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People can carry a "silent" red hair gene that raises their risk of dangerous skin cancer, experts warn.

Grass species of crops adopt an "austerity" strategy and limits the development of its root system during times of drought, a study reveals.

How non-human archaeology revealed ancient evidence of monkey tool-use.

Climate Central: The warming of the planet over the past few decades has shifted a key band of clouds poleward and increased the heights of clouds tops

The reaction of clouds to a warming atmosphere has been one of the major sources of uncertainty in estimating exactly how much the world will heat up from the accumulation of greenhouse gases, as some changes would enhance warming, while others would counteract it.

The study, detailed Monday in the journal Nature, overcomes problems with the satellite record and shows that observations support projections from climate models. But the work is only a first step in understanding the relationship between climate change and clouds, with many uncertainties still to untangle, scientists not involved with the research said.

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Oil from geopolitically unstable regions such as Russia, Libya and Iraq accounts for 80% of Europe’s imports, report shows

Europe is dependent on foreign and often geopolitically unstable regions such as Russia, Libya and Iraq for 80% of its imported oil, according to a report.

Rosneft and Lukoil are the two companies benefiting most from the EU’s current oil imports regime, supplying a third of the continent’s imported crude in 2015, according to the new study. Statoil and Saudi Aramco provided another 20%, with Chevron and Exxon accounting for 12%.

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Australians have been both helpers and victims of the fossil fuelled web of climate science denial being detailed in the U.S Senate

By the middle of this week, about 20 Democratic Senators in the US will have stood up before their congress to talk about the fossil fuelled machinery of climate science denial.

The Senators are naming the fossil fuel funders, describing the machinery and calling out the characters that make up a “web of denial”.

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Child immediately treated for superficial wounds by first aid officers as bird removed from show

A wedge-tailed eagle that was part of a birds of prey show at Alice Springs Desert Park flew at a young boy and latched on to his head with its talons instead of flying over to a perch as it had been trained to.

The moment was captured by a visitor to the park, Christine O’Connell, who uploaded an image on to Instagram of the eagle seemingly attempting to drag away the boy, who was wearing a green hoodie.

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A 2,000 page report by Committee on Climate Change predicts global warming will hit UK with deadly heatwaves, more flooding and water shortages

The UK is poorly prepared for the inevitable impacts of global warming in coming decades, including deadly annual heatwaves, water shortages and difficulties in producing food, according the government’s official advisers.

Action must be taken now, according to the report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published on Tuesday, with more widespread flooding and new diseases among the risks in most urgent need of addressing.

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Energy regulation is broken, and consumers will be paying more for electricity and gas in years to come.

The ACT government's bold plan to source 100% of its electricity needs from renewable energy looks set to pay handsome dividends. At current wholesale market prices, it may get much of its wind energy for free, while the rest of the country grapples with record prices caused by soaring cost of gas.

West Sussex There’s another sound – a continuous metallic whirr, like a fishing reel spinning

The slow-moving river surface reflects the blue sky and the patches of white and gunmetal-coloured clouds passing overhead. The trees and long, damp grass rustle in the breeze.

Familiar summer-morning bird song rises from the trees, reeds and bushes – song thrush, wren, reed bunting and the rhythmic, steady, repeated “chit-chit-chit” of a reed warbler. A nearby sedge warbler competes, blaring out its more hurried, chaotic whirrs, chatters and whistles from the top of a small tree.

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Australia to break through 5GW mark for rooftop solar in July, as households and businesses continue to invest in their own power needs.

Australia's emissions fell slightly in June, thanks to increased hydro, wind and solar power, but remain 5.7 per cent ahead of last year.

Macquarie Capital makes major investment in battery storage, signing up for what is believed to be the largest dedicated battery storage finance vehicle in the world.

New study suggests warming of the planet over past few decades has shifted key band of clouds poleward, exacerbating Earth’s rising temperature.

Climate change could have a domino effect on key infrastructure, government advisers warn in a 2,000-page report assessing risks and opportunities for the UK.

Weatherwatch Species that breed around the Arctic Circle are already heading south

July may not feel like autumn, but in the world of birds, the return migration has already started – bringing an autumnal tinge to the air. Species that breed around the Arctic Circle – mostly waders such as plovers and sandpipers – are already heading south, towards their winter quarters in sub-Saharan Africa.

These birds may only have passed through Britain in the opposite, northerly direction a few weeks ago, in mid-to-late May. They have to time both their outward and return journeys very carefully, to coincide with a brief window of opportunity during the middle of the summer, lasting just a few weeks.

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There is ample evidence of systematic cruelty and regulatory failure with which to justify the New South Wales government’s decision to ban greyhound racing. But this is a single industry in a single state – if we step back and look at the wider picture we see a telling lack of consistency in animal welfare policy and practice around the nation.

The ABC Four Corners investigation that sparked the NSW inquiry found wrongdoing in multiple jurisdictions. Yet only the ACT is set to follow NSW’s lead in banning the greyhound industry rather than simply pledging to increase oversight.

How many trainers will simply move interstate, taking the animal welfare problems with them?

Even within states, there is considerable inconsistency in the regulation of different animal sectors. The Baird government has rightly condemned the killing of up to 68,000 greyhounds over the past 12 years. Yet tens of thousands of cats and dogs are killed every year in NSW because the government has failed to control their breeding and sale.

The government has already held two inquiries into this issue: first by the Companion Animals Taskforce, which reported in 2012, and then by a parliamentary committee on companion animal breeding practices in 2015. But in contrast to the swift response on greyhounds, the recommendations have been timid and government action glacial.

Still in NSW, but on a very different issue, the increased land clearing likely to accompany proposed changes to native vegetation laws will have significant impacts on the habitat of native animals. Why is this not also a major animal welfare issue?

Inconsistent policy and practice are not confined to NSW. In Victoria, while the state government has tightened laws governing pets, it continues to allow jumps racing for horses and the recreational shooting of ducks. Both activities are banned in many other parts of the country.

Philosophical anomalies

Policy inconsistency reflects anomalies at the philosophical level. Without a hint of irony, the NSW inquiry condemns the treatment of greyhounds as “commercial commodities, not animals to be cherished and loved”. However, this legal property status underpins the regulation of all domestic animals.

This is most clearly evident in livestock industries, with the routine commodification of animals and acceptance of mass “wastage”. This is precisely the issue cited as the main rationale for the greyhound ban.

How to explain this different thinking, when livestock animals are as individual as pets and just as capable of feeling pleasure and pain? If it is necessary to rely on animals as our main source of food and fibre – and this idea is increasingly contested – does not their sentience demand at the very least a much greater measure of humane treatment?

In any case, if greyhounds are considered more deserving because they are dogs rather than cows, pigs or chickens, this brings us back to the question of why breeders of pet dogs and cats haven’t met with similarly strong action as those who breed dogs for racing.

Barriers to reform

The NSW greyhound inquiry has also raised another issue that cuts across animal industries: the conflict of interest that arises when one body is responsible both for promoting the industry and for regulating welfare within it. It is no coincidence that examples of animal cruelty in the live export and greyhound racing industries have both been exposed by animal activists and the media, rather than the regulators.

Premier Mike Baird has acknowledged his failure to pay sufficient attention to the concerns of animal advocates, including the dissenting views of John Kaye, the late Greens MLC and deputy chair of a 2014 parliamentary inquiry into greyhound racing. In that inquiry, the majority report found that “the incidence of greyhound cruelty and neglect is minimal”, despite compelling submissions to the contrary.

It is heartening to note Baird’s recognition of the importance the public attaches to animal welfare. Unfortunately, belated and inconsistent government conduct tends to trigger cynicism even if the action is properly informed and courageous; witness Baird’s subsequent denials that it was all a ruse to hand dog tracks to property developers.

The reaction to the ban by industry and the NSW Labor opposition make it clear that a conservative government is not immune to the kind of political and legal backlash that followed the federal Labor government’s 2011 suspension of live exports to Indonesia over animal welfare issues.

None of this is conducive to the sustained reform that is urgently needed. Moreover, it is symptomatic of a regulatory framework that is showing its age. A more coherent strategy is required, one that identifies animal welfare problems consistently and proactively, with long-term planning and nationally consistent implementation. The establishment of an independent office of animal welfare, ideally at federal level, is critical to leading this kind of change.

Better planning and greater consistency would improve animal welfare as well as minimising the negative impact on human lives when changes are made. This would also prove advantageous for governments, by helping to shield action taken in good faith from attacks by political opponents and vested interests.

Elizabeth Ellis is a life member of the RSPCA and a member of the Australasian Animal Studies Association and Animals Australia.

Capuchin monkeys in Brazil have used stone tools for at least 700 years, according to scientists.

ENDS UK: Environment agency consults on new air quality monitoring network that would detect the release of particulates and sulphur dioxides

The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 led to the closure of European airspace and harmed air quality.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is consulting on a new air quality monitoring network intended to detect the release of particulates and sulphur dioxide from Iceland’s volcanoes.

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