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Country diary: flowers emerge from the shingle
Pagham Harbour, West Sussex: Among the detritus, towers of red valerian shake in the wind and sea kale plants explode in a flurry of wavy green leaves
Continue reading...Victoria renewables auction on track, NEG still looms as major threat
Know your NEM week: NSW coal chaos and China’s solar bombshell
Canola oil processing to be powered with bioenergy
GreenSync welcomes new Chairman Mark Woodall
Victoria’s newest wind farm starts production to the grid
Sonnen starts using household batteries to play in wholesale market
California stakeholders question LCFS crediting plans for ZEV infrastructure
CP Daily: Monday June 11, 2018
Big cat spat
Researcher, Climate Protection & Urban Governance, Ecologic Institute – Berlin
Weatherwatch: sunbathing carp grow faster and fitter than their timid cousins
Carp that soak up the sun are fitter, and bold fish benefit more by sunbathing for longer
One magic late afternoon in summer, sitting on the bank of a clear, still lake in Hertfordshire, it was possible to see lines of motionless carp on the surface that appeared to be sunbathing. The idea that fish, like snakes and other ectotherms (“cold-blooded” creatures), might enjoy or benefit from sunbathing was dismissed as a childish fancy at the time, but many decades later has been vindicated.
A scientific paper shows that carp not only sunbathe, but also gain body heat, grow faster and are fitter as a result. These fish were warmer than their surroundings despite the fact that scientists thought this was impossible because the fish were immersed in cold water. Another key finding is that not all fish gained equally. The darker fish absorbed more warmth than their paler companions and grew faster.
Continue reading...Australia's emissions reduction target 'unambitious, irresponsible'
New Australia Institute paper finds neither Coalition nor Labor’s pollution reduction targets would see us doing our fair share
Pollution reduction targets for 2030 proposed by the Coalition and Labor will not see Australia contributing its fair share to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate agreement, according to new research.
A paper from the progressive thinktank the Australia Institute finds the Turnbull government’s target of a 26-28% reduction on 2005 levels is “inadequate according to any recognised principle-based approach” and the Labor target of a 45% reduction is “the bare minimum necessary for Australia to be considered to be making an equitable contribution to the achievement of the Paris agreement’s two degree target”.
Continue reading...EU Market: EUAs dip to 1-week low as auction supply loads up
Scientists shocked by mysterious deaths of ancient trees
George Barker obituary
George Barker, who has died aged 77, was a champion of wildlife conservation in towns and cities. During his long service in the government wildlife service, the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC), and its successor bodies, he became the acknowledged expert on urban nature conservation, a field that had been largely neglected. His openness to new ideas, unusual in a public servant, and gentle advocacy over four decades, helped to make a success of urban wildlife conservation both at home and abroad.
Acting almost alone at first, Barker set about destroying the myth of the “urban wildlife desert”. Long before ecosystem services became a crucial part of urban planning and design, Barker realised that city landscapes can be surprisingly rich in wildlife, especially in post-industrial “brownfield” sites such as quarries and spoil-heaps. These places were seen as derelict land and were completely unprotected. Barker also understood that urban parks and even gardens can become reservoirs for wildlife if managed in the right way.
Continue reading...China to carry out mass inspections in one-year anti-pollution campaign
Brussels criticised for delays in banning toxic chemicals
European commission’s inaction is putting people’s health at risk, law firm says
People’s health is being put at risk by Brussels’ slow response to the use of dangerous chemicals, according to a report.
A study by ClientEarth, an environmental law organisation, found that in nine out of 10 cases the European commission’s decision to ban a toxic chemical after it had been identified was “excessively delayed”, sometimes for up to four years.
Continue reading...Undersubscribed South Korean carbon auction settles at discount
Copenhagenize your city: the case for urban cycling in 12 graphs
Danish-Canadian urban designer Mikael Colville-Andersen busts some common myths and shows how the bicycle has the potential to transform cities around the world
- Copenhagenize is published by Island Press