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Australian Heritage Council welcomes Darwin Statement

Department of the Environment - Fri, 2018-07-20 15:35
Indigenous heritage leaders will become permanent members of the Heritage Chairs and Officials of Australia and New Zealand forum in the wake of a landmark meeting in Darwin. The meeting issued the Darwin Statement, aimed at advancing a shared...
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Networks, grid operators seek more consultation on solar “orchestration” plan

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2018-07-20 15:15
Industry and consumers have more time to weigh in on how best to "integrate" rooftop solar and battery storage, after a huge response to a consultation paper by AEMO and the ENA.
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Double standards on climate risks – Government protects sophisticated investors, not taxpayers

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2018-07-20 15:01
Aussie taxpayers are staring down the barrel of huge financial losses as a result of climate change risks.
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Sir David Attenborough urges British public to join butterfly count

The Guardian - Fri, 2018-07-20 15:01

Veteran broadcaster encourages people to take part in Big Butterfly Count and highlights mental health benefits of wildlife

Watching nature provides “precious breathing space” from the stress of modern life, Sir David Attenborough has said, as he urges people to take part in the world’s biggest butterfly count.

While the UK’s butterflies are basking in the best summer conditions in more than a decade, if the hot weather becomes a drought it could be catastrophic for the insects as plants wither and caterpillars starve.

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Has AEMO downplayed speed of clean energy transition?

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2018-07-20 15:00
A year ago, Finkel's modelling was telling us we should keep coal generators operating longer. Now, AEMO is telling us its cheaper to close them and replace with renewables and storage. That's a big step in 12 months, but AEMO could have gone further.
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Is the 'Zero Hour' youth climate march a turning point, or more of the same?

The Conversation - Fri, 2018-07-20 14:38
This weekend sees a major youth climate rally in Washington DC. But do young people really hold the key to overcoming climate inaction, or are we wrong to put our faith in their ability to drive change? Marc Hudson, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Country diary: when a crab spider executes plan bee

The Guardian - Fri, 2018-07-20 14:30

Langstone, Hampshire: Crab spiders are ambush predators rather than web-spinners, and bees can often be their unsuspecting victims

I was cutting a bunch of antirrhinums when I noticed a dark shadow inside one of the nose-like flower capsules. When I pinched open the lobed petals, I was surprised to discover an entombed common carder bee. Honeybees often struggle to enter and exit these snap-jawed blooms, as they don’t have enough heft to cause the flower lip to open, but portly bumblebees have no trouble thrusting their bodies into the gullet of the flower and wriggling out backwards, so this pollinator’s demise was something of a mystery.

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Minerals Council still dangerously wrong on coal and climate

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2018-07-20 12:42
The Minerals Council report on market demand for Australian coal not only defies economic logic, it ignores climate risk and its impact on MCA’s business, and the business of its members.
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NEG would drive electricity prices up, not down, says report

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2018-07-20 12:19
Report says NEG would fail in most basic and important function: reduction of Australia's wholesale electricity prices. Rather, it would drive them up after 2020.
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AEMO’s ‘cohesive’ energy plan falls short because it omits two key economic facts

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2018-07-20 11:46
Is the sun setting fast enough on coal-fired power?
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CP Daily: Thursday July 19, 2018

Carbon Pulse - Fri, 2018-07-20 09:26
A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.
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Nairobi National Park railway 'threatens Kenyan wildlife'

BBC - Fri, 2018-07-20 09:15
Conservationists are crying foul over a high-speed railway being built through Nairobi National Park.
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Ontario to join Saskatchewan in lawsuit against Canadian federal carbon price

Carbon Pulse - Fri, 2018-07-20 08:59
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday that his province will join Saskatchewan’s lawsuit to stop the implementation of the Canadian federal government’s ‘backstop’ carbon pricing scheme, setting up a showdown with Ottawa over the legality of its national climate plan.
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Steel giant BlueScope turns to solar with major PPA deal

RenewEconomy - Fri, 2018-07-20 08:00
Australian steel giant BlueScope turns to solar to help power its Port Kembla Steelworks, signing a 7-year power purchase agreement to take the bulk of the output from the 133MW Finley Solar Farm to be located 100km west of Albury.
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NA Markets: Markets stall amid summer lull

Carbon Pulse - Fri, 2018-07-20 07:22
US carbon markets were mostly unchanged over the course of the week amid a summer holiday season in full swing.
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Pollutionwatch: hitting home, the everyday chemicals that boost the smogs

The Guardian - Fri, 2018-07-20 06:30

Households as well as factories in the UK are pushing volatile chemicals into the air, helping to create those long-lasting hazes

The recent hot weather has allowed us to enjoy life outdoors – afternoons in the park, evenings in the garden – but it comes with a downside. Summer smog has enveloped the UK, with southern England the worst affected. In south-east England air pollution was moderate or high on the government’s information system for 17 consecutive days. This was the longest run of summer smog for seven years.

Across Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside, smoke from moorland fires added to the air pollution cocktail.

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Plastic bags that biodegrade to nothing?

BBC - Fri, 2018-07-20 06:22
It sounds like the perfect solution, but critics say it failed their test.
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AEMO's 'cohesive' energy plan falls short because it omits two key economic facts

The Conversation - Fri, 2018-07-20 04:50
Australia needs to accelerate its transition to clean energy, and not prolong the use of high-polluting, coal-fired infrastructure. Otherwise it risks missing out on an economic windfall. Martina Linnenluecke, Professor of Environmental Finance; Director of the Centre for Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Finance, Macquarie University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Life after coal: the South Australian city leading the way

The Guardian - Fri, 2018-07-20 04:00

It was a coal town, predicted to be wiped out by the closure of two ageing power plants. Now Port Augusta has 13 renewable projects in train

The largest solar farm in the southern hemisphere lies on arid land at the foot of the Flinders Ranges, more than 300km north of Adelaide. If that sounds remote, it doesn’t do justice to how removed local residents feel from what currently qualifies as debate in Canberra.

As government MPs and national newspapers thundered over whether taxpayers should underwrite new coal-fired power, mauling advice from government agencies as they went, residents of South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf region have been left to ponder why decision-makers weren’t paying attention to what is happening in their backyard.

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Rising global meat consumption 'will devastate environment'

The Guardian - Fri, 2018-07-20 04:00

Analysis suggests eating of meat will climb steeply and play significant role in increasing carbon emissions and reducing biodiversity

Rising global meat consumption is likely to have a devastating environmental impact, scientists have warned.

A new major analysis suggests meat consumption is set to climb steeply as the world population increases along with average individual income, and could play a significant role in increasing carbon emissions and reducing biodiversity.

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