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Simplicity and symbolism in flowers and poems

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-03-01 15:30

Wenlock Edge Daisy – daes eage, day’s-eye – a wonderfully simple poetry that has become a complicated symbolic chain-link of love, innocence and death

Hazel catkins are limp, in a still brightness they hang fire, waiting. After the thrashing they got from Storm Doris it’s a wonder they survived, let alone have any pollen left, but from woods and hedges, unimpeded by leaves, the magic dust cloud drifts for wider fertilisation. The pollen record found in peat bogs shows an expansion of hazel during the Mesolithic, 11,000 – 6,000 years ago and the speculation is that travelling people transported hazel nuts, so that now, catkins dangle from here to the Caucasus and Algeria.

Related: Country diary: Wenlock Edge: The lesser celandine, the voice of spring

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Australia placed on El Niño 'watch' as weather bureau puts chance at 50% for 2017

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-03-01 15:22

Analysis shows steady warming in the Pacific Ocean and that Australia could be in for a warmer and drier year

Australia could be heading into another El Niño year according to new analysis by the Bureau of Meteorology, which found the chance Australia would be affected by the phenomenon in 2017 had increased to 50%.

Six of the eight models used by Australian climatologists to predict El Niño and La Niña events indicate the El Niño threshold could be reached by July, while seven indicate a steady warming in the Pacific Ocean over the next six months.

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Penalties and policies: What shook environmental markets in February

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 13:57
Impact of decision of some liable parties to pay penalty rather than meet RET obligation felt in February – although the extent of this was lost in subsequent political volatility. Meanwhile, project commitments continue to flow.
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Coalition’s “clean coal” plan to power Gina, Clive, Adani in Galilee basin

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 13:48
Coal generator proposal asking CEFC for finance would provide power to Galilee Basin coal projects owned by Clive Palmer, Gina Rinehart, and Adani, and bury Co2 in "un-mineable" part of same coal province. Meanwhile, emissions rise and Coalition links with fossil fuel lobby deepen.
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Battery price war sees Tesla Powerwall 2 beaten even before first deliveries

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:58
Battery storage prices are trending downward as newcomers to the Australian market follow the Tesla Powerwall 2 to lower and lower price points.
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Herbert Smith Freehills advises Infrastructure Capital Group on the acquisition of Bald Hills Wind Farm

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:54
Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Infrastructure Capital Group (ICG) and the Energy Infrastructure Trust (EIT) on the successful acquisition of the Bald Hills Wind Farm.
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Aquion Energy, Schneider Electric, EIWAT Solar and RE-ENERGY Partner with Kyushu Electric Power Company to Construct “EIWAT STORAGE I” 122kW Solar and Storage System

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:52
Kagoshima Prefecture-based project is scheduled for installation in Q3 2017 as part of Japan’s popular Excess Energy Purchasing Scheme and Feed-in Tariff
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Car sharing plan launched for Tesla and other EVs

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:50
EV rental company launches sharing plan where owners of Tesla and other EVs can help pay off their investments or simply share the love of EV driving.
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Opal Solar named as major sponsor for NRL premiers, Cronulla Sharks

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:50
In an 11th-hour deal, Opal Solar has secured prime real-estate on the jerseys of NRL premiers the Cronulla Sharks as their 2017 Naming Rights Partner.
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Spain to spend on renewables, India expands solar plan

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:48
Spain reboots its renewable energy program, while India has said the country will double the installed capacity in solar parks to 40 gigawatts.
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ENGIE and Schneider Electric Collaborate to Digitise the Energy Sector

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:48
Engie & Schneider Electric have signed a MoU to explore and deploy new digital solutions for operational efficiency of renewable assets.
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Infrastructure Capital Group acquires Bald Hills Wind Farm

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:42
Australian specialist infrastructure fund manager Infrastructure Capital Group (ICG) has acquired Bald Hills Wind Farm from Mitsui & Co.
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Coal hit as China’s energy transition gathers pace

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 12:25
China is now well past its 2013 coal peak, while the utilization rate for coal-fired generators declined to 47.5% - an all time low.
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Tagged animals at risk from hunters and nature-lovers

BBC - Wed, 2017-03-01 10:43
Radio signals from tags are helping hunters and harming conservation, warn scientists.
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British people unaware of pollution levels in the air they breathe – study

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-03-01 10:01

‘Citizen science’ project launched as FoE survey indicates population outside London overestimates air quality

People across the UK are underestimating the impact of the air pollution crisis in their local areas, according to a new survey.

Almost two thirds of respondents said they were concerned about the issue of air pollution, but only one in 10 said they thought the air they breathe is bad.

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Neoen aims for 1GW wind, solar by 2020 after Hornsdale 3 financing

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 10:00
French renewable energy firm Neon aims for 1GW wind and solar in Australia after completing the finance of the 109MW Hornsdale 3 wind farm in South Australia.
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Climate pollution rising: Turnbull, Frydenberg failing

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2017-03-01 09:00
Data released this week is hard evidence Australia’s pollution is going up and that means Turnbull and Frydenberg’s policies are failing.
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Will SpaceX be ready to fly tourists around the moon?

BBC - Wed, 2017-03-01 07:38
Two private citizens are reported to have paid large deposits to fly around the moon in 2018
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Rising temperatures are boon to exotic invaders

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-03-01 07:30

Plants from semi-tropical climes are overtaking native British species and choking habitat as they flourish in warmer conditions

A half-degree increase in the average temperature in September and October in East Anglia this century has made an already troublesome plant invader even more of a nuisance. While the change in climate has been hardly noticeable to humans, it has made an enormous difference to the floating pennywort, Hydrocotyle ranunculoide, which already threatens to choke slow-moving rivers and the Broads.

The extension of warmer weather into autumn has give this semi-tropical South American plant the opportunity to produce viable seeds for the first time enabling it to spread even faster.

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Reform of EU carbon trading scheme agreed

The Guardian - Wed, 2017-03-01 06:08

Member states approve changes, including €12bn innovation fund, to emissions plan for cleaner technology and pollution cuts

An overhaul of the EU’s flagship trading scheme for cutting carbon emissions by European industries has been approved by the member states.

The agreement to reform the emissions trading system comes after almost two years’ of discussions but just two weeks after the European parliament voted in favour of a new directive.

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