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Nasa's Parker Solar Probe will get closer to our star than any other in history.

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

California regulator ARB granted over 2.8 million California Carbon Offsets (CCOs) this week in the largest issuance since May, with an Oregon tribe’s forestry project receiving over three-fourths of that total.

The government has offered emergency payments to drought-stricken farmers. But if we really care about them, we'll also invest in long-term drought resilience measures to reduce impacts. Jacki Schirmer, Associate Professor, University of Canberra Dominic Peel, PhD Candidate in Public Health, University of Canberra Ivan Charles Hanigan, Data Scientist (Epidemiology), University of Sydney Kimberly Brown, PhD Researcher, University of Canberra Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Researchers say that contacting people "out of your league", can be a successful online dating strategy.

Research shows geoengineering method intended to combat climate change would have adverse effect on agriculture

Proposals to combat climate change by reflecting the sun’s rays back into space would cause widespread crop failure, cancelling out any benefits to farming from the reduction in warming, according to new research.

By examining the effects of volcanic eruptions on agriculture – which has a similar effect to proposed artificial methods of scattering solar radiation through aerosols – scientists have concluded that such methods could have unintended consequences.

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EU carbon prices slipped below €17.50 on Wednesday despite a stronger enlarged auction, as the energy complex was dragged lower by heightened fears that a global trade spat will damage economic growth.

Newly discovered trick used by viruses makes them more dangerous.

Some 56% of German energy companies expect EUA prices to be above €20 in the next five years, up from fewer than 40% of companies six months earlier, according to a survey published Wednesday.

A hot July helped China’s coal imports to hit their highest levels in almost five years as coal consumption continues to grow while the government’s work to carve out regulations for its planned national emissions trading scheme has ground to a halt.

Tragic event of grieving mother carrying dead calf for days sparks renewed effort to save killer whales as they fight for survival

Seattle’s orcas are dying. That they are dying publicly and painfully may save them.

First was Tahlequah’s calf. Born on 24 July, she died minutes later. Tahlequah buoyed her for a week before mother and calf disappeared.

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Leicestershire fire and rescue service have captured spectacular footage of an unusual occurrence while tackling a plastic pallet blaze at the Ravensbourn plastics factory in Woodville, near Swadlincote. Fire tornadoes – also known as fire whirls – happen when cool air combines with hot air above to create a swirling effect

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Distrust in government mingles with fears for cannabis industry while fires spread across hundreds of square miles

Haze from the largest fire in California history filled the air near the town of Clearlake on Tuesday as Jim Steele, a local supervisor, drove his pickup truck through a landscape of smoldering hillsides and charred trees to check on the homes of citizens in his district.

Related: Largest wildfire in California's history expected to burn for rest of August

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The saga comes on top of criticisms of the Minister's grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

The state has put a spanner in the works ahead of a key meeting for the government.

As Indonesia reels from two deadly earthquakes, it's time to rebuild smarter and stronger. Jonatan A Lassa, Senior Lecturer, Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management, Charles Darwin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The popularity of plant-based diets has created huge demand for the oil-rich seeds, prompting a farm in Essex to plant a crop

The first UK-grown chia seeds go on sale this week, as demand for the plant native to the Americas is fuelled by the explosion in the popularity of plant-based diets.

The company Hodmedod, pioneers of British-grown pulses, grains and seeds, has been working with farmers Peter and Andrew Fairs, of Great Tey in Essex, to bring the new British crop to market.

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Three scientists explain the unprecedented danger facing the western US and call for new solutions to a growing threat

California is no stranger to fire. The temperate winters and reliably dry summers that make the Golden state such an attractive place to live are the same conditions that make this region among the most flammable places on Earth.

But even for a region accustomed to fire, the continuing wildfire siege has proven unprecedented. Although it is only early August, numerous very large, fast-moving, and exceptionally intense fires have already burned vast swaths of land throughout the state – consuming hundreds of thousands of acres and thousands of homes and claiming at least nine lives, including four firefighters. State and national firefighting resources are stretched to their limits; choking smoke inundated the state capital of Sacramento; and much of Yosemite national park is closed indefinitely.

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Given the tremendous benefits of the Obama-era clean car rules, justifying Trump's rollback requires contortions that would qualify the administration for Cirque du Soleil. Here are just a few of them...

CSIRO developed breakthrough method to transport hydrogen in form of ammonia hailed as watershed moment for energy, and big new opportunity for Australia.