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2016 'very likely' to be world's warmest year

BBC - Mon, 2016-11-14 21:06
With data from just the first nine months, scientists are 90% certain that 2016 will break the record for warmest year on record.
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2016 will be the hottest year on record, UN says

The Guardian - Mon, 2016-11-14 21:02

World Meteorological Organisation figures show global temperature is 1.2C above pre-industrial levels and will set a new high for the third year running

2016 will very likely be the hottest year on record and a new high for the third year in a row, according to the UN. It means 16 of the 17 hottest years on record will have been this century.

The scorching temperatures around the world, and the extreme weather they drive, mean the impacts of climate change on people are coming sooner and with more ferocity than expected, according to scientists.

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On Trump and climate, America is split in two by these demographics | Dana Nuccitelli

The Guardian - Mon, 2016-11-14 21:00

Rural white men support Trump and oppose stopping climate change; the opposite is true of urban minorities

The world is shocked that America elected Donald Trump as its 45th president. Exit polls show that the country is sharply divided on Trump along the same lines as its sharp divisions on climate change.

Political ideology was the single strongest determining factor in the election. 90% of Republicans voted for Trump, while 89% of Democrats voted for Clinton. Ideology is also the primary factor associated with acceptance or denial of human-caused global warming, as climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe explained eloquently in this video:

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Antarctic quest to find 'oldest ice'

BBC - Mon, 2016-11-14 20:01
European scientists set out for Antarctica this week in a bid to find deeply buried ice that contains an ancient record of Earth's climate.
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UK to investigate human health impact of microplastics

The Guardian - Mon, 2016-11-14 19:11

Chief medical officer for England Prof Dame Sally Davies to carry out study into health impacts of tiny particles of plastic consumed by fish

The government is to conduct an investigation into the impact on human health of microplastic particles found in shellfish and other marine animals.

The study by the chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, is to be carried out as part of a wider, year-long review of the health effects of pollution.

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SA nuclear waste dump proposal will go to referendum if it gets bipartisan support

The Guardian - Mon, 2016-11-14 16:01

Premier Jay Weatherill says Indigenous people will have final say even if public backs dump in referendum

South Australia’s proposal for a high-level nuclear waste dump in the state’s north will go to a referendum, the premier, Jay Weatherill, has announced, but only if it has bipartisan support.

The government has been considering the proposal following a recommendation by a royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle that found the state could reap billions of dollars by storing waste from other countries. But the royal commission found public and political support for the dump was essential if it was to go ahead.

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Fossil-fuel CO2 emissions nearly stable for third year in row

The Guardian - Mon, 2016-11-14 16:00

But while increase in emissions has been halted, CO2 concentrations in atmosphere still at record high and rising

Global carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels have seen “almost no growth” for a third consecutive year, according to figures released as world leaders begin to arrive in Marrakech for a UN climate summit.

Related: Donald Trump presidency a 'disaster for the planet', warn climate scientists

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Renewable energy made up a record 21.7% of Australia's electricity market last month

The Guardian - Mon, 2016-11-14 15:39

Latest Cedex report says October had the biggest proportion of renewables of any month since data made available

Australia’s renewable energy sector hit a record in October, with 21.7% of electricity in the national electricity market coming from renewables, according to the latest Cedex report.

That represents the biggest proportion of any month since the data was made available by the Australian Energy Market Operator in 2005, according to the report from the engineering consultants Pitt&Sherry and the Australia Institute.

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My dream home is a den in the woods

The Guardian - Mon, 2016-11-14 15:30

Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk Today, however, I cannot be a hermit. There are stick-swinging children, scurrying woodlice and cross-looking treecreepers

When modern life seems too much, I dream of living in the woods. I’ll be a mad, feral woman eating hazelnuts and tending a fire obsessively. It’s this specific wood where I would go, with its deciduous mix of ash, oak and chestnut, its sandy badger sett, wild garlic, bluebells in spring, and the clear, fast-flowing water of the gravel-bottomed stream. Known as Fox’s Grove, it’s just a few miles from the centre of Norwich.

Today, I am not a hermit. I have a troop of children for company, who are enthusiastically den-building and stick swinging. They’ve collected plenty of dead wood and a wigwam shape is emerging from their collective imagination. I am happily redundant, sitting under a large beech tree, on a comfortably curved root. My fingers are drawn to the mulchy earth, into leaves and soil, as I inhale that musty, fungus scent.

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Know your NEM: Gas sends energy prices soaring in Qld, NSW

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:39
The rising cost of gas generation has more than doubled electricity prices in NSW and Qld, with Qld facing a particularly expensive summer.
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Applications open for $10m to boost connected, autonomous car technology in SA

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:33
The South Australian Government is inviting applications for the $10 million Future Mobility Lab Fund to boost local testing, research and development of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.
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Powering Australian Renewables Fund achieves first major milestone

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:30
AGL Energy Limited (AGL) today announced on behalf of the Powering Australian Renewables Fund (PARF), that it has reached financial close on selling its 102 MW Nyngan and 53 MW Broken Hill solar plants into the fund.
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City of Sydney in new push to make rules fairer for sharing energy

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:19
City of Sydney to try again to remove barriers to local generation, as energy rule maker challenged to move its thinking into 21st Century.
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The myth around Australia’s “cheap” energy

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:17
Australia's wholesale electricity prices have barely moved for nearly two decades, and renewables will play key role in keeping a lid on them in future.
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Savanna fire management draft methods – released for public consultation

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:09
Two draft savanna fire management methods are now open for informal public consultation. The formal public consultation period will commence on the 21 November until the 19 December 2016.
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Savanna fire management draft methods – released for public consultation

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:09
Two draft savanna fire management methods are now open for informal public consultation. The formal public consultation period will commence on the 21 November until the 19 December 2016.
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Draft amendments to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming) Amendment Rule 2015 open for public consultation

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:08
The Department of the Environment and Energy is seeking comments on the draft Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Rule 2016 (No.1). The consultation period closes 19 December 2016.
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Draft amendments to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming) Amendment Rule 2015 open for public consultation

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2016-11-14 14:08
The Department of the Environment and Energy is seeking comments on the draft Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Rule 2016 (No.1). The consultation period closes 19 December 2016.
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Records fall as wind, hydro match brown coal generation in October

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2016-11-14 13:54
Record output from wind and hydro in October nearly matches brown coal for first time, as new data highlights how quickly renewables could reduce emissions.
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Has NAB closed the door to future fossil fuel lending?

RenewEconomy - Mon, 2016-11-14 13:51
National Australia Bank updates tally of “financed emissions” from power generation assets, while firming its commitment to a global carbon budget that limits global warming to less than 2°C. But what does this mean for future fossil fuel lending?
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