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First Australian corporate bulk-buy to deliver new 80MW wind farm
Why the nights are getting brighter – but not in a good way
Spread of light pollution is bad for the environment, animal life and humans, five-year study concludes
The world’s nights are getting alarmingly brighter – bad news for all sorts of creatures, humans included – as light pollution encroaches on darkness almost everywhere.
Satellite observations made by researchers during five consecutive Octobers show Earth’s artificially lit outdoor area grew by 2% a year from 2012 to 2016. So did nighttime brightness.
Continue reading...Is NEG just an elaborate plan to fund Turnbull’s vanity project?
Three cups of coffee a day 'may have health benefits'
1414 plans two “gigawatt hour” silicon storage plants in S.A.
Tesla big battery on track to be “energised” in coming days
EU ban on bird imports sees 'massive' cuts in global trade
How we are losing the night
High-energy 'ghost particles' absorbed by Earth
New research suggests common herbicides are linked to antibiotic resistance
Light pollution: Night being lost in many countries
Treasury backs electric cars but makes limited moves on diesel
Funds set aside for national charging network and tech research, but lack of scrappage scheme disappoints
Electric cars have received a funding boost with the government earmarking £340m for a national charging network and subsidies for vehicle purchases.
However, further budget backing for greener vehicles was limited to a small rise in vehicle excise duty for new diesel cars that fail to meet rigorous emissions standards – disappointing campaigners who had hoped for a rise in fuel duty or a diesel scrappage scheme.
Continue reading...Plague reached Europe by Stone Age
No subsidies for green power projects before 2025, says UK Treasury
Government accused of ‘turning their back on renewables’ after saying there will be no more money for new low-carbon levies
Companies hoping to build new windfarms, solar plants and tidal lagoons, have been dealt a blow after the government said there would be no new subsidies for clean power projects until 2025 at the earliest.
The Treasury said it had taken the decision to “protect” consumers, because households and businesses were facing an annual cost of about £9bn on their energy bills to pay for wind, solar and nuclear subsidies to which it had already committed.
Continue reading...Record numbers of rare migrant dragonflies spotted in the UK
Conservationists believe global warming could be partly responsible for the influx of species such as the scarlet darter that have been seen this year
Record numbers of rare migrant dragonflies have been spotted in the UK this year, according to an analysis by volunteers from the Migrant Dragonfly Project.
The study recorded the first confirmed UK sighting of the scarlet darter for 13 years, at Longham Lakes in Dorset. It is only the eighth time this species has been spotted in Britain.
Continue reading...Research money central to Budget
'Looting' spree threatens wildlife and forests across eastern Europe
UN report warns crimes such as logging and poaching are putting ‘high pressure’ on ecosystems in 15 countries in the Danube-Carpathian region
An environmental “looting” spree is threatening biodiversity and pristine forests across 15 countries in central and eastern Europe, the UN has warned.
Environmental crimes such as illegal logging, fishing, poaching and the caviar black market are putting “high pressure” on ecosystems in the Danube-Carpathian region, according to a report by the UN Environmental Programme (Unep) and WWF.
Continue reading...New nuclear power cannot rival windfarms on price, energy boss says
Innogy Renewables chief claims future reactors will not be competitive as offshore windfarms become even cheaper
New nuclear power stations in the UK can no longer compete with windfarms on price, according to the boss of a German energy company’s green power arm.
Hans Bunting, the chief operating officer of Innogy Renewables, part of the company that owns the UK energy supplier npower, said offshore windfarms had become mainstream and were destined to become even cheaper because of new, bigger turbines.
Continue reading...Picture It: Your Environment photo competition - in pictures
The Picture It competition organised by the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) asked budding photographers to explore how they interacted with or were inspired by the environment in everyday life.
Visitors to Nerc’s UnEarthed showcase in Edinburgh last weekend were asked to pick the winners from nine shortlisted images and more than 1,000 entries. The winners from the three categories will be invited to the official naming of Nerc’s new polar research vessel, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, next year
Continue reading...Rangers’ lives would be put at risk if Trump reverses elephant trophy ban
More than a thousand rangers have been killed while protecting elephants – and a corrupted legal market, operating for a few wealthy clients, exacerbates that risk
Related: Trump postpones decision on allowing import of elephant parts
The announcement that the Trump administration is considering overturning the US ban on elephant trophy imports from Zambia and Zimbabwe is one that directly threatens the lives of African park rangers who are tasked with protecting elephants and their ecosystems.
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