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2017 marks the first time scientists concluded certain events could not have occurred – like, at all – without global warming.

Professor Stuart Wenham – the director of the Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence – died suddenly just before Christmas. Colleagues pay tribute to a pioneering researcher and inventor of solar cell technologies with a wide smile, iconic Aussie accent and never-say die enthusiasm.

US battery maker Tesla has again been selected to team up with French renewables developer Neoen on another ground-breaking Australian project; this time on a wind farm and battery storage facility that will help power a major Victorian farming business.

Environment Victoria CEO Mark Wakeham has responded to Yallourn power station’s proposal to extend their coal mining licence revealed in the Herald Sun today.

The Renewable Energy Target legislation has been amended to clarify the eligibility of solar photovoltaic (solar PV) systems under the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) and the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).

Watch surgeons as they remove a 19.5kg tumour from a woman's body.

Wild flocks bred from aviary escapees pose threat to local species and ‘don’t just eat, they destroy’, mayor says

Regional councils in Western Australia are using fireworks, lethal gas, nets, and mass shooting to reduce the number of corellas, which are reportedly damaging buildings and destroying infrastructure.

The culprits are primarily eastern long-billed corellas, Cacatua tenuirostris, which were introduced to WA as a popular aviary bird.

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Citizen scientists are put to work at a fauna reserve in north-west Victoria; Natimuk pre-schoolers ditch the classroom for an outdoor bush kinder session; and we're off to an alpaca handling school.

Action to combat unlicensed waste carriers to be taken after Environment Agency uncovers 850 illegal dumping sites in a year

Households whose rubbish ends up being dumped illegally by unauthorised disposal companies could face fines under plans being considered by the government.

Councils could be given the power to directly fine people caught using unlicensed waste carriers following a consultation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

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19 January 1918 Ducks waddled across to a narrow outlet, dabbled with their beaks, flopped in, and breasted away from the current, catching an odd flake as it fell

SURREY
Just after daybreak, while snow was falling, the fowls crept from their house, flew into the bare branches of apple trees, and filled the dead air with an alive gurgling call which tells that laying time has come. Ducks waddled across to a narrow outlet where a stream breaks quickly for the river, dabbled with their beaks, flopped in, and breasted away from the current, now and then catching an odd flake as it fell. Wood and field birds winged about aimlessly, larks and linnets going separately in small flocks, and one wagtail went to the margin of the water as if for company with the swimming birds. The snow turned to rain; the wood, clothed a minute ago in white, was now naked and cold. But a thrush came, trilled softly, then broke into almost full song; a starling perched on the farmhouse eaves shook the wet from his feathers, and tried to warble; rooks swung in their nest trees and called.

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The proposal would stop krill fishing in an effort to improve the health of other wildlife populations.

Indigenous ranger programs have now been running successfully for a decade. Given Queensland's size and large Indigenous population, there's a strong case for expanding the program in that state. Emilie Ens, Senior lecturer, Macquarie University Alana Grech, Assistant Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

This is an article from Curious Kids, a series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or wacky! Why… Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, University of Melbourne Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Scientists solve Darwin's "abominable mystery": How flowers rapidly evolved and spread across the globe.

Polar tourism is a booming business but sea-ice experts have warned conditions in the Antarctic are becoming more unstable and unpredictable for shipping.

Can a series of scorching summers be blamed on climate change, and what do they tell us?

The first panda ever born in France has gone on display to the public.

Minnie Winnie was created by science after her owner won a competition.

Vast 1.8m sq km fishing-free zone would protect species, such as penguins, leopard seals and whales, and help mitigate the effects of climate change

A global campaign is being launched to turn a huge tract of the seas around the Antarctic into the world’s biggest sanctuary, protecting wildlife and helping the fight against climate change.

The huge 1.8m sq km reserve – five times the size of Germany – would ban all fishing in a vast area of the Weddell Sea and around the Antarctic Peninsula, safeguarding species including penguins, killer whales, leopard seals and blue whales.

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Retailers and restaurants urged to sign up to new cross-European guidelines amid growing concerns over cruelty in intensive meat production

New welfare standards for farmed chickens have been demanded by a large coalition of European animal protection groups, including the RSPCA, in a bid to address growing concerns about inhumane conditions in the intensive and large-scale production of meat.

Supermarkets and restaurants are being urged to sign up to the new blueprint, which represents the first time a single set of requirements has been agreed on across the continent.

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