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The whale was found entangled in netting off the Sydney beach on Tuesday afternoon. Passengers on a whale-watching cruise  spent several hours trying to help, and succeeded in cutting some of the netting before the operation had to be abandoned at nightfall

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Strong winds from Storm Alberto have caused a small waterspout in a swimming pool in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Strong winds from Storm Alberto have caused a small waterspout in a swimming pool in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Queensland's new land-clearing laws are a huge missed opportunity. Philippa England, Senior Lecturer, Griffith Law School, Griffith University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Barton-le-Willows, North Yorkshire: Just weeks ago we were sledging on these hills. Now the branches are laden again, this time with floral snow

The wedding invitation says no gifts. After so long together they wish for nothing but our company. But in 17 years of friendship with this couple, we’ve shared adventures and foolery, elation and loss; we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve raised children. So the occasion merits a token, at least. I decide to forage for something.

Our local hedgerows are peaking. As I select primroses, forget-me-nots, stitchwort and sprigs of blossom to adorn the wedding cake, the earworm I’ve hosted for days starts up again: Andy Williams singing It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Christmas bells and all. It’s weirdly apt in a year when the weather has played merry hell with seasonal succession. Just weeks ago we were sledging on these hills. Birdsong greeted blizzards, the first cuckoo called in icy drizzle, and our swallows bowled in over another boreal blast. Now the branches are laden again, this time with floral snow.

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The two five-year transactions will protect the new solar projects' revenues from the financial risks associated with uncertain production volume, timing of energy generation and future energy prices. 

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has acted for the sponsors on all aspects of the development, construction and financing of the 170MW Crudine Ridge Wind Farm near Mudgee, NSW.

Eco Energy World wins council approval for 350MW solar farm in Raglan – another major PV project for Queensland's Gladstone Region.

Tesla reveals plans to build thousands of new electric vehicle supercharger stations globally in 2018/19, including another 18 for Australia.

Lyon Infrastructure teams with two major international energy and storage groups to pursue its portfolio of solar and battery projects in Australia, and others overseas.

130 years ago one woman went on the first road trip and made history. Is it time for another change in transportation?

Out-of-place Queensland groper seen off New Zealand coast after water temperatures soared

Rare tropical fish from Australia have been spotted in New Zealand waters after a record-breaking hot summer and warm ocean temperatures lured the creatures across the Tasman sea.

The Queensland groper, also known as the giant grouper, is the aquatic emblem of the state and was spotted swimming around the wreck of the HMNZ Canterbury in the Bay of Islands on Sunday, more than 3,000 kilometres away from its usual cruising spots on the coral reefs and estuaries off the Queensland coast.

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A quick wrap of what the Turnbull government has been doing for Australia's energy sector – "Authorised by the Department of Transitioning to the Dark Ages."

Jon Tyler is an Antarctic guide, showing scientists how to survive the extreme environment.

Jon Tyler is an Antarctic guide, showing scientists how to survive the extreme environment.

ACT to install 50 EV charging stations on government sites across Canberra as part of nation-leading effort to decarbonise city's transport sector.

Snowy Hydro tenders for 800MW of wind and solar capacity, hoping for prices in $40/MWh range, and sub $80/MWh "firming" contracts, and underline case that renewables plus storage beats coal.

Official data shows forest-clearing released 160m tonnes of carbon dioxide since 2015
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More than $1bn of public money being spent on cutting greenhouse gas emissions by planting trees and restoring habitat under the Coalition’s Direct Action climate policy will have effectively been wiped out by little more than two years of forest-clearing elsewhere in the country, official government data suggests.

The $2.55bn emissions reduction fund pays landowners and companies to avoid emissions or store carbon dioxide using a reverse auction – the cheapest credible bids win. The government says it has signed contracts to prevent 124m tonnes of emissions through vegetation projects – mostly repairing degraded habitat, planting trees and ensuring existing forest on private land is not cleared.

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Judges ordered a 25% carbon emissions cut by 2020 in the first successful lawsuit against a government’s climate policy

The Dutch government has launched a bid to overturn a landmark climate ruling, arguing that judges in The Hague “sidelined democracy” when they ordered a 25% cut in carbon emissions by 2020.

Government plans for a lesser 17% cut in CO2 pollution were deemed unlawful three years ago, in the first successful lawsuit against a government’s climate policy.

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Our special landscapes are cultural constructs, says Tom Greeves. And public authorities need to think more about urban green spaces, says Ann Sharrock

Michael Gove needs to be careful in his choice of vocabulary about national parks (England may get more national parks after Gove announces review, 28 May). His review suggests that it is part of a process to enhance protection of “natural” landscapes and habitats. But our English national parks and all areas being considered for designation are equally cultural landscapes created by some 10,000 years of human presence, also needing protection. He should beware the fashionable concept of “natural capital” without balancing it with one of “cultural capital”. And he should be aware that our existing parks are the least democratic part of the English local government system, having no directly elected members. New designations balancing nature and culture, and with direct elections, might be welcomed – otherwise our special landscapes will be no better off.
Tom Greeves
Chairman, The Dartmoor Society

• Michael Gove should develop and support the people who live and work in areas with poor-quality green infrastructure. While supporting and developing statutory designated sites is laudable, it is unlikely to offer direct positive benefits for urban and suburban dwellers not within easy access of such sites. Biodiverse habitats are not restricted to statutory designated sites and should be developed and nurtured as community assets providing recreation, education, physical and mental health benefits, and climate regulation. Failure to develop and set aside green spaces in our towns and cities shows the unwillingness of public authorities to invest in spaces which do not give an easily quantifiable cash return, despite progress in including natural capital assets in an economic framework.
Ann Sharrock
Stockport

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