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375 National Academy of Sciences members sign an open letter expressing frustration at political inaction on climate change

Yesterday, 375 of the world’s top scientists, including 30 Nobel Prize winners, published an open letter regarding climate change. In the letter, the scientists report that the evidence is clear: humans are causing climate change. We are now observing climate change and its affect across the globe. The seas are rising, the oceans are warming, the lower atmosphere is warming, the land is warming, ice is melting, rainfall patterns are changing and the ocean is becoming more acidic.

These facts are incontrovertible. No reputable scientist disputes them. It is the truth.

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Authorities from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have rejected recent research on the number of early deaths caused by last year’s fires

Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean authorities have dismissed research that suggested smoky haze from catastrophic forest fires in Indonesia last year caused 100,000 deaths. Some even contend the haze caused no serious health problems, but experts say those assertions contradict well-established science.

Last year’s fires in Sumatra and the Indonesian part of Borneo were the worst since 1997, burning about 261,000 hectares of forests and peatland and sending haze across the region for weeks. Many were deliberately set by companies to clear land for palm oil and pulpwood plantations.

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New initiative closes loophole allowing dealers to claim ivory from recently killed elephants is antique without providing proof of age

Britain is to ban all sales of ivory which are not backed by proof that the item is over 70 years old.

Although it is already illegal to sell ivory from elephants killed after 1947, a loophole allows dealers to claim items are antique without providing documentary evidence of their age.

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It will be the first Australian city to install the system, which relies on underground pneumonic tubes to transfer waste out of the city-centre.

University of Maryland students say they have achieved an aviation first, getting their manned, solar powered helicopter off the ground.

Lyme Regis, Dorset Morning sun highlights the cliffs, visitors stroll along the Cobb and little boats dip and roll across the open sea

From Uplyme, shady paths beside the river Lim lead to the renovated mill in the middle of old Lyme Regis; the waterwheel is geared to millstones that grind wheat into flour, and a micro hydro system generates 32,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. Before 10.30am, the associated tearoom, galleries and workshops remain quiet, but the nearest car park is already full. Sun sparkles on the sea; a flotilla of sailing dinghies is heading out and a gig cuts across the bay.

Land and cliffs on the eastern side of town have been stabilised and protected by a new seawall; beyond this, towards the Spittles, morning sun highlights dangerous cliffs, made of alternating layers of slippery grey clay and pale, lumpy limestone that overhang the rough and muddy shoreline. Farther up the coast, Golden Cap is cloud-free, and visibility extends to the hazy Isle of Portland.

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Suzlon Energy's Tulsi Tanti says making wind turbines in Australia would be a "win-win", but market must first demonstrate stability, growth.

Advertising Standards Authority concedes it erred in upholding a complaint against the advert last year, which claimed fracking would not cut energy bills

The UK’s advertising watchdog has admitted it made the wrong decision when it banned a Greenpeace advert last year which claimed fracking would not cut energy bills.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) originally ruled in May 2015 that the advert was misleading due to the green group’s statement that experts agreed fracking would not reduce energy costs.

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AGL is encouraging local residents to have their say on the proposed Coopers Gap Wind Farm project.

EthosEnergy has been successfully completed a $2m major overhaul of a gas turbine and generator for Origin Energy.

Survival tactic also increases chances of successful insemination, with the immature females able to store sperm until they reach adulthood

Male redback spiders at risk of being cannibalised by their sex partners have developed a survival tactic: mating only with females too young to eat them.

New research has identified the adaptive behaviour among some males of the widow spider genus. Adult females of the genus regularly cannibalise their partners during or after mating.

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Is there a way of using farming to save coral?

South Korea to provide incentives for utility-scale solar operators to install energy storage units as it outlines plans to invest $US27 billion in renewable energies over next five years.

GM is set to take on Tesla with its Chevy Bolt electric car. Meanwhile, big developments in offshore wind and battery storage.

The jaw-dropping bids for a massive solar plant in Abu Dhabi will help change the thinking about the future of energy markets. The price offered is one third the cost of local gas generation, and one fifth of the cost of the proposed new nuclear plant in the UK.

The British Veterinary Association warns would-be dog owners to think twice before buying breeds with fashionably "flat-faced" features - because of growing concerns for their welfare.

Australia will likely miss its Paris climate commitments by around one billion tonnes of greenhouse emissions by 2030 if it continues with its current policies.

Watching a tragic film could have an unexpected benefit in triggering a feel-good chemical, research suggests.

过去3年间，新加坡缉获大量非法象牙，生态保护团体担心犯罪团伙正在开辟新的走私路线。翻译：金艳 (翻译：子明/chinadialogue)

English language: Large ivory seizures in Singapore make it a smuggling hub of ‘primary concern’

生态保护组织称，过去3年间新加坡缉获大量非法象牙，使得这个东南亚城邦成为全球最大的有组织象牙走私犯罪中心。

这些象牙多数会销往中国大陆和香港，因此，两地的海关会把来自这些港口的集装箱作为重点检查对象。EIA活动负责人朱利安·纽曼以及TRAFFIC专家汤姆·米利肯表示，为了躲过中国海关的重点检查，装载象牙的集装箱会被运送到新加坡或是马来西亚的巴生港作为中转，在那里停留几个月，然后装载到另一艘船上，文件上货物的来源也会改成新的港口。

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RepuTex analysis says federal government paying polluters and ambitious renewable energy targets won’t have sufficient impact

Australia’s emissions will remain at the same level through to 2030, despite the federal government paying polluters billions to lower greenhouse gas emissions and some states having ambitious renewable energy targets, according to new analysis by the energy advisory firm RepuTex.

Combining the effect of current policy settings with expected growth in liquefied natural gas exports and land clearing, Australia’s emissions were modelled to end up at just 2% below 2005 levels by 2030.

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