7GW of solar, wind queue up for corporate deals appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Locals face polluted seas and dying fish after Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier runs aground close to Unesco-protected atoll

On a normal weekend, the waters of Kangava Bay would be busy with children playing or collecting clam shells and villagers heading out to catch reef fish to eat. But last Sunday the bay was quiet.

Locals can no longer cool off in the neon blue waters of Rennell Island, a tiny dot in the vast South Pacific that lies at the southern tip of the Solomon Islands. They can no longer spot parrotfish swimming in the shallows, picnic on the sand or fetch fresh water from streams and springs near the sea.

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Victoria has retained its spot as the biggest market for rooftop solar in February, as the country-wide installation of rooftop solar set another monthly record in February. Data compiled by industry statistician Sunwiz shows that 164MW was installed in February, a record for the month and the third best month ever. The installation rate for...

The post Victoria leads again as rooftop solar installations set another monthly record appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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