Feed aggregator
25th Anniversary Landcare Grants now open
Queensland East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery
Commonwealth Marine Reserves Review - Website launched
Draft Conservation advice for the Central Hunter Valley eucalypt forest and woodland complex
Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan
Richard Branson failed to deliver on $3bn climate change pledge
New book by Naomi Klein claims that Virgin founder gave less than a tenth of cash promised to develop low carbon fuel
Naomi Klein: the hypocrisy behind the big business climate change battle
Richard Branson has failed to deliver on his much-vaunted pledge to spend $3bn (£1.8bn) over a decade to develop a low carbon fuel.
Seven years into the pledge, Branson has paid out only a small fraction of the promised money – “well under $300m” – according to a new book by the writer and activist, Naomi Klein.
Continue reading...Cost Recovery Implementation Statement
The Finalised Priority Assessment List has now been published
Public consultation: draft assessment bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and Victoria
BP's reckless conduct caused Deepwater Horizon oil spill, judge rules
Judge’s ruling that BP bears 67% of blame for Deepwater Horizon disaster could nearly quadruple amount of civil penalties
BP bears the majority of responsibility among the companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a federal judge ruled Thursday, citing the energy giant’s reckless conduct over the disaster in a ruling that exposes it to billions of dollars in penalties.
BP plc already has agreed to pay billions of dollars in criminal fines and compensation to people and businesses affected by the disaster, the worst-ever US oil spill. But US district Judge Carl Barbier’s ruling could nearly quadruple what the London-based company has to pay in civil fines for polluting the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 spill.
Continue reading...Reserves and parks not enough to protect nature – David Attenborough
Broadcaster calls for radical new approach to conservation, urging people to use all spaces from gardens to roadside verges to help wildlife
Nature reserves and national parks are not enough to prevent a catastrophic decline in nature, David Attenborough has told politicians, business leaders and conservationists, saying that every space in Britain from suburban gardens to road verges must be used to help wildlife.
Britain’s leading commentator on wildlife called for a radical new approach to conservation which did not bemoan the past but embraced the changes brought by climate change and a rapidly growing human population.
Continue reading...Draft Emissions Reduction Fund methods released for public consultation
Draft Emissions Reduction Fund methods released for public consultation
Draft Wildlife Conservation Plan for Migratory Shorebirds
Draft Recovery Plan for the White-bellied and Orange-bellied Frogs (Geocrinia alba and Geocrinia vitellina)
Draft Recovery Plan for the Alpine Sphagnum Bogs and Associated Fens ecological community
Propane made with renewable process for the first time
Scientists modify E coli genes to produce gas that can power cars and heat homes
A gas which can power cars and heat homes has been made using a renewable process for the first time.
Propane, which makes up the bulk component of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), has previously only ever been produced from fossil fuels.
Continue reading...Polar bear DNA from footprints in Arctic snow reveal bloody killing of seal
First of its kind CSI-style technique to gather genetic material from animals could help track plight of endangered species
Trace DNA samples recovered from footprints in the Arctic snow have been used to reveal the bloody killing of a seal by a polar bear, which was joined by seagulls in devouring the corpse. It is the first time that genetic material from animals has been recovered from footprints, and the CSI-style technique is expected to prove a valuable tool in tracking the plight of endangered species. The method is cheaper, easier and crucially far less invasive than existing approaches which can involve capturing and anaesthetising wild animals.
A WWF expedition on Norway’s Svalbard islands high in the Arctic circle collected the snow in 10 footprints from one set of tracks made by a female polar bear. In the laboratory, the snow was melted and then filtered to collect skin cells from the tracks. The DNA in the cells was multiplied, allowing the identification of the animals and the reconstruction of the grisly scene.
Continue reading...Two secret funders of Nigel Lawson’s climate sceptic organisation revealed
Neil Record and Nigel Vinson confirm their donations, and are both linked to thinktank that took funds from oil companies
Two secret funders of Nigel Lawson’s climate sceptic organisation have been revealed. This is the first time anyone financing the group has confirmed their contributions. Both are linked to a free-market thinktank, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), which has admitted taking funding from fossil fuel companies and has also argued against climate change mitigation.
Lord Lawson has steadfastly refused to name the funders of the Global Warming Policy Foundation since its inception in 2009, stating only that none have significant fossil fuel interests. The GWPF has become the most prominent climate sceptic group in the UK, but critics of the GWPF argue that funders’ names should be made public in the interest of transparency.
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