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Mystery of giant star sand dunes solved

BBC - Mon, 2024-03-04 11:12
Scientists collected radioactive sand grains in the dark to understand when they formed.
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Australian First Nations group seeks interest in developing Fiji’s carbon industry

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-03-04 09:58
An Australian carbon trade company has signed an agreement with a Fijian NGO to nurture the country’s emerging carbon industry, alongside the national government, and is seeking interest from stakeholders to join a development working group.
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Why move species to islands? Saving wildlife as the world changes means taking calculated risks

The Conversation - Mon, 2024-03-04 09:36
Translocation may have been the key to survival for the eastern barred bandicoot but it might not be the golden ticket for every species. Anthony Rendall, Lecturer in Conservation Biology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Amy Coetsee, Threatened Species Biologist, The University of Melbourne Aviya Naccarella, PhD Candidate, Deakin University Euan Ritchie, Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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The National Electricity Market wasn’t made for a renewable energy future. Here’s how to fix it

The Conversation - Mon, 2024-03-04 05:19
Big changes are needed to create a consumer-centric National Electricity Market that’s able to manage the rise of rooftop solar. Vikki McLeod, PhD Graduate, Centre for Clean Energy Technologies and Practices, Queensland University of Technology Marcus Foth, Professor of Urban Informatics, Queensland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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WTO meeting fails to seal deal on harmful fisheries subsidies

Carbon Pulse - Sun, 2024-03-03 10:29
The latest World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations failed to reach an agreement on strengthening rules to curb harmful fisheries subsidies in what observers say is a major setback for marine biodiversity conservation efforts.
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What’s paralysing thousands of rainbow lorikeets? Scientists search for the cause as volunteer carers are overwhelmed

The Guardian - Sun, 2024-03-03 09:00

A mystery paralysis syndrome is afflicting lorikeet populations in south-east Queensland and northern NSW at a rate scientists say they have never seen

Dr Tim Portas pulls the patient from a cardboard box, wraps him in a towel and touches a cotton bud on his eye to see if he can blink.

Patient number 1,433,093 is one of about 3,500 Rainbow lorikeets that have come into the RSPCA’s wildlife hospital near Brisbane since the beginning of the year with a mystery paralysis.

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Banks advance work on transition credits to accelerate, bridge financing gap in coal plant decommissioning

Carbon Pulse - Sun, 2024-03-03 06:21
HSBC and Standard Chartered are working to develop a novel approach aimed at financing and accelerating the phaseout of coal power plants by introducing transition carbon credits, advancing existing efforts by governments and other private sector players.
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WWF shelved report exposing River Wye pollution ‘to keep Tesco happy’

The Guardian - Sun, 2024-03-03 04:00

The wildlife charity allegedly dropped a study highlighting farm pollution linked to the supply chain of its former supermarket partner

The wildlife charity WWF-UK shelved a report that warned how intensive chicken production is devastating the River Wye, the Observer can reveal.

Since 2018, the charity has received more than £6m in donations from the supermarket chain Tesco, which has faced action from campaigners over the decline of the Wye because many of the intensive poultry farms in the river’s catchment area are in its ­supply chain.

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Scientists urge halt on deep-ocean seaweed dumping for climate change mitigation

Carbon Pulse - Sun, 2024-03-03 02:57
Countries should impose an immediate moratorium on the sinking of seaweed into the deep ocean as a method of carbon sequestration, researchers have urged, highlighting the lack of scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness and raising concerns over potential environmental, economic, and ethical consequences.  
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AI’s craving for data is matched only by a runaway thirst for water and energy | John Naughton

The Guardian - Sun, 2024-03-03 01:55

The computing power for AI models requires immense – and increasing – amounts of natural resources. Legislation is required to prevent environmental crisis

One of the most pernicious myths about digital technology is that it is somehow weightless or immaterial. Remember all that early talk about the “paperless” office and “frictionless” transactions? And of course, while our personal electronic devices do use some electricity, compared with the washing machine or the dishwasher, it’s trivial.

Belief in this comforting story, however, might not survive an encounter with Kate Crawford’s seminal book, Atlas of AI, or the striking Anatomy of an AI System graphic she composed with Vladan Joler. And it certainly wouldn’t survive a visit to a datacentre – one of those enormous metallic sheds housing tens or even hundreds of thousands of servers humming away, consuming massive amounts of electricity and needing lots of water for their cooling systems.

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UN Environment Assembly takes shy steps on biodiversity at first meeting since GBF agreement

Carbon Pulse - Sat, 2024-03-02 23:43
The 6th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) wrapped up with the approval of 15 resolutions – including the first-ever on land degradation – and calls for expediting efforts towards achieving global biodiversity targets, though disagreements frustrated hopes for bolder commitments.
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Ski resorts’ era of plentiful snow may be over due to climate crisis, study finds

The Guardian - Sat, 2024-03-02 23:30

US ski industry is losing billions as average season has become five to seven days shorter in past half century

If you have been enjoying lushly covered mountains by skiing or snowboarding this winter then such an experience could soon become a receding memory, with a new study finding that an era of reliably bountiful snow has already passed due to the climate crisis.

The US ski industry has lost more than $5bn over the past two decades due to human-caused global heating, the new research has calculated, due to the increasingly sparse nature of snowfall on mountain ranges. Previous studies have shown that in many locations precipitation is now coming in the form of rain, rather than snow, due to warming temperatures.

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Mix of rapid acceleration and “handbrake” risks seen on road ahead for global energy transition -report

Carbon Pulse - Sat, 2024-03-02 17:52
A new report has shone a light on the complex road ahead for the global energy transition, revealing a dual narrative of rapid acceleration and significant challenges in the form of various "handbrakes".
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Government documents ‘blow gaping hole’ in its case for Cumbrian coalmine

The Guardian - Sat, 2024-03-02 16:00

Michael Gove said UK needed coal to make steel, but business department papers drafted around same time say it will not

Previously unseen documents have emerged that appear to contradict the government’s case for a new coalmine in Cumbria.

When Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, approved plans to build the Woodhouse Colliery near Whitehaven in December 2022, he said the UK would need the coal in order to carry on making steel.

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