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National parks to rethink plan to hike entrance fees after widespread anger

The Guardian - Wed, 2018-04-04 03:24

Public comment period saw more than 100,000 messages, many condemning proposal to raise fees as high as $70

The Department of the Interior said on Tuesday that it planned to revise a controversial proposal to drastically increase entrance fees at some of the most popular national parks in the country.

The interior department press secretary, Heather Swift, said the Trump administration decided to rethink its proposal after Americans flooded the National Park Service (NPS) with more than 100,000 comments, many of them sharply critical of the proposed surge pricing scheme.

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Conservationists use astronomy software to save species

BBC - Wed, 2018-04-04 03:17
Researchers use astronomical techniques used to study distant stars to survey endangered species.
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Fracking firm says first horizontal well at Lancashire is complete

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-04-03 22:21

Protesters mock announcement by Cuadrilla as they start three-month protest at Lancashire site

The first large-scale fracking in Britain has moved a step closer after an energy firm said it had completed drilling the UK’s first horizontal well at a site in Lancashire.

Cuadrilla said the development was a “major milestone” towards the first shale gas exploration in the UK since 2011, when work was halted after it triggered a minor earthquake. The company said it hoped to begin fracking at its site on Preston New Road, near Blackpool, in the summer, pending government approval.

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Antarctica 'gives ground to the ocean'

BBC - Tue, 2018-04-03 20:08
The White Continent is surrendering ocean floor as the undersides of its glaciers are melted.
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Scientists examine threats to food security if we meet the Paris climate targets | John Abraham

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-04-03 20:00

Even with aggressive climate policies to limit global warming, food security in some areas will be threatened

We have delayed action for so long on handling climate change, we now can no longer can “will it happen?” Rather we have to ask “how bad will it be?” and “what can be done about it?” As our society thinks about what we should do to reduce our carbon pollution and the consequences of electing science-denying politicians, scientists are actively studying the pros and cons of various emission reductions.

Readers of this column have certainly heard about temperature targets such as 1.5°C or 2°C. These targets refer to allowable temperature increases over pre-industrial temperatures. If humans take action to hit a 1.5°C target, it means we are committed to keeping the human-caused global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Similarly for a 2°C target.

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NSW approves 1,000MW Liverpool Range wind farm in New England

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-04-03 18:18
The New South Wales state government has given planning approval for the Liverpool Range wind farm, which at more than 1,000MW could be the biggest in the country.
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Meet the latest organisation to achieve carbon neutral certification

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2018-04-03 16:50
International Lubricant Distributors (ILD) has been certified carbon neutral against the Australian Government’s National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS)
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New Australian wind farms reach nearly 50% capacity factor

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-04-03 14:55
Two new Australian wind farms are heading towards 50 per cent capacity factor - that is about the same as some ageing coal generators.
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Genex gets development approval for next 270MW stage of Kidston solar

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-04-03 14:53
Genex gets DA for next stage of its Kidston solar project, which will end up becoming the country's, and most likely the world's, first major solar project paired with large pumped hydro storage.
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Will battery storage kill “duck curve” market for gas generators?

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-04-03 14:49
Australia's big retailers are planning major investments in gas generation. But California illustrates how that market has been shuttered by battery storage.
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Country diary: spring's dramatic upwelling of life

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-04-03 14:30

Claxton, Norfolk: The birds, wildflowers and insects burst into action; it’s what the great environmentalist Roger Deakin called ‘opening time in nature’s great saloon’

At last those winter rains have ended and the sun shone here for two full days. Suddenly it is time for cock pheasants, flushed crimson with testosterone, to fight long tail-twisting battles; for wild violets to flower quietly over our meadow-lawn; for goldfinches to strip spider thread from the back wall to bind their nests; for hairy-footed summer-bees to zip among the rosemary blooms, and for buff-tailed and early bumblebee queens to truffle the green hellebore heads in a last garden before the marsh. They’re all part of that dramatic upwelling of life which Roger Deakin once called “opening time in nature’s great saloon”.

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Statement on the passing of Terry Effeney

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-04-03 14:25
One of the Australian energy industry’s greatest contributors, Terry Effeney, passed away on the weekend.
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2.75 GW! JinkoSolar acquires largest solar panel deal in history

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-04-03 14:21
JinkoSolar announced that, as the world’s largest solar module manufacturer, it has signed a 2750 MW solar panel supply deal with NextEra Energy, the world’s most valuable utility company.
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Coalition back-bench’s crazy last gasp attempt to save coal

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-04-03 12:18
Monash Forum pushes for new coal fired generators, as it seeks to confirm role of National Energy Guarantee as do nothing policy. Monash Forum is said to represent more than half of Coalition backbench, which is about the same that reject climate science.
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Invitation to comment on listing assessment for Philotheca sporadica (Kogan waxflower) - 2018

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2018-04-03 11:18
The public consultation period will be open until 18 May 2018.
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Invitation to comment on listing assessment for Philotheca sporadica (Kogan waxflower) - 2018

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2018-04-03 11:18
The public consultation period will be open until 18 May 2018.
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'Send in the drones' to protect soil

BBC - Tue, 2018-04-03 09:37
Drones should be used to locate and penalise farmers who let soil run off their fields, a report will say.
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Dinosaur tracks on Skye 'globally important'

BBC - Tue, 2018-04-03 09:19
Researchers find that the footprints belonged to sauropods and therapods from the Middle Jurassic period.
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UK to tighten laws on 'abhorrent' ivory trade

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-04-03 09:01

Defra consultation on proposals received more than 70,000 responses, 88% in favour

A UK ban on ivory sales, which the government claims will be the toughest in Europe and one of the strictest in the world, is to be introduced after the proposals were overwhelmingly backed in a public consultation.

The ban makes exemptions only for musical instruments containing a small percentage of ivory, some antiques, and museum objects.

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The quiet e-bike revolution

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-04-03 08:45
While EVs dominate the headlines, a quiet revolution has been taking place and the fastest growing segment in the transport world now is e-bikes, or electric bicycles.
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