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'Surprise' discovery of Europe's first cave-dwelling fish
Frydenberg: what the deal with Xenophon means for energy policy
Dolphins 'shake and toss' octopus prey, research finds
Diesel cars: 'It turns out we were wrong'
Flood defence plans heavily favour London and south-east
Exclusive: new analysis indicates south will get significantly more funding per capita than elsewhere, in part because of higher property prices
The government’s planned spending on flood defences heavily favours London and the south-east of England, according to a new analysis, with spending per person up to 13 times higher than in other regions.
The recently published plans set out spending to 2021 and, for major projects, beyond that date. By far the largest projects are those for the Thames estuary, leading to 60% of the planned spending going to London and south-east, home to 32% of England’s population.
Continue reading...Green groups condemn UN plan to use $136m from climate fund for large dams
Activists warn of serious environmental consequences for UN-backed hydro projects in Nepal, Tajikistan and the Solomon Islands
Plans to earmark more than $136m (£109m) of UN money for large dam projects in Nepal, Tajikistan and the Solomon Islands have been angrily condemned by activists, who have warned the projects could have serious environmental consequences.
The UN’s green climate fund was set up during the Paris climate agreement to mobilise $100bn a year by 2020 for poor countries looking for innovative and transformational projects.
Continue reading...Five things we learned from the Big Solar conference
Amphibian icons of prodigious procreation
Buxton, Derbyshire What compels our imagination is the sheer drive of frogs and toads to get to the spawning ponds
What is it about frogs and toads that has made them such classic icons of sexual reproduction? It cannot be timing, because their breeding is often over before the other elements of high spring – flowers, bees, birdsong, sunshine – are in full flood. Frogs will gather at the spawning pond when the starlit nights are frosted and the vegetation rimed in white.
Nor can it be that frogs or toads flesh out the dawn chorus. I have often found that frogs are most vocal on late-winter nights, and the little burp of toads, which is more creak than croak, is so quiet one has to strain to pick it out. The soft, even, purring of frogs is sweeter but, as one herpetologist noted, a pondful of thousands in full throat was completely inaudible just 50m away.
Continue reading...Graph of Day: Most rooftop solar in Queensland now gets low “retail” tariff
“Get used to it”: We’re switching from “baseload” to a smart grid
Arrival of big solar puts renewable energy target back on track
Renewable certificate prices fall despite looming shortfall
Musk taunts short sellers after Tesla surges, overtakes Ford in market value
Renewables experts advise Infigen Energy on the development of the 113MW Bodangora Wind Farm
CEFC achieves $150m milestone in energy efficiency finance for 1,000 small business projects
Most energy experts say 100% renewables is feasible, realistic
Brenda the Civil Disobedience Penguin v the Adani mine. Democracy is fatally compromised! | First Dog on the Moon
This terrible mine is much more than the sum of its poisonous venal parts. It represents the searing contempt in which voters are held
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Former Danish PM says investment is key to developing renewable energy – video
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, appearing on the ABC’s Q&A, says every country needs to determine the right mix of energy sources for its requirements, but the important thing is investment, planning and political will. She says Denmark started investing in its renewables strategy 30 years ago and now makes more from the export of related technology than from its traditional agricultural sector
Continue reading...Ceredigion TB fears over 'thriving' wild red deer
We can't be Denmark: Josh Frydenberg plays down wind energy potential on Q&A
Energy minister says Australia’s remoteness means it cannot match European countries yet in producing electricity from renewables
Josh Frydenberg has pointed to South Australia’s intermittent power issues as evidence that the rest of the country is not ready to transition out of fossil fuels, calling the state Australia’s “great experiment”.
The minister for the environment and energy appeared alongside Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the chief executive of Save the Children International and the former prime minister of Denmark, on the Q&A panel on Monday night.