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Monash family appalled by Coalition’s “horse and buggy” approach to energy
Shell threatened with legal action over climate change contributions
Friends of the Earth demands the oil firm move away from fossil fuels to comply with Paris deal
The global flurry of legal campaigns against “big oil” has widened, with Royal Dutch Shell being threatened with legal action unless it steps up efforts to comply with the Paris climate agreement.
Friends of the Earth Netherlands on Wednesday demanded the Anglo-Dutch company revise plans to invest only 5% in sustainable energy and 95% in greenhouse-gas emitting oil and gas.
Continue reading...The dramatic melting of Arctic icebergs – in pictures
Photographer Francesco Bosso travelled to Greenland to capture images of the melting icebergs, which he describes as ‘gems of nature in danger of extinction’. The results are presented in his new book, Last Diamonds
Continue reading...Country diary: avian pipers at the gates of dawn
Lune Estuary, Lancaster: Some oystercatchers piped the first bars of their call and then, as if a signal that dawn had broken, a curlew summoned sunrise
It was becoming light, but not light yet. Water, salt marsh, sky: these were names for things that did not exist in the dark before dawn. Then the glim of something, maybe a moon-piece, as befits the Lune, made its way in to where it was possible to look but not go. There was the cold, face-wash quiet of the air and the slight rub of dry sedge trodden on the road. There was frost, if that smells of silver. A spectral breath returned inside after exhalation, setting the mind afloat. There was a slow opening in the east and then the nets of river fog filled with gold.
As shoals of light swam through the air, the river and the land floated in banded layers of colour, none of which lasted longer than a few seconds. This was a weightless landscape, at liberty and so insubstantial that any ripple could disperse any or all parts of it to drift away in different directions. As the sky blued into being, a bow of geese flew northward and a jack snipe lifted from somewhere indefinable between marsh and water, jinking bat-like out of and back into the mist. Far off, some oystercatchers piped the first bars of their call and then, as if a signal that dawn had broken, a curlew summoned sunrise, its song a weir of keening but without grief.
Continue reading...Torqeedo powers electric boat fleet in China
Tesla’s improved Model 3 results keep Elon Musk’s balls in the air
Pro-coal ‘Monash Forum’ may do little but blacken name of revered Australia
In-depth: Is Shell’s new climate scenario as ‘radical’ as it says?
Greens urge end to coal by 2030, as Turnbull begs AGL for crumbs
Great white shark interrupts police operation in South Australia – video
Police officers in South Australia had a close encounter with a great white shark while they were out on a routine operation checking boat registrations over the Easter break.
Jaws drop as great white shark interrupts Australian police operation
Shark nicknamed ‘Noah’ gets between officers and fishing boat selected for random breath test
A great white shark swimming in one of Australia’s most renowned shark habitats interrupted a police operation on Saturday by serenely terrifying the officers.
The shark, dubbed Noah by South Australia police, glided in between a police dinghy containing two life-jacketed police officers and their intended target, a recreational fishing boat selected for a random breath test.
Continue reading...Customers to benefit from lower network prices with demand management incentive scheme starting early
Researcher brainstorm leads to charging in rainstorm
Baringa Partners brings energy expertise to Australian market
Arctic jazz: bowhead whales are the coolest cats
Bowheads serenade each other off Greenland with a vast repertoire of improvised jazz-like song, study says
How do bowhead whales in the unbroken darkness of the Arctic’s polar winter keep busy during breeding season?
They sing, of course.
Continue reading...The whales who love to sing in the dark
The pro-coal 'Monash Forum' may do little but blacken the name of a revered Australian
Monash manifesto: Coal subsidies good, renewable targets bad
Terrawatch: scientists turn to drones to find raw materials
In Germany, scientists are using drones equipped with sensors to locate metals needed for wind turbines and solar panels
We know that renewable energy can help the world to wean itself off fossil fuels, but keeping up with green-energy demand is creating another problem. Countries such as Germany, which has committed itself to a low-carbon future, are finding themselves short of the raw materials required to manufacture wind turbines and solar panels. In particular, metals such as copper, cobalt, platinum-group metals and rare-earth elements such as indium and germanium are in short supply.
Continue reading...Flood warnings issued across UK as river levels rise after wet Easter
West Midlands and Wiltshire are among worst affected, while Cam and Ouse are higher than usual
Flood warnings are in place across the country after the wet Easter weather caused many rivers to overflow their banks.
Wide parts of the UK were affected by rain and snow over the bank holiday weekend, sparking a rise in water levels.
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