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Construction underway at Australia’s largest, possibly cheapest wind farm
China’s Byton lands $600m to grab share of booming EV market
Acciona electric car pushes the limits in Finke Desert Race
Einstein's travel diaries reveal racist stereotypes
Mars rover Opportunity goes dormant amid huge dust storm
Antarctic ice sheets: Four things you need to know
Saiga antelopes: the Ice Age survivors now in peril
CP Daily: Wednesday June 13, 2018
California’s ARB awards nearly 790k offsets in latest issuance
Acland mine expansion versus human health
Are solar panels a middle-class purchase? This survey says yes
Antarctica has lost 3 trillion tonnes of ice in 25 years. Time is running out for the frozen continent
Ocean waves and lack of floating ice can trigger Antarctic ice shelves to disintegrate
Weatherwatch: Mauvoisin disaster triggered scientific interest in glaciers
A ‘glacial lake outburst flood’ killed 44 people and many animals in 1818 in Switzerland
In June 1818, ice falling from the tongue of the Giétro glacier had in effect blocked the valley of Mauvoisin in Switzerland. Water was building up behind this ice dam to dangerous levels, and engineers were called in to release it gradually. They drilled a hole through the ice, but it did not relieve the water pressure quickly enough. On 16 June at 4.30pm the ice dam burst, disintegrating and releasing all the water at once.
The result was a catastrophic “glacial lake outburst flood”, a phenomenon characterised by extremely high rates of water flow. Warnings did not travel as fast as the sudden rush of 20m cubic metres (4.4bn gallons) of water, which swept away bridges and buildings in its path, killing 44 people and many animals.
Continue reading...Low abatement, high costs to characterise future of cap-and-trade in Ontario and Quebec, study warns
Global energy emissions hit record after three flat years, with Asia, Europe leading the way -BP
EU Market: EUAs climb further above €15 after bumper auction, as lawmakers close in on stronger energy targets
Antarctica loses three trillion tonnes of ice in 25 years
Antarctic ice melting faster than ever, studies show
Rate of melt has accelerated threefold in last five years and could contribute 25cm to sea-level rises without urgent action
Ice in the Antarctic is melting at a record-breaking rate and the subsequent sea rises could have catastrophic consequences for cities around the world, according to two new studies.
A report led by scientists in the UK and US found the rate of melting from the Antarctic ice sheet has accelerated threefold in the last five years and is now vanishing faster than at any previously recorded time.
Continue reading...Let’s go with the grain of tidal power | Brief letters
Further to your travel feature on the Greek island of Leros (9 June), may I recommend to your readers Four’s Destiny: A Wartime Greek Tragedy by Michael Powell, a fictionalised account centring on Leros. Powell weaves a clever, powerful story around some fascinating wartime history. We follow four young men, one each from England, Germany, Italy and Greece, as the second world war changes their lives and destinies.
Ruth Samuels
Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire
• Re the proposed Swansea Bay tidal power lagoon (Letters, 11 June), the tidal-powered grain mill on the River Lea at Bromley-by-Bow in London was economic from the 1700s to the 1930s – and without the super-efficient bearings common in today’s machinery. Such small-scale hydro-powered generators (tidal and river) should be all over the country – they’d provide work and be far less expensive than nuclear. But some city slickers won’t be so able to extract their rent from localised generation so it won’t be approved by UK’s present government.
Robin Le Mare
Allithwaite, Cumbria