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Country diary: wildflowers struggle in the heartless heat

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-07-31 14:30

Folly Farm, Somerset: Even sun-loving insects have been suffering as their food plants wither and nectar sources dry up

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Open letter to energy ministers: Release NEG modelling in full

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-07-31 14:06
A group of 23 energy researchers from 11 institutions have called for the full release of National Energy Guarantee modelling.
Categories: Around The Web

Timor Leste a Mecca for whales but they face threats

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-07-31 14:00

One third of all cetacean species are found in the waters off Timor Leste, but measures are needed to protect them

Olive Andrews believes Timor Leste could be one of the best destinations in the world for whale watching. Andrews - a research scientist with a particular interest in cetaceans - drew this conclusion when she joined a survey team assessing the coastal waters north of Timor Leste in October 2016. “I’ve never seen such a biomass of cetaceans in such a small geography,” she says. “We encountered 2287 cetaceans from 11 species, including superpods of up to 600 individuals.”

There are 90 distinct species of cetacean - and at least 30 of them occur in Timor Leste. These include both local populations like melon headed whales and spinner dolphins, and migratory species like humpbacks and pygmy blue whales. Managed properly, whale tourism could generate significant income for Timor Leste, one of the world’s youngest - and poorest - nations.

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AEMO’s Zibelman admits “hiccup” in new solar and wind connections

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-07-31 13:59
AEMO's Audrey Zibelman concedes there is a “hiccup” in connection of new solar and wind projects to the grid, caused by overwhelming volume, and as the speed of new projects overtakes the ability of the grid to adapt.
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Australia renewables boom rolls on, but NEG shadow looms

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-07-31 12:16
CEC details jaw-dropping scale of Australian renewables boom, but survey says investor confidence shaky, summed up in two words: "policy uncertainty."
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The Black-Allan Line

ABC Environment - Tue, 2018-07-31 11:05
It's the straight bit of the border between NSW and Victoria. It's high altitude mathematical precision and messy politics.
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US wind continues record growth despite Trump’s coal fetish

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-07-31 10:59
Trump may be promising to bring back jobs for the coal industry, but it’s the country’s wind energy industry which is making the strongest headway.
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Spanish solar thermal group models 85% renewable energy plan

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-07-31 10:55
Scaling up CSP capacity would not only help reduce emissions and provide the necessary electricity, and help renewables meet 85% of Spain's supply.
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Butler lambasts “pathetic” emissions target, “silly” pursuit of coal

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-07-31 10:49
Labor's Mark Butler has lambasts "pathetic" emissions target in National Energy Guarantee and "silly" pursuit of coal, as Greens and Victoria warn of no approval for NEG at CoAG meeting until after it is endorsed by Coalition party room.
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Spider mower blitzes vegetation underneath PV panels

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-07-31 10:42
The Spider’s unique patented design means that one mower can maintain the entire farm between the rows of solar panels and below them, reducing the need for multiple machines.
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Manitoba releases draft framework for regulating large emitters under carbon tax

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-07-31 10:41
The Manitoba government published a discussion paper on Monday laying out how an output-based pricing system (OBPS) would give heavy emitters more flexibility under the Canadian province’s upcoming CO2 tax.
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Livestock treatment may offer solution to antibiotics crisis, say scientists

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-07-31 10:01

Dosing animals with antibodies from their own immune systems could prevent illness and reduce the need for antibiotics

Using animals’ own immune systems may provide a way to reduce the overuse of antibiotics in farming, replacing the drugs with cheap farm byproducts and cutting the growing risk of resistance to common medicines, new research has suggested.

Natural antibodies, produced by the immune system without previous infection, in animals and humans, can protect the body against harmful bacteria. They are present in some usually unconsidered farm byproducts, such as the whey left over from milk production, and they could be administered to animals easily in feed.

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Largest king penguin colony shrinks 90% in 30 years

BBC - Tue, 2018-07-31 09:17
The world's largest colony, in the Indian Ocean, has shrunk 90% over 30 years, research suggests.
Categories: Around The Web

The National Energy Guarantee is a flagship policy. So why hasn't the modelling been made public?

The Conversation - Tue, 2018-07-31 05:58
A policy that aims to reshape the electricity sector needs to be judged on its numbers. But the lack of public modelling from the Energy Security Board makes it impossible for analysts to do this. Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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EU Market: EUAs hold above €17 as summer auction cuts near

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-07-31 03:34
EU carbon prices held above €17 for a seventh straight day in quiet trade on Monday, continuing to consolidate at higher levels ahead of the annual reduction of summer EUA supply.
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California LCFS credits surpass $190 on eve of data release

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-07-31 03:03
California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) prices rose to yet another new record on Monday as the week-long bull run closed in on the programme’s quarterly data release.
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Massachusetts GHG, energy goals bolstered with signing of international hydroelectric contract

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-07-31 02:47
Massachusetts utilities inked a deal with a cross-border hydroelectric project last week, helping the state close in on its emissions reduction and clean energy targets and successfully circumventing delays in the state's original selection.
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Extreme weather could push UK food prices up this year, say farmers

The Guardian - Mon, 2018-07-30 20:24

Crops are wilting in parched fields, lowering the yields of kitchen staples including meat, wheat, potatoes, onions and milk

Staple foods from bread to potatoes, onions, milk and meat may be in shorter supply than usual this year and prices to consumers may have to rise, farmers have said, as they count the cost of the two-month drought and heatwave across the UK.

There will be little respite from the hot weather in many areas of the country, even as thunderstorms and heavy rains spread from the east, as farmers have seen their crops wilt, their fields parched and livestock struggle in the extreme conditions.

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Australia's energy future

ABC Environment - Mon, 2018-07-30 20:05
Does coal fired electricity have a future in Australia? Or will we be powered by renewable energy? An expert panel discusses electricity prices, emissions, and where our energy will come from.
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'This one has heat stress': the shocking reality of live animal exports

The Guardian - Mon, 2018-07-30 20:00

The global demand for meat means more animals are moved around the world than ever before. Activists say the conditions they endure are intolerable – and we are all turning a blind eye

At the Kapikule border crossing between Turkey and Bulgaria, Lesley Moffat charges forward, clipboard in hand, marching alongside the parked lorries loaded with live cows and sheep waiting in this no man’s land to be exported from the EU. Sometimes, the animals are left on the lorries for days, stuck inside metallic freight containers barely shielded from the blinding sun as truckers, bureaucrats, importers and exporters haggle over paperwork and fees.

The cows struggle to bring their heads close to the fresh air. Their containers are filled with urine and manure, levels of ammonia steadily rising inside the trailers as journeys wear on. Moffat – the founder of the Dutch-based charity Eyes on Animals – sticks her hand through the grating of one lorry to check the animals’ water supply. “Look at this,” she says, grabbing at the hay stuck into the water trough and pointing to the dung clogging it. “It gets full of dirty straw and shit, and they can never drink from it,” she says. “The drivers need to give them water in buckets.”

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