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Musk says Tesla big battery will pay for itself within a few years, and has sparked interest from other governments for even bigger batteries to replace gas peaking plants.

The post Musk says Tesla big battery to pay for itself within a few years, bigger ones on the way appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Adani applies for generation licence for proposed 160MW solar farm in Whyalla.

The post Adani seeks regulatory approval for 160MW solar farm in Whyalla appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The US EPA will incorporate many of the recommendations from the government’s trading regulatory body on reforming the biofuels credit market under the federal Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), according to the environmental agency’s acting chief.  

Monarch production will not be replicated next year, experts warn, as above average temperatures will cause problems

The population of monarch butterflies wintering in central Mexico is up 144% over last year, according to new research.

Related: 'It's a sad reality': a troubling trend sees a 97% decline in monarch butterflies

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Some scientists say that while fish will eventually recover, other species inhabiting the river system may not.

From flooding rains in North Queensland to bushfires raging across Tasmania, there's been extreme weather at both ends of the country.

Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board (EQB) will discuss a green group's petition next month for the state to install an economy-wide cap-and-trade programme.

Neither of the two federal investigations into fish deaths in the Darling River include any Indigenous representation. Bradley J. Moggridge, Indigenous Water Research, University of Canberra Ross M Thompson, Chair of Water Science and Director, University of Canberra Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Virus outbreak among sea stars coincided with warm waters, researchers found after sixth graders held fundraiser for survey

Five years ago, a sixth grade class in land-locked Arkansas heard about a mass die-off of starfish on the west coast and felt compelled to help.

Related: Mussels lose grip when exposed to microplastics – study

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European carbon prices sank back toward €23 on Wednesday in cautious trade that saw sentiment weighed down by a weak clearance in today’s large auction.

Once a year in freezing cold winter waters, a gathering happens off the coast of South Australia. Hundreds of thousands of giant cuttlefish come to mate but this natural wonder comes at a great cost. In this episode of Guardian Australia’s new podcast we learn a lesson on life and death from these amazing cephalopods.

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Australian Photography magazine has named Brisbane ecologist Jasmine Vink as the overall winner in its 2018 Photographer of the Year awards – the largest amateur photography competition in the southern hemisphere

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The $300 million Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund has invested $12 mln in a carbon credit-generating agroforestry project in Peru as its first investment towards restoring degraded land worldwide.

The New Hampshire legislature is considering a carbon tax proposal that could potentially work around the northeast US state’s refusal to join a regional transportation sector carbon programme.

A farmer recently took his lambs to a sanctuary instead of the slaughter – and these sudden turnarounds are not uncommon

A farmer was recently on the road to the abattoir when he changed direction and drove his trailer full of lambs 200 miles to an animal sanctuary instead. Sivalingam Vasanthakumar, 60, from Devon, now plans to grow vegetables.

Vasanthakumar is not the only farmer to perform this kind of reversal. In 2017, Jay Wilde, of Bradley Nook farm in Derbyshire, took his cattle to a sanctuary and decided to become a vegan farmer (the film telling this story, 73 Cows, has been nominated for a Bafta). In the US, the Illinois-based charity Free From Harm has gathered tales of many farmers who have had epiphanies and switched to veganism.

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Japan’s environment ministry has agreed to fund another six projects under its Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) that are expected to generate more than a million carbon credits by 2030.

European Chemicals Agency draft law aims to cut 400,000 tonnes of plastic pollution

A wide-ranging ban on microplastics covering about 90% of pollutants has been proposed by the EU in an attempt to cut 400,000 tonnes of plastic pollution in 20 years.

Every year, Europe releases a bulk amount of microplastics six times bigger than the “Great Pacific garbage patch” into the environment – the equivalent of 10bn plastic bottles.

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Sales of electric cars are growing rapidly in Europe, Asia and North America, but their uptake in Australia has been slow.

Senate report into EVs falls short after Labor and Coalition reject chairman Tim Storer's push for specific targets and incentives.

The post Coalition, Labor, throttle Senate proposals to boost EV uptake in Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Senate committee urges government to create policies to encourage use or risk missing out on a transport revolution

Australia is “on the cusp” of a transport revolution but the country will miss out if it doesn’t end the policy vacuum that has so far kept the electric vehicle industry from growing, according to a Senate committee report released on Wednesday.

“[Electric vehicle] uptake in Australia lags behind that of other comparable countries due to a relative absence of overarching policy direction from Australian governments,” the report said.

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