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History in a remote graveyard

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-07-26 14:30

Thockrington, Northumberland Once, the church stood above a village; now there is just the church and a farm. A returning sailor brought cholera in 1847 and the village was wiped out, its houses burnt

From a distance the tiny buttressed church appears as a rocky outcrop, a crag jutting up from the hard dolerite of the Whin Sill. Behind its skyline silhouette, over the shoulder of the hill, the three-pointed stars of wind turbines swivel in the wind. I’m high up here, the view reaching far into the North Pennines. Grasses sway and buckle as I cross the field to open the wooden gate. My hair is whipped across my face as I lower the age-smoothed latch.

The church of St Aidan’s at Thockrington is one of the oldest in Northumberland. Once, it stood above a village; now there is just the church and a farm. A returning sailor brought cholera in 1847 and the village was wiped out, its houses burnt. A drystone wall zigzags around the knoll of the churchyard, an angled enclosure with sparse memorials, randomly placed. I came here thirty years ago to record the flora. Today the grass has been cut, the hay taken off and piled up against the inside of the boundary walls. Fresh leaves are emerging in the turf: red clover, cow parsley, sorrel, vetch and plantain.

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Sri Lanka prime minister: Mangroves curb climate threat

BBC - Tue, 2016-07-26 14:09
On World Mangrove Day, Sri Lanka's prime minister says mangroves' ability to swiftly absorb carbon make them vital in the fight to curb climate change.
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Do Australian wind turbines all blow at the same time?

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-07-26 14:04
How correlated is the wind output from the various states? And how much will we rely on some form of storage?
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CEFC hits record $837m of clean energy investments in 2015-16

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-07-26 13:48
Clean Energy Finance Corp marks 3rd year of operation with record investment level, plus 73% year-on-year increase in value of new investment commitments.
Categories: Around The Web

Solar Impulse completes historic round-the-world trip

BBC - Tue, 2016-07-26 13:26
The first round-the-world solar powered flight has been completed.
Categories: Around The Web

Is nuclear power scalable? Reducing building energy use. Engaging communities on WSUD.

Newsletters S.A. - Tue, 2016-07-26 12:50
Is nuclear power scalable? Reducing building energy use. Engaging communities on WSUD.
Categories: Newsletters S.A.

A 10-step guide to going off grid – from your utility

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-07-26 12:37
Ergon Energy provides guide to households considering using solar and battery storage to quit the grid. It says it doesn't want to scare customers into staying with them, but there are 10 things people should consider.
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Solar Impulse completes first round-the-world flight powered by the sun

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-07-26 12:34
Solar and battery powered airplane has successfully circumnavigated the globe, flying more than 42,000km in 17 legs using only the power of the sun.
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Senvion to supply wind turbines for Coober Pedy off-grid hybrid plant

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-07-26 11:59
Senvion to supply wind turbines for ARENA-backed wind, solar and storage microgrid that will take remote SA mining town to 70% renewables.
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South Australia’s electricity price woes are more due to gas than wind

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-07-26 11:57
South Australia’s wind farms have been blamed for price spikes, but without them the volatility would be even worse.
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Sydney student housing co-op to get 30kW solar, 43kWh Enphase battery storage

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-07-26 11:52
Solaray selected for Australian-first project to install 30kW of solar and 43.2kWh of Enphase li-ion battery storage at student housing co-op.
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ARENA provides $10m funding for first wind-solar hybrid project

RenewEconomy - Tue, 2016-07-26 11:50
ARENA to provide $10m to Chinese wind giant to build Australia's first hybrid wind-solar farm, although grant is nearly four times more than being asked by projects in large scale solar tender.
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Solar Impulse completes historic round-the-world trip

BBC - Tue, 2016-07-26 10:06
The Solar Impulse becomes the first aircraft to circle the globe powered by the sun after landing in Abu Dhabi on the last leg of its journey.
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Solar plane makes history after completing round-the-world trip

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-07-26 10:06

Solar Impulse 2, which landed in Abu Dhabi, is first plane powered by the renewable energy source to tour the globe


Solar Impulse 2 has completed the first round-the-world flight by a solar-powered aeroplane, after touching down in Abu Dhabi early on Tuesday.

The final leg of the feat, aimed at showcasing the potential of renewable energy, was a bumpy one, with turbulence driven by hot desert air leaving the solo pilot, Bertrand Piccard, fighting with the controls.

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Did early campfires trigger the emergence of tuberculosis?

ABC Science - Tue, 2016-07-26 09:49
DISEASE TRIGGER?: Fire brought warmth and comfort to early humans but may also have triggered the emergence of deadly tuberculosis, Australian researchers suggest.
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People-powered: renewable energy project changes Indigenous lives in Barkly

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-07-26 09:39

Switching from diesel to solar power has reduced power costs and given two remote Northern Territory communities a new lease on life

Deep in the outback, about a 90-minute drive from Tennant Creek, two tiny Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory are coming back to life.

Since May, the Kunapa communities of Ngurrara and Kurnturlpara have been returning to the Barkly tableland, moving into the houses that had been abandoned years ago, setting up a School of the Air for their 15 children, and re-establishing their Indigenous culture. In fact, in a little over a month, the population has increased from just two people to about 40. And the reason? Solar power.

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Dutch men confirmed as world's tallest

BBC - Tue, 2016-07-26 09:39
When it comes to height, Dutch men and Latvian women tower over all other nationalities, a new study reveals.
Categories: Around The Web

In pictures

BBC - Tue, 2016-07-26 09:11
Photographer Charles Fox documents the work of the Trapang Sangke fishing community in Cambodia.
Categories: Around The Web

New trials for delivering goods by drones

BBC - Tue, 2016-07-26 09:02
The UK government's getting together with the retail giant Amazon, to start testing flying drones that can deliver parcels to your door.
Categories: Around The Web

Disasters linked to climate can increase risk of armed conflict

The Guardian - Tue, 2016-07-26 07:00

Research found that 23% of violent clashes in ethnically divided places were connected to climate disasters

Climate-related disasters increase the risk of armed conflicts, according to research that shows a quarter of the violent struggles in ethnically divided countries were preceded by extreme weather.

The role of severe heatwaves, floods and storms in increasing the risk of wars has been controversial, particularly in relation to the long drought in Syria. But the new work reveals a strong link in places where the population is already fractured along ethnic lines.

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Categories: Around The Web

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