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Public consultation: Draft Koala referral guidelines
Caladenia porphyrea, Corunastylis sp. Charmhaven, Corunastylis insignis and Thelymitra adorata
Gymnobelideus leadbeateri (Leadbeater’s possum)
Over 1,000 cyclists stage die-in protest outside Transport for London HQ
On Friday night I had a quick word with my boss (also a regular cyclist) and then slipped away a little early from Kings Place to pedal down Farringdon Road, over Blackfriars Bridge and on to the Transport for London building. As I arrived at 4.50pm there was already a fair-sized huddle of fellow cyclists gathering in the cold around a portable sound system and banner on the pavement.
The quickly swelling crowd was the result of less than two weeks' hectic and quite spontaneous activism by a relatively small group of people, coordinated via Facebook. I had been one of those activists.
Continue reading...Polar bear numbers in Hudson Bay of Canada on verge of collapse
Polar bear populations are a sensitive topic for the Canadian government, which has faced international criticism for its policies on climate change and for allowing limited hunting of bears, mainly by indigenous communities.
The Canadian environment minister provoked outrage last October when she discounted abundant scientific studies of polar bear decline across the Arctic, saying her brother, a hunter, was having no trouble finding bears. Leona Aglukkaq, an Inuk, spoke of a "debate" about the existence of climate change.
Continue reading...For Canada's remote towns, living with polar bears is growing more risky
It was just a few days after a polar bear had mauled two people in the centre of town that the patrol officer pulled up by the school and scanned his binoculars along the rocky shoreline of Hudson Bay looking for any signs of a telltale white lump.
Continue reading...Forest giraffe on the brink of extinction, red list warns
The blue-tongued forest giraffe, the national symbol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is on the brink of extinction, according to the latest update to the red list of threatened species. The stripy-legged creature, which appears on Congolese banknotes and is actually a species of okapi, has become another victim of the DRC's long-running war. But surveys reveal that conservation efforts have had a positive effect on ocean-roaming leatherback turtles and albatrosses, while a Californian fox has returned from the edge.
"This red list update shows some fantastic conservation successes, from which we must learn," said Jane Smart, a director at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles the list.
Continue reading...Canada approves production of GM salmon eggs on commercial scale
• FDA expected to follow with decision on sale of GM salmon
Canada has given the go-ahead to commercial production of genetically modified salmon eggs, bringing the world's first GM food animal closer to supermarkets and dinner tables.
Continue reading...David Cameron at centre of 'get rid of all the green crap' storm
David Cameron was at the centre of a storm on Thursday over whether he ordered aides to "get rid of all the green crap" from energy bills in a drive to bring down costs.
The language, attributed to Cameron in the Sun newspaper by a senior Tory source, sparked a furious reaction from campaigners accusing the prime minister of abandoning his promise to run the greenest government ever.
Continue reading...Posidonia australis complex seagrass meadows ecological community
Just 90 companies caused two-thirds of man-made global warming emissions
• Interactive - which fossil fuel companies are most responsible?
The climate crisis of the 21st century has been caused largely by just 90 companies, which between them produced nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions generated since the dawning of the industrial age, new research suggests.
The companies range from investor-owned firms – household names such as Chevron, Exxon and BP – to state-owned and government-run firms.
Continue reading...Western Australia Marine Aquarium Fish Managed Fishery
Aqua Marine Tasmania
Commonwealth Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery
SENG National Newsletter - November 2013
Victorian landowners to rehabilitate and protect native grasslands in response to grassland clearing
Public consultation: draft assessment bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and the State of New South Wales
Global deforestation: 10 hot spots on Google Earth – in pictures
Gigha watts: Scottish island tests batteries for wind farms
The Scottish island of Gigha is to be the focus of a £2.5m experiment aimed at solving a major technological problem: how to store energy generated by wind, tide and wave power plants. The project, which will involve building giant batteries containing 75,000 litres of sulphuric acid mixed with vanadium pentoxide, is intended to allow power generated by the island's wind turbines to be stored for later use.
At present, while Gigha's turbines are running, their power is used to run households on the island and excess is transmitted by cable to the mainland electricity grid. When winds are low, and Gigha's turbines do not turn, the grid feeds power to the island. But the cable link has an upper power limit. As a result, much of the island's excess power cannot be transmitted to the mainland and is wasted. The battery project, backed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, is intended to get round this problem.
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