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Let’s be honest: Australia is well behind on renewables

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 14:04
Australia’s fossil fuel share of electricity generation is higher than that of our peers. This chart is ugly for Australians who care about doing our bit in the 21st century.
Categories: Around The Web

RES drops 758MW wind farm proposal, amid Victoria boom

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 14:02
Anti-wind resistance appears to win the day as RES Australia confirms Penshurst Wind Farm no longer an ongoing development opportunity.
Categories: Around The Web

NEG: A rushed job that takes us backwards, not forwards

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 12:15
National Energy Guarantee appears to be a plan to get through the Coalition Party Room, and then a plan to have a plan. Unfortunately, that means many more months of uncertainty.
Categories: Around The Web

Musk says Tesla big battery now more than 80% complete

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 11:59
Elon Musk says Tesla big battery in South Australia now more than 80% complete, but even bigger storage installations likely to follow.
Categories: Around The Web

Tesla falls behind on Model 3 production, burns cash at record rate

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 11:57
Production line "bottlenecks" at Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory push Model 3 delivery target out 3 months. Musk says, "we've got it covered."
Categories: Around The Web

Pregnant sharks and rays likely to abort their young if captured

The Guardian - Thu, 2017-11-02 11:57

New research has found a quarter of pregnant sharks and rays lose their pups when caught, threatening some species

Australian researchers have found a quarter of pregnant sharks and rays abort their pups when captured, revealing a little-known risk to the survival of the slow-growing animals.

An analysis of recorded instances of sharks and rays either aborting their pups or undergoing a premature birth once captured found 24% of pregnant females across 88 species lost their young. In some species, such as the pelagic stingray, the rate of abortion on capture was 85%.

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Explainer: hydrofluorocarbons saved the ozone layer, so why are we banning them?

The Conversation - Thu, 2017-11-02 11:31
Australia has ratified an agreement to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, a manmade compound once hailed as the saviour of the ozone layer. What went wrong? Jenny Fisher, Senior Lecturer in Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Wollongong Stephen Wilson, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
Categories: Around The Web

China contractors and finance may help Adani’s mega coal mine

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 11:15
The potential involvement of China state-owned contractors and financiers may help Adani in its push for the mega coal mine in Queensland.
Categories: Around The Web

Rejected teenagers: the trend of closing young coal plants

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 11:11
It's not just old coal power plants that are being closed down. In Italy, the US, and the Netherlands, coal plants that are barely teenagers are being targeted for closure.
Categories: Around The Web

Energy technologies and business model innovator Justine Jarvinen takes up role as Wattwatchers Chair

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 10:13
Energy technology pacesetter Wattwatchers is delighted to announce the appointment of Justine Jarvinen as non-executive Chair. Ms Jarvinen is currently Chief Operating Officer of the Energy Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and her prior corporate roles include Head of Emerging Technologies at AGL Energy. Ms Jarvinen will lead the Wattwatchers Board […]
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Rooftop solar pushes WA grid demand to 8-year low

RenewEconomy - Thu, 2017-11-02 09:57
Rooftop solar has helped push grid demand in Western Australia to its lowest levels in more than eight years.
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Extreme weather leads to public health crises – so health and climate experts must work together

The Conversation - Thu, 2017-11-02 04:55
Extreme weather events are inevitably followed by disease outbreaks. So why not team health professionals with climate experts? Aparna Lal, Research Fellow, Australian National University Rebecca Colvin, Knowledge Exchange Specialist, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Fracking protest injunction based on 'flimsy evidence'

The Guardian - Thu, 2017-11-02 02:09

Ineos exaggerated the threat posed by protesters to justify its temporary legal action, court hears

A multinational firm has been accused of using “flimsy and exaggerated” evidence when it obtained an “astonishingly broad” injunction against all anti-fracking protesters, a court has heard.

Petrochemicals giant Ineos is seeking to enforce a sweeping injunction to prevent any protester from obstructing its fracking operations. Campaigners face being jailed, fined or having their assets seized if they break the injunction.

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Categories: Around The Web

Wildlife on your doorstep: share your November photos

The Guardian - Thu, 2017-11-02 01:00

There will be further autumnal signs in the northern hemisphere in November, while the southern hemisphere can finally begin to enjoy springtime. We’d like to see your photos of this month’s wildlife near you

What sort of wildlife will we all discover on our doorsteps this month? We’d like to see your photos of the November wildlife near you, whether you’re a novice spotter or have been out and about searching for wildlife for years.

Related: Your best pictures of insects around the world

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Categories: Around The Web

Stranded elephant rescued from well in Sri Lanka

BBC - Wed, 2017-11-01 20:02
Wildlife officials rushed to help when the elephant was found trapped.
Categories: Around The Web

Trump statements on North Korea 'dangerous': former US Def. Secretary

ABC Environment - Wed, 2017-11-01 18:06
The former US Secretary of Defence, William J. Perry says Donald Trump's statements may embolden North Korea to use nuclear weapons against the US.
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Fossil fuel companies undermining Paris agreement negotiations – report

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-11-01 17:11

Exclusive: report says outcomes of climate negotiations have been skewed to favour biggest corporate polluters

Global negotiations seeking to implement the Paris agreement have been captured by corporate interests and are being undermined by powerful forces that benefit from exacerbating climate change, according to a report released ahead of the second meeting of parties to the Paris agreement – COP23 – next week.

The report, co-authored by Corporate Accountability, uncovers a litany of ways in which fossil fuel companies have gained high-level access to negotiations and manipulated outcomes.

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Colombia's land battles shatter the peace in Cauca Valley – in pictures

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-11-01 17:00

As the peace deal opens up new areas to extractive industries, a long-running fight for land and the environment has erupted anew as indigenous communities try to reclaim their territory

Read more: Indigenous people of Colombia fighting for their lands

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Most of UK's fruit and veg is from other EU nations 'so Brexit impact may be dramatic'

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-11-01 16:01

RSA launches food and farming inquiry as it highlights small quantity of these crops grown in UK and picked by non-EU staff

The UK faces serious health implications if the government fails to agree a Brexit deal, finds a report that says of 35 portions of fruit and vegetables, a figure relating to the five-a-day recommendation for individuals, just one “portion” is grown in the UK and picked by British or non-EU workers.

The report, to mark the launch of a new RSA commission examining the impact of Brexit on food and farming, found that the five-a-day health target – which adds up to the 35 portions of fruit and vegetables a week – was overwhelmingly met by food grown in the EU or harvested by EU workers in the UK.

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Country diary: bright berries and noisy visitors in the churchyard

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-11-01 15:30

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire Scratch-calls and white strobing underwings announce a flock of fieldfare in the abbey ruins

Yew berries glow brilliant red at the green edges of the tree’s inner darkness. It is five minutes to closing time when I slip into the Wenlock Priory ruins. Lawns have been freshly cut; towering stones radiate warmth on one of the last of the fine autumn days; no other feet tread the paths.

It is still bright as the church clock strikes five. Lime, hazel and beech have the smouldering brassy ochre of a slow autumn’s burn, only now reaching their peak. A large horse chestnut bough has been downed in a recent gale. Tall pines rise skyward like those marking drover roads in the hills. Where they end the sky is blue beyond smoky clouds.

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Categories: Around The Web

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