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In a kayak off the Devon coast I witnessed the kind of entitled mindlessness that has ravaged society, and our planet

On a calm and beautiful morning off the coast of south Devon last week, I was watching a small pod of dolphins from my kayak. I had spotted them from half a mile away, feeding and playing on the surface. They were heading my way, so I sat on the water and waited.

But from round the headland, at top speed, came a giant twin-engined maritime wankpanzer. Though the dolphins were highly visible and it had plenty of time either to stop or avoid them, it ploughed towards them at full throttle. As it passed, missing them by a few metres, the driver turned and glanced at them, but never checked his speed. The dolphins dived. They briefly reappeared much farther from the coast, after which I didn’t see them again. I could hear the boat long after it disappeared: it sounded like a jetliner. God knows what distress it might have caused the dolphins, which are highly sensitive to sound.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

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Efforts by network companies to control operation of mid-scale batteries has big implications for the energy market and energy affordability. 

The post It’s time to put “community” back into community batteries appeared first on RenewEconomy.

More than 2.6 million people live in apartment buildings. What if they want to buy an EV and charge it? Jeff Sykes from Solar Choice explains.

The post The Driven Podcast: How to charge EVs in apartment buildings appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists estimates $7.3bn a year for 30 years could avoid most extinctions, repair soils and restore rivers

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Saving Australia’s threatened wildlife, repairing degraded land and restoring ailing river systems is possible and would cost just 0.3% of Australia’s GDP, according to a new blueprint produced by more than 60 experts.

For the first time scientists, governance and business leaders have produced a dollar estimate of what it would take to fix Australia’s environment.

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A new report challenges the notion that repairing our continent is a task too big and expensive to tackle. Jamie Pittock, Professor, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Bradley J. Moggridge, Professor of Science and Associate Dean (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement), University of Technology Sydney Martine Maron, Professor of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Newly approved four hour battery is located near 1.6GW of wind, solar and other BESS projects that are either underway or operating in Queensland.

The post Equis wins connection deal for a 4 hour battery in Queensland appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Big solar and battery project - flagged as first hybrid to be connected to Victoria's transmission lines - says it has AEMO connection approval.

The post Massive solar and battery hybrid project – dubbed first of its kind – secures grid approval appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has faced a flood of public and academic opposition to a proposed ocean alkalinity research project south of Martha’s Vineyard, while even supporters acknowledge the risks and unintended consequences involved given it is impossible to fully replicate the natural environment in a lab.

The influence of big batteries on the grid doubled in morning and evening peaks, and revenue also grew, helped along by being paid to charge when prices fall below zero.

The post Battery storage doubles its influence in morning and evening peaks appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Australia could stake a massive claim on the world's booming critical minerals market, a report has found, but only if policymakers, researchers, mining firms and investors act quickly.

The post CSIRO says Australia must act quickly to secure share of global minerals market for wind, solar and EVs appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Canada’s largest emissions reductions system – Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) programme – will face oversupply of carbon credits if the province does not intervene, ultimately discouraging investment in industrial decarbonisation, a Canadian think-tank said Tuesday.

The Competition Bureau of Canada on Monday released a new volume of provisions tackling environmental claims and greenwashing, with guidance for companies to comply with laws that prohibit misleading advertising and deceptive marketing practices.

The US may fail to meet its 2030 climate pledges despite support from recently enacted policies that have accelerated the country’s decarbonisation pace, a New York-based research group said Tuesday.

Small modular reactors promise to make nuclear power cheaper and safer. But our new report shows they’re still a long way off. Ian Lowe, Emeritus Professor, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University Kylie Walker, Visiting Fellow, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Latest research shows how illegal drug consumption by humans is harming marine life

Wild sharks off the coast of Brazil have tested positive for cocaine, according to new study by Brazilian scientists, in the latest research to demonstrate how illegal drug consumption by humans is harming marine life.

According to a study entitled Cocaine Shark and published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, scientists dissected the bodies of 13 sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon lalandii) caught in fishermen’s nets off a beach in Rio de Janeiro.

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Allies of the 73-year-old anti-whaling activist Paul Watson have said that prison time would amount to a ‘life sentence’

The arrest of the anti-whaling activist Paul Watson in Greenland – where he could face extradition to Japan – has been condemned as “politically motivated” by supporters, who compared the case to the detention of the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange.

“The parallels are disturbing,” said Omar Todd, chief executive and co-founder of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).

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The typical feed additive used to curb livestock emissions in carbon projects has a highly variable methane reduction potential depending on factors such as animal diet, breed, and how the additive is administered, according to findings in a recent study. 

Preliminary data from Copernicus suggests temperature records were shattered, taking world into ‘uncharted territory’

World temperature records were shattered on Sunday on what may be the hottest day scientists have ever logged, data suggests.

Inflamed by the carbon pollution spewed from burning fossils and farming livestock, the average surface air temperature hit 17.09C (62.76F) on Sunday, according to preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which holds data that stretches back to 1940. The reading inched above the previous record of 17.08C (62.74F) set on 6 July last year, but the scientists cautioned that the difference was not statistically distinguishable.

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The Russian government has proposed changes to simplify access to carbon credits in the country, making it easier for small businesses and individuals to take part in the national carbon market, the Ministry of Economic Development announced on Tuesday.

A group of civil society and indigenous peoples organisations have written to the UN’s climate change science body, the IPCC, highlighting the risk of over-relying on Carbon Dioxide Removals (CDR) in meeting global climate goals.