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Seal pups rescued in winter storms released back to wild

BBC - Wed, 2018-02-28 05:03
The pups were separated from their mother during storms at the end of last year.
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Moon to get 4G mobile network

BBC - Wed, 2018-02-28 02:02
Vodafone and Nokia lay out plans to put a 4G mobile network on the Moon in 2019.
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Atacama's lessons about life on Mars

BBC - Wed, 2018-02-28 01:56
Scientists investigate the microbes that survive in the South American desert on very little water.
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Arctic warming: scientists alarmed by 'crazy' temperature rises

The Guardian - Wed, 2018-02-28 01:15

Record warmth in the Arctic this month could yet prove to be a freak occurrence, but experts warn the warming event is unprecedented

An alarming heatwave in the sunless winter Arctic is causing blizzards in Europe and forcing scientists to reconsider even their most pessimistic forecasts of climate change.

Although it could yet prove to be a freak event, the primary concern is that global warming is eroding the polar vortex, the powerful winds that once insulated the frozen north.

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Lack of models, not charging points, 'holding back electric car market'

The Guardian - Wed, 2018-02-28 00:27

Analysis shows just 20 battery models on sale in Europe against more than 400 conventional ones

The rise of electric cars in Europe is being hampered by a lack of models for consumers to choose from rather than a lack of public recharging points, according to energy companies and carmakers.

Some motoring groups and insurers have warned over the past year that the number of chargers is putting the switch to electric transport at risk. But an analysis by the Platform for Electromobility – whose 31 members include Tesla, Renault-Nissan, Brussels-based campaign group T&E and industrial groups Siemens and Alstom – found there are already enough points in Europe.

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German court rules cities can ban diesel cars to tackle pollution

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-02-27 21:36

Landmark ruling could cause traffic chaos and dramatically hit the value of diesel vehicles

One of Germany’s top courts has ruled that heavily polluting vehicles can be banned from the urban centres of Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, a landmark ruling that could cause traffic chaos on the country’s roads and dramatically hit the value of diesel cars.

Environmental campaigners had sued dozens of German cities, arguing they have a duty to cut air pollution to protect people’s health.

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Scientists have detected an acceleration in sea level rise | John Abraham

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-02-27 21:00

Faster melting of ice sheets is speeding up sea level rise

As humans emit heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide, the planet warms, and over time consequences become more apparent. Some of the consequences we are familiar with – for instance, rising temperatures, melting ice, and rising sea levels. Scientists certainly want to know how much the Earth has changed, but we also want to know how fast the changes will be in the future to know what the next generations will experience.

One of the classic projections into the future is for sea level rise. It is expected that by the year 2100, the ocean levels will rise a few feet by the end of the century. This matters a lot because globally, 150 million people live within three feet of current ocean levels. We have built our modern infrastructure based on current ocean levels. What happens to peoples’ homes and infrastructure when the waters rise?

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The defenders: recording the deaths of environmental defenders around the world

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-02-27 19:54

This year, in collaboration with Global Witness, the Guardian aims to record the deaths of all people killed while protecting land or natural resources. At the current rate, about four defenders will die this week somewhere on the planet

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Radical histories for uncanny times

ABC Environment - Tue, 2018-02-27 19:05
Do we need a new frame of reference to truly understand our environmental emergency?
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Australia's growing rate of electronic waste

ABC Environment - Tue, 2018-02-27 17:35
Should Australian businesses be doing more to recycle their electronic waste?
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Why New Zealand should not explore for more natural gas reserves

The Conversation - Tue, 2018-02-27 16:54
Natural gas is touted as a “bridging fuel” to displace coal while moving to a low-carbon economy. In New Zealand, this is shortsighted and could lead to stranded assets and hold back renewables. Ralph Sims, Professor, School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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It's time to find out if Australia's threatened species projects are actually effective

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-02-27 16:23

A Senate estimates hearing has been told how little auditing takes place on such projects. But no big deal, it’s just the environment, right?

Imagine spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a project and not being able to demonstrate whether or not you’ve achieved what you set out to.

Such is the case for programs aimed at helping Australia’s threatened plants and animals, which the government has boasted it is funding to the tune of $255m.

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Xenophon’s SA BEST unveils community electricity co-op plan

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-02-27 15:37
SA BEST promises cut state power prices by up to 20%, build new renewables, with community electricity retailer scheme.
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Country diary: the stoat's winter coat is no camouflage now

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-02-27 15:30

Allendale, Northumberland: One of their main predators is the domestic cat; an ermine will be particularly vulnerable once the snow has gone

I’m eating my breakfast when I see a flash of white hurtling down the garden path. Reaching for the binoculars that are always on the kitchen table, I see it’s a stoat, part ermined, starkly revealed now the snow has gone. Its fur is a rich red-brown with white patches, the brilliant winter coat contrasting with the jet black tip to its tail. Flowing lightly over dormant flower beds, it streaks over a wall and disappears into the field.

Minutes later, I see the stoat again, a limp vole in its mouth. It runs around the square of the garden keeping to the inside of the boundary before slipping between the stones of one of the drystone walls. It emerges without the vole, which it has cached, storing the surplus food for later. For the next half hour I watch it hunting, undulating along coping stones, its neat little face popping out from under the topiary, as the sun comes up, a mistle thrush sings and backlit winter gnats take to the air.

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Global EV growth to pass 25 million a year in 2025, says study

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-02-27 13:42
New report forecasts 25 million global EV registrations a year by 2025, after 55% growth in uptake was recorded in 2017. Meanwhile, in Australia...
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What if every car sold in the world was an electric vehicle?

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-02-27 13:35
BP considers scenario where only electric vehicles are sold after 2040. It also considers peak oil, ponders the rise of shared car ownership, and predicts a faster rise for renewables and faster decline for coal. But it still doesn't get it.
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Networks say new wind, solar project proposals still flooding in

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-02-27 13:17
Transgrid still swamped by new wind and solar project proposals, despite expectation that RET will be met with current commitments.
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Know your NEM: Bad news keep coming on NEG

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-02-27 13:16
NEG is largely a smokescreen designed to bury electricity policy under a motherhood blanket. The policy is supposed to endure for decades but its major design issues have to be decided in weeks. This is just nuts.
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Solar now employs over 10,000 Australians

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-02-27 13:08
Australia’s booming solar industry now supports more than 10,000 full time jobs.
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Is Australia’s new Deputy PM another anti-wind climate denier?

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2018-02-27 12:46
As we farewell one anti-renewables, climate denying, coal loving Deputy PM, are we about to see more of the same? New man has attacked climate science, demonised wind, and signed off on Tony Abbott's refusal of free solar panels for the Lodge.
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