Feed aggregator

Giulio Di Sturco has spent 10 years documenting industrialisation and climate change along the Ganges in India – a river with the same legal rights as people

• Ganga Ma is published by GOST Books

Continue reading...

27 March 1989: Threat grows from worst US spill as tanker flounders

High winds yesterday threatened to double the size of an oil slick menacing marine life in Alaskan waters as government investigators arrived on the Valdez to question the captain and crew members of the supertanker that precipitated the worst oil spill in US history.

State officials feared that high winds could aggravate the problem by doubling the size of the slick, estimated by Exxon to be about 12 square miles, while state officials contended it was 50 square miles.

Continue reading...

Don't get too excited just yet, but the Coalition is showing signs it is catching up with the clean energy transition, even if it still needs to throw bones to the coal fanatics.

The post Renewables and storage steal the show at government’s coal party appeared first on RenewEconomy.

We look at the outcomes of the NSW election and the federal Coaliton’s shortlist, and we are joined by Brian Davis, the head of Shell’s new energy solutions business.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Coalition’s coal reality check, and Shell’s big electric plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.

GoodWe has been honored with the TÜV Rheinland’s 2019 “All Quality Matters” award in recognition for the outstanding quality of its two inverter models.

The post GoodWe wins 4 consecutive years of TÜV Rheinland “All Quality Matters” Award appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Schneider Electric is joining the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia, and calling on Governments to fast-track the electrification of transport in Australia.

The post Schneider Electric calls for national EV infrastructure fast-track and joins the Electric Vehicle Council appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Single-Column Responsive Email Template Event Reminder - 11 April 2019 Climate and Carbon Challenges Level 31, 600 Bourke Street Melbourne 5.30 pm for 6.00 pm Thursday 11th April REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT This event will examine the opportunities and challenges for Australia and especially, the engineering profession, to reshape its industries and society to meet the global challenge of emissions reductions required to meet the safe climate goals set at the 2015 Paris climate conference and reviewed at COP24 2018 in Poland. The topic will be addressed from perspectives of (a) latest scientific assessments on climate and emissions trends; and (b) challenges for the engineering profession in responding to industry transformations necessitated by a carbon constrained future. The science basis for determining policy and engineering responses Policy actions by government and contributions from the engineering profession need to be based on an understanding of the latest scientific assessments by the international climate science community. This presentation will address important aspects including: the global carbon budget and Australia’s fair share in contributing to the global abatement effort latest thinking on climate risk e.g as analyses by the IPCC 1.5 degree Warming Assessment greater emission reduction ambition in light of COP 24 and recent scientific reviews such as the UNEP Emissions gap Report A/Prof Malte Meinshausen is Co-Director of the Energy Transition Hub (www.energy-transition-hub.org) and was founding Director of the Climate & Energy College (climatecollege.unimelb.edu.au) at The University of Melbourne. Before coming to Melbourne in 2011, he did research at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany. He holds a PhD in "Climate Science & Policy", a Diploma in "Environmental Sciences" from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and an MSc in "Environmental Change and Management" from the University of Oxford, UK. His research focuses on emission scenarios, carbon budgets, reduced complexity climate modelling (www.magicc.org) and the Paris Agreement negotiations. He was the scientific adviser to the German Government from 2005 to 2016 in the UNFCCC negotiations. How should society generally and the engineering profession in particular, respond? Policy responses by government has been a fraught issue over the last decade. The engineering profession has a key role in developing technical solutions to support both international obligations and to enable the transformations demanded by a carbon constrained future. This presentation will look at: What policy tools and regulations are required to support an orderly, cost efficient transition to net zero carbon emissions across all sectors Australia by 2050. How adequate are our current collective government sectoral settings towards achieving a net zero 2050 CO2e target? What typical specific strategies and adjustments will be required across different key CO2e emissions sectors within Australia, particularly in Engineering related sectors. (transport, built infrastructure, industrial processes, mining, energy). Tom Yankos plays a central role in providing research and analysis for a range of ClimateWorks’ projects. Since joining ClimateWorks Australia in late 2014, Tom has undertaken analysis for a range of projects, including the quantitation of the potential emissions reduction contribution from Sustainability Victoria’s TAKE2 pledge program, state-based economy-wide emissions projections and potential impacts of switching from gas to electric appliances on the electricity grid (in collaboration with CSIRO). He also completed analysis for the ‘Energy Productivity Index for Companies’ project and contributed to the development of ClimateWorks’ ‘2050 Pathways Calculator’, an online tool which allows users to explore scenarios leading to deep decarbonisation by mid-century. During a secondment to CSIRO, Tom helped prepare the 'Low Emissions Technology Roadmap' report which highlights areas of potential growth in Australia's clean technology sector, contributing ClimateWorks' perspective and expertise. Prior to joining ClimateWorks, Tom provided data analysis and modelling activities for energy efficiency and cost reduction for the Toyota Motor Corporation Australia. He also has experience in advanced simulation and computational methods. Tom holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Business (Distinction) from RMIT University. If you can't view this email click here to view online Click here to unsubscribe from this newsletter S

Under the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011, approved co-regulatory arrangements are required to provide independently audited annual reports for the Department to publish. Co-regulatory arrangements report on a...

The New Zealand government on Wednesday announced it will introduce averaging accounting for foresters in the ETS, a move that could free up additional supply as forest-owners face fewer risks.

The huge blocks of ice that drift away from Antarctica have a story to tell about Earth's past - and its future.

Plans have been submitted for environmental approval to build what would be the UK’s largest solar PV site, with plans for battery storage too.

The post UK’s largest solar farm – 500MW – to be combined with battery storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Puerto Rico passes bill to move the island to 100% renewable energy by 2050, the latest in a string of states and territories to do the same.

The post Puerto Rico becomes latest US territory to aim for 100% renewable energy appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Longleat Safari Park says its project is still helping koalas despite criticism after one animal died.

BNEF says stunning cost falls mean clean technologies are beating coal and threatening to steal the grid balancing role from gas-fired plant operators.

The post More stunning falls in solar and battery storage costs put fossil fuels on notice appeared first on RenewEconomy.

American auto giant General Motors is injecting $US300m into upgrading its Michigan plant so it can add a new electric vehicle to its auto offerings.

The post GM bets the house on new all-electric Chevrolet appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Federal Coalition government says it does not plan to release an EV strategy before mid-2020.

The post Morrison government says no electric vehicle policy until mid-2020 appeared first on RenewEconomy.

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

Ostracods live in almost every watery habitat – including Bedfordshire puddles

As Homo sapiens rushes towards extinction (in geological terms) taking with us many other species, it is good to know that some creatures that were here well before us will still be about when we are gone.

In a small puddle in a wood in Bedfordshire some crustaceans called ostracods were spotted last year “zipping about like rockets under water” as they completed their rapid transition from eggs to adults. Magically, ostracods disappear when puddles dry up only to re-emerge when conditions become favourable. The trick is that their eggs dry out and can survive for years as dust waiting for the right conditions to hatch.

Continue reading...

Fossil fuel major BP on Tuesday announced a $100 million fund to lower emissions from its upstream oil and gas operations, months after shareholder pressure forced the company to beef up its climate-related disclosures.

For years we've heard about how the cane toad is spreading across Australia, and now a federal parliamentary committee is recommending some practical measures to stop the relentless march of the pest.