Feed aggregator

We’re discovering more species of richly coloured peacock spiders all the time. But their small ranges puts them at very real risk. One species faces likely death by suburban sprawl. Lizzy Lowe, Vice Chancellor's Research Fellow in Ecology and Entomology, Edith Cowan University Jess Marsh, Visiting researcher in ecology, University of Adelaide Leanda Denise Mason, Vice Chancellor Research Fellow in conservation ecology, Edith Cowan University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Dongfang Electric says it has completed the production of a mammoth 26MW offshore wind turbine, by far the most powerful turbine yet to roll off the production line.

The post World’s biggest wind turbine – 26 MW – rolls off production line in China appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The mid-Atlantic archipelago of nine islands, the tips of drowned volcanoes, is a remarkable place for marine mammals. The clear, deep waters provide the perfect habitat for cetaceans, and 28 species of whale and dolphin have been documented there. The Dutch scientist and photographer Jeroen Hoekendijk spent a week in September capturing the diversity of Azorean wildlife

• Photographs by Jeroen Hoekendijk

Continue reading...

A New Zealand advocacy group has launched legal action against the government over its decisions to weaken the country’s Clean Car Standard, it announced Monday.

The New Zealand government will establish a Reference Group to drive better outcomes for the forestry segment of its emission trading scheme (ETS), it announced Monday.

The development of the Port of Newcastle’s Clean Energy Precinct has taken important new steps with the signing of agreements for key design work and environmental impact studies.

The post Port of Newcastle advances new precinct to become leading hub for green hydrogen appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Our analysis assumes a fraction of the data centre demand forecasts modelled in the central scenario of the market operator's grid plan.

The post Data centres, electrification and green hydrogen: The big demand questions for the grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Nasa's spacecraft could change what we know about life in our solar system.

Invasive Species Council says 5 million native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs are killed by feral and roaming pet cats a day in Australia

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

A five-person team of expert shooters will soon target feral cats in New South Wales national parks as the state steps up efforts to control the pest animals.

The intensive ground operation is being deployed in response to increased cat numbers, according to National Parks and Wildlife Service deputy secretary, Atticus Fleming.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Information ‘blueprint’ of the spotted handfish could aid monitoring, captive breeding and protection efforts, scientists say

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

They’re Australia’s own underwater punks in leopard print.

Spotted handfish are an endangered species of fish that prefer to “walk” instead of swim, thanks to their unusual pectoral and pelvic fins; have a fluffy dorsal fin on their head that looks almost like a mohawk; and live in the waters off south-east Tasmania.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Analysts have slashed their forecasts for EU carbon allowance prices across the board, amid ongoing supply pressures and reduced demand from European power and industrial emitters.

Australian solar innovator SunDrive strikes agreement with China solar giant that could be big boost to Labor's Made in Australia plans and its Solar Sunshot program.

The post Australian solar innovator SunDrive strikes manufacturing pact with Chinese PV giant appeared first on RenewEconomy.

There are deliberate campaigns underway to spread misinformation and disinformation about renewables, particularly in regional areas, in an attempt to delay this crucial transition.

The post Whoever wins the election, Queensland needs more renewables, sooner appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The size of big battery projects in Australia is rapidly increasing, with the latest proposal around eight times bigger than the current biggest operating battery in the country.

The post Plans advanced for Australia’s largest battery, with eight times more storage than current biggest appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Reduced government incentives, the spreading of myths and concerns about used car values and fires have stalled what had been an increasingly rapid uptake of electric vehicles. Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Analytics & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Hadi Ghaderi, Professor in Supply Chain and Freight Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The keen birdwatcher encourages others to take 20 minutes out of their day, describing the experience as ‘meditative’

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

In early October the comedian Geraldine Hickey went looking for tawny frogmouths, a charismatic bird with a frog-like beak and mottled feathers.

“They’re a good-looking bird,” Hickey says, though it hasn’t yet appeared in her annual bird calendar, a project she started as a “lockdown thing” that has gained its own dedicated audience.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Europe’s position in the global net-zero industrial race is at risk due to the US economic dominance and China’s ambition to become the world’s clean tech hub, a pan-European climate think-tank has warned.

United Utilities and Severn Trent had four-star environment ranking but discharges breached permits, campaign group says

• ‘Ankle deep in sewage’: English spring water village suffers supected unlawful spills

Two of England’s biggest water firms dumped raw sewage into rivers across the country in suspected illegal breaches of their permits, despite being given the highest possible rating by the regulator for their environmental performance, the Observer can reveal.

Severn Trent Water and United Utilities were responsible for 1,374 raw sewage spills from sewage treatment works in apparent breaches of permits over a two-year period in more than 80 watercourses, according to an analysis of previously unpublished operational data. It is alleged the suspected illegal discharges were during dry weather or at times when the plants were not at operating capacity.

Continue reading...

The exclusion of branch turnover from forest carbon accounting models has led to significant biases in estimates of global forest carbon sinks, a new study has found.

Water firm Severn Trent accused of being in breach of environmental permits over pollution near Malvern Hills

• Top-rated UK water firms ‘dumped 1,374 illegal spills into rivers’

Colwall, a village of less than 3,000 people on the border between Herefordshire and Worcestershire, is renowned for its spring water, which comes from the nearby Malvern Hills. An area of outstanding natural beauty, it has been favoured by the royal family for centuries, including Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria.

But the water at Colwall is now in the spotlight for very different reasons. The most recent data from Severn Trent Water, the company that covers the area, reveals that a sewage treatment works on Cradley Brook, near the village, spilled sewage for 1,756 hours in 2021 and 1,361 hours in 2022.

Continue reading...