Feed aggregator

A New York Times story of an eight-year-old’s struggle to draw a breath of air set off a storm of protest. Was it a case of shooting the messenger?

Gardiner Harris, the South Asia correspondent for The New York Times, wrote a critique of Delhi’s abysmal air quality before fleeing to the US. Since then his story has been re-published by major news websites and shared widely online.

Within nine months of the family moving to Delhi, Harris’ eight-year-old son Bram suffered respiratory distress, lost half his breathing ability, and had to take steroids regularly. Then the Harrises agonised if it was ethical to continue living in the city at the cost of their children’s health, especially when they had a choice. They could move elsewhere, while most of the city’s residents were grounded.

Continue reading...

A team of scientists, rangers and field assistants had great success in their quest to find new and endangered species in the huge Judbarra national park

Seven new species of spider, including a type of tarantula completely new to science, have been discovered in a Northern Territory national park.

The discoveries were made by a team participating in the Bush Blitz nature program which saw 16 scientists, Indigenous rangers and field assistants, searching the 1.3m hectare Judbarra park for new species.

Continue reading...

The Department is seeking comment on proposed amendments to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Rule 2015 to streamline provisions and update terminology. The consultation closes 19 June 2015.

The Department is seeking comment on proposed amendments to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Amendment Rule 2015 to streamline provisions and update terminology. The consultation closes 19 June 2015.

The Australian Government has commenced a water purchase tender for the northern New South Wales catchment of Barwon-Darling, opening at 9am AEST on Thursday, 04 June 2015 and closing at 5pm AEST on Monday, 06 July 2015.

The Department is seeking feedback from interested parties to inform the final versions of a set of aggregation guidance materials. The consultation closes on 19 June 2015.

SENG National Newsletter - May 2015

On 29 May 2015 the World Heritage Centre published the World Heritage Committee’s draft decision with regard to the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Children’s tales bear no resemblance to the cruelty of most modern farms, yet this image enables us to turn a blind eye to animal welfare and is exploited by the industry for profit – as Kerrygold’s recent Guardian advertorial shows

The way that meat, eggs and milk are produced is surrounded by one of our great silences, in which most people collaborate. We don’t want to know, because knowing would force anyone with a capacity for empathy to change their diet.

You break this silence at your peril. After I published an article on chicken farming last week, I had to re-read it to check that I hadn’t actually proposed the slaughter of the firstborn by terrorist devil worshippers – so outraged and vicious were some of the responses. And that was just the consumers.

Continue reading...

Release of Exposure Draft National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2015 (No 2) Comments close 12 June 2015.

Release of Exposure Draft National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Amendment Determination 2015 (No 2) Comments close 12 June 2015.

This tiny Alberta town is one of the world’s single biggest sources of carbon pollution. The community grew rich on oil, and was wrecked by oil. So local Cece Fitzpatrick decided to run for chief, promising to stand up to the industry that came there 50 years ago

Within a 25-­mile radius of Fort McKay, 21 projects with a capacity of up to 3.3m barrels a day have been approved or are in production. Another 20 with a combined capacity of about 1.6m barrels a day are in the planning stage, according to Fort McKay First Nation.

Locals can hear, smell, feel and taste the evidence of extraction, even inside their homes. On bad days, it smells like cat piss, according to Cece Fitzpatrick.

Continue reading...

The Department has released Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts presenting national, state and territory and industry emissions estimates for 1990-2013. The publications are available on the Progress of the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory...

The Department has released Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts presenting national, state and territory and industry emissions estimates for 1990-2013. The publications are available on the Progress of the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory...

SENG Victoria news - May 2015

The Minister has approved the inclusion of two species, Calidris ferruginea (curlew sandpiper) and Numenius madagascariensis (eastern curlew), to the critically endangered category effective 26 May 2015.

Bristol This is an aerial holiday park: the swifts are here for the local cuisine and to find romance

The wall next to Clifton Down train station is alive with the sounds of spring; the blackbird’s bubbling song, bees buzzing and the chirping of tiny tits hiding in the ivy. But sitting outside a bar with a pint of cider I’m willing it to be summer already. I’m trying to block out the commuter traffic and gossiping students to listen for a sign that the next season is on its way.

The sky is an obliging cornflower shade and the sun shines honey-coloured through my glass but the breeze is bracing. It has driven the resident swifts up beyond my hearing. A pair circle high over the shopping centre, two thin black crescents in the perfect blue sky.

Continue reading...

The Minister has recently listed one species as threatened and approved a conservation advice for one listed species.

Bioengineering startup Pembient aims to reduce demand for black-market rhino products by 3D-printing artificial horn – but wildlife groups remain sceptical

In a meeting room in an industrial area of San Francisco, Matthew Markus unpacks the contents of a small carved wooden box that depicts a rhinoceros with an impressive horn. Inside it are vials containing powder and small, hard-looking chunks. There are also what looks like miniature horns. “I term it conservation 2.0,” says Markus.

Markus is the co-founder of Pembient, a startup that aims to thwart the illegal wildlife trade by recreating animal products in the lab. It is starting with rhino horn but has plans for more complex materials such as elephant tusk. The hope is to produce rhino horn so biologically similar to wild horn – but at about one tenth of black market costs – that buyers and illegal traders will switch, thereby curtailing relentlessly increasing poaching levels. The mysterious box contains Pembient’s collection of prototypes. “We are working towards a bio-identical product by reverse-engineering rhino horn down to the smallest degree,” says Markus, who claims his version can be better than the real thing. “Our goal is that the only way you can tell the difference is that there will be pollutants in the wild horn.”

Continue reading...

Southern Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet losing ice 8,500 times the mass of the Great Pyramid of Giza every year, satellite data shows

A vast slab of Antarctic ice that was previously stable may have started to collapse, according to new analysis of satellite data.

Research published in the journal Science on Thursday found the Southern Antarctic Peninsula (SAP) ice sheet is losing ice into the ocean at a rate of 56 gigatons each year – about 8,500 times the mass of the Great Pyramid of Giza. This adds around 0.16mm per year to the global sea level.

Continue reading...