Feed aggregator

The growth in CO2 in the atmosphere has been slowed by the increased ability of plants to soak up the gas.

Proposal to cut emissions controversially emits several appliances on the grounds that economic benefits would not be worth the negative publicity

The EU has dropped plans to force toaster-makers to improve the energy efficiency of their products over fears of the political costs of being seen to be intruding in people’s daily lives, it has emerged.

But while a new EU plan to cut emissions controversially emits several appliances, the manufacturers of electric kettles, refrigerators and hand driers will have to make their future products consume less energy.

Continue reading...

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says that the five years from 2011 to 2015 were the warmest on record.

Increased growth of plants fertilised by higher CO2 levels is only partly offsetting emissions and will not halt dangerous warming, scientists conclude

A global “greening” of the planet has significantly slowed the rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since the start of the century, according to new research.

More plants have been growing due to higher CO2 levels in the air and warming temperatures that cut the CO2 emitted by plants via respiration. The effects led the proportion of annual carbon emissions remaining in the air to fall from about 50% to 40% in the last decade.

Continue reading...

Land Speed Record holder Andy Green has been celebrating the work done in Northern Cape, South Africa, to prepare the fastest ever race car track.

As a huge crater opened up in the Japanese city of Fukuoka this morning, we take a look at the largest urban sinkholes – from Guangzhou to Guatemala City

Continue reading...

Dry summer, tighter regulations and more spending by water companies sees 98.5% of beaches monitored by the Environment Agency meet EU standards

England’s bathing waters are the cleanest ever recorded thanks to a dry summer, tighter EU regulations and increased spending by water companies.

Of the 413 beaches monitored up to 20 times a year by the Environment Agency for their pollution, 98.5% passed the minimum EU limit. Of these, 69% were rated “excellent” and 27% “good”. Water at five persistently failing beaches met the minimum standard for the first time, but six beaches failed.

Continue reading...

A public appeal to find a second rare left-coiled snail succeeds

Waltham Brooks, West Sussex The bird bobs its squat body up and down, then launches low across the water, the light catching its shimmering back

The still pool reflects the blue sky. The kingfisher sits in the low willow branch. It flicks its tail up and down, up and down, like a switch, while it looks down, transfixed by something in the water below. It suddenly blurs into movement, there’s a splash, and the colourful missile returns to its perch with a tiny silver fish in its bill. It bashes the minnow on the branch twice, and swallows it.

Related: Kingfisher bonds will loosen as summer fades

Continue reading...

Success in Marrakesh will be difficult, as grunt work on rulemaking replaces the diplomatic showmanship of last year's Paris climate talks.

US Senate control is in the hands of 8 key states, only two of which will have a senator who accepts climate science.

Future prices the big news this week, with dramatic jumps in even the FY17 futures price, as traders zoom in on the June 17 contract, the first one due after the Hazelwood close.

The seeds of a VEEC market recovery planted in September flourished across October, with major price increases on large trading volumes. Meanwhile, has the ESC market found a new normal?

Genex Power to begin "financing activities" for planned solar and pumped hydro plant, after a feasibility study provided the all-clear to develop the unique project.

The ever expanding list of stuff we can blame on renewables received another contribution yesterday from Federal MP Craig Kelly. And it's a doozy.

The Turnbull government's strategy of letting technology push come to policy shove is putting key Australian industries at risk, according to a new report which says battery storage could displace traditional energy players "far more rapidly than anticipated.”

A media conference from Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts sparks debate about how journalists should respond to climate science deniers

On 28 April 1975, Newsweek ran a story on page 64 that became one of its most popular.

Under the headline, “The Cooling World”, the story ran for just nine paragraphs but suggested the world could be heading for a major cooling phase, putting food production at risk.

Continue reading...

Plane gets priority landing after large serpent appears on ceiling of the cabin before dropping to the floor

Passengers on a commercial flight in Mexico were given a start when a serpent appeared in the cabin in a scene straight out of the Hollywood thriller Snakes on a Plane.

The green reptile emerged suddenly on an Aeromexico flight from Torreon in the country’s north to Mexico City on Sunday, slithering out from behind an overhead luggage compartment.

Continue reading...

Naomi Klein clashed with Georgina Downer of the Institute of Public Affairs and Liberal senator James Paterson, also formerly of the IPA, when she appeared as a panellist on the ABC’s Q&A on Monday night. Downer and Paterson rejected the assertion of the Canadian journalist and author that climate change undermined the free-market assumptions of centres such as the IPA and the US Heartland Institute. The Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese and the author Don Watson were also on the panel.

Continue reading...

AGEING EYES: We are not the only ones who need glasses as we age - bonobos also become long-sighted as they get older, according to research.