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Fukushima evacuee to tell UN that Japan violated human rights

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 20:27

Mitsuko Sonoda will say evacuees face financial hardship and are being forced to return to homes they believe are unsafe

A nuclear evacuee from Fukushima will claim Japan’s government has violated the human rights of people who fled their homes after the 2011 nuclear disaster, in testimony before the UN in Geneva this week.

Mitsuko Sonoda, who voluntarily left her village with her husband and their 10-year-old son days after three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant went into meltdown, will tell the UN human rights council that evacuees face financial hardship and are being forced to return to neighbourhoods they believe are still unsafe almost seven years after the disaster.

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Despite Trump, American companies are still investing in renewable energy | John Abraham

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 20:00

Surveyed corporations stated that Trump’s election had no impact on their decision to buy renewable energy

After the election of Donald Trump, many of us in the climate and energy fields were rightfully fearful. What would happen to international agreements to cut greenhouse gases? What would happen to funding for climate research? What would happen to the green energy revolution?

In most instances, Trump is worse than we could have imagined. But in one special area, Trump may not matter. That is in the growth of corporate purchasing of renewable energy. It turns out there are factors that even Trump cannot stop that make choosing renewable energy an easy decision for many companies.

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Satellites spy Antarctic 'upside-down ice canyon'

BBC - Wed, 2017-10-11 18:03
An Antarctic ice shelf is shown to have a deep gorge cut in its underside by warm ocean water.
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Can urban planning mitigate climate disasters?

ABC Environment - Wed, 2017-10-11 17:35
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of storms, floods and fires.
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Plastic bottle deposit return scheme could save England's councils £35m a year

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 15:30

Cash-strapped councils would save money thanks to reduced littering and landfill charges as well as having less recycling bins to collect, says report

Councils across England could save up to £35m every year if the government introduces a deposit return scheme [DRS] for plastic bottles and other drinks containers, according to a new report.

Earlier this month environment secretary Michael Gove told the Conservative party conference that he would work with the industry to see how the scheme might be implemented in England.

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Country diary: bats hunt by the light of the silvery harvest moon

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 14:30

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire Seen through the shaggy boughs of an old larch, the full moon had the strange allure that moths and wanderers know

A streetlight in the lane enamelled hollies with a sodium glow and sucked the colour from the leaves of other trees. The church bell rang eight or maybe nine; there was a soughing through the limes.

Suddenly, I felt a tiny sonic boom and the draught of a bat’s wing close to my ear. It was like a tap on the shoulder, not a shock so much as a greeting but, all the same, a jolting from thoughts about one world into another, where unseen lives almost touch.

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Sewage plants are leaking millions of tiny plastic beads into Britain's seas

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 14:01

The plastic beads used for filtering sewage are hard to spot and pose a risk to wildlife, according to a new report

Sewage plants are contributing to plastic pollution in the oceans with millions of tiny beads spilling into the seas around the UK, according to a new report.

Dozens of UK wastewater treatment plants use tiny plastic pellets, known as Bio-Beads, to filter chemical and organic contaminants from sewage, according to a study from the Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition (CPPC).

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Darius Salgo joins Wattwatchers team to drive business growth

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 13:51
'New energy sector' innovator Darius Salgo is joining Wattwatchers in a part-time business development role with a focus on Australian and international market opportunities.
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Telstra unveils its big battery – it’s nearly 10 times bigger than Tesla’s

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 13:28
Never mind Tesla's big battery in SA, Telstra has 1GWh of battery storage in its current fleet, and plans to put it to use on the energy market.
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SolarEdge presenting large-capacity commercial inverters at Australia’s All Energy

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 12:40
SolarEdge is presenting its new large-capacity commercial inverters at All Energy.
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World will need 'carbon sucking' technology by 2030s, scientists warn

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 12:03

New methods to capture and store emissions, such as planting more forests and pumping carbon underground, are currently costly and need testing

As efforts to cut planet-warming emissions fall short, large-scale projects to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere will be needed by the 2030s to hold the line against climate change, scientists have said.

Many new technologies that aim to capture and store carbon emissions, thereby delivering “negative emissions”, are costly, controversial and in the early phase of testing.

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600MW pumped hydro project proposed for northern NSW

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 11:03
A 600MW pumped hydro facility with six hours storage - a $1 billion project - proposed to tap into renewable energy hub in northern NSW,
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Netherlands to close all coal-fired generation by 2030

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 10:41
Netherlands decision to close coal plants include those only completed in 2015 - the phase-out combines with rise of renewables and the impact of improved efficiency that put old models at risk.
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Adani signs PPA for Rugby Run solar plant, but won’t say with who

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 10:34
Adani Australia says it has a contract with Rugby Run solar farm in Queensland, but does not reveal who.
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'Climate change is real': energy minister hits out at Tony Abbott

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 10:24

Josh Frydenberg brings up former PM’s own record in response to Liberal colleague’s provocative speech to a group of climate-change sceptics

The energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has slapped down Tony Abbott and other conservative rebels, declaring that climate change is real and that was why Abbott agreed to join the Paris international climate agreement when he was prime minister.

Asked about Abbott’s provocative speech to a group of climate-change sceptics in London questioning the science of climate change – an outing that has been characterised by Labor as “loopy” – Frydenberg brought up Abbott’s own record in the top job.

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Mass extinctions 'offer cautionary tale'

BBC - Wed, 2017-10-11 09:36
Past mass extinctions have the potential to guide modern conservation efforts, say scientists.
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Fatbergs: 90% of London restaurants are contributing to problem

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-10-11 09:01

Oil and food scraps are finding their way into pipes and drains as majority of eateries have no grease traps

The vast majority of London restaurants and takeaways are responsible for feeding the fatbergs that are choking the capital’s sewers, according to survey findings that Thames Water called “staggering”.

Ninety per cent of eateries in London are contributing to the problem by failing to install grease traps, the report found. As a result, grease, oil and food scraps washed off plates, utensils and saucepans are finding their way into pipes and drains.

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Extending Liddell could be more expensive than solar plus storage

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 08:47
RepuTex says extending life of ageing Liddell coal generator would result in higher costs than new large scale solar project with battery storage.
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Leadbeater's Possum population crashes by two thirds in past 20 years: report

ABC Environment - Wed, 2017-10-11 07:18
A new report from the ANU challenges claims the critically endangered Leadbeater's Possum has staged a spectacular recovery in recent years.
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Get smart: AEMO unveils 200MW “virtual power plant”

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-10-11 07:06
AEMO and ARENA unveil a 200MW "virtual power plant" from demand response initiatives featuring incentives for commercial and household users, battery storage, and a range of Australian monitoring, smart meters and voltage control devices,
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