Around The Web

Switzerland has begun talks with several developing nations to test pilot GHG-cutting initiatives, aiming to secure carbon credits that could be eventually used to help meet its Paris Agreement goal.

Nuclear regulator prosecutes waste firm after injury leaves employee open to exposure

Britain’s biggest nuclear waste storage and reprocessing site is facing a potential multimillion-pound fine after an employee was exposed to dangerously high levels of radiation.

The nuclear regulator said its investigation had led it to prosecute Cumbria-based Sellafield Ltd, which handles the waste from the UK’s nuclear power stations as well as spent fuel from Japan and the US.

Continue reading...

Once a bastion of EU carbon trading fraud, France has found almost a fifth of its burgeoning 'white' energy efficiency certificate market to be "problematic" since it relaxed auditing rules, delivering another stark warning over the potential pitfalls of market-based environmental policies.

Over 60,000 forest carbon credits issued by the Guangdong provincial government sold at a 10% premium to allowances in China’s biggest emissions market, the local exchange said.

In my job, I have been stung countless times. But nothing comes close to the pain bullet ants inflict

I carried out my first experiment with a stinging insect when I was seven, picking a honey bee off a dandelion and placing it on the arm of my teacher. My hypothesis was that it might sting her, and it turned out to be correct, much to her dismay.

Where I grew up, in the Appalachian area of the north-east US, we had lots of honey bees and wasps of various sorts. As a kid, I was stung by virtually all of them. I realised that they registered the same sort of pain – the intensity may vary from one to the next, but they were fairly similar. But an accidental run-in with a colony of harvester ants led to a life-changing revelation: they didn’t feel at all as I expected they would. They really hurt.

Continue reading...

The 23.8m (78ft) swell is the largest ever recorded below the equator, New Zealand scientists say.

Study finds that 70% of London cyclists believe drivers mean them harm. But is it mainly the fault of the road system?

As a cyclist in a busy urban environment, it can seem that some drivers are out to get you. And now a new study has concluded that for many bike riders, this is only too true: a sense of paranoia is a clinical reality.

The research led by Lyn Ellet, a clinical psychology academic at Royal Holloway, University of London, studied 323 cyclists in London aged between 18-66, and used a series of questions to gauge their levels of paranoia when on a bike.

Continue reading...

Researchers at Sydney’s Macquarie University discover sharks can recognise jazz music, but struggle to differentiate between styles of music.

Continue reading...

From pop-up bike lanes to painted potholes, here are the imaginative ways frustrated cyclists are taking action to create a safer environment

Across the world, transport planning and infrastructure tends to favour the car, and facilities for cyclists and pedestrians are an afterthought. In response, frustrated urban cyclists have thrown caution to the wind and written their own will into the fabric of the city, overturning the dominance of the car and creating a safer environment for cycling in imaginative ways.

Cycling has the power to turn individuals into a community and communities have the power to improve our cities. These examples show how activism can be a real solution to urban problems.

Continue reading...

RES plans for new Twin Creek wind farm in South Australia could include up to 215MW of battery storage, the largest in Australia.

Not all bugs are bad! Put down the pesticides and get to know the predators and parasites hidden around you. Lizzy Lowe, Postdoctoral researcher, Macquarie University Manu Saunders, Research fellow, University of New England Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Since Australia’s emissions have not fallen in the last 10 years, and there is no federal plan to make really significant reductions, Australia’s states must take up the challenge.

Clean Energy Regulator confirms the 2020 Renewable Energy Target will be met ahead of schedule, with 6,553MW of wind and solar projects already built or under construction.

Allendale, Northumberland: Barn owls can starve in snowy winters; it may be that the injury saved her life

It was on Boxing Day that the two boys found her. A flash of cream among field rushes, she had a wing caught in a fence and was flapping wildly to break free. A female barn owl. They carried her to a garden shed, leaving water and a pheasant carcass from which she ate. Clearly hungry, she must have been trapped for some time. With no obvious sign of wound, they followed the video on the Barn Owl Trust website on how to check for injuries.

Continue reading...

Prosecution seen as key test of Queensland’s ability to hold mining companies to account

• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon
  

The failed Queensland energy company Linc Energy has been slapped with one of the state’s largest environmental fines and ordered to pay $4.5m for contaminating farmland in the state’s western downs.

Judge Michael Shanahan said the company’s actions amounted to “ecological vandalism”.

But questions remain about whether the company’s liquidators, who pleaded not guilty but chose not to mount a defence in the Brisbane district court, can be forced to pay the fine and an estimated $72m cleanup bill.

Continue reading...

Both ExxonMobil and Chevron seem to bet against the world achieving the Paris Climate Agreement goal of keeping global temperature increase well below 2°C over pre-industrial times—and striving to limit warming to 1.5°C.

The Assistant Minister has approved the inclusion of 41 species, transfer of 6 species, removal of 3 species on the list of threatened species under the EPBC Act.

Frydenberg says NEG offers "best chance" for coal, says rapid decarbonisation would cause "lights to go out", and resumes attack on AGL and Labor's renewables target.

Developing nations want to ban fossil fuel interests from participating in, and sponsoring, UN climate talks - much to the chagrin of countries like US and Australia.

Tesla big battery accounts for just 2% of capacity in South Australia's ancillary services market, but in just four months it has grabbed a 55% market share and slashed prices by 90%.