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Achvaneran, Highlands The only recourse was to do a ‘wildlife watch’, ignoring everything else and concentrating solely on what was around in nature

Walking down the garden to my study I could hear a single male curlew calling from the field. They had bred down below the house, but his partner and their offspring had already gone to the coast.

I eased open the curtains in front of my desk and knew that with the warm sunshine it would be difficult to concentrate on writing. The only recourse was to do what I call a “wildlife watch”, concentrating solely on what was around in nature. Out came the telephone link to the house, the binoculars, camera and notebook, and I was set.

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Identifying the microbes and knowing their distribution will be one more important step in understanding the carbon cycle, and of monitoring and predicting emissions of greenhouse gases.

Reports of health effects from wind farms do not match where wind farms are found. Other factors are at play. Fiona Crichton explains.

At UNSW, researchers are investigating the economics and practicalities of e-waste recycling saving the embodied energy, and keeping rare resources, skills and jobs in Australia.

A small bog in Lancashire is once again home to a rare species of butterfly, for the first time in 100 years.

Imagine Melbourne without the bay, Perth without the beach and Sydney without the Harbour. Imagine if there was no standing water in your town.

Should autopilot cars be banned?

A greater roadrunner and a pair of snub-nosed monkeys are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world

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There are certain environmental benefits only farmers can provide; a weakened subsidy system will dissuade their efforts

It was perhaps the most significant pre-Brexit tie between Britain and the European Union: for decades, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has provided supportive subsidies to EU farmers, consuming 40% of the EU’s annual budget in the process, almost £3bn of which went to the United Kingdom each year.

CAP’s system of subsidies works to incentivise farmers to produce more food, so the EU can remain food secure, and also funds those who set aside land for environmental protection instead of cultivation. But CAP’s inability to fully deliver on its ambitious goals has made it a controversial policy, one that both bolstered and undermined Britain’s relations with the EU.

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US presidential candidate said planning conditions associated with Aberdeenshire project had not been satisfied

Donald Trump has vowed to continue fighting the windfarm development off the coast from his Aberdeenshire golf course, branding the project an act of “public vandalism”.

The US presidential candidate returned to the fray after Swedish energy company Vattenfall confirmed on Thursday that it is going ahead with its £300m investment, despite last month’s EU referendum vote.

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Currently under construction, the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa is establishing its role in scientific research.

The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox

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A dolphin that was sunburned while stranded out of water on mudflats for 24 hours in May appears to be recovering from its injuries.

Decompression computers worn by recreational and commercial divers provides accurate data, study shows

Millions of holidaying scuba divers are able to become citizen scientists and take vital measurements of ocean temperatures, which are being driven up by climate change.

More than 90% of the heat trapped by global warming goes into oceans, where it drives hurricanes and disrupts fish stocks. Satellites can measure surface temperature when there are no clouds, but getting data from below the surface is much harder and more expensive.

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Delamere Forest, Cheshire Red and blue damsels drift around me like filaments on the breeze but I am here to see a rarer species: the white-faced darter

I skirt the edge of lower Doolittle Moss, in Delamere Forest, treading through soft peaty soil and batting away the pungent bracken that has grown almost as tall as me. Hard green fruit are starting to appear on the brambles, and bumblebees are making the most of the last blossoms.

Surrounded by forest on all sides, the moss is black acidic water devoid of fish. Not the least bit inviting, even as the temperature climbs. But it is a boggy beauty spot in its own right. Half submerged islands of vivid lime-green sphagnum moss break the surface. Stands of cotton grass and sedge shoot upwards, and above them the sunlight catches on flakes of silver and gold.

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Obama announces $4.5 billion in US Energy Department loan guarantees to become available for the support of a commercial-scale electric vehicle charging station buildout.

South Australian government says a mix of electric, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles will make up 30% of its fleet by 2020.

Eleven endangered southern brown bandicoots have been translocated to Booderee National Park. They haven't been seen in the area since World War One.

A super-hard metal is made in the laboratory by melting together titanium and gold.

A recent drought shut down the Amazon Basin's carbon sink by killing trees and slowing trees' growth rates, a first-of-its-kind study shows.