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Video of the Day: World’s first manned solar helicopter flight
Late-summer contentment on the Dorset coast
Lyme Regis, Dorset Morning sun highlights the cliffs, visitors stroll along the Cobb and little boats dip and roll across the open sea
From Uplyme, shady paths beside the river Lim lead to the renovated mill in the middle of old Lyme Regis; the waterwheel is geared to millstones that grind wheat into flour, and a micro hydro system generates 32,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. Before 10.30am, the associated tearoom, galleries and workshops remain quiet, but the nearest car park is already full. Sun sparkles on the sea; a flotilla of sailing dinghies is heading out and a gig cuts across the bay.
Land and cliffs on the eastern side of town have been stabilised and protected by a new seawall; beyond this, towards the Spittles, morning sun highlights dangerous cliffs, made of alternating layers of slippery grey clay and pale, lumpy limestone that overhang the rough and muddy shoreline. Farther up the coast, Golden Cap is cloud-free, and visibility extends to the hazy Isle of Portland.
Continue reading...Australia could, should make wind turbines, says Suzlon chief
UK advertising watchdog admits it was wrong to ban Greenpeace fracking advert
Advertising Standards Authority concedes it erred in upholding a complaint against the advert last year, which claimed fracking would not cut energy bills
The UK’s advertising watchdog has admitted it made the wrong decision when it banned a Greenpeace advert last year which claimed fracking would not cut energy bills.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) originally ruled in May 2015 that the advert was misleading due to the green group’s statement that experts agreed fracking would not reduce energy costs.
Continue reading...AGL encourages community to have their say on Coopers Gap Wind Farm
EthosEnergy successfully completes $2m overhaul for Origin Energy
Male redback spiders evade cannibalism by mating with immature females
Survival tactic also increases chances of successful insemination, with the immature females able to store sperm until they reach adulthood
Male redback spiders at risk of being cannibalised by their sex partners have developed a survival tactic: mating only with females too young to eat them.
New research has identified the adaptive behaviour among some males of the widow spider genus. Adult females of the genus regularly cannibalise their partners during or after mating.
Continue reading...Preserving the future of coral reefs
South Korea give boost to energy storage as part of renewables spending spree
GM’s Bolt to take on Tesla, Norway and Germany link wind with hydro storage
How the jaw-dropping fall in solar prices will change energy markets
Vets warn people against buying 'flat-faced' dogs
Australia facing 1 billion tonne emissions shortfall on current policies
Watching films releases 'natural painkiller'
新加坡成象牙走私中心
过去3年间,新加坡缉获大量非法象牙,生态保护团体担心犯罪团伙正在开辟新的走私路线。翻译:金艳 (翻译:子明/chinadialogue)
English language: Large ivory seizures in Singapore make it a smuggling hub of ‘primary concern’
生态保护组织称,过去3年间新加坡缉获大量非法象牙,使得这个东南亚城邦成为全球最大的有组织象牙走私犯罪中心。
这些象牙多数会销往中国大陆和香港,因此,两地的海关会把来自这些港口的集装箱作为重点检查对象。EIA活动负责人朱利安·纽曼以及TRAFFIC专家汤姆·米利肯表示,为了躲过中国海关的重点检查,装载象牙的集装箱会被运送到新加坡或是马来西亚的巴生港作为中转,在那里停留几个月,然后装载到另一艘船上,文件上货物的来源也会改成新的港口。
Continue reading...Australia's emissions won't fall by 2030 without greater climate action, modelling shows
RepuTex analysis says federal government paying polluters and ambitious renewable energy targets won’t have sufficient impact
Australia’s emissions will remain at the same level through to 2030, despite the federal government paying polluters billions to lower greenhouse gas emissions and some states having ambitious renewable energy targets, according to new analysis by the energy advisory firm RepuTex.
Combining the effect of current policy settings with expected growth in liquefied natural gas exports and land clearing, Australia’s emissions were modelled to end up at just 2% below 2005 levels by 2030.
Continue reading...Croc safari: why selling licences to rich hunters isn't fair
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Crocodiles are protected in Australia. These impressive, if dangerous, animals are icons of the north. But it wasn’t always so. Crocodiles used to be hunted freely in northern Australia, an activity that led to their decline and eventual protection.
There have been calls to cull crocodiles to improve safety, but experts argue that this will make little difference to the risk. Besides, crocodiles are already sustainably farmed for leather products.
However, there are also calls – for instance, from federal MP Bob Katter – to allow crocodiles to be shot for safari. Selling hunting licences worth thousands of dollars to rich shooters, the argument goes, could provide vital income.
But this ignores Australia’s history of crocodile hunting.
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Immediately after the second world war, .303 rifles were widely available and were capable of reliably killing crocodiles. Crocodile skins suddenly increased in value — the Australian crocodile-hunting boom was the result.
The boom attracted hunters from southern Australia, including new immigrants. Some made significant amounts of money as the price of crocodile skins rose, but the prospect of adventure was often a far more significant lure. For many, coming north to hunt crocodiles was a working holiday combined with a boy’s own adventure. It was also an opportunity for men restless from the war to put off settling back into domesticity.
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That mood of adventure was captured in a 1956 home movie, aptly titled Northern Safari. Shown as a feature film, it packed cinemas in Australia and overseas. Northern Safari documented a family trip north and showed the accessibility of hunting in northern Australia to anyone with the time and practical skills to get there.
In addition to this accessible but rugged style of hunting, some postwar entrepreneurs began to offer organised hunting. Aimed at people with more money, less time and a greater desire for comfort, the commercial Australian safari was born.
The Australian Crocodile Shooters’ Club actively promoted safari cruises to hunters who wished to shoot in luxury. In 1952 it established one of Australia’s first safari camps in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
However, the Australian safari at this time was less exclusive than the original African version. While expensive, hunters might subsidise their holidays through the sale of crocodile skins – and the services and amenities provided could not be described as truly luxurious.
Safari hunting in the presentNevertheless, the Australian safari has evolved since the ban on crocodile hunting and has taken its place among international safari organisations. Safari operations cater to visiting sportsmen by providing access to introduced species and game fish. The Australian experience is one of many such distinct experiences promoted at the annual Safari Club International convention.
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New Zealand provides an example of how such tourist trophy hunting operates. Based on privately owned red deer estates, some hunting providers sell clients the right to hunt an animal selected for its probable value under the Safari Club International scoring system.
Estate deer are bred for their trophy value and their antlers command scores unmatched by red deer found on public land. Access to them is limited and the cost of hunting one of the highest-scoring stags is more than NZ$20,000. Estate deer hunting is largely invisible to ordinary New Zealand hunters.
Despite the enthusiasm of proponents, there is widespread unease about the killing of big game. As with the red deer industry in New Zealand, the safari industry in Australia at present depends on introduced species of game, and so avoids controversy.
Overseas the death of Cecil the lion brought public unease about big game hunting into the open, as did the participation of touring New Zealand rugby players in a legal hunt in South Africa. Privileged access to native game and the killing of large native animals for sport has been made more visible by the sharing of images via the internet, and that visibility has demonstrated widespread public unease with the safari.
So who gets to hunt?Scientific commentators agree that crocodile culling is unlikely to decrease the number or severity of crocodile attacks on humans in Australia. Neither is hunting crocodiles in Australia about managing an introduced pest.
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Instead, it is desirable because of the adventure involved, because for some hunting provides a meaningful connection with nature and because for others killing large animals brings prestige. These motivations aren’t being discussed.
If the crocodile safari were to be re-established in Australia it wouldn’t be the freely available experience it once was. Modern safari hunting is expensive and the preserve of only a few. Australians need to consider if they really wish to entice elite international hunters to Australia using a native species (even one as unlovable as the saltwater crocodile) as prey.
![The Conversation](https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/65151/count.gif)
Claire Brennan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.
Hillary Clinton 'dropped climate change from speeches after Bernie Sanders endorsement'
Transcripts show the Democrat presidential candidate referred to climate change directly in less than half as many speeches after her left-wing rival conceded defeat, reports Climate Home
Hillary Clinton has dropped the words “climate change” from most of her public addresses since winning the endorsement of her party rival Bernie Sanders, according to Climate Home analysis.
While the presidential candidate talks regularly about her plan for the US to become a “clean energy superpower”, in recent months she has rarely made reference to the planetary crisis that necessitates it.
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