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EU Market: Carbon up another 4% to new 3-mth high, though some warn of over-extension
What's your beef? How 'carbon labels' can steer us towards environmentally friendly food choices
UN climate talks set stage for humanity's two most crucial years
Decisions made from now to 2020 will determine to what extent Earth remains habitable
The mood was more one of relief than triumph on Sunday when the world’s governments eventually found common ground at the UN climate talks in Katowice.
This was not just because exhausted delegates were glad to go home after negotiations that dragged on 30 hours beyond the deadline. It also reflected the harder miles and tougher battles to come over the next two years if the planet is to remain habitable.
Continue reading...We say we love our national parks. The evidence suggests otherwise | Kelly O’Shanassy
Australia leads the world in extinction rates and now our protected habitats are at risk. That’s neglect
Australia has the most extraordinary national parks, home to our unique wildlife, deserts, mountains, forests and sacred icons such as Uluru. We are rightly proud of them.
It’s hard to pick a favourite. But I do love Wilsons Promontory, where the wombats reign supreme, and getting one of these inquisitive fellows out of your tent after a late-night incursion is quite an adventure.
Continue reading...Study finds 'alarming' levels of chemicals in Great Barrier Reef turtles
Results of research into 2012 mass deaths offer insights into reef health and throw up further questions
Conservationists want major bays and estuaries along the Great Barrier Reef tested for contaminants after a five-year study found “alarming” levels of some chemicals in unhealthy turtles on the reef.
Scientists working on the research have also recommended expanded monitoring of turtle-population health on the Great Barrier Reef “as an indicator of the health of the reef itself”.
Continue reading...Carol Vorderman and Liam Gallagher back campaign against trophy hunting
Range of public figures from Jeremy Corbyn to Sue Perkins call for ban on imports
A group of public figures including Jeremy Corbyn, Zac Goldsmith, Sue Perkins and Carol Vorderman have joined forces to call for an urgent halt to imports from trophy hunters.
In a letter to the Guardian, the group, which also includes Piers Morgan, Liam Gallagher, Ed Sheeran and Joanna Lumley, condemns trophy hunting as “cruel, immoral, archaic and unjustifiable”.
Continue reading...Pterosaurs: Fur flies over feathery fossils
BRIEFING – COP24: International emissions trading pilots for the Paris era
Hastings dinosaur footprints exposed by cliff erosion
Climate change activists vow to step up protests around world
Campaigners say they will force governments to act after lack of progress at UN summit
Civil society groups have pledged growing international protests to drive rapid action on global warming after the UN climate summit in Poland.
The summit agreed rules for implementing the 2015 Paris agreement, which aims to keep global warming as close to 1.5C (2.7F) as possible, but it made little progress in increasing governments’ commitments to cut emissions. The world remains on track for 3C of warming, which scientists says will bring catastrophic extreme weather.
Continue reading...Chickens freezing to death and boiled alive: failings in US slaughterhouses exposed
An investigation finds hundreds of shocking welfare incidents, fuelling concerns about standards in a post-Brexit trade deal
Chickens slowly freezing to death, being boiled alive, drowned or suffocating under piles of other birds are among hundreds of shocking welfare incidents recorded at US slaughterhouses, according to previously unpublished reports.
Among them are “inexcusable” violations, say campaigners, who ask if the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) current system, where inspectors issue reports when they see violations, really works. One inspector, who asked to remain anonymous, questioned the impact of those reports.
Continue reading...Bloodhound supersonic car project saved
London's new official plan for cycling is bold but has a major flaw
With no new infrastructure or funding, questions remain on how to genuinely democratise cycling in a big city
London has a new official plan for cycling. It’s full of bold statements of intent and has some interesting ideas. That’s the good news. Here’s the drawback: within the 59 glossy pages I could detect no new plans for cycling infrastructure.
This all might seem a bit niche, not to say London-centric. But there is a wider lesson here: if cities are to truly move ahead in making cycling everyday and for everyone, good intentions aren’t enough. It involves political boldness, and taking risks.
Continue reading...Is the simple life a good life?
Offset purchases drop to new record lows in Australia’s latest ERF auction
Porche achieves 3 minute recharge at 450kW EV charging station
An ultra-fast prototype charger with 450kW is now open to the public in Germany – and it can charge an EV in as little as three minutes.
The post Porche achieves 3 minute recharge at 450kW EV charging station appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Charging your EV with diesel is greener than you think
A group of outback EV drivers test out using an EV charger powered by a diesel generator, and the results are promising.
The post Charging your EV with diesel is greener than you think appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Country diary: making wines in Sussex that taste of the place
Dew farm, Peasmarsh, East Sussex: Ben Walgate wants to establish a vineyard that echoes the humus- and microbe-rich soil environment in which wild vines thrive
In a coppiced corner of Dew farm, deep in the rolling Sussex Weald, grows a wild grapevine: ancient, gnarled and bountiful. When Ben Walgate moved here last year, he wild-fermented grapes from the vine and found he had made a wine that, as he put it, “tasted of the place”.
Now Walgate, who comes from a long line of farmers, is creating a vineyard – Tillingham Wines – using that vine as inspiration. Instead of the intensive and chemical-dependent practices of traditional viticulture, Walgate, with the collaboration of the owner of the estate, the environmentalist Lord Devonport, wants to establish a vineyard that echoes as closely as possible the natural, biodiverse, humus- and microbe-rich soil environment in which wild vines thrive.
Continue reading...Australia lies low in Katowice as UN scrapes together rules for climate deal
Environment minister Melissa Price kept as low a profile as possible in Poland climate talks, as Australia's only noticeable contribution to public debate was its declared support of fossil fuels.
The post Australia lies low in Katowice as UN scrapes together rules for climate deal appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Tetris Energy secures PPA for 5MW solar and battery project in South Australia
Melbourne firm says it has signed offtake deal for 5MW solar and storage project in S.A. Murray River region, as stage 1 of what could become a 30MW affair.
The post Tetris Energy secures PPA for 5MW solar and battery project in South Australia appeared first on RenewEconomy.