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Republicans and Democrats alike want more clean energy | John Abraham
A new report finds strong support for clean energy, international climate agreements, and cutting carbon pollution - across the political spectrum
It’s almost an accepted dogma that in the United States (and in several other countries), liberals are much more in favor of taking actions to curb climate change whereas conservatives block such actions. That’s certainly true within the halls of power. For instance, in the United States, it has become a litmus test for Republication candidates to deny humans are causing climate change, to try to claim that it isn’t important, in many cases to demonize the messengers (the scientists), and to work to halt climate science so we won’t know how bad the problem is.
Conventional wisdom – and in fact the seemingly obvious message from this past election – is that this denial is good politics. If you want to get elected as a conservative, you have got to be anti-science.
Fracking to go ahead in North Yorkshire after high court ruling
Friends of the Earth and Frack Free Ryedale lose bid to stop fracking in village of Kirby Misperton
Fracking will go ahead at a North Yorkshire site after environmentalists lost a legal challenge they had brought on climate change grounds.
On Tuesday, the high court ruled against Friends of the Earth and Frack Free Ryedale, who had argued that North Yorkshire county council had failed to properly consider the environmental impact of burning gas when it approved the fracking this year.
Continue reading...European commission guilty of 'negligence' over diesel defeat devices, says draft report
European parliament draft inquiry into dieselgate has found EC ignored evidence of emissions test cheating
A draft European parliament inquiry into the dieselgate scandal has found the European commission guilty of maladministration for failing to act quickly enough on evidence that defeat devices were being used to game emissions tests.
The commission ignored evidence of emissions test cheating from its own science body, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), partly out of a desire to “avoid placing burdens on industry”, according to the draft report seen by the Guardian.
Continue reading...A third of Brits throw away Christmas turkey and sprouts
New research finds householders more likely to bin food over festive season due to lack of culinary knowhow
One in three UK consumers admit to binning turkey and sprouts for their Christmas dinner before it even reaches the table because of their lack of culinary knowhow, a new report has revealed.
Official figures show that UK households throw away 7m tonnes of food every year, but the new research from supermarket chain Sainsbury’s shows householders are more likely to bin food over the festive season because they don’t know how to prepare and cook it.
Continue reading...This is the polar bear capital of the world, but the snow has gone
Canada’s Hudson Bay is as ice-free in November as on a summer’s day and polar bears could be extinct here by mid-century. If the bears are in trouble, so are we
Churchill, on the banks of the Hudson Bay in Canada, is known as the polar bear capital of the world. Hundreds of bears gather there each year before the sea freezes over in October and November so they can hunt seals again from the ice for the first time since the summer.
I first went there 12 years ago at this time of year. The place was white, the temperature was -20C, and the bears were out feeding.
Continue reading...Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain
The endless joy of logs
Claxton, Norfolk I recall the circumstances of the cut, how it was stored and then the moment it was sectioned to fit the fire
The garden task that gives me greatest satisfaction is the cutting of our winter wood stack. I like to joke that our logburner consumes only hand-prepared organic “food”, and there is even a sense in which each piece is an individual.
Over the years I’ve learned that the secret to preparing logs is not some fancy axe or equipment. It is time. I have thus worked out a four-stage process that spans two years, beginning with the moment when the live trees are felled.
Continue reading...You are 16, going on 17 – part 1
Broadcast Australia wins award for Photon Energy solar battery system
In 2017, regulators should fight for consumers, not incumbents
Spain looks to re-boot renewables as economy recovers
Brexit uncertainty 'corrosive' for science
Soil carbon capture: Great loamy hope or bandaid?
Prostate cancer laser treatment 'truly transformative'
No new coal fired power plants for India
Draft plantation forestry method now open for public consultation
Draft plantation forestry method now open for public consultation
CER announces fourth emission Reduction Fund auction results
CER announces fourth emission Reduction Fund auction results
Solar cooling systems take heat out of summer’s hottest days
A few Australian businesses are exploiting the searing heat of summer to create purpose-designed solar cooling systems whose benefits extend far beyond electricity savings
As Australia settles in for another long hot summer, the demand for air-conditioning is set to surge. In fact, with the World Meteorological Organisation stating that 2016 is likely to be the hottest year on record, it’s no surprise an estimated 1.6bn new air conditioners are likely to be installed globally by 2050.
Powering all these units will be a challenge, especially on summer’s hottest days. In Australia, peak demand days can drive electricity usage to almost double and upgrading infrastructure to meet the increased demand can cost more than four times what each additional air-conditioning unit costs.
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