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Threatened seabirds begin to recover on Macquarie Island after pests eliminated

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-11-19 07:06

Five years after the last rabbit was killed, endangered birds such as the black-browed albatross are growing in numbers

Eight species of threatened seabird have begun to recover on Macquarie Island, signalling a possible end to 130 years of death and destruction on the sub-Antarctic outpost.

The island has been formally declared pest-free, five years after the last rabbit was killed.

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Obama puts Arctic Ocean off limits for drilling in last-ditch barrier to Trump

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-11-19 05:14

US Department of the Interior says ‘fragile and unique’ Arctic ecosystem at risk if drilling allowed, possibly by pro-fossil fuels Trump administration

Barack Obama’s administration has ruled out drilling for oil and gas in the pristine Arctic Ocean, throwing up a last-ditch barrier to the pro-fossil fuels agenda of incoming president Donald Trump.

The US Department of the Interior said that the “fragile and unique” Arctic ecosystem would face “significant risks” if drilling were allowed in the Chukchi or Beaufort Seas, which lie off Alaska. It added that the high costs of exploration, combined with a low oil price, would probably deter fossil fuel companies anyway.

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Poor nations pledge deep emissions cuts at Marrakech summit

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-11-19 02:17

Bangladesh and Ethiopia among 48 countries to pledge tougher carbon targets and a switch to 100% renewable energy

Some of the world’s poorest countries have pledged to dramatically cut their carbon emissions and rapidly move to 100% renewable power, as the UN climate summit in Marrakech drew to a close on Friday.

The announcement followed a final declaration by nearly 200 nations affirming their “highest political commitment” to combatting climate change, in a thinly-coded warning to the incoming US president, Donald Trump.

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Live Q&A: Elephants are disappearing, so how can we save them?

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-11-19 01:56

The survival of elephants depends on what humans do now. Join us on Tuesday 22 November from 1-2.30pm to discuss how to save this threatened species

3.56pm GMT

We know that elephant populations are collapsing at a frightening rate and that the driving forces behind this collapse are a global appetite for ivory and, just as worryingly, human/elephant conflict for space and resources.

Earlier this year, the world’s governments agreed to recommend the closure of domestic ivory markets. This is a serious step towards the eventual complete shutting down of the ivory trade, but now new questions are arising:

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World's poorest countries to aim for 100% green energy

BBC - Sat, 2016-11-19 01:22
Representatives from 47 of the world's most disadvantaged nations have promised that they will generate all their future energy needs from renewables.
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Not so warped

BBC - Sat, 2016-11-19 01:20
From tractor beams to warp drive, sci-fi has inspired serious real-life research.
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Sumatran orangutans in rehab – in pictures

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-11-19 00:54

Members of the critically endangered species are cared for and nursed back to health before their release at the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme’s rehabilitation centre in Kuta Mbelin, North Sumatra, Indonesia

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The week in wildlife – in pictures

The Guardian - Sat, 2016-11-19 00:00

A pheasant that sports Donald Trump’s hairdo, a line of baboons and a ‘teddy bear’ bee and among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

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Global green movement prepares to fight Trump on climate change

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-11-18 23:12

Election of a climate sceptic as US president sparks outpouring of donations and a surge in planned protests and court challenges

The global green movement is preparing for the fight of its life against efforts by Donald Trump to rollback action on climate change, with a surge in fundraising, planned court challenges and a succession of protests.

Environmental activists said the election of a climate change denier as US president, along with the prospect of former vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin and various oil billionaires holding senior posts, has prompted an “outpouring” of donations.

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UK should retain carbon price floor to support coal phase-out – report

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-11-18 20:00

Policy Exchange paper argues government should stick with carbon price floor until coal is fully forced off the grid, reports BusinessGreen

Policy Exchange has become the latest organisation to call for the retention of the UK’s carbon price floor ahead of next week’s autumn statement, arguing changes to the policy would seriously undermine the government’s efforts to phase out coal power by 2025.

The influential thinktank joins the CBI and trade body Energy UK in arguing the levy should be kept in place, despite lobbying from some industry groups calling for it to be axed.

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150 years of global warming in a minute-long symphony – video

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-11-18 17:44

Sometimes, a tune can say so much more than an image or words. Here, we turn almost 150 years of global temperatures into music. The higher the temperature, the higher the pitch of the note. And the louder the note, the more carbon there is in the atmosphere

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Conquering the Cent Cols Challenge in the Pyrenees: from despair to defiance

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-11-18 17:00

Oliver Duggan recounts the geographical, physical and mental rollercoaster of cycling 100 mountain passes in 10 days across southern France and Spain

The col de la Core is not a famous climb – in cycling, or any other sport. There are no champions’ names spray painted on the ground, no monuments at the top to riders past or present. It has no especially beautiful scenery or harsh gradients. It is a simple, two-lane road, and on a Saturday morning last month, it nearly killed me.

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Could gas from grass rival fracking to heat UK homes?

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-11-18 16:01

Britain’s first ‘green gas mill’ will convert grass into biomethane to heat more than 4,000 homes and is set to come online in 2018

The grass is always greener than the gas on the other side, according to a British businessman who claims grasslands could provide enough gas to heat all of the UK’s homes.

Dale Vince, the chairman of renewable energy company Ecotricity, is investing £10m in the first of a generation of what he calls ‘green gas mills’ that he says could compete against gas from fracking.

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Great Barrier Reef: third fatality in a week as British tourist dies on dive

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-11-18 15:39

The man in his 60s is the third person to die on the reef this week, after two French tourists apparently had heart attacks on Wednesday

A British man has died while diving on the Great Barrier Reef, the third death in three days among visitors to Australia’s popular natural tourist attraction.

The 60-year-old man was found without a breathing device during a tandem scuba dive at Agincourt reef, 100km north of Cairns, on Friday.

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Champions of high-altitude flight

The Guardian - Fri, 2016-11-18 15:30

Lake Manasarovar, Tibet Bar-headed geese are popular with British fanciers, but better to think of them here, readying for their lofty migration over the Himalayas

From the roof of Chiu monastery, perched high on its rocky hill, the water of Lake Manasarovar was cobalt, the surrounding hills rich ochre, luminous in the sunlight of a late autumn afternoon. With a shoreline 55 miles (90km) long, and at an altitude of more than 4,500 metres (15,000ft), this is one of the highest and largest bodies of freshwater in the world. Its name translates from the Sanskrit as “mind’s lake”; the mind in question being that of the Hindu creator Brahma, and in the thin air there is something ethereal about it, something unworldly. It is a sacred site of pilgrimage for a quarter of the world, not just Hindus but Buddhists too, as well as the lesser known Tibetan religion of Bon and India’s Jains.

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75th anniversary of the sinking of HMAS Sydney II and HSK Kormoran

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2016-11-18 15:25
On 19 November 2016 Australia will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the sinking of HMAS Sydney II and HSK Kormoran.
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Peggy Whitson: Blast off to the ISS for oldest woman in space

BBC - Fri, 2016-11-18 12:49
Astronaut Peggy Whitson has lifted off into space for her third mission to the International Space Station.
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Swiss try to give away nuclear plants, but find no takers

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2016-11-18 11:54
Swiss reactor operator Alpiq reportedly could find no buyer for its two nuclear plants and is therefore hoping to give them to the Swiss state.
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Supermoon floods warn of crisis facing Donald Trump

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2016-11-18 11:43
Donald Trump is preparing to lead America during a perilous period for the 130 million residents of its coastal counties.
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Tesla shareholders approve SolarCity acquisition

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2016-11-18 11:39
Elon Musk has announced that Tesla and SolarCity shareholders have approved the merger between the two companies.
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