Around The Web

Off the tip of Cape Cod, pods of humpbacks return every summer to feed. For the past 18 years, Philip Hoare has been joining them to witness this incredible display

At the tip of Cape Cod, a sandy spit reaches out into the Atlantic, like an arm, towards a vast underwater plateau where humpbacks gather each summer to feed. This is the US marine sanctuary of Stellwagen Bank, where for the past three weeks I’ve been a guest on the Dolphin Fleet whalewatch boats, working out of Provincetown.

Continue reading...

The evolution of electric motorcycles is happening before our eyes, with control systems and battery designs the final barriers to yet more power and speed.

There are limited opportunities to support farmers who are using less, so the most important thing is to make your voice heard

• Diversion tactics: how big pharma is muddying the waters on animal antibiotics
  
• How much does big pharma make from animal antibiotics?
  

Farm antibiotic use rarely features on food labels or marketing in the UK, so it’s very hard for shoppers to know how to support farmers who are using less. For whole meat and butchered cuts, there are some rules of thumb for the conscious shopper:

Continue reading...

It is easier to buy a tiger in some states than to adopt a rescue dog – and only 6% of the animals are housed in approved facilities. This is bad for the big cats – and for humans

According to estimates, the population of tigers in people’s back gardens in the US outnumbers those in the wild. Seven thousand of the big cats live in US captivity, whereas, despite increases, there are as few as 3,890 wild tigers worldwide. Most of the captive animals are kept in unregulated conditions, as the BBC reported last week. Only 6% are housed in zoos or facilities approved by the US Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The rest live in private breeding facilities, back yards, even urban apartments. In some states, it is easier to buy a tiger than to adopt a rescue dog.

Leigh Henry, a species policy expert at the World Wildlife Fund, says the situation threatens the work that has been done to conserve wild populations in Asia. “A patchwork of regulations governs these tigers, meaning no agency can say how many there are, when they are born, when they die and what happens to their valuable parts when they do. Illegal trade in tiger parts remains the primary threat to tigers in the wild, and the last thing we want is parts from captive tigers helping sustain or even fuel this black market.”

Continue reading...

JA Solar announced that the electricity generating capability of its bifacial mono PERC double glass module was certified by international authoritative testing institute TUV Rheinland.

Calls by joint inquiry to bring forward UK car sales ban have been resisted by government

The government has been accused of dragging its feet on air quality improvements by a cross-party group of MPs.

A partnership of four committees said serious concerns remained about the UK’s commitment to cutting pollution and its impact on public health.

Continue reading...

Here are five ways the the NEG will penalise consumers, particularly those with rooftop solar. If it all sounds like it can’t possibly be true, it is. But it can be fixed.

Blockchain platform developed by Perth-based Power Ledger used in California to manage credits generated by renewable EV charging.

Coalition seeks to make it harder for any future government to change low-ball emissions targets, and removes option for changes with 5-years notice.

Inquiry will look at what the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is capable of delivering

A parliamentary inquiry will examine how a $444m grant for work on the Great Barrier Reef was awarded to a small not-for-profit charity, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, with no competitive tender process.

Labor, Greens and crossbench senators have backed the inquiry, which was moved by a Greens senator, Peter Whish-Wilson.

Continue reading...

The Department commissioned Mr Drew Clarke AO PSM FTSE in August 2017, to undertake a review of the governance arrangements supporting the Australian Antarctic Science Program and to provide advice on a new governance model by early 2018. The...

The Department commissioned Mr Drew Clarke AO PSM FTSE in August 2017, to undertake a review of the governance arrangements supporting the Australian Antarctic Science Program and to provide advice on a new governance model by early 2018. The...

An extra $460bn per year needs to be invested on the low-carbon economy globally over the next 12 years to limit global warming to 1.5C, a new paper says.

Waste byproducts from rice and glass combined with fungus can create a construction material with the potential to save lives and the planet. Tien Huynh, Senior Lecturer in the School of Sciences, RMIT University Mitchell Jones, PhD Student, RMIT University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Puppies and kittens are born without teeth, but by around two months of age they have a full set of baby teeth. Anne Fawcett, Lecturer, University of Sydney Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The major supermarkets' bans on single-use plastic bags are looming, but will they actually help the environment? And what are our alternative options?

Genex offered $516 million loan from Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility for world-leading solar and pumped hydro storage project.

One mayor says children under 10 years old should not walk alone, in case of an attack.

A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

Ontario carbon allowances held in Quebec and California will remain valid for compliance following Ontario’s departure from the WCI programme, though it remains unclear how the three jurisdictions will manage the fallout from Premier-designate Doug Ford’s decision to kill the province's carbon market.