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Charity urges people to rewear last year’s jumper to reduce the waste impact of the throwaway festive fashion

One in four Christmas jumpers bought last year was thrown away or is unlikely to be worn again, according to new research which reveals that most novelty sweaters will only ever be worn once.

Emblazoned with flashing lights or more tasteful alpine motifs, the festive apparel is so popular that about £220m will be spent on them in the run up to Christmas this year.

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Wenlock Edge, Shropshire Suddenly the familiar had been enchanted, even the bull and the blackbird in the blizzard

Black-white-black-white: the bull watches the bird through the snow. This is the first flurry for years, long enough to have forgotten how snow changes everything the other side of the doorstep. It began with the supermoon, a silver florin in a halo of limelight. Then came Storm Caroline – “good times never seemed so good,” sang Neil Diamond – and although not such good times elsewhere, it was easy going here.

Weather presenters spread long fingers over maps and warned that the departing storm would pull down Arctic air, leading to snow at low levels. No one warned the dogs, they felt the excitement of a world changed around them, a duty to redraw their scent maps, a camaraderie with humans daft enough to roam abroad in a blizzard.

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AGL says no private investor would invest in new coal plant, but says battery storage is coming and will be a major game changer as costs fall – which is not far away.

On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) today announced it has awarded $29.2 million for 20 research projects to propel the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology.

While most climate summits involve mitigation policies, motherhood statements and unmemorable memos, the latest, in Paris, could be different.

Draft report from hydraulic fracking inquiry has found the practice can be safe if risks are better mitigated

The Northern Territory government will wait until next year to make a decision on lifting its moratorium on fracking, despite federal calls for it to “get on with the job” after a long-running inquiry found it could be safe if risks were better mitigated.

The inquiry into hydraulic fracturing in the NT released its draft final report on Tuesday with 120 recommendations, which it said must be implemented in full to “reduce the risk to an acceptable level”.

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A more consumer friendly approach to connect renewables to the grid is the ambition of the new suite of guidelines being developed by Energy Networks Australia.

Trump official says US wants to form group of countries to promote “clean” coal, to offer an alternative path to nations who have a more positive political attitude to the fuel.

Upper house committee says nets damage other marine wildlife and recommends replacement of lethal drum lines

Shark nets in place across Australia to protect beachgoers should be phased out as they cause more harm than good, a Senate inquiry has found.

An upper house committee examined shark mitigation and deterrent measures in Australia, and specifically the use of mesh nets in New South Wales and Queensland.

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The reliably frozen Arctic is history, say scientists who warn of an unprecedented rate of warming.

Tesla big battery is starting to play more in the energy markets, but it has also been active in the less visible "services" market. Smarter, quicker, cheaper and cleaner than gas.

LG announced a 15-year product warranty on all Mono X® Plus and NeON® 2 solar panels installed from 1 January 2018. The new warranty period is one of the longest solar panel product warranties available in Australia, and represents a three-year increase on LG’s existing warranty term.

ANU's Andrew Blakers says the distribution of solar and wind energy from one side of a continent to the other, and even between continents, is now “eminently feasible”.

Climate change could reduce amount of wind available for power production in UK and US, but increase winds in southern hemisphere countries like Australia.

Woodside gas platform installs a 1MWh battery so it can use less gas in its generators.

New observations suggest America's Pluto probe will see more than one object on its next flyby.

The Andrews Labor Government today opened the third ro und of the New Energy Jobs Fund for new energy technology projects to encourage the up take of renewable energy and reduce emissions.

Celebration of the ruling by environmentalist has been tempered by expectations that the Trump administration will side with mining interests to end the ban

A powerful court ruled on Tuesday that an Obama-era ban on new uranium mines around the Grand Canyon should stay in place, though celebration on the environment side was tempered by expectations the government itself will now side with mining interests to end the ban. A separate, but linked, ruling on an older mine was a defeat for a Native American tribe.

The mining industry and a coalition of Republicans in Arizona and Utah had hoped for court support to tear down an order from the Obama administration in 2012 that protected a million acres of land around the Grand Canyon from mining development for 20 years. But they lost in the ninth circuit court of appeals in San Francisco on Tuesday.

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This shy little bird is linked to many bizarre beliefs about the weather

The ancients called them the “halcyon days” – a period of fine, settled weather, lasting roughly seven days, which began sometime in the first half of December. During this time, it was said that the kingfisher (also known as the halcyon) would lay its eggs on the surface of the sea.

The phrase, and the concept behind it, originated in ancient Greece, but during the Renaissance was popularised by several writers, including the poet Michael Drayton, who wrote of “the halcyon, whom the sea obeys…” and Shakespeare, where the halcyon features in a speech by Henry VI.

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A review of the Emissions Reduction Fund has found it's performing well – but new research raises serious credibility issues. Tim Baxter, Researcher - Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.