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Budget 2017: Funds for robotics and 5G research

BBC - Thu, 2017-03-09 00:04
The chancellor promises £270m to put the UK at the forefront of ground-breaking technologies.
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Malta's Azure Window collapses into the sea

BBC - Wed, 2017-03-08 23:02
The popular limestone arch was featured on the first episode of Game of Thrones and several films.
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Invasive snakes threaten forests on Pacific island of Guam

BBC - Wed, 2017-03-08 20:59
The Brown tree snakes that have almost wiped out bird populations on Guam may also be damaging its tropical forests.
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Stop stalling on bike plans, Sadiq. Political timidity gets you nowhere

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-03-08 18:15

Cycle schemes have stagnated for 10 months, writes the former cycling commissioner. Will new cycling delegate Will Norman get London up to speed?

Under its first two mayors, London became important for the whole country as a leader in cycling. But Will Norman, Sadiq Khan’s new walking and cycling commissioner, starts work with the capital’s cyclists in a gloomy mood. Not just because of the deaths of three cyclists – and two pedestrians – in a single week last month, but because of the last 10 months’ stagnation in what was previously Britain’s most active programme to promote the bike.

I ran that programme for Khan’s predecessor, Boris Johnson, so perhaps I’m biased. But the figures aren’t biased. Over eight years, cycling increased by 53%. Not bad: but on the new central London segregated superhighways, which we opened in May, we saw the same percentage rise in six months.

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Climate change impacts are already hitting us, say Europeans

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-03-08 17:20

New polling study also shows support for financial penalties for nations that refuse to be part of Paris climate deal, as Donald Trump has threatened

The citizens of four major European countries think the impacts of climate change such as severe floods and storms are already affecting them, according to a major new polling study.

The research dispels the idea that global warming is widely seen as a future problem, and also shows strong support for action to tackle global warming, including subsidies for clean energy and big financial penalties for nations that refuse to be part of the international climate deal signed in Paris in 2015 – as US president Donald Trump has threatened. There was also strong support for giving financial aid to developing nations to cope with the impacts of climate change.

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Joking apart, the great tit is a born survivor

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-03-08 15:30

Wenlock Edge Since the 1960s the great tit population has doubled. These dapper but tough birds are becoming a global power

Great tits will take over the world. You see my problem already – it’s the name. Unless you can disassociate from the Carry On innuendo of “tit”, this bird is always going to be a joke. It supposedly gets its name from titmouse: in Old English, tit means small and “mouse” is a corruption of māse, a bird name of Germanic origins.

There is a theatrical prettiness about great tits: the shiny black head with flashing white cheeks, flamboyantly dapper, green-backed, yellow-breasted, with black tie and cleavage stripe. Their twin-syllabic song sounds like a drunk pushing a rusty wheelbarrow. But the music hall stage persona ends there.

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Herbert Smith Freehills advises Infrastructure Capital Group on the acquisition of Bald Hills Wind Farm

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 14:33
Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Infrastructure Capital Group (ICG) and the Energy Infrastructure Trust (EIT) on the successful acquisition of the Bald Hills Wind Farm.
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Ageing coal generators may be unable to cope with energy transition

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 14:29
AEMO says legacy coal plants may not be fit for purpose for the current energy transition, and has pleaded for faster and more forward-looking decisions on critical rule changes needed to deal with new technologies.
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CEFC tips $100m into AMP Capital green building fund

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 14:04
CEFC invests $100m in AMP Capital fund that aims to make its portfolio of Australian buildings net zero emissions by 2030.
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Queensland govt slaps down LNP, Murdoch over renewable scares

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 14:02
Energy minister lashes out as Coalition seizes on Murdoch media's latest anti-renewables beat-up. Meanwhile, solar marches on in the sunshine state.
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Tesla’s Ballarat Supercharger station, the first connection from Melbourne to Adelaide, was officially opened today

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 13:23
Tesla’s Ballarat Supercharger station, the first connection from Melbourne to Adelaide, was officially opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony held at Wendouree. The Tesla Supercharger is substantially more powerful than any existing charging technology, providing up to 120 kilowatts of power and 270 km of range in 30 minutes.
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Wholesale price rises whodunit: Gas or renewables?

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 13:14
What drove Victoria’s wholesale electricity market prices up 46% in 2016? We put the screws on the historical data to find out.
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Solar and storage: LG Chem says it already cheaper than grid

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 13:04
LG Chem says that solar and battery storage is already beating grid power in most states.
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Energy goes local as utility people strike out on their own

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 13:00
Recently, Adrian Merrick predicted an imminent "inflection point" for big utilities. Now he's about to put his theory into practice.
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US energy storage installations grew 100% in MWh in 2016

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 12:56
Led by a record-breaking Q4, US energy storage deployments totaled 336MWh in 2016, doubling the megawatt-hours deployed in 2015.
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Mills Oakley advises on sale of Queensland solar farm

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 12:54
The sale continues Mills Oakley’s active involvement in the renewable energy sector, having advised on around 15 renewable energy projects over the last 12 months.
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India plans to slash renewable energy certificate prices

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 12:48
Indian regulators want to lower the floor price of RECs – a move that could increase renewables demand and benefit sellers who have huge inventories of unsold credits.
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Halving of coal demand pushes UK carbon emissions down 6%

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-08 12:38
UK CO2 emissions fell by 5.8% in 2016, a drop that, according to new analysis, comes from a record 52% drop in coal use.
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Murray Island Group proposed National Heritage listing

Department of the Environment - Wed, 2017-03-08 11:28
The Australian Heritage Council is assessing the Murray Island Group for potential inclusion on the National Heritage List. Comments close 18 April 2017.
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Lighthouse city

BBC - Wed, 2017-03-08 10:15
How Stockholm is getting smarter by going greener.
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