Around The Web

The unusual sight of a wallaby bounding across the Sydney Harbour Bridge has surprised early-morning motorists.

Peer-to-peer renewable energy marketplace leader recognised for high potential; heads to Necker Island later this year to compete as one of 3 finalists.

Electricity from renewables in Germany grew by a record amount, but one big news item may have been overlooked amidst all the new records.

The heart of China’s coal country has become a global leader in EVs – but is the switch sustainable?

A month into operation, the Tesla lithium-ion battery at Neoen wind farm in Hornsdale, South Australia is already providing essential grid services.

Continuing its strategy of proximity, aiming to offer its customers the high quality service, Imeon Energy opens a Service Center in Melbourne, Australia.

Insects are often portrayed as a sustainable superfood - and many are delicious.

With 99% of green sea turtles in the northern Great Barrier Reef hatching as females due to changing climate, the future for this species now depends largely on effective global conservation measures. Rita Caldas Patricio, Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Exeter Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Corporate energy retailer Flow Power inks 10-year PPA to supply Melbourne-based manufacturer with electricity sourced from Victoria's Ararat wind farm.

Our cultural practices help define us, but when the mood of the world is against us, what do we do? 

With some of Australia's offshore oil and gas structures starting to reach retirement age, there are hopes that decommissioning could signal a new boom for the sector.

Human body lice, rather than rat fleas, spread plague during the Black Death, a study simulating the outbreak suggests.

Last year was a vicious one for climate and energy politics. And with a South Australian election and various other federal decisions in the offing, 2018 looks like being similarly rancorous. Marc Hudson, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Campaigners say London mayor has fudged a similar manifesto promise to divest the city’s remaining pension funds from fossil fuels

London has been put to shame by New York’s decision to divest city pension funds from fossil fuel companies, according to climate campaigners who accuse the mayor, Sadiq Khan, of fudging a similar promise he made during his election campaign.

Global efforts to drive investment away from oil, gas and coal were given a major boost last week when the biggest city in the US announced plans to sell off its $5bn holdings in fossil fuel assets and sue the world’s most powerful oil companies over their contribution to dangerous global warming.

Continue reading...

Model penguins have appeared in cities around the world as part of a new Greenpeace campaign that is aiming to turn a huge tract of the Antarctic Ocean into the world’s biggest wildlife reserve, protecting marine life and helping to fight climate change

• World’s biggest wildlife reserve planned for Antarctica in global campaign

Continue reading...

Food Standards Agency reports ‘significant increase’ of harmful pathogen campylobacter in British-farmed chickens

Chickens for sale in Britain’s supermarkets are showing record levels of superbugs resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics, new research from the government has found.

The results are concerning because resistance to antibiotics among livestock can easily affect resistance among humans, rendering vital medicines ineffective against serious diseases.

Continue reading...

Vote on controversial method will be closely watched in the UK, which will decide on the issue as part of national fishing policy after Brexit

Europe’s parliament will vote on Tuesday on the controversial issue of electric pulse fishing, in a debate that could decide the future of the fishing method.

The debate is crucial for the UK, despite Brexit, because the UK’s fleets have yet to decide whether to lobby the government post-Brexit for an expansion in pulse fishing. Tuesday’s debate and vote will give an indication of both current scientific advice on the issue, and the strength of public opinion.

Continue reading...

Fuel from the Sanchi has spread over more than 100 sq km and could badly damage marine life.

Higher temperatures increase the number of people seeking asylum in the EU

The refugee crisis – particularly in the Mediterranean area – has received large amounts of new attention in the past few years, with people fleeing from Syria and entering the European Union emblematic of the problem. There has been some research connecting this refugee problem with changes to the climate. In particular, the years preceding the Syrian refugee crisis were characterized by a severe drought that reduced farm output and led to economic and social strife there.

Separating out the influences of climate change from general social instability may be impossible, because they are intimately linked. But we do know that climate change can cause social and economic instability. We also know that these instabilities can boil over into larger problems that lead to mass exodus. The problem isn’t knowing the connection between climate and refugees exists – rather the problem is quantifying it.

Continue reading...

Exclusive: Many of the country’s most famous ancient sites, from Holyrood Park to the Neolithic village of Skara Brae, need urgent protection, say experts

Dozens of Scotland’s most famous historic sites are at very high risk of being badly damaged by climate change and need urgent protection, an expert survey has found.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the agency which oversees nearly 340 of the country’s most important castles, abbeys, Neolithic sites and ruins, has for the first time issued red warnings for nearly a fifth of its sites and put amber, high risk warnings against another 70%.

Continue reading...