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US power sector CO2 emissions declining among major producers -report
The gene-edited pigs immune to lung disease
Gene-edited farm animals are on their way
Blockchain network launches new EV collaboration to trace California LCFS credits
Shetland scallop fishery retains eco label despite dredging protests
Review rejects conservation groups’ complaints that use of dredging gear damages seabed
A scallop fishery in Shetland has retained its coveted eco label after an independent review rejected allegations that it damaged the marine environment.
The marine conservation charity Open Seas and the National Trust for Scotland protested that the fishery’s use of dredging gear to harvest scallops caused unjustifiable damage to the seabed and other marine species.
Continue reading...UPDATE – Analysts ratchet down EU carbon price forecasts as lawmakers strengthen bloc’s energy targets
Astronauts eject UK-led space junk demo mission
A world without puffins? The uncertain fate of the much-loved seabirds
On the small Welsh island of Skomer, puffin numbers are booming. But in former strongholds in Scotland, Norway and Iceland, the picture is ever more worrying
Bryony Baker lies spreadeagled at the edge of a cliff and reaches her hand deep into a hole in the ground that is almost entirely hidden beneath a clump of grass. She pushes futher in and her arm disappears up to the shoulder. It is a little like watching a vet getting up close and personal with a labouring cow. “Ouch!” she exclaims suddenly, her face creasing in pain. She pulls her arm out and inspects her fingers, already covered in scars. “That one’s definitely a puffin. They look sweet, but they can be pretty aggressive.”
She presses her lips together in anticipation of another nip and pushes her hand in again. A large, dirty white egg emerges from the burrow – “warm, good” – and she places it safely on a cushion of moss. She reaches into the ground again. When she withdraws it, a second later, she’s holding an irritated puffin by its orange beak. She rings it, notes its number – this is now Bird EZ88918 – then gently replaces it and its precious egg in the burrow.
Continue reading...Former PM Abbott throws fresh spanner in the works for Australia’s NEG
South Korean firms ink PoA deal as country eyes new CDM projects following carbon market rule change
'Barnacled angels': the whales of Stellwagen Bank – a photo essay
Off the tip of Cape Cod, pods of humpbacks return every summer to feed. For the past 18 years, Philip Hoare has been joining them to witness this incredible display
At the tip of Cape Cod, a sandy spit reaches out into the Atlantic, like an arm, towards a vast underwater plateau where humpbacks gather each summer to feed. This is the US marine sanctuary of Stellwagen Bank, where for the past three weeks I’ve been a guest on the Dolphin Fleet whalewatch boats, working out of Provincetown.
Continue reading...Li and the art of electric motorcycle evolution
How can you support farmers who are using fewer antibiotics?
There are limited opportunities to support farmers who are using less, so the most important thing is to make your voice heard
- Diversion tactics: how big pharma is muddying the waters on animal antibiotics
- How much does big pharma make from animal antibiotics?
Farm antibiotic use rarely features on food labels or marketing in the UK, so it’s very hard for shoppers to know how to support farmers who are using less. For whole meat and butchered cuts, there are some rules of thumb for the conscious shopper:
Continue reading...More tigers live in US back yards than in the wild. Is this a catastrophe?
It is easier to buy a tiger in some states than to adopt a rescue dog – and only 6% of the animals are housed in approved facilities. This is bad for the big cats – and for humans
According to estimates, the population of tigers in people’s back gardens in the US outnumbers those in the wild. Seven thousand of the big cats live in US captivity, whereas, despite increases, there are as few as 3,890 wild tigers worldwide. Most of the captive animals are kept in unregulated conditions, as the BBC reported last week. Only 6% are housed in zoos or facilities approved by the US Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The rest live in private breeding facilities, back yards, even urban apartments. In some states, it is easier to buy a tiger than to adopt a rescue dog.
Leigh Henry, a species policy expert at the World Wildlife Fund, says the situation threatens the work that has been done to conserve wild populations in Asia. “A patchwork of regulations governs these tigers, meaning no agency can say how many there are, when they are born, when they die and what happens to their valuable parts when they do. Illegal trade in tiger parts remains the primary threat to tigers in the wild, and the last thing we want is parts from captive tigers helping sustain or even fuel this black market.”
Continue reading...JA Solar’s Bifacial Mono PERC Double Glass Module Receives TUV Rheinland Certificate on Solar Power Generation
Cross-party MPs say government is dragging feet on air pollution
Calls by joint inquiry to bring forward UK car sales ban have been resisted by government
The government has been accused of dragging its feet on air quality improvements by a cross-party group of MPs.
A partnership of four committees said serious concerns remained about the UK’s commitment to cutting pollution and its impact on public health.
Continue reading...Five ways the NEG works against consumers, and solar
Silicon Valley EV network plugs into Australian blockchain technology
Coalition makes it harder to change low-ball emissions target
Senate to probe Great Barrier Reef grant of $444m to small charity
Inquiry will look at what the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is capable of delivering
A parliamentary inquiry will examine how a $444m grant for work on the Great Barrier Reef was awarded to a small not-for-profit charity, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, with no competitive tender process.
Labor, Greens and crossbench senators have backed the inquiry, which was moved by a Greens senator, Peter Whish-Wilson.
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