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Norway reprieves 32 of 47 wolves earmarked for cull

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-12-21 02:56

Under Norway’s endangered predator laws, only 15 lone wolves proved to pose a threat to livestock

The Norwegian government has issued a last-minute reprieve for 32 of the 47 wolves that had been earmarked for a cull to protect sheep flocks.

The plans to kill two-thirds of the country’s wolves caused outrage among conservationists at home and abroad when they were announced by local predator management boards in September, with warnings the cull would be disastrous for the species.

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Brain's party noise filter revealed by recordings

BBC - Wed, 2016-12-21 02:40
Direct recordings have revealed what happens in our brains as we make sense of speech in a noisy environment, scientists say.
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Ministers explore applying microbead ban to household products

The Guardian - Wed, 2016-12-21 01:18

Officials have asked for more proof of microbead damage to marine life in move to extend cosmetics ban to all products washed down drain

The government is exploring whether its ban on tiny pieces of plastic in cosmetics should be extended to other household products, to protect fish and other marine life.

Ministers promised earlier this year to ban microbeads in personal care products such as toothpaste and face scrubs by the end of 2017, but stopped short of pledging to ban them in other products.

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Republicans and Democrats alike want more clean energy | John Abraham

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-12-20 21:00

A new report finds strong support for clean energy, international climate agreements, and cutting carbon pollution - across the political spectrum

It’s almost an accepted dogma that in the United States (and in several other countries), liberals are much more in favor of taking actions to curb climate change whereas conservatives block such actions. That’s certainly true within the halls of power. For instance, in the United States, it has become a litmus test for Republication candidates to deny humans are causing climate change, to try to claim that it isn’t important, in many cases to demonize the messengers (the scientists), and to work to halt climate science so we won’t know how bad the problem is.

Conventional wisdom – and in fact the seemingly obvious message from this past election – is that this denial is good politics. If you want to get elected as a conservative, you have got to be anti-science.

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Fracking to go ahead in North Yorkshire after high court ruling

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-12-20 20:15

Friends of the Earth and Frack Free Ryedale lose bid to stop fracking in village of Kirby Misperton

Fracking will go ahead at a North Yorkshire site after environmentalists lost a legal challenge they had brought on climate change grounds.

On Tuesday, the high court ruled against Friends of the Earth and Frack Free Ryedale, who had argued that North Yorkshire county council had failed to properly consider the environmental impact of burning gas when it approved the fracking this year.

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European commission guilty of 'negligence' over diesel defeat devices, says draft report

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-12-20 19:31

European parliament draft inquiry into dieselgate has found EC ignored evidence of emissions test cheating

A draft European parliament inquiry into the dieselgate scandal has found the European commission guilty of maladministration for failing to act quickly enough on evidence that defeat devices were being used to game emissions tests.

The commission ignored evidence of emissions test cheating from its own science body, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), partly out of a desire to “avoid placing burdens on industry”, according to the draft report seen by the Guardian.

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A third of Brits throw away Christmas turkey and sprouts

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-12-20 17:01

New research finds householders more likely to bin food over festive season due to lack of culinary knowhow

One in three UK consumers admit to binning turkey and sprouts for their Christmas dinner before it even reaches the table because of their lack of culinary knowhow, a new report has revealed.

Official figures show that UK households throw away 7m tonnes of food every year, but the new research from supermarket chain Sainsbury’s shows householders are more likely to bin food over the festive season because they don’t know how to prepare and cook it.

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This is the polar bear capital of the world, but the snow has gone

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-12-20 17:00

Canada’s Hudson Bay is as ice-free in November as on a summer’s day and polar bears could be extinct here by mid-century. If the bears are in trouble, so are we

Churchill, on the banks of the Hudson Bay in Canada, is known as the polar bear capital of the world. Hundreds of bears gather there each year before the sea freezes over in October and November so they can hunt seals again from the ice for the first time since the summer.

I first went there 12 years ago at this time of year. The place was white, the temperature was -20C, and the bears were out feeding.

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Banksia Woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2016-12-20 15:50
A guide is now available for this nationally listed endangered ecological community.
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The endless joy of logs

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-12-20 15:30

Claxton, Norfolk I recall the circumstances of the cut, how it was stored and then the moment it was sectioned to fit the fire

The garden task that gives me greatest satisfaction is the cutting of our winter wood stack. I like to joke that our logburner consumes only hand-prepared organic “food”, and there is even a sense in which each piece is an individual.

Over the years I’ve learned that the secret to preparing logs is not some fancy axe or equipment. It is time. I have thus worked out a four-stage process that spans two years, beginning with the moment when the live trees are felled.

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You are 16, going on 17 – part 1

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-12-20 13:56
The year that was: Donald Trump, soaring temperatures, mass-market EVs, and price parity - even in NSW - for solar and storage.
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Broadcast Australia wins award for Photon Energy solar battery system

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-12-20 13:52
IABM has given its International Award for Excellence in Sustainability to Broadcast Australia for installing a solar battery solution designed and delivered by Photon Energy.
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In 2017, regulators should fight for consumers, not incumbents

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-12-20 13:30
Despite predictions that consumers – households and businesses – will be supplying half of all electricity needs within a few decades, the automatic reflex of the institutions that govern our electricity market remains to protect the incumbents. This needs to change.
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Spain looks to re-boot renewables as economy recovers

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-12-20 13:22
Spain has been the subject of some myth-making and stereo-typing about its renewable energy industry and its overall economy.
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Brexit uncertainty 'corrosive' for science

BBC - Tue, 2016-12-20 12:02
Uncertainty over the nature of the UK's future relationship with the EU is having a "corrosive" effect on science.
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Soil carbon capture: Great loamy hope or bandaid?

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-12-20 11:39
What exactly is biological carbon capture and sequestration, and is it any sort of a viable climate fix? Reasonable questions, so here are some answers...
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Prostate cancer laser treatment 'truly transformative'

BBC - Tue, 2016-12-20 11:13
Surgeons describe a new treatment for early stage prostate cancer as "truly transformative".
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No new coal fired power plants for India

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-12-20 10:51
India’s new draft National Electricity Plan concludes India does not require any new coal-fired power stations and its energy minister says it must look beyond fossil fuels.
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Draft plantation forestry method now open for public consultation

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2016-12-20 09:59
A draft plantation forestry method and proposed rule amendment to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015 is open for public comment until Friday 30 December 2016.
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Draft plantation forestry method now open for public consultation

Department of the Environment - Tue, 2016-12-20 09:59
A draft plantation forestry method and proposed rule amendment to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015 is open for public comment until Friday 30 December 2016.
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