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Public consultation: Draft Koala referral guidelines

Department of the Environment - Wed, 2013-12-04 16:48
The Australian Government is currently seeking public comment on its draft referral guidelines for the Koala (combined populations of Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory) - comments close 7 February 2014.
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Caladenia porphyrea, Corunastylis sp. Charmhaven, Corunastylis insignis and Thelymitra adorata

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2013-12-03 11:13
The Threatened Species Scientific Committee is seeking comments on: Caladenia porphyrea (magenta orchid),Corunastylis insignis (Wyong midge orchid 1), Corunastylis sp. Charmhaven (Wyong midge orchid 2) and Thelymitra adorata (Wyong sun-orchid) –...
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Gymnobelideus leadbeateri (Leadbeater’s possum)

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2013-12-03 11:10
The Threatened Species Scientific Committee is currently seeking comments on the Gymnobelideus leadbeateri (Leadbeater’s possum) critically endangered nomination - comments close 24 January 2014.
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Over 1,000 cyclists stage die-in protest outside Transport for London HQ

The Guardian - Mon, 2013-12-02 00:24
Upset by the recent road deaths across the capital and the way the finger of blame seems to be pointing at them, London cyclists took to the streets to call for greater investment in road safety

On Friday night I had a quick word with my boss (also a regular cyclist) and then slipped away a little early from Kings Place to pedal down Farringdon Road, over Blackfriars Bridge and on to the Transport for London building. As I arrived at 4.50pm there was already a fair-sized huddle of fellow cyclists gathering in the cold around a portable sound system and banner on the pavement.

The quickly swelling crowd was the result of less than two weeks' hectic and quite spontaneous activism by a relatively small group of people, coordinated via Facebook. I had been one of those activists.

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Polar bear numbers in Hudson Bay of Canada on verge of collapse

The Guardian - Thu, 2013-11-28 00:18
Climate change is warming the Arctic and melting its ice cover, with grave consequences

Polar bear populations are a sensitive topic for the Canadian government, which has faced international criticism for its policies on climate change and for allowing limited hunting of bears, mainly by indigenous communities.

The Canadian environment minister provoked outrage last October when she discounted abundant scientific studies of polar bear decline across the Arctic, saying her brother, a hunter, was having no trouble finding bears. Leona Aglukkaq, an Inuk, spoke of a "debate" about the existence of climate change.

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For Canada's remote towns, living with polar bears is growing more risky

The Guardian - Thu, 2013-11-28 00:16
Melting sea ice is forcing polar bears on to dry land – and, increasingly, into contact with humans

It was just a few days after a polar bear had mauled two people in the centre of town that the patrol officer pulled up by the school and scanned his binoculars along the rocky shoreline of Hudson Bay looking for any signs of a telltale white lump.

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Forest giraffe on the brink of extinction, red list warns

The Guardian - Tue, 2013-11-26 10:03
National symbol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo becomes victim of country's long-running war, IUCN says

The blue-tongued forest giraffe, the national symbol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is on the brink of extinction, according to the latest update to the red list of threatened species. The stripy-legged creature, which appears on Congolese banknotes and is actually a species of okapi, has become another victim of the DRC's long-running war. But surveys reveal that conservation efforts have had a positive effect on ocean-roaming leatherback turtles and albatrosses, while a Californian fox has returned from the edge.

"This red list update shows some fantastic conservation successes, from which we must learn," said Jane Smart, a director at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the list.

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Canada approves production of GM salmon eggs on commercial scale

The Guardian - Tue, 2013-11-26 06:43
• US biotechnology firm AquaBounty given green light 
• FDA expected to follow with decision on sale of GM salmon

Canada has given the go-ahead to commercial production of genetically modified salmon eggs, bringing the world's first GM food animal closer to supermarkets and dinner tables.

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David Cameron at centre of 'get rid of all the green crap' storm

The Guardian - Fri, 2013-11-22 08:04
No 10 says it does not recognise the phrase but prime minister's team does not explicitly deny such a statement was made

David Cameron was at the centre of a storm on Thursday over whether he ordered aides to "get rid of all the green crap" from energy bills in a drive to bring down costs.

The language, attributed to Cameron in the Sun newspaper by a senior Tory source, sparked a furious reaction from campaigners accusing the prime minister of abandoning his promise to run the greenest government ever.

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Posidonia australis complex seagrass meadows ecological community

Department of the Environment - Thu, 2013-11-21 16:26
The Threatened Species Scientific Committee is currently seeking comments on: Posidonia seagrass meadows ecological community assessment. The period for comment closes on 16 February 2014.
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Just 90 companies caused two-thirds of man-made global warming emissions

The Guardian - Thu, 2013-11-21 02:07
Chevron, Exxon and BP among companies most responsible for climate change since dawn of industrial age, figures show

Interactive - which fossil fuel companies are most responsible?

The climate crisis of the 21st century has been caused largely by just 90 companies, which between them produced nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions generated since the dawning of the industrial age, new research suggests.

The companies range from investor-owned firms – household names such as Chevron, Exxon and BP – to state-owned and government-run firms.

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Western Australia Marine Aquarium Fish Managed Fishery

Department of the Environment - Wed, 2013-11-20 08:13
Agency 2013 application on ecological sustainability - comments close 16 December 2013
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Aqua Marine Tasmania

Department of the Environment - Wed, 2013-11-20 08:10
Company 2013 application on ecological sustainability - comments close 13 December 2013
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Commonwealth Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery

Department of the Environment - Wed, 2013-11-20 08:05
Agency 2013 application on ecological sustainability - comments close 12 December 2013
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SENG National Newsletter - November 2013

Newsletters National - Tue, 2013-11-19 04:20
SENG National Newsletter - November 2013
Categories: Newsletters National

Victorian landowners to rehabilitate and protect native grasslands in response to grassland clearing

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2013-11-18 14:26
Victorian landowners are to rehabilitate 4 ha of the critically endangered Natural Temperate Grassland of the Victorian Volcanic Plan and conserve, manage and enhance grasslands across their 43 ha Mickleham property.
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Public consultation: draft assessment bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and the State of New South Wales

Department of the Environment - Mon, 2013-11-18 09:41
The Department is currently seeking public comment on a draft assessment bilateral agreement with the State of New South Wales
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Global deforestation: 10 hot spots on Google Earth – in pictures

The Guardian - Sat, 2013-11-16 00:03
Earth has lost more than half a million square miles of forest between 2000 and 2012. Analysis of 650,000 satellite images, published in the journal Science, reveal the extent of loss and recovery – Brazil’s success in the Amazon is offset by deforestation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Zambia and Angola. The colour-coded maps here show the changes: green is forest cover, red is lost forest, blue is forest gained and pink is forests both lost and gained in the period Continue reading...
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SENG QLD newsletter - November 2013

Newsletters QLD - Fri, 2013-11-15 05:35
SENG QLD newsletter - November 2013
Categories: Newsletters QLD

Gigha watts: Scottish island tests batteries for wind farms

The Guardian - Sun, 2013-11-10 06:54
Battery project involving 75,000 litres of sulphuric acid will allow Scottish island to store wind power it cannot transmit

The Scottish island of Gigha is to be the focus of a £2.5m experiment aimed at solving a major technological problem: how to store energy generated by wind, tide and wave power plants. The project, which will involve building giant batteries containing 75,000 litres of sulphuric acid mixed with vanadium pentoxide, is intended to allow power generated by the island's wind turbines to be stored for later use.

At present, while Gigha's turbines are running, their power is used to run households on the island and excess is transmitted by cable to the mainland electricity grid. When winds are low, and Gigha's turbines do not turn, the grid feeds power to the island. But the cable link has an upper power limit. As a result, much of the island's excess power cannot be transmitted to the mainland and is wasted. The battery project, backed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, is intended to get round this problem.

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