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IUCN fears planet is entering sixth wave of extinctions with research from Australia revealing more risks to reptiles

More than 26,000 of the world’s species are now threatened, according to the latest red list assessment of the natural world, adding to fears the planet is entering a sixth wave of extinctions.

New research, particularly in Australia, has widened the scope of the annual stocktake, which is compiled by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and revealed the growing range of risks to flora and fauna.

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Controversial survey suggests oil platforms can act like offshore reefs and encourage wildlife.

A pied crow's hearty greeting at Knaresborough Castle in North Yorkshire has been captured on film by two visitors. Lisa and Mark Brooks heard the bird chattering inside the castle grounds and started filming.

'I found it absolutely hilarious. It must be a local, it has a proper Yorkshire accent. We were there for 15 minutes and it switched between saying ‘darling’ and ‘love’. Other people started coming over and were just in shock,' says Lisa Brooks. 

Crows are from the corvid family of birds, which are known for the ability to mimic human voices 

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To make a concession to the coal lobby would flout the technology-neutral foundation of the NEG and have much more serious implications than throwing in some money to boost the GST pool. Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Nutrient run-off from agriculture and urban sewage are likely to be to blame, scientists say

The coastal waters of the Baltic have been starved of oxygen to a level unseen in at least 1,500 years largely as a result of modern human activity, scientists say. Nutrient run-off from agriculture and urban sewage are thought to be to blame.

“Dead zones” – areas of sea, typically near the bottom, with a dearth of oxygen – are caused by a rise in nutrients in the water that boosts the growth of algae. When these organisms die and sink to the seafloor, bacteria set to work decomposing them, using up oxygen in the process.

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The wild banana that might save the world's banana crop may itself go extinct, scientists have revealed.

As unions warn of serious injuries, plans to take speed limits off the lines at pig plants are causing anxiety

Amputations, fractured fingers, second-degree burns and head trauma are just some of the serious injuries suffered by US meat plant workers every week, according to data seen by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

US meat workers are already three times more likely to suffer serious injury than the average American worker, and pork and beef workers nearly seven times more likely to suffer repetitive strain injuries. And some fear that plans to remove speed restrictions on pig processing lines – currently being debated by the government – will only make the work more difficult.

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Scientists looking to replace oil as the source of the world’s plastic are harnessing everything from wood-eating bugs to chicory

New bioplastics are being made in laboratories from straw, wood chips and food waste, with researchers aiming to replace oil as the source of the world’s plastic.

The new approaches include genetically modifying bacteria to eat wood and produce useful chemicals. But the bioplastics are currently significantly more expensive to make than fossil fuel-based plastics.

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Activists also target valley named for advocate of extermination, amid nationwide fight to reject legacy of racism

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The Energy and Climate Policy Associate supports The Nature Conservancy's conservation goals by communicating a clear vision and strategy designed to broaden support in Virginia for action on energy policy to address climate change.

Exclusive: Queensland government must rule on application to cease work around Abbot Point coal terminal

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Adani is facing the prospect of being ordered to cease work in the vicinity of its Abbot Point coal terminal and planned rail corridor, after Juru traditional owners applied for a “stop order” to protect sacred sites.

Guardian Australia understands the application was lodged with the Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships on Thursday by lawyers for Juru Enterprises Limited (JEL).

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Rooftop solar PV registrations for June fell from May’s record volume, but the first six months are still 50% ahead of last year.

Matter Technology, one of Australia’s first solar start-ups to target rented households, has gone into voluntary administration, and is seeking buyers.

Monash commits to wind offtake deal that brings the university into powerful consortium of corporate buyers, and closer to target of 100% renewables.

Crook, County Durham: Pholcus has a reputation for preying on other spiders, by entering their webs and vibrating, imitating struggles of a snared fly

When I leaned the steps against the conservatory wall and climbed, my brush loaded with paint, it could so easily have ended in tragedy.

A daddy-longlegs spider, Pholcus phalangioides, hanging upside down in her flimsy web, came within an inch of being submerged in a tide of Apricot Blush emulsion.

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Impact Investment Group announces "first close" on Solar Asset Fund after notching up $55 million in commitments.

Eighty years on from the first commercial production of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle and it looks like the once popular ‘people’s car’ is going electric.

As more and more wind and solar is added to the grid, the shape of their output is also changing, and in a way that should give confidence about a clean energy future based around a high level of variable renewable energy sources.

Transgrid seeks to buy 40MW of demand management - at a fraction of the price that it would need to spend otherwise on network upgrades in inner Sydney.

Europe's Sentinel satellite tasked with tracking dirty air maps the major emissions of sulphur dioxide.