Around The Web

It’s official: CER data says Australian homes and businesses installed record total of 1057MW of solar, mostly on rooftops, in 2017.

City of Sydney add funds to help Ausgrid's push for more rooftop solar in Australia's biggest city to avoid costly grid upgrades.

Strong demand from China, as well as European fashion houses and US sportswear companies, is proving a boom for the industry

The price of wool has reached an historic high after decades of poor returns and Australian woolgrowers are saying the market is stronger than it has been in 30 years.

The price signal, the eastern market indicator, reached a record $18.30 per kilogram this month, double where it was eight years ago. The hike has been driven by strong demand from China and European fashion houses, as well as growing interest from shoe and sportswear companies in the US.

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Australia's federal environment laws are inadequate to halt Australia's alarming rates of land clearing and species loss. A more robust set of laws are urgently needed. Samantha Hepburn, Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

California, Washington and Oregon have led criticism of Trump’s climate policies, but change hasn’t been easier closer to home

California’s exposure to climate change has been laid bare with warnings that San Francisco faces a far worse threat from rising seas than previously thought, while the agricultural heart of the state will increasingly struggle to support crops such as peaches, walnuts and apricots as temperatures climb.

The findings, from two new scientific studies, come as California’s neighboring west coast states Oregon and Washington have both faltered in their legislative attempts to address climate change and deliver a rebuke to Donald Trump’s dismissal of the issue.

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Eighteen hostages are alive and abductors are demanding a large ransom, local sources say

Eighteen employees of a gorilla sanctuary in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have been abducted by a militia group, sources have said.

An official with an NGO said the abduction took place on Monday in the area of Nzovu, in Kahuzi-Biega national park. They said an armed group called the Mai-Mai Raia Mutomboki was responsible.

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Critics say legal move by UK Oil and Gas, that could see protesters at its sites jailed and fined, is draconian and anti-democratic

Another firm is seeking a sweeping injunction against environmental protesters, drawing accusations that the legal move is “draconian and chillingly anti-democratic”.

UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) has applied for a broad injunction to prevent campaigners from mounting protests that it says would unlawfully interfere with its operations.

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Red squirrel numbers in Scotland are being boosted by the activity of pine martens.

Nine teams, including one from the UK, will demonstrate new technology to map the sea floor.

New law would ban the sale of all eggs, pork or veal from a caged animal, putting the state ahead of the EU – if campaigners can get enough signatures

They call Chris Winn the signatures guy. A delivery driver by day, he spends his free time drumming up support for animal rights. “When I did the shark fin ban I got 4,000 signatures,” says Winn, 53. “Usually I’m the top guy in California.”

Now he’s on a new mission. It’s a cold Saturday afternoon in San Francisco and Winn is jubilant, bundled in a hat and sweatshirt, scouting for signatories for a proposed law that would ban the sale of any eggs, pork or veal that comes from an animal that spent its life in a cage. If passed it would be the most progressive farm animal welfare law in the world.

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A bill that would require some stores selling only cage-free eggs to offer lower-welfare eggs as an affordable option risks a ‘major set-back’ for animal welfare, say critics

Iowa grocery stores selling cage-free eggs may soon be required to stock eggs from battery hens as well.

The bill would affect two of Iowa’s largest supermarkets, HyVee and Fareway Stores, and national chains such as Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and Target, as well as smaller independent grocers. That’s because the bill is pegged to a government food-assistance program for low-income pregnant women, mothers and children, known as WIC. Stores that accept WIC vouchers would have to offer caged eggs alongside eggs that come from cage-free, free range or enriched colony cage environments.

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It's hoped talks between North and South Korea will lead to a de-escalation of tension on the Korean peninsula.

Fisheries minister announces 28% increase, but environmentalists say steep drop in number of minkes killed is sign of a dying industry

Norway has announced a 28% increase of its annual whaling quota to 1,278 whales in a bid to revive the declining hunt amid international controversy.

Whalers have for several years failed to meet the quotas set by Oslo and the number of whaling boats has plunged.

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Areas with growing pine marten populations have seen grey squirrel numbers fall as they provide easy prey for the predators – unlike native reds, a new study shows

The invasion of grey squirrels that has decimated native reds across the UK is reversed when pine martens prowl the woods, new research has shown. Unlike reds, grey squirrels appear to be easy meat for the predator.

Pine marten populations have also been drastically reduced in the past. But where they are recovering, they send grey squirrel numbers plummeting while reds thrive, according to scientists.

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Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: Some were like wisps of bonfire smoke, others formed rolling circles of spindrift or reel-shaped vortices that blew themselves apart after a couple of seconds

Watching snow devils rise, dance and vanish in the field, as if they were beings composed of moonlight, was strangely compelling.

It was really parky. For the past few days there had been intermittent snow showers, slow-motion flakes drifting without direction that settled into a sugaring. These were separated, like the flick of a switch, by moments of dazzling sunshine and blue skies but bone cold, nothing thawed. There was a storm coming and sheep folded themselves into the lee of tall trees as the wind picked up; redwings left the fields and leaves blew about like lost birds. At first the air was quiet except for the growl of a chainsaw and disconsolate tutting from 30 jackdaws in the high branches facing into the breeze. They were watching, too.

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Why red squirrel numbers are boosted by the activity of their natural predator, the pine marten.

'Virtual power plants' offer extra power to the grid by tweaking the operation of batteries and appliances right across the network. But even this might be too blunt a tool for our future energy needs. Evan Franklin, Senior Lecturer - School of Engineering, Co-Director Future Energy, University of Tasmania Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate Economics and Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

CEFC provides loan to finance most of 5MW solar farm to be built on former colliery site near Newcastle, paving the way for batteries and electric trucks.

New planning and community engagement guidelines are in development to guide Queensland’s solar farm boom.

Architect of Australia’s most successful renewables policies says proposed National Energy Guarantee lacks ambition, transparency, and won't hit climate targets.