Around The Web

Country diary: bats hunt by the light of the silvery harvest moon

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 14:30

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire Seen through the shaggy boughs of an old larch, the full moon had the strange allure that moths and wanderers know

A streetlight in the lane enamelled hollies with a sodium glow and sucked the colour from the leaves of other trees. The church bell rang eight or maybe nine; there was a soughing through the limes.

Suddenly, I felt a tiny sonic boom and the draught of a bat’s wing close to my ear. It was like a tap on the shoulder, not a shock so much as a greeting but, all the same, a jolting from thoughts about one world into another, where unseen lives almost touch.

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Sewage plants are leaking millions of tiny plastic beads into Britain's seas

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 14:01

The plastic beads used for filtering sewage are hard to spot and pose a risk to wildlife, according to a new report

Sewage plants are contributing to plastic pollution in the oceans with millions of tiny beads spilling into the seas around the UK, according to a new report.

Dozens of UK wastewater treatment plants use tiny plastic pellets, known as Bio-Beads, to filter chemical and organic contaminants from sewage, according to a study from the Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition (CPPC).

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Darius Salgo joins Wattwatchers team to drive business growth

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 13:51
'New energy sector' innovator Darius Salgo is joining Wattwatchers in a part-time business development role with a focus on Australian and international market opportunities.
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Telstra unveils its big battery – it’s nearly 10 times bigger than Tesla’s

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 13:28
Never mind Tesla's big battery in SA, Telstra has 1GWh of battery storage in its current fleet, and plans to put it to use on the energy market.
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SolarEdge presenting large-capacity commercial inverters at Australia’s All Energy

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 12:40
SolarEdge is presenting its new large-capacity commercial inverters at All Energy.
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World will need 'carbon sucking' technology by 2030s, scientists warn

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 12:03

New methods to capture and store emissions, such as planting more forests and pumping carbon underground, are currently costly and need testing

As efforts to cut planet-warming emissions fall short, large-scale projects to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere will be needed by the 2030s to hold the line against climate change, scientists have said.

Many new technologies that aim to capture and store carbon emissions, thereby delivering “negative emissions”, are costly, controversial and in the early phase of testing.

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600MW pumped hydro project proposed for northern NSW

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 11:03
A 600MW pumped hydro facility with six hours storage - a $1 billion project - proposed to tap into renewable energy hub in northern NSW,
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Netherlands to close all coal-fired generation by 2030

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 10:41
Netherlands decision to close coal plants include those only completed in 2015 - the phase-out combines with rise of renewables and the impact of improved efficiency that put old models at risk.
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Adani signs PPA for Rugby Run solar plant, but won’t say with who

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 10:34
Adani Australia says it has a contract with Rugby Run solar farm in Queensland, but does not reveal who.
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'Climate change is real': energy minister hits out at Tony Abbott

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 10:24

Josh Frydenberg brings up former PM’s own record in response to Liberal colleague’s provocative speech to a group of climate-change sceptics

The energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has slapped down Tony Abbott and other conservative rebels, declaring that climate change is real and that was why Abbott agreed to join the Paris international climate agreement when he was prime minister.

Asked about Abbott’s provocative speech to a group of climate-change sceptics in London questioning the science of climate change – an outing that has been characterised by Labor as “loopy” – Frydenberg brought up Abbott’s own record in the top job.

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Mass extinctions 'offer cautionary tale'

BBC - Wed, 2017-10-11 09:36
Past mass extinctions have the potential to guide modern conservation efforts, say scientists.
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Fatbergs: 90% of London restaurants are contributing to problem

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 09:01

Oil and food scraps are finding their way into pipes and drains as majority of eateries have no grease traps

The vast majority of London restaurants and takeaways are responsible for feeding the fatbergs that are choking the capital’s sewers, according to survey findings that Thames Water called “staggering”.

Ninety per cent of eateries in London are contributing to the problem by failing to install grease traps, the report found. As a result, grease, oil and food scraps washed off plates, utensils and saucepans are finding their way into pipes and drains.

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Extending Liddell could be more expensive than solar plus storage

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 08:47
RepuTex says extending life of ageing Liddell coal generator would result in higher costs than new large scale solar project with battery storage.
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Leadbeater's Possum population crashes by two thirds in past 20 years: report

ABC Environment - Wed, 2017-10-11 07:18
A new report from the ANU challenges claims the critically endangered Leadbeater's Possum has staged a spectacular recovery in recent years.
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Get smart: AEMO unveils 200MW “virtual power plant”

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 07:06
AEMO and ARENA unveil a 200MW "virtual power plant" from demand response initiatives featuring incentives for commercial and household users, battery storage, and a range of Australian monitoring, smart meters and voltage control devices,
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Money can't buy me love, but you can put a price on a tree

The Conversation - Wed, 2017-10-11 05:14
How do you determine the financial benefit of cutting a tree down, versus leaving it standing? Environmental accounting offers some insight. Heather Keith, Research Fellow in Ecology, Australian National University David Lindenmayer, Professor, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Michael Vardon, Visiting Fellow at the Fenner School, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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The need to tackle London’s toxic air | Letters

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 03:45
Jeremy Simons of the City of London Corporation wants to see existing diesel private hire vehicles removed from fleets as soon as possible, and Tompion Platt of Living Streets wants more children to be able to walk to school

It is of real concern to read that nearly 95% of London’s population live in areas exceeding WHO limits for particulate matter (Report, 5 October). Inner London’s location, its dense road network and high buildings mean that it suffers from poorer air quality than many parts of the country. We are assisting the mayor of London by developing a low emission neighbourhood, leading a London-wide clampdown on idling engines, and banning diesel from our own fleet. We have created a City Air App, which gives low pollution travel routes to over 20,000 Londoners and use our planning powers to ensure new buildings are energy efficient and low emission.

This is having a positive effect and we welcome the mayor’s decision that from 1 January 2018 all newly registered taxis are zero-emissions capable. But more needs to be done. We want to see existing diesel private hire vehicles removed from fleets as soon as possible to protect the public from exposure to toxic diesel emissions – with current licences phased out by 2020.
Jeremy Simons
Chairman of the environment committee, City of London Corporation

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Why British scientists are watching Iceland's volcanoes

BBC - Wed, 2017-10-11 03:43
A team of British scientists fly around Iceland's volcanoes to find out how to avoid future air traffic disruption.
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Fightback begins over Trump's 'illegal and irresponsible' clean power repeal

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 03:20
  • NY attorney general to sue administration for scrapping Clean Power Plan
  • Major companies including Apple and Google support Obama-era initiative

The US is set for a fresh battle over climate change after the Trump administration moved to tear up the country’s primary policy to lower emissions and stave off dangerous global warming.

Related: 'The war on coal is over': EPA boss to roll back Obama's clean power rules

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Tony Abbott dares us to reject evidence on climate, but reveals a coward | Graham Readfearn

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 03:00

The former Australian prime minister’s misleading speech to a London thinktank was full of climate denial mythology

Tony Abbott titled his London speech on climate change “Daring to Doubt” – a challenge, if you will, to reject mountains of evidence and instead lick your fingers and shove them into the plug socket of denial.

Go on, I dare you.

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