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Curious Kids: why do trees have bark?

The Conversation - Mon, 2024-05-06 14:42
Most of us just take it for granted. But bark is one of the most complex parts of a tree and has many different jobs to do. Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Australia Market Roundup: Novel hydrogen company signs project development agreement in Canada, ACCU spread returns

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-05-06 13:07
An Australian hydrogen company has signed a binding agreement to build a commercial scale production facility in Canada, as the spread between spot generic and human-induced regeneration (HIR) credits returns.
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Starliner: Nasa to fly new craft to space station

BBC - Mon, 2024-05-06 11:07
Two Nasa astronauts are due to set off to the International Space Station in a new spacecraft in the early hours of Tuesday morning UK time.
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Scientists warn against reducing forests to mere carbon sinks and ignoring their social value

Carbon Pulse - Mon, 2024-05-06 09:01
The rise of policies aimed at harnessing forests to absorb carbon is driving the commodification of forests, hindering the slow-down of deforestation, and ignoring their social benefits, scientists warned in a report published on Monday.  
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As New Zealand CBDs evolve post-pandemic, repurposing old or empty spaces should be on the drawing board

The Conversation - Mon, 2024-05-06 06:08
Changing work habits and shifting environmental priorities demand new models of urban redevelopment. Architectural ‘exaptation’ uses the past to reimagine the future. Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Nuclear power makes no sense for Australia – but it’s a useful diversion from real climate action

The Conversation - Mon, 2024-05-06 06:06
Insisting nuclear power is the only way for Australia to achieve net zero by 2050 is a classic move from the playbook of those who oppose urgent action on climate change. Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, International Studies, University of South Australia Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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‘I’m a blue whale, I’m here’: researchers listen with delight to songs that hint at Antarctic resurgence

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-05-06 01:00

Audio collected with underwater microphones suggests numbers at least stable after centuries of industrial whaling left only a few hundred alive

Centuries of industrial whaling left only a few hundred Antarctic blue whales alive, making it almost impossible to find them in the wild.

Now new research suggests the population may be recovering. Australian scientists and international colleagues spent two decades listening for their distinctive songs and calls, and found the whales – the largest animals ever to have lived – swimming across the Southern Ocean with growing regularity.

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Buddha taught us to be happy with less. How does this apply to the climate crisis? | Bhikkhu Sujato and Nadine Levy

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-05-06 01:00

We must ask ourselves what it is that we really need. Only then can we stop our endless consumption and save the planet

From a Buddhist perspective, everyone can learn to live simply and be happy. There’s no great secret to it. Simplicity is not an aesthetic or a lifestyle choice. It’s how your life expresses itself when you are content.

How can this thinking help us navigate the climate crisis?

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UK installs record number of public electric vehicle chargers

The Guardian - Mon, 2024-05-06 00:22

About 6,000 have been installed this year, a quarter of them rapid chargers that can power up a car in under an hour

The UK has installed a record number of public electric car chargers this year, as companies race to keep up with the increasing number of battery vehicles on British roads.

Nearly 6,000 new chargers were installed during the first three months of 2024, according to quarterly figures from data company Zapmap published by the Department for Transport. About 1,500 of those were rapid chargers, capable of charging a car in less than an hour.

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Cop29 summit to call for peace between warring states, says host Azerbaijan

The Guardian - Sun, 2024-05-05 16:00

Organisers of this year’s environmental conference hope cooperation on green issues could help ease global tensions

This year’s Cop29 UN climate summit will be the first “Cop of peace”, focusing on the prevention of future climate-fuelled conflicts and using international cooperation on green issues to help heal existing tensions, according to plans being drawn up by organisers.

Nations may be asked to observe a “Cop truce”, suspending hostilities for the fortnight-long duration of the conference, modelled on the Olympic truce, which is observed by most governments during the summer and winter Olympic Games.

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Florida workers brace for summer with no protections: ‘My body would tremble’

The Guardian - Sat, 2024-05-04 23:00

Effects of heat are expected to worsen after bill prohibiting municipalities from enacting shade and water protection is passed

For Javier Torres and other workers whose jobs are conducted outdoors in south Florida, the heat is unavoidable. A new law recently signed by Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, that prohibits any municipalities in the state from passing heat protections for workers ensures that it is likely to stay that way.

Torres has seen a co-worker die from heatstroke and another rushed to the emergency room in his years of working in construction in south Florida. He has also fallen and injured himself due to heat exhaustion.

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Bumblebee nests are overheating to fatal levels, study finds

The Guardian - Sat, 2024-05-04 17:00

More frequent heatwaves mean bees are unable to thermoregulate their hives – further endangering a species already in decline

Bumblebee nests may be overheating, killing off broods and placing one of the Earth’s critical pollinators in decline as temperatures rise, new research has found.

Around the world, many species of Bombus, or bumblebee, have suffered population declines due to global heating, the research said. Bumblebee colonies are known for their ability to thermoregulate: in hot conditions, worker bees gather to beat their wings and fan the hive, cooling it down. But as the climate crisis pushes average temperatures up and generates heatwaves, bumblebees will struggle to keep their homes habitable.

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‘Pesticides by stealth’: garden soil conditioners killing worms, experts fear

The Guardian - Sat, 2024-05-04 17:00

Even products marketed as ‘organic’ may be toxic, say campaigners, with risks for the wider ecosystem

Gardeners are inadvertently killing scores of earthworms with soil conditioners marketed as “organic”, experts fear, as they call for tighter regulation on products that poison the invertebrates.

Earthworms may appear humble, but Charles Darwin thought their work in improving soil structure and fertility was so important he devoted his final book to them and said: “It may be doubted if there are any other animals which have played such an important part in the history of the world as these lowly organised creatures.”

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