Around The Web

Crowdfunded case claims offshore oil licences were granted illegally by the Guyanese government

Three major oil companies preparing to drill off the shores of Guyana, where a string of discoveries have sparked a rush for crude, are being challenged by a group of citizens who say their dash for oil is illegal.

Lawyers acting for the Guyanese campaigners are to lodge the latest challenge in a court in Guyana this week. They are funding the battle against oil giants Exxon Mobil, Hess Corporation and Nexen, a subsidiary of Chinese national oil, through the crowdfunding site CrowdJustice.

Continue reading...

The Nasa robot this week celebrates 2,000 martian days investigating the surface of the Red Planet.

Sheffield City Council's plan to fell thousands of healthy trees prompts angry protests.

Tempsford, Bedfordshire: To us the entrance hole to the sett it is unfathomably small, for in our imaginations we big up the badger into a creature with the dimensions of a stripy bear

On a disused airfield where planes once lifted off on secret night missions to occupied Europe, animals roam the runways under cover of darkness. At one corner, badgers have mined a thicket of thorns with pickaxe claws and shovels for feet. Their sett is lodged among the bushes, its tunnels and chambers shored up and secured by pillars and rafters of roots. It has spread to the point where the mouth of the newest hole gapes out over the open airfield. A portal between day and night, a D-shape on its side, it slumbers in the sun, while, deep inside, curled-up animals dream of dusk, their babies still a couple of months away from emergence. The hole breathes out no sounds, no smells, nothing.

The entrance hole to the sett would represent a canyon to a rabbit, but to us it is unfathomably small, for in our imaginations we big up the badger into a creature with the dimensions of a stripy bear.

Continue reading...

22 March 1960: A problem with which mankind is faced at the moment is how to adapt local fishing to local needs

Every development in the fishing industry to-day points to the fact that it is becoming world business.

Among the latest proposals for expansion is the employment of two former aircraft carriers which are to be converted into mother ships operating with fleets of trawlers working at sea. Fish factory ships are becoming more popular. Their crews not only catch fish in the trawl; they fillet it, process it, make fishmeal and liver oil, and finally deliver the fillets in deep frozen packages.

Continue reading...

The death of the last male northern white rhino in the world raises an interesting question: when does a species pass the point of no return? Corey Bradshaw, Matthew Flinders Fellow in Global Ecology, Flinders University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Tesla shareholder vote approves 10-year, $2.6bn compensation package for CEO Elon Musk – a record individual executive equity award, but Ts & Cs apply.

The east coast power system of Australia has the worst frequency regulation in the developed world. So what to do?

Selectronic celebrated a milestone event in achieving serial number 200,000 of its product range, at an event held on Tuesday 20th March at its production facility in Chirnside Park, Victoria.

NSW is expected to overtake Queensland as biggest market for rooftop solar and will have 50 per cent more capacity than any other state by the mid-2030s.

The new business will provide strategic consulting and guidance, and transaction advisory services. The business will also be a start-up and growth company accelerator for the energy sector.

Per the agreement, Golden Invest will develop power projects with a total capacity of 100 MW in Australia, which will exclusively utilize N-type bifacial solar modules manufactured and supplied by Jolywood.

Plans ‘woefully inadequate’, party says – but it fears replacing some protections with none at all

The Greens have signalled that they might not back a move by Labor to disallow controversial new marine park management plans proposed by the Turnbull government, calling for time to consider their position.

The Greens’ healthy oceans spokesman, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, told Guardian Australia on Thursday that if the new government plans were disallowed, “then we move from some protections to no protections, and the protections of our oceans have to rely on Labor winning government and the conservative major and minor parties not having the numbers to disallow whatever plans Labor put in place”.

Continue reading...

Renewable energy leaders and innovators are invited to nominate for the 2018 Clean Energy Council Awards, which highlight innovation and excellence in the Australian renewable energy and energy storage industry.

The UK government is failing rural communities and the natural environment, a report says.

NSW says three regional energy zones could host 77,000MW of wind and solar capacity - enough to meet demands of modern energy system.

The Green Recruitment Company are pleased to announce the opening of a new Australian office, based in Sydney.

SA Water awards tender to install 5MW solar across various facilities, and to develop a floating solar PV array, on path to zero net energy.

Number of coal plants in permitting and planning process fell another 22% in 2017 – a 59% fall over the last two years.

Chinese battery maker BYD unveils updated range of modular “solar batteries” for Australian market, as it turns up the heat on Tesla and other rivals.