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Sulphur-crested cockatoos learn to open wheelie bins in Sydney – video
Sulphur-crested cockatoos are learning to pry open bins, with researchers finding the new skill has caught on in 44 Sydney suburbs in just two years. With help from the public, Australian and German ecologists have documented cockatoos learning the bin-diving behaviour through social interactions. The research, published in the journal Science, also found differences in the cockatoos’ bin-opening technique between different suburbs, arising from 'local subcultures'.
- Video courtesy of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, Australian Museum Research Institute and Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
Australia’s reliance on gas exports questioned as Japan winds down fossil fuel power
Government urged to speed up transition to green energy as Australia’s biggest market shifts away from LNG and coal
A Japanese pledge to wind down gas and coal-fired electricity much faster than previously planned has sparked warnings Australia needs to speed up a transition away from fossil fuel exports.
A draft revised energy mix released by Japanese officials on Wednesday said the country – Australia’s biggest market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and thermal coal – would cut gas-fired electricity generation nearly in half and reduce coal power by more than a third by 2030.
Continue reading...Whether or not the Great Barrier Reef is listed as ‘in danger’ won’t alter the fact it is at risk from climate change
The Australian government pushed back fiercely against Unesco’s recommendation – and the world is watching
This year, Australia’s big tourism drawcard celebrates its 40th year as a UN world heritage site – a list where more than 1,100 of humanity’s most important spots go for acknowledgement and protection.
But on Friday, a committee of 21 countries will decide if it wants to listen to the advice of the UN’s science and culture organisation, Unesco, and put the Great Barrier Reef on its list of places that are “in danger”.
Continue reading...UK utility SSE sees power output fall 10% in Q2
EU’s carbon border levy to affect closest neighbours more than global players, experts say
AI breakthrough could transform battle against disease
Wivenhoe’s pockets rare windfall from Callide coal explosion, but where was big battery?
Wivenhoe pumped hydro plant scores windfall gains in high prices that followed Callide coal explosion.
The post Wivenhoe’s pockets rare windfall from Callide coal explosion, but where was big battery? appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Quebec rejects LNG project over potential GHG impacts
Airlines need to do more than plant trees to hit net zero, MPs told
Climate Change Committee head says firms must invest in ‘scaleable’ offsets such as carbon capture
The aviation industry must pay for costly carbon removal technologies rather than rely on using the planting of trees to claim they are reducing emissions, the head of the Climate Change Committee has said.
Chris Stark said aviation, unlike other transport sectors, was unlikely to meet targets for net zero by 2050. He said instead the industry had to use “scaleable” offsets that matched ongoing emissions into future decades, but that these should be used as a last resort after directly cutting emissions.
Continue reading...Wind and solar set new production records as they reshape Australia’s grid
Wind and solar have set new production records in Australia's main grid as they continue to reshape the grid and displace coal and gas.
The post Wind and solar set new production records as they reshape Australia’s grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.
‘I’ve seen 40 on one dive’: invasive lionfish threatens ecosystems in Med
A removal project aims to reduce numbers of the unwelcome arrival that has quickly become prevalent
Non-native lionfish have become increasingly common in parts of the Mediterranean in recent years, threatening local ecosystems and posing a hazard to humans through their venomous spines.
Marine biologist Prof Jason Hall-Spencer first saw a lionfish off the coast of Cyprus in 2016. It was just an individual, but the species – which produce about 2 million eggs each year and lack natural predators in their new environment – have quickly become prevalent. “In some places, I’ve seen 40 on one dive,” said Hall-Spencer, from the University of Plymouth.
Continue reading...Euro Markets Midday Brief
Guangdong ETS reports 100% compliance for 2020 as power plants exit scheme
China floods: aluminium alloy plant explodes in Henan province – video
Dramatic footage shows the moment an aluminium plant exploded in China's central Henan province after a record-breaking rain storm. Local government officials said Dengfeng Power Group's plant exploded when flood waters from a nearby river breached a wall and entered it
- China floods: death toll climbs as questions raised over preparedness
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- Death toll rises and thousands flee homes as floods hit China
Trading house opens Singapore carbon desk, former Shell traders join
The sunlight that powers solar panels also damages them. 'Gallium doping' is providing a solution
Deadly coral disease sweeping Caribbean linked to wastewater from ships
Researchers find ‘significant relationship’ between stony coral tissue loss disease and nearby shipping
A virulent and fast-moving coral disease that has swept through the Caribbean could be linked to waste or ballast water from ships, according to research.
The deadly infection, known as stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), was first identified in Florida in 2014, and has since moved through the region, causing great concern among scientists.
Continue reading...After Covid, the climate crisis will be the next thing the right says we ‘just have to live with’ | Aditya Chakrabortty
The politics of this new, extreme individualism will make collective responses to social crises impossible
Soon, a few of the more shameless newspaper commentators will urge the rest of us to “learn to live” with climate breakdown. Soon, a couple of especially sharp-elbowed cabinet ministers will sigh to the Spectator that, yes, carbon emissions should ideally be slashed – but we must make a trade-off between “lives and livelihoods”. Soon, a little platoon of Tory backbenchers will respond to TV pictures of another devastating flash flood or deadly heatwave by complaining about “fearmongering”. “Why is the BBC so doomy?” they’ll ask, as the death toll rises.
Soon, shockingly soon, the cheap shots, the brazen stat-bending and the coprophagic cynicism that have warped British discourse since March 2020 will migrate from Covid to an even bigger and more lethal crisis: the climate emergency. And just as they have helped shape the self-inflicted catastrophe that England has embarked upon this week, so they will work their terrible influence on that one.
Continue reading...Machine learning breakthrough allows day-ahead predictions for solar farms
New machine learning models will allow the output of solar farms to be accurately predicted a day ahead of time.
The post Machine learning breakthrough allows day-ahead predictions for solar farms appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Baseload: 5GW of coal capacity missing before Callide coal explosion
Nearly 5GW of coal capacity in NSW and Queensland was missing when Callide coal generator exploded and took out another 2.5GW.
The post Baseload: 5GW of coal capacity missing before Callide coal explosion appeared first on RenewEconomy.