Feed aggregator

China gives the world a first glimpse of the space probe and rover it plans to use in its first mission to Mars in 2020.

Wenlock Edge The rabbit we watched watching us was taking its sentry duty seriously, and had the makings of a dominant adult – if it survived long enough

All ear and eye, the rabbit was as alert as an exclamation mark. It remained still and watchful, as if it thought it was invisible when in fact its attention was so intense it seemed as obvious as a warning beacon in an otherwise languid August afternoon.

The young rabbit was assessing the distance of this particular threat – two people and a dog – the distance to the burrow in the hedge, an escape route across the field, the position of the other rabbits, other potential threats from land and sky.

Continue reading...

Mojo today said it agreed with AGL Energy Chief’s Executive’s comment that the big retailers take their loyal customers for granted and are vulnerable to disruptors.

In a decision that will rank top of the Stupid List, Labor appears to have accepted Coalition plans to strip $1bn from ARENA.

Spark Infrastructure has first hand experience of the impact that renewables have on the wires and poles business and the opportunities and challenges that presents.

In response to the increasing number of women and children fleeing the war in Syria, UNHCR has set up a number of special support centres, also known as “Blue Dot” hubs, along the route through Greece and the Western Balkans specifically catering to their needs.

Continue reading...

If Australia fails to move on its climate policies, it may have no choice but to cut emissions to zero within five years to meet its share of the global effort to avoid a climate crisis. But it's not something that policy makers want to admit.

Investors say countries that move first will attract investments and call for regulators to force disclosure of climate-related risks

A group of 130 institutions that control US$13tn of investments have called on G20 nations to ratify the Paris agreement this year and accelerate investment in clean energy and forced disclosure of climate-related financial risk.

Countries that ratified the Paris agreement early would benefit from better policy certainty and would attract investment in low-carbon technology, the signatories said in a letter before the G20 heads of government meeting in September.

Continue reading...

Tesla's safe yet sexy "family car", the Model X SUV, has arrived in Australia, alongside news of a bigger battery pack and more ludicrous speeds.

Tesla confirms 100kWh battery pack available for Model X and Model S, offering more ludicrous 0-100km/h times at "obviously more expensive" price.

New research suggests that limiting global warming to 1.5℃ rather than letting it reach 2℃ could make a significant difference to the severity of extreme weather events in Australia, and could make all the difference for the Great Barrier Reef.

The solar PV cost reduction spiral reached its lowest point yet at an auction in Chile last week, where a Spanish developer won contracts to sell power from a solar plant high in the Andes for $29.10/MWh.

Can treating the immune system lead to a revolution in treating depression?

SEAL SCIENCE: A group of elephant seals in Antarctica has helped show how freshwater from melting ice shelves affects a key part of the engine that drives the circulation of the world's oceans.

Detecting traces of perfume could help in the fight against crime, a study suggests

A worldwide ban on plastic microbeads in cosmetics should be imposed as soon as possible, MPs demand.

Environmental audit committee calls for ban after hearing that microbeads harm marine life and enter the food chain

Cosmetics companies must be banned from using plastic microbeads in scrubs, toothpaste and beauty products because of the marine pollution they are causing, say a group of MPs.

Members of the environmental audit committee have called for a ban within 18 months after hearing that trillions of tiny pieces of plastic are accumulating in the world’s oceans, lakes and estuaries, harming marine life and entering the food chain. About 86 tonnes of microplastics are released into the environment every year in the UK from facial exfoliants alone, they were told.

Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of fish, commonly known as peanut bunker fish, have washed up dead in a New Jersey creek.

In Hawaii, large numbers of tourists disturb nocturnal spinner dolphins, which continue moving while they snooze

The federal government is proposing a ban on swimming with dolphins in Hawaii – a move that may crush the dreams of many tourists, but will allow the marine mammals to finally get a good day’s sleep.

The proposed rule would bar people from swimming or approaching within 50 yards of the Hawaiian spinner dolphin. The dolphins are an increasingly popular attraction for tourists, who pay for chartered tours of the bays the dolphins frequent.

Continue reading...

• Rain cold and high winds destroy 133 acres of trees west of Mexico City
• March storms killed 7% of monarchs and added to habit loss by tree-felling

Storms earlier this year blew down more than a hundred acres of forests where migrating monarch butterflies spend the winter in central Mexico, killing more than 7% of the monarchs, according to conservationists.

Rain, cold and high winds from the storms caused the loss of 133 acres (54 hectares) of pine and fir trees in the forests west of Mexico City, more than four times the amount lost to illegal logging this year. It was the biggest storm-related loss since the winter of 2009-10, when unusually heavy rainstorms and mudslides caused the destruction of 262 acres (106 hectares) of trees.

Continue reading...