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Country diary: this cute creature is a cold killer

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-05-15 14:30

Aigas, Highlands: The pine marten brought a touch of night in its sharp black muzzle and in the big silent dark-stockinged feet

For more than 90 minutes we’d sat until cold air quieted the wood and the day thinned into the long shadows of the trees. By 10.30pm we were centred in an arc of artificial lamp glow. There was just the sound of a last robin across the loch, its spindly song an analogue for the vanishing day.

The silent theatricality of the moment was thus complete when the creature strolled into our vision without the merest hint of drama. Its step was sprightly, its acceptance of the lamp instantaneous. It brought a touch of night in its sharp black muzzle and in the big silent dark-stockinged feet – and every now and then it paused from eating to stare hard at its own route through the trees, reassuring itself of solitude – but otherwise we were all at ease with the mutual encounter. For 10 minutes there were no sounds but the crunch of nut and the click of camera.

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Know your NEM: Firming output in South Australia

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-05-15 14:19
South Australia remains the most fascinating market, with all sorts of competing ideas and technologies to firm the state's wind and solar output.
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Australia’s biggest solar farm switches on in Port Augusta

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-05-15 14:11
The 220MW Bungala solar farm - Australia's largest - begins production, signalling a milestone for the transformation of Port Augusta into a renewable energy hub.
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To get conservative climate contrarians to really listen, try speaking their language

The Conversation - Tue, 2018-05-15 14:06
Facts will only get you so far when it comes to climate change. To get conservatives on side, climate communicators must focus on the values conservatives hold dear, such as preserving the status quo. Jamie Freestone, PhD student in literature, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Queensland’s biggest solar farm connects to the grid

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-05-15 13:45
Clare solar farm begins production in north Queensland, while Hughenden solar farm also connected to the grid.
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Why are whales so big?

ABC Environment - Tue, 2018-05-15 11:30
Whales are the giants of the marine realm, and we've only recently discovered why they're so huge.
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Putting a stop to energy discounting that leaves consumers worse off

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-05-15 11:02
The AEMC has made a new rule to prohibit energy retailers from making discounts appear bigger than they actually are.
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Corporations to lead charge into wind, solar and storage

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-05-15 10:56
Nearly half Australian businesses considering wind, solar and storage, and one third of them will make it major source of power. Could business take over from governments to lead push into renewables?
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Energy Regulator to put networks under the microscope

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-05-15 10:31
An investigation into whether electricity networks and regulated gas pipelines are gouging consumers to cover their corporate tax liabilities will be carried out the Australian Energy Regulator.
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CP Daily: Monday May 14, 2018

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 08:32
A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.
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Virginia’s Dominion Energy plans to throttle biomass power

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 08:30
The largest utility in Virginia plans on cutting output at or shutting its biomass-powered facilities, it has announced, as the US state remains undecided how it will treat the renewable energy source in its planned cap-and-trade scheme modelled after RGGI.
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Various Roles, Verra (VCS) – Washington DC

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 07:26
We are committed to making Verra a great place to work. Below are the current employment opportunities.
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CO2 emissions from burgeoning ‘South-South’ trade may threaten climate goals -study

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 07:22
The growth in trade between developing countries in the first decade of the 21st century, fuelled by the offshoring of manufacturing to lower-wage economies, has led to a surge in emissions that threatens the climate goals of the Paris Agreement, according to a study released on Monday.
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How do Queensland's land clearing laws impact farming profits?

ABC Environment - Tue, 2018-05-15 06:36
The land clearing debate continues in farming communities across Queensland in the wake of the Labor Government's decision to pass laws banning the broad scale clearing of remnant vegetation.
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EU Market: EUAs claw back losses after weak auction, as weekly sale supply triples

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 05:42
EU carbon prices clawed back early losses to finish flat on Monday after the market struggled to absorb the day’s auction amid a return to normal sale supply following last week’s scarce offering.
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Nova Scotia joins WCI to tap technical expertise

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 05:06
Nova Scotia has joined the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), it announced on Monday, as the province advances the development of its cap-and-trade system with a view to launching it early next year.
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Millennials are making frozen food hot again, but can they stop killing everything else?

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-05-15 04:34

Frozen food is the latest industry millennials have been credited with saving. But it’s too late for gum, soap and thongs

Frozen food is super hot right now. According to David Palmer, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, sales volumes have grown for the first time in five years. And millennials are largely responsible for this, spending 9% more per shopping trip for frozen foods last year than other groups, according to Reuters.

So why are millennials, a supposedly foodie generation, buying so many frozen meals? Well, largely because it’s convenient. “The average millennial doesn’t have time to make a full meal with fresh meat and produce, a Euromonitor analyst explained. “More and more they’re seeing these products as viable options.”

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Almost half of Australian big business moving to renewables

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-05-15 04:00

Climate Council says capacity of firms to generate solar power has doubled in less than two years

Almost half of Australia’s large businesses are actively transitioning to cheaper renewable energy, including many going off the grid by building their own generators and battery storage, as power bills threaten their bottom line.

A new report by the Climate Council details the increased speed of a business-led transition to renewables as power bills have increased.

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Investors urge fossil fuel firms to shun Trump's Arctic drilling plans

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-05-15 04:00

Oil extraction in Alaskan wilderness area would be an ‘irresponsible business decision’, trillion-dollar investors say

Investors managing more than $2.5tn have warned oil firms and banks to shun moves by the US president, Donald Trump, to open the Arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR) to drilling.

Companies extracting oil and gas from the wilderness area in Alaska would face “enormous reputational risk and public backlash”, the investors say in a letter sent on Monday to 100 fossil fuel companies and the banks that finance them.

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'Memory transplant' achieved in snails

BBC - Tue, 2018-05-15 03:31
Memories are transferred from one snail to another in a laboratory.
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