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Prees Heath, Shropshire: Because of callous exploitation by collectors, this location was long kept secret but conservation work has helped the butterflies. Now there are clouds of them

“Silver-studded,” said the man hunched over his phone, pointing at a patch of red fescue grass. “Clouds of ’em.” Without looking up, he waved his arm over the common of Prees Heath. A stiff breeze ruffled the grass and carried the drone from surrounding trunk roads as sunlight flashed through scudding clouds. The day was as blue and silver-studded as the butterflies. Plebejus argus, the silver-studded blue butterfly, has its last outpost in the English Midlands here.

Plebejus suggests commoner and argus is perhaps keeping watch, but like the dwellers of many heathland commons, life for the butterflies here hung by a thread. Because of callous exploitation by collectors in the past, this location was long kept secret but conservation work to restore the heathland has helped the butterflies, and now there are waymarkers pointing them out.

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Another 110MW solar farm joins the grid in Queensland, taking that state's total to nine, and matching NSW and the ACT.

Driverless electric shuttle buses capable of travelling at speeds of up to 45km/h to be trialled in planned ‘autonomous vehicle hub’ in SA.

Elon Musk has tapped into what could be a deal-closer to bring gas-guzzlers over the line, albeit asking the converted.

JinkoSolar has supplied 275.4 MWdc of high efficiency modules to Green Light Contractors Pty Ltd for use in the Bungala Solar Farm near Port Augusta, South Australia.

Decline in LGC market gathers pace as traders debate whether softening is cyclical or fundamental, while STC market also loses ground.

Solar power became, albeit briefly, the biggest source of electricity in the UK last week. A hint of the future.

IPART makes good on plan to slash state rooftop solar tariff almost by half, ignoring concerns cut will penalise solar households for their role in helping to bring power prices down.

Did you know most states' building codes force people to connect a new house to the gas network? The question is – why?

A new exhibition reappraises the work of Harry Burton, who photographed the decade-long Tutankhamun excavation.

Weak target for NEG will impose an effective carbon price of $35/tonne on rest of economy, or a total of $10 billion, and will ignore cheaper emissions reductions from wind and solar.

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BBC Reality Check looks at the government's promise of taking back control of UK fishing waters.

A California Assembly committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would increase the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in 2030 and set a goal for 100% renewable energy by mid-century.

Energy justice is a social issue, and by leaving it up to vulnerable people to sort it out for themselves, we as a society risk making it even worse. Nicola Willand, Research Consultant, Sustainable Building Innovation Laboratory, RMIT University Ralph Horne, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation; Director of UNGC Cities Programme; Professor, RMIT University Trivess Moore, Lecturer, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Researchers have found that moons in distant solar systems may be the most plentiful habitats in the galaxy.

Commingled bins cause contamination. Is it time to go for separate bins for glass and paper?

It was supposed to be the more efficient solution. Now as governments and local councils search for answers to Australia’s unfolding recycling crisis, the household yellow bin has emerged as both the prime culprit and a potential remedy.

The recycling industry has been in crisis mode since the beginning of the year. On 1 January, China stopped accepting 99% of Australia’s exported recycling due, in part, to their strict new rules on contamination.

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Ontario entities saw access to their cap-and-trade accounts restricted on Tuesday as new Premier Doug Ford officially cancelled the province’s carbon market.

EU carbon prices inched higher for a second day on Tuesday, buoyed by record high power prices that overshadowed the bearish impact of a weak auction.

Kristin Mink approached Scott Pruitt in Washington DC while holding her son and listed reasons why he should resign

“Hi! I just wanted to urge you to resign,” schoolteacher Kristin Mink said as she approached Scott Pruitt at a Washington DC restaurant on Monday, apparently unfazed by Pruitt’s lunch partner and two security guards.

“This is my son,” Mink told the head of the US Environmental Protection Agency while holding her two-year-old in her arms.

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