Feed aggregator

The new pro-coal ‘Monash Forum’ follows in a rich political tradition of think tanks and pressure groups, all with names calculated to lend themselves maximum gravitas and a large dose of obfuscation. Marc Hudson, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Monash Forum's manifesto, reprinted in full below, can be briefly summed up as "coal subsidies good, renewable subsidies bad." But it already has Turnbull asking how high he should jump.

In Germany, scientists are using drones equipped with sensors to locate metals needed for wind turbines and solar panels

We know that renewable energy can help the world to wean itself off fossil fuels, but keeping up with green-energy demand is creating another problem. Countries such as Germany, which has committed itself to a low-carbon future, are finding themselves short of the raw materials required to manufacture wind turbines and solar panels. In particular, metals such as copper, cobalt, platinum-group metals and rare-earth elements such as indium and germanium are in short supply.

Continue reading...

West Midlands and Wiltshire are among worst affected, while Cam and Ouse are higher than usual

Flood warnings are in place across the country after the wet Easter weather caused many rivers to overflow their banks.

Wide parts of the UK were affected by rain and snow over the bank holiday weekend, sparking a rise in water levels.

Continue reading...

Public comment period saw more than 100,000 messages, many condemning proposal to raise fees as high as $70

The Department of the Interior said on Tuesday that it planned to revise a controversial proposal to drastically increase entrance fees at some of the most popular national parks in the country.

The interior department press secretary, Heather Swift, said the Trump administration decided to rethink its proposal after Americans flooded the National Park Service (NPS) with more than 100,000 comments, many of them sharply critical of the proposed surge pricing scheme.

Continue reading...

Researchers use astronomical techniques used to study distant stars to survey endangered species.

Protesters mock announcement by Cuadrilla as they start three-month protest at Lancashire site

The first large-scale fracking in Britain has moved a step closer after an energy firm said it had completed drilling the UK’s first horizontal well at a site in Lancashire.

Cuadrilla said the development was a “major milestone” towards the first shale gas exploration in the UK since 2011, when work was halted after it triggered a minor earthquake. The company said it hoped to begin fracking at its site on Preston New Road, near Blackpool, in the summer, pending government approval.

Continue reading...

The White Continent is surrendering ocean floor as the undersides of its glaciers are melted.

Even with aggressive climate policies to limit global warming, food security in some areas will be threatened

We have delayed action for so long on handling climate change, we now can no longer can “will it happen?” Rather we have to ask “how bad will it be?” and “what can be done about it?” As our society thinks about what we should do to reduce our carbon pollution and the consequences of electing science-denying politicians, scientists are actively studying the pros and cons of various emission reductions.

Readers of this column have certainly heard about temperature targets such as 1.5°C or 2°C. These targets refer to allowable temperature increases over pre-industrial temperatures. If humans take action to hit a 1.5°C target, it means we are committed to keeping the human-caused global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Similarly for a 2°C target.

Continue reading...

The New South Wales state government has given planning approval for the Liverpool Range wind farm, which at more than 1,000MW could be the biggest in the country.

International Lubricant Distributors (ILD) has been certified carbon neutral against the Australian Government’s National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS)

Two new Australian wind farms are heading towards 50 per cent capacity factor - that is about the same as some ageing coal generators.

Genex gets DA for next stage of its Kidston solar project, which will end up becoming the country's, and most likely the world's, first major solar project paired with large pumped hydro storage.

Australia's big retailers are planning major investments in gas generation. But California illustrates how that market has been shuttered by battery storage.

Claxton, Norfolk: The birds, wildflowers and insects burst into action; it’s what the great environmentalist Roger Deakin called ‘opening time in nature’s great saloon’

At last those winter rains have ended and the sun shone here for two full days. Suddenly it is time for cock pheasants, flushed crimson with testosterone, to fight long tail-twisting battles; for wild violets to flower quietly over our meadow-lawn; for goldfinches to strip spider thread from the back wall to bind their nests; for hairy-footed summer-bees to zip among the rosemary blooms, and for buff-tailed and early bumblebee queens to truffle the green hellebore heads in a last garden before the marsh. They’re all part of that dramatic upwelling of life which Roger Deakin once called “opening time in nature’s great saloon”.

Continue reading...

One of the Australian energy industry’s greatest contributors, Terry Effeney, passed away on the weekend.

JinkoSolar announced that, as the world’s largest solar module manufacturer, it has signed a 2750 MW solar panel supply deal with NextEra Energy, the world’s most valuable utility company.

Monash Forum pushes for new coal fired generators, as it seeks to confirm role of National Energy Guarantee as do nothing policy. Monash Forum is said to represent more than half of Coalition backbench, which is about the same that reject climate science.

The public consultation period will be open until 18 May 2018.

The public consultation period will be open until 18 May 2018.