Feed aggregator

Decompression computers worn by recreational and commercial divers provides accurate data, study shows

Millions of holidaying scuba divers are able to become citizen scientists and take vital measurements of ocean temperatures, which are being driven up by climate change.

More than 90% of the heat trapped by global warming goes into oceans, where it drives hurricanes and disrupts fish stocks. Satellites can measure surface temperature when there are no clouds, but getting data from below the surface is much harder and more expensive.

Continue reading...

Delamere Forest, Cheshire Red and blue damsels drift around me like filaments on the breeze but I am here to see a rarer species: the white-faced darter

I skirt the edge of lower Doolittle Moss, in Delamere Forest, treading through soft peaty soil and batting away the pungent bracken that has grown almost as tall as me. Hard green fruit are starting to appear on the brambles, and bumblebees are making the most of the last blossoms.

Surrounded by forest on all sides, the moss is black acidic water devoid of fish. Not the least bit inviting, even as the temperature climbs. But it is a boggy beauty spot in its own right. Half submerged islands of vivid lime-green sphagnum moss break the surface. Stands of cotton grass and sedge shoot upwards, and above them the sunlight catches on flakes of silver and gold.

Continue reading...

Obama announces $4.5 billion in US Energy Department loan guarantees to become available for the support of a commercial-scale electric vehicle charging station buildout.

South Australian government says a mix of electric, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles will make up 30% of its fleet by 2020.

Eleven endangered southern brown bandicoots have been translocated to Booderee National Park. They haven't been seen in the area since World War One.

A super-hard metal is made in the laboratory by melting together titanium and gold.

A recent drought shut down the Amazon Basin's carbon sink by killing trees and slowing trees' growth rates, a first-of-its-kind study shows.

In a year of record global growth, solar PV broke records in Australia in 2015 too, with biggest ever year for big solar helping to balance fall in rooftop market.

There are several reasons that Australia lags behind other wealthy countries on energy efficiency.

South Australia's conservative opposition said to be source of dodgy numbers behind The Australian's erroneous front page story on wind energy in the state.

New analysis shows how gas generators cashed in on the recent big spikes in wholesale electricity prices in Australia. But they were not the only ones to benefit. The regulator is investigating to check that all is above board, but it's complicated.

There is a lot of noise about South Australia and not enough analysis. And there are some important lessons from the last few weeks of high prices.

Tesla Motors has revealed the Australian price for the entry-level version of its much-hyped Model X SUV – “the safest, quickest and most capable sport utility vehicle in history.”

Enthusiasm made a man forget the rules of hitchhiking.

TWO-WAY CONVERSATION: Not only do hunters in Mozambique recruit wild birds to help find honey, the birds actively recruit the hunters, reveals a new study of the remarkable relationship between humans and wild animals

With hydrogen tipped to become an important clean energy fuel, a new process may be the solution to powering electric vehicles and heating buildings

An Australian company is using “cheap as dirt” iron ore to convert methane in natural gas into hydrogen. Importantly, their process generates near-zero emissions, as the carbon content of the gas is captured in the form of high-quality graphite.

As a clean-burning fuel, hydrogen could play a key role in future energy markets, but production methods are still too energy-intensive and costly.

Continue reading...

Honey hunters in Mozambique rely on the help of honeyguide birds - and a new study reveals their two-way communication.

June marked 14th month of record heat for land and oceans with average global temperature reaching 1.3C

The world is on track for its hottest year on record and levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have reached new highs, further fuelling global warming, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said.

June marked the 14th consecutive month of record heat for land and oceans, the United Nations agency said on Thursday. It called for the speedy implementation of a pact reached last December to limit climate change by shifting from fossil fuels to green energy by 2100.

Continue reading...

A brain map built up from scans of more than 400 individuals has carved the "cortex" into 180 different compartments, including 97 new ones.

You’re more likely to die from a tick bite or a bee sting than to you are to be killed by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone park, but here are a few tips just in case

Peak camping season is upon us, and this July and August millions Americans will be loading the minivan, heading into our national parks and forests, and inevitably meeting some bears.

Fortunately, most of these encounters will be uneventful. In almost every case, the bear will turn its tail and run. Take Yellowstone national park for example, a perfect grizzly bear habitat. In its 145-year history, with over 120 million visitors, only eight people have been killed by bears. You are far more likely to die of a tick bite or a bee sting. Indeed, you are more likely to be murdered in your own bed in America than you are to be killed by a grizzly while camping in Yellowstone.

Continue reading...