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Carbon-free fusion power could be ‘on the grid in 15 years’

The dream of nuclear fusion is on the brink of being realised, according to a major new US initiative that says it will put fusion power on the grid within 15 years.

The project, a collaboration between scientists at MIT and a private company, will take a radically different approach to other efforts to transform fusion from an expensive science experiment into a viable commercial energy source. The team intend to use a new class of high-temperature superconductors they predict will allow them to create the world’s first fusion reactor that produces more energy than needs to be put in to get the fusion reaction going.

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New global communities of concerned citizens can help protect iconic places such as the Great Barrier Reef. But the scope of these remote communities must extend beyond mere 'slacktivism'. Georgina Gurney, Environmental Social Science Research Fellow, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Group of 10 retailers question "reliability" obligation of NEG, saying there is no gap in short term and technology changes likely to fix any that may arise.

Snowy Hydro insists that its Snowy 2.0 plans will bring in an 800MW of extra wind and solar, and won't underpin the future of coal. And, it says, it is "not anti-battery".

A Japanese researcher has found a way to use molecules from a protein-based chemical found in egg whites to generate hydrogen more efficiently..

Seven years after the nuclear disaster, 50,000 people have yet to return to their homes, but the dream of going back endures

Okuma, on Japan’s east coast, used to host a busy community of 10,500 people. But today the houses stand empty.

The town is empty because it is one of the closest to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station and – seven years after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered a triple meltdown – it remains under evacuation orders with decontamination still not finished.

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The government says it is better for coffee shops to offer discounts to those who bring their own cups.

Study confirms wind prices only look low because they are reported as though future electricity were already being generated today.

Researchers are using powerful X-rays to look inside cannonballs found on the famous Tudor ship, the Mary Rose.

Oz Minerals to build solar and storage plant at flagship mine in first move to use renewables to supply big mining projects. It also signs a deal to share costs of new transmission line with developer of solar tower plant.

JinkoSolar has been awarded the “Top Brand PV” seal in the Australian, German, and Austrian markets by EuPD Research, Europe’s leading sustainability research firm.

From boar hair toothbrushes to beeswax food wrap, here's how you can dump the disposable plastics.

California notches new solar records for peak production and supply, boosted by a couple of mild and sunny early Spring days.

A new study claims the remains discovered on a Pacific island are a 99% match with the explorer.

Harold Forbes says the principle of polluter pays is rarely implemented; Jeremy Tomkinson calls for clear policy on lowering petrol emissions; Chris Tidmarsh laments the sparsity of electric-car charging points in Southwark and Lambeth

Your article on carbon dioxide emissions from new vehicles (Fall in CO2 output from new cars goes into reverse, 27 February) makes no mention of the eight-year freeze on fuel duty, which has contributed to UK fuel prices being 4% below their 2000 levels in real terms and 21% below the 2013 peak. The relative price of things is an enormously powerful driver of human choices and behaviour.

Dumping the economic assumption that nature is a limitless source of materials and services that can be considered to come for free would be the single biggest leap that humanity could make in securing its future. At present we have few monetary incentives to avoid excess greenhouse gas emissions, single-use plastics or even excess animal manure. In fact, the economy encourages us believe it is “cheaper” to do such things.

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Two Emperor penguins stumbled across a camera that was left by an Australian Antarctic explorer.

Northern Territory government-approved land clearing likely to cause up to 3 megatonnes of C02-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions

A landmark court case in the Northern Territory is set to consider a challenge to a massive land-clearing approval based on its impacts on climate change.

The case, brought by the Environment Centre NT, is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia, using the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions from clearing as a lever to seek to have an approval overturned.

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South Yorkshire rejection of Ineos drill application adds to refusals, which include those from Tory councils

The application by Ineos to explore for shale gas in South Yorkshire has been rejected by local councillors, bringing the number of planning decisions that have gone against fracking companies this year to seven.

Rotherham metropolitan borough turned the application by the UK-based petrochemicals firm to drill a well near the village of Woodsetts on grounds that it could harm wildlife and cause traffic problems.

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Nasa's Juno mission begins to unravel the mysteries of the gas giant's interior structure.

A nerve agent was used to poison a Russian former spy and his daughter. What are they and what do they do?