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Feathers and flight: birds in Australian fashion

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-12-08 10:24

From Florence Broadhurst to Romance Was Born, Australian designers have long looked to birds for design inspiration

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State of the science of taxonomy in Australia: results of the 2016 Survey of Taxonomic Capacity

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2017-12-08 08:47
The results of the 2016 Survey of Taxonomic Capacity are now available.
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Narwhal escape: Whales freeze and flee when frightened

BBC - Fri, 2017-12-08 06:08
Narwhals show a "costly" response to threats, raising concerns over how they will respond to increased human contact.
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Sustainable shopping: how to buy tuna without biting a chunk out of the oceans

The Conversation - Fri, 2017-12-08 05:16
Australians love canned tuna. Here's our handy guide to finding the most sustainable options for you (and your cat). Candice Visser, PhD Candidate, University of Wollongong Quentin Hanich, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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US firm picks UK for weather satellites

BBC - Fri, 2017-12-08 04:36
Orbital Micro Systems' demonstration weather satellite should pave the way for a network in the sky.
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Patagonia files claim against Trump over removing Bears Ears protections

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-12-08 04:32

The company says Donald Trump is exceeding the powers of his office by enacting the largest removal of protection from federal lands in history

A trail run that began years ago in the desert of Utah has brought outdoor retailer Patagonia to an unexpected – and considerably less scenic – crossroads, at a federal courthouse in Washington DC.

Related: Trump slashes size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments in Utah

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The brush-turkey is an Aussie battler – and it needs your help | Alicia Burns

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-12-08 03:00

Brush turkeys are often the last holdouts against gentrification. But they still face peril in urban environments and researchers are enlisting citizen scientists to understand how they can better survive

It’s hard not to look at the brush turkey as the avian archetype of the Aussie battler – persisting and thriving, even though the odds are stacked against it. These birds’ work ethic in the face of almost impossible living conditions, environmental hardship and sometimes outright hostility is truly something to behold.

And without diminishing the likely (and deserved) victory of the majestic white ibis in this year’s Bird of the Year poll, it must be said that this year there has also been a lot of talk about – and love and loathing aimed at – the Australian brush turkey.

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Power from mini nuclear plants 'would cost more than from large ones'

The Guardian - Fri, 2017-12-08 00:06

UK government study finds electricity would be nearly a third pricier than it would from plants such as Hinkley Point C

Electricity from the first mini nuclear power stations in Britain would be likely to be more expensive than from large atomic plants such as Hinkley Point C, according to a government study.

Power from small modular reactors (SMRs) would cost nearly one-third more than conventional large ones in 2031, the report found, because of reduced economies of scale and the costs of deploying first-of-a-kind technology.

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Researchers find 'oldest ever eye' in fossil

BBC - Thu, 2017-12-07 22:31
The remains of the extinct sea creature include an early form of the eye seen in many of today's animals.
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The scientist who paints lost worlds

BBC - Thu, 2017-12-07 22:03
Dr Julian Hume draws extinct animals with scientific accuracy
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'Are you kidding me?' Actors denounce the ibis in Australian bird of the year poll – video

The Guardian - Thu, 2017-12-07 16:33

There was not a lot of love for the ibis on the red carpet for the 2017 Aacta awards in Sydney on Wednesday. Nominees were asked to cast their votes in the Australian bird of the year poll – and passions ran high.
• Lion blitzes Aacta awards as Russell Crowe comments cut from broadcast

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Chinese ban on plastic waste imports could see UK pollution rise

The Guardian - Thu, 2017-12-07 16:30

Chinese restrictions from January will hit UK recycling efforts and risk plastic waste being stockpiled or ending up in landfill, warn industry leaders

A ban on imports of millions of tonnes of plastic waste by the Chinese government from January could see an end to collection of some plastic in the UK and increase the risk of environmental pollution, according to key figures in the industry.

Recycling companies say the imminent restrictions by China – the world’s biggest market for household waste – will pose big challenges to the UK’s efforts to recycle more plastic.

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Country diary: brief encounter with a woodcock in the wildwood

The Guardian - Thu, 2017-12-07 15:30

Bishop Auckland, Durham Gnarled, leafless branches reach out like those menacing trees in Arthur Rackham’s fairytale illustrations


The flow of Coundon burn is constricted by farmland and by a tunnel under a road and disused railway embankment for much of its course, but once inside Auckland park it remains free to meander for the final half-mile before joining the river Gaunless, close to its confluence with the Wear.

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100% renewables with pumped hydro would use 1/4 the water of coal and gas

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-12-07 13:50
ANU's Andrew Blakers says switching Australia to 100% solar, wind, pumped hydro energy storage would cut water use by a factor of four.
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AusNet, Deakin Uni to build 7.25MW solar, storage micro-grid

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-12-07 13:44
AusNet and Deakin Uni to build solar and storage micro-grid on Geelong campus, to act as R&D for similar projects.
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The Community Grid Project launches with a ‘Local Energy Hero’ competition

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-12-07 13:37
Mornington Peninsula Shire were joined by representatives from electricity network provider United Energy and technology company GreenSync to officially launch the Community Grid Project at the Eco Living Display Centre, at the Briars in Mount Martha.
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Improper creation of STCs results in compliance action

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-12-07 13:10
Following recent enforcement action against one of Australia’s largest solar retailers, the Clean Energy Regulator has taken enforcement action against one of the largest registered agents, Emerging Energy Solutions Group Pty Ltd.
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The first Australian utility to embrace era of “base-cost renewables”

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-12-07 13:03
West Australia's regional utility Horizon Power has become the first major Australian utility to embrace the concept of "base-cost renewables", recognising that the plunging cost of solar and wind is set to turn traditional theories of energy supply on their head.
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Acciona supports Australian manufacturing as Mt Gellibrand transformer deliveries begin

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-12-07 12:58
Acciona Energy is about to take delivery of critical components for its 132 MW under-construction wind farm at Mt Gellibrand in Victoria.
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The climate effect of the Trump administration

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-12-07 12:54
Over its first year, the Trump administration has taken extreme steps to unravel progress on U.S. climate action domestically.
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