Feed aggregator

The Palaszczuk Government has secured gas and started recruiting staff to bring the Swanbank E power station back on line to generate more electricity for Queenslanders.

As PM Malcolm Turnbull prepares for his meeting with the big energy retailers, here is how the conversation might pan out.

It’s safe to go back in the water, says marine biologist who identified the miniature attackers as lysianassid amphipods

The “meat-loving” marine creature that ate at the legs of a Melbourne teenager has been identified as a flesh-eating sea flea, known as a lysianassid amphipod.

Marine biologist Dr Genefor Walker-Smith said the creatures, which left 16-year-old Sam Kanizay with significant bleeding from his legs, were a small, scavenging crustacean that usually fed on dead fish or sea birds.

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Tesla, Zen, Lyon and others slam South Australia's proposed energy security target, saying it lacks technical expertise and will deliver windfall profits to incumbent gas generators, and not encourage new technologies like battery storage.

The interesting takeaway from EnergyAustralia's interim results, and other news from the NEM week that was.

Tesla says battery storage can deliver many grid services provided by gas generators, and thinking otherwise is like supporting paper records over digital files.

Tesla is emphasising profitability from its solar business, which has undergone significant transformation since the company bought SolarCity.

In “Australasian first”, 250kW Tesla Powerpack added to 660kw wind turbine, to provide 75 per cent of energy for NZ salt manufacturer.

There are huge uncertainties in greenhouse gas totals due to inaccurate data, the BBC finds.

His legs and feet were bleeding profusely after he went for a paddle at Brighton beach in Melbourne on Sunday.

Recognition of barred grass snake as distinct species different to common cousin increases native total to four

England is home to four kinds of wild snake, not three as was previously believed, according to scientists.

The barred grass snake, Natrix helvetica, is now recognised as a species in its own right distinct from the common or eastern grass snake (Natrix natrix).

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The meat-loving marine creatures that feasted on the legs of a Melbourne teenager have been identified as sea fleas, lysianassid amphipods. Marine biologist Dr Genefor Walker-Smith says they are small, scavenging crustaceans that usually feeds on dead fish or sea birds.

• Australian teen just ‘unfortunate’ to be attacked by meat-loving sea fleas

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We should beware of myths about electric vehicles, says David Bricknell; but John Richards still worries about the environmental impact of their batteries

Your editorial perpetuates a number of myths about electric vehicles (Car drivers are heading into a future far from their dreams, 7 August). You say “Tesla has just started selling its first electric car aimed squarely at the middle classes”, reinforcing the views recently posted online by fossil fuel lobby groups that EVs are only for the rich while being subsidised by the poorer. The Tesla 3 is directly cost competitive with similar cars with internal combustion engines and cheaper when including running costs, and there is now a growing second-hand market.

You say Tesla sales are “a remarkable figure for a machine with a fairly short range and a very limited number of specialised charging stations”. The Tesla 3 has an EPA rated range of 310 miles – this is not a “fairly short range”.

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Carnivorous amphipods feasted on the legs of one unlucky Australian teenager, but they are not the only watery beasts with a taste for human flesh. Which ones should we really be afraid of?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, some mystery lice chow down on a boy’s legs in Australia. Sam Kanizay had been paddling at a Melbourne beach. Half an hour later, the 16-year-old reeled when the sand he thought was covering his legs turned out to be eating his flesh, leading to unstoppable bleeding.

Related: Tiny 'meat-loving' marine creatures 'eat' teenager's legs at Melbourne beach

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Thousands of the "rare" tadpoles have been spotted at a reserve despite adverse breeding conditions.

Exclusive: series of emails show staff at Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service advised to reference ‘weather extremes’ instead

Staff at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been told to avoid using the term climate change in their work, with the officials instructed to reference “weather extremes” instead.

A series of emails obtained by the Guardian between staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a USDA unit that oversees farmers’ land conservation, show that the incoming Trump administration has had a stark impact on the language used by some federal employees around climate change.

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There are now four species of wild snake native to the UK, not three as scientists first thought.

The algorithm learned to recognise sarcasm, allowing it to spot hate speech faster than humans.

The first record of a pine marten living in Yorkshire for about 35 years

Supermarket to stop selling ‘single-use’ bags but will offer customers ‘bags for life’ costing 10p

The UK’s largest retailer is to stop selling “single use” 5p carrier bags in its UK stores from the end of the month, instead offering shoppers reusable “bags for life” costing 10p.

The move by Tesco follows a 10-week trial in Aberdeen, Dundee and Norwich, which led to a 25% cut in bag sales as shoppers either brought their own or switched to the bags for life.

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