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'We should be on the offensive' – James Hansen calls for wave of climate lawsuits

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-11-17 18:30

Veteran climate scientist says litigation campaign against government and fossil fuels companies is essential alongside political mobilisation in fighting ‘growing, mortal threat’ of global warming

One of the fathers of climate science is calling for a wave of lawsuits against governments and fossil fuel companies that are delaying action on what he describes as the growing, mortal threat of global warming.

Former Nasa scientist James Hansen says the litigate-to-mitigate campaign is needed alongside political mobilisation because judges are less likely than politicians to be in the pocket of oil, coal and gas companies.

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Interstellar asteroid is given a name

BBC - Fri, 2017-11-17 17:56
The first known asteroid to visit our Solar System from interstellar space has been given a name.
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Nurseries ban glitter in pre-Christmas drive for cleaner seas

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-11-17 16:30

Tops Day Nurseries group cracks down amid fears children’s favourite could be as harmful to environment as microbeads

Glitter, as anyone who has ever worn it knows, has a habit of turning up in unexpected places days later, even after a good scrub. However, a new peril has emerged from the sparkly substance: it is adding to the plastic pollution in our seas.

A group of nurseries in southern England has banned the use of glitter among its 2,500 children to reduce the amount of microplastics entering the seas.

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Country diary: a feast for birdwatchers – and some of the best views in the Peak District

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-11-17 15:30

Bretton, Derbyshire Finches, fieldfares, tits, siskins and bramblings line up for the feeders at this remote cottage

The road between Abney and Bretton had been closed for much of the summer as a landslip was repaired. The ground hereabouts is wormed through with faults and weaknesses, a legacy of shale rocks and local lead mining. It’s a boundary of sorts, between limestone country to the south and dark gritstone moors to the north, a place of geomantic charm and mystery, hidden corners and unexpected angles.

Now the road was open again, offering some of the best views in the Peak District. I stopped at a remote cottage where a rough footpath led down into the head of Bretton Clough.

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'Maybe the smog can bring us together': toxic air chokes Pakistan and India

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-11-17 15:00

With Lahore suffering from air pollution almost equal to that enveloping Delhi, joint action to tackle the problem is urgently needed, say environmentalists

Parts of Pakistan have been enveloped by deadly smog in recent weeks, with the city of Lahore suffering almost as badly as the Indian capital Delhi.

Pictures and video that show Lahore looking like an apocalyptic landscape have left people in shock. Some residents have said they can’t see beyond their outstretched arm.

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Elon Musk finally unveils the Tesla Semi electric truck

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2017-11-17 12:12
Elon Musk is unveiling his company's electric truck, the Tesla Semi, at a launch in California today. Here's what we know...
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‘Modern air is a little too clean’: the rise of air pollution denial

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2017-11-17 11:43
Despite report after report linking air pollution to deterioration of the lungs, heart and brain, Professor Robert Phalen believes the air is “too clean” for children.
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What Frydenberg was told about why NEG was bad policy

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2017-11-17 11:29
There is a better alternative to the NEG, taking the lead of the UK, Germany, Portugal, even China, who have all set policy to move aggressively towards clean energy.
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Kidston solar + pumped hydro project wins another $5m from ARENA

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2017-11-17 10:29
Stage 2 of Genex Power’s solar and pumped hydro project set to reach financial close in 2018, with help of new federal government grant.
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Queensland’s new coal generator would burn more money than coal

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2017-11-17 10:05
A new coal generator in north Queensland would likely burn up to 79 per cent of its asset base - at the cost to Queensland taxpayers.
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Solar industry launches campaign against LNP in Queensland poll

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2017-11-17 09:43
Australian Solar Council launches massive campaign against LNP in Queensland poll, saying there is too much at stake to ignore.
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Networks push to take regional consumers, communities off grid

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2017-11-17 09:11
Networks and consumer groups say taking rural customers off grid - and providing them with solar and storage - can save billions, and make electricity cleaner, safer and more reliable. It's a no brainer, but the regulator stands in the way.
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GE Renewable Energy appoints Steve Oswald to lead its Wind business in Australia & New Zealand

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2017-11-17 08:08
GE Renewable Energy has announced the appointment of Steven Oswald as the new Country Executive for the Wind business in Australia & New Zealand. Further, David Lian has been promoted to Head of Sales for Wind in Australia and New Zealand.
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Science Friction Season 3 starts November 18

ABC Environment - Fri, 2017-11-17 08:00
Season 3 lands Saturday 18 November. Foodies, Brains, Drugs, Beatles...and more. Science and culture with the spice added.
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Trump reverses ban on elephant importation

ABC Environment - Fri, 2017-11-17 07:42
US President Donald Trump has reversed a ban and will now allow the importation of elephant parts from countries including Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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UN climate negotiations wind up in Germany

ABC Environment - Fri, 2017-11-17 06:35
The latest round of UN climate negotiations wind up in the German city of Bonn later today with 200 nations discussing the future of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
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Regulate land-clearing in Great Barrier Reef catchments - Queensland Labor

ABC Environment - Fri, 2017-11-17 05:35
The Queensland election is just over a week away, with a sharp divide emerging between the major parties and Pauline Hanson's One Nation on key issues such as the future of renewable energy - and the building of new coal mines like Adani.
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Australia is a global top-ten deforester – and Queensland is leading the way

The Conversation - Fri, 2017-11-17 05:27
The failed attempt to reinstate land clearing regulations in Queensland has prompted 'panic clearing', pushing Australia into the global top-ten deforesters. Noel D Preece, Adjunct Principal Research Fellow at Charles Darwin and, James Cook University Penny van Oosterzee, Principal Research Adjunct James Cook University and University Fellow Charles Darwin University, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Lions next in line of fire as US rolls back curbs on African hunting trophies

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-11-17 05:19

The Trump administration’s lifting of restrictions on importing elephant body parts from Zimbabwe and Zambia is not the last gift to hunting interests

Hunting interests have scored a major victory with the Trump administration’s decision to allow Americans to bring home body parts of elephants shot for sport in Africa. Another totemic species now looks set to follow suit – lions.

As the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) was announcing it was lifting a ban on the import of elephant “trophies” from Zimbabwe and Zambia, it also quietly published new guidelines that showed lions shot in the two African countries will also be eligible to adorn American homes.

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Fears for Great Barrier Reef as deforestation surges in catchments

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-11-17 03:00

Calls grow for the federal government to step in as erosion from intensified land clearing in Queensland threatens coral

A deforestation surge in Queensland, which the latest government data suggests is about to accelerate dramatically, is heavily concentrated in catchments for the Great Barrier Reef, further undermining plans to improve reef water quality.

The finding has renewed calls for the federal government to use its powers to assess the impact of clearing there until the Queensland government is able to pass legislation to halt it itself.

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